THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER
VOLUME # 71 NOVEMBER 2011
Dear Children and Friends,
Friday, November 4th 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.
