THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 128 JULY 2019

Dear Readers,

Ming-Lee came for a visit in mid June and we were able to enjoy some great meals and fun family times .Sean met him at the airport around seven in the evening and bought him over to my house for a Taco supper that Sarah and I had thrown together while playing with Emmy Lou. Apart from looking ultra thin Ming is in amazing shape, still full of energy, humor and high spirits!He is no longer adhering to a strict Keto diet but is still avoiding carbs and sugars – my diet of choice! This definitely made meal planning a little easier!

It was love at first sight for Emmy Lou and her Uncle Ming-Lee! They bonded quickly and I immediately shared a picture with Lori who was in Indianapolis, suffering from a respiratory illness and the stress of worrying about infecting Ming-Lee with his weakened immune system from the cancer treatments.

Excited to have Ming in my house I was awake earlier than usual the next morning, making a pot of extra strong wake me up coffee when he asked me about the broken garbage disposal sink cover sitting on my counter. I had pulled it out but kept forgetting to pick up a replacement . Ming immediately insisted on going out to the hardware store just up the street to get one for me, taking the shortcut through my garden gate directly onto Quivera. He assured me that he needed to stretch his legs and was back in no time with a new one which fit perfectly! Love how helpful and handy some of my sons can be!

Coryn was on my doorstep bright and early to spend some time with Ming before Jeremy brought the kids over for lunch. Later that morning Emmy Lou and her parents arrived and we were shortly joined by Kay and Richard and their dog Theo! I was setting up a salad bar, with cold cuts, cheeses, breads,and a huge bowl of healthy fresh strawberries, blackberries, blue berries and raspberries! I ate a whole bowlful for once with no cream, cool whip or ice cream! I was delighted that the weather allowed us to eat on the deck as it is much easier with the kids. I just laid out a big picnic mat for them which can be hosed off, and this way they can eat and play simultaneously - Grandma has very lax rules .Once the shade afforded by my trees and umbrella wasn't keeping things comfortable outside we moved inside to play family games – a family ritual of course if you get more than four Lowes together!

Sean and family headed home to prepare for us all to join them for a cook out that evening on their patio. Later the rest of us drove up Quivera to Sean's, Owen and Ava Clare rode with Grandma so they could spend more time with Uncle Ming – listening to them bickering in the backseat probably made him happy that those years were behind him! I took up fifteen ears of corn to go with the steaks, shrimp and sides and was immediately made fun of by my children – did I think they ate like pigs?. I pointed out that since there were eleven of us it was not even enough for two each – I can easily down two ears myself but of course I hardly eat any meat. Emmy Lou had none, Owen and Ava Claire barely consumed a half each and all the adults restricted themselves to one so they could send their siblings a picture of a mountain of left over corn. I admit there was a time after all the kids left for college in rapid succession that I had trouble cutting down from cooking for ten to four !

I was somewhat surprised when Sean declared that he was going to set up the fire pit after dinner – I know he has enough fire wood from all the trees he has cut down in his yard to see any Alaskan through winter..I thought it was already pretty toasty outside but not wanting to be a wet blanket dampening my children's enthusiasm I moved my chair as far away from the fire as I could get and still be part of the group. As time went by and the logs burned down Sean made a trip to the wood pile by me (of course) and on parting the canvas cover he spied several wasps that soon flew out to see who was messing with them. Fortunately nobody got stung and Sean held of spraying their nest until we had all left!

On Sunday, after Ming Lee had attended an early church service. we headed over to the Logue's for brunch: Coryn and Jeremy went all out with eggs, bacon, pancakes, assorted muffins and fruit and best of all Irish Coffee! Ming also got the full house tour as he had not seen it before. Kay volunteered to drive him back to the airport so I headed home to bask in the memories of a great family weekend.

Time for another example of Ming-Lee's determination. During his freshman year at Aquinas it seemed that he wasn't performing as well as he could in school or at home and the difficult decision to try Missouri Military Academy was made. A lot of kids would have not have seen this as a positive opportunity to improve themselves but instead of wallowing in resentment and self pity Ming rose to all the challenges he faced and rapidly became one of the top cadets winning so many awards and promotions and of course getting his pilots license through a school scholarship program. There even came an incident for which he was punished -through no fault of his own and I immediately suggested he leave and return home (and of course I had strong words with the powers that be) but Ming decided to stick it out at the Academy. I was and am so proud of him for his decision when it would have been much easier to quit but he forged ahead and I am sure was one of the best cadets ever to graduate. That's Ming – he has the ability to set his course and fly through the face of adversity into a better place.

In late May we heard on the news that Californo's, Kay and Richards deposit secured wedding venue was closed ! Tearful brides, furious mothers and frustrated reporters tried to find out what was going on. It was several days later that the owners of the business admitted that they would not be honoring their bookings but that they did hope to refund all the deposits they had collected – obviously using these as cash flow while they hoped for a miracle to keep their doors open. Kay and Richard wasted no time in finding another location as I urged them into fast action knowing that they would be competing with every other affected couple who had booked that place. They actually came up with some great alternatives and quickly booked a new and even better location - The Kansas City Club. I was thrilled when I checked it out with Kay! They have also had to find a new caterer, and a new hotel to block off rooms within walking distance of the new venue. Kay filed a claim with her credit card to get her deposit back – thankful that she had paid with one rather than a check as who knows if and when Californo will do so. So far this has been the only major issue and it was quickly resolved!

While dealing with this crisis we forged ahead with the florist, flower girl dresses and making an appointment to have Kay's wedding dress altered by the seamstress - recommended by the bridal store. The bridal store is close to me on the Kansas side but their seamstress lives on the Missouri side, in a very sketchy neighborhood right by Kay's school! Perfect for late afternoon appointments after work. for Kay but not so great for me as I had to drive into downtown Kansas City in rush hour traffic both ways But it was worth it to meet Elsa the seamstress, a character that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

I found a parking spot right in front of Elsa's house and decided to get Kay's dress out of my car and onto the house's porch where I saw chairs that I could sit on to wait for Kay. I looked at the front door and saw numerous camera's and black boxes mounted everywhere. I couldn't even figure out which one was the door bell! Obviously this was a crime infested neighborhood! I sat but soon realized I was a sitting duck if a drive by shooter targeted me. I decided that I had a better chance of dodging bullets on my feet. Just then Kay pulled up and we both tried to figure out how to get into the place. Finally Kay pulled out her phone to let Elsa know that we were on her porch.. We entered into a large home, probably from the early nineteen hundreds and were asked to wait in a room filled with mid century furniture – in dire need of a good cleaning. Elsa excused herself explaining that she was working with another bride and under no circumstances would she rush through an appointment!

We finally made it into her sewing room about a half hour later. I squeezed Kay into her dress praying for the zipper not to break as I inched it up urging her to breathe in. I had to help her put on her shoes as she couldn't even find her feet in the huge puddle of fabric she was standing in. We had just purchased two pairs of shoes the previous weekend – a high heeled pair for the ceremony and a low heeled pair for the reception. Kay would have worn flats but Grandma made it clear that that was not an option! As Kay stood before the mirror looking absolutely beautiful Elsa entered and immediately saw a problem with the fit of the bodice – it needed to be tighter and higher set on the waist! Kay was appalled, declaring she could hardly breathe as it was and I muttered about the difficulties I had encountered zipping her into it. Elsa immediately shoved her arm down the back of Kay's dress and wiggled it around to show how much space was there that Kay was not feeling!

Elsa was wearing a bandage on the index finger of her right hand and I remarked that it must be a challenge to sew with it but she whipped the bandage off to show us her souvenir from her recent -just last week – climb up Mount Everest! A black finger that would need to be amputated at some point depending on how much the damage had spread. During the course of the fitting we learned that she was one of the lucky ones in her group of climbers and further more by our last appointment, a few weeks later. she greeted us with the news that she had been accepted for another climb up Mount Everest in 2021! And I thought my 5K was a heroic effort.

We also learned that Elsa was originally from South Africa and in addition to her sewing business she runs a hostel out of her house! On another visit she gave us the grand tour of her place and I was amazed that it had passed a building inspection as you could feel and see the sloping floors! To live in that neighborhood and welcome strange people into your home you have to be one gutsy lady!

I thought I would finish this newsletter yesterday but Coryn asked me to babysit the kids while she had lunch with a friend, Kay came over in the early afternoon to check out the twenty centerpiece glass bowls for the wedding. We decided we had better unpack each individually boxed bowl in case any were broken and we needed replacements but fortunately they were all in one piece! Sarah texted me earlier in the day to see if she and Emmy Lou could stop by on the way home to meet up at my house with Sean as they were going to a restaurant close to me for a last minute friend's birthday dinner. .I immediately offered to watch Emmy Lou so they didn't have to take her - which was a blessing as the service is so slow at the restaurant they were heading to! When I think of all the lonely old ladies who complain that their kids spend no time with them I realize how lucky I am to have so much family constantly involved in my life!

Josh will be returning from Bolivia to Orlando next week to help Leslee-Ann and Craig with Ray when she goes into labor, so excited for my newest granddaughter's arrival! Sarah, Sean and Emmy Lou flew to Maine last month for her sister Candace's surprise wedding to long time partner Eric, a small family affair aboard a yacht! Coryn and Jeremy are headed to North Carolina next week and leaving the kids with me for a few days. Kay seems to be gone almost every weekend! In October I am going out to LA with Sean and family on all expenses paid trip in exchange for babysitting while they attend Derek Sanchez's wedding - a very formal affair with no children! I am dreading the thought of spending all my free time scrubbing Marc's condo again so I don't contact some awful fungus or flesh eating disease!

I finally finished the Llama play mat and Fedexed it out to the Remsburgs along with the crib storage I made to co-ordinate. Now I just have to make a few pillows and some toys in co-ordinating fabrics to hang off a frame she bought on Etsy to put on the mat! So this weekend I will be making a cloud with raindrops, a moon, a rainbow, hearts and a flower! I hope I can deliver before she does!

I am so looking forward to having the whole family together again soon for Kay and Richard's wedding! I will be working on several projects for that in the next few weeks too! Mother will be spray painting, hot gluing, sewing, and ribbon twisting and wondering why none of my children seem to possess any of my skills! Love from your sharp as a needle Mother!