Tim and Family's Visit

The visit from my son, Tim, and his family was terrific. On Monday evening we went out to Chinese dinner. Second son and his two girls came down from Arlington and daughter, Shannon, and her daughter, Jenny, also came. The only one who couldn’t make it was Mary Rose, Sean’s wife. She is a massage therapist with her own business and school and she had clients scheduled late into the evening. So for the first time in a long time the whole family was together. Natalie, Tim’s eldest, had her mouth watering for sweet and sour prawns. I think she got her fill, at least for the day.

At home Tim and Sean shared guitar licks for a while. Currently Sean is playing a lot of blues in the north Puget Sound region. Tim hasn’t played with a band for a long time. Tim's kids played Uno and Mille Borne, card games nearly forgotten now. Mandy, Tim's wife, has been recently diagnosed with M.S. and napped. Later she said that she had heard that I had a videotape of Song of the South, the Disney feature that shows plantation life and has animated Uncle Remus stories. This film is not on the market; you can imagine why. A Japanese copy. So I dug it out for her.

The visitors left for home at 2 in the morning. There was snow in the pass and the 4inches of snow in Spokane. But they had to be home for a ten o’clock appointment. Tim left behind a wonderful box. When he first showed it to me I wondered what it contained. It was a sextant. I don’t know why Tim thinks I can figure out how to use it. Or why I should, for that matter. Shoot the stars or the sun. Find out where you are in the middle of the ocean. No sea voyages for me. But the instrument looks to be complete (what do I know) and probably quite old. Maybe Tim thinks it will be safer with us, after all he has four kids. I will guard it with my life. A very nice visit.

Easter Sunday Visit

It’s Easter Sunday so I wish all my readers, both of you, a Happy Easter. I’m just sitting here waiting for my eldest son, Tim, to arrive. He and his family live in Spokane, which is a “far piece,” as they say in westerns. They have traveled over to visit Mandy’s ailing grandmother, and to visit other relatives of Mandy’s. They are going to stay here tonight and Monday night before heading across the mountain pass to return to Spokane. We haven’t seen them for almost a year and a half. So the visit will be good. It will be interesting to see how the kids have grown. Ricky is eight, Emma is nine, Brittany is ten and Natalie is fourteen. So we will celebrate Easter a little late. A big Chinese dinner tomorrow night with Tim’s brother and sister and niece. First time the whole family will be together for a long time.