Another Sunday Afternoon with Two Great Grandsons

Although Grumpy did not take any photographs to prove what a memorable event this was, the Grand Mother can attest to the fact that it was. Sunday were were honored by a visit from the Straw(house) Boss, his lovely wife, Heidi, and their two boys, James and Arthur.

A visit at Grumpy's Castle was highlighted by a spirited game of Aggravation played by Jamey G. and his Great Grandpa Z. The game got exciting towards the end as Great Grandpa sent one of Jamey Gs' marbles back to the "START", making it appear that he would win. Then Great Grandpa got on the slow track with his last marble and Jamey G. got so excited that he spilled the marbles all over the floor! This "move" got Jamey Gs' last marble out of the "START" slot and well on their way to an almost certain win. Other marbles were scattered randomly about the game-board and the living room carpet. Thus ended the game with Jamey G. declared the winner by default.

Before the adults (James, Heidi and the Grand Mother, at least) could finish their conversations, little voices piped up with,

• "I'm hungry!" (two boys in unison.)
• "Why are you hungry?" asked Grumpy.
• "I'm always hungry!" countered Arthur.

A recess in adult conversation was called and the meeting adjourned to the local Pizza Hut where everyone enjoyed their choice of pizza, salad and soft drinks.

After eating their fill, the little boys (now joined by Ramiro) played the coin-operated games with quarters supplied by the Grand Mother. After that, we bid them goodbye as they began their two-hour journey back to their straw house in the woods.

Meaning of "Continuing Absence of Lemon Meringue Pies"

It was suggested by an anonymous reader, who chose not to put their comment on this BLOG, that some enlargement should be made on the phrase "continuing absence of Lemon Meringue Pies". This discussion also provides Grumpy with the opportunity to show off another photograph of one of those delectable pies. Now some of you may have heard the Grand Mother inflict the following sentence on poor old Grumpy after he has committed some "terrible thing": "OK! That's it!! Now more Lemon Meringue Pie for you for ten years!!!" (She has even handed out life sentences -- but usually commutes them later when she "feels sorry" for Grumpy.

One morning a week or two ago, the mistress (the Grand Mother) of the King's Castle (i.e., Grumpy's place) notified Grumpy that said Castle was bereft of hot water. She also gave notice that "the dish washer is making a funny noise! You better take a look at it."

Now Grumpy was busy (as usual) with the "important" things that he is always busy doing, so he responded with something between, "uh-huh!" and, "grunt" (either one meaning something like, "I'll get to it right away, Dear!" -- or maybe something more like, "I'm busy right now, can't you see I can't be bothered?!" It's really hard to tell the difference unless you realize how relatively unimportant is the activity in which Grumpy is engaged at that moment.)

Now, the fact is that Grumpy was really doing something fairly important at that moment. He had been busy pruning the lilac bushes and chipping and shredding the prunings. So he had worked up a pretty good sweat (like a horse, only worse smelling!). Grumpy was looking forward to a nice hot shower, a late lunch and right after that an afternoon nap!

Grumpy really intended to "get right at it" -- after finishing up some other "more important stuff". Besides, he thought that the loss of hot water was likely due to the fact that two or three loads of clothes had been washed that morning, and he was also cognizant that the resident Youngest Son had taken his "usual" 40-gallon bath that morning. The automatic timer would come on for two hours beginning at 1 p.m. and there would be plenty of hot water later in the day. However, like any well-established alpha-male (or at least one who thinks he is!), Grumpy totally forgot about his earlier commitment until late in the day.

When Grumpy came in to take his shower, he discovered that the "hot" water was just slightly warmer than that coming from the cold water tap. After checking the resistance of the heater elements, he found no obvious discrepancy. Further investigation found no other reason to cause the lack of heater element activity so Grumpy decided that buying two new elements were a cheap experiment to eliminate the most likely cause. (Grumpy also found the "Installation Instructions" for this hot water heater on which were written the date of installation: 10 January 1987! This water heater was over 20 years old!)

Replacing the elements gave immediate response to the hot water problem. Grumpy then teased the Grand Mother with the suggestion, "Since I fixed the hot water heater and also your dish washer, don't I deserve a Lemon Meringue Pie or two?" The Grandson-Who-Knows-Everything, piped up with, "Grandma, you should probably take two years off the time before you bake him another Lemon Meringue Pie!"

Views of the Grand Mother and Grumpy

It is not often that photographs of the Grand Mother and Grumpy become available. Perhaps it is because Grumpy is not that photogenic. Be that as it may, we are fortunate enough today to have some rare, never-before-seen photographs of these two old people. Let's look in and see what they have been up to now.

The happy couple is shown in this view as they sat at a window table of an Olive Garden restaurant with their Grandson, Mike Dickinson and his wife, Jessie, and daughter, Emileigh. The occasion of this meeting was for Mike & Jessie to present a birthday present to the Grand Mother.

As she was beginning to delve into the birthday sack to see what gifts there were, Grumpy kindly asked the Grand Mother to "look this way and give me a nice smile!"

Unfortunately, these words must have sounded like an order, rather than the polite request Grumpy intended. Thus, certain manifestations of the Norwegian stubbornness that is deeply embedded in the genes of the Grand Mother erupted forth into a certain "look" (the face of which shall not be shown here!), followed by a stern warning to Grumpy regarding the certain "punishment" that would follow if her wishes (demands) were not honored.

Now Grumpy had a certain vision of a continuing absence of those incomparably delectable Lemon Meringue Pies that the Grand Mother (aka, First Wife) is capable of baking (see file photo on left). So, Grumpy has wisely refrained from publishing any embarrassing photographs of the Grand Mother in this BLOG. [The Grand Mother will please take note of the solemnity and beauty of the pictures that are posted. Her consideration for Grumpy's benefit will be greatly appreciated.]

A reduction of the term by a year or two of absence of Lemon Meringue Pies is suggested.

A Sunday Afternoon with a Great Granddaughter

Last Sunday, the 14th of October, the Grand Mother and Grumpy went to church together at St. Luke's in Ballard. This old church has fond memories for us and it remains as the only parish in the Diocese of Olympia that has resisted the unorthodox trend being promulgated by the national Episcopal church. The Roman Catholic Church is the only main-line denomination in the U.S. that has overwhelmingly rejected the "worldly ways" being adopted by most of the rest.

After enjoying worship service there, including Holy Communion, Grumpy drove on up to the Olive Garden in South Everett where, at noon, we met Mike and Jessie Dickinson and our golden-haired Great Granddaughter, Emileigh. Jessie's brother, Joshua, also joined us for lunch of the delicious Olive Garden cuisine.

Grumpy wanted to get some good pictures of Emileigh smiling. But, like most three-year olds, she was in a constant state of motion, so the digital camera captured only the "after-views" -- a second or so after she gave me her best smiles!

She was also a little camera shy and acted like maybe she didn't trust her Great Grandpa too much, hence there are no photos of her sitting on my lap or even standing beside me. She did come over beside me briefly and, in my question as to what she was learning in school, confided that she "had learned nothing!" [Please note that Grumpy has conducted an exhaustive research going back at least two generations, and has found that all young children have this same answer. Something must be done for the school systems in this country! Rise up!!]

Emileigh's golden hair, though was most fascinating to Grumpy and it is hoped that the viewer can appreciate it's vibrant color in some of these photographs.