August 1, 2019
I just got back from a long walk around the park. My early morning exercise group is kind of on hiatus while one vacations in Montana, one in Oregon and one has double knee surgery. I and Raema, the only one left, took a 3.3 mile hike around our park. I love the "farm" area. You can see the dairy barns below and up on the hill are acres of apple orchard. This is all abandoned now ( city maintenance storage), but at one time was the State mental hospital and the barns and fields were rehabilitation. Sounds better to me than sitting in a room, but they don't do that anymore.
Anyway, I thought I would give a little mid summer update of what the Moore family has been doing.
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| Pierce County Park - Lakewood, WA |
What a difference a month makes in the life of a baby. In a month Frances has gone from pushing herself up on her arms so that she can see the world and only a month later she is sitting with her toys at her fingertips She is daddy's girl, and when she is with grandma, she has her ears perked for his voice. When she does hear it, she just smiles from ear to ear. Like her grandma ( and apparently her mother) Frances is still waiting for hair. I don't think it is a 1/4 inch longer than the day she was born. Her body length is another story. She is one long baby! I am hoping that she doesn't pass me up in kindergarten.
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| Frances was 6 months old on the 6th of August |
My kitchen is making headway. After a twenty year wait for an update... This is the summer. We took everything down to the studs, but now we are back to "rebuilding the kitchen" The hole in the ceiling (lighting square) has been replaced with new drywall and the florescent lighting has been replaced with recessed LED lights. The mold behind the sink was removed and new drywall sits in its place. The cabinets came yesterday and the installer should be here later today. They think that it will happen in two days. ( So much faster when they know what they are doing). It takes hours choosing all this stuff. Cabinets, counters, wall color, drawer pulls, sinks, appliances, light fixtures. Fun and frustrating.... that is generally the price tag part.
The garden has been feeding purple beans to the neighborhood for about three weeks now. Each day the produce seems to disappear so I will continue to share. Last year at Halloween, one young trick or treater thanked for the candy bar, but added a "thanks for all the veggies" as she ran down the driveway. I made a hanging arbor this year of beans and they were sooo easy to pick. I think I will do that again. It is finally warm so maybe the cucumbers and Zucchini's will stop having blossom rot and start producing. Theses beans look really large, but they are so tender. Big payback for $2.99 in seed.
Leischen has had quite a summer. She has returned from a Portugal, walked her second Camino and returned to purchase a new puppy, and a new house. All and all, pretty exciting She had planned the trip for a long time, and was also ready to make the step of purchasing a new home earlier this year. As luck would have it, she didn't find anything through the spring, but as she returned from her trip things all fell together.
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Quinta De Regaleira Palace - Sintra Portugal
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| More to come after closing |
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Day One with Oscar
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| Oscar Hammerstein III |
It has been a chilly and wet summer, but we are finally getting some beautiful days. Carol, Dave, Mike and Mark all came to visit Washington for Cataract removal ( Mike and Dave) and eye appointments. They rented an AirBnB in Bellevue and I ran up to stay with them and enjoy some time in the city. We had dinner one night with the family in Tacoma, One night with the Gilberts at the Air BnB and one night on the town... or the Newcastle Golf Course.
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| Mike with Babies |
Christine remembered just as the evening was drawing to a close and the light was getting dim that we should take a selfie of the whole group. Lots of fun with a spontaneous picnic in the backyard. Everyone brought a little something... and a fork. BnB's don't have a lot of silverware.
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| Seattle across the water in the top left |
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| Carol greeting us all as we go for a walk on the grounds |
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| Beautiful Sunset... but pretty bright |
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| Take 3 - Lark, open your eyes.. Fun Shot |
Each summer night as the sun goes down, they have a bagpiper play on the hill. It was a great way to end a dinner, and evening and closed our days together. The rest of the gang flew home at 5:30 a.m. and I headed back to Tacoma after this wonderful dinner on the hill.
We have managed to have a little mini family reunion each summer for several years now. It is always fun to share this time together.
It is time to close my little summer update. There will be more tales to tell and stories to share. I hope that all of you have also had a wonderful summer.
Love, Gramma Larkie
My backyard garden is really beautiful right now:
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| Casa Blanca Lily - 10 years and still flowering |
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| My secret garden is full of flowers right now. Not even seen by guests this year. No kitchen, No parties |
