THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER VOLUME 147 September 2022 

Dear Readers, 

The highlight of July was Lori and Clauia’s visit for several days. Shortly before their arrival Lori texted me to explain that she and Claudia were on the intermittent fasting diet: eating only between 11:30 am and 7:00pm so they no longer ate breakfast. Therefore I should not bake any breakfast breads, coffee cakes or purchase donuts to ensure a good start to the day. This was not good news for my sweet tooth as I only indulge in unhealthy but delicious sugary baked goods when I have guests - otherwise I eat a small carton of yogurt. I was concerned that acceptable lunch and dinner menus might be a cup of vegetables and a small portion of lean protein but Lori assured me that they were eating whatever they wanted when not fasting. 

While I stretched out on the couch with my coffee and yogurt watching the morning news, Lori and Claudia would each sip a cup of tea and head out into an already hot and humid day for a brisk early morning walk. I marveled at their ability to exercise on an empty stomach. I can barely summon the energy to get out of bed on an empty stomach! I was still trying to muster enough energy to get off the coach and get dressed for the day when they returned, all hot and sweaty and ready to shower. 

Coryn invited us to a delicious lunch at her house one day and arranged a special event for us: candle making at a store in downtown Lees Summit. Josh decided to join us, perhaps thinking that he would enjoy the candle making process but ended up being assigned to stay with Owen while Ava Claire elected to go with the rest of us. He might have enjoyed candle making but not all the stores we visited that afternoon! Exploring all the shops in the downtown area gave us a chance to cool off after cooking on the sidewalks. 

We enjoyed picking out the scents we would blend to make our candles - there was a lot of choice- I picked Lily of the Valley, Eucalyptus, and White Tea and Fig! We were all happy with our blended scents! I keep mine on my desk and take a whiff every so often to remind me of the fun we had that day! Lori insisted on buying us all an ice-cream treat at some point that afternoon and we all enjoyed being able to sit in an ice cold ice cream parlor for a while before forcing ourselves out onto the sizzling sidewalks again in one hundred plus degree weather! 

Another day Lori, Claudia and I went grocery shopping to cook dinner for us, Coryn, Ava Clare, Owen, Josh, Sean, Sarah, Emmy Lou, Liam and Lochlan at their home.! Unfortunately Kay, Richard and Alex could not join us as they had been exposed to Covid . They had tested negative but thought it prudent to wait a few days to retest before mixing with us.I think organizing a meal for twelve and being around five very active children assured that Lori and Claudia would sleep well that night! Claudia has endless patience with all her nephews and nieces who love playing with her!

Ava Claire, Emmy Lou, Owen and Lochlan on Claudia's lap

                             

Owen, Emm Lou, Ava Claire, Claudia with Lochlan and a very unhappy Liam!

Lori and Claudia graciously invited me to dinner at Bolings Chinese Restaurant so conveniently located five minutes from my house and another day they cooked crab legs - from the Hen House of course- for us. I have to say that we were eating such sumptuous food during their stay that I actually had no appetite for my usual evening snacks and didn’t eat a bite after dinner either for the duration of their stay .Unfortunately I did not lose any poundage on this regime! 

Lori’s birthday fell the day after her planned return to Indy so we hosted an early surprise birthday party for her one night and Coryn did a fabulous job of baking two gorgeous cakes that were beautifully decorated :one was chocolate and the other a lime and coconut confection which was perfect for a hot summer’s day! Jeremy was able to join us in time for dessert as he left work much earlier than usual to mark the special occasion! 

Lori blowing out her candles with an assist from Owen

     

On the day before Lori and Claudia left the Flaig family tested negative for Covid the second time and so it was deemed safe for Kay and Alex to visit! I am so glad that they were able to spend time with all the family here in Kansas City and of course to see the many changes in the youngest family members since their last visit! We are very much hoping that they and Blake will spend Christmas with us here this year! Then they can meet their newest nephew and cousin shortly after his birth! 

August was a busy month for me as Coryn returned to work three weeks ahead of her children.Ava Claire and Owen attended a day camp in Lees Summit for the first week then switched over to Grandma’s camp on the three days of the week I regularly babysit my younger grandchildren. They were a lot of help with their younger cousins who adore them. I was actually able to pull some weeds in my garden while they pushed the kids in strollers,wagons,bikes and toy cars around the cul de sac. One of my neighbors teased me about having a daycare license claiming that every time he looked out of his window he saw another car pulling into my driveway unloading kids! 

Lochlan, Liam and Owen eating a pile of goldfish together!

Grandma with Lochlan and Alec who both insist my lap belongs to them

Coryn has been reading the Harry Potter Books with her children and they are all enjoying this activity very much! Lori had a Quidditch robe that her kids had played dress up in many years ago that she gave them - it is almost permanently worn by Owen - even in 100 degree heat and humidity. Ava Claire rarely seemed to have a chance to put it on so we found a Hermione costume for her on Amazon. I have recently bought a large black wagon- that can fit three toddlers- which they turned into the train leaving for Hogwarts on platform thirteen and a half! The little kids know nothing of Harry Potter of course but are more than willing to play along! 

picking out bath bombs in his robe

Grandma trying to mainain her distance - that kid in the weird costume ha nothing to do with me !

So in love with his Harry Potter Quidditch cape is Owen that he even wore it to the Hen House one evening while we were shopping for snacks for movie night and donuts for breakfast the next day! Yes, they had a couple of sleepovers while at my camp! Grandma tolerated his refusal to remove his cape no matter the risk of heat stroke but firmly closed the chapter on loudly casting spells on my deck late at night when many of my elderly neighbors might already be sleeping. I did allow five kids to run around my house using chopsticks as imaginary wands - praying that no -one got poked in the eye.

Speaking of chopsticks Lori and Claudia gifted very cute kid friendly chopstick sets to all the kids as they know how much they love trying to use them! I often put a bowl of chopped fruit out and let them all try to grab a piece with chopsticks. Cladia actually took Ava Claire and Owen to one of our nearby Chinese grocery stores - a place I frequented a lot to fix your dad’s favorite meals! I haven’t been there in years now as the distinctive smells were never appetizing to me! Claudia is an adventurous eater like her dad and thought her cousins should be exposed to the delights of asian cuisine other than the standard restaurant fare! 

Josh has returned to Bolivia, I took him to the airport in late August wondering when he might return but of course Josh has no plans - except to leave Bolivia after a few months for Brazii He has been volunteering for a number of years now at an animal rescue park , loving his daily walk with death as he allows big cats- like a puma- to lead him into the jungle and amazingly enough in all the years he has been caring for them he has never been mistaken for prey.This year, to further add to my stress, they have forest fires to fight - Josh is on a fire team and has a water pack. This is a very scary situation for a mother to comprehend - my son could either be raw meat or burnt ends for the cats to devour. I take comfort in knowing that frugal Josh would think a free cremation and ash scattering on land he loves would be a fitting end! That he volunteers for this seems madness to those of us who lack his passion for adventure, life endangering volunteerism and being immersed in different cultures. 

With Josh away I was forced to use my do-it-yourself skills when I noticed that a couple of tiles in my shower, just above the drain pan , seemed to be pulling away from the wall. I used my finger nail and confirmed my suspicion. The tiles were loose. I watched a how to fix the problem video on Utube and headed to Lowes for tile adhesive, grout, grout sealer and caulk. It took me longer to clean all the gunk off the back of the tiles and the wall than it did to stick the tiles back on! I had to wait a day or two before grouting and decided that I would caulk over the weekend. Sean inspected my handiwork and volunteered to recaulk the entire shower for me if I would watch Emmy Lou and Liam on Sunday while he did it.. Lochlan would stay with Sarah so they could both nap! I tok Sean up on this great offer as I was only planning on replacing the caulk I had removed to fix the tiles! 

Sean showed up with the kids and lunch earlier than I had anticipated so I wasn’t even dressed for the day! A couple of hours into Sean stripping the old caulk out of my bathroom and spraying bleach in every nook and crevice in case of mold - of which I couldn't see any - Kay arrived with Alex and thus the cousins had an unexpected playdate and I got to enjoy another free meal as 

Kay insisted on picking up dinner for us that night! Sean did an excellent job and I was very grateful to him knowing how little free time he has with a demanding job and three soon to be four demanding kids! 

Some months ago the house next door to mine was sold to a young couple,Kristen and Ollie and amazingly Ollie is English, a Lodoner and Eurasian like all my children - his mother is Japanese though. Our cul de sac is very excited to finally have some new young blood in our neighborhood and I see a lot of tea parties in our future! They bought the house in February but did not move in until after their marriage in June by which time, the vacant house had beenoccupied by mice. That probably explains my issue with mice this year! Must have run out of room next door! After living in the house for a couple of weeks Kristen and Ollie left for a five week trip to Europe and this time returned to find the house infested with recluse spiders that have a life threatening bite for some people. Personally I would have thought their lifestyle better suited to a townhouse or condo as I do not think they realized how hard it is to maintain an empty house!They have also found a few big ticket repairs that need to be made to the house because they bought it without a home inspection due to the very competitive housing market putting them up against multiple buyers! However we are a close knit neighborhood so I know we will all pitch in to help! 

Kay has begun working towards her third degree - this one in educational administration as she works her way up the ladder to better pay and professional advancement.Fortunately Alex continues to be a fairly easy child who loves to play outside, especially with water! 

Lochlan’s first birthday on August 27th was cause for another family celebration as Sean and Sarah hosted a huge cookout. Both my youngest grandsons are walking now and this makes playing in the yard easier - when crawling everything goes in their mouth from grass to acorns. 

Unfortunately we have not been able to hold any of our celebrations outside this year as we have endured months of high heat and humidity with very little rain. My water bill has doubled this year as I have to water every day to keep my flower beds alive.! Climate change is definitely here. I dread the thought of having to plant a desert landscape all too soon. 

Sean remembered that I had made a Halloween costume for Calie one year when she was a character in the Sonic movie and thus felt that I could perhaps tackle one for Emy Lou who has decided she wants to be Ash in Sing 2 which requires me to make a porcupine costume! This promises to be a prickly challenge but mother will sharpen her needles, stiffen her backbone and spike her drinks for the next few weeks and create a pointedly sharp porcupine costume! Love from your sometimes prickly but always loving Moher!