THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 72 DECEMBER 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

I can state with certainty that my heart is in fine fettle. Without Ethan to help this year I had to haul my nine foot pre-lit Christmas tree up from the basement freezer – no – it's not a fresh tree that I freeze to preserve every year, it's an artificial tree that takes up so much space (even when split into four sections) that our huge empty freezer is the best storage space available. I huffed and puffed as I dragged each section out of the freezer chest,wrapped my arms around the branches that kept trying to unfold like an umbrella and cautiously staggered up the stairs praying I wouldn't fall backwards each time as I blindly climbed, holding on for dear life to a forest of weighty branches. I was determined to get my house decorated before the upcoming weekend as I didn't want to have to take time away from the Chiefs game on Sunday to enlist the boys to carry it up and assemble it. All this activity caused your dad to warn me about the hazards of putting my back out or falling on the stairs. I smiled and reminded him that I am still young, strong as an ox and as agile as a monkey. He became even more agitated when I dragged the step ladder in and climbed up with the tallest tree sections. He thought the whole operation very dangerous – doubtless the reason he never assembled a tree even in his healthy years!

It only took me a couple of hours to get the lights working and the branches straightened out and I spent the next day trimming the tree with my ever growing collection of balls and handmade ribbon decorations. As I stood back to admire my artistic effort I noticed that from some angles the tree did appear to be leaning a little but decided that no-one but me would notice this once the whole room was decorated. A few days later Josh entered my family room with the towering tree, three glowing wreaths, a mantle draped in lights, greenery, candles and fruits with the stair rail decorated to match and announced that my tree was crooked and immediately began twisting the sections this way and that. My heart palpitated as my hours of decorating threatened to fly off the tree: balls flew in all directions. I told Josh not to worry about it but he seemed deeply concerned about righting my leaning tree. To stop the tree carousel I suggested that maybe the floor was uneven and that all we needed to do was shim it up. Sean actually sided with me on this one. Just as I was was about to find something to shove under the tree, Josh announced that the problem was fixed. The relief. I could feel my racing heart slow as I replaced my fallen balls on the tree. Another heart attack inducing event successfully survived.

Leslee and Craig celebrated Thanksgiving with us this year, and as usual Coryn and Jeremy ate their first dinner with us and then drove to his Aunt and Uncle' home for their second dinner of the day. Thankfully they had a few hours between meals as our family dines much earlier in the day. But this year the focus of Thanksgiving was not on my lovingly basted tender and juicy turkey or my honey glazed ham. My children were giddy with excitement over their plans to drive up to Nebraska after our dinner: spending the night at a hotel to ensure that they would would be up at the crack of dawn to tailgate at the college football game the following morning. Leslee and Craig's beloved Iowa Hawkeyes were playing.

Leslee had the foresight to book a hotel suite months before they knew who was going – so that they had room for Josh, Bryn and Sean when they decided it sounded like a fun trip. They were planning on getting together with various groups of friends. This involved taking along a cooler of beer, pounds of polish sausage, all my condiments, their overnight bags, blankets and Hawkeye gear. I enjoyed watching them pack all their stuff and themselves into Bryn's Kia. Little Leslee was squished in the back between Sean and Craig. She usually insists on riding shotgun claiming she'll be car sick otherwise. I fervently hoped that she didn't puke all over Craig and her brothers on the way – she'd definitely lose her rating as the cool sister.

But now we come to the most incomprehensible part of this whole adventure for me. I was under the impression, for the longest time, that they all had tickets to the game but no – they were going to drive over three hours to park at an exorbitant rate to sit around someone's turkey fryer to keep warm, and watch the game on another groups big screen TV powered by a generator. I asked in bewilderment why they just didn't park in my driveway (for free) and tailgate. I'd even let them use my bathroom so no disgusting port -a- potty. Think of all the money they would save on gas and the hotel. They assured me that parking and partying in my driveway was a horrific idea which couldn't come close to approximating the nirvana of tailgating. But it gets even more bizarre. Jeremy thought the whole idea of tailgating in Nebraska sounded so good that he got up in the middle of the night and drove up to join them – despite the fact that he'd spent four hours or more the day before driving from one meal to the next. He tried to talk Coryn into joining in the fun but as we all know she isn't the fun sister.

Coryn spent the day with us, seizing the opportunity to curry favor by portraying herself as a martyr for choosing to spend time with her parents rather than her more raucous fiance and siblings. Since Coryn rarely drinks, hates being cold, and dislikes being in crowds (unless she's the center of attention of course) she wasn't making much of a sacrifice. I spent most of Thanksgiving night and Black Friday worrying about the safety of my children. I eventually got a phone call on their return trip announcing their imminent arrival with the expectation that I'd want the heads up to get their their supper on the table - with the exception of Jeremy and Bryn who were lagging behind as they needed more time to sober up for the drive home apparently. Drinking and driving do not go together and we all know it's a red button topic for me.

Just as my nerves were recovering from their tailgating trip Jeremy, Craig, Josh, Bryn and Sean decided to spend Saturday afternoon Go-Kart racing. I thought Leslee would be keen on this activity but she passed and stayed with Coryn, Norm and I. We girls did look at bridesmaid dresses briefly but nothing was exactly just the thing: one thing I can safely state is that I will not be making five dresses. I have enough sewing with the wedding decorations.

The boys returned in time for supper (of course) with their clothes reeking of gasoline so that necessitated showers and changes of clothes, and yes, my boys all have clothes and toothbrushes at their mother's house which probably explains why they can't get dates. Apparently Craig was almost assaulted by a driver who felt Craig was driving too aggressively. He must not have seen the posse of rippling muscles with Craig - I assume that they would have come to his rescue.

Thanks to Ethan my Christmas will be a sweet one this year. A lovely box of assorted chocolate bars from England was hand delivered by our mailman into my arms for safekeeping. The box was popping open so I cautiously explored to make sure that the contents were intact and found a a flaky bar – my favorite- in my hand so I tested it for freshness. Just melted in my mouth the way it did when I was a little girl in England.

Sean traded in his Ford Focus for a Ford Explorer shortly after their sardine packed tailgating trip. He very generously (as always) invited us all to borrow it any time – even me! It will be great for trips to the garden center this spring. It even has a DVD player in the back – just perfect for a couple of kids!

Speaking of kids , I have been greatly enjoying Elena Sophia, Becky and Fred's baby girl who has visited us a few times since her arrival a couple of months ago. Coryn and Becky are both considerably younger than me but I always manage to out race them to scoop that baby up every time she cries. My other friend Becky, (Clay) has recently become a Grandma to Lysander Gregory, - Gretchen and Dave's son. Unfortunately Gretchen suffered pregnancy complications that confined her to bed for the last couple of months so Becky took a leave of absence from work and drove all the way to Savannah, Georgia with Elli, her aging dachshund, to be help out until the baby was safely delivered.

Josh surprised me this past Wednesday night by calling to invite me to see the new Mission Impossible movie with Tom Cruise - my Ming Lee look alike , in the days when Ming had a full head of hair anyway!We planned to see the Thursday afternoon show, so that I could feed Josh lunch beforehand of course. Fortunately Coryn was free to stay with Norm so it worked out well. Josh did impress upon me that any talking or questioning during the movie would ensure that I would never be invited again. Just as we were driving out of our cul-de-sac , Bryn rounded the corner, apparently finished with work for the holidays and hoping for lunch. Josh invited him to join us, which he did, saying he'd lunch on popcorn. I thoroughly enjoyed being taken to the movies by two of my boys and suggested we should make it a regular thing since they don't have any dates to take. They seemed less than enthused.

Ming-Lee was able to spend some time with us at the beginning of the month as he was flying in and out of Kansas City for Fed Ex . He stayed with Norm for a couple of hours one afternoon so that I was able to get some Christmas shopping done and then cooked us a delicious steak and salmon dinner. We were able to get together for dinner with Ming,Josh and Coryn another night and decided to eat at Barleys as your dad felt up to going out but unfortunately it didn't go very well. After eating Norm began sinking into a seizure so it took the boys' help to get him out of the wheelchair and into the car. a By the time we reached home he was in full seizure mode. Thankfully the boys were able to get him out of the cold garage and into the house. He is becoming increasingly difficult for one person to manage, even when in his wheelchair, on trips out of the house. I had to take him to the dentist that week twice, once for a cleaning and then for three fillings - about the number of real teeth he has left. It took me awhile to get him from the car into the house each time.

Coryn's neighbor and friend, Doris, came over to have lunch with us this week and was as delightful as ever .She is very good with Norm who greatly enjoys her humor. They have new neighbors and Doris in most anxious to be invited into their home for a peak at their decorating so she enlisted Coryn to go on a meet and greet with her as she had made a pan of holiday fudge to share with them. Coryn immediately swiped some of my cookies to welcome them into the neighborhood. Doris may be getting another new neighbor soon as Coryn has put her house on the market but it may take some time to sell as no one has even looked yet. Coryn tells me that until she and Jeremy have their own home there will definitely not be any babies.

Marc will be flying in late Christmas Eve and I hope that my new toilet will withstand his abuse. Josh suggested I remove the toilet seat so that he can't slam it down numerous times through out the night, thus waking anyone unfortunate enough to be sleeping upstairs. I just hope he doesn't break the handle off the toilet tank this time. Ethan grew very tired of replacing it every time he wanted to flush last Christmas.

The shopping is done, the wrapping is done, the decorating is done, the baking is about to be done and I am about done in myself but as always Mother rises to the occasion like a loaf of bread, all hot and doughy and so good. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you with my love, Mom

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER

VOLUME # 71 NOVEMBER 2011

Dear Children and Friends,

Friday, November 4^th at about four thirty in the afternoon I was in my kitchen slicing and dicing potatoes, peppers and onions for one of my usual gourmet suppers when Josh came in through the garage door. I immediately assumed he had left work early to attend some kind of event connected with his charity work for the Make-a-Wish Foundation – hopefully with supper included so that I wouldn't have to feed him but seconds later I was astonished to see Ming Jon appear! He had planned this surprise visit months ago, telling only Josh who picked him up at the airport. Your dad and I were so happy to have him home – I didn't even mind that I had to stretch my planned dinner for two to four as fortunately it was an 'elastic meal' – my terminology for a meal that can be easily expanded by adding a few more ingredients rather than one built around a pork chop or a fillet of fish. I even whipped up a pan of pumpkin bread for dessert.

I called the other kids to let them know that Ming Jon was home and found out that Bryn was en route to Iowa City where he was spending the weekend – doubtless tailgating at the Hawks game. Sean had to work on Saturday but said he would definitely be over for supper. Coryn and Josh were able to spend most of the weekend with us. Jeremy was hunting Bambi on his aunt and uncles property down in Missouri but he drove up on Saturday night to join in our family fun and games. Ming Lee's love of family games has become part of every Lowe gathering. Josh has taken to picking up new games for us to try – somehow I always seem to be on the losing team.

Coryn arrived in time for lunch on Saturday and promptly nixed all my menu selections in favor of picking up our lunches at Applebee's – handily located just up the road. That afternoon I went to the grocery store so that I could feed Ming Jon my homemade Lasagna for lunch on Sunday before he left for the airport. I volunteered to drive him but Coryn decided that I would be better off in the basement screaming at the Kansas City Chiefs on the big screen TV. Ming Jon said that after seeing how into the game I get that it might be safer to have someone else drive as he thought I might take it out on the gas pedal if I listened to the game on the radio while driving !Unfortunately our football team has lost so many key players to injuries that we are almost guaranteed to lose - it's just a question of how bad the final score will be.

Whilst visiting, Ming Jon shared that he was finding his relatively new job very stressful and was hoping to find something else. Within days of returning to Washington DC he was talking with a former colleague who was able to offer him a job, in the public sector again, which will hopefully be a more comfortable fit for Ming Jon.

Halloween weekend Coryn and I flew to Orlando, thanks in part to Sean's great generosity as he donated his airline miles which covered our flights out - so we only had to purchase our return flights. He even gave us coupons for free parking .How can a guy like this not have a girlfriend?

We left late Thursday afternoon after Coryn had finished work. I was ready with my bags at the front door when she drove up, thinking we would immediately be on our way but no – Coryn announced that she was famished and would need something to eat before we left. I suggested we eat at the airport once we were through the hassle of economy parking, riding the airport bus to the terminal and clearing security. Coryn assured me that we had plenty of time as she rummaged through my fridge. I watched the clock and debated swallowing another Zoloft. As she munched , I chewed on the fact that we were approaching rush hour traffic; the ever present possibility of delays due to construction and accidents; and being stuck in huge lines at the security gates. Coryn dismissed all my fears as she lounged and feasted on the couch. I reminded her of how right I'd been about getting somewhere in plenty of time when we arrived too late to see a movie a few weeks ago and she practically sped me to an early grave as we raced to another theater.

Then Bryn arrived, after leaving work a little early, so that he could stay with Norm. Coryn complained to him that I was being uptight about our flight and said she was going to need Xanax to make it through the trip with me. Bryn actually seemed to agree with me that we might want to get going. After hugging Norm goodbye we headed off and soon enough we were stuck in traffic. I greatly enjoyed telling Coryn “I told you so” and that my bowels were churning in anticipation of missing our flight- she told me to suck it up and relax because we still had plenty of time. I hate to admit that we actually had over an hour to wait to board our plane. Coryn kept moaning about how bored she was when she wasn't texting: probably complaining to her siblings about the burden of traveling with me! I comforted myself with a Wolfgang Puck sandwich from an airport vendor(at the outrageous price of nine dollars) to give my bowels something to work on.

Coryn and I were lucky to find seats together as we were in one of the last groups to board the filled to capacity flight. Once seated I began pulling magazines, candy, and a book of Sudoku puzzles out of my bag to keep her amused – just as if she was still a child I thought to myself as I settled into my book.

Leslee and Craig picked us up at the airport and drove us to their new suburban home in a picturesque gated lake community. The house is a true ranch, very spacious with tile and hardwood floors, tons of windows and high ceilings. Amazingly it was immaculate. Coryn and I kept opening the kitchen cabinets spell bound by the organization within. Every Tupperware storage container was sorted and color coded. All the dishes were in matching sets- no junk drawers! Such a contrast to their Condo kitchen where one had to prepare for an avalanche of contents every time one opened a door! Leslee said having a kitchen that was so much bigger made it possible to be so organized. Who ever would have thought that Leslee would be a neat freak?

Brutus and Sassafras especially were dog licking happy to see us and I was surprised that Coryn didn't find Sassafras to be the ugliest dog she has ever seen. In fact she was very taken with her and tolerated her overly affectionate ways very well.

I had planned this trip long before Coryn's engagement and the original intent was to spend it helping Leslee and Craig with their garden and patio but Coryn decided that she wanted to shop for her wedding dress in Orlando with Leslee. I was dubious about the plan from the start thinking it would be hard to do fittings and alterations from so far away. Coryn decided to start looking locally to help her decide what style of dress she was drawn to and as luck would have it on our fourth outing just days before our trip she found 'THE DRESS' . I quickly whipped out my credit card before she could change her mind and put down a hefty deposit. Coryn was worried that Leslee would be upset that we wouldn't be wedding dress shopping but Leslee was happy to cancel all the appointments she had set up at bridal stores and to have our focus shift back to shopping for and decorating her new home.

Leslee and Craig had made a great start but their living room was definitely in need of help. It contained a beige sofa and chair, a couple of bare glass and chrome coffee tables and her piano. The neatest feature of the room were the screens from Ikea in front of their patio doors. Coryn and I decided that an infusion of color was vital and decided to pull the colors from the one painting that we liked in the room. We decided they needed a rug to warm up the floor, another chair with a pop of color, some pillows and accessories for the bare tables and two huge floral arrangements for two towering wall niches.

Friday we explored Ikea – my first time to visit one of them. It was very interesting to see such a huge selection although in a very limited color palette but the prices were incredibly good. We only found our rug there and moved onto Pier 1 where we found some wonderful things. Coryn and I had asked if we were shopping on a budget but Leslee said she didn't care what it cost – she just wanted the room and the rest of the house done. Coryn and I were non pulsed by this statement as we always have a budget in mind although we frequently don't mind it. We found a statement chair, two huge urns for the niches, several pillows and knick knacks to give the room some personality in our blue-green accent color. We loaded up Craig's SUV, had lunch,headed home, unloaded and prepared for another round of shopping. I think the biggest challenge was finding the branches and dried flowers for the urns. I think we tried about three different stores to get it together. We found some great patio furniture at a store very close to their house and picked up a fire pit for their enormous screened in patio area where they can have an outdoor sofa and arm chair seating area with a big screen TV and still have room for a dinning area and a sun bathing spot plus the fire-pit space. They need a lot of outdoor landscaping and hanging baskets to provide some color and privacy but that will have to be another trip.

Unfortunately on Friday as were out and about shopping I noticed that my voice sounded strange and by the time we were having a drink with some of their friends at one of their favorite bars I could hardly talk. Could there be a worse situation for the mother of two girls both vying for my spoken opinion frequently and often simultaneously? While shopping Coryn would be drawn to something in her wedding colors and Leslee would bleat that we were suppose to be concentrating on her, Coryn would retaliate by muttering how this weekend was originally suppose to be all about her. They were less demanding when they were little. By Saturday I was virtually mute but began to improve on Sunday for our flight home – lucky Coryn.

That flight was completely full too and unfortunately Coryn had a window seat with a nausea inducing smell. I thought a rodent might be decomposing inside the plane's wall, Coryn thought someone with a terrible odor problem must have been snoozing against the wall. We were eventually able to get some disinfectant wipes to wash the wall but had to repeat the procedure to keep the odor from bothering her and thus me.

Josh, Bryn and Sean had done a stellar job of taking care of Norm – I left them copious notes which they found highly amusing- sending pictures of them to their siblings to see how crazy their mother is. Apparently the biggest challenge was getting our geriatric cat to swallow her pills. I always live in mortal fear of accidentally throwing them down your dad 's throat.

This last weekend your dad and I made another trip out to Loch Lloyd Country Club with Coryn and Jeremy to look at a new outdoor space that they have made available for weddings and we all thought it better than the original space. However it will be a challenge for any one in a wheelchair. We may have to fashion a ramp for Norm. Coryn pointed out several more spots that she thought would need to be decorated – I think I am going to have to turn my garage over to wedding decoration storage this winter.

Ming-Lee is working out of the Kansas City Airport the second week of December so we will be able to spend some time with him when he isn't catching up on his sleep as he'll be flying nights. He has offered to stay with Norm one day so that I can do some Christmas shopping. Christmas will be quiet this year as Leslee and Craig are spending the holidays with his family, Ming Jon just visited and Kay returns from China in December but will be leaving for Singapore almost immediately. Only Marc will be joining us – if someone can be persuaded to pick him up from the airport.

Leslee and Craig will be with us this week for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Sean, Bryn and I are planning a trip to Costco on Wednesday to stock up our fridge for the next few days of family eating. Most of the kids are planning on heading to Nebraska after our Thanksgiving meal. So far five of them will be sharing one hotel room Thursday night as they plan to be at the Nebraska versus Iowa game the next morning. If Jeremy and Coryn go that will be seven in one room! Your dad and I will enjoy some peace and quiet that night anyway. I think I'll get my Christmas CD's out for us all to enjoy when you get back. I just got Susan Boyle's new one too!

Time for me to fluff my tail feathers, strut my stuff and cook another meal you can all be thankful for.

Let's hope I don't tenderize the turkey on the kitchen floor this year as I flap around the kitchen on Thursday morning like a frazzled mother hen trying to feed her brood with boxes of stove top stuffing and canned cranberry sauce. Love from your mother who is truly thankful for her family and friends.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 70 0CTOBER 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Becky, Evelyn and Sherry were one of the highlights of my September. They drove down for a weekend with Sherry at the wheel – her first major long interstate drive and she did very well according to her passengers. Becky was grateful to be spared driving duty as she had to work that day so the girl's didn't start their long trek until early Friday afternoon. They limited themselves to one break and arrived in time for dinner. As I raced out to the driveway to welcome them I warned them not to be alarmed by Norm's appearance as he was sporting a black eye from a recent fall. His lip was also healing from another episode where he had bitten it during a seizure so he looked rather like the loser of a boxing match. Honestly I was not his winning opponent.

We spent Friday night talking and drinking tea and later wine around the kitchen table. Becky was the first to head upstairs to bed: anything after 8:30pm is bedtime for someone who gets up at 4:30 am for work. Sherry and Evelyn -who works nights and seems to exist on cat naps throughout the day - kept me company for another hour or so before they headed upstairs to bed only to come charging back down shortly after they heard a thunderous thud. Norm had fallen (again) in the bathroom – one of his frequent stop and drop spots. They dashed into our bedroom to find Norm in full seizure mode - it provided some late night entertainment for the girls. I can guarantee that your dad has never had three women pushing, pulling and dragging him into bed. Too bad he was out of it at the time and has no memory of his good fortune.

Saturday morning the girls helped themselves to breakfast: as usual I had shown them where to find everything the night before and had even baked an apple coffee cake for us all to enjoy despite my diet. Can't expect my friends to deprive themselves too I said to myself as I also bought some some blueberry muffins and scones from the Hen House bakery to ensure a good choice - for them of course. I joined them at the crack of dawn around 8:00am as the smell of freshly brewed coffee penetrated our bedroom door and tickled my nose.

Unfortunately the day had dawned wet and gloomy with rain forecast all day. I think every weekend before and after for weeks had been sunny and dry as we almost had drought conditions here this summer. We decided to spend most of the day indoors, shopping, with only a brief outdoor stop for Becky to pick up some pansies. We did get caught in a couple of downpours as we ran to and from the shops and car but we had fun with every one finding something they needed or liked. We did get separated for awhile in Dillards , Becky and I were shopping in the petite section for some jeans for her while Sherry and Evelyn were looking elsewhere. Unfortunately none of us had each others cell phone numbers programmed into ours so we had to hunt each other down the old fashioned way by splitting up and circling around.

We enjoyed lunch at Cheddars – a newly opened and extremely popular restaurant, getting there just before the line was out of the door and in the rain. Becky deftly grabbed the check and insisted on treating us all – Sherry and Becky were very adventurous and tried fish tacos for the first time , one of my favorites. Evelyn had Chicken Alfredo which is always good too.

Whilst we were shopping, eating and running ( well - walking as fast as ladies our age can) through the rain, Josh and Bryn were keeping Norm company. Coryn arrived later in the afternoon once we had returned from our shopping trip to drown ourselves in more tea. Before my friends arrived Coryn had warned me not to bore them to death with her wedding plans but she was soon holding court waving her engagement ring and pointing out her beautiful purple wedding shoes ( with more bling than my Christmas decorations) on line that she had just ordered from Australia – I could have bought a nice pair of shoes for myself for the shipping cost alone. My friends listened with rapt attention as Coryn described everything she had planned so far. Evelyn had brought her photo album of Sarah's recent wedding so we were all able to enjoy too. Sherry very thoughtfully gave me some copies of photo's of her, Evelyn and myself at the reception.

Jeremy dropped by so the girls met Coryn's tall, dark and handsome fiancee who is also very involved in the wedding planning. Hopefully they will all be able to be here for the wedding although Evelyn may be a very busy Grandma at that time as I understand that Rachel and Sara are both expecting babies in early May.

On Saturday night Norm and I had planned to take our guests out to dinner but unfortunately Norm was not feeling well enough so I decided to pick up Chinese food from Bolings which is always very good. We were all happily chowing and chatting around the dining room table when Norm began talking nonsensically( well more so than usual) and soon was lost to a full blown seizure. While he sat seemingly comatose in his chair I urged the girls to make themselves a nice cup of tea in the kitchen whilst I made sure he didn't fall off his chair. However they insisted on helping me and we eventually decided to lay him out the dinning room floor where we wouldn't have to worry about him falling and where he could sleep himself out of his seizure. Evelyn, Sherry and I dragged Norm to his feet while Becky pulled the chair out from under him. Unfortunately Norm had had an accident and showing what great friends the girls are they all offered to help clean it up – once again I shooed them into the kitchen to make us all a much needed cup of tea as I bustled around with cleaning supplies. Once again your dad had no recollection of being fawned over by several women simultaneously!

Sunday morning found us sitting around the breakfast table for a couple of hours. Once Norm joined us I decided to leave him to enjoy the company of our guests while I jumped in the shower. Once dressed and ready for football Sunday I returned to the kitchen to find Norm on the verge of yet another seizure: he got quite belligerent when he saw me and was soon was slurring his speech,waving his arms about and drooling. Then he began to make horrific choking sounds – a new development so I checked to see if he had food in his mouth and gave him a few hearty whacks on the back but he soon became unresponsive. This phase lasted much longer than usual and I was unable to get any kind of reaction from him. Becky propped him up on one side while I took the other. Unfortunately the sitting situation in the kitchen eating area is quite tight so we couldn't figure out a way to move him to a safer place. After about half an hour or more the girls were becoming quite upset and I decided that we might need to call an ambulance. Fortunately Josh and Sean arrived at this point and suggested that they try to move him in hopes of bringing him out of his seizure. So they moved the furniture and managed to lift your dad from his kitchen chair to the wheelchair where he thankfully began to revive.

We ordered pizza for lunch and left Norm in his wheelchair in case he ate and seized again. I know it was very hard for the girls who have known Norm for so many years to see him so compromised but they certainly lifted his spirits and he enjoyed hearing about the changes at FMCH. We are blessed to have such supportive friends. Our guests left early that afternoon for their long drive back to Fort Madison.

Ming came out for a quick visit at the beginning of the month and helped me out by staying with his dad while I shopped and ran errands. He was very impressed with his brothers' tiling and woodworking skills , skills which I greatly appreciate too and take every advantage off – figuring they need the practice. I am currently trying to enlist their skills to replace my backyard fence which is dire danger of collapsing as it is cobbled together every few feet. Sean had the brilliant idea of using the salvageable fence pickets to build some planter boxes. I can see a couple of big compost bins out on Quivera

In recent weeks I have seen a side of your dad I never knew existed: he is quite the fashion guru. He has accompanied Coryn and I on several of our bridal store appointments. He actually insists on pulling on some jog pants instead of his usual comfy flannel PJ bottoms and a “matching”top. He must ask me a dozen times through out the day what time he needs to be ready for our appointment. On one visit he explained to me in great detail why one length of veil was so much better than another. Short veils cut the dress in half, long veils add to the line. He even had opinions on lace edgings and shades of white. Who knew? I swear I could have dressed the boys in dresses when they were little and he would probably never have noticed!

Halloween weekend Coryn and I will be in Orlando visiting Leslee and Craig – and no children - Coryn will not be hitching a ride on my broomstick: we are flying commercial! It's fortunate for the Remsburgs' that moi, the Martha Stewart of Halloween decorating will be arriving just in time to hang Sassafras, the ugliest but most adorable black pug in a fake spider's web on their front door to greet trick or treaters. I thought her looks might have improved since her snaggle tooth fell out but apparently it was keeping her tongue in her mouth so now it permanently hangs out of her lopsided mouth. Brutus their other pug is very handsome, if a bit portly, so I'm sure I can turn him into a pumpkin with a little of my hair coloring.

Don't forget to buy some candy to hand out on Halloween night but no stocking up on my supply or you'll have a bat out of hell in your hair. Love to you all from your spooktacular and bewitching Mother.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 69 AUGUST 2011

Dear Readers,

One Friday evening Coryn invited me to see the movie 'The Help' with her. We had both read and enjoyed the book and hoped that the movie would be as good. Josh came to stay with Norm . I was quite sure that a lot of people would be keen to see this movie so I suggested to Coryn that we might want to get there well ahead of time to be sure of getting tickets. Coryn just rolled her eyes, languished on the coach, and twirled her hair assuring me that we would not have a problem. As usual I couldn't keep my mouth shut and repeated my concerns about such a popular book being sure to draw a crowd for it's movie debut. Coryn finally acquiesced to my suggestions and rolled off the couch to drive us to the movie theater. As we pulled into the parking lot it became evident that once again Mother was right: we had trouble finding a spot and once out of the car we saw lines of people in front of the theater. Coryn decided to use the self service machine , only to see that the movie was completely sold out .I was disappointed but buoyed my spirits by muttering a few times about how right I was - yet again. Fortunately Coryn had committed to memory the times that the movie was showing at other locations and she decided that we might make it in time to the one in the mall by her house.”Come on Mother, run” she cried as she sped back to her car. I managed a fast trot and was panting and sweating profusely by the time I plopped myself in the car. I barely had time to buckle my seat belt before Coryn was burning rubber out of the parking lot using nasty language at every red light we hit en-route. I clung to the door handle the whole way , as Coryn frantically changed lanes and went flying past the speed limit. I was almost crying “Help” myself.

Once parked in another very busy lot I huffed and puffed behind Coryn who urged me to move it as seconds were left before show time. Unfortunately there was only one cashier and a line but we did get in and once I saved our seats Coryn even had time to pick up my box of hot tamales and her popcorn.

I was grateful that I had come through the experience thus far without suffering a heart attack. I vowed that once again I must try to get in better shape so that I can hang with my children for years to come. The movie was very enjoyable, using comedy to underscore the dreadful bigotry that existed in the South. As we all know I have no tolerance for racism, although I will admit to being a tad prejudice in favor of the British.

Coryn and Jeremy have selected their wedding venue with a little help from your dad and me. One Sunday afternoon I went to assess a possible place in Independence with them whilst the boy's stayed with Norm. Her brother's were not enthusiastic, telling me that Independence is the crack cocaine empire of the Midwest. Of course I immediately defended their sister's and Jeremy's choice and assured them that the whole city couldn't be undesirable.

It seemed a rather long drive over there and I was less than rhapsodic about the building named “The Rhapsody”. It was a concrete block building nestled behind a mall and between other retail structures.
Once inside the building it was nicely laid out and well decorated but didn't seem large enough for the two hundred or so guests they are planning on. It did have a beautiful garden area complete with a waterfall, pond and numerous arbors. They even offered a cottage for the bridal party to use as a staging point for the day. Coryn detected that I wasn't wowed and suggested that we look at another venue they liked later in the week if she could make an appointment.

Coryn was able to make an early evening appointment a couple of days later and Norm was very excited to be included in the outing as no one was available to stay with him. He asked me for two days every hour or so what time his appointment was. Coryn arrived after work to take us out to the Loch Lloyd Country Club. A uniformed guard appeared from the gate lodge to check us in and we drove up the beautifully landscaped winding road through the golf course and gorgeous homes to a very grandiose club house with a slew of young men parked out front on golf carts who rode up to see if we needed any help as soon as Coryn exited the car. Whilst they were engaged in conversation with her, I struggled unnoticed to get the wheelchair out of the trunk and Norm into it. Once I had Coryn's attention I remarked that our Ford Focus was probably the first to grace the club's parking lot.

We enjoyed a tour of the gorgeous club house and terraces with Coryn pointing out the spot in which she and Jeremy will be married - which I apparently will be draping with cascading fabric, presumably to compliment the waterfall( which may drown out her string trio). I surmised that standing on the edge of a precipice with only a tree and step ladder to work with might be challenging for someone of my age but Coryn assured me that I will not allow a small problem like that to deter me from fulfilling her dreams. The key phrase seems to be Mother I need you to......... Her brothers may have to build another garden arbor for me to work with – too bad we cemented the one they built me for Mother's Day into my backyard. Of course I am sure that Coryn will require something on a much grander scale. She has already decided that the clubs chairs are not suitable and is planning on either using chair covers or renting chairs that meet her expectations. Personally I thought the upholstered chairs were perfectly adequate but looks are everything to your sister. I remarked that she certainly was picky for someone who formerly dismissed weddings as unnecessary , expensive extravaganzas. She declared that since having a big wedding was very important to Jeremy she was going to embrace his wishes wholeheartedly- which means that Jeremy is definitely going to have to sell his Corvette to finance the wedding that Coryn now envisions.

We left this beautiful spot to meet Jeremy at another Country Club which neither of them had seen. It was not nearly as impressive. In order to make the facility handicap accessible this country club had installed a very primitive elevator, which could only be intended for in home use in my opinion. It was a metal cage only about three feet tall, that opened on two sides for entering and exiting. They had a worker stand by as I pushed Norm aboard in his wheelchair – it was a very close fit so I decided to leave him to ride the elevator alone. The worker urged me to get back on assuring me I could fit too. I wedged myself in behind the wheelchair's handlebars and held on for dear life as we slowly rose up the shaft - the elevator's working mechanism was so loud that you would have thought we were being rocket propelled to the moon instead of one floor up. I was grateful to see Coryn (who had greatly enjoyed the whole procedure) and Jeremy waiting for us and begged them to get us off the contraption as quickly as possible. I was amazed that this experience( after all the activity of getting in and out of the wheelchair and into the car a few times) didn't cause your dad to have a seizure. I dreaded the return trip and hoped this wouldn't be the chosen place for the wedding.

It was a fairly nice place but it did not compare to Lock Lloyd and that evening Coryn and Jeremy decided to commit to having their wedding there.

Sean was out in LA on a work assignment with Cerner last week so he stayed with Marc for a few days and this week Bryn is out there. I'm still waiting for Marc to send me my plane ticket.

Ming- Jon called to let me know that he had survived the shake rattle and roll of the earthquake that rumbled Washington DC recently. Fortunately I had not heard the news so I didn't get myself all shook up about it. I was very surprised to learn that earthquakes could occur in the East. Then he was threatened with the hurricane which fortunately didn't affect him despite the dire forecasts.

Leslee has just celebrated her 29^th birthday -the age I was when I became pregnant with her – my sixth child. She and Craig will have the pleasure of mine and Coryn's visit next month to shop for the bridal gown. I was expecting to be shopping for patio furniture and plants for Leslee and Craig until Coryn's engagement nudged those plans aside.

Ming-Lee is arriving on Sunday night to spend Labor Day with us. I'm sure we will be able to enjoy a barbecue on the deck as the weather is forecast to be in the seventies instead of the hundreds like it is today.

Becky, Sherry and Evelyn are planning to visit in the middle of the month so that will motivate me to scurry around the house cleaning and bed washing ! Hopefully it will help whittle away a few pounds too – Coryn has made it very clear that a slimmer Mother-of-the -Bride would be her preference. I may just tell her to hire a skinny double who can do double duty on all the wedding chores too.

Norm has been spending too much time at KUMed again. He has been having so many seizures and falls and worse he came down with another urinary tract infection. Fortunately he told me about it this time before it reached the level of the previous one. I took him to the doctor's immediately to get him on an antibiotic so that we hopefully wouldn't end up in the ER with a catheter again. For awhile he lost his appetite and Coryn suggested I try Ensure, an excellent suggestion. I am pleased to say that although he is sleeping most of the time and barely able to walk from one room to another without a seizure or fall he is eating more. Last night he fell in our closet and managed to catch his Tee shirt sleeve on the door knob with enough force to rip a hole in it. It took me a while to free his arm once I figured out how it was hanging there! I am hoping that his new seizure medicine will be more effective once it builds up in his system.

Time for me to enjoy a couple of scoops of frozen yogurt and think about the gourmet supper I shall tempt your dad's appetite with tonight. Too bad it's too hot to use the oven or stove. I guess we'll have to have salad again. Your dad will have a plate of potato chips with a lettuce leaf on the side. He has really taken his cardiologist's advice to eat a high salt diet to heart! Apparently it's one of the few things that helps with his autonomic nervous system dysfunction. I thought it would be bad for his chronic renal failure but his kidney function has actually improved!

Love to you all, your thinking thin but not eating thin yet Mother. Too bad I have to buy those potato chips and chocolate candies for your dad's health.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 68 AUGUST 2011

Dear Readers,

Jeremy has put a ring on it : Coryn's ring finger is now beautifully adorned with the promise of their future together. Kudos to Jeremy for asking both Norm and I for our permission just days before he proposed to Coryn. Remember when Craig only asked Norm because he didn't think I could keep a secret – guess who's going to be my new favorite son-in-law. Better come through with my TV show fast Craig!

I spent Saturday night cradling my phone expecting Coryn to call with the exciting news from seven O'clock on . She and Jeremy were spending the weekend at his aunt and uncles vacation home in the Lake of the Ozarks and we knew that Jeremy planned to propose on Saturday night. The phone never rang.

Sunday morning Coryn finally called and I expected her to immediately blurt out the great news but no she just said that they were heading back and asked how everything was going with us. I immediately switched the focus back to her and Jeremy, asking what they had been doing – nothing much, eating out, hanging out and out on the boat. She informs me that I am acting weird, asking so many questions and hangs up the phone claiming that they are loading up the car to leave! I was now on the outs.

Once off the phone I assailed Norm with several scenario's that might explain why Jeremy failed to propose. Maybe Coryn was in one of her moods and he came to his senses, maybe the opportunity to ask never arose, maybe he forgot the ring. I fretted for a few minutes and decided to call Jeremy. But before I did your devilish sister called back to save your dad from my endless conjectures about what might have happened. Jeremy had proposed but not until about 11.30 on Saturday night! I'm surprised his bride to be was still awake – I gather it took some cajoling on his part to entreat Coryn to join him outside on a garden swing: a spot he was sentimentally attached to as they had become serious about their relationship there a long time ago.

For a girl who always claimed that she would never have a big wedding, always threatening to elope, if she ever were to even marry - Coryn has certainly embraced tradition . Within hours of becoming engaged she was calling Leslee to ask her to be her Matron (Whoops) Maid of Honor, planning to shop for her wedding dress in Orlando and thinking about floral arrangements, themes and colors. I was dispatched to find Bridal magazines and reminded every time I voiced one of my brilliant ideas that it was her wedding and not mine!

The last few weeks have not be so good for your dad. He is awake less and less, having a great deal of trouble moving from room to room and his appetite is finally diminishing. It is difficult to know whether this is due to his cancer treatment, new seizure medication or the progression of his illnesses. Knowing that Coryn has someone to take care of her has definitely buoyed his spirits. Just think boys you might be able to give your dad a new lease on life if you could all find that someone special as soon as possible!

You might remember from my last newsletter that Coryn and I were planning to explore the thrift stores on Wornall but unfortunately that trip had to be postponed as Erseline couldn't stay with Norm that day so we had to put it on hold till the following week.

So on a very hot and sunny Friday morning we headed off to shop for a used rocking chair that I could transform into something acceptable for our front porch that Norm would also enjoy using. I was so glad that Coryn was driving as Wornall is under construction – one lane only with nearly all the exits and entrances into it's businesses torn up too. It was quite a challenge to figure out how to reach some of them. We ended up on a steep gravel incline at one point that I know my Ford Focus would not have been able to negotiate. We searched an antique store where the price for a rocking chair was higher than a brand new one, and I was on a twenty five dollar budget! Our third thrift store had one of about the right size and in very good condition – no price so we asked and after a quick conference between the workers they suggested twenty dollars. A real bargain. They were probably desperate to make a sale as I am sure the road construction and lack of sidewalks must be having a very negative effect on sales. I suggested driving back to the antique store to show the owner that one could purchase an equally as antique rocking chair just down the road for about one hundred and forty dollars less. I can't believe anyone would be dumb enough to pay his prices. As I always say there are no antiques in this country unless they came from another country! What Americans call antique the English call Grandma's junk.

After our successful purchase we headed to the Plaza for lunch and shopped for cheese at a specialty store that Sean and Bryn had highly recommended. I did find some English Stilton and Cheddar but no Caerphilly or Cheshire cheeses. Since it was so hot we couldn't leave the cheese in the car while we shopped for the rest of the afternoon so I suggested leaving it at Sean's condo in his fridge. There was no evidence in the Condo of my recent cleaning spree. Cardboard boxes were piled everywhere – Sean later explained that he was saving them for a friend who's moving – dirty dishes filled the sink and counter tops and mail was strewn across every table and available chair. Coryn and I cleared a space to sit and eyed the mess. Josh and Sean desperately need some neat freak girlfriends. We left the depressing sight and headed to the newly opened Trader Joe's store. I was very excited about the prospect of stocking up on cheap wine. It seemed that most of Kansas City was too as the store was filled to bursting with shoppers and the check out lines were longer that any I have ever seen, snaking through the store. Coryn was ready to retreat as soon we walked in but I questioned her sense of adventure and dove into the hoards blocking access to the grocery shelves .By the time we reached the wine I realized that the food prices were not insanely cheap as the advertising and popular view suggest. I looked at the check out lanes and decided that even cheap wine wasn't worth hours of standing in line. O f course if I'd had a bottle opener in my purse I might have been able to sample a sip from a bottle or two and made the wait more palatable.

The rocking chair is waiting in the garage for it's transformation which won't take place until I can take the heat. It was one hundred and eleven degrees one day. This has been the summer of triple digit heat and killing humidity. Every night on the news another body succumbs. My garden is toasted, many plants burnt brown, others gasping for water. I spend hours watering every day but the ground is baked brick hard. We have had so little rain.

Ming and Lori have invited me to visit them next month so I can spend some time with them and my grandchildren and in October Coryn and I will probably be flying off to Orlando to shop for a wedding dress . She was very impressed with the selection at the store where Leslee found her dress and doubts she'll do better here.

Bryn went to a two day rock fest here in Kansas City this weekend, he spent Friday night here because as always our house is so conveniently situated. He came through the door at midnight while I was deep into my book and wine glass – I was surprised to see him so early but his group had decided to leave Eminem to beat the traffic. I doubt they missed much. Saturday evening Coryn and Jeremy showed up and I was most anxious to take a picture of them posing with the ring for this blog but they had just returned it to the jewelers to be re-sized. Unfortunately they had to drive to Oklahoma City on Sunday for a funeral on Monday. Jeremy's twenty five year old cousin died of heart disease leaving a wife and baby behind. Just a couple of years ago they had attended his wedding.

Josh and Sean came over with their laundry on Sunday just on the cusp of lunchtime so I had to throw something together, fortunately I had some little smokies, eggs and muffins. And of course because there were so many loads of laundry to do they were still here at dinnertime! I ran to the grocery store while they were here with Norm.

One of the most exciting things- as I'm sure most of you know- is that my football savvy has finally been recognized: I am now in the Lowe Family Fantasy Football League. I can guarantee that Remsburg will not usurp me. I am on the web 24/7 picking my team. I'm going for the best tight end and offensive tackle with Matt Casel as my quarterback. I may be too busy with my laptop on game day to fix those gourmet meals you have all come to expect. We may have to rotate between our Kansas City abodes. Do you think we should get some kind of team logo shirts?

Bryn just came over for lunch,he scrambled four eggs with salsa, ate a handful of cherries and strawberries and berated me for having no peanuts or pistachios. I offered walnuts or pecans from my baking supplies but was rejected. He is on a protein diet with vegetables and fruits. Good thing he rejected my linguine with Alfredo sauce, peppers clams and tomatoes(last nights dinner) as Norm decided to have some for lunch and then as soon as Bryn left Coryn arrived and expected lunch too. Good thing your dad's appetite has diminished in this instance, leaving enough linguine and sauce for her too. I honestly feel like I'm running a restaurant here some-days. I hope no-one shows up for dinner today as I serving flounder which is not an elastic meal that can be stretched to accommodate more mouths.

Love to you all, your soon to be Mother of the Bride again who's hoping for a smaller dress size by May of next year when the wedding will hopefully be.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 67 JULY 2011

Dear Readers,

Friday, June 10^th dawned stormy and rainy. Not the best conditions for my road trip to Fort Madison so I delayed my start until the rain lessened around mid morning. I left Bryn with Norm and pulled onto 435 East only to find myself stuck in traffic for fifteen minutes because of an accident. I fumed behind the wheel : was I ever going to reach Iowa​? Finally I was speeding and for the first time in the three years that we have lived in Kansas I was able to use my cruise control! The drive was most enjoyable – in fact I didn't even stop for gas or the bathroom! Once I merged onto I 35 there was hardly a drop of rain and I was soon crossing Missouri on I 36 to I 61. The only road construction en route was in Fort Madison due to the bypass.

Driving past the hospital I noticed it had expanded again and on Bluff road I saw the new senior living development. The rest of the scenery was just as I remembered. The old Aquinas High School building looked very worn as did much of the town as I drove around over the next few days. I arrived in front of Becky's familiar home and took in all the improvements she had made to her front yard with retaining walls, fencing and landscaping. Her house is definitely the belle of the block – probably several! Becky's landscape was not the only thing that had undergone a transformation, she herself had lost a lot of weight. Now she is going to be in better shape than me for our impending old age and all the places and things that we want to explore.

We had dinner at Alpha's which was very nice and then we headed to HyVee for some groceries and I didn't see any one that I knew there! Once home we had more cups of tea and a look through some English garden magazines that I had brought for Becky to enjoy. Soon we were planning which ones we would see when we make our 65^th Birthday trip to England. Then our delightful evening was some what disrupted when we spied ants under our feet and on the kitchen counters. Becky and I grabbed paper towels and squished as many as we could whilst I urged her to get a can of Raid out to annihilate them. Becky didn't have such a thing. She preferred a more organic approach and started sprinkling black pepper everywhere. I thought red might have been better as it was almost impossible for me to tell the difference between the pepper granules and the ants with my eye sight. Becky assured me that the pepper would deter the ants from entering the house. I was skeptical and not surprised when I saw a column of ants climbing up her pristine white lace curtains the following evening. Becky said she would consider a trip to Kempkers for a can of Raid!

Saturday morning we decided to stroll down avenue G, so that I could see what was happening in my old down town. Unfortunately many of the buildings were empty, including my old store. Some of them had nice window displays and had been painted in attractive color schemes but the lack of traffic – hardly a car or shopper in sight was a grime reminder of how hard it is to run a business in a small town. I thought of all the years I had struggled to keep my business open - years that would probably have been more productively spent at home with my children . Yes Marc, I know that was your advice from the start of my working days!

We stopped at the Book Mark to visit with Bonnie Howard which was so very pleasant as always and then we were off to lunch at The Ivy to see Sue. Becky insisted that I was to be her guest but she was trumped by Sue who insisted on my being her guest .Sue was as warm and gracious as ever, beaming her beautiful smile, and lunch was as delicious as I remembered. It was there that I finally saw some people I knew - one of our old neighbors from Avenue D and Sue's daughter, Emily, and family.

Saturday afternoon I visited Myrna for a couple of hours and saw that she had her living room furniture recovered in the same plaid and floral print that I have on my beds in my English Country Garden room. I didn't mention that I had bought my bedspreads at Walmart!

Later I headed back to Becky's to change for Sarah Wenke's wedding reception. Once squeezed into my bright and bold short floral dress I drove down to the Comfort Inn anxious to see Evelyn and family and the Aschbrenners. So much construction was going on around the hotel due to the bypass that I had trouble figuring out how to get in the parking lot weaving around endless orange construction cones before I headed onto the shoulder and probably illegally entered the parking lot.

Evelyn was once again a stunning Mother of the Bride and Sarah a beautiful bride. I enjoyed meeting John and Emily Wenke's two little boys, seeing Rachel and Anna and of course sitting with Sherry and Rocky Aschbrenner who were about the only people I knew at the wedding aside from Sarah Rashid and her husband. As usual I had to confess that I am still the Mother of five very eligible bachelor sons, the mother of one daughter on the cusp of becoming a common-in-law wife if she and Jeremy ever manage to sell one of their properties so that they can live together and still only a grandmother of three. I could feel their sympathy for my plight. People always question how I can have five well educated, handsome unattached sons when there are so many desperate to be a couple single women. I wish I knew the answer.

They had a delicious Italian style buffet which reminded me of Leslee and Craig's wedding. Once the dancing started I decided to head back to Becky's. We thought an evening stroll would be a pleasant and for me much needed activity as I had spent most of the day sitting and eating! Becky was anxious to strut her stuff to show me that she had decided to walk my talk of the need to be able to walk a few miles every day at a good trot once we get to England. We took Ellie with us which resulted in Becky adding weight training as the aged miniature dachshund could only totter a couple of blocks and had to be carried all the way to Central Park and back. The sidewalks along most of our route were in dire need of repair - I kept my eyes down to avoid tripping. To think I now live in a neighborhood where the sidewalks are fixed immediately. They even seem to fix perfectly good roads here. Pot holes are definitely not tolerated!

Once back at Becky's we retired to the family room with a bottle of wine until past midnight. Ellie spent the night in my lap where she had been much of the time since I arrived loving the attention. Poor Becky was exhausted the next day as she usually is in bed by nine and up by four!She claims my visit took her days to recover from – too bad as I so enjoyed my time there that I have invited myself back!I had a such a relaxing time in her claw foot tub that even has a rain shower. We have such a shallow tub in our bathroom - I can hardly even wet my belly button.

Sunday morning I was greeted with homemade scones and coffee! Becky was just the best hostess, I'm thinking that we ought to run a Bed and Breakfast together. She could handle the morning hours with hearty breakfasts and I'd take the evening shift – the wine and cheese bit.

On Sunday afternoon I visited Bonnie and Gary Niehaus who have recently done a lot of work on their house. Their new living room furniture would look great in my family room – good job you can't fit much in a Ford Focus. They are redoing the kitchen cabinets so I was more than happy to give them my opinion! Gary had baked an apple pie in honor of my visit so any hopes I had of undoing yesterday's caloric overdose were stymied.

Later in the afternoon I headed up to Mike and Mary's where I was spending Sunday night. Mary had called me at Bonnie’s to see what time I was planning on being at her house as she was running to the grocery store. She, Elizabeth and the kids had only just returned from Kansas City that morning. They had been there because the movers were packing and loading Elizabeth and Brent’s worldly possessions for their move to Fort Madison. I has questioned if this was the best time for me to visit earlier in the planning but Mary thought it would work out expecting to be home a day earlier than she was. When I arrived at the Brockmans no one was home so I let myself in and was almost knocked to the floor by Dewey and Teddy who were wild with delight to have someone to cover from head to toe with doggy licks. Obviously they are not guard dog material. I was rescued by a very apologetic Mary with Mia in tow. Soon it was tea time and we sat at the table with Mia making us beautiful butterfly necklaces from a kit I had bought for her. After tea we headed to Elizabeth’s so I could see her really neat new house and all the work they have done. They have spectacular views of the city and the river and a large garden to enjoy. Hopefully Elizabeth will be much happier there then she ever was in Kansas City. Personally I much prefer life in Kansas with all the wonderful amenities.

We all returned to Mary's for dinner while Drew and Mia kept us entertained. Drew was fractious and Mary plonked him on the kitchen counter piled with kitchen paraphernalia which proved irresistible to Drew. It wasn't long before he hurled a crock pot lid to the floor where it promptly split in two. I thought to myself better the lid than his head. I had questioned the wisdom of sitting him up there in the first place but Mary said she did it all the time. Somehow amidst all the chaos Mary produced a delicious dinner which we walked off later on Country Club Lane with Mia in the stroller. Afterwards we settled into the family room babysitting the kids while Elizabeth went back to her house to do some things before the movers arrived the next morning. She and the kids had been living with her parents for sometime and I could tell that Mike was very happy that they would soon be moving into their own home!

Mike and Mary had just had a whirlpool bath installed in their guest room and were most anxious that I should give it a whirl. I thought I'd do this before my drive home but on Monday morning I awoke to Mike telling us that the septic system wasn't working so we weren't to use the water or flush the toilets. You can imagine the effect on my bowels as I religiously empty them within half an hour of rising every morning. Mary suggested we should go to Elizabeth's but I knew I couldn't hold it long enough so they had to contend with my stinking up a bathroom. Thank goodness Mike had made a pot of coffee before it happened as we all know I don't function without it first thing in the morning. I decided that with all the chaos of Elizabeth’s move and their septic system breakdown that the best thing I could do was to leave as soon as possible. I was back in Kansas to relieve Coryn who was staying with Norm, early that afternoon. Norm had a wonderful break from me too as the kids fed him bags of fast food and junk that I usually ban from the house.

As you all know I have been trying to interest Coryn in the domestic arts for sometime and only lately has she begun to show some tepid interest in cooking but things really heated up this week when she was summoned to one of her principal's kitchens. Throughout the school year this principal, Sherri, had decided that Coryn's remedial cooking skills needed to be improved and she insisted on tutoring her this summer in her own kitchen. Frankly I expected Coryn to develop attention deficit disorder as soon as the lesson began but Sherri whipped her into shape and had her making Beef Strogonoff, baked salmon stuffed with spinach and mascarpone cheese and for dessert Coryn made the Ivy Bake Shoppe's recipe for chocolate mint brownies,but substituted almond flavoring for the mint.

The following day she arrived at our house as proud as any kindergartner showing off their school work but instead of sticking it on the fridge she put it in the fridge so that we could enjoy the fruits of her labor for lunch. I was most impressed that her principal had succeeded in keeping Coryn in her kitchen for several hours. She walks out of mine as soon as I offer to show her how to make something and I know she rarely uses hers! Of course all of Coryn's co-workers have daubed her “teacher's pet”. Apparently Sherri has never invited any of them to a one on one tutorial.

July 4^th was celebrated with a barbeque, largely put together by Costco courtesy of Sean's shopping skills. He purchased steaks which Norm marinated before the boys put them on the grill, baked beans, cole slaw and a bleu cheese and bacon potato salad. For desert he selected apple turnovers which were quickly turned over to Norm's tum and a pineapple upside down cake. Two gigantic bags of chips, a delicious herb cream cheese and crackers were offered for snacks! It was the best holiday of the year from my perspective as I didn't have to cook anything but Bryn's must have mashed potatoes and that was a Costco box mix!The boys and I played some family games and fizzled on the sofas by suppertime.

Coryn was in Chicago with Jeremy for the holiday visiting Amber Scott and Julie Bigler who's mother just died in a freak boating accident. Such a tragedy.

Ming-Lee and Blake were recently in Orlando, staying with Leslee and Craig so that they could witness history watching the last launch of a space shuttle. The whole family will be returning there later this month to visit the Harry Potter World attraction.

Ming-Jon is playing a lot of tennis and has tickets to see U2 and Paul McCartney in concert this summer. Kay will soon be heading to China for a semester of study.

Leslee and Craig are close friends with the son and daughter-in-law of Jeff Ashton, one of the lead prosecutors in the Casey Anthony trial. Craig was also covering the verdict for Fox News. Frankly I would have convicted her just on the grounds that any normal mother of a two year old would be frantically calling 911 within seconds of realizing that their child was missing and if it were an accidental death why would you hide the fact and toss your child away like garbage? Common sense seems to be missing from our justice system.

Norm is very tired and more mentally confused again since he has had to undergo the Lupron shots for his prostate cancer and adjusting to a new seizure medication has not been helpful either. The epileptologist said Norm is having seizure activity in his brain without physical manifestations and that he thinks many of the spells are caused by the failure of his autonomic nervous system. He and one of your dad's cardiologists are thinking about trying yet another medication. Frankly I don't think anything can be done to improve the situation and I wonder if the quality of his life might be improved by taking less rather than more medications. His appetite is still voracious and most of the time he is in good spirits. He likes the lady Coryn found to stay with him on Fridays so that I can spend a few hours out of the house.

I had to take your dad to the hospital a couple of days ago and Coryn volunteered to make us dinner that night – her cooking class seems to have made a lasting impression. I offered to help but she waved me away, banging my pots and pans around with authority to produce a delicious made from scratch shrimp scampi with fresh tomatoes and mushrooms over a bed of linguine. Her father declared it better than anything at the Olive Garden. She even had dinner rolls -which she forgot about and I never expected. For desert she had made a coconut crème pie even toasting the coconut. Unfortunately she had decided to add a layer of chocolate to her pie which set rock hard, almost needing a jack hammer to get it out of the pie pan! We couldn't get a fork through it so we had to hold it our hands and bite through it. I prayed for your dad's dentures. It was extremely messy to eat this way but very tasty. Jeremy must be thrilled to find himself sitting down to real meals in Coryn's kitchen after a couple of years of eating out or picking up fast food.

One recent Friday while Erseline, the lady who sits with Norm on Fridays was here I spent some time with Coryn's neighbor, Doris, who is from Germany and has lived here a long time like me. We drove to Lawrence for lunch at one of her favorite places, Wheatfields Bakery Cafe. Lunch was delicious and I allowed myself to be tempted by a loaf of freshly baked bread. Then we explored the British grocery shop and the world market. I found a family favorite - Crunchie Bars and couldn't believe the exorbitant price but bought a few and some biscuits and tea. Unfortunately it was so hot that we couldn't muster the energy to walk up and down the old fashioned shopping street which reminds Doris of Germany. She came to lunch again recently and kept us all entertained with her amusing stories about her neighborhood. Coryn is so lucky to have her for a neighbor and I count her as one of my new friends.

I am finding it increasingly difficult to care for my garden these days – not only because of the daily escalating heat and humidity but due to the demands of my neighbors. I am constantly being asked for landscape advice – both Dalton and Steve have ripped out their boring green bushes and replaced them with more colorful plants and flowers. Charlene is always interested in any new plants I add to the garden and Jack approaches the fence almost daily with the words “Megan, I have a question for you”.

Unfortunately though he never acts on any of my advice so his garden is a bare plot of weedy grass, with a broken down play structure that I am trying to convince him could be turned into a vine covered arbor with little effort. He always assures me that next week he will get it done but of course it never happens.

Tomorrow Coryn and I are going to leave Norm with Erseline and explore the thrift stores on Wornall – she's looking for bargains to revamp her school offices and I am hoping to find anything I can turn into something, to enhance my home or garden. It might be slow going though as the street is under construction and walking in this heat would be a death sentence.

I will soon be out in my garden wilting in the heat like my flowers, dragging heavy hoses around in my daily attempt to revive them. I water myself as well as the garden but nothing helps one stay cool for long outside. Unfortunately the chiggers adore me and despite using insect repellant and an Off fan I still have to shower and slather myself in anti-itch cream every day -sometimes twice.

Your always red hot mama with love.

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 66 MAY 2011

THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 66 MAY 2011

Dear Readers,

As predicted the boys stretched the installation of my new bathroom floor from my birthday to Mother's Day, when Josh installed the tack strip between the hall carpet and bathroom tile. They did a beautiful job and I am thrilled with the new look. I fully expected this to be a combo birthday/ Mother's Day Gift. However, when I mentioned to Sean that I was considering purchasing a garden arbor he immediately suggested that it would be a great Mother's Day gift from my kids: so thanks to all of you who contributed whether in labor or dollars!I expected the boys to pick up a pre- made one but they decided to design and construct the arbor themselves. I was convinced that this would probably be finished in time for Christmas but to my amazement Josh and Sean put the whole thing together on Mother's Day. Bryn arrived with a post hole digger a couple of weekends later and he and Josh cemented it in place. Eventually I plan to stain it to match the deck.

For Mother's Day my metro kids put together a wonderful barbecue lunch that we were able to enjoy on the deck – they all made numerous side dishes too and Coryn actually made baked beans from scratch and they were really good! I think she might be a late blooming cook like Julia Child - remember that woman didn't start cooking until she was menopausal. The kids bought one of my favorite desserts: ice cream cake. There was plenty left over, clogging up the freezer as your dad put it- so he decided to clog up his arteries as he consumed slice after slice to free up the freezer.!

After lunch the boys began work on the arbor. Coryn had arranged for me to be safely out of their way at the Spa for part of the afternoon – then she and Jeremy took me for a walk around the Arboretum and to a large lawn and garden center so that I could shop for some more plants for my garden – Norm's present to me.

I am writing this portion of the newsletter in your dad's hospital room at KUMed. When doing inpatient video monitoring for seizure activity they require a family member or friend to be with the patient 24/7. It's definitely a great help to have so many children available whether it be through their physical presence or calls of support. Marc flew in on Monday morning to spend the first couple of nights with Norm and they seemed to be great roomies. Norm's snoring didn't bother Marc and Norm was oblivious to Marc's nocturnal bathroom visits. Since your dad didn't get admitted until 7:30 pm that Monday Coryn and Norm picked Marc up and enjoyed lunch together at a Cracker Barrel. I elected to stay home and plant a clematis to grow up my new arbor.

On Tuesday I arrived at the hospital late in the morning and since they were still attaching electrodes to your dad's scalp Marc and I decided to eat lunch across the street from the hospital at some place called Jazzy's – recommended by Bryn. I should have known it would be a dive. It has a New Orleans flavor to the food and décor – post Katrina. I could smell the musty dankness of a building with a water problem and lighting so dim that you couldn't see the water stains that I suspected were all over the floors and walls. But the food was pretty good, although I had to take most of it to go and it went straight to Norm when we got back to the hospital as his lunch hadn't arrived and he was starving!The most special thing about our lunch though was that Marc insisted on paying!

Wednesday morning was very wet and overcast and by the time I was ready to head to the hospital we were under a tornado warning. I tried to call the hospital on both my land line and cell phone but neither worked. I grabbed my purse and headed to the basement where I watched the tornadoes blowing ever closer to me on the big screen TV. Your dad actually managed to call me , advising that I stay home and not to come to the hospital as everyone was being evacuated to the basement. I could only imagine the chaos for the hospital staff having to move all those patients and visitors. Of course many of the patients were probably hooked up to huge pieces of medical equipment like your dad. Once the tornado passed over my neighborhood I decided to follow it up I35 to the hospital and found myself trapped in torrential rain, actually hydro- planeing for a moment. I arrived at the hospital at about the same time Norm was returned to his room. Actually Marc seemed far more upset about the experience of being crammed into a basement area with strangers than your dad. He declared it horrid.

One great side effect of all the morning's excitement was that it seemingly primed your dad for an Oscar worthy performance for his small screen video debut. A technician had your dad stand by the bed and step in place and soon the physical exertion had him seizing. The technician had never seen such a performance. Soon nurses were popping in and out hoping to catch an encore. Coryn orchestrated this by arriving with a bag of fish sandwiches and french fries. Once your father was sated she had him walking the length of his twenty foot cord which kept him tethered to the equipment. He soon went into his spells which greatly intrigued his nurse who bemoaned the fact that she wouldn't be working the next day to catch another show.

Whilst this was going on I was driving Marc to the airport to catch his evening flight back to LA and on my return home I was again caught in torrential rain which made it almost impossible to see the signs for the various interstates I needed to take – and I don't see well at the best of times! Thank goodness for the voice of my GPS which guided me home. Sean had volunteered to spend the night with Norm so he took over from Coryn and stayed with him until I returned the next morning – driving through rush hour traffic so that Sean could get to work.

Norm was scheduled for a tilt test that morning – something that has already been done in the past and I frankly considered it a waste of time but for once I was wrong. A cardiologist had been called in for a consult as they noticed some problem – I explained that he had undergone cardiac testing the previous month but the results were fine. They suspected another problem which they thought might be detected by the tilt test.

When Norm was returned from the test. I asked him how it had gone and he said fine, nothing happened just as in the previous tests. Another waste of tax payers money I said to myself. Early in the afternoon a couple of cardiologists came in and asked your dad how he had done. He thought he'd done just fine but the doctors informed him that he had actually passed out during the procedure and had what they assumed was a seizure. They said his blood pressure had rapidly fallen very low whilst his heartbeat had failed to increase from its preset pacemaker rate. Norm had no recollection of having passed out. They said they were going to reset his pacemaker to a higher heartbeat rate and a quicker response time if it should drop. They also decided to put him back on a beta blocker but said there was little they could do to rectify his blood pressure that swings from extreme highs to extreme lows very rapidly upon any exertion. They recommended a wheelchair and helmet to guard against falls. They also recommended having your dad sleep virtually upright and eating a high salt diet – the later eagerly embraced by Norm of course. The rest of the ideas were not as appealing although he does of course use his wheelchair most of the time now when out of the house and does wear a helmet when he drives the lawn mower around the yard but that activity is probably no longer advisable.

The technicians that came later in the day to reset his pacemaker were the same ones that had performed his test earlier and they were very surprised that he had no recollection of some of the events. They seemed to find the situation very intriguing too.

Coryn arrived with Chinese take out for supper, hoping that a subsequent walk would result in Act Two for the camera , which it did. Josh came by after work for awhile too and Bryn spent the night as he had Friday off work. Sean drove to the airport to pick up Leslee while I drove home to enjoy some peace and quiet with the cats. The kids arrived back at the house at about eight thirty starving for supper so I quickly whipped them up some cheese omelets. Grocery shopping was not something I had time for! Leslee and I washed our hair that night to save time in the morning – figuring we could sleep in until rush hour was over since Bryn didn't have to leave for work.

Friday found Norm very excited to see Leslee who can always be counted on to keep things lively..She and Bryn escaped for awhile to have lunch together at some new Mexican restaurant while your dad I ordered room service. As always your dad spent a lot of his hospital stay studying the menu and trying to order cookies for breakfast – he was denied! Late in the afternoon we learned that the doctors had captured enough episodes and were going to discharge him on Saturday morning. They have diagnosed him with Dysautonomia which basically means that his autonomic nervous system is no longer working properly and thus causing many of his problems. Unfortunatelt there is no cure, We will learn more about the seizures in a few weeks when they have had time to study the video and brain waves.

Josh picked up food for Norm and Leslee that night while I drove home hoping for a good nights sleep before your dad returned. I picked him up early Saturday morning and Leslee was thrilled not to have to spend another night in the hospital on a small sofa bed. She too was able to induce seizure activity in your dad for the camera so the neurologists must have plenty of footage to analyze.

Unfortunately your dad seems to be having more not less episodes since the changes have been made to his pacemaker and medications so hopefully the doctors will be able to adjust things again when we see them in a few weeks. We were back at KUMed yesterday for a follow up at the Alzheimer clinic and blood work in preparation for his trip to the urologist for his prostate cancer next week.

I will be enjoying a break for a few days as I head back to Fort Madison for a long weekend June 10^th. Evelyn Wenke's daughter Sarah is being married so I want to be there for that and it will be a great chance to hopefully see many of my friends. I’m going to stay with my friend Becky Clay for a couple of nights and then I'll spend Sunday night with Mary and Mike Brockman. I shall get to see Elizabeth and Brent's new house and my beloved Mia and Drew. Lunch at The Ivy too I hope!

In other family news Claudia recently made her First Communion, Ming Jon made his first trip to London and your dad attended his first social event held by Brits International. This was just before he was hospitalized. Unfortunately I had suggested a picnic at a previous meeting and the idea was eagerly acted upon by our group leader but for some inexplicable and definitely not in true blue blood fashion he decided to have the picnic at the crack of dawn on a Sunday morning that barely made into the fifties. We were all huddled in our winter coats and blankets and not a cup of tea to warm us! I can see I need to be more involved – as you know children Mother is never reticent to assume a leadership role!

Just think this time next week I shall be streaking my way to Iowa in my trusty Ford Focus, burning rubber and cranking up Adam Lambert! Don't you wish you could make the road trip with your Mother?

Love, your on the road again Mom.