Mike's Tree

 I want to try to take more random pictures and just write about happenings as they occur.  The girls know that I'm "writing a book," as Graysen said, and she wondered today why I don't have it published.  I told her that no one in the world would be interested in reading this except them - and even then, they might find it a little boring.  

I also enjoy just going back through the years and finding out what September was in years past.  Emily and her family and then all of them with me have tried to go to a special place near here every year around September 12 when Mike left us.  

Emily found the tree somehow in a green area beside the Snoqualmie River in North Bend, WA.  I'm not sure exactly how she found it, but she went there sometimes after coming home from spending all day in the hospital.  She would go with me and bring me home since I was petrified of that drive - a floating bridge and 2 tunnels and a many-laned interestates - three of them actually that criss-crossed.  Toward the last two weeks, I was able to come and go myself - although I never liked it much - and she would go to the field and just fall apart.  Just starting a new career and having two babies plus a father not expected to live was almost more than she could take.  I think I waited a while to fall apart and just routinely went to the ICU floor every day for the whole 28 days and listened and learned and helped when I could, so I was busy - and exhausted when I finally got into bed at night.  Also, I think I had had time to digest it and realized that we were getting to the age where this was not such a shock.  Maybe acceptance.  I don't know, because I still haven't fully accepted it.

Anyway, we grieved side by side by in different ways during that September and on through the year.  I want to sort out all the pictures from all the years - some years we didn't get to go and maybe a couple of times Ryan or I missed it.  Even though we are sad, talking helps and smiling and laughing and regretting that the girls didn't know him and he didn't know them.  

I'll just put a few pictures here that we took on Friday.  It was quite a production to plan this and do it.  You wouldn't think so, but Emily had a noon meeting in Bellevue and she didn't get home as quickly as she should.  She stopped and got some nice snacks for us and set them out with blankets and chairs and Woodrow running around and the girls building their usual nest from the crabapples (I think) that are always on the ground.  I'll go into more detail later, but these are a few pictures.

I tried to get Graysen to sit with us and take a selfie, but she wanted to be the photographer.  She was proud of her handiwork, and there is evidence that I existed!

Emily has more pictures, so I'll finish up when I'm not hurried and probably remember other things.  

Summer Wrap-up

 Summer ended abruptly last week with no warning.  Nice warm and perfect days and then all of a sudden clouds - and more clouds.  We had the threat of a thunderstorm, which we would all love to see/hear, but so far nothing but a little drizzle and gray days.  Fortunately, this is my favorite kind of weather.

I'm having a lazy Sunday and am determined to straighten up my picture file and post a few strays and head into September with enthusiasm.  We'll try to get to Mike's Tree this week or next to have our usual remembering time and be thankful we've made it another year without him.  Emily and I talked about it again yesterday, how unfair it is that we can't enjoy his humor and lean on his common sense and just have to surge ahead anyway.  He did get a promise from Emily that she would make sure the girls remember him - or remember his memory, as Kate was just a baby and never really knew him.  I'm making a note to find some of my favorite pictures of them and post them again along with some videos that are precious to me.  

Now I'm going to find any pictures worth remembering and get those here as I delete the other junk that's accumulated in my camera files.  

I mentioned before that Graysen had an obsession for a smoothie ever since she and a friend had made up recipes at school.  She used AI, and I have no earthly idea how that works to find what she wanted.  I have the spinach, agave and pineapple and will just have to get some frozen mango and a lime to let her make one of these next week. 

When I stopped by Emily and Ryan's house yesterday, I saw all these on the table.  They've really all four gotten into water color and are doing some beautiful things.  I have the watercolors and brushes and paper, but I need someone to start me off, considering I have no talent or really never any desire to paint.  It's so pretty though.  

Several weeks ago, Kate had her little painting easel and box at my house and was showing me some of what she had done.  She was also working on a picture for her mom.

I started on a mountain range and ended up with a sleeping puppy with his tongue out, so I added eyelashes.  Maybe an otter.  

She was showing me how to blend my colors, and one turned amazingly into an owl.  The talent is unreal.

She's starting on a row of books here. 

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These are some of the things she had already done.  I was too intimidated to do anything else.

I haven't gotten too far, but I feel like I need to take a break now and then.  It's been a good couple of weeks.  The day school started, I had a wellness visit with Dr. Gil, and she was pleased with my health.  I had labs done, and most of my labs were perfectly normal.  A few are slightly high or low, but she hasn't commented, so I think I'm okay where I am!  Still wishing I had more energy, but I am managing to sleep most of the night now.  

I was told I need three immunizations and got all three of them Monday at Safeway.  I made an appointment and was glad I did.  The pharmacy was swarming with people, some with frustrating problems with their meds, and the pharmacists were handling things nicely and patiently.  I got to go back into the shot room and waited just a few minutes there.  I got two in my left arm and one in my right - tetanus, RSV and flu.  He offered the COVID vaccine, but I sure didn't need another one.  I need to think about that for a bit anyway and decide if there are any outbreaks or hints of them that would make me be in a hurry.  Hopefully, Washington is one of the states with no problems getting them, but I am hearing from a few people in Georgia that they need prescriptions, and there are already problems with getting those.  So sad.  

Mary invited me to play Scrabble or Mah-Jongg with her Thursday, and that was fun.  It took me a treat of turkey to get Stella the pug to stop barking at me, but she came around, and we had a nice visit.  A little haphazard Scrabble playing, but who cares anyway.  We got to catch up and talk about playing Mah Jongg next week at the Y.  As I left, I ran into Peggy and her Pomeranians and walked home with them.  There's so much I enjoy doing at home that I don't make myself go out enough and enjoy people and the outdoors.  I need to take advantage of that right now!  

Noreen has 2 of her boys for Seahawks Sunday and had made some cookies she wanted to share with Elise and me, so I met her on the porch for a quick visit.  Then I made a cup of coffee and had a cookie that I tried to figure out what was in it.  I think I'll have to ask.  It was quite delicious, as are all of her recipes!

For my last pictures, I have a new toy to show off.  I'm not sure why, but coffee doesn't seem as good to me as it used to.  Maybe it's because I'm trying not to use sugar, but even with a little sweetener, it just doesn't please me.  I had a combination single cup and carafe machine that was taking up way too much room on my counter, so when I saw a sleek little Keurig in all kinds of interesting colors, I knew I had to have one of those and put my big one away until I needed to serve more than just me.  Elise has her own espresso maker that doesn't help the counter space problem.  

I considered the different styles and colors and found just the one I wanted at less than half price.  I guess it was Amazon Prime day or something like that, but I was glad of it.  

I have a little standalone cabinet that I call the girls' snack cabinet, but it seemed perfect for a little coffee area.  The green was my favorite.

I had a few K-cups and some cocoa pods that the girls like, so I kept them in the drawer until I saw this neat storage drawer.  I brought in my coffee grinder too in case I want something different.  The new Keurig doesn't come with a basket for loose coffee, but I think I have one around or can buy one later if I want one.

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Graysen and I like the way the water reservoir lifts up with a sturdy little loop that looks like a ribbon.  She made herself a cup of cocoa immediately with no problem at all.  One more thing they can do for themselves without all that boiling water and messy mixing.

It's just a little spot that makes me happy to look at.  Emily and family gave me this two-tiered stand for a birthday years ago, and I keep some teabags and sweetener and creamer on it sometimes. The lamp on the right adds a little coziness as well as my cross-stitch kitty that looks out over it all.  

I'm on a roll now with getting my pictures remembered.  Emily reminded me yesterday how much this blog will mean to the girls one day, so I need to keep up with it better.  I also need to go back and add some memories that aren't so recent - those I can still remember.  It's slow-going though.  I can't imagine ever being bored!  

Fun Soccer Day

 As proud as I am of my soccer girls, I have had too few chances to watch them play.  Lots of reasons - weather, the way I've felt, and the fact that they often play in faraway (to me) places.  

When I found out both girls - plus Emily coaching - were going to play on the same day within hours of each other and with weather that I could handle, I made plans to be there.  The fact that one game was within blocks of me was a nice thing, and the other one was in a very familiar spot, near where I took the girls to gymnastics for years.  

It was not a huge problem, but I didn't count on our downtown being barricaded for Snoqualmie Ridge Day and also having to go through Snoqualmie Day in the valley to get to the second game.  Elise was planning to go with me and handle my chair for me, but she had been sick for days and just couldn't go.  I can always find someone to carry my chair, so I headed off the 3 blocks to Community Park.  I went one block and encountered barricades so turned into a parking lot to cut through and then ran again into barricade between me and the soccer fields.  I saw someone else do it, so I gestured to the men guarding the gates that I needed to go "that way" and they let me pass.  I got there before Ryan and Graysen but didn't see the team anywhere.  Once they got there, they accompanied me to the right place and settled me in.  

The Black Fire, dressed in black and neon green, are our team.  I guess Emily hasn't gotten her outfit color-coordinated yet.  She looked and sounded like she knew what she was talking about though, and I was very impressed!

Our word for the team later was "scrappy."  They were so enthusiastic and just ran and ran.  They seemed to know what to do when someone yelled "mark your player," and "move up."  The parents were vocal and encouraging and called them by name.  I already knew Karter and put some names with faces - Lucy, Nora, Kellen, Penny, Parker - maybe not spelled correctly.  The goalie - Penny? - was very good and stopped what looked like sure goals.

Katherine/Kate/Katie is the one with the number 0!  I talked to one of the blue team mothers after the game, and they had driven from Bellevue - not too far.  They were talking about how cute our town was.

    

Water break.  Any families living in those houses are lucky.  You can just stand on your patio with a cup of coffee and watch your kids walk to school and to the park, soccer games, splash pad, tennis courts, YMCA.  Even downtown.  What a view!  

At halftime, the support coach (Ryan) along with Graysen and Woodrow visited the team for a pep talk maybe?  

The score ended up being tied, which was so perfect for those two evenly matched teams.  Kate scored the first goal for the Black Fire, and they ended up tied 2-2 on a late score by the BF.  

Ryan recorded her score, but I did see it and was thrilled.  You can hear Graysen saying, "Kate, go up," and then Kate moved up and immediately had the ball kicked to her.  She took it so nicely and seemingly effortlessly and just kicked it in.  Made it look easy, but I know how hard they have to work to get these perfect lanes and opportunities.  They all celebrated, and she ended up with 2 high fives and a chest bump!  Sweet girl.

The game was over soon after that, and they had their snacks along with a cute snack bag that Karter's mom gave them, which provided Kate with quite a nice distraction during Graysen's game, as she methodically worked her way through the bag - down to the apple!  

Ryan and Graysen left for her game, and Kate, Emily, and I followed in my car, avoiding all the blocked streets.  It was not a beautiful day.  I got chilly in my short sleeves at the first game, and a light rain had started during the drive.  After that, it warmed up some and actually got a little steamy.  No sunshine though.  

I know I took some pictures and at least one video at Graysen's game, but I'm not sure what happened to them. 

Kate and I bundled up with the umbrella and blanket and lots of snacks to watch an unusually blah game.  The whole second half was entangled at the other end of the field, and it seemed no one had their hearts in it.  The score was close enough, 2-0, seeing they were playing a really tough team, but I didn't see much enthusiasm from them.  I didn't see Gray get the ball kicked in her vicinity much, and the ones they had a chance at were kicked away by the other team quickly.   Like the other game, the goalie for our team - Adora, I think - was excellent and kept the score from being higher.

The most enthusiasm I saw was riding out of the sports complex parking and hearing the girls all yell "Good game" at each other, which is what counts in the end.  Kate and her dad had to appear at a raffle booth for her martial arts class, so I didn't see her any more that day.  She had a sleepover later with her friend.  Gray was obsessed over getting a smoothie and talked about it all the way home.  She walked over later, and she and Elise walked over to the Swirl and got her a mango one.  Elise got the wrong combination for her yogurt, so I got it.  Great......  It was toasted coconut, which was fine, but there were mango boba balls or whatever those things were on top.  I ate around the boba things, and the yogurt itself was pretty good.

We had an extremely lazy afternoon with an extremely lazy grandmother and older granddaughter.  The walk to town, a little computer playing, a little talking, a little reading, a spirited game of Apples to Apples with the 3 of us, and just some lying on the bed daydreaming and texting with a friend - just what a busy preteen needs.  No pressure, unconditional love, and a lot of spoiling.  And Mimi and Aunt CeCe loved it too.  

End of Summer

 I feel like summer just came for a few days, but we sure have enjoyed it.  

The apartment pool has been a fun place to visit, and it's nice to have it so close and usually almost empty.  One day it filled up pretty fast with several families, but as long as there aren't any big kids wanting all the room, the rest share nicely.

Elise goes sometimes by herself, not always getting in, but lying out on the chairs and soaking up the warmth.  She can get a suntan if she wants to.  I won't mention the bad effects of the sun - the age spots, the wrinkles, etc. - I think they come or not, no matter how you treat your body when you're younger.  My generation just played outdoors every day it didn't rain and stayed tan and healthy in our youth.  Later on, some people ended up with skin cancers and some didn't.  Some people wrinkle more than others.  I just don't spend much time looking in mirrors!  

I'll just download all the pictures I see of the pool.  I have to say Jennie and the new management keep it so clean and nice - just sparkling.  It's supposed to be heated, but I do hear a lot of complaining about being cold.  The sun doesn't do much warming until 2:00 or so, and then the sun drops behind the tall trees, and we're cool again.  

Yesterday I found my usual chair empty but half in the sun.  I just put a towel over my exposed arm and leaned back for a some good sun therapy.  I love it, looking up at the sky through the trees and having a cool breeze blow on my face.  Summers are really lovely here.  

Kate was perfectly happy in these pictures but within 15 minutes, she had a headache that made her cry.  I guess it was something to do with pressure and sinuses and tight goggles.  Whatever, we headed home and babied her.  Ice pack on her forehead, Children's Tylenol, a popsicle and some juice after wrapping up in a blanket.  Then Graysen took her a few snacks to feed her and my phone with cat videos, and I heard giggling pretty soon.  

This is the look when you have a sleepover and stay up all night and then get up late and decide to go swimming.  

These are some earlier pictures in my camera of other trips there.  The girls asked if we could get some diving toys, and I found two sets - some sticks and some "jewels."  They like the jewels better, but I worry that they'll conk someone on the head with them when the pool is crowded or someone will step on the pointed top.  So far, they've followed the rules really well and enjoyed them.  Earlier this week when Kate was here alone, Elise stood and tossed them in behind her, and she would dive down and get them as quickly as she could.  

They have been told sternly that they are never to be left on the floor in the apartment for us to step on either!  They aren't really as sharp as they look, but still.....

I don't have a picture of the diving sticks, but these are the ones I ordered from Amazon.  They stand on end when in the water but sink to the bottom.  They seem safer but aren't quite as much of a challenge and definitely not as pretty!

This is where you go to warm up.  It's so funny to me that a group of kids, all about the same age, will sit in there knee to knee and never say anything to the ones they don't know, even though they've been swimming alongside each other for weeks.  The mothers and grandmothers will try to initiate conversations between the kids, but they all seem pretty shy.

This is Elise's favorite section.  She reads and maybe even sleeps when she's by herself .  It's a good place to talk to people that you normally just see in passing.

Aunt CeCe trapped in the float.

I think the whole family will try to take advantage of the last days of hot weather today and tomorrow.  Then school starts on Tuesday, and that might be it!  One good thing is that those of us who want to take our coffee and sit outside can still meet inside the gates on good mornings and take advantage of the sunshine. Our porches are too cool for enjoying mornings much!

I was hoping we would have enough people who knew how to play mahjong soon, but we only have 3 at the most at the apartments.  

I have enjoyed several times of playing at the Y lately.  We get a quiet room with tables just for ourselves.  On Thursdays, I play with Sharon, Jan, and Tom, and we have gotten comfortable with each other's quirks and craziness and have a good time.  I'm not sure Tom has as good a time as his wife and her friends, but he's a good sport.  In mahjong, you can't do much chatting during the game because of having to concentrate, but we make up for it before and after, so I feel like I have 3 new friends.  I visited my old group that I played with before I broke my shoulder and had to stop playing.  A couple have moved away, but there are 3 or 4 left that I played with, and they remember me.  I don't feel like I'm back in their league yet - maybe never - but it was fun to catch up with their lives and watch them play.  

We now have 2 days a week available to play at the Y and one at the senior center, so I should get all the playing I want this fall and winter.  I still enjoy playing on line though, especially when it gets cold!  Mary plays bridge a lot so hasn't joined us, but we'll find a time when we can all get together, I'm sure.  

I want to take more pictures later, but this is just what the table looks like.  We normally have 14 tiles available on our rack and the center is full of discards.

We took a walk to the library this week, the girls and Elise and I.  We went by the UPS store to return an Amazon package, and it took all 4 of us, but we got it done.  Then we walked across the street to the library where I found a sunny corner to relax and wait.  I don't bother with looking for books much.  I just order audio ones from the available ones and wait for them.  I love seeing the girls browse though.  They have so much fun.  

Here, they're reading the C encyclopedia!  

I noticed they checked it out too.  I didn't even know you could check out encylopedias, but I guess they're not quite as sacred as they used to be, with Google searches, etc.

Gray has reached 5 feet tall this summer, almost catching me.  She has that PopPop way of standing and his legs!  

Kate petitioned for a Swirl - a frozen yogurt - but I told her I didn't have enough money.  But once we went outside and it was so hot, I gave in and headed down the street instead of crossing it.  I love making them happy, even if it is just food - expensive food!  Kate asked me where I was going to get the money.  I turned my head for a minute, and she got a huge bowl of mango, vanilla, and one other flavor yogurt topped with gummy worms, and Graysen opted for a mango smoothie.  Even with my savings card that I cashed in, it was still $16.  That's why it's not an everyday treat!  

Last Few Weeks of Summer

 It seems like we have had such a short summer.  It barely got warm in time for the girls to enjoy the pool, but I have been loving every minute of this warmer weather.  We're cool inside even without air conditioning or a fan.

Noreen was going for a walk this morning and said she would look for me outside on her way back, so I hurried to get dressed and grab a cup of coffee.  It was a little chilly there in the shade, but not too bad once I was there a few minutes.  It was good to get caught up again on our lives, since she has been out of town for a few days and then celebrating a grandson's birthday - who is now a teenager.  We have a few more months to go before we have one.

Speaking of which, that 12-year-old has been at Camp Seymour since last Monday and is finally coming home today.  We've all missed her, but Katherine has been extra lonely.  I think the first day was good with all the attention and only-child privileges, but by yesterday afternoon, her good mood was wearing thin.  

She did get some pool time in though, first with Carly and then alone yesterday with just me watching her from my poolside chair.  Elise loves going in with her and playing, but she doesn't have the desire to stay in for hours like the younger ones do.  

The pool is beautiful this year.  Maybe it always is, but I don't remember going much last year.

Kate would just stay in there all day if she could.

The whole area looks nice with the new furniture and the clear water.  It's always spotless when we've gone.

Elise called me from the car to look at the sunset the other night.  

The girls and I walked to the library one day last week, and it's easier than it used to be for me.  I still took advantage of this little corner near the magazine section where I could sit down while they looked for books.  

The downtown flower baskets are beautiful this year, as usual.  I wonder how they keep them so lush and green.

I don't have pictures, but Elise has gone to the Community Center outdoor concerts the last two Thursdays and really liked them.  On her walk last night, she noticed a group of martial arts students practicing on the grassy area near the park.  She thought the outfits looked familiar and as she walked by, she saw Katherine out there doing her thing.  Elise said she looked like she was doing some teaching herself but noticed Aunt CeCe walking by and gave her a little wave. 

It's quite a busy place with the new splash park and the existing skate park and Community Park up the hill.  We've been watching the progress of the splash pad for months, although the girls think they're a little bit too old to be going there.

It has to be wonderful for the young families to spread out blankets and take a picnic or snacks while they watch the kids play.  It has a Big Foot theme, which makes them roll their eyes, but they do have neat waterfalls and water dumps for them to run under.

I enjoyed it too.  We just decided all of a sudden to go one hot afternoon.  My folding chair stays in the back of the car, so that was simple to set up.  There was plenty of parking, and Graysen carried it for me and set it up.  I found a place on a rise where I could see the whole park well, and a little breeze added to the pleasure of being outside on such a nice day.  In spite of feeling like the oldest ones, they had a ball and played for well over an hour.  

Right across the parking lot from that is the YMCA where we play mahjong when we can get the correct number of people together.  Yesterday was one of those days, and it was a fun, low-key afternoon, although I felt either unlucky or brain-dead - maybe both - because I was awful.  I had no jokers to help me out and none of the combinations grabbed me, so I was just struggling to remember what I wanted to do with my tiles and what the others were trying to do.  I've enjoyed making some new friends, and I hope we'll get to play once a week now that school is starting soon.  

The family will be going to South Dakota Tuesday for a long overdue visit with Ryan's parents and siblings.  There's a very cute little 2-year-old cousin that the girls can't wait to meet.  Elise and I will try to keep the cats fed and happy and water the plants in the yard and in the garden.  

The next week, they're going to visit friends who have a cabin in Idaho at Priest Lake.  That should also be a fun time, although a good bit of driving is involved.

I'm not thrilled over any books I've chosen this month.  I'll check them out, listen to a chapter or two and then send them back.  

The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah is what I'm listening to at the moment, but it's so depressing I can take only small doses of it.  The fate of the French in World War II as well as the Jewish people in Germany remind me of how close our country is of losing our freedom.  What a horrible, horrible time for so many people, and it takes all I can do to not be pessimistic about the children's futures. Already media is being silenced if they don't agree to the dictator in the White House, and the corruption is just running rampant among the administration's choices for leaders.  

So I'm just trying to enjoy the beauty all around me as well as the company of good friends and family.  I'm thankful every day I'm where I am right now.  I'm not thankful for more than usual cougar sightings have been reported and not far from here.  Bears are seen sometimes too, but they usually don't care to hang around where people are.  It's the cats that scare me. 

Emily has received confirmation of her new position, but I'm not sure what her title is now.  I know she's relieved to have that part over with and to get on with her new responsibilities.  So proud of her.  

While I have cat and plant duties next week, I'll try to get some pictures of their flowers and vegetables and of the almost-whole-house remodeling that's gone on for years.  Lots of pretty things!