Walking with Logan before School

I walked a little earlier than usual, hoping to see Logan (12). If he is not late and it’s safe, Shawn or Bob stop their car to say good morning. I wanted to see Logan’s haircut, since he mentioned when he brought over a treat last night that his mother was going to cut his hair. As I walked in front of neighbor Joyce’s house, I heard running footsteps behind me. Logan caught up quickly and walked with me. His hair had been cut, and it looked very nice. I’ll bet Shawn is much quicker than I was when I cut son John $pencer’s hair.

Logan spoke of having gone to bed early last night because he was tired. He listed all his routine tasks for morning – getting dressed, brushing his teeth, making up his bed, letting the dogs out, and feeding them, and packing his lunch. I don’t remember that he mentioned breakfast, but I probably missed it in the fast chatter. That led to his favorite lunch right now, peanut butter and honey. As we passed jewel weed bushes, he said neighbors Lisa and Harmony used a spray made with jewel weed on his poison ivy. It was effective. Soccer is a favorite sport, the one he preferred above track and field this year. He mentioned how much you run. I think he said the average amount could be six miles in a game. He noticed paw prints in dried mud and thinks they were probably made by a dog. Perhaps he and I wished to see bear prints. Several nights ago a bear roamed around our street, going on neighbors’ porches and helping himself to birdseed and sugar water from the hummingbird feeders. Our conversation ended quickly as Bob stopped the truck for him to hop in and go on to school.

Can you think of a nicer way to start a day? I enjoyed every minute.

Outside Transformation

Daughter Lise whipped the inside of our house into shape, and brother Bob and wife Beth began putting the outside to rights. On the front porch, she removed a robin’s nest, and he took out bunches of nails that had been used for patriotic bunting in past years. Beth also removed dirt dobbers’ nests and killed wasps.

Bushes thought no one would ever contain them. Branches reached through the railing about eight inches, trying to grab people. No more! Beth brought them under control. David found the charger for our trimmer, and I plan to trim hedges and bushes when they need it again. Beth made it look simple. I know it won’t be that easy for me, but I am determined to do my best.

Both of them trimmed and cleaned up the small holly bushes along the front. Neighbor Bob and brother Bob conferred about a wobbly post behind Beth’s back.

By walking in and out of the garage door for eight years, we scattered gravel until there was a depression there. Bob replaced gravel so that I won’t stumble going in and out. It now blends in better after a good rain.

I was impressed with their shopping at Lowe’s. Although they had never been to our local store, they walked straight to each department where we needed things. We overestimated the amount of gravel we needed, and they knew the procedure for easily returning two bags. You should have seen Bob sling those bags of stone onto the dolly. He is two years older than I am!

There was plenty of time to chat over meals and after we quit work for the day. Bob and I laughed over family memories and found out similar things about Beth’s family. I wish I could have met her parents, but they had moved to Florida before I came to this area.

Goofy Goon Escapes her Geeper

Lise changed the spelling of Keeper to Geeper, fitting for a keeper of a Goon. She is back in Denmark, but she would have kept me away from the kitchen if she had known what would happen. I had punctured the yolk and covered the dish, but the egg exploded with a loud bang anyway. This could not be classed as dangerous, however the inside of the microwave was a MESS! Climbing on a stool, I cleaned it thoroughly. I cooked another egg successfully and put the bits left in the first dish on top of the good egg. I added this photo of the exploded egg onto the Aura frame, so David saw it before he reached the kitchen and knew his breakfast was going to be goofy.

I promised myself, and maybe Lise too, that I wouldn’t do anything dangerous in the garden. I have a tendency to work too long, instead of doing one project and quitting after 15 – 20 minutes. Without paying attention to balancing on uneven ground, I have almost fallen several times. I had my phone in a pocket, a cane in the vicinity, and an awareness of what I was doing. Success! There was no before photo, but here is the after one with the debris scattered over the path. All the pools of the waterfall were exposed for the first time in two or three years. John had been either too busy doing other things or not well enough to try to fix the leak. The question is should I attempt to fix it or just remove it?

David and I both had haircuts today. I thought you might like to see us transformed into fairly normal-looking people. You never know when the goofiness is going to surface, because David has the goofy genes in his DNA.

Lise’s Last Days Here

Daughter Lise and I had errands to run the day before she left. What better way to start the eating day than getting a sandwich from Burger King? This was a treat, the only time we went out for breakfast. David handed us our bag with a smile.

Her flight didn’t leave until 20:00, so we had lunch at Watami Noodle in town. While waiting with her in the airport, David fixed her shoelace.

She was told to be in the terminal three hours before departure, which seemed excessive to us. We chatted and played a few word games until she went to her gate. As usual, I dreaded her leaving ahead of time, days three and four to be exact. I was sad and a little depressed. As David and I left the airport, I realized I was too tired to be sad. I would just remember all the things Lise accomplished and the great pleasure we had in being together.

The Goon and her Keeper

I had done something foolish or stupid and told daughter Lise I was just being a goon and needed her as a keeper. We laughed. For the rest of her stay, I referred to myself as a goon, not knowing we began with a different definition of the word. It became obvious that we were talking past each other, so I looked it up. To me a goon was someone who was idiotic or silly. To her a goon had an American definition, a henchman carrying out the wishes of a mobster. Both were correct, so from then on I called myself Goofy Goon.

I couldn’t possibly remember all the instances where I said or did something silly, but attributing it to Goofy Goon sparked our laughter. It was obvious I needed help with all the details that had to be attended to. Lise could easily read and understand legal terms, organize John’s funeral, make phone calls to get a refund from a nasty propane company, find where to go to register John’s estate, deal with medical bills, and confront a bank that gave us conflicting information. The Goofy Goon wants to publicly thank Lise for keeping her focused on tying up loose ends and getting ready to live in the altered state of widowhood.

Celebrating in Charlotte

It was marvelous that grandson Nathaniel and girlfriend Sarah came to visit us for several hours, but it left us longing to see more of them. It took about two and a half hours to get to Charlotte. While waiting for Sarah to get off work, we visited in Nate’s new apartment, his first after graduating university. He was still in the process of moving in, as were his two roommates.

Nathaniel chose a wonderful restaurant to celebrate Sarah’s birthday. The food was excellent, and we could hear each other talk. I no longer take that for granted. The place was not busy, so the staff didn’t mind that we ate leisurely and stayed to chat.

We enjoyed a tour of the apartment complex, and the young folks willingly posed for a photo with the pond in the background.

After seeing the swimming pool, they spontaneously balanced on a railing. I asked for a repeat to get a video.

All the youngsters, Lise included, were so much fun to be with. We three also talked all the way there and back. Family times are glorious, and I enjoyed every minute.

A Day to Play

We had worked hard for weeks, so on David’s day off we went to Dill Falls. It’s on the other side of the mountain from our favorite falls, and David’s car was high enough that it didn’t scrape on rocks on the gravel mountain road. I was happy we could drive near and needed to walk only a part of a mile. We accepted when a young couple offered to take our photograph.

I liked Lise’s selfie of us.

We are the ones who like lightning and thunder, so it was appropriate that there was thunder as we looked at the rushing water. A lovely roll happened as I took a video, but the camera could not capture the sound.

If the day had been hot, I would have loved to wade in the cold stream.

Without our knowing, Lise took a shot of David and me as we walked the trail back to the car. It’s not flattering, but it’s the way we navigate among roots and rocks. David is always very attentive, giving me a hand on rough patches. I don’t normally walk with a cane, but it did provide welcome support that day.

We went to one of our favorite restaurants – The Square Root in Brevard. While eating, David and I shared a Maclin Pat over something silly. I can’t think of a day that we didn’t laugh. Although I have been accused of stalking people with a camera, Lise took far more photos than I did. I will miss that.

Shells of boiled peanuts were left on my plate.

Major Cleanup is Over

Daughter Lise stayed with me for two months after John died. She worked from home starting at 5 in the morning (11 am in Denmark) and then spent hours every day organizing our junk. Neighbor Bob took a truckload of trash to the dump, and Sarah and Nathaniel posed with the almost finished garage days later.

As a reward, Lise, David, and I went out to eat several times.

Sarah and grandson Nathaniel came for several hours when in this area of the state. Nate went through things Lise had put aside for him to see.

We were happy he wanted a ship model that John had been given from one of the companies he worked for.

I’m blessed in having relatives who will pose willingly when we get together.

We record events of a visit, too. A headlight was out on Sarah’s car. When Lise pointed it out, they knew what tools to use and how to coax it to shine again. I liked the victory pose.

Of course, we all miss John and talked about him a lot. He would have joined in the laughter and teasing if he had been here.

Lise Put Me on the Bus!

Daughter Lise found Haywood Transit and signed me up. It is a service for seniors who need rides. We assumed it was for getting to and from doctor’s appointments, but the woman said, “You can go out to lunch if you want to! Meet a friend and go to the movies!”

A ride in Haywood County costs $3 one way. It’s $6 to Sylva or Asheville. I must call two days ahead for an in-county ride and three for a neighboring county. I had an appointment, made a year ago, with the oncologist in Asheville. David would need sleep after closing at work, and Lise would be packing to go back to Denmark. I booked the ride ahead of time and was ready at 9 am when the bus pulled into our driveway.

When the nurse escorted me to the examining room, I told her it was my first time to come by bus and that my daughter took a photo, just as I had always done for her on the first day of school. She told the PA, who also shared it with the doctor. I whipped out my phone and showed them. They laughed heartily and shared my amusement.

I walked outside, called the transit office, and was told the bus would be back for me in just a few minutes. The other woman who had ridden in with me wouldn’t be ready for another hour and a half, so the driver took me straight home and went back for her. This adventure was great fun. The bus seats were higher than a car, and the windows were huge. It was a good thing I was required to use a seat belt, because I might have slipped off the smooth seat when going around a curve.

If Only John Could See Me Now!

Daughter Lise has worked her way through most of the boxes that were tucked away in the house. Many were never opened from the last move eight years ago, and some were even older. Now John was not a pack rat, but he did have a historian’s mania for preserving things. Lise found a treasure trove of T-shirts from the train clubs he belonged to. Two from Long Island celebrated the 45^th and 50^th anniversaries of the club. They fit me, and I am wearing them proudly!!! Perhaps John was planning to wear one for the 60^th year celebration, but I suspect he had totally forgotten about them.

I have been keenly aware of our lifetime supply of hand soap refill jugs. Evidently a gallon lasted us a full year. We moved eight (8!!!) gallons down, and the last one is half empty. John and I laughed about it frequently. I presume he bought a jug every time it went on sale at Costco and tucked it away in a different place each time. Since I spoke of that, Lise assures me we have an overabundance of Scotch tape, small note pads given away by charities, and free ballpoint pens. Does anyone else have a lifetime supply of a product? I would appreciate some company here.