Lise’s friend, Toke, landed on the 21st, and we got home from the airport at 1:30 a.m. on the 22nd. On the 24th, his luggage was delivered, having been lost in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, New York or possibly Charlotte.
First photos weren’t taken until grandson Nathaniel and his fiancee Sarah arrived to stay one night. We were a bit late, but we did have the mirror ritual.
Nathaniel and Sarah delivered an old family bookcase they had rescued. They took care reassembling it, because it wasn’t one piece, but four boxes stacked on top of each other.
Nathaniel, Lise, Sarah approving bookcase assembly
I wanted a photo of their seeing the new family jigsaw puzzle for the first time. Kate and Lise also saw it, but we haven’t worked it yet.
Grandson Nathaniel and friend Sarah came to visit after Christmas and after the proposal. She is now officially his fiancee, and everyone is very pleased. We have photos from the mirror ritual. Nate raises the mirror on arrival and lowers it when leaving. Everyone participates, but I didn’t get the dog in the photo this time.
There are two pictures of them. I thought her likeness was better in one and his in the other, so here you have both.
When it was late, the older generations toddled off to bed as the younger set got out the Checkers board. After lunch the next day, they resumed the Checkers tournament. The game talk was vicious, but they “played nice”.
I wanted a photo of everyone, and they kindly humored me.
It was Sarah’s first time to participate in the mirror ritual. Nathaniel’s putting the mirror up when he comes and down when he leaves will continue as long as we live in this house.
Two days after Thanksgiving, Lise and I finally walked all the way to the creek. In trying to get good images of our faces, we failed to feature the water. We were happy, though. Sadie was not. We split at the stop sign, John going home with Sadie as we continued to the creek. She repeatedly stopped, pulled back toward us, and whined. Family togetherness was important to her!
Daughter Lise and her nephews loved playing games together. Exploding Kittens was the choice that evening.
All too soon, it was time for the mirror ritual. When Nathaniel is leaving, whoever is around witnesses the lowering. He checked his appearance before the mirror was too low for him to see his face.
I asked for family time before going to church, but John had scheduled a meeting. The boys and I walked around the church property, enjoying being together. Having talked about the sound of crisp autumn leaves, they magnified the experience. What fun!
Before driving Nathaniel back to Charlotte, we ate at one of our favorite restaurants. We enjoyed being together until time to say goodbye at his dorm.
Daughter Kate drove 14.5 hours from New Jersey to our home in one day. She stopped in Virginia at our favorite barbecue place and brought all the fixings for proper barbecue sandwiches. What a great start for a wonderful visit!
John $, John, David, Nathaniel, and Kate. Sadie, with her begging brown eyes, doesn’t show.
Before leaving for church the next morning, Kate was there for the mirror ritual.
Nate lowers the mirror before leaving.
There was a special lunch after church for the retiring music director. We were sitting at a long table near the dessert station. Grandson Nathaniel was on the end, because he needs lots of space to stow his long legs. In one smooth move, he was on his feet and moving toward the serving table. I took a quick photo that shows nothing more than Nate’s back, but he went to the rescue of a short woman struggling with a heavy bucket. He easily lifted the bucket and poured iced tea into the dispenser. Without fanfare, the crisis was over.
After church and the luncheon, we walked through Forest City. It was a great break on the trip to take Nathaniel back to Charlotte. I was looking for photo ops, knowing Kate wanted a picture of her with her sons. Because there were eyes painted on the building, I made them pose on the sidewalk.
Nathaniel had to walk around some balloons, so there was another reason to take a picture. I’d never seen a balloon with something like confetti inside it. Can you see that in the white ones near Nate’s head?
I was tickled at the interest the boys showed in a baking company. Both were peering in the windows, and then Nathaniel was on the ledge, leaning in.
My favorite shot was in the center of the main street.
The final photo was taken outside Nathaniel’s dorm before we said goodbye.
Grandson Nathaniel came to visit us and to spend 24 hours with his mother Kate. We performed the mirror ritual, where Nathaniel puts the mirror high on the wall so he and David can see their faces. Later that evening he was reading my grandmother’s hand-written recipe book.
Son John $pencer took Nate for a hike and a long ride in the mountains. This was a refreshing change from working in an office at his university. He chose this as his favorite photo of the day.
While Kate was driving here from New Jersey, John and I took Nathaniel to a favorite thrift shop in Hendersonville. Although it was his idea to go there, we were the ones who bought things. I chose two plates to go under pots on the back porch and a storage jar for coffee. Nate pointed out a pretty gravy boat. Knowing how I love gravy boats, John bought it. Nate couldn’t resist trying on this flashy red hat and had the staff in stitches.
We took a long way home through the mountains so that Nate and I could listen to a stream for a little while. The grandsons know how to get the most from a stream by standing in it.
My request for a photo almost made grandson David late for work, but he was willing to pose with the finished family puzzle. Some of the crew stayed up quite late finishing it. I liked niece Chrissie’s stance, leaning on grandson Nathaniel. I’m pretty sure Nate was on his knees.
Chrissie took this photo the day before of Lise, David, and me.
Friend Linda chose photos from our family reunion to have the puzzle made. This is one we will work again and again.
The suitcases were packed and ready to go when Nathaniel did the mirror ritual. John, Chrissie, Lise, and son John $pencer were there for the final photo.
Daughter Lise had been with us two weeks before flying back to Denmark. After she went through security, we had a few more minutes with Chrissie in the airport before she boarded her plane to Massachusetts, and then we drove Nathaniel to Charlotte. I don’t know how far John and I drove, but Lise was over the ocean and Chrissie almost home when we returned to our house. This had been a most satisfying visit.
The last four days of daughter Lise’s visit were full of activities. We picked up grandson Nathaniel from college and ate dinner on the way home.
It was after midnight when we did the mirror ritual.
Lise, John, Nathaniel, and David watch the mirror go up.
The next afternoon Lise went in the airport to meet niece Chrissie while John and I made a loop around the area. They took a selfie with Santa in the terminal.
The younger generations took a walk, which was a good antidote for lots of sitting the previous hours. This is Chrissie’s selfie at the creek.
Chrissie, David, Nathaniel, and Lise
Chrissie took a photo of Lise that I would call “Cavorting at the Creek”.
In the evening we began to work a jigsaw puzzle. This was a special family puzzle that dear friend Linda ordered for us. She used photos we took at our family reunion last summer and had a puzzle made from them. There is nothing like putting your own face together if you can find the pieces!
Son John $pencer has a little camping auger he has been experimenting with. He drilled holes in a stump and showed grandsons David and Nathaniel how to set a tiny fire in it. The young men were in the dark, although they saw the light.
On our way to take Nathaniel back to his dorm, we ate at Flat Rock Wood Room not far from Carl Sandburg’s home. We were surprised to find any restaurant equally featuring barbecue and pizza. I thought the food was tasty and served imaginatively. The fellows all had a skillet filled with macaroni and cheese, topped with barbecued pork. David’s side dish was fried sweet potatoes in a tiny bucket. I had shrimp and grits with barbecue sauce.
You can tell I was trying to fit faces and food in the shot without paying attention to one face.
On the way home I savored the memories of Nathaniel’s quick visit. He told us about his busy life – working one job in the dorm and one in the cafeteria, for a total of 40 hours a week. He attends one class in person and takes the rest of his classes on line. He doesn’t have much time to cook. I was delighted that he brought some sweet potatoes and was willing to prepare them any way we wanted. It’s a pleasure to cook with him. He never gets in my way, and I try to stay out of his. The mashed sweets were marvelous.
My favorite story was set in the cafeteria. There was an area in the dining room where people were not supposed to step. Despite a sign on the floor, people continually walked there while glued to their phones. Nathaniel suggested they tape it off and put a mannequin there. It was his suggestion that turned into his assignment. He said he changed the clothes on the mannequin once a week and put it in different positions on the floor. Lots of people commented on it, and no one stepped there again. I wish I’d asked for a photo, because I’m sure he took a few.
After we came home, David and I were relaxing in easy chairs. I said, “I don’t think Nathaniel moved the mirror down.”
John had looked and said that was correct. David got up, and I reached for the camera. The ritual was obligatory, even without Nathaniel. With the mirror lower, John and I can now see our heads. It would be comfortable for David about five inches higher.
We are a family of somewhat happy refugees, waiting for developing news of the corona virus. John rescued grandson Nathaniel from Charlotte after his university closed. Our poor student was suffering from an awful head cold, diagnosed by a walk-in health facility. It definitely was not the dreaded virus. He didn’t do the mirror ritual until 12 hours after he arrived.
Nathaniel moves the mirror up to show he is with us.
Son John $pencer and Rose left our house to avoid Nathaniel’s illness. They checked in with us from time to time with calls and texts, which I really appreciated. While they were hiking, Rose texted, “It’s a beautiful day here. I hope you are all enjoying it as much as I am.”
The next day they hiked to the ridge line and got a good signal. Rose wrote, “I hope you all stay well. We are in our element here and enjoying our freedom and break from the news.” She sent me a photo of their campsite.
As that photo was coming in, David, Nathaniel, and I were chatting with Lise in Denmark. She was supposed to go to Sweden to appear in a promotional video for a new type of stomach balloon for weight loss. The border was closed because of the virus, but they were able to do the video in Denmark. She was having stomach cramps because of the procedure. She explained that this would be the worst day, and she would feel much better the next day. As we chatted, she made up a new verse of the Misery song. Years ago she made up a song with the boys because she had a miserable cold. After that, she would add a verse when any of them felt bad. Today’s verse was something about “If I pop, you’ll need a mop”.
Lise said in Denmark people are required to stay 6 feet apart. From her flat, she looks down on the street outside a bakery. They have put tape on the sidewalk, marking intervals of 6 feet for those waiting to go inside one at a time.
The boys and I had a picnic lunch on the front porch. Normally we eat on the screened porch at the back, but it was windy and cold there. The fellows sat in the sun as I hid in the shadows.
Porch picnic
Nathaniel went inside and came back with his vintage leather jacket. He wanted it to warm up in the sun and said, “I feel like Pastor Hofler in this jacket. All I need is a cigar to compete the picture.”
David might have leaned forward to get out of the picture. Note toes high-lighted with white.
The sky was very busy, making me think that people were flying because they couldn’t shop. Every time I looked at the sky, I saw another plane streaking over. As old contrails disappeared, new ones took their place. I showed the boys what I saw – a cloud in the center of a tic-tac-toe grid.
Sky tic-tac-toe
Have any of you had pleasant things happen related to the viral pandemic?
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