THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 57 JUNE 2010
Dear Readers,
I have been in the basement for days with my finger in the dyke trying to hold back the waters flooding in due to the endless torrential rainstorms. Just when I thought I had everything under control your father noticed a puddle on the seat of his exercise bike stored in the furnace room – well you know what my first thought was, but a quick glance down there proved me wrong so I cast my eyes upward and realized that the water was leaking around one of the pipes. I then thought that your dad had probably clogged the toilet up again so I took the plunge, held my nose and raced upstairs to find that that wasn’t the problem either. I decided to call our plumber who happened to be close by so he came over right away. While evaluating my leak he was on his cell phone with some hysterical woman whose basement was totally flooded and she was worried that her water heater was going to explode. I decided her problem was more urgent than mine and urged the plumber to leave my leak dripping in a bucket to attend to hers but he quickly diagnosed my problem as a roofing issue. Apparently the water was coming down one of my attic vents. I needed a roofer, which of course I have in Jeremy but unfortunately he’s busy taking care of roofs in Oklahoma City for the summer! Despite my new gutters, an additional downspout and grading work around the perimeter of the house we still have rain seepage. I have even added garbage bags around my plants to slow the water’s penetration into the saturated soil and have a couple of garbage cans strategically placed to capture the torrents of water that flow over my gutters – despite the gutter guards! I think we need a sump pump despite the fact that everyone says they are not needed in homes with walk out basements like ours.
Ming-Lee flew into Kansas City the second week in May. He was picked up by Josh, who promptly whisked him off to shop for the supplies needed to tile the kitchen floor they were tackling at Sean’s Condo. They spent the rest of the day tearing out the old blue kitchen carpet, old vinyl flooring and leveling the floor for tiling. Has anyone noticed the ghastly vinyl tile in my bathrooms?
Meanwhile I was at home, baby sitting Mia, preparing to see Ming and Josh at suppertime. Late in the afternoon Mia fell asleep on the deck glider – very fortuitous as I needed to start my baked potatoes, clean my green beans, marinate my pork chops and get the stuffing organized. I pushed a couple of Adirondack chairs in front of the glider so that Mia couldn’t roll off and kept an eye on her from the kitchen window. Elizabeth and Drew arrived soon after so I invited her to stay for dinner as it would be a shame to disturb Mia. As always she was more than willing to help – unlike some of my children. Ming and Josh arrived just in time for dinner, which we enjoyed el fresco and Mia slept through our entire meal. Sean arrived just as we were finishing and fortunately there was still some food left for him. I always cook extra food because I never know how many people I’ll be feeding.
Ming and Josh spent the night at our house - because of course I have the more comfortable accommodations. Ming mentioned that he was going to prepare dinner for me the following night as a belated Mother’s Day gift (thanks Lori!) The boys left the house early the next morning before I had a chance to fix breakfast for them! They wanted to get the tile down. Ming called me in the afternoon to let me know that he had a crock pot of stew stewing at Sean’s condo but that he was really stewing over the tiling and didn’t think he was going to be able to make it back for dinner as early as I might like. I told him to stick with the tiling. Josh had to go to a job interview and he was hoping that Bryn or Sean would be able to help him out after work. Roger and Lori Griswold were coming for lunch the following day so I suggested that we could save his stew for them or he and his brothers could have it for supper that night.
Since Ming-Lee thought serving his stew for lunch was an excellent idea, I offered to make a dessert. Ming thought the batch of cookies I had made would suffice saying he was sure that the health conscious Griswold’s were not into rich desserts. He had egg on his face the next day when they arrived with a boxful of treats from the Ivy! After welcoming hugs and a quick house tour we settled around the dinning room table to enjoy a salad I had thrown together and Ming’s stew. Of course we all enjoyed a taste of the Ivy for dessert and Bryn, Sean and Coryn found a few left to enjoy when they showed up to scrounge a meal at Mom’s. It reminded me of the days when Coryn use to help me at the store and we ate all the profits at the Ivy – she would pick up our lunch there and later in the afternoon she would return for a dessert. She especially loved the chocolate almond cake.
Roger and Lori were very interested in Joshua’s travels and had visited many of the same places so they enjoyed discussing their experiences. Then the topic switched to marathons, triathlons and 401k races? Norm and I could only look at each other in bewilderment as Ming, Roger and Lori discussed the pro’s and con’s of each type of event and the terrible bodily injuries they seemed to sustain as a result of this grueling exercise regime. Obviously they don’t subscribe to my view: use it and lose it. No way will I ever need a knee or hip replacement, strain a muscle, or develop a chronic condition ending in 'itis' . I am very careful to preserve my body and your father’s too – although there isn’t too much left of his to preserve.
Then came a discussion about the importance of hydration when running yourself to the finish line – in more ways than one as I see it. Frankly I never take a water bottle with me when I walk a couple of miles around the neighborhood. I pace myself to allow time to literally smell the roses and take in all the sights and scents of my neighbor’s gardens. I sometimes work up a bit of a sweat craning my neck to get a better look but I don’t need water to keep up my nosing. Lori apparently wears some contraption around her waist that holds numerous water bottles; thank goodness I retain plenty of water around my waist the natural way.
They decided to compete in another event together and Ming and Roger whipped out their gadgets and started debating events and locations and their availability to participate. Lori raced out to their car and came back with a stack of papers which she explained was her old fashioned way of keeping track of their schedules. These people seemed to be doing something, going somewhere every non-working day. I was exhausted just listening to the details. My idea of fun is pottering in the garden, bugging my kids, playing with Mia or reading a book on the deck with a glass of raspberry ice tea. In other words, not breaking a sweat. I think that despite their hectic lives and bodily injuries they decided to try to do themselves in together at some event in Illinois next month. Ming’s Lori seems to be the only sane one as I’m sure she’ll be waiting for them at the finish line, sitting in the shade, sipping lemonade and praying that Ming will not damage his knee, ankle or back again.
I do hope the Griswolds return soon though so that I can take them on the trails at the Arboretum and Corporate Woods and for a trek around all the wonderful shopping so conveniently close to our home. Perhaps they will even stay with us next time now that they have seen the charm of my themed bedrooms – they did suggest that I could run a bed and breakfast but given the fact that I don’t do anything before ten in the morning I might have trouble with the breakfast part of the deal.
The boys took care of all the grocery shopping and cooking for me for Mother’s Day and all my wonderful (for the moment) children treated me to a Cirque du Soleil performance at the Sprint Center the following weekend.Coryn and Jeremy bore the brunt of this experience as they went with us. Norm was ordered into his wheelchair by Coryn as she explained that the Sprint Center was so huge that he wouldn’t be able to walk the distance. For once he didn’t argue – unfortunately getting him into the wheelchair is very difficult these days despite the fact that he can hardly make it from one chair to another in the same room much of the time. Jeremy dropped us at the curb while he went to park the car and then we entered and were confronted with security. They waved us through the metal detector and of course your dad’s wheelchair set the alarm pealing – unbelievably we all forgot about your dad’s pacemaker! I was relieved that he lived through the performance. I think Jeremy was suffering far more, I don’t think Cirqu de Soleil was his cup of tea. Frankly we were as entertained by the experience of being in the Sprint Center as much as we were by the show. It is absolutely enormous.
Norm seemed very exhausted the following week and I began to worry that the metal detector might have short circuited his pace maker or something so I decided to check with his cardiologist. The nurse assured me with deadly certainty that if anything was wrong it would be too late to fix now! Realistically the chances of a metal detector harming a pace maker are apparently very small despite all the dire warnings. She didn’t question why his devoted wife hadn’t bothered to call for a week, being much more interested in what we had enjoyed at the Sprint Center.
Since I started this missive Josh has accepted a temporary accounting job: I am very pleased that he is back into a routine. His siblings assure me that he will probably be off on his travels again soon so my relief will be short lived.
Kay has finished her first year of college and is currently in Japan visiting family. She will be back later this month to celebrate her nineteenth birthday and will be working at a children’s cooking camp this summer. Coryn’s friend, Jodi, is staying with them this summer as she is doing some work related thing there in Washington DC.
Bryn and Sean are planning on visiting Marc in LA for the 4th July holiday, Ming-Jon is hoping to return to Fort Madison for a high school reunion and visit Ming and family in Indy, Marc may be here in July, Ming-Lee and family are planning on visiting us in August and Craig and Leslee will be in Sweden and France later this year.Coryn may be spending some time in Oklahoma City this summer with Jeremy as his uncle has sent him to help out with the business there as they are swamped with roofing work due to all the terrible tornadoes and storms in the area.
I have some exciting news children – not only is your Mother blogging but I am now on face book! Mary Brockman invited me to join so you have her to thank! Sign up today to be my friend. Your high tech, coolest of the cool Moms sending you oooo’s & xxxx’s.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 56
THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 56 MAY 2010
Dear Readers,
April was such a busy month – I was buzzing around like a bumble bee in a hive swarming with visitors every weekend! To take the sting out of all the bed changing, cooking and cleaning I drank a few extra sips of my nightly nectar.
The month began with Sean moving into his new Condo. Joshua, always quick to see a financial advantage for himself, volunteered his handyman skills to Sean in exchange for free rent. This arrangement cost me one of my spare beds because Coryn didn’t want Josh to move his bed out of her house – probably fearing that her rent check would never return.
As Sean’s self appointed interior decorator I was actually quite pleased that Josh was helping with the manual labor, thinking that I could just focus on picking out paint colors and a few accessories. Josh and Sean had other ideas. Much to my amazement I was usurped by Joshua’s transformation into a HGTV worthy decorator. He came up with the idea of a textured wall in the dinning room to cover over the numerous marks left when we removed the ghastly gold streaked mirror tile. My expertise with a toilet plunger came in handy for that task! I plunged the mirrors right off the wall! Josh used his connections at Ferguson to purchase high end oiled bronze and brushed chrome plumbing fixtures at flee market prices – much nicer than anything in our home! Then he sold Sean on a French inspired kitchen – a rich gold above the chair molding and a deep wine red below set off with white trim and cabinetry and stainless steel appliances. I was entrusted with the task of helping Sean select the colors at the paint store. Unfortunately whether due to the store lighting or a newly developed color blindness my gold pick turned out to be bright orange on Sean’s walls. The boys were not happy. I tried to sell it as a different country – more Spanish than French. Sean didn’t want to swap countries but ever frugal Josh suggested they wait to see if it looked better when dry or in different light through out the day. Fortunately they have adjusted to the bold, energetic and youthful orange and red walls after some compliments from friends.
After this near decorating disaster Norm was enlisted to help decorate the two bathroom vanities –now Norm may have studied at the Chinese School of Brushwork in New York around the time I was born and be a fairly accomplished artist but we all know Mother is the queen of faux painting- and I wasn’t even consulted! One bathroom now has Norm’s calligraphy adorning the vanity while the other has bamboo branches trailing across it. I have been demoted to cleaning and relining the kitchen cabinets.
The demands of my children are making it almost impossible to write this newsletter. Monday Coryn showed up unannounced at supper time with Ollie and Buster, we were briefly joined by Mary and Elizabeth with Mia and Drew. They were in a hurry to get home and ready themselves for their trip to Fort Madison the following day. Drew will be christened there this weekend. After a thrown together fettuccine dish Coryn and I settled in front of the big screen downstairs to watch Dancing with the Stars. Josh dropped by on Tuesday around lunchtime, then Bryn appeared after work (dinner time) as he had a soccer game in Olathe that night .Then Sean arrived as I was racing around the yard with my weed whacker trying to get the edging done before American Idol started. Sean wondered if I would help him pick out picture frames at Gordmans for your dad’s artwork that he planned to hang on his condo walls. I made it quite clear that it would have to wait until my show was over. Sean decided to have a frozen pizza for supper and watch Idol with me. Once back in the house I saw that Sean had not come alone. Three loads of laundry were sitting in my kitchen. He explained that he couldn’t possibly be expected to pay seven dollars and fifty cents at the condo laundry facilities when his Mother could do it for free and fold it all too! I hope I’ve shrunk all his T-shirts so I’ll never be asked again! At least he started his laundry while I was watching Idol.
My birthday was very memorable this year as Becky, Evelyn and Sherry drove down for the weekend. As you all know my birthday is on the 11th and Becky’s is on the 12th –to make the whole aging process more bearable we made a pact a few birthdays ago to celebrate our 65th birthday together in England! This way we almost look forward to getting there! My friends arrived in time for my lasagna supper on Friday evening and we had our first ever Martha Stewart dinning room experience without the potty humor of my absent children or a plastic milk jug on the table.
Saturday the girls were up long before me: being a thoughtful hostess I left sweet rolls by the microwave and the Folger’s can by the coffee maker the night before. I let them know there was fruit in the fridge and cereal in the pantry. It was a treat for me to wake up to a pot of ready made coffee!
Once we were all up, showered and dressed we headed to Gordman’s where we all bought something new to wear and the girls each bought some garden hooks. We checked out Steinmarts and then headed to lunch at Mimi’s Café. Sherry was thrilled as her daughter, Lacie, had raved about eating at one and wanted her mom to have the experience with her sometime. Afterwards we headed home and regrouped for a trip to the Arboretum. Unfortunately it was not as pretty as usual because so little was in bloom - hopefully the girls will be able to come down later in the season. As we are all avid gardeners we headed to Suburban Lawn and Garden – a truly huge garden center and loaded up on plants, fountain pumps and ceramic pots. Not everything fit into the trunk of my Ford Focus so the girls had to squeeze plants in besides themselves, between their feet and on their laps!
Coryn, Josh, Bryn, and Sean hosted a joint 58th birthday party for Becky and I on Saturday evening. We took advantage of the beautiful weather by eating on the deck. The kids treated us to Oklahoma Joe’s Barbecue and an ice cream birthday cake! Coryn’s friend Becky joined the party too so we had a party of ten.
Saturday night we plopped ourselves down in front of HGTV to recoup from all the day’s activities. Sunday morning found us at the Ace garden center, just a block from my house where the girls found even more plants they just had to have. There was some concern that all these plants might not fit into Becky’s PT Cruiser but she was confident that she could cram them all in - I thought they were going to need a roof rack!
Once back at the house the girls ingeniously managed to get all of their bags, shopping and plants into Becky’s car. The person in the back seat must have felt like they were in a tropical rainforest! After lunch we decided to tour Sean’s condo because it’s just off 435 on their way home. Becky followed me in her plant laden car. Unfortunately when I made a lane change on the interstate Becky couldn’t see out of her back window because her double decker shelve of foliage obscured everything! She had to rely on her passenger for clearance! I thought I’d lost her for awhile! I suggested that it might be safer to start selling the plants out of the back of the car until they sold enough to have a clear rear view.
Once in Sean’s Condo the girls were very taken with his kitchen chandelier – a ghastly metal bouquet of daises with numerous leaves and lights. Personally not my taste but I thought it would be a sensational garden accent so it is now hanging in my backyard from a tree overhanging my bistro set. They were impressed with all the space Sean has for the money. Maybe I’ll be able to convince them that Kansas City is the place to be!
The following weekend Leslee and Craig arrived- separately- but within an hour of each other as Craig flew in from Vegas where he had been working. Sean took the day off work so that he could pick them up at the airport despite the fact that Bryn and Josh were both available to do so that day! Nothing like brotherly love. As always I was hoping that Craig saw a role for me in one of his shows but he seemed much more interested in hanging out with his bro’s as he affectionately calls the Lowe boys. After losing to them playing racquet ball on his last trip he was determined to even the score by taking them on at basketball. He went down to my athletic sons –a gift they inherited from me – again. However he and Leslee did make it to the final two in a bizarre rematch using the hoop in our yard. The boys and Leslee were challenging each other to ridiculous shots – like from my wheelbarrow and the ball was landing in my plants as often as the net. I dread to think what the neighbors thought as they saw this spectacle and heard me screaming at the boys to mind my daffodils, Rose of Sharon or Viburnum. In desperation I planted myself in the middle of my flower bed in an effort to catch the ball before it landed on my beloved plants.
Once again we lucked out with the weather so on Saturday night we were able to enjoy a taco supper I set up buffet style on the deck Jeremy and Fred joined us after a day on the golf course with Coryn.On Friday and Saturday nights your dad and I enjoyed the peace of our home while the kids went out on the town.
Amber Scott flew in from Chicago the weekend of the 24th planning to visit with Coryn and help out with the preparations for Jeremy’s birthday party which was being held at his condo building’s penthouse. Elizabeth had also been helping Coryn shop for decorations earlier in the week while I took care of the kids. Thankfully Jeremy was involved with the food shopping as Coryn thought her two cheese balls would suffice for a crowd of forty! I must say everyone was most impressed to think that she had finally managed to put something edible together and she is confident that her cheese balls will become a party favorite.She did do a good job of presenting the assorted hors d’oeuvres
and even set up a chocolate fondue fountain. Elizabeth, Amber and I and of course Norm all congratulated her on her surprising hostess skills
Your dad was quite excited to be invited to this big social event and despite my fears that it might be too physically taxing for him he did really well, sitting at the bar swilling his Sprite and chatting with the young crowd who as always thought he was so cool. He even put together a co-coordinating pair of khaki jeans and a fuzzy!
Bryn picked Elizabeth up as Brent had a double header that day playing golf and attending the Royals baseball game in the evening so he was a late arrival. I was happy to see her enjoying plenty of male attention in his absence! Amber was also enjoying the attention of one of Jeremy’s single friends so maybe we’ll be seeing more of her soon! Bryn looked the part of a professional photographer in one of his artsy fashion forward outfits as he clicked away with his camera capturing all the party goers. He did a great job of putting it all together on face book.
The boys were keeping a very close watch on me as I sipped two small glasses of wine and were quite shocked when I swallowed a Jell-O shot with the younger crowd. They decided this rendered me unfit to drive and Coryn was admonished for serving their mother too much alcohol – she assured them that I drank more in my one medicinal wine glass every night. Despite her assurance and mine that I was fine to drive the boys insisted on driving us home and returning my car the next day. Norm was very grateful that the boys were so concerned about his safety and didn’t want to leave him to the mercy of me at the wheel. It seems as if our kids are doing a role reversal with us to me!
Norm and I loved seeing Amber again and enjoyed lunch with the girls in our home on Saturday and spent Sunday afternoon drinking endless cups of tea from Sean’s birthday gift to me – a flowering tea pot. The tea is sown inside a real Chinese flower that blooms when dropped into hot water .In keeping with our Asian theme we picked up Chinese food for supper and then Coryn drove Amber to the airport to catch her flight back to Chicago.
I think your dad has a food fetish. I have noticed that his salivary glands seem to have become hyperactive – about the only part of him that sees much action these days! He saw a flyer for The Macaroni Grill on the kitchen table one afternoon and strolled into the living room and asked if I liked the place. I like any place that means I don’t have to cook so I said we could try it out again sometime soon. Your dad’s response “how about now”? Since it was after 4pm I decided to indulge him and myself in a calorie laden heart challenging delicious pasta supper. Norm is definitely influenced by media advertising as every restaurant's advertisement catches his attention and merits a “that looks good, we’ll have to try it”. He has all the specials memorized but can’t remember what I said to him two minutes ago
One day he tried to get me to take him to Joe’s Crab Shack at two in the afternoon! I explained that it was too late for lunch – which we had already eaten any way and too early for supper. Your Dad was salivating and drooling all over me just thinking about a crab pot dinner. Never one to play hard to get I promised him a hot date at Joe’s that night if he would just quit rubbing his tummy and smacking his lips. I E-mailed Coryn to complain about her dad’s appetite so she decided to surprise us by showing up at the restaurant just as we were ordering. Norm just beamed with delight when she sat at our table – anybody would have thought he hadn’t seen her for months instead of days! He thought it was a wonderful surprise – I was just surprised that I hadn’t realized that Coryn would probably invite herself to eat at our expense – actually Jeremy’s as he had given your dad a gift card for Joe’s. Your dad was out on the deck this morning trying to fix one of our wooden chairs – he’s
drilling so many holes in it that I think it will turn into a sieve every time it rains! Apiece of trim has flown off my roof and my new patio door has just shattered. Your dad and I heard what sounded like a gun shot this morning – I think our neighbor’s grandson may have hit it with a pellet gun! I called Josh to return my shop vac so I can clean up and E-mailed Coryn to see if Jeremy can fix the roof problem. Maybe your dad and I should consider one of the maintenance free condos that are for sale in Sean’s complex!
Your honey of a mother needs to start buzzing around her hive again: Ming-Lee, and two of my favorite people, Lori and Roger Griswold will be here next week to experience one of my sweet lunches!
I’ll be waiting by the mailbox with my phone in hand this weekend children – lets hope Marc remembers! Love your devoted and deserving Mother.
Dear Readers,
April was such a busy month – I was buzzing around like a bumble bee in a hive swarming with visitors every weekend! To take the sting out of all the bed changing, cooking and cleaning I drank a few extra sips of my nightly nectar.
The month began with Sean moving into his new Condo. Joshua, always quick to see a financial advantage for himself, volunteered his handyman skills to Sean in exchange for free rent. This arrangement cost me one of my spare beds because Coryn didn’t want Josh to move his bed out of her house – probably fearing that her rent check would never return.
As Sean’s self appointed interior decorator I was actually quite pleased that Josh was helping with the manual labor, thinking that I could just focus on picking out paint colors and a few accessories. Josh and Sean had other ideas. Much to my amazement I was usurped by Joshua’s transformation into a HGTV worthy decorator. He came up with the idea of a textured wall in the dinning room to cover over the numerous marks left when we removed the ghastly gold streaked mirror tile. My expertise with a toilet plunger came in handy for that task! I plunged the mirrors right off the wall! Josh used his connections at Ferguson to purchase high end oiled bronze and brushed chrome plumbing fixtures at flee market prices – much nicer than anything in our home! Then he sold Sean on a French inspired kitchen – a rich gold above the chair molding and a deep wine red below set off with white trim and cabinetry and stainless steel appliances. I was entrusted with the task of helping Sean select the colors at the paint store. Unfortunately whether due to the store lighting or a newly developed color blindness my gold pick turned out to be bright orange on Sean’s walls. The boys were not happy. I tried to sell it as a different country – more Spanish than French. Sean didn’t want to swap countries but ever frugal Josh suggested they wait to see if it looked better when dry or in different light through out the day. Fortunately they have adjusted to the bold, energetic and youthful orange and red walls after some compliments from friends.
After this near decorating disaster Norm was enlisted to help decorate the two bathroom vanities –now Norm may have studied at the Chinese School of Brushwork in New York around the time I was born and be a fairly accomplished artist but we all know Mother is the queen of faux painting- and I wasn’t even consulted! One bathroom now has Norm’s calligraphy adorning the vanity while the other has bamboo branches trailing across it. I have been demoted to cleaning and relining the kitchen cabinets.
The demands of my children are making it almost impossible to write this newsletter. Monday Coryn showed up unannounced at supper time with Ollie and Buster, we were briefly joined by Mary and Elizabeth with Mia and Drew. They were in a hurry to get home and ready themselves for their trip to Fort Madison the following day. Drew will be christened there this weekend. After a thrown together fettuccine dish Coryn and I settled in front of the big screen downstairs to watch Dancing with the Stars. Josh dropped by on Tuesday around lunchtime, then Bryn appeared after work (dinner time) as he had a soccer game in Olathe that night .Then Sean arrived as I was racing around the yard with my weed whacker trying to get the edging done before American Idol started. Sean wondered if I would help him pick out picture frames at Gordmans for your dad’s artwork that he planned to hang on his condo walls. I made it quite clear that it would have to wait until my show was over. Sean decided to have a frozen pizza for supper and watch Idol with me. Once back in the house I saw that Sean had not come alone. Three loads of laundry were sitting in my kitchen. He explained that he couldn’t possibly be expected to pay seven dollars and fifty cents at the condo laundry facilities when his Mother could do it for free and fold it all too! I hope I’ve shrunk all his T-shirts so I’ll never be asked again! At least he started his laundry while I was watching Idol.
My birthday was very memorable this year as Becky, Evelyn and Sherry drove down for the weekend. As you all know my birthday is on the 11th and Becky’s is on the 12th –to make the whole aging process more bearable we made a pact a few birthdays ago to celebrate our 65th birthday together in England! This way we almost look forward to getting there! My friends arrived in time for my lasagna supper on Friday evening and we had our first ever Martha Stewart dinning room experience without the potty humor of my absent children or a plastic milk jug on the table.
Saturday the girls were up long before me: being a thoughtful hostess I left sweet rolls by the microwave and the Folger’s can by the coffee maker the night before. I let them know there was fruit in the fridge and cereal in the pantry. It was a treat for me to wake up to a pot of ready made coffee!
Once we were all up, showered and dressed we headed to Gordman’s where we all bought something new to wear and the girls each bought some garden hooks. We checked out Steinmarts and then headed to lunch at Mimi’s Café. Sherry was thrilled as her daughter, Lacie, had raved about eating at one and wanted her mom to have the experience with her sometime. Afterwards we headed home and regrouped for a trip to the Arboretum. Unfortunately it was not as pretty as usual because so little was in bloom - hopefully the girls will be able to come down later in the season. As we are all avid gardeners we headed to Suburban Lawn and Garden – a truly huge garden center and loaded up on plants, fountain pumps and ceramic pots. Not everything fit into the trunk of my Ford Focus so the girls had to squeeze plants in besides themselves, between their feet and on their laps!
Coryn, Josh, Bryn, and Sean hosted a joint 58th birthday party for Becky and I on Saturday evening. We took advantage of the beautiful weather by eating on the deck. The kids treated us to Oklahoma Joe’s Barbecue and an ice cream birthday cake! Coryn’s friend Becky joined the party too so we had a party of ten.
Saturday night we plopped ourselves down in front of HGTV to recoup from all the day’s activities. Sunday morning found us at the Ace garden center, just a block from my house where the girls found even more plants they just had to have. There was some concern that all these plants might not fit into Becky’s PT Cruiser but she was confident that she could cram them all in - I thought they were going to need a roof rack!
Once back at the house the girls ingeniously managed to get all of their bags, shopping and plants into Becky’s car. The person in the back seat must have felt like they were in a tropical rainforest! After lunch we decided to tour Sean’s condo because it’s just off 435 on their way home. Becky followed me in her plant laden car. Unfortunately when I made a lane change on the interstate Becky couldn’t see out of her back window because her double decker shelve of foliage obscured everything! She had to rely on her passenger for clearance! I thought I’d lost her for awhile! I suggested that it might be safer to start selling the plants out of the back of the car until they sold enough to have a clear rear view.
Once in Sean’s Condo the girls were very taken with his kitchen chandelier – a ghastly metal bouquet of daises with numerous leaves and lights. Personally not my taste but I thought it would be a sensational garden accent so it is now hanging in my backyard from a tree overhanging my bistro set. They were impressed with all the space Sean has for the money. Maybe I’ll be able to convince them that Kansas City is the place to be!
The following weekend Leslee and Craig arrived- separately- but within an hour of each other as Craig flew in from Vegas where he had been working. Sean took the day off work so that he could pick them up at the airport despite the fact that Bryn and Josh were both available to do so that day! Nothing like brotherly love. As always I was hoping that Craig saw a role for me in one of his shows but he seemed much more interested in hanging out with his bro’s as he affectionately calls the Lowe boys. After losing to them playing racquet ball on his last trip he was determined to even the score by taking them on at basketball. He went down to my athletic sons –a gift they inherited from me – again. However he and Leslee did make it to the final two in a bizarre rematch using the hoop in our yard. The boys and Leslee were challenging each other to ridiculous shots – like from my wheelbarrow and the ball was landing in my plants as often as the net. I dread to think what the neighbors thought as they saw this spectacle and heard me screaming at the boys to mind my daffodils, Rose of Sharon or Viburnum. In desperation I planted myself in the middle of my flower bed in an effort to catch the ball before it landed on my beloved plants.
Once again we lucked out with the weather so on Saturday night we were able to enjoy a taco supper I set up buffet style on the deck Jeremy and Fred joined us after a day on the golf course with Coryn.On Friday and Saturday nights your dad and I enjoyed the peace of our home while the kids went out on the town.
Amber Scott flew in from Chicago the weekend of the 24th planning to visit with Coryn and help out with the preparations for Jeremy’s birthday party which was being held at his condo building’s penthouse. Elizabeth had also been helping Coryn shop for decorations earlier in the week while I took care of the kids. Thankfully Jeremy was involved with the food shopping as Coryn thought her two cheese balls would suffice for a crowd of forty! I must say everyone was most impressed to think that she had finally managed to put something edible together and she is confident that her cheese balls will become a party favorite.She did do a good job of presenting the assorted hors d’oeuvres
and even set up a chocolate fondue fountain. Elizabeth, Amber and I and of course Norm all congratulated her on her surprising hostess skills
Your dad was quite excited to be invited to this big social event and despite my fears that it might be too physically taxing for him he did really well, sitting at the bar swilling his Sprite and chatting with the young crowd who as always thought he was so cool. He even put together a co-coordinating pair of khaki jeans and a fuzzy!
Bryn picked Elizabeth up as Brent had a double header that day playing golf and attending the Royals baseball game in the evening so he was a late arrival. I was happy to see her enjoying plenty of male attention in his absence! Amber was also enjoying the attention of one of Jeremy’s single friends so maybe we’ll be seeing more of her soon! Bryn looked the part of a professional photographer in one of his artsy fashion forward outfits as he clicked away with his camera capturing all the party goers. He did a great job of putting it all together on face book.
The boys were keeping a very close watch on me as I sipped two small glasses of wine and were quite shocked when I swallowed a Jell-O shot with the younger crowd. They decided this rendered me unfit to drive and Coryn was admonished for serving their mother too much alcohol – she assured them that I drank more in my one medicinal wine glass every night. Despite her assurance and mine that I was fine to drive the boys insisted on driving us home and returning my car the next day. Norm was very grateful that the boys were so concerned about his safety and didn’t want to leave him to the mercy of me at the wheel. It seems as if our kids are doing a role reversal with us to me!
Norm and I loved seeing Amber again and enjoyed lunch with the girls in our home on Saturday and spent Sunday afternoon drinking endless cups of tea from Sean’s birthday gift to me – a flowering tea pot. The tea is sown inside a real Chinese flower that blooms when dropped into hot water .In keeping with our Asian theme we picked up Chinese food for supper and then Coryn drove Amber to the airport to catch her flight back to Chicago.
I think your dad has a food fetish. I have noticed that his salivary glands seem to have become hyperactive – about the only part of him that sees much action these days! He saw a flyer for The Macaroni Grill on the kitchen table one afternoon and strolled into the living room and asked if I liked the place. I like any place that means I don’t have to cook so I said we could try it out again sometime soon. Your dad’s response “how about now”? Since it was after 4pm I decided to indulge him and myself in a calorie laden heart challenging delicious pasta supper. Norm is definitely influenced by media advertising as every restaurant's advertisement catches his attention and merits a “that looks good, we’ll have to try it”. He has all the specials memorized but can’t remember what I said to him two minutes ago
One day he tried to get me to take him to Joe’s Crab Shack at two in the afternoon! I explained that it was too late for lunch – which we had already eaten any way and too early for supper. Your Dad was salivating and drooling all over me just thinking about a crab pot dinner. Never one to play hard to get I promised him a hot date at Joe’s that night if he would just quit rubbing his tummy and smacking his lips. I E-mailed Coryn to complain about her dad’s appetite so she decided to surprise us by showing up at the restaurant just as we were ordering. Norm just beamed with delight when she sat at our table – anybody would have thought he hadn’t seen her for months instead of days! He thought it was a wonderful surprise – I was just surprised that I hadn’t realized that Coryn would probably invite herself to eat at our expense – actually Jeremy’s as he had given your dad a gift card for Joe’s. Your dad was out on the deck this morning trying to fix one of our wooden chairs – he’s
drilling so many holes in it that I think it will turn into a sieve every time it rains! Apiece of trim has flown off my roof and my new patio door has just shattered. Your dad and I heard what sounded like a gun shot this morning – I think our neighbor’s grandson may have hit it with a pellet gun! I called Josh to return my shop vac so I can clean up and E-mailed Coryn to see if Jeremy can fix the roof problem. Maybe your dad and I should consider one of the maintenance free condos that are for sale in Sean’s complex!
Your honey of a mother needs to start buzzing around her hive again: Ming-Lee, and two of my favorite people, Lori and Roger Griswold will be here next week to experience one of my sweet lunches!
I’ll be waiting by the mailbox with my phone in hand this weekend children – lets hope Marc remembers! Love your devoted and deserving Mother.
Monday, March 22, 2010
THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER : VOLUME 55
Children,
Marc woke me up at 9:30 on Saturday morning to announce that he had decided to invest his money in the depressed Los Angeles housing market. His boss had urged him to build some equity by making mortgage rather than rent payments. I have been advising Marc for years that paying out nearly $2000.00 a month on rent is like flushing money down the toilet but does Marc heed his mother’s advice – no he thinks it’s crap. Unfortunately he had called a real estate agent before me. My stomach muscles began to tighten as I heard how he had given away his uppermost price point and the size of his down payment – his sum worth! I sat on the bed, phone in hand fighting down the panic as I listened. I quickly pointed out that he should have given the real estate agent a range under his top price because they always try to get you to go above your price point and that to put down a healthy down payment might cost him his life if he found himself unemployed, foreclosed and not welcome on Mother’s couch! Marc had not thought about keeping a nest egg or investing money in one of my ventures. He was prepared to risk all for a one bedroom condo within walking distance of a beach. My bowels began churning with this rough start to my day. I plopped on the toilet to quiz Marc about where I was suppose to sleep when I came to stay with him – surely he needed a two bedroom, two bath condo. He said that would not be possible on a $300,000 budget. I suggested that he could consider locations further away from the beach; after all he likes walking and did have a bike until it was stolen. He asks how he’s suppose to get all his stuff to the beach – I suggest he can easily use a back pack – he’s not sure that his back is up to the challenge of a beach towel, a pair of flip flops, a book and a tube of sun screen. My bowels explode as I realize that Marc is putting himself before his mother yet again.
We move onto discussions about tax credits, loan approvals and the possibility of his being able to tackle a fixer upper. I quickly reminded him of the time we volunteered as a family to paint the classrooms at Aquinas East: his painting skills were so awful that you all threatened to quit unless I set him home – you thought (and probably still do so) that he was a disgrace to the family name. Then there was the time that Norm and I trusted him to oversee the contractor working on our fixer upper in Cedar Falls. The fire department had to be called out when he turned on the furnace and the brand new shutters flew away with the first gust of wind. Marc needs a turn key condo.
His agent has sent him over some listings – all at the top of his budget of course and Marc has done some searching on the net and the only place he has found that meets his criteria is a new retirement community for those fifty five or older. I immediately scream down the phone that I qualify so obviously this needs to be a mother/son venture: he can buy it in my name and live there until I decide that I want to live out my days basking in the Californian sunshine. We all know that Marc is doomed to take care of me in my old age as everyone else will make sure they are either out of the country or married by then. I urge Marc to check out Realtor. Com and head to the kitchen for my bowl of Raisin Bran which I really don’t need as Marc has done such a great job on my bowels. I call him back later in the day with a few more pointers and learn that he might be looking at properties the next day. Sunday afternoon I called him again expecting to hear all about his afternoon with the realtor only to find out that she cancelled with some lame excuse about back up offers. I told Marc he needed a new realtor. Norm thought I needed to fly out and help Marc from himself. Coryn predicted that the lemon of the real estate listings for the decade would be sold to Marc. By Sunday evening Marc had soured on the whole idea and decided it was too much pressure to find something before the tax credit deadline next month.
I have much better news about Sean’s foray into home ownership. He and Bryn took just one week end to settle on a two bedroom, two bath Condo which is just minutes from us on I435. Sean took me to his home inspection and I was very impressed with the large rooms, closet space and two out- door areas. It formerly belonged to a ninety seven year old lady so the décor is very dated but it only needs cosmetic work – something with which I shall be delighted to help. Sean and his realtor negotiated a great deal and he plans on closing at the end of this month .Sean’s purchase has made Bryn even more desperate to sell his house so that he can reverse roles and rent from Sean. The cost of living in the Condo should be less. Unfortunately for Bryn house prices have dropped in his area, and the recent serial rapist that has struck in his Waldo neighborhood is not helping to attract buyers. Unfortunately Elizabeth lives in the same neighborhood and has to deal with this threat constantly like every other female in the area. We will all be glad when he is caught.
On a happier note one of the things that we are all going to be enjoying this summer is the pool at Sean’s condo. I can just see Mia with her sunglasses on, sunbathing between Bryn and Sean! The neighbors are probably going to suspect Sean of housing illegal aliens when his siblings all show up to use the pool.
February the 17th we celebrated your dad’s 82nd birthday and our 35th wedding anniversary and we were fortunate enough to have Ming Lee here to celebrate with us. He arrived the evening before and was picked up by Josh at the airport and apparently Bryn and Sean met up with them at some bar so that Ming could have a taste of the single life again. He ended up spending the night at Coryn’s although by the time he and Josh got there she was asleep. The following morning Ming, Josh and Bryn took your dad out to lunch while I made his birthday cake. We decided to have Oklahoma Joe’s Barbeque for dinner – most unfortunate for Ming as it was Ash Wednesday and he was not able to eat meat that day. However he made a sandwich to enjoy an early morning snack on his way back home.
February 28th we celebrated Joshua’s 30th birthday – the age I was when I gave birth to Leslee-Ann, our 6th child. Josh requested a dragon for his birthday cake theme and showed me some elaborate fire breathing Chinese dragon cakes that looked like displays from the Smithsonian. I suggested that he lower his expectations to something more along he lines of Puff the Magic Dragon. Expressing his disappointment in his mother’s unwillingness to emulate the artistry of a professional cake decorator he conceded to a much simpler design.
The day before his birthday I made the cakes so that I could spend the 28th attempting to cut them into the required shapes and hopefully follow the assemblage directions. I decided to use food coloring, frosting and cool whip to turn my cake shapes into a dragon. Unfortunately Bryn and Sean arrived and stared at the computer image that I was endeavoring to copy. They looked at my cake and declared I needed another batch of frosting, chocolate cookies for the spine, marshmallows for the eyes and orange candies for the claws plus fruit roll ups for the fire breathing effect. I explained that I was going for a more sophisticated style - showing them my tubes of food coloring and my black icing for the eyes. The boys were not impressed and accused me of being too cheap to duplicate the cake that their big brother had requested. Since they were too cheap to even buy him a present they decided to compensate by heading to the store to purchase all the cookies and candies they thought the cake needed. I whipped up another batch of frosting while they were gone, tinted it a lovely shade of green and tried to frost the legs to the body, the curvy tail sections to one another and arrange the head pieces against the whole round cake I had cut in half and filed with strawberry jam and upended as the body. The boys were much happier when they saw my progress and virtually took over the decorating. Thank goodness it’s my birthday next. The stress will be on my children to produce a cake for me.
Speaking of my birthday, it will be a very special celebration this year because my friends Becky, Evelyn and Sherry will be coming down for the weekend. We will also be celebrating Becky’s birthday as she will turn the same age as me the following day! I am hoping for dry weather so we can visit the Overland Park Arboretum. Unfortunately Jeremy will be missing my big birthday event (which I am sure Norm and my children have planned) as he has to attend a bachelor party that weekend. Of course he wishes he could ditch that commitment in favor of my celebration but he can count on Norm and I to be at his birthday bash a couple of weeks later! Between these two birthday weekends Craig and Leslee-Ann will be visiting so April is going to be a very hectic month. I will be stripping beds and whipping up my usual gourmet meals!
My body is having a great deal of trouble adjusting to the time change. On Tuesday morning I was still in bed at 9:30 am when Elizabeth knocked at the door with Drew and Mia. I quickly pulled my robe on, let then in and headed for the kitchen and a cup of coffee. I was babysitting because Elizabeth had a doctor’s appointment. After Elizabeth had topped Drew up she left the kids to my care- which frankly isn’t too good at that time of the day but I quickly rallied. I propped Drew up on my bed and opened the blinds so that he could enjoy the squirrels and birds outside and pulled a bureau draw open for Mia so that she could pull everything out while I hastily squeezed into some clothes, brushed my teeth, washed my face and put my presentable face on for the day. Of course Mia loves watching the transformation and demands make-up too! Elizabeth called after her appointment and offered to get lunch so I called an order into Bolings which she picked up on her way back. We were eating at the kitchen table when Coryn arrived. She’s on Spring break this week. She declined our offer’s to share our Chinese lunch as she had actually already eaten. My children never seem to arrive at my home with a meal already in their tums.Coryn entertained Drew while we ate and then we chatted away the afternoon.
On Wednesday I drove your dad to an Endonist that we were referred to by our family dentist. I had taken your dad to have his few remaining teeth cleaned and the hygienist noticed an abscess above one of his front teeth. After an X-ray the Endonist declared that the root of the tooth appeared to be fractured, leaving no alternative but to extract the tooth – something we would need an appointment with an oral surgeon to accomplish. How I miss Chuck Holmes and our one stop dentistry experience. This will necessitate a trip to a fourth dentist to have a replacement tooth added to his upper denture. I think he is going to have full dentures very soon as he has lost two of his few remaining teeth within the year. I do remember questioning the wisdom of trying to save these teeth when it was determined that most of them needed to be removed. I bought Norm some nuts in hopes that crunching down on them will cause his tooth to fall out and then I’ll super glue it to his denture. That will keep your dad from putting our money where his mouth is!
Thursday morning I managed to stagger out of bed around 10:00am and had just eaten my bowl of raisin bran and was sipping my coffee when I heard the yelps that herald Ollie and Buster. The boys immediately jumped all over their beloved Grandma and sent my coffee sloshing over the sides of my cup. I mumbled something to Coryn about unleashing her dogs on me at the crack of dawn to which she replied “Mother, it’s practically lunchtime”. She had decided that her dad would take us out to lunch, that she and I would go to Stein Mart’s grand opening and then take a walk with the boys. I fed the boys dog treats and contemplated dressing myself for the day. Coryn headed to my bathroom and returned announcing that she was going to have to go on a diet because she had just weighed herself and was horrified to see the scale fly past her usual weight. I tried to console her by pointing out that she looked more like Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez now than say that overly skinny Sarah Jessica Parker.Coryn didn’t like the comparison. She grabbed some skin around her middle and told me that she had love handles and would need to give her gym membership a work out. I just hide mine under another layer of blubber.
Coryn returned on Friday morning to take her dad out to breakfast (I thought she was on a diet) which was fine with me as I was still in my robe again at ten in the morning – I haven’t been able to fall asleep before 1:00am all week. I wish they would stop messing with my internal clock – I’m getting too old to adjust. Of course it is no trouble for your dad as he sleeps all the time anyway. Elizabeth dropped Mia off later in the day so that she could attend a self defense class in her neighborhood which is being very pro-active in dealing with the rapist threat. Mia was spending the night and thankfully she is on my schedule so we went to bed late and both woke up at 10.00 the next morning. We had fun with our craft projects and I built a bridge out of chairs and ottomans to walk across our make-believe crocodile pond in the family room and as always Mia commanded me with “Megan, you try it” so I had to heft myself up and walk across enough times to burn lunch.
Josh, Bryn and Sean have all been in Austin, Texas attending some music festival – a twelve hour drive and at least five people in one hotel room! Apparently all the food and drink are provided by various recording companies trying to promote the acts on their labels. I would imagine that they could have built a row of Habitat for Humanity homes for that investment!
Ming-Jon has been busy playing tennis at indoor courts through the winter and is looking forward to moving his game outdoors soon. Kay is home on Spring Break this week so I shall try to phone her for some updates. I know she is searching for a summer job.
I spoke to Trevor, Angela and Ethan recently and Trev has been granted a brief reprieve at work as they are keeping his plant open at least a few months longer than originally planned. Ethan has also found a job and is still weighing his college plans. I think it may be himself that he needs to weigh as he has apparently not being sticking to his diet like his Auntie Megan.
Now I come to some very exciting news: Mother is now blogging at: www.mothersnewsletter.blogspot.com
for those of you who would prefer not to receive a hard copy of my letter. I will continue to mail my newsletter to you unless you tell me that you only want the E copy.
Love your high tech Mother whose blog is doubtless bookmarked on your P.C.’s.
Marc woke me up at 9:30 on Saturday morning to announce that he had decided to invest his money in the depressed Los Angeles housing market. His boss had urged him to build some equity by making mortgage rather than rent payments. I have been advising Marc for years that paying out nearly $2000.00 a month on rent is like flushing money down the toilet but does Marc heed his mother’s advice – no he thinks it’s crap. Unfortunately he had called a real estate agent before me. My stomach muscles began to tighten as I heard how he had given away his uppermost price point and the size of his down payment – his sum worth! I sat on the bed, phone in hand fighting down the panic as I listened. I quickly pointed out that he should have given the real estate agent a range under his top price because they always try to get you to go above your price point and that to put down a healthy down payment might cost him his life if he found himself unemployed, foreclosed and not welcome on Mother’s couch! Marc had not thought about keeping a nest egg or investing money in one of my ventures. He was prepared to risk all for a one bedroom condo within walking distance of a beach. My bowels began churning with this rough start to my day. I plopped on the toilet to quiz Marc about where I was suppose to sleep when I came to stay with him – surely he needed a two bedroom, two bath condo. He said that would not be possible on a $300,000 budget. I suggested that he could consider locations further away from the beach; after all he likes walking and did have a bike until it was stolen. He asks how he’s suppose to get all his stuff to the beach – I suggest he can easily use a back pack – he’s not sure that his back is up to the challenge of a beach towel, a pair of flip flops, a book and a tube of sun screen. My bowels explode as I realize that Marc is putting himself before his mother yet again.
We move onto discussions about tax credits, loan approvals and the possibility of his being able to tackle a fixer upper. I quickly reminded him of the time we volunteered as a family to paint the classrooms at Aquinas East: his painting skills were so awful that you all threatened to quit unless I set him home – you thought (and probably still do so) that he was a disgrace to the family name. Then there was the time that Norm and I trusted him to oversee the contractor working on our fixer upper in Cedar Falls. The fire department had to be called out when he turned on the furnace and the brand new shutters flew away with the first gust of wind. Marc needs a turn key condo.
His agent has sent him over some listings – all at the top of his budget of course and Marc has done some searching on the net and the only place he has found that meets his criteria is a new retirement community for those fifty five or older. I immediately scream down the phone that I qualify so obviously this needs to be a mother/son venture: he can buy it in my name and live there until I decide that I want to live out my days basking in the Californian sunshine. We all know that Marc is doomed to take care of me in my old age as everyone else will make sure they are either out of the country or married by then. I urge Marc to check out Realtor. Com and head to the kitchen for my bowl of Raisin Bran which I really don’t need as Marc has done such a great job on my bowels. I call him back later in the day with a few more pointers and learn that he might be looking at properties the next day. Sunday afternoon I called him again expecting to hear all about his afternoon with the realtor only to find out that she cancelled with some lame excuse about back up offers. I told Marc he needed a new realtor. Norm thought I needed to fly out and help Marc from himself. Coryn predicted that the lemon of the real estate listings for the decade would be sold to Marc. By Sunday evening Marc had soured on the whole idea and decided it was too much pressure to find something before the tax credit deadline next month.
I have much better news about Sean’s foray into home ownership. He and Bryn took just one week end to settle on a two bedroom, two bath Condo which is just minutes from us on I435. Sean took me to his home inspection and I was very impressed with the large rooms, closet space and two out- door areas. It formerly belonged to a ninety seven year old lady so the décor is very dated but it only needs cosmetic work – something with which I shall be delighted to help. Sean and his realtor negotiated a great deal and he plans on closing at the end of this month .Sean’s purchase has made Bryn even more desperate to sell his house so that he can reverse roles and rent from Sean. The cost of living in the Condo should be less. Unfortunately for Bryn house prices have dropped in his area, and the recent serial rapist that has struck in his Waldo neighborhood is not helping to attract buyers. Unfortunately Elizabeth lives in the same neighborhood and has to deal with this threat constantly like every other female in the area. We will all be glad when he is caught.
On a happier note one of the things that we are all going to be enjoying this summer is the pool at Sean’s condo. I can just see Mia with her sunglasses on, sunbathing between Bryn and Sean! The neighbors are probably going to suspect Sean of housing illegal aliens when his siblings all show up to use the pool.
February the 17th we celebrated your dad’s 82nd birthday and our 35th wedding anniversary and we were fortunate enough to have Ming Lee here to celebrate with us. He arrived the evening before and was picked up by Josh at the airport and apparently Bryn and Sean met up with them at some bar so that Ming could have a taste of the single life again. He ended up spending the night at Coryn’s although by the time he and Josh got there she was asleep. The following morning Ming, Josh and Bryn took your dad out to lunch while I made his birthday cake. We decided to have Oklahoma Joe’s Barbeque for dinner – most unfortunate for Ming as it was Ash Wednesday and he was not able to eat meat that day. However he made a sandwich to enjoy an early morning snack on his way back home.
February 28th we celebrated Joshua’s 30th birthday – the age I was when I gave birth to Leslee-Ann, our 6th child. Josh requested a dragon for his birthday cake theme and showed me some elaborate fire breathing Chinese dragon cakes that looked like displays from the Smithsonian. I suggested that he lower his expectations to something more along he lines of Puff the Magic Dragon. Expressing his disappointment in his mother’s unwillingness to emulate the artistry of a professional cake decorator he conceded to a much simpler design.
The day before his birthday I made the cakes so that I could spend the 28th attempting to cut them into the required shapes and hopefully follow the assemblage directions. I decided to use food coloring, frosting and cool whip to turn my cake shapes into a dragon. Unfortunately Bryn and Sean arrived and stared at the computer image that I was endeavoring to copy. They looked at my cake and declared I needed another batch of frosting, chocolate cookies for the spine, marshmallows for the eyes and orange candies for the claws plus fruit roll ups for the fire breathing effect. I explained that I was going for a more sophisticated style - showing them my tubes of food coloring and my black icing for the eyes. The boys were not impressed and accused me of being too cheap to duplicate the cake that their big brother had requested. Since they were too cheap to even buy him a present they decided to compensate by heading to the store to purchase all the cookies and candies they thought the cake needed. I whipped up another batch of frosting while they were gone, tinted it a lovely shade of green and tried to frost the legs to the body, the curvy tail sections to one another and arrange the head pieces against the whole round cake I had cut in half and filed with strawberry jam and upended as the body. The boys were much happier when they saw my progress and virtually took over the decorating. Thank goodness it’s my birthday next. The stress will be on my children to produce a cake for me.
Speaking of my birthday, it will be a very special celebration this year because my friends Becky, Evelyn and Sherry will be coming down for the weekend. We will also be celebrating Becky’s birthday as she will turn the same age as me the following day! I am hoping for dry weather so we can visit the Overland Park Arboretum. Unfortunately Jeremy will be missing my big birthday event (which I am sure Norm and my children have planned) as he has to attend a bachelor party that weekend. Of course he wishes he could ditch that commitment in favor of my celebration but he can count on Norm and I to be at his birthday bash a couple of weeks later! Between these two birthday weekends Craig and Leslee-Ann will be visiting so April is going to be a very hectic month. I will be stripping beds and whipping up my usual gourmet meals!
My body is having a great deal of trouble adjusting to the time change. On Tuesday morning I was still in bed at 9:30 am when Elizabeth knocked at the door with Drew and Mia. I quickly pulled my robe on, let then in and headed for the kitchen and a cup of coffee. I was babysitting because Elizabeth had a doctor’s appointment. After Elizabeth had topped Drew up she left the kids to my care- which frankly isn’t too good at that time of the day but I quickly rallied. I propped Drew up on my bed and opened the blinds so that he could enjoy the squirrels and birds outside and pulled a bureau draw open for Mia so that she could pull everything out while I hastily squeezed into some clothes, brushed my teeth, washed my face and put my presentable face on for the day. Of course Mia loves watching the transformation and demands make-up too! Elizabeth called after her appointment and offered to get lunch so I called an order into Bolings which she picked up on her way back. We were eating at the kitchen table when Coryn arrived. She’s on Spring break this week. She declined our offer’s to share our Chinese lunch as she had actually already eaten. My children never seem to arrive at my home with a meal already in their tums.Coryn entertained Drew while we ate and then we chatted away the afternoon.
On Wednesday I drove your dad to an Endonist that we were referred to by our family dentist. I had taken your dad to have his few remaining teeth cleaned and the hygienist noticed an abscess above one of his front teeth. After an X-ray the Endonist declared that the root of the tooth appeared to be fractured, leaving no alternative but to extract the tooth – something we would need an appointment with an oral surgeon to accomplish. How I miss Chuck Holmes and our one stop dentistry experience. This will necessitate a trip to a fourth dentist to have a replacement tooth added to his upper denture. I think he is going to have full dentures very soon as he has lost two of his few remaining teeth within the year. I do remember questioning the wisdom of trying to save these teeth when it was determined that most of them needed to be removed. I bought Norm some nuts in hopes that crunching down on them will cause his tooth to fall out and then I’ll super glue it to his denture. That will keep your dad from putting our money where his mouth is!
Thursday morning I managed to stagger out of bed around 10:00am and had just eaten my bowl of raisin bran and was sipping my coffee when I heard the yelps that herald Ollie and Buster. The boys immediately jumped all over their beloved Grandma and sent my coffee sloshing over the sides of my cup. I mumbled something to Coryn about unleashing her dogs on me at the crack of dawn to which she replied “Mother, it’s practically lunchtime”. She had decided that her dad would take us out to lunch, that she and I would go to Stein Mart’s grand opening and then take a walk with the boys. I fed the boys dog treats and contemplated dressing myself for the day. Coryn headed to my bathroom and returned announcing that she was going to have to go on a diet because she had just weighed herself and was horrified to see the scale fly past her usual weight. I tried to console her by pointing out that she looked more like Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez now than say that overly skinny Sarah Jessica Parker.Coryn didn’t like the comparison. She grabbed some skin around her middle and told me that she had love handles and would need to give her gym membership a work out. I just hide mine under another layer of blubber.
Coryn returned on Friday morning to take her dad out to breakfast (I thought she was on a diet) which was fine with me as I was still in my robe again at ten in the morning – I haven’t been able to fall asleep before 1:00am all week. I wish they would stop messing with my internal clock – I’m getting too old to adjust. Of course it is no trouble for your dad as he sleeps all the time anyway. Elizabeth dropped Mia off later in the day so that she could attend a self defense class in her neighborhood which is being very pro-active in dealing with the rapist threat. Mia was spending the night and thankfully she is on my schedule so we went to bed late and both woke up at 10.00 the next morning. We had fun with our craft projects and I built a bridge out of chairs and ottomans to walk across our make-believe crocodile pond in the family room and as always Mia commanded me with “Megan, you try it” so I had to heft myself up and walk across enough times to burn lunch.
Josh, Bryn and Sean have all been in Austin, Texas attending some music festival – a twelve hour drive and at least five people in one hotel room! Apparently all the food and drink are provided by various recording companies trying to promote the acts on their labels. I would imagine that they could have built a row of Habitat for Humanity homes for that investment!
Ming-Jon has been busy playing tennis at indoor courts through the winter and is looking forward to moving his game outdoors soon. Kay is home on Spring Break this week so I shall try to phone her for some updates. I know she is searching for a summer job.
I spoke to Trevor, Angela and Ethan recently and Trev has been granted a brief reprieve at work as they are keeping his plant open at least a few months longer than originally planned. Ethan has also found a job and is still weighing his college plans. I think it may be himself that he needs to weigh as he has apparently not being sticking to his diet like his Auntie Megan.
Now I come to some very exciting news: Mother is now blogging at: www.mothersnewsletter.blogspot.com
for those of you who would prefer not to receive a hard copy of my letter. I will continue to mail my newsletter to you unless you tell me that you only want the E copy.
Love your high tech Mother whose blog is doubtless bookmarked on your P.C.’s.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Lowe Family Newsletter: volume 54
Dear Children and Friends,
Mother scored a touchdown Sunday with her ‘super’ Super Bowl party. I led the charge by drafting an invitation to my children weeks ago. Unfortunately no one signed up – doubtless thinking that my party would be really ‘lame’ in comparison to all the other events they would surely be invited to attend. But by mid week Josh and Bryn were beginning to show some enthusiasm for my “party” when I mentioned that I was planning on serving some awesome free food. Coryn called on Saturday evening to say that she and Jeremy were now planning on coming and that their friends Becky and Fred were considering joining the team too – my party was growing! Sunday morning Coryn confirmed that they all would be there so I ran out to the grocery store for more chicken wings, chips and dips. Bryn and Josh had arrived hoping for lunch but I was much too busy to cater to them. I warned them not to dig into my large pan of almond brownies which I had fortunately baked the day before – I would definitely need them for my growing guest list. Coryn wondered if Brent and Elizabeth had any plans so she called to invite them too - so not wanting to drop the ball on the party of the year they decided to get in the line up too. By four o’clock on Sunday afternoon our cul de sac was filled with my guests’ cars. I was in the kitchen shuffling my bean dip, relish tray and cheese and meat platter around in the fridge as I tried to pull out my sausages and crescent rolls to make pigs in a blanket, whilst trying not to disturb my homemade coconut cream pie. I considered whipping up another pie but Josh and Bryn convinced me that we had enough desert items. Jeremy arrived with wine and beer, followed by Becky and Fred with chips and guacamole. The Woodbury’s arrived with Mia and Drew and piles of diapers.
Throwing together a party at such short notice required all my Martha Stewart like skills: I decided an informal approach would be the best so I rummaged in the storeroom for baskets of various colors and sizes in which to serve my chicken wings and pigs in a blanket. I set out color co-coordinated paper plates and napkins on the pub table in the downstairs family room so that my guests could make a quick dash for food in between plays. Coryn was rummaging in the kitchen cabinets for something and came across the Sesame Street plates that I have for Mia – she decided they were more fun than my choice. My game plan went into a down ward spiral from this point – much fun was made of my food in a basket theme, especially when I placed baby Drew in my baby basket: one of the boys asked if he was a pig in a blanket too! By then I was a basket case and left the choice of Pizza up to the kids.
Drew was a party pooper for his first super bowl, but he kept up with the big boys when it came to drinking and peeing. Mia made a play on all the guys, tackling them all evening. She climbed into laps and pulled on legs in an effort to get the guy’s attention – she won out over the game frequently enough to keep her happy .Some of the time she had to settle for girl time with Becky and Coryn.
I had called Ming and Lori before game time to see if their party was going to be on the line with mine and sure enough we had similar numbers and menus. But of course they were ardent Colt fans whilst I was definitely going for the Saints feeling their need for victory was greater because of the devastation New Orleans is still experiencing after Katrina. Ming offered me a $50.00 wager – I was willing to do $5.00 – Ming thought that too low – how I wish I had been willing to take his bet now! Never mind he’ll be here next week for a quick visit so I’m sure I’ll have a chance to collect some kind of pay off – maybe some help in the kitchen?
Unfortunately Sean missed the party because he was on his first business trip! Cerner sent him to Santa Fe, New Mexico to help implement a computer system for the nurses’ use. It’s hard to believe that my precious baby boy is old enough to be checking himself into hotels, negotiating airports and new places with out his mother!
Norm had three medical appointments last month; one with his cardiologist, another for a bone scan and blood work and the last with his Urologist regarding his prostate cancer. His PSA has been rising and it was felt three months ago that we might have to make a treatment choice if the trend continued. Fortunately the bone scan showed no sign of the cancer having spread to the bone yet and his PSA level had actually dropped so we have some more time before we need to make the decision to either resume hormone therapy, try radiation treatments or just let the disease run it’s course.
Josh came along on the last two appointments in case I needed help getting Norm from the KU Med parking lot into the hospital building. Unfortunately it was I who seemed to be most in need of help. After successfully driving us there and finding a parking space on the highest level of the parking garage as usual, I led the way to the elevator to take us down to the walkway across to the hospital. Once in the elevator I pushed the number 2 button and waited, a Spanish speaking family with two small children joined us as I pushed the button again – unfortunately I failed to realize that I needed to push the button next to the numbered circle but the pre-schooler was only too eager to show me which was the right button. You can imagine how much Josh and Norm enjoyed my humiliation! I must have used the same elevator at least a dozen times before – obviously I don’t function well at ten in the morning on only one cup of coffee.
The following week we returned at an even earlier hour of the morning so I had to deal with rush hour traffic this time. Despite arriving at the crack of dawn, we still ended up on the very top level. I made sure to push the right button in the elevator this time. After we had hustled Norm into the hospital for his X-rays we had enough time for a coffee break before his doctor’s appointment .All this rushing around gave me quite an appetite so I decided to have a cheese Danish from the display case in the cafeteria: unfortunately I didn’t realize that the pastries were behind glass so Josh and Norm were delighted when I reached to grab one and smacked my greedy hand into the glass case. Red faced. I explained that I couldn’t see the glass with out my glasses on! Josh showed no mercy and immediately pulled out his phone and started texting his siblings about Mother’s latest faux pas. Once again it seemed that I was more in need of help than Norm. After the doctor’s appointment we returned to the parking garage and I was dismayed to find that some thoughtless driver had parked so close to my car that I couldn’t open the driver’s side door. Josh climbed in the passenger seat and moved over to the driver’s side and volunteered to drive home – doubtless thinking that divine provenance had saved him from his mother at the wheel.
The very next day I had to take Norm out to the dentist in Bonner Springs because his partial dentures were broken in about three different places, doubtless because he insists on eating many items such as cashew nuts that are on the dentists list of forbidden foods. Thankfully Josh was able to take him out the next day to have them refitted after the repairs as I was baby sitting Mia.You see your dad is literally driving me nuts!
Craig bought a new snow shovel for me when he was here at Christmas because he thought the one I had was a piece of crap – which it was. Marc bought it when he lived in Iowa City and somehow it ended up in my garage just like a lot of my children’s things that still occupy space in my home. But I digress; the snow shovel has really helped with my weight loss plan as I have been repeatedly shoveling snow off the driveway, path and porch this year due to all the heavy snowfalls. So thanks again Craig and maybe I’ll soon be in good enough shape so that we can talk about developing a TV show around me as a sort of younger Martha Stewart? I heard Craig was trying to peddle an idea about well known celebrity athletes doing a cooking show – well if that doesn’t work out I’m always available. My children know I’ll do almost anything to help them out.
Ming-Jon was able to fly out of Washington DC despite the record snowfall this week. He is now in Wisconsin on a recruiting trip for the Washington Center – he’s hoping to be able to fly back tomorrow but the airport may be closed again because more snow is expected. Coryn and Jeremy are spending Valentines Day in Miami as he wants to go to the boat show there Coryn persuaded me to shorten two pairs of jeans for her to take on this trip last Sunday afternoon in the midst of all my party preparations! I have noticed that every time she goes somewhere I seem to find myself altering dresses, bikinis or pants just before the plane takes off! Every summer I offer to teach her to use a sewing machine but it doesn’t appeal to her anymore than learning how to use a stove.
Marc is now driving around LA in a BMW convertible- still with an empty passenger seat. Never mind, Mother will fly out for a spin around town with him. For years he has been blaming his ‘crappy’ cars for his inability to attract a Heather Locklear look alike. Now he has the car and the money but still no girl. I’m beginning to think he may need to start working on himself!
Next week I will be whipping up Norm’s 82nd birthday cake – I’m still debating whether or not to have him attempt to blow out eighty two candles. I might need to start looking into cut price funeral homes so I can have one on speed dial just in case! It will also be our 35th wedding anniversary – what endurance we have!
Josh, Bryn, and Sean will probably be spending Valentines Day on the couch with me with Norm snoring in the background, but at least Lori and Ming, Leslee and Craig and Coryn and Jeremy have more than just their mother’s love to keep them warm. Don’t worry Ming-Jon and Marc; I have a warm spot in my heart for you too! My heart felt love to you all, with hugs and kisses, Mom.
Mother scored a touchdown Sunday with her ‘super’ Super Bowl party. I led the charge by drafting an invitation to my children weeks ago. Unfortunately no one signed up – doubtless thinking that my party would be really ‘lame’ in comparison to all the other events they would surely be invited to attend. But by mid week Josh and Bryn were beginning to show some enthusiasm for my “party” when I mentioned that I was planning on serving some awesome free food. Coryn called on Saturday evening to say that she and Jeremy were now planning on coming and that their friends Becky and Fred were considering joining the team too – my party was growing! Sunday morning Coryn confirmed that they all would be there so I ran out to the grocery store for more chicken wings, chips and dips. Bryn and Josh had arrived hoping for lunch but I was much too busy to cater to them. I warned them not to dig into my large pan of almond brownies which I had fortunately baked the day before – I would definitely need them for my growing guest list. Coryn wondered if Brent and Elizabeth had any plans so she called to invite them too - so not wanting to drop the ball on the party of the year they decided to get in the line up too. By four o’clock on Sunday afternoon our cul de sac was filled with my guests’ cars. I was in the kitchen shuffling my bean dip, relish tray and cheese and meat platter around in the fridge as I tried to pull out my sausages and crescent rolls to make pigs in a blanket, whilst trying not to disturb my homemade coconut cream pie. I considered whipping up another pie but Josh and Bryn convinced me that we had enough desert items. Jeremy arrived with wine and beer, followed by Becky and Fred with chips and guacamole. The Woodbury’s arrived with Mia and Drew and piles of diapers.
Throwing together a party at such short notice required all my Martha Stewart like skills: I decided an informal approach would be the best so I rummaged in the storeroom for baskets of various colors and sizes in which to serve my chicken wings and pigs in a blanket. I set out color co-coordinated paper plates and napkins on the pub table in the downstairs family room so that my guests could make a quick dash for food in between plays. Coryn was rummaging in the kitchen cabinets for something and came across the Sesame Street plates that I have for Mia – she decided they were more fun than my choice. My game plan went into a down ward spiral from this point – much fun was made of my food in a basket theme, especially when I placed baby Drew in my baby basket: one of the boys asked if he was a pig in a blanket too! By then I was a basket case and left the choice of Pizza up to the kids.
Drew was a party pooper for his first super bowl, but he kept up with the big boys when it came to drinking and peeing. Mia made a play on all the guys, tackling them all evening. She climbed into laps and pulled on legs in an effort to get the guy’s attention – she won out over the game frequently enough to keep her happy .Some of the time she had to settle for girl time with Becky and Coryn.
I had called Ming and Lori before game time to see if their party was going to be on the line with mine and sure enough we had similar numbers and menus. But of course they were ardent Colt fans whilst I was definitely going for the Saints feeling their need for victory was greater because of the devastation New Orleans is still experiencing after Katrina. Ming offered me a $50.00 wager – I was willing to do $5.00 – Ming thought that too low – how I wish I had been willing to take his bet now! Never mind he’ll be here next week for a quick visit so I’m sure I’ll have a chance to collect some kind of pay off – maybe some help in the kitchen?
Unfortunately Sean missed the party because he was on his first business trip! Cerner sent him to Santa Fe, New Mexico to help implement a computer system for the nurses’ use. It’s hard to believe that my precious baby boy is old enough to be checking himself into hotels, negotiating airports and new places with out his mother!
Norm had three medical appointments last month; one with his cardiologist, another for a bone scan and blood work and the last with his Urologist regarding his prostate cancer. His PSA has been rising and it was felt three months ago that we might have to make a treatment choice if the trend continued. Fortunately the bone scan showed no sign of the cancer having spread to the bone yet and his PSA level had actually dropped so we have some more time before we need to make the decision to either resume hormone therapy, try radiation treatments or just let the disease run it’s course.
Josh came along on the last two appointments in case I needed help getting Norm from the KU Med parking lot into the hospital building. Unfortunately it was I who seemed to be most in need of help. After successfully driving us there and finding a parking space on the highest level of the parking garage as usual, I led the way to the elevator to take us down to the walkway across to the hospital. Once in the elevator I pushed the number 2 button and waited, a Spanish speaking family with two small children joined us as I pushed the button again – unfortunately I failed to realize that I needed to push the button next to the numbered circle but the pre-schooler was only too eager to show me which was the right button. You can imagine how much Josh and Norm enjoyed my humiliation! I must have used the same elevator at least a dozen times before – obviously I don’t function well at ten in the morning on only one cup of coffee.
The following week we returned at an even earlier hour of the morning so I had to deal with rush hour traffic this time. Despite arriving at the crack of dawn, we still ended up on the very top level. I made sure to push the right button in the elevator this time. After we had hustled Norm into the hospital for his X-rays we had enough time for a coffee break before his doctor’s appointment .All this rushing around gave me quite an appetite so I decided to have a cheese Danish from the display case in the cafeteria: unfortunately I didn’t realize that the pastries were behind glass so Josh and Norm were delighted when I reached to grab one and smacked my greedy hand into the glass case. Red faced. I explained that I couldn’t see the glass with out my glasses on! Josh showed no mercy and immediately pulled out his phone and started texting his siblings about Mother’s latest faux pas. Once again it seemed that I was more in need of help than Norm. After the doctor’s appointment we returned to the parking garage and I was dismayed to find that some thoughtless driver had parked so close to my car that I couldn’t open the driver’s side door. Josh climbed in the passenger seat and moved over to the driver’s side and volunteered to drive home – doubtless thinking that divine provenance had saved him from his mother at the wheel.
The very next day I had to take Norm out to the dentist in Bonner Springs because his partial dentures were broken in about three different places, doubtless because he insists on eating many items such as cashew nuts that are on the dentists list of forbidden foods. Thankfully Josh was able to take him out the next day to have them refitted after the repairs as I was baby sitting Mia.You see your dad is literally driving me nuts!
Craig bought a new snow shovel for me when he was here at Christmas because he thought the one I had was a piece of crap – which it was. Marc bought it when he lived in Iowa City and somehow it ended up in my garage just like a lot of my children’s things that still occupy space in my home. But I digress; the snow shovel has really helped with my weight loss plan as I have been repeatedly shoveling snow off the driveway, path and porch this year due to all the heavy snowfalls. So thanks again Craig and maybe I’ll soon be in good enough shape so that we can talk about developing a TV show around me as a sort of younger Martha Stewart? I heard Craig was trying to peddle an idea about well known celebrity athletes doing a cooking show – well if that doesn’t work out I’m always available. My children know I’ll do almost anything to help them out.
Ming-Jon was able to fly out of Washington DC despite the record snowfall this week. He is now in Wisconsin on a recruiting trip for the Washington Center – he’s hoping to be able to fly back tomorrow but the airport may be closed again because more snow is expected. Coryn and Jeremy are spending Valentines Day in Miami as he wants to go to the boat show there Coryn persuaded me to shorten two pairs of jeans for her to take on this trip last Sunday afternoon in the midst of all my party preparations! I have noticed that every time she goes somewhere I seem to find myself altering dresses, bikinis or pants just before the plane takes off! Every summer I offer to teach her to use a sewing machine but it doesn’t appeal to her anymore than learning how to use a stove.
Marc is now driving around LA in a BMW convertible- still with an empty passenger seat. Never mind, Mother will fly out for a spin around town with him. For years he has been blaming his ‘crappy’ cars for his inability to attract a Heather Locklear look alike. Now he has the car and the money but still no girl. I’m beginning to think he may need to start working on himself!
Next week I will be whipping up Norm’s 82nd birthday cake – I’m still debating whether or not to have him attempt to blow out eighty two candles. I might need to start looking into cut price funeral homes so I can have one on speed dial just in case! It will also be our 35th wedding anniversary – what endurance we have!
Josh, Bryn, and Sean will probably be spending Valentines Day on the couch with me with Norm snoring in the background, but at least Lori and Ming, Leslee and Craig and Coryn and Jeremy have more than just their mother’s love to keep them warm. Don’t worry Ming-Jon and Marc; I have a warm spot in my heart for you too! My heart felt love to you all, with hugs and kisses, Mom.
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