It was John $’s first day on a new job, and Sadie sensed something was different, though she didn’t know what. She ran to the front door and waited, hoping Lise and I would take her for a walk.
I’ve done fairly well getting clothes out of my room when I need them. I am determined not to walk in there while David is sleeping. Three of us have shifted where we sleep so that Lise can use David’s room as her office. She begins work between 2 and 4 am, matching her hours to Danish time. This day I forgot to get socks.
“John! Do you have a pair of socks I can borrow for walking?” I pleaded. Bless him, he let me have the pair he was about to put on.
Lise got $’s permission to take Sadie. He hugged the dog first, and we set out, knowing rain was in the forecast. John suggested we turn around half way to the stop sign. When we got to that point, we both agreed the rain was not imminent and went on. The rain clouds were watching, and they began to tease us at the stop sign. We hurried home in a steady drizzle. The wind lifted my hood, and I pulled it back over my head. Soon it was stuck there, plastered by rain that had permeated the flimsy material. It was water-repellent, not waterproof. It didn’t really matter, because I was a bit too warm, anyway.
We waved at the red car going by, and I realized it was $ on his way to work. Sadie had been trotting along with the leash taut. In an instant she stopped, lifted her head, and sniffed intently after the car went by. She knew John had passed us!
When we reached the front porch, we asked John for a towel to dry Sadie. I don’t know how Lise’s jacket fared, but mine had soaked up the rain and was not dripping.
I took a quick shower in the family bathroom, taking John’s suggestion of using a fresh towel because mine was in the other bathroom. I borrowed someone’s soap, washed, and realized I had not gotten the towel out first. Luckily, the bathmat was of towel material and could be scooted. Step. Shlump. Step. Shlump. I side-stepped, keeping the mat under my feet, until I reached the towels. Having no clean clothes available, I put nightclothes back on and downloaded photos.
Lise soon wandered in, taking a break for a second breakfast. I prepared croissants, bacon, and an egg for John and Lise. Halfway through my granola, I paused to get David’s meal on a plate. We all ended about the same time, and David rushed off to work. Things are quietly hectic here, but we are managing to get most things done reasonably well.
Jonathan Creek is adjacent to the fire station, so we pass it every time we walk to the creek. This day the men had pulled out one of the smaller trucks. Lise wanted a photo to send a friend, hence the pose. I was amazed at how huge it felt close up. It wasn’t long, but look at the tires and that front grill!
We liked our shadows on the water. This photo is deceptive, because it appears we are standing on a high bank. It’s probably no taller than an average man.
Shadowy characters
While dancing with our shadows, Lise noticed a stick caught by a rock and wanted to set it free. She was delighted to find a fairly easy way down the bank.
We are having a great time visiting with daughter Lise in the afternoon, when she isn’t working. It has been easy to accommodate everyone’s needs so far. Behind the scenes are unforeseen adjustments. I had ground beef that needed to be used, and David suggested Beef in a Blanket. I don’t think you can tell by looking at it that anything was amiss.
Beef in a Blanket
The pastry has three types of flour in it. We looked for all-purpose flour in Aldi’s, and the shelf was bare. I did not remember to put it on the Ingle’s list. An almost-empty bin looked back at me from the shelf, and I surveyed the cabinet for a reasonable alternative. Whole wheat flour volunteered, but I said it had to bring a friend. You don’t want too much of a good thing. White Lily flour, the best for Southern biscuits, was the final filler.
There is no substitute for Rose, who is now in Washington State with her two daughters and grandson. No one could take her place in Sadie’s heart. Sadie does what many of us do not. She lives in the moment. When Lise invited her onto her lap, Sadie jumped at the chance. They were the best of friends that day.
We have a mini neighborhood reunion when Albert is groomed in Waynesville. Albert is former neighbor Marla’s dog, and Connie brings him for his appointment every eight weeks. Shawn crosses our street to join us for lunch. We have to talk fairly fast, because Connie has to leave when Albert is ready, and Shawn often has to pick up Logan from school.
Daughter Lise was happy the date fell while she was here. She was through working by the time they came and could relax and enjoy being with them. Son John $ was back from a job interview, and John returned from a church meeting in Asheville. David enjoyed the food fallout seven hours later. This time I remembered to take a photo.
Three of us met John for lunch in Asheville after church. Daughter Lise drove, grandson David pumped gas, and I paid for it. That was easy teamwork for all of us.
In Copenhagen, Lise has a wide choice of restaurants, but a Japanese steakhouse is not one of them. Lise took a selfie as we waited for the chef to roll in a cart with the food.
The chef twirled his utensils before making a flashy fire on the grill, a real attention-getter.
As we watched, the chef prepared fried rice and vegetables before cooking the steak and chicken. His work done, he bowed and left us to eat the mountain of food on our plates.
We enjoyed our dinner and went home to restorative naps.
Daughter Lise took her lunch break to walk to the creek with me. After she finished work for the day, she drove us on the Blue Ridge Parkway. She loves to drive, and I love to have her drive. The day was overcast, bordering on rain. At one of the first overlooks, I took her photo as the mountains posed silently.
We stopped again for a small stream that had a lovely sound. This little stream becomes a roaring waterfall, visible further down the parkway.
Lise was short of sleep and wanted to rest her eyes for a while. I was in favor of that for her comfort and our safety. It was peaceful for me to look at the mountains from an overlook and play a card game on my phone. She woke, refreshed by a nap, and we headed to the supermarket on the way home. She had a list of things to take back to Denmark. An American she works with wanted grits, something easy to find in any Southern grocery store. She bought peanut butter powder, which she gets every year, as well as dark chocolate peanut butter. A new find was honey powder. ??? Maybe we’ll have a report about that in a few weeks. Chocolate graham crackers were hard to find, because they were in a different section. Lise also bought several packages of marshmallows with unusual flavors, colors, and shapes for a Danish friend. We bought chocolate mallows filled with chocolate for ourselves. I delighted in looking at all sorts of things I never see when doing the weekly shopping.
While relaxing at home, I got a shot of Lise and John $ with Sadie. The dog is reveling in being surrounded by people who love to pet her. She gives as much love as she gets.
We are having a grand time with daughter Lise, here from Denmark for a month. She is getting her first COVID shot today and will be here until she gets the second one. The first morning she was here, we needed to get back for someone’s schedule and walked only half the distance we usually walk. Today we went all the way to the creek, where we took the obligatory selfie.
All of us had voiced opinions about where everyone should sleep, and we thought we had it all sorted out. John, John $, David, and I would all stay in our beds. Lise would sleep on the air mattress in the living room and be far away from us when she got up to work on Danish time. Her office would be the dining room table, the furthest distance from the bedrooms. We forgot about the chiming grandfather clock, a short distance from her head. That kept her awake, as regular as clockwork. John was preparing for a weekend at the train club with David, so he ran the washing machine and dryer. Unloading the dishwasher for the day ahead added quite a clatter. I had not realized Lise needed silence to work. The hum of daily living would be an awful intrusion on internet meetings.
We think we have it settled now. Since David and John left at 5 am, David slept in the living room. He cleaned his room so that Lise could move in to sleep and use the desk there. When David gets back, he will be in my room, because his schedule is quite different from ours. I will be in the living room, at the mercy of anyone who wants to use the kitchen in the middle of the night. I may consult a magic book to find a sleeping spell I could use at a moment’s notice.
I thought it was really something the day we flew a kite in church, but last Sunday was the limit. There was a stripper in the pulpit! A young minister who had been at St. Mary’s a few years ago was preaching on Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet and acted out the scene. He removed his stole and used his surplice as a towel, then went on to say Jesus removed his outer garment as he unbuttoned the black part of his vestments.
One day this past week I did nothing but run! We picked up Mr. Clewes (the gardener), drove to Walton, went to Co-op on the way to coffee at Penny’s in Redhill, drove home for lunch, back to Reigate to return Clewes, and then home again. Don’t want many days like that! I started cooking dinner at 6:45.
At Penny’s we met a woman and her son coming out. At first I thought she had been invited for coffee, but it was worse than that. At 7 that morning, she, her husband, and son rang the doorbell and asked, “Weren’t you expecting us? Didn’t you get our letter?” They had written asking for breakfast after landing from an 8-hour flight from Ghana en route to Wimbledon. Penny, only 3 weeks this side of the due date for her baby, had to rustle up breakfast for 7 with no advance warning. I told her to sit down and put her feet up after the woman left, but she and her 6-year-old proceeded to make shortbread. Penny plays the clarinet and hunted up some duets for clarinet and piano. That was fun to sightread with her.
Monday our girls went to play with the girls from NJ – Nancy and Lynda M. The next day Kate, $, and I walked to the next town, Tadworth, via footpaths and met the M. family on the street there. We chatted for a few minutes, walked back to Walton, and met them walking down the street there! That afternoon the older girls were here, the younger ones floated between this house and Lynda’s, but had tea here. Wednesday all four had lunch and tea here, playing together 6.5 hours. They played well until the very end when the younger ones locked out the older ones. It was just as well they were busy getting ready to go to Holland to see the tulips in bloom; think they’d had enough of each other for a while.
Thursday we had all to ourselves. We drove to the supermarket in Banstead, the one the ladies usually go to from here. What a race track! I couldn’t stand to shop there all the time. Think I’d put it off until we were starving! We went early, found a parking place easily, but found the store full of rushing people. When we left, it took me ten minutes to maneuver out of the car park where 10 cars were lined up waiting for the next available space. Give me dear old Co-op any day!
EUREKA! We found crystal jelly!!!! Lisa was almost embarrassed at the way I carried on, but she was excited, also. We came right home and made it up. Have you guessed I’m talking of Jell-o? This is Royal brand, and it’s the first time we’ve found gelatin that is powdery – all the others are semi-solid, rubbery globs to be dissolved. This tasted better than their jelly, but not as good as real Jell-o. I’m going to make Jell-o once a week when we move back to the States!
We drove to a scenic place close to here, Box Hill, and took a short walk. It was very hazy; we must go back when we find a day that is crystal clear.
Kate and John $ on Box Hill
Kate, $, and I walked to Walton to do some shopping. We found a towel holder I’ve been looking for, flower seeds, a good pastry blender, and a salt pig! I asked for a cobweb brush and was told I was looking for a cornice broom. Live and learn.
Friday we shopped at Co-op, the freezer center, Boots, and a carpet store before picking Caroline up. She is the girl Lisa’s age who lived across from us in Reigate. She was here from noon Friday until afternoon Sunday. What a pleasant time we all had! Much of the time I hardly knew there was an extra girl here because all three would disappear together. Friday afternoon we again went to Box Hill for a longer ramble. The girls went down what felt like a mountain to the River Mole which has stepping stones across it. Several were out of place, they were afraid Kate would fall in, so they didn’t go all the way across. We must go there on a hot day to fall in – it’s only two feet deep and is considered a river!!! $ and I stayed toward the top of the hill for our walk.
Caroline, Lise, and Kate
Saturday John and Kate shopped in Epsom, a lovely town not far away with a fair-sized shopping area. He found lots of nice shops, and Lisa and Caroline were left here to enjoy themselves. Later the three from this house played outside with the three from next door. We had an impromptu tea party – six girls outside having “fizzy” drinks (soda) and biscuits (cookies) while the adults had tea inside. Jennifer and Vivien exclaimed over our new map of England. They said the counties are drawn differently on older maps and have longer names. Ours had Cambridge, Gloucester, Warwick, etc. where older maps show them with “shire” on the end.
They also told us more about this house. It was built in 1910. During the first world war, the Prime Minister, Lloyd George, lived in a house on the next street. Many of the big houses around, including this one, were rented by the cabinet members. There were private telephone lines linking them! Our neighbors haven’t found who rented this one.
After we finished tea, we asked if they would like to see the rest of the house. They jumped at the chance. They said English people don’t show their houses unless very good friends move to a new place. They were eager to see the lay-out here. We have servants’ bells, but they have the box in their kitchen. The bells still have their labels, though they no longer work. There was a day nursery and a night nursery! The girls are disappointed that they can’t use them to signal from our house to theirs!
This morning Caroline, Lisa, and I went to the earliest service at St. Mary’s. I wanted to get back to cook, and the girls to see the space shuttle take off. We’d watched the non-take-off Friday. John and Kate went to St. Peter’s where they were having communion. Kate was thrilled to see that everyone in the church went forward; she was so pleased to get a blessing when she went with John. They were also given crosses made from palms, though not nearly so elaborate as the ones Louise Koepchen makes in Setauket. I missed singing the Palm Sunday hymns.
Yesterday we invited our former neighbors to have Sunday lunch with us, since they had planned to pick Caroline up. They agreed and offered to bring the sweet. We knew we had to rush because their older daughter is singing Messiah in the same production we were involved with, but she has been going on Sundays. Everything was ready; we were just sitting down, and then we had to get up to watch the space shuttle take off. When someone mentioned THE WEDDING, Gillian said they were charged a pound extra for Caroline’s camp fee because the leaders decided to rent TV’s to put in the fields so they won’t miss the big event! When it was time for them to leave, Lisa pulled such a face that Gillian invited her to go home with them until after tea. That extended their visit by another four hours. All in all, we’ve had a very pleasant week of holiday.
I’m not normally in the choir at church for two reasons. I’ve lost half my range, and I’m a zombie when they have rehearsals in the evening. On Good Friday, John thought there were not going to be enough sopranos, so he asked if I’d be willing to sing with the choir. He knew I’d directed all the music at our last church and was familiar with it. I found it exciting to witness the action. Downstairs, all was serene and worshipful, but in the loft there was constant movement.
The organist put on shoes before going to the front of the church to accompany a cellist playing the prelude. John says she plays the pedals of the organ wearing socks and not shoes. My toes cringed at the thought. The organist’s daughter directed the choir. She normally directs music at the praise and worship service, but the music director is quarantined with his COVID-infected wife. What a time to be forced to stay home from your job! Heather was a marvelous substitute. While directing, she switched to singing alto, because there was only one other there. Grandson David does not show at the other end of the tenor section, and John was out of the picture. Perhaps you can see two people sitting before monitors as they were live-streaming the service. Another was downstairs with her phone, getting shots of the cellist and organist.
I turned to the front of the church where the young tech was videoing the people playing the prelude. The young man who does the audio had stepped away, but you can see his sound board all lit up. He plays the marimba next to the sound board. I don’t often hear that soft sound, but he usually plays when the congregation sings hymns. I was very impressed with the talents of all these people.
Despite the quiet hubbub upstairs, the service was very meaningful. As usual, we left the church in silence after the Bible was slammed shut. Requiescat in pace, dear Lord.
We didn’t see Cat very often this winter, but she has begun coming out to walk with us again. This is the lovely animal whose owner said, “She belongs to my daughter, who named her Blake. I just call her CAT. My wife and daughter persuaded me to let the dog in the house, but this cat is never coming further than the garage.”
I tried to get a good picture of her this morning, but most of the ones I took were blurred because she was moving. She came running up her driveway and straight to me to be petted. After a good rub, I started walking, and she ran ahead. When she stopped, she looked around to make sure I would rub her again. This went on, in our usual fashion, until we were out of sight of her home. She got sidetracked by some interesting sight and rejoined me when I came back from the stop sign.
CAT waiting to be petted
Cat has a bad habit of running in front of cars. Most of the people who live here know to watch out for her, and they creep past her. I don’t usually pick her up, because she hates it. This morning I had my hand on her, so I picked her up. It was awkward to hold her as she struggled, but I managed to wave at the driver. On the way home, I grabbed her again and waved. I know about six of the neighbors’ cars, and I didn’t recognize this one. It pulled slowly forward and paused as the window came down. A voice inside said, “You cheated.”
I laughed when I found myself looking at my son. He had heard stories of Cat, but this was the first time he saw me with her. Wouldn’t you know he’d catch me trying to protect her??
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?
