August 8-15
written August 10+
After
almost a week with Ava and Sam, the house seemed quiet.
Sometimes, we old folks prefer it that way, or so we tell ourselves.
Fortunately, we had a chance for a quick babysitting hour with little
Zaiden, nephew Henry's almost-one-year-old. Cute kid with a great
disposition.However, by Friday we received new visitors. Grandson Rich and his mom Jen arrived at Fresno International airport on Friday (8th), and we started more activities. We didn't even allow them to unpack before we visited Mamo and her pool. Like us, Mamo really does prefer the noise and chaos of young visitors.
Airport Greet  At Mamo's     |
Brian
left Colorado early to join us, but he had a two-hour flight and a
three-hour drive between there and Fresno. That gave us time to
putter around home and make a short visit to the Saturday farmer's
market. (Fresno has over 30 farmer's markets in the summer, a
byproduct of being "the nation's food capital" - according to the local
mayor, at least.)Brian did make it after lunch, looking pretty awake, considering he had been awake for almost 12 hours. Like the family the day before, he was granted no rest and we went off to Mamo's pool right away. (It was over 100F after all.)
More Pool Time   |
On
Sunday morning we started with breakfasts, each on his own
time line. The first group event was a quick try at bocce on the
unfinished court. The curves and bounces added to the challenge,
but that only added to the fun. Rich & Jen's team won, but
Brian and I will get a re-match next time!Our next tourist stop was Forestiere Garden, a Fresno tourist attraction that we had never managed to hit, despite a convenient location that we probably pass several times a month. The garden was built in the first third of the 20th Century by Baldassare Forestiere, and Italian immigrant who came to Fresno to start a fruit orchard, but ended with something else entirely: a 20-acre underground home and, almost, a resort. After buying an 80-acre plot near old Fresno, Baldassare discovered that it was all covered in "hard pan", a sandstone-like formation of dirt several feet thick that was un-farmable. Over 40 years, he managed to turn a refuge from the Fresno summer heat into a year-round labyrinth of below-grade rooms and gardens.
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On Monday, Jen, Rich, Marianne, and I headed north about an hour to the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. Rich is a real expert on trains, thanks to the railroad museums back home in Colorado, but the whole crew enjoyed the excursion.
While the area around the Sugar Pine Railroad was pleasantly cool, Fresno was hot when we returned to town. This was an excuse for a visit to Mamo and her pool. Before we jumped in, she tried to teach us a Hungarian card game, and Jen managed to remember a few of the terms. I'm sorry, but the language remains a mystery to me. While we kids were swimming, Marianne worked up a great dinner, done in the European style Mamo loves.
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Our Tuesday excursion was to the Castle Air Museum, again about an hour away from Fresno. Over five-dozen war planes are on display, gathering the dust of the San Joaquin Valley. Rich demonstrated that he is even more of a war plane expert than a train expert and he was able to recognize, and describe, many of the display aircraft.
    
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Rich and Jen needed to return to Colorado on Wednesday, but we managed a quiet start, including watching some backyard wildlife before it was off to Fresno International Airport.
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Mamo brightens when the little kids are around, as do we all (mostly)  Pool games of sharks, jumping, and kid-throwing wore everyone out, especially Opa!   
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Our Thursday excursion was another trip on the Sugar Pine Railroad. Same train as Tuesday, but a new audience.
    Ava and Sam, do you remember what the blue rings meant? Do you still have your train tickets?     
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By
the time we made it back home, everyone but Ava and Opa was tired
enough to take naps. Sam took his normal two or three hours, so
that put us on a very late evening schedule. We still owed Mamo
and her pool a visit, so Ava and Sam got their first experience at
swimming in the (almost) dark! I think they're hooked.
Friday
morning everyone was up almost as early as usual. As a final
treat, the kids could watch cartoons at the breakfast table and they
were glued to the screen. Eventually, the tv was turned off and
our visitors searched the house for all that they had brought with
them. Then they got into their big, black limo and drove off for
one last visit to Mamo and her pool. Opa
stayed back home to catch up with house and office chores (including
this diary).The house returned to it's normal quiet and we miss all the kids' noise and chaos! Hopefully, we will get more visits and noise in the not-too-distant future.
John and Marianne
The garage project continues.
Our painters are back. Pretty soon we will have a usable garage. While we were gone on Monday and Tuesday, there was progress on trim and electrical  On Wednesday Tony fixed our windows while Benny and Jorge preped for paint   Thursday was a big day, with the final "dash coat" on the stucco by Paul and his crew, interior and exterior painting by Benny and Jorge, and Ramon installed a nice garage door.     Almost done.  On Friday, more painting and almost the last of the electrical work.  Benny and Jorge worked Saturday and finished the painting. I managed to rearrange the junk storage and now we have a real place for our car!    Ben promised completion of the electrical work early in the week and Gary says the walkways should go in just after. I THINK that will be the end of our latest (and last?) home construction project. |