LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 62 JANUARY 2011


Dear Readers

Bryn and I collaborated on cooking our Thanksgiving Turkey this year and after much clucking over various cooking methods we decided to stuff it with lemons and put it in a roasting bag. Once the turkey was rinsed, seasoned and oiled it was declared ready to be bagged. I hefted its great slippery weight into the roasting bag held open by Bryn. “Don’t drop it Mother” he warned. I thought he meant on the floor so I carefully dropped the turkey into the bag: its weight caused the bottom of the bag to burst and my turkey was on the kitchen floor! Thank goodness I had swiffered it the day before. I grabbed that bird off the floor (within the five second rule) and stuffed it into a spare roasting bag assuring Bryn that once cooked the turkey would be germ free. Of course Bryn kept repeating that I had done the very thing he had warned me against but it never occurred to me that he meant that I should not drop the turkey in the bag! Actually I think the fall helped tenderize the bird as every one around the table declared it to be moist and delicious! However I decided against tenderizing our Christmas turkey on the kitchen floor and didn’t use a roasting bag either!

December was ushered in by the arrival of Ethan. He was immediately volunteered as my Santa’s elf to help with the transformation of our home into a Currier and Ives Christmas card. After three days of hefting storage bins and boxes from the basement our home was wrapped in lights, greenery, ribbon and Christmas baubles. Ethan did luck out on stringing the outdoor icicle lights as Sean and I had tackled that chore the weekend before. However, we decided to go all out and deck the deck to give the drivers on Quivera some holiday cheer. Unfortunately I caused myself some embarrassment when I looked out the window one night and saw all the lights and declared we had a traffic jam on the street! The kids were amused that I couldn’t seemingly tell the difference between car headlights and Christmas lights but in my defense I didn’t have my glasses on.

Ming-Jon and Ming-Lee arrived the weekend of the tenth. Ming-Lee had a FedEx flight into Des Moines with a three day layover so he decided to rent a car and drive down. Ming Jon co-coordinated a visit that weekend too so that he could spend time with some of the family as his new job and Kay’s plans to be in Singapore meant he’d have to forgo Christmas with us. We enjoyed some family games and Oklahoma Joe’s Barbecue on Saturday evening. Football Sunday we feasted on Chinese cuisine as I slaved over a hot stove preparing rice, wontons and egg rolls. I even made a batch of the Oreo Balls, so that the Mings could try the new mint variety. Sean won 1st place at his company’s cook off in best dessert category with them - I now have a cute apron to show for my efforts but it hasn’t raised my enthusiasm for making them one iota. Ming-Jon relaxed at home with us while Ming-Lee spent most of his time at the boys Condo helping Sean and Josh install new kitchen countertops which look very nice, especially with their new stainless steel farm sink and upgraded faucet. Now they need a back splash to complete the renovation. Maybe we’ll be ready to concentrate on my place next!

Marc arrived on the 21st so Ethan and I went to pick him up. Unfortunately there was a major traffic backup on the route I usually take so I had to veer off course by a few miles to get on another interstate Thank goodness for my GPS system from Ming and Lori!. We arrived about twenty minutes later than planned to find Marc patiently waiting curbside at the terminal. Ethan had used my cell to let Marc know that we were going to be late but I don’t think Marc could understand a word of Ethan’s message due to his thick North English accent!

However, this trip was a breeze in comparison to the one endured by Coryn and Ethan to return Marc to the airport. As you may recall Marc had thoughtlessly booked a 6:00am flight – knowing full well that this was not going to be a family friendly time to drive to the airport. He had high hopes that one of his brothers would volunteer as he claimed that he had made a pre dawn trip to the airport with them out in LA. I told him to plan on taking a cab. The day before he left Coryn took pity on him and volunteered to take him. Ethan immediately offered to get up at four in the morning so that she would have some company on the way back. That’s a Brit for you, always ready to be of service! Unfortunately I’ve lived too long in this country to have any sense of duty before 10:00 am.

I did force myself out of bed in the middle of the night to hug Marc goodbye and returned to it as soon as he left. I wiggled myself back into my warm mattress, pulled up the covers, closed my eyes and prepared to settle in for the rest of the night. I was on the brink of sleep when I heard a thunderous noise and immediately thought your dad was having one of his spells. But no, he was slumbering peacefully (for once). Then I remembered it was New Year’s Eve and thought that some-one might be celebrating a little early .When lights began to flash across the room I realized that we were having a winter thunderstorm. I immediately went into worried mother mode and thought of my children driving on the interstate, blinded by rain and lightening flashes. Sleep was no longer possible. I wondered if I should risk calling them to ask if the weather was as bad up towards the airport but decided against that idea in case answering my call put them at risk. As always when fast forwarding through various dire scenarios that feature my children my bowels bore witness to my imaginings. In an effort to calm myself and my turbulent tummy I sat on the potty, deep breathing, watching the pelting rain, the lightening and thrashing tree tops through the small bathroom window. I went back to bed .While I was having a nervous breakdown on my side of the bed, your dad –as always- was oblivious to the drama being played out beside him. Then before I dared to dream it Coryn and Ethan pulled up in our driveway, their headlights shinning in my bedroom window. I was surprised that I didn’t hear the garage door open so I got up to investigate. Turned out that the rain had frozen on Coryn’s car and iced the doors shut! Ethan feared for his life the whole way home because he had never experienced such strange weather. After having harrowing experiences on both trips to the airport to accommodate Marc’s travel plans I hope he decides to rent a car next trip! At least he will have a better sized suitcase with which to travel which brings me to another Marc story.

A couple of days before he was due to leave Marc announced that he didn’t think that all his Christmas presents plus some items, like a business suit which he had left behind on his last visit, were going to fit into his small suitcase. This suitcase appears to be the size of a carry on but apparently it’s not according to the airlines so he always has to pay to check it anyway. I immediately suggested that he buy a huge suitcase which would accommodate everything of his that I would like to get out of my closets –pointing out that it was going to cost him the same amount to check a bag irregardless of its size and this would also alleviate me of the chore of having to mail numerous items to him. He was concerned that he would have to leave his smaller suitcase behind. I pointed out that this suitcase was really of no use – too big for a carry on and too small to hold much- suitable for car trips only. Seeing that Marc was attached to this wretched bag I suggested that he could probably pack it and then pack into the bigger suitcase. This idea finally appealed to him and so he and Coryn shopped for a very large and much more practical bag.


Christmas was very special this year as Ethan experienced his first American Christmas: I’m sure he missed the usual English Christmas Pudding and Sherry Trifle but he seemed to enjoy our traditional American meal. We certainly enjoyed all the delicious ‘sweets’ he brought over from England, especially the all time favorite Crunchie Bars of which Coryn always eat more than her share!

Josh, Bryn and Sean were in the spirit this Christmas making a couple of trips to Costco to stock up on holiday fare; pies for desserts, boxes of hors d’oeuvres, popcorn and chips. They even prepared our Christmas Eve feast! Coryn contributed her made from scratch cheeseball which your dad almost consumed by himself! He sat for hours at the kitchen table dabbing it on crackers, declaring it delicious with every bite. I think he was worried that Coryn’s feelings would be hurt if it wasn’t consumed in it’s entirety that night! For days afterwards he would open the fridge door to see if a morsel remained despite my assurances that he had eaten every last dab of it! I dread to think what it did to his arteries - never mind his digestive tract.

Leslee and Craig made beef stew one night during their stay - I was stewing all day about the five hours of oven time it took to cook! I could hear my electric meter running. Hard to imagine that they had perfected this recipe in hot and humid Orlando!

Sean made his family favorite ‘Seanchillada’s’ for lunch on football Sunday following Christmas Day. They were Leslee’s special request and send off meal as she and Craig
returned to Orlando late that afternoon.

Not to be out done by all these culinary achievements of her siblings Coryn invited Norm, Ethan, Marc, and me to lunch one day in an effort to show that she is finally learning to put a meal on the table. She made a very nice salad, and floated tortellini in French onion soup. Norm ate with gusto, praising her efforts as if she were the next Julia Child. We also got to ‘admire’ the Christmas decorations with which she and Jeremy had decked their hall. It was a sort of traditional meets pastel theme which probably should not be repeated next year. I think they need to start afresh – I’m planning on volunteering my help as always.

The only glitch we had this holiday season occurred when no-one seemed motivated to return Craig and Leslee to the airport: thankfully Bryn rallied to the chore. Next year I think we need to make a roster of flight schedules and have everyone sign up in advance for a pick up or drop off. I am always happy to do it as long as it’s during daylight hours, but not rush hour or hazardous driving conditions.

The chimney woes which I documented in my last newsletter were fixed in time for us to enjoy a blazing fire for the holidays! Jeremy generously delivered a truck load of firewood to us from his uncle’s property so we were ready to roar. Coryn and Leslee sat by the fire one evening assembling S’mores, another American first for Ethan. We Brits are more familiar with toasting crumpets around the fire! The fireplace added great ambience and warmth to our holiday but it also caused a great stink in the house, which seemed to rise up the upstairs family room chimney only to only to descend down the downstairs family room chimney, despite the fact that the damper was shut. I am hoping that it’s the newly parged smoke chamber that’s to blame and that after a few fires the problem will be resolved.

Ming-Lee, Lori, Blake and Claudia spent the week before Christmas on the coast in Alabama at a friend’s vacation home, returning to Indy on Christmas Eve whilst Ming-Jon celebrated the day at home with Kay who left for Singapore on the 26th to visit her maternal grandma.

Josh arrived New Year’s Eve with a bottle of Champagne. For the second year in a row he spent the night on the couch with his mom waiting to see whether Dick Clark or the ball would drop first. Along with Ethan we passed the evening playing cards and toasting in the New Year. Bryn spent the night on his own couch, alone, as his friends who were planning on celebrating with him didn’t make the trip from Iowa, probably due to the weather. Coryn and Jeremy spent the night with friends in his small town of Clinton, Missouri and Sean celebrated on the Plaza. Since most of the family seemed to have a rather low key celebration I have decided to ramp things up next year by throwing my own New Years Eve bash, complete with a signature cocktail, and spectacular food. I might even rent a Karaoke machine! I’m going to start hunting through the sale racks at the mall for a festive little dress to do justice to my booty! So next year you might all want to plan your holiday travel around this event! Bring your friends and rock my house!

I am absolutely thrilled with the brand new lap top so thoughtfully given to us by our children for Christmas this year. I immediately returned the old laptop to your dad and installed the new one on my desk in the kitchen. Once I get Microsoft word or something similar installed my fingers will be flying over the keys bringing you the newsletter from the heart of the house rather than the bowels of it as before when using Norm’s office computer.

I can hear you all squealing with delight at the thought of having more of mother’s missives shoved down your throats! Something to look forward to in the New Year besides my unsolicited advice and commentaries on football Sundays!

I wish all my readers a happy and healthy 2011, love as always Mom.