Friday, May 19, 2006


On the go...

A little of this, a little of that… during my Mom’s stay we’ve done some packing, some cleaning, some talking, some cooking… We stopped by Holly’s and Delia met Isabella. We went bead shopping, which is a vital activity for my Mom and her art. We almost made it to Olvera Street and/or the Zoo. We even scoped out a few rentals. And we enjoyed a visit from my brother, Hans.



Hans came with treasures from his adventures abroad. He brought each of us unique and beautiful gifts. You can’t say “treasure” without prompting Max to share his treasures. He keeps them organized and safely stowed away in his special box, and bringing out each coin, rubber frog, geode, and Lego commemorative brick is one of Max’s favorite pastimes. Uncle Hans is seen examining Max’s tooth. Hans may have shopped Middle Eastern bazaars for Persian rugs, but it’s not every day you get to hold a cracked tooth.



Delia and Frankie have been getting along fabulously. He loves to chew on her sterling silver bracelets, but he better not even lay a paw on the beautiful shawl Hans brought her. Hans and kitty hit it off too. Hans thinks he needs a kitten to keep his cat company; I’d love to find him one. Before Hans left the boys serenaded him with “Magical Trevor” and Maria danced.



Last night Alex and Delia made the dinner. Alex worked especially hard on his homemade strawberry muffins, which were delicious. Before his Grandma leaves he's going to learn how to make pie crust and quiche... lucky me! Max was trying to teach his Grandma how to play Zelda on the Nintendo 64, and she slipped in some reading lessons for him. Before she leaves, I think she may be asking William to teach her the words to "Magical Trevor."

Magical Trevor Lyrics

Everyone loves Magical Trevor,
'cos the tricks that he does are ever so clever,
Look at him now, disappearing the cow,
Where is the cow, hidden right now?

Taking a bow, it's Magical Trevor,
Everybody's seen that the trick is clever,
Look at him there, with his leathery, leathery whip,
It's made of magic, and with a little flick,

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the cow is back,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the cow is back,
Back back, back from his magical journey.

What did he see, in the parallel dimension?
He saw beans, lots of beans, lots of beans, lots of beans,
Oh, beans lots of beans, lots of beans, lots of beans, yeah yeah...

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

We went north for Mother's Day, and surprised all by arriving with Delia. My mom drove down from Oregon, stopping with Bill and Alison on her way, and she has been with us since Thursday. So, when we went to Becky and Dan's on Sunday for a cookout and family time, we were packing an extra guest. Our visits to aunt Becky's are never a disappointment; the sky was blue and clear, and the welcome was heartfelt and full of love. We missed Becky-Sue, who had to work, but we were joined by Steve and Andi, Ashley, Nicholas and Natalia, and of course cousin Julie was there with Grandma.


I am trying to think of an elaborate description of the day, so that I can convey how pleasant and fun it was, but I think the pleasure and fun came from the simplicity of the visit. We ate a delicious lunch, made tastier by the sharing. We caught up on family news: Ashley is a college graduate, and her brother is an Air Force boot-camp graduate, Julie is days away from holding a teaching credential, Steve turned 49, so there was plenty to celebrate in addition to Loving the Mothers! What else?


Some of us went on neighborhood walks, and got closer to all the flower gardens and beautiful trees that line the steets and shade the beautiful homes. Max and Geoff played a game like soccer, using a tennis ball. Aunt Julie supplied Alex and William with plenty of pens and paper for drawing. Can you believe there was time to watch Napoleon Dynamite? That *charming* film is even funnier when the living room is full of Napoleon fans. "Gosh"... it wasn't about fancy stuff or elaborate plans. We were happy just being with each other. Let's get together again real soon, and maybe next time ______ can be there too.