Kate’s Visit

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We stayed busy while daughter Kate was here for a week, but we never felt rushed. I usually take photos when we go out to eat, making it appear that we never stay at home. I have only two from this visit – eating dumplings at China King and going to Jukebox Junction, modeled after roadside eateries from my childhood. Neither place was busy, and both had wonderful food.

Mother and son do heavy chores, making them look easy. I wrote about their burning the garden trash early on. They trimmed the Wicked Wisteria, making me hold my breath. Kate held the ladder, while David reached wayward branches. He felt safe bracing his knees against the top of the ladder. I wouldn’t look too closely, but was relieved when the job was done.

Kate noticed I had left a pile of branches from a nasty thorn bush. She loaded them on the broken wheelbarrow without touching the sharp thorns. It looked like she was running with the wheelbarrow, but she said she hurried because one of the handles was hard to hold.

Seeing neighbors was fun. Joyce brought mail that was put in her box by mistake and stayed to sit on the porch to visit.

Logan came over to play games with us. Kate was putting a jigsaw puzzle back in the box while he and David played a computer game. I didn’t take a photo of our visiting with Shawn and Bob in their living room, but we did enjoy it.

Although Kate has always been very afraid of dogs, she paid lots of attention to Kasey and often took her on short walks. These were two of the photos she took of the dog in her playpen and a favorite pose when looking at the neighborhood from the front porch.

A most exciting moment was seeing a bird flying at full speed and crashing into the porch wall. It didn’t move for a long time. I eased past the bird, took a photo of it through the front door, fetched a dustpan, and gently put the pan next to its feet. It stepped on. As I rose to take it to a tree, it suddenly flew straight to the top of a tree across the street. When Logan (13) saw the photo on our frame, he asked what kind of bird it was, looked closer, and said, “It’s a waxwing. No other bird has markings on its tail like that.” I was very impressed with his knowledge. I had planned to look it up but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

David and I were chatting with Kate on the phone as she drove home to New Jersey. Grandson Nathaniel called to talk to us, so David propped the phones up for a four-way family conversation. We had had a lovely visit, and that was a fine way to end it.

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Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

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28 thoughts on “Kate’s Visit”

  2. Very nice photos. Very interesting Kate visit enjoying eating dumplings at China King and going to Jukebox Junction, modeled after roadside eateries from your childhood. Beautiful video They trimmed the Wicked Wisteria, ! hold your breath. Kate held the ladder,! Logan’s play game on computer. I am so happy you have Kate visit. Enjoy with!
    Tack care!

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  3. A lovely fun filled family time as usual. While you had a lovely visit from the waxwing, my daughter found a bluebird that had been probably hit by a passing car. SHE PICKED IT UP WARILY AND HAD IT SITTING IN HER HAND FOR AGES. BEFORE SHE COULD TRANSFER IT TO A BOX, IT FLEW OFF LEAVING A LITTLE DEPOSIT IN HER HAND. She was awed by it’s trust. Huge Hugs

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  8. You pack a lot into these visits Anne and getting work done too! I like Kasey’s playpen. That is different and it looks comfy. The restaurant/roadside diner looks fun. I like the bottle cap decoration, having remembered seeing those bottlecaps in my youth. When we traveled when I was young, we went thru some very hot states in the Summer in a VW Beetle with no A/C and I remember us stopping for gas and a bottle of pop from the pop machine at the station. That and cigarette machines are vintage items nowadays. Very innovative on everyone visiting with Kate at the same time. 🙂

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  10. I have not yet seen a waxwing, although they are said to fly over here so you would think one might drop by for a snack! Fun with family–I miss doing these kinds of things with mine.

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  13. Anne, I love your restaurant photographs. The food always looks and sounds delicious. What fun to prop phones like David did and have a four way conversation. I am going to have to remember that when I talk to my family who live in NC. They are all spread out…near High Point, Near Raleigh, and on the coast.

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