Grandson Nathaniel’s graduation party was held in a county park under shade trees. When Nathaniel arrived, he immediately started the charcoal fire. He and his brother Alex did most of the cooking.
We were so happy his dad’s family could be there so that we could visit. Nate’s other grandmother, two brothers, and two sets of aunts and uncles, and four cousins were there from Massachusetts and Long Island.
Nathaniel is used to cooking and dealing with food, so it didn’t faze him a bit to cut the cake. For those who don’t know, he took culinary arts the last two years of high school and is now a certified food manager. He is going to Johnson & Wales in Charlotte this fall.
We were up early to be ready for grandson Nathaniel’s high school graduation. While waiting, I asked for a re-enactment of the tall one’s stair climb. The day before, I saw Nathaniel get to the top of the stairs, taking only two or three steps. He was hampered this time by the graduation gown and not having the right shoes.
Nathaniel’s dad, Peter, saved seats in the bleachers for us. I suppose many high school graduation ceremonies take place on the school’s football field. I know mine did 58 years ago. Luckily clouds covered the sun much of the time, so we didn’t bake. The band began to play Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance precisely on time, and the faculty and students processed to their seats.
Most of the speeches were predictable, but the valedictorian’s address was a poem! Impressive! Two people read the names of the graduates as they filed past the podium, making fast work of a tedious ritual. There were 364 of them, so it could have been excruciating. There was no stately recession at the end, just tons of blue-robed graduates mixing with family and friends. The ceremony was over only one hour after it began. Amazing!
Nathaniel with John and meNathaniel and his mother, Kate
We made the most of a few hours spent with John’s sister Barbara and Thom on Long Island. Daughter Kate had already driven from New Jersey and picked up her son Nathaniel. We converged to eat pizza from our favorite pizzeria. The deer-in-the-headlights photo was more a reflection of the photo flash than shock or surprise.
Barbara, Thom, Kate, Nathaniel, and John
Nathaniel’s high school graduation was postponed one day because of weather. Barbara and Thom left for Maryland to go to their grandson’s christening, so the four of us had a full day to play and visit. We had breakfast at my favorite bakery, the one my sisters- and mother-in-law frequented years ago. What a treat!
We had such a good lunch at the Public House that we ate only oranges and strawberries as a snack before bed. You can see our anticipatory smiles. John was wearing a tie because we had been to Mass at 5 pm. If the graduation had not been postponed to church time on Sunday, we would have gone to the Lutheran church we belonged to for 50 years.
Kate, Nathaniel, and John at the Public House restaurant
The weather was surprisingly cool, cool enough that we shut the windows! Who could have known we would be shivering in the middle of June?
There is nothing like meeting a favorite person face-to-face. I avidly followed Kate’s blog for several years and finally met her. She writes about her four cats, Starbucks, exercising at the gym and outside, and funny things that happen to her. She has a marvelous sense of humor. We drove near her home on our way to grandson Nathaniel’s high school graduation, and she graciously invited us to drop by. Her accent on the phone did not surprise me, since I knew she lived in Pennsylvania. In person, I found she was animated and most engaging. Her beloved husband (the name she uses for him on the blog) was also most interesting. He played the guitar in bands in his earlier years before they met. Kate joked that we would know her entire history in an hour, but I have a thousand questions left hanging. We knew we were not likely to meet the shy cats. They hid while we sat on their favorite porch, but I didn’t sense them trying to push us out.
Kate has written about her pond. Words and pictures don’t do it justice. The clematis regally held sway over the pond, while the sound of falling water soothed our ears.
There was even a friendly frog to greet us, calmly sitting on a lily pad.
If you follow Kate, you already know about her magic with words. If you don’t know her, prepare to be entranced if you read her blog. The address is coffeekatblog.com.
On the way to the supermarket, I told John I had intended to think about a small celebration of neighbor Logan’s birthday. He suggested I text his mother. I waited until I found wrapping paper in the store, because we had no appropriate ones at home. Shawn responded yes, so we doubled back and picked up a tiny cake. All we had to do was assemble a few things for this instant party. The candles looked pretty impressive on the cake.
Logan had plenty of air for the ritual blow-out.
By holding the camera over my head, I was able to get a shot of everyone. Left to right were Bob, Shawn’s sister Barb, grandson David, John, Logan, and Shawn.
We had indoor fireworks (sound only) – packing bags I’d saved for Logan to stomp on.
After Logan opened his gifts, he and David played games. The rest of us went out to the screened porch to chat in the cool air and enjoy the mountain view. It was the first time we’d had a chance to talk with Barb, visiting from Ohio. I love that relaxed time when no one has anything more to do. Bob joked that he would send Logan back to us at 10 if he didn’t go to sleep after eating chocolate. After the party broke up, David looked at the clock and laughed that we might expect Logan at any moment. We did see the boy before we expected, but it wasn’t until the next morning. He ran over to see if he could stay with us while his folks went to Asheville to visit a friend in the hospital. He joined us for a late breakfast. David again played card games and computer games with him.
Logan’s niece, Lily, came to get him when his folks returned. Shawn let me know when the “littles” were playing in the water. Water came into the small columns, and the jets could be aimed. David ran to feel how cold the water was and ran back before he got wet. I laughed at how tiny the toy was compared to how large it looked on the box. It might be the right size for Shawn and Bob’s two-year-old grandson.
I did it! I jerked a knot in something! A couple of years ago, former neighbor Amy shared that warning with me. We may have been discussing Southern sayings. She explained that an adult could put some grit in her voice and threaten a child, “If you don’t quit doing that, I’m gonna jerk a knot in you!”
How I longed to use that phrase! Isn’t it rich? Amy’s demonstration was perfect. This sweet, loving woman had a snarling tone that would have made me stop short and leave skid marks. I wanted to say it just like she did. Alas, there would be no opportunity. My children are grown, maybe even overgrown. In this day and age, you’d have to be a blood relative out of earshot of the verbal abuse police to say it. Whispering wouldn’t have the same effect. It would have to stay locked in my head, forever useless.
I was in a hurry to untie my sneakers. I jerked on the lace, and it whipped around under my fingers. I stared, dumbfounded. There were two knots – not one, but TWO! I did it! I jerked a knot in something! Whoa! You’d better slow down and pick apart those loops, or you’ll be sorry. (I made the knots larger than the original when staging this.) It wasn’t quite my dream come true, but it was close.
I did not realize our wedding anniversary fell on Flag Day until we had been married several years. A presidential proclamation established June 14 as Flag Day in 1916, and it was established by an Act of Congress in 1946. It is not a federal holiday. That means no one gets the day off; therefore, there are no parades or big sales. Towns often put flags out on the main street, and that is what we saw this year. John usually decorates the front of our house. I caught him as he was putting a letter in our mailbox to be picked up.
A number of people called and sent messages to notice our day. There is a photo of one of them – David and John listening to Nathaniel. We asked about his last day of school. Years ago, when he began wearing a suit to school every day, he declared that he would wear shorts on the last day of high school. As we spoke, David pulled up his picture on Instagram that showed him wearing a red shirt.
Talking to grandson Nathaniel as David shows his brother’s photo on Instagram
We wanted to know, “Did people notice that you weren’t wearing a suit?”
Nathaniel replied, “They didn’t realize it was me unless I called out their names in the hall!”
Our celebration was spending a day in the mountains. John consulted the waterfalls book and listed several we might see. David checked out the first one, calling back for me not to go down the path. He brought back photos on his phone, so we would know what we missed. I didn’t take any photos of my favorite one, because I have so many. We went on to Pisgah Inn, a restaurant and motel on the Blue Ridge Parkway. David was our official photographer for the day, taking this shot on the deck as we waited for a window table to be free.
The left-handers sat together, so I took a picture of John and David at the table. They ordered roast chicken in a spinach wrap, and I had a crab cake sandwich. We split two desserts – key lime pie and chocolate silk pie.
As we left the restaurant, an emergency vehicle went past quietly. We caught up to it at the Looking Glass overlook, our destination. John read that there was a great swimming place across the road. The book said the path had steps, but we didn’t realize its rating was 5. We found out quickly that the path was as difficult as one we encountered the last time we hiked to some falls. There were rocks and roots in the steep places. After a bit, a hiker came toward us and said a woman had hurt her leg. I assumed she had fallen in the water, so we continued on. The path did not get any better. A bunch of men came from the overlook wearing huge backpacks of emergency equipment and a stretcher on two wheels like a bicycle. Another hiker told us the woman had fallen about the time we sat down to our leisurely lunch, so she had been waiting for hours by this time. We sat on rocks when we realized the rescue was taking place over the next steep hill, not down by the water. One of the EMS people came back to tell us that it was going to take a long time. We started the trek back, very thankful I was not the one lying on the path. You can be sure I took my time going back. Waiting at the overlook were a fire truck, an ambulance, and vehicles that rescuers had come in.
We had not stopped where the road crossed the stream above Sunburst Falls before. It was too steep for me to get down to the water. Nimble-as-a-goat David leaped down to explore and took a photo of me standing on the road.
It was after 6 pm when we stopped at the last falls on the list. John read that it was a scramble the first few feet, and then the trail followed an old logging railroad bed. David again scouted the terrain, saying he thought Grandpa could make it, but I’d better stay in the car. I was very happy to read the newspaper in the fading light. John probably enjoyed walking along the old railroad, and David brought back photos of the falls. John said the trek was challenging. I suspect we are going to read between the lines the next time we plan a waterfall expedition.
54 years ago photographers did not take pictures during a wedding ceremony. We posed as if we were exchanging rings. All of a sudden, Pastor Gross (yes, that was his name!) exclaimed, “I hope the book won’t show in that shot. I had it open to Burial of the Dead.”
Neighbor Marla saw the bump a day before I did. As she walked dog Albert, Cat (the one we pet every day) came onto the road and bumped noses with Albert. I was with her the next day when the action began to unfold. I was not quick enough to get out my camera, and so missed the shot. As John and I walked today, I told him I had done things out of order and forgot to pick up both camera and phone. I said, “If I need a camera, I’ll have to use your phone.”
Wouldn’t you know, on the way home we caught up with Marla shortly before Cat appeared. As the animals eyed each other, I asked John for his phone. I fumbled finding the icon for the camera, and I was sure I was going to miss the moment. In a split second it was done. They didn’t approach each other again. It was luck! Pure luck!
Neighbor Logan (almost 8) had a chance to hold his new nephew Pico when the baby came home from the hospital. I’m sure Logan will be a wonderful uncle to this baby, as he has been to Lily and Sufi.
Logan takes his duties seriously. A few weeks ago he came to our door to bring us something. We asked if he could come in to visit with us, but he said, “No, I have to go home and play with Sufi.”
My name is Suki, my human is a writer, and this is about my world. The world according to Suki The Cat. My humans smell funny, look weird, and I can't understand a thing they say, but they feed me, so hey, what are you gonna do?
Mehrling Muse 