Memorial Day Weekend 2026

borrowing this from Mari's Little Corner

The above graphic is from Mari's blog today at http://marislittlecorner.blogspot.com/2026/05/memorial-day.html. I hope and trust she will forgive me for copying her message. It's just so accurate and appropriate (and "storing it" on my blog is a good way for me to save it for future reference.)

Once we understand the purpose of this special day, it seems odd to me to wish people a "Happy Memorial Day." Nobody wishes us "Happy Grief and Mourning" when our dear ones have passed, so why should it be any different when we focus on the dying sacrifices of our military? Sometimes we say the most inane things without thinking first. 

Okay, I'll step down from my soap box now. I feel certain the majority of my readers are in agreement with me on this. What follows are various snapshots from this weekend, (mostly) in the order in which they were taken.

My newest hobby or passion is jigsaw puzzles. I've brought this up before. 

It has been so much fun that a couple of times when I stepped away to attend to other things, somebody else took up where I left off. 🥰

The previous puzzle (below) was a bit of a bear to assemble. 500 pieces that didn't always fit together nicely, and a lot of dark, non-descript parts.

But (with help) I got it done. I didn't want to think of myself as a quitter, so it's done and now taken apart, returned to its box. It's an illustration and a reminder to think carefully before committing to things.

This one (above) is now done. It was so much fun because it was only 300 larger-than-usual pieces, and had many definitive patterns. It will be returned to Jersey Girl this week and I'll be on the look-out for more that are similar to this one.

In late April, Mari posted her recipe for Mini Air Fryer Cherry Hand Pies. (click on the title for the recipe) The idea of little hand-sized pies fascinated me, so I decided to give it a try. I used canned apple pie filling instead of cherry.

You roll out a prepared pie crust so it's flat, and then use a 3-inch diameter biscuit cutter to cut the individual pie crusts.

Mine weren't near as pretty as Mari's. Go to her blog to see her beautiful handiwork.

The first batch cooked nicely in our air fryer. They really are a convenient snack size. Translation: you can't eat just one!! 

For my next batch, I decided to use apple butter from a jar instead of apple pie filling.... I just wanted to see if it would work. I'm wondering if any jam would work, too. Jellies might be too runny??

They don't last long and they were very tasty.

Although it was our intention to have a quiet weekend, with pretty much just the two of us at home, we did have unexpected guests in the back yard. A lot of Ibis (white birds with long skinny beaks poking into the ground in search of bugs) have been in our neighborhood the past several weeks. They tend to be only a little tame, so I snapped their picture through the window screen and left them to their foraging. They are beautiful birds and do not harm anything that concerns us.

"You are not forgotten"

Specific to this holiday weekend, Gary put out his black POW/MIA flag. He likes to post it on the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

Then on Memorial Day, he posts the American flag. 

In the spirit of celebratory American themes, I had some leftover apple pie filling from the earlier project, so an apple pie was created (larger than the mini pies). An "emergency trip" to the grocery store was required for ice cream .....

After church on Sunday (we watch the service from home), we tuned in to the Indianapolis 500 race.

Indy 500

Of course, this event was dimmed by the untimely passing of famous race car driver, Kyle Busch. This weekend is particularly sobering.

Today, the actual holiday, we rode our bicycles through the neighborhood. Traffic was much less, which greatly adds to our enjoyment of the ride. For lunch, Gary grilled our steaks and served them with French fries. 

We watched the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, appreciating how it is well-planned and carried out in every aspect. Gary tells me that in the many years he lived in the Washington DC area, he attended this ceremony in person a couple of times.

purchase info

This afternoon I began working on the book study one of my neighbors is hosting for the next several weeks. Getting together with neighbor gals to discuss Scripture and watch the accompanying video is enjoyable.

This dish towel from Phyllis sums up the weekend. How thankful we are for those who put themselves "out there" for the sake of freedom. May God comfort those who grieve over the ones who did not come back.

Like many of you, I can say this verse is true:

The Lord is close

to the brokenhearted

and saves those who

are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara