After breakfast, I went to a gymnastic exhibition at Melanie & Monique's school. I got to see the two girls do cartwheels, somersaults, etc. Then we dropped the kids off & went to the store for lunch & dinner food. The store has hand held scanners that we take around with us to scan items. It saves time at the check out counter. The store has to take your word that you scanned everything. They do spot checks once in awhile. The produce was great. The store was busy.
Ed helped Frank cut back some trees on the neighbor's property to improve the ocean view. The neighbor was a little leery because in the past the previous owner of Ed's property did a horrible job. Ed assured him that Frank was an excellent arborist from New York, and would trim the trees with the neighbor's wishes in mind. He did not want any of Ed's house within view. Frank did a great job. He didn't chop the top of the trees off, he just thinned the middle. Not only did Ed's property value go up, but also the neighbor was OK with the job.
The rest of us did ground crew work. We filled up Ed's short bed pickup truck & made a huge pile on the side of the house. I enjoyed spending the day moving branches. It felt good. It sprinkled a little but not bad enough to go inside. Later in the evening it rained real hard.
***Ed’s girls are Monique & Melanie, 9 and 6 years old. I bought them Hopi Indian necklaces, a little wooden ring box, & a bunch of American quarters. In the late afternoon, before dinner, I quietly roamed the house, hiding clues on little pieces of paper here & there. One set of clues was for Melanie & one for Monique. At each destination was a little pile of coins. One clue was hidden in Ed's pocket. Another under a computer keyboard. They were allowed to ask for help if they needed it. Melanie asked Tansy who the "Famous American Mouse" was. She said, "Well, there's Liedel from American Tales, or Mickey Mouse". Bling, the light bulb went on & Melanie found the clue behind a Mickey Mouse picture.
There was a lot of squeals of laughter as they ran around the house, searching. When they were done, they insisted on playing it again. Well, I had two more gifts so I got Nina & Frank to help me & we did it again. The girls had to stay in the bathroom while we made up the new clues & hid them. They kept asking if we were done yet. Then they asked Tansy if Tami always takes this long. She didn't know. I think Frank & Nina had as much fun as I did.
When the treasures were found, they loved the necklaces. Each one was different but they both had a stone carved in the shape of a bear which symbolizes strength. The next day, Tansy & the girls were jumping on the trampoline & Melanie grabbed Monique's necklace & it broke. Through lots of tears & angry looks, they searched for a long time for the beads but could not find one of the little silver roses. So I promised to send her a little rose when I got back to the States. When visiting Alison, she happened to take me to a bead shop & there was a little rose bead. I sent it with Alison's Christmas gift.
Ed fixed leftover paoa paddies with relish, venison, & potatoes for dinner. I fixed up a nice salad & steamed asparagus. Ed had country western music playing while fixing dinner. I told him it made me feel at home. I asked if he had heard of Garth Brooks & he hadn't. I may send him a CD. The paoa tasted okay except for the chewyness. I especially liked the avocado relish that was on it. We were all too tired & full for dessert.
Right after I got into bed, I noticed a rowdy bunch of drunk guys making a ruckus across the street. They started throwing beer bottles against Ed's property wall. Ed went out & watched for a bit & then told them to stop throwing bottles, that little kids walk up & down the sidewalk & could get hurt on the broken glass. They yelled back at him. Ed considered calling the cops but didn't. Found out in the morning that the drunk guys had thrown a bottle at a neighbor that had been yelling at them too. He called the cops. Before the cops got there one of the partiers, a drunk woman, fell & broke her ankle. They called an ambulance. While being helped by the ambulance crew, a couple guys stole things from the ambulance. They took off & the cops sent their dogs after them & caught them.
In the morning the neighbors were all out sweeping up the glass. Ed went out & swept too. The neighborhood is going to contact the landlord of the rowdy group & see what can be done. Evidently it happens at this rental house quite often on the weekends in the summer.
