Lawn Service
For years now, Bill has taken care of our yard, and beautifully, I might add. This is no easy task, as we sit on a third of an acre, and most of it is in our back yard. This summer, you might recall, he has removed his Lawn Service cap and replaced it with a House Remodeling cap. His work in our family room has taken on a life of its own and is requiring a great deal of his time. Oh, who am I kidding? It is taking all of his time, from morning until I make him stop at 4:30 or 5. But I got an email from Addie the other day saying Hey Nana. I was wondering if you and Papa needed help with lawn mowing. Also, I would love to help you guys with your in-house projects. We had talked about the possibility of her taking over our lawn mowing this summer. Jll and Dave have a policy, however, that prohibits the kids from being paid for work done for their grandparents. So before I agreed, I looked Jll straight in the eye and said, “I will not let the kids mow our lawn unless you agree that we can pay them.” Jll, being like the obedient and loving Naomi in the biblical Book of Ruth, said yes, pointing out that mowing a lawn is hard work worthy of compensation. So, this happened…..

Addie has officially become our new lawn service. Don’t let Alastair steal my job, was the only thing she requested. Aye aye, Cap’n.

Happy Days
The other day, I agreed to give Bill a ride to pick up his Ferarri at the place that had done enough work on it to get it to pass emissions inspection. The auto place is in a northern Denver suburb, and we live quite a ways south. However, Bill and his friend John have a place not far from the auto shop at which they get hamburgers. It’s called Jim’s Burger Haven. He greased the wheels of his request for a ride by offering to buy me a burger and fries at Jim’s. I have heard Bill and John talk about it for years, but I had never gone myself. In my mind, the place was kind of a dump. I anticipated that we would walk in and be blasted with the smell of burned grease and the sight of ripped booths and filthy floors. So I was surprised and delighted when what I saw instead was a very clean restaurant that was a time machine back to 1958. And not one of those artificial diners with fake decoration. This was the real McCoy, and taken care of like a favorite child…..

I’m afraid I can’t quite share their love for the burgers, which tasted ordinary to me, but it was fun nevertheless.

My Cousin Rachel
I don’t actually have a cousin named Rachel. But there’s this book, and now this movie. I reviewed the book back in December, and loved it. The book was written by Daphne du Maurier, the same author who wrote one of my very favorite books of all time, Rebecca. Anyway, I was searching for a good movie to see, and found that My Cousin Rachel had been released as a movie, starring Rachel Weisz (I don’t know if the producers only considered actresses named Rachel.) A friend and I planned on seeing it yesterday, but life happened, and the movie didn’t. I’m determined to see the movie, however. My Cousin Rachel was made into a film in 1952 that starred Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton. That might be worth seeing as well, but the library didn’t have it, and to purchase it from Amazon would cost more than I’m willing to spend.

The Great Wok
I wasn’t sure what to make for dinner last night. When I asked Bill what sounded good to him, he said chili. I know I shouldn’t ask if I’m not willing to listen, but really? Chili? In the middle of June? I put my foot down and said no, and did a stir fry instead in honor of my sister Bec who is visiting China as you read this blog. Now this is cool….

Ciao. Or perhaps I should say zai jian, which is see you again in Mandarin.