Goodbye Lise!

Below is a peaceful picture, taken at the Chinese buffet in town the day before Lise left. We were sated, having eaten ourselves into a food coma before going home.

Daughter Lise and I walked to the stop sign the day she left. We expected a pleasant day, not an explosion. Son John $ came from his shower as we arrived at home. His explanation was shocking. When he turned on the water, the toilet behind him exploded! Water shot across the room, knocking a bottle of shampoo off the shelf in the shower. He knew where the cutoff valve was behind the toilet and pushed against the spewing water to reach it. The hose that brings fresh water to the toilet had broken. Gallons of water covered the floor, but he sopped it up with towels and kept the flood from reaching the wooden floor in the hallway. His first thought was that it was good that he was the one in the line of fire, not one of us.

We are not sure what happened. The day before, both Lise and $ went below the house with me to change the water filter. (We have a well, and all the water we use goes through that filter.) I couldn’t turn the valves, nor could I unscrew the container with the filter. $ did it all, and he pressed a button to release the pressure. He thinks it was back pressure that caused the water line to the toilet to explode hours later. Lise immediately called the plumber, and he promised to come first thing the next day. Whew! Things were under control. We proceeded to take her to the airport. I took a shot of my son and daughter as they smoked outside the airport.

John and Lise washed all the towels, and they were drying as we drove her to the airport. As we put them away, he pointed out the bits of toilet paper that were clinging to the wall. I took quick photos before he cleaned the wall.

I’m very thankful $ will be here to tell the plumber exactly what happened in the bathroom. We hope the man will be able to diagnose the problem so that it won’t happen again.

Days Fly By

We had a marvelous day with former neighbors Connie and Marla. We headed for a favorite restaurant, only to find it closed for spring break. The second choice did not disappoint us. We came back to my house to watch the height of the eclipse and remained on the porch to chat. It’s always such a pleasure to spend time with them.

Son John $ flew in from Washington to spend a week with daughter Lise and me. We hadn’t expected to spend a day at home getting two heat pumps replaced. One unit stopped working before we got the first quote. Thankfully, the business we chose was able to install both in one long day. It was a day with high winds and cool temperatures, with a promise of rising temps over the next few days. We were happy to have both heat and air conditioning in a short space of time.

Lise had been longing for beef, since the canteen in her office has dropped it. A steak house was the answer that day, and it was a good answer.

We’ve taken care of most of the house-related chores that Lise wanted to accomplish during this visit. A tedious job was pulling out all the tablecloths and putting them together by length, which Lise did all by herself. Years ago we inherited a round table with four leaves from John’s godfather. That was the table where Uncle Walter and John’s dad did their homework a hundred years ago. Through the years, John and I bought tablecloths to fit the five possible lengths of the table. At first I knew which was right for each size, but I lost track. We kept a couple for each size, which Lise measured and labeled. They should go with the table when my possessions are given away.

No matter what we were doing, there was talk – lots of talk! You’d think we might run out of things to say, but we haven’t yet.

Pleasant Times with Neighbor Joyce

Daughter Lise and I had good visiting times with both Logan and neighbor Joyce when walking to the stop sign. Joyce works in the afternoon, but she often walks with us in the morning. There are no photos of Logan this time.

Joyce gave me a stake and wire lead that she’d had for her grand dog. Kacey loves the backyard venue with a wider range than she has in the front. She indicates there are more interesting smells in the back, too. Here she is sharing her new space with Lise.

Lise and I had a lovely excursion with Joyce, going to the mountains near Highlands and Cashiers (pronounced cash-ers). She has an acre of land there and needed to replace the For Sale sign that had disappeared. The day was sunny and warm, and the mountain views were glorious. Someone is going to want to build a house there. The property has one or two natural springs and a small stream.

We enjoyed watching butterflies on flowers across from Joyce’s plot. The butterflies seemed carefree and didn’t mind our watching them.

Sushi Date with Logan

When daughter Lise found that neighbor Logan (13) likes sushi, she declared we had to set a date to have it. She challenged him to use chopsticks, so they practiced picking up a straw cover before the food came.

I took a photo of them with their meals and with fried cheesecake for dessert. I particularly liked the boat Lise’s food was served in.

As we drove away, I commented on seeing a shop serving Bubble Tea. We had passed it when Logan exclaimed about it. Lise asked if we should turn around and get some. When the answer was yes, please, she immediately turned around, drove back, and parked. The two ladies inside had no other customers and seemed to enjoy serving us. We loved all the choices. We sat in soft chairs to drink, which is when Logan wandered over to the counter and read the labels. He said, “My mom likes lavender.” Lise offered to buy a drink for Shawn, who was home recuperating from shoulder surgery. She let us know that it tasted good to her.

The next morning Logan came over to walk with us. The air was quite a bit colder than he expected, so he asked if he could borrow my knit hat. It’s the one my friend Karen knit for me. I felt she would be pleased to share it with my favorite neighbor, so I found another head covering that day. With the weather getting warmer, we might not be wearing hats again until November.

The Last of Easter

I didn’t have Lise’s photos when I wrote about our Easter dinner, but she had two that I’d like everyone to see. After neighbor Jeff took a selfie from a high angle, we grouped ourselves together for one more that shows our faces better. This is my favorite taken that day. Jeff is next to Lise, and I am near Bob and Shawn.

This is a picture of peeps that Lise found while we were wandering around stores. I remember yellow peeps from my childhood. They were supposed to represent yellow chicks made of marshmallow with a coating of sugar. They tasted like pure sugar. Over the years, different colors were added. I bought green ones once, because that is my favorite color. Perhaps the unusual color caught Lise’s eye, and she read that they were flavored with Dr. Pepper, a popular flavor of soda. It was fun to taste. They didn’t last the day, being sampled and enjoyed after dinner.

Easter 2024

Neighbor Logan (13) spent many hours with daughter Lise and me when he was off from school before Easter. What fun we had! The main intellectual activity was playing the word scramble game, Boggle. Logan won the first game we played. He and I tended to lag behind Lise, but we kept trying.

The day before Easter, we were tidying up. Logan pushed the Swiffer around all the hardwood floors and washed the windows which Kacey had decorated with her nose. I tried to pay him for his work, but he said he was going to leave it in the house, and he did. I’m not sure what day Logan was eating with us, but it was obvious he loves pickles.

Lise saw the tulips coming up that she planted last fall, and some looked parched. She watered them and probably saved them from a horrible death.

My photo of the week is on the silly side. Kacey is always delighted when I am on the floor doing exercises. She is sure I’m living on her level for her sole benefit.

I was very happy to worship on line – loved singing the stately Easter chorales and hymns. Neighbors joined us for a ham dinner. It was wonderful to have a relaxed time together, enjoying each other’s company. I took an ordinary photo with people sitting at the table.

Jeff was nominated to take a selfie, so we could all be in the same frame. I loved this high angle, so different from an ordinary picture. Didn’t he do a good job? He couldn’t see where he was aiming, because the camera couldn’t flip views like a phone. His is the face in the lower left corner.

Logan Walks with Lise and Me

Neighbor Logan (13) walks with Lise and me whenever he can. He is delightfully entertaining, always finding something new to do. He jumps to hit signs, hops over ditches, runs for the sheer joy of running, and touches a bear’s eye on a mailbox. When I pointed out to Lise the rut that deer have made coming through the woods, Logan went to inspect it. I asked for a reenactment, and he hammed it up for the camera.

Logan often runs on a retaining wall. This day he did a dance at the furthest point and ran back toward us.

On the way home, he picked a wild flower, wondering what it was. I used the lens app on the phone that identified it as a grape hyacinth. His mind is always active, noticing new things and wondering about others. No two walks are ever the same. He is developing a good sense of humor, too, often teasing about things or pretending to be serious over silly things. There is never a dull moment with Logan around.

Kaya Toast

Daughter Lise shared a favorite food with me shortly after she arrived. She and friend Magda loved eating kaya toast in Singapore. I didn’t try to read the list of ingredients on the jar she brought, but the sandwich was delicious. We toasted the bread lightly, then Lise spread the special mixture from the jar on both sides of the bread.

Next, we cut pats of butter which she placed on one side.

She showed the finished sandwich, with the butter in the middle. Oh! What a delight! I had no idea what I was eating, but it was slightly sweet and most satisfying. I didn’t have to fly half way around the world to have it.

Lise Arrives!

Neighbor Shawn graciously agreed to drive to the airport to pick up daughter Lise. We have a routine of having a meal and a frozen custard treat at Culver’s. The place is not far from the airport, and it’s lovely to be able to see each other and talk before the drive home. The trip probably takes 45 minutes, although we always allow more time when picking someone up.

Kacey barked at Lise until she was close enough to see her and remember her from the last visit. In no time, the dog was on her bed, which was already protected by a sheet. Since Lise was up earlier, Kacey snuggled with her until she heard my alarm. Then it was my turn. After doing stretches and some exercises, we humans walked to the stop sign.

I have begun to make only a half recipe of biscuits, and it’s surprising how much quicker it seems when I use a little bowl and roll the dough on a cutting board. We poured sausage gravy over the biscuits. Lise tasted the meat I had fixed for myself and agreed to have a slice herself. It was livermush, a prepared mixture that is fully cooked and only needs to be heated. I topped mine with pepper jack cheese and hers with an American cheese slice. I know livermush is popular here in the mountains, but I don’t know if it has spread to other regions. I learned of it from reading the novels of Jan Karon. The Mitford series takes place in this area, and one character mentioned eating livermush a number of times.

Lise knows I like to shop at Aldi’s and hadn’t been there for weeks. We streaked into Asheville, went to a thrift store and then on to Aldi’s. I picked up things from almost every aisle and spent more than I ever had before. Much of it will last for weeks. When we came home, Logan was just leaving the front porch. Good timing! He helped Lise lug all the groceries inside and also knew where to put many of the items. We decided to open some cheese puffs to snack on and also dipped baby carrots in humus while sitting on the back porch. Logan wasn’t still for long. He went into the garden, putting a glass globe back on its stand and looking at a broken wind spinner. I went inside for an S hook for hanging it, and he took a pile of trimmed branches to the burn pile. He saw it needed doing and just did it!

Lise knew Logan sometimes works the Wordle daily puzzle, and she asked if he had done Connections. I took a photo of the two as they discussed it. He worked it! Amazing!