Well, the boys are back in town. I'm so glad to have them here. The first thing August did was run to dump all the Lincoln Logs on the rug in the Glen Den and build a house with them. Levon wanted to read some books so after his mama and I did a little chatting he and I settled on the little love couch (as Owen used to call it) in the library and nestled among pillows and giant teddybears we read two old favorites in a row- A Fish Out of Water and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.
It's good.
Now Boppy's back in the house too, after helping Vergil and Jessie move their summer home, the RV, into a slot here at the Moon Car And Other Assorted Vehicles Storage And Repair Facility. Vergil's going to redo their driveway and needed to get the RV out of the way for awhile. And of course Boppy means TV to the kids so there they are, deciding what to watch with some goldfish crackers and cherries as a pre-dinner snack.
They were all a bit peckish.
I've got the broth with vegetables simmering for the chicken and dumplings and the chicken is cooling so I can take it off the bone and add it to the broth with the dumplings I'll make in a minute. I sent Jessie and Vergil home with the leftover soup from last night and a chunk of dense and artisanal sourdough. The bread tasted fine and the soup was as good as it always is which is to say- the Best Black Bean Soup. We've got all of the ingredients for Purple Cows which would be sherbet, grape juice, and ginger ale. It's so dear how all of the grandchildren have come to expect their own versions of the same things when they come over to visit. Their favorite meals, their Purple Cows, the glasses they prefer to drink out of, the choice of a bath or a shower and which shower they like to use, the books they want to hear, the toys they want to play with, the snacks they expect to find, the games they want me to play with them, the shows they want to watch with their grandfather. It is literally home away from home here and I am so glad that we have such a fun grandparent house, full of hallways and paths through rooms, a room with books galore, a room with toys and the TV, tricycles, a bouncy horse, porches to sit on, swing on, or leave your flip-flops on when you come in the house. They all know where everything is, in some cases probably better than we do. They know which cat they can pet and which one to avoid at all costs. They know what to expect and are always happy to visit.
Look at this pretty child.
Those eyes. He and his brother are good-looking fellas. I asked Levon about Hazel. He said she was "pretty good." "Do you think she'd make a good friend?" I asked him.
"Yeah," he said.
Here's a Butterfly Ginger Lily.
I better go make up some dumplings. Big brains and long legs do not grow on snacks alone.
Love...Ms. Moon
What an idyllic picture you paint. I wouldn't mind coming over to play myself, never mind kids!
ReplyDeleteYou would love my colored pencils, dear Liz! I think there is a lot here that would like, in fact.
DeleteThat lily flower is so elegant and beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYour home definitely sounds like the perfect Grandma and Grandpa home ... who wouldn't want to go there?
We have all the good stuff. Well, no pool. Okay, there's probably a lot we don't have but we have enough to make it fun.
DeletePerfect Granny house, I would love it so much! August is mighty handsome, that kid!! Great genes- all of those grandkids of yours. Such a lucky family.
ReplyDeleteHis eyes and skin are just so special. He is literally a golden child.
DeleteOh my, that is a picture of the real Levon. Look at August under that cap. Is that Owen at that age? Glad they had a good time in North Carolina; glad they're back.
ReplyDeleteThey did have a good time but I think that Jessie is especially glad to be back in her home although she does love the RV. The boys are generally pretty in the moment and don't seem to spend a lot of time worrying about the past.
DeleteYou are creating perfect memories for when they are grown up and have kids and grandkids of their own. The ginger lily brought back memories of when I was growing up in Hong Kong and they used to grow wild.
ReplyDeleteYou grew up in Hong Kong? How exotic! I would love to see butterfly lilies growing wild.
DeleteI hope my grandkids look back on their years visiting here and smile. Always.
What great memories they'll have...
ReplyDeleteI hope so!
DeleteHome away from Home is the most wonderful way for them to view your home. The ginger lily looks beautiful. August is a handsome boy.
ReplyDeleteThe ginger lily is one of my favorites. If I had more sun in this yard, I could grow more. I am always surprised when one blooms.
DeleteYou really have created an amazing grandparent experience for your grandkids.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to come by it pretty naturally.
DeleteGood to have those lovely boys back in Boppy and Mer's orbit, North Carolina may have been fine but you can't beat Tallahassee and Lloyd which is the centre of the known universe.
ReplyDeleteOh, well- of course! Especially now that Lloyd has a Dollar General store.
DeleteI normally don't comment, I just enjoy the read, but your love and devotion to the littles and they to you prompted a response. I don't have grandchildren and never will. Overall, I'm fine with that, but then I read this, and though it's my reality, I wouldn't mind creating memories like these.
ReplyDeleteI think that not having grandchildren is probably like anything else you don't have- hard to mourn the loss of the experience if you've never had it! Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I'd never had children and although part of me thinks that it would have been awful, part of me knows that it would have been my reality. I would be a different person for sure.
DeleteWow, that last photo of August...you can really see the man he will become one day. That steadfast look.
ReplyDeleteHe's a serious boy at times.
DeleteI need to move my white butterfly ginger. The sun it gets is in the middle of the day and they shrivel up and don't bloom well. The pink/coral butterfly ginger does well but no flowers yet. Soon though.
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in the city and the grands lived next door our house was just an extension of their house. They came and went as they pleased.
I've thought about how that would be- having like a compound of family living around me. I have a feeling that I would always be out of toilet paper! In some ways it would be so marvelous, not sure about other ways.
DeleteWe don't get ENOUGH sun for our ginger lily. Sigh.
oh, those gorgeous boys! Sounds like fun was had by all! And that ginger lily is so orchid-like......... I wish we could transmit smells over cyberspace....... I trust that day will come.....just not yet LOL
ReplyDeleteSusan M
The blossoms do look like orchids, don't they?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely think they'll figure out how to transmit smells or at least fairly accurate representations of them. They'll do molecular smell profiles of everything somehow.
It's hard to believe how grown those boys have gotten! They DO have such deep and soulful eyes! That ginger lily is incredible -- I love, especially, its name!
ReplyDeleteAugust's face is changing, growing up. They are both handsome boys. So glad you have them back for Mer and Bop time. You two are inspiring grandparents, they are lucky you have the time and just the right place to be. Sending love, N2
ReplyDelete