Laking It!

Woodlawn in December sun

Dusk

Dawn

Back in my routine, waking a up at 6:20 to a dark house, go downstairs, look to see if it snowed (it did not), turn on coffee, NPR, get out my computer, check the temperature (37) and the day begins.  It's a different view, from Tom's, where you are basically looking out your window at a neighbor's house; here, it's the lake, when it gets light out, and the other side of the lake.  Right now I only see the nine lights of a Bemus Mc Mansion, a few lights at the marina, a light or two along Lake Drive.

We arrived home yesterday about 2:30, after a stop at Trader Joe's, picking up enough goodies to last for a few weeks at least, more wine, crackers, cheese, yogurt, the good things.  It was 58 degrees outside when we got home, uncomfortably warm for this time of the year.  After unpacking, I went out for a walk in the woods, the sun came out and it suddenly seemed like October except for the bare trees and leaves on the ground.  Lots of branches had fallen from our willow over the past two weeks, so I spent an hour raking up the small branches that cover our back yard.  As I was raking, the dark skies came in and the temperature must have dropped at least 10 degrees in the hour or so I was outside.  It was good to sit down and enjoy a class of wine and watch the lake and sky darken, listen to Chris Matthews, and do some reading.

Evie made chicken parm for dinner, delicious, and we watched a couple of Homeland's, our new favorite TV series, on Showtime.  I then watched most of the Duke/Ohio State basketball game; Ohio State is the only college team I really enjoy for some reason.  They romped over Duke, a surprise, but fun to watch.

Rain and perhaps snow is forecast for today; I doubt if it will snow but I am sure it will rain.  I am looking forward to a nice walk today, to getting back in our routine, as we are 'once more to the lake.'

It's now 8:30 and snowing, perhaps more like sleet but a typical Chautauqua welcome to the lake.

We just got back from a snowy/sleeting walk through the CI, cold and wet heading north as the wind and snow hit our face, less daunting on our return.  We stopped in the library, chatted briefly about our Thanksgiving with the two librarians, Deborah and June, walked back to our car and came home to our toasty house, warm and secure in the foggy, wet, snowy lake effect snow.

Dayton to Chautauqua Lake

Marlena

Up about 7:00 in Dayton and after a leisurely coffee and Morning Joe, a shower, we are off for home.  It looks like it's going to be a rainy day, lots of rain towards Cleveland, quite a welcome to Ohio, the same I assume at the lake.

Nick

We drove all the way to Dayton, a bit over 9 hours(595 miles) so we made pretty good time.  We only stopped twice, for gas and something to eat and the traffic was not bad though as we got into the Indiana/Ohio area, it started to rain pretty hard, making it harder to see and drive.  We checked into our Marriott, just about 6:00, went across the street to Charlie'O's, a local eatery, found out we had five minutes to order if we wanted half price appetizers and beers, so we jumped, four beers, a spinach artichoke dip and potato skins with bacon.  We spent about an hour there, really liked the bar tender, then came back to watch the   Monday Night Football game, for me, and play Words With Friends for Evie.  She almost had a meltdown as she didn't think she could get on line at first but finally she got on, whoooo!

Ready for School Bus

Fashionista!

Mom and Favorite son

Today should be about six hours to the lake, if we don't stop by we probably will stop in Chagrin Falls at Trader Joe's, to stock up on some goodies, perhaps some more wine.  It sounds good to get back to the lake, always does, even when we have had a great time with the kids.

Aloha Kansas City and We Head to the Lake

Reading Before Bed

Kneading the Sticky Buns Dough

The Happy Family

Up at 6:00 to a quiet house as I have left Bella in her cage for a bit; everyone will start getting up around 6:30, as Nick leaves at 7:00 and I would like to see us get off by then as well.  We have about 592 miles to travel today, to Richmond, IN, leaving us a 6 or 7 hour drive for tomorrow.  It sure has been a great nine days in KC, filled with great food, family, fun and lots to do.  Tom and Mary sure have great kids, like all our grandchildren of course.  We will miss all of them.

We had a nice relaxing final Sunday with the kids, just hanging around the house, talking and playing with the kids.  Tom and Mary went to church, so Marlena and Evie put together the dough for sticky buns, something we all looked forward to.  After church, Tom and Mary and Evie and Marlena went off to Costco, to pick up dinner and food for the work, while I stayed home with Nick.  I took Bella for a 36 minute walk, Nick watched TV.  When everyone got home, Bobbie, Nick's neighbor came over, and all of them put together the sticky buns, played scrabble while they baked, then ate a couple to celebrate the goodies.  They love rolling them out, sprinkling cinnamon sugar on the dough, rolling the flattened dough into long cigars, cutting into two inch rolls, then putting them in the baking pans.  For dinner, Tom went out and got us each a 3 inch fillet, cooked them to perfection of the grill, and we had them with mushrooms, salad, and mac and cheese, my favorite.  Nick had b-ball practice from 6:00 to 7:30, so Tom took him to practice, the rest cleaned up the kitchen.  Evie read to Marlena and I told her a bad boy story till Nick returned, then we all watched the Chiefs and Steelers play here in KC, a Sunday night game. It was painful to watch as Tom takes the Chiefs seriously, like I did the Browns until I gave up, and every mistake is like a stab in the heart for him.  Not the best way to relax on a Sunday evening before a work week.  The Chiefs of course eventually lost though they made it close.  We all headed up to bed around 10:30, a good day and end to a great week.

Final Sunday with Marlena and Nick

At the City Market

I was up around 7:15, to an empty house, a gray sky, and much cooler weather.  It is supposed to clear up later but for now, it's what I like to call Chautauqua gray.  Today's agenda has little on it, perhaps a trip to Costco for Evie to get her fix, then lots of football, as the Chiefs play tonight, perhaps a hike in the woods for Marlena and Nick, and a cookout of some sort, as Tom wants to do a roast.  We plan on leaving early tomorrow, Monday, and it's hard to believe it's all ready time to head home.  It seems like we just arrived.

Spices

Marlena buys Paper White Bulbs for her Room

Relaxing at Market

Yesterday morning, we slept in a bit and didn't head off to the Central Market until about 10:00, a bit early for Nick on weekends,  I know, but he was a trooper and got up without a fuss.  We met Tom and Mary downtown about 10:30, as they had stayed downtown in a hotel after the wedding reception the night before.  Both looked like that had a very good time if you know what I mean.  Coffee was necessary.  The market reminded me a little of the West Side Market in Cleveland, lots of vegetable stands, both outside, with open sides but roofs and inside, usually in front of some kind of store or restaurant.  Instead of the usual mix of Eastern European stalls and shops, KC's market had a more world feel, with Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, Middle Eastern, and Italian stores and restaurants.  The Asian influence was mostly in vegetables, the Middle Eastern had interesting stores and spices, the Italian, the usual great delis, with Italian sausages cooking outside on a grill.  There are also lots of shops around, the usual in touristy areas, knick knacks of Kansas City, tee shirts, jewelery, things like that.  We did find an amazing old hardware/gardening store; it was huge, with amazing collections of bulbs in one part, gardening tools in another, bird houses in a third, large feed items in a fourth.  It looked as though it was prospering and had been their for years.  There were also interesting looking upscale restaurants and bars, so it was an area that we would enjoying returning to the next time we visit.  These kinds of shops and restaurants are right up my alley, reminding me a bit of Istanbul.  Evie bought some freshly made naan, put grated cheese on it when we got home, baked it briefly and it was wonderful.

Playing Hang Man at the Bar

At Stewy Mc Brew's in Lee's Summit

We lazed around the afternoon as Tom and Mary were still quite tired; then, we headed off to Nick's favorite wing place, a downscale bar in Lee's Summit, crowded and noisy with revelers from the Missouri/Kansas football game.  Nick got two orders of wings, the rest of us tacos and beer.  It was a good place for food and noise, much like a neighbor bar with all ages mingling though there were no kids other than Nick and Marlena.

Saturday at Kansas City's Central Market

Ready for Culture

Ready to Picnic at Art Museum

Nicolas Shrugged!

Rolling on the Hills

Jazz Combo

Rodin's The Thinker

Today is gray and wet, not a very exciting looking day, especially if we hope to go to the Open Air Central Market in downtown KC.  Marlena got up just after me, about 7:15, so she slept well last night.  The boys are downstairs, still sleeping, so we will have to decide when to wake them up if we go to the market.  Marlena is hard at work with her blog and helping Granny with Words With Friends.  Bella is sitting on my lap as usual, demanding to be scratched, as I multi task, blogging, scratching, watching MSNBC and drinking coffee.  Tom and Mary are in a downtown hotel, after the wedding party last night.  We hope to meet them if the weather cooperates.

Yesterday, Friday, was a lazy day, as we all got up late and didn't even have breakfast until 10:30 if not later.  We potsed around the rest of the day, till we had to get ready to head off to the Art Museum, around 2:45.  It was overcast but not too dark, so that it was a nice ride into town, about 25 minutes total.  The museum is really impressive, set up on a hill, a huge quarter of a mile if not more of lawn and sculptures setting if off from the road.

We were not sure where to start so we began with the Europeans, starting back with the early renaissance and worked our way up to contemporary art.  The kids showed a good interest though they enjoyed the impressionists more than the early religious works; I don't blame them.  I was able to explain to Nick some of the differences in styles, and he seemed to take it in.  He wanted to see a Van Gogh and the museum had only one, which cost it 82 million dollars according to the staff.  There were lots of painters from various painters that I had never heard of though they did have at least one work by the following masters, at least in my mind: Turner, Hals, Rubens, Poussin, Bouchet, Delacroix, Ingres, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Pissaro, Seurat, Cezanne, Gauguin, and Pollack.  There were a few more but no Picasso's, which was strange since he is so  prolific.  Marlena, as usual, asked lots of questions and really enjoyed the various works.

When Nick and Marlena got bored, we went out to the vast grassy front lawn, had a snack, and Marlena and Nick just loved running around the lawns, sprinting from one Henry Moore sculpture to another.  Marlena rolled down the hills, where possible, and we just enjoyed the settling of day into night.  Then we went in, viewed the Rodin exhibition before heading off to a free Jazz concert.  We sat in the third row, so we were able to see the three musicians up close, a drummer, base, and keyboard.  We listened to two or three pieces, then went off in search of the hot chocolate and cookies.  While we ate, the kids were able to play on a computer, and like Rodin, put together a computerized sculpture, like Rodin might have done, save it, and email it to your home computer.  By the time we were finished with our snack, the kids were ready to go home.  We stopped to look at some of Rodin's work on Balzac, the great French writer.  They were amazing, so expressive and powerful.  Marlena and I checked out the courtyard, like that of a Venetian palace, which is a dining room on Friday nights, a beautiful place to sit, have dinner, and listen to the music.  It was a great afternoon.

We picked up a pizza for dinner, picked up Peyton, Nick's buddy who is spending the night, and went home to a relaxing evening, the boys playing Modern Warfare in the basement, Evie and Marlena playing bananagrams, and I sat down and watched b-ball on TV.  Later, when Marlena went to bed, we watched Win Win with the boys, a movie about a wrestler we thought they might really like.  It's a great example of a film with solid characters, a great story, conflicts, and wonderful acting, understated but compelling, so unusual from today's action movies, where one action follows another.  I want to show Nick The Station Agent, a similar character study by the same film maker, Tom Mc Carthy.

Post Turkey Day, A Good Day for a Visit to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum

Hiking along the Creek

Picnicing

Building cairns

Turkey on the Outdoor Grill

The Cooks

Playing scrabble

A mild, overcast day, with no rain in the forecast till late tonight.  I actually slept in till 7:30 and Marlena and Evie did not get up till 8:00, so we must have been really tired. Yesterday, as usual, was a day of excess, football, food, and sun shine, nothing to complain about for once!  

Post Turkey Blues

Weather wise, it was a  great day too, sunny and warm, a perfect day to be either inside watching football, or outside walking and hiking.  I took Bella for a long walk around 10:00, as Evie and Mary got things ready for the big meal.  Tom put the turkey on about 11:00, as we decided to cook it outside on the grill for the first time.  Evie worked on the sides and Mary made a banana cream pie.  About 1:00, Evie and I took the kids on a hike and picnic along their creek, which has become a regular outing for us.  It's just a couple of hundred yards beyond their house, and we can follow the creek and gorge for 20 minutes.  We decided to mark our path, making a few cairns as we went along.  We stopped for a picnic lunch of peanut butter crackers, grapes and cheese, sitting on the rocks along the creek.  When we returned, Mary's parents and brother were at the house, and we sat and talked with them, had appetizers, and watched Green Bay and Detroit until we ate dinner, about 3:30.

Tom and I watched a video on how to carve a turkey from the NYTimes and it was clear enough so that we were able to follow it to perfection,  taking off the dark meat first, then the breast in two chunks, then carving them into slices.  Easy and efficient.The turkey was moist and tasty(we all felt cooking it outside was the way to go next year) as were the requisite sides, mashed potatoes, rolls, stuffing and green beans. We also had three pies, pumpkin and banana cream, and cheese cake.  The men were, typically, worn out by all the eating and ended up sleeping on the couch while the ladies cleaned up.  Most of the post meal leisure was filled with football though Evie and the kids and Mary and Rose played some scrabble.  Tom and I were so worn out we had to go out for a walk with Bella to wake the heck up.  Typical.  It' strange to have eaten, done the dishes, taken a nap, walked and its only 6:30 though it feels like 10:30, a long night ahead.  Mary's parents and brother left around 8:00, so we decided then to watch a movie, Source Code, with Tom and Mary, a fairly good movie though I think I had seen it before.  Ever watch a movie and realize slowly that you had seen it before.  Both Evie and I felt that way though we could not remember what was going to happen. Pathetic.

Tom and I stayed up and watched the last four minutes of the Texas/ Texas A & M football game, perhaps the most exciting football of the day.  We went to bed full of football and food and happy, a good day for everyone, especially being with the family.

Later today, Tom and Mary go in to the city for a wedding reception and will stay overnight in KC and Evie and I and kids are excited about going to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum about 3:30.

EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE: JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

This is an easy book to get into but demands quite a bit of the reader to keep the narratives straight, as it takes time to figure out what's going on, what's happened in the past, who is narrating, things like that.  It's quite different from reading a Brad Thor where you don't even have to think, just laugh.  The narrator is a precocious nine year old Oskar Schnell.  He's more curious than most people, dabbles in everything, has written letters to all the famous people, from Stephen Hawking to Nelson Mandela and has gotten replies back from a number.  The catalyst for the book is 9/11, the day he returns from school to listen to messages from his father, as he's trapped in one of the towers.  He finally realizes the tragedy, switches phones and answering systems so his mother will not hear his father's last words, and the novel begins.

In no way is he ordinary, either in how he lives, or in the family he belongs to.  We figure out finally that his grandparents, who narrate parts of the book, starting in 1963, are Germans(perhaps Jewish) who somehow have survived the Allies bombing of Dresden, have found each other, married and lived for awhile, but have set up so many rules to avoid their past that they end up making living with each other impossible.  The grandfather has lost the ability to speak, writes to communicate, and although he knew his wife, Oskar's grandmother, briefly in Dresden, he loves her sister Anna.  Because he finds it impossible to live, he leaves Oskar's grandmother, only to return later as her renter.  Bizarre.

The narrative of the novel revolves around a key, found by Oskar, in an envelop with the name Black on it.  He's convinced it's the key to his father's death (that he may still be alive) and he vows to speak with everyone named Black who lives in New York.  Interspersed between his visits to various Blacks, are his grandfather's journal, describing his marriage to Oskar's grandmother.  She is Oskar's surrogate mother, who plays much of a role in Oskar's life.  The story of their seemingly idyllic life in Dresden, falling in love (with the grandma's sister), then the almost total destruction of Dresden and everything they both had, is difficult to read.  It's effects on the two make it almost impossible to live on but some how they do.  As the Grandmother says, "We ought to have two lives; the first one will help us to know how to live the second one."  And in between Oskar befriends his upstairs neighbor, who has not left his apartment in 30 years and together, they go in search of the person named black who recognizes the key.

I will always remember the metaphor of 'heavy boots' for being depressed, the creation of a "Nothing Place" by Oskar's grandparents to blot out their devastating pasts which ends up destroying their relationships.  And of course Oskar is the most memorable character, haunted by his father's death, unaware of his parents and grandparents history, determined to find the lock to his key, hoping beyond hope that it will serve the truth.  And always, I think of his grandfather, going to bed, thinking he has time to tell Anna he loves her, only to have everything destroyed that night by the bombing of Dresden, his love, his hopes, literally his life: the books mantra might be 'live each day as if it will be your last.'

It's hard to follow at times, I admit, making it the kind of book you would like to read again.  Often, you are not sure who is narrating, where they are, whether it's his father, grandfather, or grandmother, whether it's the near or far past.  The character's he meets, Mr. Black, the lady who lives a top the Empire State building, especially his grandparents, are marvelous creations, as is Oskar.  And I liked the ending, where he imagines what it would be like if he could run the script backwards: his father instead of falling from the Twin Towers, would rise to the building, take the elevator down to floor level, walk to the subway, take it home, go into his husband, say good by to Oskar, etc.

I want to read it again but not now.  Let it settle for a bit.  Foer is amazingly creative in his narrative, in going into the mind of a 9 year old, precocious but believable.

Thanksgiving Day and Harry Truman

Independence, Missouri, Home of Harry Truman, 33rd President of the United Staes

Entrance to the Truman Residence

Harry Truman's home

Yesterday, Wednesday, ended up being a really beautiful day, especially since we headed into Independence, MO, to see Harry Truman's house and visit his library.  We got there about 11:30 and headed off to his house after getting tickets.  Evie and I visited the home about 15 years ago and loved it and thought Mary, Nick and Marlena might enjoy it as well.  The tour accommodates 8 people maximum, so we were lucky to get included.  The tour lasted about 30 minutes and took us through the downstairs, almost exactly as it would have been when Truman and his wife Bess would have lived in it after his Presidency.  The kitchen was great, simple, unadorned, like Harry, with tables and utensils that I remembered from my  childhood in the 50's, especially the appliances and simple formica table and chairs.  We then walked to the dining room, with his darkened study just off of it, with lots of book shelves and his books.  Then into the living room and parlour, none of which had the feeling of a president having lived in it, a TV off in the corner unattended.  Harry and Bess lived simply, within a budget, with none of the wealth that today's presidents seem to accumulate; in fact, when he arrived home in Independence in 1955, he had to take a loan out to fix up his house.  Evie and I both remember his raincoat and hat hanging on the rack just inside the back door.

Entrance to Truman Library

His library was up on a hill, about a mile from his house, very 50ish in design, not much to my taste, one story and all plain stone, reminiscent of the Cleveland Art Museum.  Inside, however, it was very interesting, as it chronicled most of his life, with films, newspapers, tapes, posters, his cars, and exhibitions.  He certainly did preside at a crucial time, having to decide whether to use the A Bomb, then deal with the devastation of Europe, the threat of Communism, solving  both with the Marshall Plan.  Then came mass unemployment after the GI's returned home, then Mc Carthyism and finally the Korean War.  For such a modest man, it seems as though he rose to the task, though most people at the time did not know it.  His approval rate was 20% when he left office

Life Size Sculpture 

Library Courtyard and Truman's grave sites

We must have spent at least three hours total, at his house and library.  In the court yard of the library, Truman is buried next to his beloved wife Bess in a very simple memorial with the American flag flying high.  This is the only Presidential Library I have visited but I was moved by both his library and modest home, his life, and his courage in confronting so many difficult problems.  And as he said, "The Buck Stops Here," so unlike most of today's politicians.

We got home about 3:30 after a lunch at Backyard Burgers.  Tom got home from work about 5:30; I took Bella for another walk along the creek, Evie made up teriyaki marinade, and Tom cooked the pork chops on the grill.  We watched Kansas lose to Duke in Hawaii, then went to bed, ready for Turkey Day.

Right now, Marlena is up with Evie and me, everyone else is sleeping in.  Rose and Frank, Mary's parents will be over around 1:30, dinner at 4:00, lots of football in between I assume.  It's going to be a beautiful day, great for a walk, in the high 50's, then rain comes in tomorrow.

A poem for the day which I liked:

Turkeys

by Mary Mackey,

One November
a week before Thanksgiving
the Ohio river froze
and my great uncles
put on their coats
and drove the turkeys
across the ice
to Rosiclare
where they sold them
for enough to buy
my grandmother
a Christmas doll
with blue china eyes

I like to think
of the sound of
two hundred turkey feet
running across to Illinois
on their way
to the platter
the scrape of their nails
and my great uncles
in their homespun leggings
calling out gee and haw and git
to them as if they
were mules

I like to think of the Ohio
at that moment
the clear cold sky
the green river sleeping
under the ice
before the land got stripped
and the farm got sold
and the water turned the color
of whiskey
and all the uncles
lay down
and never got up again

I like to think of the world
before some genius invented
turkeys with pop-up plastic
thermometers
in their breasts
idiot birds
with no wildness left in them
turkeys that couldn't run the river
to save their souls

Feels Like Saturday But It's Wednesday in KC

Eva, Marlena and Ella Enjoying the Frosting

Cookie Crazy

A lazy Wednesday, Nick's still sleeping, Tom just went off to work and we are sitting here, watching Justin Bieber on TV, Mary, Evie, Marlena, and me.  A bit cloudy but it's supposed to clear up and warm up for a day or two, not so for the East Coast, which looks as though it's having terrible traveling weather.

Enjoying the B-Ball Game at Sprint Center, in KC

We spent much of yesterday in Best Buy, trying to get our Sirius Radio fixed; we waited around for over an hour, took it home, didn't work, went back, dropped it off, then went back and hour later and picked it up and, viola, it works.  What a waste of a day.

I took Bella for a walk and just as we finished, Nick came home, about 3:00, no practice, no school for five days.  The family(except for Marlena) went to a wake around 5:00.  Marlena had two friends, Ava and Ella, over to decorate cookies with Evie.  Clearly, they enjoyed themselves, silly and fun, like little girls tend to be.  Both girls were originals and it was fun watching Marlena be silly with them.  Mary picked up a pizza for dinner for the girls.

KC High School Band

At 6:00, Tom, Nick and I went downtown to the Sprint Center in Kansas City for the finals of the College tournament, Missouri facing California.  We went last year, courtesy of Tom's friend, Cory, a real fan.  We ate burgers at Gordon's Brewery Pub, packed with fans and were lucky to get a table in the bar area, otherwise it was a 45 minute wait.  The games were both one sided, though the first half was pretty good.  Much of the fun was watching the local high school band and cheerleaders, there to support teams from afar.  Because the game featured the local favorite Missouri, the center was filled with rabid MU fans, dressed in yellow sweats or shirts.  The cameras during timeouts would focus on fans and if you were wearing a blue Kansas sweat like Nick, the camera would find you, put you on the JumboTron and then the fans would boo.  Nick just managed to get in the edge of one of the pictures, which he enjoyed.

We left early because MU was up by 30 points and both Tom and Nick were really tired.  We got home around 11:15, Tom and Nick ate up the pizza left over from the girls' dinner, and watched some of the KU game on TV from Maui.  I went to bed soon after getting home.  A good half of day.

Rainy Tuesday, Last Day of School for Nick and Marlena

New Snow flake ear rings

Nick goes off to school quite early, at 7:00, an ungodly hour, so say the experts, for learning.  He does get off early, about 2:30 but last night he had basketball practice till 5:30, came home, went off 45 minutes away to a soccer practice and did not get home until 8:30 at night, starving, ready to devour anything put forward.

Every one's up now, Marlena writing on her blog, responding to Aunt Ellen's blog and adding her blog to her list of blogs she's following.  Tom just headed off to work, a casual week to support an employee who was just diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease.  You put money in the kitty each day you wear jeans to work.

Marlena's teacher, Mrs. Byrne

Last night, we went off to Grandparent's Day at Marlena's school.  Like a little general, she took control of her four grandparents and ushered us around, confident and fully of personality.  We visited her classroom, met her teacher, saw her work, her writings, drawings, books, storage box, then headed off to meet her kindergarten teacher from three years ago, Kelly, a friend of the family, then her 1st grade teacher, who she gives a hug to each morning.  We then went to the art room, no teacher, saw her drawings, then off to the gym for lemonade and cookies, then home, to watch the Chiefs game, a game only for the first quarter.  After that, they got destroyed by the New England Patriots, to Tom's dismay and blood pressure health.  Unfortunately, he has spent his conscious life a Browns and Chiefs fan, two teams that always seem to disappoint.

The Worst Chinese Restaurant in KC

Tonight, Nick, Tom and I are going off to the Kansas City Basketball tournament, the same one we went to last year and saw Duke play.  This year it's Notre Dame, Georgia, California and Missouri.  We will head off around 6:00 and fortunately, Nick is through with school.

Yesterday morning, Evie and I walked around downtown Lee's Summit, a very quaint downtown, almost completely refurbished and it looks prosperous, with few empty store fronts.  Most of the shops are the usual, clothing, home furnishings, and gifts/jewelery but interesting and different.  Five or six restaurants are sprinkled among them, from a cafe, to a sports bar, to a Mexican place.  It was fairly busy at lunch time, which was nice to see.

This morning we are off to Best Buy, to get our Sirus radio fixed; it went off the first hour of our trip west to Evie's dismay, so we want it fixed for the ride home.

Monday in Kansas City (Kids in School)

Practicing with Granny

Prepping for Dinner

We had a fun and relaxing Sunday, setting out for Costco about 11:00 to get our fix, picking up most of what we need for Thanksgiving. It's amazing how crowded Costco can be, everyone gathering food for Thanksgiving, presents for Christmas, and just anything that strikes their fancy.  I don't think we save much because we always end up buying something we had not planned on, it's just such a good deal!  Fortunately, we were able to pick up a present for Nick, something we had yet to do.

Hard at Work

Around 1:00,  Mary's parents came over and her Mom, Evie, Marlena and Evie went off to the local high school to watch their production of A Christmas Carol.  Tom and I went out to pick up a few things, then raked some leaves, and watched football on TV until the girls got back.  Evie and Mary started getting dinner ready, and Tom cooked salmon out on cedar planks, and we had sides of roasted potatoes, brussels sprouts and salad.

Costco Madness

Later, before bed, I quizzed Nick on his American history terms, a chronology of events leading up to the Revolutionary War.  He knew it really well and could explain things clearly and in detail.  He's a good boy, smart and hard working, just like his Baba!

Evie and Marlena having been working on her keyboarding skills, and she is getting excited about playing and even practicing.  I hope she keeps it up.

The adults watched The Good Wife, then we all went to bed by 10:30.  

Early Sunday Morning with Marlena

Marlena at Play

Bobbie, Tom and Nick playing B-Ball

Marlena and I are the only one's up and its almost 7:30. Bella, their dog, is sitting on my lap and Marlena is sitting next to me, working on her blog as well.  It's much colder outside then yesterday and cloudy, a good day for a walk but perhaps too cold for the kids to play outside.  Marlena got excited about her blog, so she wrote both yesterday and today which is neat.  I hope she continues because, like Hayden, she is a very good writer.

Our driver yesterday to Lee's Summit from Effingham was just about 6 hours though we stopped at my favorite Western store Kleinschmidts for about 15 minutes.  If you are a cowboy, you'll love this store.  The last time we were there, the parking lot had three or four cars because it was a week day afternoon.  Yesterday, a Saturday, there must have been 75 cars in the lot.  I bought a cool cowboy flannel shirt, extra long of course.

Marlena's cairn

Mary and Tom making meatballs

Cowboy Central

We arrived at Tom's about 1:30 and they were making dinner for the night, homemade pasta sauce and meatballs.  Tommy was also grilling sausages outside for the sauce and also fried some egg plant to eat as a side.  Both Tom and Mary had been busy getting ready for our visit.  The kids are fine; Nick's neighbor Bobbie was over, and Marlena was up tidying her room.  Both look taller to me but I guess I always say that.  We lazed around most of the afternoon, though Tom and Nick and Bobbie played some b-ball.  Dinner was great and we all seem to be starved.  We played 20 Questions, as usual, with Marlena starting.  Tom guessed her word with the first guess...she had been looking at it on the wall.  Pretty funny.  We watched some football on tv, I played a violent video games with Nick, and Marlena and Evie played a couple of games on the IPAD.  Evie and Marlena took some rocks Marlena had in her room and made a neat cairn for her book shelf.  We all went to bed around 10:00 as we were tired.