Alex hard at work in his Office-With-A-Bay-View!
My Cousin Alex and part of his family arrived the other night (or morning) in the wee hours — around 1:30 a.m. I thought with a sleepy glance at the clock. I heard the bounce, bounce, bounce of a suitcase-on-rollers being pulled up the killer stairs and then I was sound asleep again. I was expecting their late arrival and they knew I’d not be waiting up. Jenny, Maddie’s mom had arrived in Seattle by ferry from Canada and Alex and Maddie had driven from visiting sons/brothers in Spokane to pick Jenny up for the trek to Oysterville. There are lots of moving parts in the household these days!
Maddie surfaces at last!
Yesterday morning, one by one the sleepers surfaced — Alex at 10:30 to make a zoom call; Jenny, Maddie’s Mom, an hour or so later to find a cup of coffee; Maddie, about noon to get a bite to eat and sit and visit for a few hours. Alex had gone into his office to work. Jenny had gone back upstairs to even up on jet lag; Maddie and I spent three hours “catching up” with her sophomore year in L.A. at Loyola Marymount College and her summer plans which include a month in Greece studying philosophy and sociology in Athens and on the Island of Sepsis! What great opportunities young people have these days and how grand it would be to be college-age once more! (Well… for the most part!)
Friday Night Gathering, May 15, 2025
By three, I was tidying up, laying a fire for the Friday Night Gathering and everyone else was continuing to acclimate. Fortunately, the family will all be in Oysterville for at least a week so Maddie will have lots of time to introduce her mom to the wonders of the village — especially the Cemetery which might be Maddie’s favorite “haunt.” Today they went to CostCo to do a shopping foray and my plan is to stay behind and make my signature meatloaf — always good for a hot meal and then sandwiches for the next day or two. (Alex says it’s his “favorite” which is a good thing since my repertoire is limited after 40 years of being spoiled by Chef Nyel!) And so… weather notwithstanding, summer has begun!
*ANL (And New Landlord)
This explains the cars we saw when we dropped off rummage at the school Friday. We did not come to the Friday night gathering because Dave had come down with a cold we were exposed to on Mother’s Day. Enjoy the hustle and bustle!