It’s Spring

The airports are back in business, crowded even. The airplanes are full.

Spring has arrived at least in Arkansas. The dogwoods and redbuds are blooming, the trees are leafing and the grass is growing–yep, it’s spring!

I arrived in Arkansas Wednesday afternoon with no delays. Wednesday night and into Thursday morning the skies opened, lightning popped and thunder boomed–it’s a little nerve racking to be in the south this time of year! Mom and I have hit the ground running. Thursday we headed to Malvern stopping in the tiny town of Poyen for lunch–my great niece attends school in Poyen and one of her best friends is a waitress at the 270 Grill. The food was hot and good. Our destination was Arkansas Yarn Company in downtown Malvern. A cute, bright yarn shop filled with delicious goodies!

Coming home we stopped at Walmart for our grocery pickup order. By the time we were home, the rain had stopped and patches of blue sky were visible. In the evening my niece and her girls arrived–they don’t have TV at their house and wanted to watch the premier episode of The Rambling Red Head on HGTV. Grandma has DISH so we all gathered in Mom’s living room for a fun evening of yacking and watching this red haired woman remodel homes with no demolition. It was actually entertaining and I saw something which helped me make a decision for our AZ home.

Friday we were once again on the move. I used Mom’s Instant Pot to make a delicious beef stew before we drove over to the small community of Ain to meet my first cousins Mary Ellen and Debbie. Many of our relatives are buried in the cemetery behind the small Baptist church–Mom’s parents and three of her sisters. Mom was one of six children, all daughters and she is the only surviving one. Mary Ellen’s and Debbie’s moms are buried in this cemetery and we placed the flowers Debbie brought on all the graves. Mary Ellen’s dad, Uncle Frank Lee was with her and it was good to see him; he will be 94 years old in December and is still very mobile. 

A stop at Walmart and the drug store for Mom’s prescription and we were home. The bed in Mom’s guest room is HARD and I was having trouble sleeping. At Walmart I found a memory foam mattress pad and Friday night I slept much better! My niece and great niece dropped by after their hiking trip to find waterfalls–it’s amazing how many waterfalls are in Arkansas in the spring when water flows are high. 

Saturday evening we were glued to the TV as another sign of spring in Arkansas is this–

All those orange spots are potential tornadoes. The skies turned green (yes green), the thunder was so loud and the lightning was striking–no pun intended! I’m not sure I like spring in Arkansas!! Mom’s yard is a lake after almost three inches of rain!

Sunday was spent on the go again–unplanned but necessary. We are home, the weather is calm tonight–maybe it will be an early to bed evening!