July 29, 2003 - Still In Route - 2
Lots of homes out here have "breezeways" between the garage and the house. Sort of a leftover idea from the days before air-conditioning. That's my interpretation, and I'll surely catch some static from family members (who shall remain unnamed) that don't like air-conditioning, particularly today. Anyway, Sister Carol and her husband Guy, have such a place. And it's not air-conditioned, so I didn't spend a great deal of time there (on the breezeway). Guy likes his air-conditioning, so we went inside where it was considerably cooler. Barb and Carol, and then Ma and Guy are out there, and I went out for the quick photo opp, and that was it. Or so I thought.
I'd walked in on a conversation as to who was the shortest between Ma and her two daughters. Carol and Barb are 15 months apart in age, and because Carol got sick one year as a youngster and stayed behind to repeat a grade at school; as a result, the two sisters were in the same grade for some time, and remain pretty close even today--and have similar habbits. Like they both leave a little of whatever is in the glass when they're done. Drives Guy and me nuts! And they both need a tissue box close at hand, but neither will admit to having any allergies. Drives Guy and me nuts! But we love 'em anyway. And then we went visiting to sister Lorraine and husband Ray's house, and Ma was there too, and I got a pretty good close-up of her. Doesn't look like she's about to celebrate her 90th birthday, does she. Sharp as a tack and won't cut me any slack when I blame her daughters idiosyncrasies on her, either.
Sister Lorraine HATES to have her picture taken, but since I was a ways off with the long lens, I figured I'd try a close up of her, and by golly, she didn't even know it. That's Ma's house right behind Lorraine and Ray's house. Well, it was Ma's house, and all the six girls were raised there, but now it's sister Donna and her husband David's house, and Ma lives there with them in her upstairs apartment. Good arrangement for everybody, pretty much.
Like many in the family, sister Lorraine has a way with flowers. This pot has a hole in the middle that the umbrella goes through, and I thought it was a pretty clever idea. And there's the whole gang, Loraine, Barb, Ma, Ray, and yours truly.