Yesterday’s trip south to take the copper portraits to my cousin turned into quite an adventure, at least for an elderly couple. We set off in gorgeous weather but nasty traffic and ended up at Linda’s spacious home–where she had collected all her/our family photos to show me. There were so many Grieves and an abundance of BIG HAIR. We’re known for that, especially our famous (infamous?) relative. I’m still kicking myself that Linda and I didn’t take a picture together! We were too busy chatting, laughing and sharing stories. Oh, how I wished my dad could have been with us. However, I felt bad for John who had driven me to Chehalis, just so we could eventually have dinner at the nearby McMenamin’s Olympic Club Hotel. Their mac and cheese is out of this world. Then Linda started talking about growing up in White Center, and to make a long story short, John lived in the same neighborhood! They knew many of the same people. John babysat for a family Linda was friends with, only one of the connections they discovered. They even had swimming lessons at the same lake. For the next hour or so, John and Linda reminisced while I sat quietly with my mouth hanging open. What were the odds? When we left to mosey around the downtown of Centralia, WA (fun!), and have a Happy Hour meal, the Caesar salad, red ale and mac and cheese at McMenamins completely lived up to our high expectations!
Today I went to a local park with Younger Daughter and boys. Unfortunately, there was also a church service going on near to the play area; their building was unavailable for some reason. And their young preacher(?) was LOUD and all about mean and vindictive Jesus. He yelled that if your eyes sinned, you had to pluck them out and cast them away. He added that if your hand offended God, you had to cut it off and throw it away. He sounded absolutely serious–a literal belief in the Bible. I. WAS. APPALLED. Without going into any details, a student at my university did those exact things in the bathroom of my dorm to remove “evil.” I didn’t witness the carnage but hearing about it was enough. When I saw YD talking and laughing with one of the members of the church, I was shocked; it turned out to be Ian’s physical therapist. Small world again! Ironically, the name of this place was “Hope City.” More like hopeless?
I’ve also spent time this week with Sharky and Obro who are very into puzzles. Before they put them away, they wanted a picture of their accomplishment. It’s embarrassing to admit that Sharky is way better than I am at puzzles; he’s much more spatial. But just give me some verbs to conjugate or literature to analyze, eh? 🙂
The sunny and warm spring weather is lovely for outdoor work, but the tulips are on their way out. 🙁
This bunch of what I call sunrise blooms is hanging on though.
When one type of flower dies down, others take its place. My lilies (orange to the right and Stargazer to the left) are getting huge! However, the Old Copper rhododendron that my late husband bought me long ago is looking on the verge of death. I would be crushed to lose it, but I’m no rhody whisperer. Perhaps the plant has put in its time and will force me to put a different tree in its place. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
As well as some yard work, I also got out on a walk, which was delightful, although I was a little overdressed. I like pockets to put my phone in! Today, while I was hanging out with Anders, he told me, “Today is Saturday. Tomorrow is Sunday. Today is tomorrow’s yesterday.” He’s two and a a half.
My reaction:
Pretty much speechless.
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