THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 74 FEBRUARY 2012
Dear Children, Family and Friends,
One Saturday morning,early in February, just before noon, Josh and Sean unexpectedly came through the kitchen door, loaded with laundry and demanding lunch. Thank goodness your dad and I had already eaten so I was happy to inform them that the kitchen was closed but of course they pulled at my heartstrings by asking what sort of mother would watch her children starve while she had a fridge and pantry full of food. As usual I opened the freezer and found something to throw in a pot, heat and serve. Lunch over, they promptly challenged me to a game of Quiddler – I lost the first game so challenged them to a second and somehow was so overly confident of wining this round that I bet my change jar and saw it change hands. Sean won my life savings.
Later in the afternoon the boys left to go shopping, giving me the good news that they would be back for supper. While they were gone Jeremy and Coryn arrived with a big box of wedding invitations to store in my basement as they have to keep their house clutter free since it's on the market. They had their first looker that day and apparently the showing went well so fingers crossed everyone. Actually the wedding invitations have presented us with our first hitch in the wedding plans – when they arrived there was a spelling mistake in the venue for their reception. Neither Coryn nor I had caught it when proof reading. Fortunately the company they had ordered them from was very kind and redid them for a minimal cost so that catastrophe has been fixed. My basement storage room looks like an event planner's, filled with candle holders, candles, vases, favors, rolls of ribbon and boxes of decorations.
Bryn appeared when Coryn and Jeremy left and so the three boys ate pizza with us and then they announced that they were going to be watching ' Fight Night' on our downstairs TV and inviting their friend Skylar to join them. I settled in on the upstairs sofa with your dad and took over his remote and commented that it was strange to think that our adult sons were still entertaining friends at our house as if they were still in high school! But of course if you find yourselves dateless every Saturday night where better could you go? At least Skylar is engaged and planning a wedding – hopefully the boys will see what a positive effect this has on him and will decide to start looking for possible wives for themselves.
Amazingly our hospitality was returned as Josh and Sean invited us to join them for lunch and a movie at their home the next day along with Bryn, Coryn and Jeremy. Norm and I arrived shortly before noon and found Sean and Josh on fire in the kitchen. Sean had two pans of “Seanchiladas ” in the oven, Josh was watching over the rice cooker and a crock-pot full of green chilli pepper chicken which was eventually served on tortillas with corn and the rice. While we waited for the entree's to cook the boys offered us chips with salsa and homemade queso. Bryn had selected “Midnight in Paris” for us to watch – set in 1920's Gay Paree – a great choice for your dad as he was there at about the same time!
The following week we basked in sixty degree weather so I was able to walk up and down the hills of our neighborhood daily in an effort to be a more svelte Mother of the Bride by May. Unfortunately by the time I have walked a couple of miles I am so ravenous that I have to devour something to sustain me as soon as I reach home.
Jeremy, his cousin Shelby, and Bryn spent a long Super Bowl weekend in Indianapolis with Ming and family. They had a great time and really appreciated being able to stay with family as hotel prices were so inflated. They all explored the activities Indy had to offer – I thought for sure that my boys would be enjoying the death defying sport of zip lining across the city but apparently there was a seven hour waiting line! So that was a needless worry for me but Josh announced that he was going to be spending his birthday in Haiti volunteering on a building project for a week so I soon had something else to worry about. I would have worried about Sean that week too as he was flying to Texas and Illinois for work but I didn't know about it until his safe return.
Norm had another Lupron shot for his prostate cancer so he has been extremely tired, confused and very unstable walking. He is determined to keep the treatments up at this point and continues to be excited about the upcoming wedding. He wants to try his Tuxedo on to make sure it fits (hopefully the adjustable waistband will extend far enough) and see if he can cram his feet into his dress shoes. That might be a challenge as he seldom wears shoes anymore, preferring to shuffle around in his slippers.
Friday afternoon I was surprised to see Coryn and even more surprised when she announced that Becky and Elena were on their way over for afternoon tea. Apparently Coryn had felt in need of a sick day and Becky only had to work a half day so the girls decided to meet at my so conveniently situated home.
Sunday Coryn and her dogs arrived before noon – I wasn't expecting anyone until late afternoon for the kick off of my Super Bowl party . She said she had to leave the house as a realtor was showing it. What was I planning for lunch? A few minutes later Josh and Sean and their laundry arrived . They also were hoping for lunch. I explained how rude it was for guests to arrive hours ahead of time expecting me to cater two gourmet meals in one day. We ordered Chinese take out for lunch and Coryn and Sean picked it up. I saved my culinary skills for my relish tray, frozen buffalo chicken wings,mozzarella sticks, breaded mushrooms and pigs in blankets served up with the Super Bowl coin toss. It was a great game, especially since the team I was rooting for won. Coryn texted Jeremy to find out where he and Shelby were sitting so that we could try to spot them on TV.
Norm celebrated his 84th birthday and our 37th wedding anniversary on February 17th. I baked a caramel cake with pecan and coconut frosting – great for his heart and teeth. Bryn picked up Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue for the birthday bash and once again it delivered a knock out. After stuffing himself until he was ready to burst your dad had another of his explosive seizures – fortunately the boys were there to pick up the pieces and carried him to the sofa where he slept it off.
Back to the wedding plans. Coryn saw a dress that she though I would like so I went with her to Mia's Bridal and tried it on and thought it perfect. I tried a couple of others just to be sure but decided to waste no more time shopping at every bridal store in the city. It's green and fits perfectly – well maybe a little breathing in is needed but I am sure my exercise program will work eventually.
Coryn's beautiful confection of a dress has arrived at Ida's bridal and as luck would have it Norm's sisters sent her a three strand pearl bracelet and a pearl necklace (which belonged to Pau Pau) that looks perfect with her dress. Unfortunately the bridesmaids are still naked. Coryn found a dress that she thought would work so Leslee ordered it. Once the dress arrived Leslee called to say that the dress was pretty but the fabric was very clingy and worse, see through - despite being double layered. I suggested to Coryn that the girls could wear sequin bikinis underneath - thus adding some sparkle and excitement to the event but of course she wasn't amused. More dresses have been ordered and I certainly hope she finds something suitable in stock and in the right sizes. Meanwhile the boys have been teasing Coryn with Tuxedo T shirts that they are threatening to wear in lieu of the more expensive rentals! She promptly informed them that the country club does not allow t-shirts -as if that would stop her brothers!
President's Day we worked on the wedding invitations since Coryn and Becky had the day off work. Baby Elena came too so we set up an assembly line in the dinning room, fueling ourselves with endless cups of tea and frequent breaks to entertain Elena. Becky attempted to address a couple of envelopes but Coryn's quest for perfection made her so nervous that she begged to be moved to knot tying. Every invitation is bound with a ribbon that has to be knotted to perfection. Coryn inspected every one and if it didn't pass it had to redone until it did! I think in four hours time we completed about twenty! Just another hundred to go.
Josh stayed with Norm that evening as Coryn and I met up with Jeremy and his Mother for dinner on the Plaza. She is very excited about the wedding too and is planning the rehearsal dinner. Unfortunately by the time we left the restaurant we were caught in a torrential downpour and I feared hydro planeing all the way home as the roads were running like rivers.
On Sunday the 26th of February we celebrated Josh's birthday a couple of days early as he was flying to Haiti on the actual day. It turned out to be a crappy day for me. Josh had emailed me a couple of recipes to try out. I dutifully whipped up a batch of cupcakes from scratch using his chosen recipe and a batch of butter cream frosting. The cake was dryer than my humor, but the frosting was more delicious than a bowl of vanilla ice cream. I dumped the lot in the trash after the kids took one bite and asked which ingredient I'd left out.I berated myself for not cheating and using a box mix. Later in the day your dad had a very smelly dump during a seizure that could have used a hazmat clean up crew instead of just me holding my nose all the way to the trash can. My day ended with Sheba coming through the kitchen door with a present for me – a dead garden vole. That crap was dumped in the trash too. I hope the bag doesn't burst on the garbage man.
My crocus bulbs are in bloom, my daffodils are on the cusp of blooming too and most of my perennials have emerged. It's almost as if we didn't have winter here – not that I mind. This would be perfect if it happened every year. One of our neighbors fled to their condo in Florida for a few months and emailed that they would have stayed here if they had known how warm it was going to stay. The soaring temperatures have bought on my spring fever and I am anxious to get my hands in the dirt, sowing seeds and planting flowers again. I am also hoping that the boys will spring into action by erecting a new backyard fence for me but they are still very much on the fence about when they might get around to it.
Love from your never on the fence, opinionated Mom.
