Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? -- aka SledgeFest

So maybe I HAVE been in a sort of a funk.  Not checking in.  I got all hopped up when Fred got the “dry run” call.  At least he WAS on their radar!  Then.  Nothing.  Wait.  Wait some more.  Nothing. 

My sister, Sheri, aka Sledge (as in Sisters Sledge) had planned on coming out when Fred got the call.  But, she has a crazy schedule coming up that includes our niece Savannah’s graduation, Mother’s Day, and a European vacation.  The “dry run” reaffirmed the fact that it could be any time and so she booked a flight to KCMO with the thought “if I build it, they will come.”  Well the liver did not come, but Sheri flew out a week ago Friday and stayed with us until Wednesday.  It rained when she got here and her luggage was soaked.  But for us:  IT. WAS. GREAT.

She comes bearing gifts

Sheri asked if we needed her to pick anything up at the house.  We couldn’t think of a thing (since the dogs wouldn’t fit in her suitcase).  Well smarty pants asked, “what about Fred’s Xbox and a few of his games?”  Ring-a-ding-ding!  Fred had not wanted to bring it when we left, but two months in this apartment with me working during the days made him reconsider … and he was all over it.

Our what-it-do, nephew (Snoop Dog reference), Jake, is a gamer too, only Fred has nothing on Jake.  To Fred’s joy and surprise, Jake bought Fred one of his favorite games, Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls V, so Fred could try his hand at it too. He also included a personal note.  Nice touch, Jacob!  We miss you tons!!!! 

But wait.  That’s not all.  Sheri brought us even more hours of entertainment:  kits to make paracord bracelets for the troops, a Mandala coloring book with pencils, a couple of decks of cards, some games:  On the Dot, Who Am I?  Can you Name them All? … and her secret weapon:  a gambling dice game called Left, Right, Center (which she used to whoop our arses and raid our pockets).   Thank you, and truth be told, we MADE her play for real money.  No fun gambling without skin in the game. Oh, and I almost forgot:  Sheri brought  a StikBot kit for Fred to make an animated movie.

 Farmer's Market and Provisions

Quality produce has not been easy to come by.  It’s a real drive to Whole Foods and the trip is hard on the wallet.  Fred and I found a local farmer’s market that just opened a few weeks ago.  It is 5 minutes away and is all organic.  Sheri came with us on our hunt for provisions and got a Magic Bullet for smoothies, plus picked up the Trader Joe’s tab.  [Insert another thank you.]  When we got back to the apartment, I was prepping the veggies and shaking them in some dish towels, a few would go flying out.  Sheri suggested using a pillow case and twirling it outside.  Genius. 

She caught me doing it on video. (Thanks?) But, I really wish I caught her flinging it over her head on the patio, saying “look at me, I’m a salad spinner” and then thwacking herself in the face with the wet pillow case.   (Proving she can’t be a genius all the time!) Ah, sisters … I nearly peed my pants!

Powell Gardens

Island Garden, Powel Gardens:  the retaining wall is the largest "living" wall in North America.

On Sunday, we had a short break in the rain so we wanted to do something outdoors.  Fred had looked up a botanical garden in Kingsville, MO -- about an hour away.  It was on our to-do list and we decided to go for it.  Powell Gardens is absolutely gorgeous and humongous. It is 915-acre botanical garden with a sizeable pond/lake.  It has a 50x50 foot glass conservatory for tropical plants, a dogwood walk (still some blooms, but mostly spent flowers), an island garden, a fountain garden, an edible garden that includes a huge vegetable garden and an adjacent vinyard, a wildflower meadow (not in bloom), a glass and wood chapel, a rock and waterfall garden, perennial garden, and a nature trail with indigenous trees, shrubs, and wildflowers, and a stream.   We could not get enough of expansive skies and the beauty around us – and now ask you to indulge in our photos.  (It’s all we have, folks.)



On the Island Garden where they have a living wall and fountain garden.



Nature Trail



Edible Garden - Vinyard and Vegetable Garden



The Lake at Powell Gardens





Meadow Pavillion



Two-fer: Union Station and a $5 Matinee!

Monday was another dismal day – weather wise.  I worked in the morning and then we took off for Union Station.  We had seen their Extreme Screen Theatre was showing The Jungle Book at 12:30pm for only $5.  This worked.  We could show Sheri the iconic building and see a movie we all agreed on, for cheap.   Off to Union Station we went.  Ten minutes later, there we were.  Great movie.  I cried.  No surprise.  Sheri told me she held back the tears because Fred had turned to her to say I was crying and she didn’t want him to be surrounded.  (Fred tells me she did cry at the end.)

Low Key  - Hanging around Town

Around town: Jacob Loose Park, JC Nichols Fountain,
Brush Creek, Rose Garden Fountain, and
 Birthday Dinner at Seasons 52.

We had a great afternoon of shopping where I got to be the stylist and Sheri the perfect mannequin.  We had a couple of restaurant outings:  Houston’s to split artichokes and veggie burgers; a nice belated farm-to-table birthday dinner for Sheri at Season’s 52; and on the last night we had good weather so we took an afternoon stroll to Zacato, a fine Mexican restaurant, for happy hour chips, salsa, and mushroom tacos.  (Did I mention, Sheri is mostly vegan, so a perfect dining partner?)  The rest of the time it was games, home cooked meals, and lots of laughs.  Every time Fred has spoken to someone on the phone this week I have overheard him say,  “yeah, Karen’s sister, Sheri was here last week and I was really sorry to see her go.”

Heartbroken

Tank, Angie, Raj - Miss you!
 (Bita & Lawrence, too!)

It has been bittersweet to see our dogs are so well taken care of.  Our friends sent more pics of them walking the hills with Tank and then going for Mexican with the little monkey.  I am jealous and happy at the same time. We miss everything about them.  The cuddles, their antics. And every time Fred is in bed and I open the bedroom door in the morning, he says he expects to look up and see it was opened by one of our pups.  I told my friend Penny that I was worried they will not know us anymore when we come back.  She told me to look up videos where soldiers return to their pets.  The pets go nuts.  I need to do that.  Quick.

Graduation Day - Who's missing?. 
We know Bret is taking the shot, so it must be us. ;-(

The biggest pang comes today.  Our niece, Savannah, graduated from LMU this morning and we missed it.  Fred said he would give his left arm to be there. (I think he meant something else, but didn’t want to be rude).  We are both heartbroken that we could not be there.  Instead, we set up the computer to watch it stream on our TV.   We were there in heart and spirit.

For those of you who check in, to see how FRED is doing, he is holding up well.  Walking as much as I can push him (sometimes until his legs hurt – then we back off) and spending many hours with his new friend, the Xbox.  His spirits remain lifted – thanks in great part to Sledge.

We have more visitors coming Friday.  My Aunt Mary and Uncle Paul will be visiting from Penn Valley.  They are staying in a hotel nearby.  Looking forward to it.

Signing off for now.