Tuesday, July 17, 2018

A Month in Edmonds, Washington to Always, Always Remember!

Oh boy! What a time! A month with family in Edmonds, Washington that Barbara and I will always remember.  We were there to watch  four grandkids while mom Misha and dad Ed went off to Italy for a first time ever two-week vacation in Europe.

And when they returned after one of the best times of their lives, we spent another two weeks in their gorgeous home with them and our four grandkids. From oldest to youngest, they are Mia (16),Bella (15), Max (11), and Talula (6).

I have to tell you that this was an upscale neighborhood of big homes and well-kept lawns. Did that mean that residents   looked suspiciously at the old stranger walking around snooping at everything and everybody?

No way. They said hello and chatted with  me.  One neighbor a few houses away, Jason, is a tennis player and we ended up playing tennis several times at tennis courts in the beautiful neighborhood park. I also introduced the kids to tennis, providing racquets  and balls, and showing them how to hit a tennis ball. Here I am on the court with Talula:



Well enough yakking.  Let me just let the following photos do the talking.  I think  that they say a lot!



 Barbara was always taking the kids here and there while I goofed off, played with the kids,  played tennis,and walked all over the neighborhood -- even to downtown Edmonds a good half hour walk away! But above she took a break at a nearby Starbucks. Dear, you need to do that more often!




Max and sisters Bella and Talula have fun eating and playing at the same time.  Even though he has three sisters, Max is 100 percent guy.  He is also a talented artist.  He drew a picture of his Papa -- me -- that I cherish, though I think I am better looking than Max's drawing of me.  Here I am with Max's drawing. I'm better looking, right?




Talula is also smart and an artist, though an unusual one.  Instead of painting on normal artistic cardboard, she sometimes paints her face an becomes artist AND art.  Think I'm making this up? Here she is as her latest work of art holding a gift for me, a rock lover.

 

In the photo below Max takes a break  on the slide.



We were there for the 4th of July. It was the most interesting, exciting, and fun celebration I had ever experienced in my entire life.  I was actually IN the parade along with Ed and the kids. The street was packed with thousands.  In my entire life, I had never had so many eyes on me.  I loved it! Check out this photo taken before the parade of Ed and his three girls:



And here are a couple of crazies -- Ed and me-- just before we began marching in the parade. We look like brothers, don't you think?


Finally, to give you an idea of how important I was in the parade,here I am with the parade's representative of The United States of America.


My best 4th of July ever!

Ed is a great cook.  For our going-away dinner, he made us a feast of clamcakes, scallops, asparagus, and black linguini from Italy. What a feast! And here we all were enjoying every bite! Except for me that is. I took the photo. See that plate front and center?  I sat down and devoured it!



Finally. lest you get the idea that Edmonds is some kind of unreal dream world, here is a real-world photo   I took of poor and many homeless people lining up for free food. The vast majority of people in Edmonds have good lives in nice upscale neighborhoods. But they also have good hearts, shown in how they help the less fortunate.



For info on my ebooks, click here.