THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 103 November 2015

Dear Readers,

Recently I discovered that I was laboring under the misconception that the chances of Leslee-Ann and Craig conceiving were about as great as the chances of Marc marrying. When Leslee-Ann called me shortly before Craig's visit( to film the Kansas City Royal Barbecue) to ensure that I had my air conditioning set at a temperature to chill a polar bear for him she casually announced ''I'm pregnant''. Frankly I was in talking to Leslee-Ann on the phone mode - one ear paying attention while the other searches for relief from the endless “just listen to this”; ''guess what''; “and then he/she goes''etc. Leslee-Ann questioned if I was paying attention, I assured her I was all ears, I just couldn't conceive that she and Craig had! Like her sister she waited until she was into her fourth month to announce that a little boy will be arriving in late March, early April. I had no expectations of this news so it was and is a wonderful surprise. Next month I fly to Orlando for my road trip to Savannah with Leslee-Ann where we will be meeting up with Becky to do some nursery fabric shopping. I will return for a few days over Christmas and sew as much of the nursery stuff as I can!

Craig arrived with crew member Mike a few days later. I congratulated the new daddy-to-be and dashed out to their rental van to help haul in all their luggage and equipment, most of which was too heavy for me to heft. Fortunately he had recruited two of his 'bro's' Josh and Bryn to help out for the week. Josh had arrived a few days earlier, taking up residence in my chocolate bedroom and Bryn drove into town a few hours after Craig and Mike arrived. Having promised my bed and breakfast accommodations to Craig and crew a few weeks ago I was not about to offer them anything less that my best rooms. I explained to Josh that he would have to share the twin bed room with Bryn so my guests could enjoy my queen bedrooms. To my amazement Josh was more accommodating than I had anticipated and moved rooms accordingly. However, as mentioned in previous blogs, Bryn can not seemingly sleep without a blaring television so he hauled his mattress downstairs to the basement family room and set it up in front of the television. I had to endure this for several days. Ava Claire however thought it a great thing and was soon jumping up and down on it stark naked!

Craig looked at all his equipment and asked if he could set up a charging station on my Martha Stewart dinning room table. Where would we all eat I wondered? I suggested that I setup one of my folding tables in the upstairs family room - quickly covering it with a color co-ordinated to my décor tablecloth. I pulled the sofa forward a bit and voila we had room to squeeze past the equipment table to get into the kitchen. Actually the boys only ate two dinners with me that entire week as they worked day and night sustained by endless barbecue samples. Within hours of Craig's arrival Fed Ex dropped off more boxes of equipment which soon found it's way into my dinning room. Craig set his laptop up in there and soon the table was buried in cables and equipment, including a drone! I was hoping that Craig would see the potential of capturing the beauty of my garden by buzzing it around a few times - why he could capture a drone of bees with his drone around my sedum and butterfly bushes! Alas Craig was only interested in burnt ends and brisket.

I was so excited by all the activity the venture was generating that I actually ventured to suggest that I could do the voice over for the documentary. Craig laughed.

The boys kept their energy up with Red Bull and nightly shots of some must drink brand of vodka. They made it up to Barley's one night to meet up with Josh Dinwiddie (an old schoolfriend from Aquinas ) and his wife who live close by.

A couple of my neighbors( doubtless noting all the activity going out at my house )stopped over while the boys were here and were very impressed by all the equipment and the purpose of the trip.

The guys had so much fun on this gig that Craig has decided to return next year to follow the progress of the barbecue teams he was documenting this year, presumably to give some more meat to his documentary.

Bryn rested for a day after Craig left and then took two days to drive back to Los Angeles where he has now moved into a downtown loft and acquired a job. It amazes me that my boys can take months off work and then be rehired or snapped up by another company immediately upon their return. I guess a steady work record is no longer a job requirement. My sons claim that few people have their work ethic and ability to perform but I only see them lolling on my couches contemplating ways of making money doing absolutely nothing.

A couple of weeks after he left Craig was back in Kansas City: this time covering the Royals baseball team for a play off game here in Kansas City and previously in Toronto, Canada. Recently while watching the world series game between our destined to win Royals and the sure to lose Mets, Fox broadcasting lost their main power and their back up generators failed too so the game was off the air ! I hurriedly texted Craig to make sure he wasn't working this game too – I would have hated to tell my neighbors that my son-in-law had pulled the plug on the most watched game on television that night.. Fortunately Craig was not responsible.

I have been busy sewing matching Halloween themed skirts for the three little girls in my life and a few new fall outfits for Ava Claire

. For a few weeks before Josh took his present job (he was offered two within hours of arriving back here) I was playing a game of cat and mouse with him over who had use of MY sewing room. Josh was and is still doing technical writing work for Leslee-Ann and set his computer up on MY desk in MY sewing room, pushing one of my machines aside to do so. I recall that when I painted each wall a different bold color in this room Josh declared that he couldn't even iron a shirt in there anymore so I was most surprised that he decided to set up his home office in it. Knowing that disturbing a working Josh is akin to setting off a Molotov cocktail I would creep downstairs, look in on him and decide to cut out another outfit or do some pinning on my table in the family room, then as soon as he vacated the room I would scurry in and sew a few seams. I finally mustered the courage to suggest that Josh might want to work at the kitchen desk or my dinning room table so that I wouldn't disturb him trying to sew in the same space. Josh said both areas were too high traffic for him to concentrate - with just the two of us? I offered an old door in my garage as a possible alternative desk top for his use, suggesting we cut it in half and use corbels to attach it to the wall in one of the bedrooms. Josh could not see my vision. Then he pointed out that I only had one office chair anyway. I suggested that another could be purchased but ….. Josh finally took the hint and is now using another of my bedrooms as his workspace, balancing his laptop on his knees sitting in a wicker chair.

Kay has needed more help in her classroom this year as she has twenty-nine first graders and at least eight of them have serious behavioral issues. Thankfully the school has finally found the funds to hire an aide but there have been no applicants for the position so she is having to make do with a succession of substitute aides which is probably not in many of the children's or her best interests. I have seen an improvement in many of the kids over the last couple of months, noting that they are trying to be kinder to each other and those who can do the work try to help the many that can not. I took in some crafting supplies last Friday and we decorated paper bags with foam stickers : do it yourself treat bags.. They had a great time looking through piles of stickers and then getting tons of candy to fill them! Many of the parents sent bags of candy to school although very few came to the party.

As the world knows the Kansas City Royals Baseball team won the World Series against the New York Mets four games to one.

A sea of royal blue.

Today a huge victory parade is being held in the downtown area, history in the making, celebrating our first win in thirty years. Most of the metro schools are closed so that families can attend and many workplaces are closed too! Josh has the day off and is contemplating trying to drive downtown to watch but I think he may be a few hours late in getting on the jam packed roads. I will watch on TV, probably the best view!

Ava Claire is greatly enjoying having Uncle Josh around again, she loves to invite him to tea parties in her play house – finally she has claimed it as her own – and I find it highly entertaining watching Josh contort his six foot frame through her three foot door so he can sit on a miniature stool and pretend to drink tea and eat plastic food. I explained to Ava Claire last week that since it was getting cold outside she wouldn't be able to play in her house anymore so we would be bringing it inside for her during the winter.” Okay Grandma”she said as I took it apart and reassembled it in the downstairs bar area. She carried in her stools and stove top and tea party essentials. She even helped me clean it all off and pointed out the several spiders squatting in her house that I promptly evicted. That evening she and Josh were happily playing in it so I was not prepared for her distress on her next visit to Grandma's. It was a beautiful seventy five degrees and Coryn suggested that we go out into the garden. Ava Claire immediately said she wanted to play in her house, I reminded her that it was now inside. “But I want it outside Grandma”. I reminded her of how much work it was to get it inside and let her know that Grandma was not not going to take it apart and reassemble it every time there was a change in the weather. She sat on the wall by the patio where her house had stood looking very forlorn. I thought back to the time when she wouldn't even go in it! Kids are very changeable.

I will be soon be packing for my trips to Orlando and Savannah. It will be great to spend some time with Craig and Leslee and of course to see Becky, David, Lysander and Merovy. It's great that Josh is here to take care of the house and cats for me.

Sean has resumed blogging, posting some great pictures and highly entertaining (though frequently raunchy) accounts of his European travels whilst living and working in London so you might enjoy checking it out again! I certainly have no concerns about his self esteem!

Love to you all from your so proud and happy to be a grandmother to my sixth grandchild , Mother.