The big news this week is that Dad is painting the house, with me as his minion. This after Dad repeatedly told me that he is much too busy to paint, and Michael told me that he can tell, just by looking at me, that I have no talent for painting. My job is to do what I am told, quickly and without complaint. So far, I have specialized in wrapping banisters with newspaper and tape. I may graduate to taping the sides of the wooden stairs, where they meet the moldings. Certainly, I will never graduate to painting, which is only for those who have talent. I marvel at Dad's change of heart--we talked, this morning, about how we might even go window shopping at Costco for some new ladders!
Dad and I are enjoying the family blogs--Camille's tales of raising five children in small family Massachussets, Jenny and Jonny discovering the most intricate and artistic Hindu shrines and forts, and Michael wandering around Bhutan. Michael is incommunicado for a week or even two, as he hikes to the base camp of Everest. He has bought me a few treasures--lacquer from Myanmar and silver pendants from Bhutan. He will also pick up a few of those exotic Ethiopian crosses.
Yesterday, Dad and I finalized our trip to Seattle over Labor Day and to Boston in October. Lisa and Kyle's Christmas gift was a family trip with us. We have decided on a weekend in Victoria, B.C. over Labor Day. I found the Royal Scot Suites Hotel on Hotels.com, and we are excited about it. From the advertising, at least, it appears that a Scotsman in a kilt is stationed by the front door, and there are all sorts of kid-friendly amenities, such as a pool table, swimming pool, jacuzzi, and lush gardens. The hotel is also just two blocks from the "Inner Harbor." We will ride the ferry from Seattle to Victoria on Friday morning and stay until Sunday. Lisa and Camille may remember the summer trip we took to Victoria when Michael was a baby. We visited Buchardt Gardens, which we'll do again with Lisa, Kyle, and their tribe.
It will also be fun to see Lisa and Kyle et al. in July. They will be coming for two to three weeks, with at least a week spent at the cabin. Lisa says the kids look forward to their summer trip to SLC all year. Spencer decided that a week at the cabin will be the highlight. Lisa just says, "I hope I can last that long." (Camille remembers, from her slumber party at the cabin last summer, suffocating heat and strange sounds in the middle of the night that had the whole family huddling together downstairs before the night was over.)
The Flindt kids have been running races this spring, and beating their "personal best" times over and over (as well as most of the competition). Dad says they are as fast already as he was in his prime (and he assures me he was very fast when he was in his prime).
It will also be a delight to have Camille, Steve, and their little kids home with us. Jonathan turned eight last week, and he will be getting baptized on July 14, here in SLC, with a big party for family and friends. Steve turned 37 (?) last week, too, and Spencer turned 11 (or is it 12?). Camille will be in SLC until mid-August, when she and Steve join Jenny and Jonny for a trip to Thailand. One fun portion of their SLC trip will be a drive south, with Dad, through Goblin Valley, to our St. George house and its swimming pool.
Dad doesn't approve of my trip to India and so is pretending that I'm not really going. I have taken responsibility for all the aspects of a big trip that he normally handles--sending away for visas, buying the plane ticket, making arrangements to take enough money. I'll arrive on Friday night, July 25, spend the weekend with Jonny and Jenny seeing Delhi, and then take a tour of Agra (the Taj Mahal) and Jaipur the next week. On Friday or Saturday, Jonny and Jenny will be through with their jobs and we'll head off together somewhere fun, such as Nepal or Kerala.
Dad and I miss Michael, but I have taken to heart Camille's advice to make this an opportunity to enjoy just being with Dad. I fix intimate little suppers every night and we plan fun projects like painting the house.
Grandma Spendlove has had a tough time recovering from her back surgery. She collapsed in the shower one day last week, from the pain, and woke up to wonder what she was doing, lying on the shower floor. Grandma and Grandpa really appreciate your phone calls--they say you are the grandchildren who call them the most. We had a very fun Sunday dinner last week, in the garden, with Grandma Calder and Grandma and Grandpa Spendlove. The flowers on our hill were all in bloom, in wonderful shades of purple and pink and white. I wished Kirsten and Emilie and Annelise and Sophie and Alyssa were there to fill my miniature flower vases full of flowers.
We also showed the Grandmas and Grandpa the two treasures we brought home from our trip to Europe--a beautiful blue and white, hand-painted vase from Delft, Holland, and a hand-painted porcelain box in the colors of our living room--rust and blue and sage green. Someday, I'll be like Grandma Calder and write out a list, on a yellow legal pad, of what each of my descendants gets when I die. The Delft vase and box will definitely be on the list, as will the red silk dragon which is the centerpiece of Chinese New Year meals, the statue of the Chinese man having his ears cleaned, and similar items that I know you all want. I have also thought of inviting each of my descendants to wear one of my necklaces at my funeral--there are plenty for all, male and female.
Dad and I are enjoying the family blogs--Camille's tales of raising five children in small family Massachussets, Jenny and Jonny discovering the most intricate and artistic Hindu shrines and forts, and Michael wandering around Bhutan. Michael is incommunicado for a week or even two, as he hikes to the base camp of Everest. He has bought me a few treasures--lacquer from Myanmar and silver pendants from Bhutan. He will also pick up a few of those exotic Ethiopian crosses.
Yesterday, Dad and I finalized our trip to Seattle over Labor Day and to Boston in October. Lisa and Kyle's Christmas gift was a family trip with us. We have decided on a weekend in Victoria, B.C. over Labor Day. I found the Royal Scot Suites Hotel on Hotels.com, and we are excited about it. From the advertising, at least, it appears that a Scotsman in a kilt is stationed by the front door, and there are all sorts of kid-friendly amenities, such as a pool table, swimming pool, jacuzzi, and lush gardens. The hotel is also just two blocks from the "Inner Harbor." We will ride the ferry from Seattle to Victoria on Friday morning and stay until Sunday. Lisa and Camille may remember the summer trip we took to Victoria when Michael was a baby. We visited Buchardt Gardens, which we'll do again with Lisa, Kyle, and their tribe.
It will also be fun to see Lisa and Kyle et al. in July. They will be coming for two to three weeks, with at least a week spent at the cabin. Lisa says the kids look forward to their summer trip to SLC all year. Spencer decided that a week at the cabin will be the highlight. Lisa just says, "I hope I can last that long." (Camille remembers, from her slumber party at the cabin last summer, suffocating heat and strange sounds in the middle of the night that had the whole family huddling together downstairs before the night was over.)
The Flindt kids have been running races this spring, and beating their "personal best" times over and over (as well as most of the competition). Dad says they are as fast already as he was in his prime (and he assures me he was very fast when he was in his prime).
It will also be a delight to have Camille, Steve, and their little kids home with us. Jonathan turned eight last week, and he will be getting baptized on July 14, here in SLC, with a big party for family and friends. Steve turned 37 (?) last week, too, and Spencer turned 11 (or is it 12?). Camille will be in SLC until mid-August, when she and Steve join Jenny and Jonny for a trip to Thailand. One fun portion of their SLC trip will be a drive south, with Dad, through Goblin Valley, to our St. George house and its swimming pool.
Dad doesn't approve of my trip to India and so is pretending that I'm not really going. I have taken responsibility for all the aspects of a big trip that he normally handles--sending away for visas, buying the plane ticket, making arrangements to take enough money. I'll arrive on Friday night, July 25, spend the weekend with Jonny and Jenny seeing Delhi, and then take a tour of Agra (the Taj Mahal) and Jaipur the next week. On Friday or Saturday, Jonny and Jenny will be through with their jobs and we'll head off together somewhere fun, such as Nepal or Kerala.
Dad and I miss Michael, but I have taken to heart Camille's advice to make this an opportunity to enjoy just being with Dad. I fix intimate little suppers every night and we plan fun projects like painting the house.
Grandma Spendlove has had a tough time recovering from her back surgery. She collapsed in the shower one day last week, from the pain, and woke up to wonder what she was doing, lying on the shower floor. Grandma and Grandpa really appreciate your phone calls--they say you are the grandchildren who call them the most. We had a very fun Sunday dinner last week, in the garden, with Grandma Calder and Grandma and Grandpa Spendlove. The flowers on our hill were all in bloom, in wonderful shades of purple and pink and white. I wished Kirsten and Emilie and Annelise and Sophie and Alyssa were there to fill my miniature flower vases full of flowers.
We also showed the Grandmas and Grandpa the two treasures we brought home from our trip to Europe--a beautiful blue and white, hand-painted vase from Delft, Holland, and a hand-painted porcelain box in the colors of our living room--rust and blue and sage green. Someday, I'll be like Grandma Calder and write out a list, on a yellow legal pad, of what each of my descendants gets when I die. The Delft vase and box will definitely be on the list, as will the red silk dragon which is the centerpiece of Chinese New Year meals, the statue of the Chinese man having his ears cleaned, and similar items that I know you all want. I have also thought of inviting each of my descendants to wear one of my necklaces at my funeral--there are plenty for all, male and female.
