I had high hopes for May. As I recall it seems to get warm and stay warm once we hit May. This one was a misfire. We had a few nice days in a row where I could get out and take a walk and then nearly two solid weeks of rain and chilliness. This month has gone the way of the crumb. Then to cap it all off, on May 3rd my TV broke. Just blew. There were ghost images of red and green and it too was completely crummy. It was like watching a 3-D movie without the glasses. I went until ten days without my big screen, resorting to watching my Presidential biogs on Woodrow Wilson and Thomas Jefferson ‘up the stairs’ (as Grace says). Chris and I broke in the new repaired TV with a viewing of the wacky film The Magic Christian.
So I spent my days going to the library and getting Presidential DVD’s and armfuls of CD’s from all over the state. I also spent lots of time ‘updating’ my iPod. And one very productive thing that Jackie and I completed on Sunday the 4th was the trimming of the hedges/bushes/wildlife in my front yard. My house was beginning to look like no one actually lived here.
And speaking of wildlife…while trimming the hedges I began to hear an ominous growl. This turned out to be a cat who was living in the bushes and had just given birth to four baby kittens. Christi and Creed were over visiting (and watching Grace when Jackie and I went out to buy a trunkfull of garden equipment) so the kids were fascinated by the tiny little felines. I gave the mother cat some food to tide her over and that night she packed up and moved out. I felt bad for having ‘trimmed’ down their house and a bit worried about how they would fare out in the world, but was honestly relieved that I didn’t have the task of looking after five new cats!
Kittens in them thar bushes
On Friday, May the 9th, Briana came down for a visit accompanied by Christi and Creed, so we had a houseful again. The next day I ventured solo to the graduation party of Erine, my step-brother Bryan’s girlfriend, who had earned an accounting degree. This was at the nice home of her parents in Germantown. They had lots of great food. Coldcuts, meatballs, cheeseballs, and desserts - my favorites. Any day with two ham and swiss on ryes is a good one in my book. Chris and I joined Debby and Mike for a game of cornhole. Once I figured out on whose team I actually was (it was Mike’s), he and I promptly lost. Also unfortunately, my camera battery ran out so I couldn’t even get a picture with Erine to commemorate the event.
Jim, Jan, Bev, Grandpa, Diana, Mom, Tom, Bob, Mike, and Debby gather around their own secluded table and are antisocial at Erine’s party
Squaring off against Debby at Cornhole
Finally I figure out that my partner was Mike, who helps secure our loss with this limp-wristed toss
Sunday, May 10 was Mother’s Day. I joined Jackie and Grace and their family for a Mother’s Day champagne breakfast at the Eagles. Jackie’s Mom Evie and her brother Jay were there, along with Jay’s friend John. It was nice to spend some time with her family and down some of the bubbly. Later that afternoon, I took both Jackie and my Mom out for dinner at Red Lobster near the Dayton Mall. Seafood galore. Mmmm mmmm. Just what I needed after a huge all-you-can-eat breakfast that included bacon. Just for the record, I can eat nearly a pound and a half…of said bacon.
Jackie, Evie, and Grace, who is eating bacon for the first time ever on Mother’s Day 2008
Grace at Red Lobster, where she enjoys another food item for the first time: applesauce
Jackie looked especially radiant on Mother’s Day - even better than my crab alfredo and coconut shrimp
With my spectacular Mom
The following Friday, May 16, Mom and Bob had another one of their famous game night and hot dog fiestas, this time with tons of Meijer ice cream that she had gotten free. Although not quite as busy as previous game nights, this one was lots of fun. I concentrated on playing only one game: pocket billiards. Chris was my opponent and we fared rather evenly until the end when we stopped winning alternating games and he began winning consecutive games. I was good with it though as I played rather well, making some darn good combo shots.
Also there for the evening were Grandpa, Diana, Bev, Darlene, Dad, Denise, Adam, Chris, Karen, Jackie, Grace, Ashleigh, and Derrek. Bob assisted Jackie in getting the hood up on her car instead of her paying the requested $400 to do the job at Firestone, those dirty bastards. Diana brought along the book that she had written - a collection of anecdotes from her life’s adventures - sort of a much more manageable version of this website, only about her life, not mine. I’m still reading it, but so far it’s very cute and entertaining.
Darlene, Grandpa, Denise, and Mom chow down before the games commence
Diana, Karen, Bev, and Darlene. Mom is caught red-handed off to the left with a forkful of food.
Let the games begin for Grandpa and Bob…the Reds game on TV that is
Dad shows Grace and Adam pictures on his iPod Nano. I look on delightedly.
Adam and Grace are caught with their hands in the poppyseed cake bowl
Bev and Grandpa enjoy a nice game of pool
My philosophy is - if you can’t beat ‘em, impale ‘em with a pool cue
I had to work the next morning, so we spent the night there and then got up at the crack of dawn. I worked until noon and then came home to watch Ashleigh get ready for her Senior Prom…
…coming up next.
Looks like you had a really nice Mother’s day and you were able to spend time with all the mothers. Enjoy these moments…..
At Erine’s party we weren’t anti social, just comfortable where we were. We visited with other party members before we went outside, you just hadn’t gotten there yet.
Everybody always says Chris and Mike look alike and I must admit in the picture at the table when you only see the back of Mike’s head, I had to really think it over at first because I thought it was Chris. But then I logically decided by that time Chris was finished eating and had given up his seat (which was the one Mike was in). Then when you look at Mike and Chris together playing corn hole, you see alot of similarities but Chris needs to get out and get a tan to catch up with Mike’s skin coloring. Both are very handsome guys.
I love the picture of Adam and Grace sharing a piece of cake. Too cute.
Bev
May 24th, 2008