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!

Bear!

There are occasional bear sightings in our area, but I have yet to see one in person. Yesterday Shawn texted me that their bird feeder was damaged, and the bucket of seeds was opened and out on the grass. Her conclusion was that a bear had been on their porch during the night. As I walked in the morning, I noted that Joyce’s bird feeding station was flat on the ground and wondered if the bear had knocked it down.

It was much later that I sat down to look at the videos from my porch camera. It had rained all during the night, so the movement of rain and flying insects caused the camera to take a new video about every 15 seconds. It was mind-numbing to look at each one. I sat up straight when I saw a pair of eyes coming toward me on the screen. Yes! It was the bear! The time stamp showed 2:43 am. I looked carefully at many of the videos before and after that one, but I saw no other activity.

Late last night shortly before midnight, I sent the video to all the neighbors for whom I had a telephone number. The first response was almost immediate. Shawn commented on the size of the bear and was happy I’d caught it on camera. The next message was after 9 in the morning. Joyce hoped the bear was just passing through. D. said the bear pulled out the grease pan from their grill behind the house, but it left the front bird feeders alone. Holly joked that the bear was hungry, and she could throw it leftover pizza. Cindy said she would like the bear to stay at our end of the subdivision. Pizza might have that effect.

We are more likely to see a deer than a bear. Yesterday Shawn said they had just seen 15 deer cross the road in front of them. Grandson David and I saw two several months ago, and that was my best sighting.

Days Marching On

The days are passing pleasantly. Neighbor Logan (13) still comes over occasionally, and recently he looked in our game closet and got out a game of balance. I played at the beginning, but I knew I was going to unbalance the tower. Logan continued to withdraw a piece and put it on the top until it finally collapsed.

I’ve had my top for St. Patrick’s Day for several years. When a garment can be worn only one day a year, that’s what you wear on the appointed day. Because I went to church on line, the only person who saw it was daughter Lise as we chatted with FaceTime. This called for a selfie to remember the day.

The weather took a step backward. Daffodils were at their peak the night we had a hard freeze. Neighbor Joyce texted all the households on our street, inviting us to come cut all the daffodils we wanted before they froze to death. I went up before dark, her first responder. When I began to cut blooms, she came out and cut more for me than I would have taken. I’m not good at arranging flowers. I don’t have many vases, either, so I put the daffies in with cuttings I’m rooting. I felt the flowers brightened the room considerably.

Gardening neighbors were covering some of their plants, so I found a sheet to put over tender tulips in the back. Daughter Lise brought them from Amsterdam and planted them last year. Time will tell if it helped. The morning after the freeze, I was amazed that Joyce’s daffodils still looked good. Texting later, she said they had frozen. She touched one bloom, and it broke apart. She predicts that they will soon droop and look awful. Meanwhile, I am enjoying the bouquet on my kitchen counter.

I was surprised to find donuts decorated for Easter at the supermarket. It seemed a bit early, but that didn’t keep me from buying them – and eating them!