Aunt Pam Goes to Washington
Travis brought Aunt Pam out our way for dinner tonight. Becky made a wonderful dinner of short ribs, mashed potatoes and turnips, broccoli, and the best darn peach pie I've had in a decade. She got really fresh peaches today, and they were perfectly ripe for pie. Becky even made a lattice-top crust from scratch. And the filling was just right: not too gooey, not too runny. Golden sweet peaches with a stripe of red in them. Man, I tell you, that was good pie.
Oh, yeah, Aunt Pam was here!
It was really good to see Travis and Aunt Pam. Even though Travis lives in Woodbridge, he keeps pretty busy, and we don't see too much of each other. But when he called and said Aunt Pam was going to be in town, we insisted that they come out for dinner. I haven't seen Aunt Pam since Grandpa G. died, and it's always nice to see her. She's such a sweet soul. She came all the way out from her horse farm in Oklahoma. Travis bought her a ticket and told her to come and see him. And so she did!
As we were visiting, I told Luke, "Go get your pets, and show Aunt Pam your pets." (Thinking that she wouldn't like to see the rats.)
Well, I was quite surprised when Luke walked down with Bob on his shoulders, Aunt Pam reached her hand out and pet the rat right away, and then she asked to hold it. She was a natural. Not many people are this comfortable with rodents. Then I learned that she works in a vet clinic, so she's pretty used to seeing animals. (Even rats.)
Aunt Pam, Travis and Becky and I visited for a long time through dinner and afterwards. Aunt Pam told Eddie about her horse farm, and how she had to bury her favorite horse, Rocket. They had to bring in a backhoe to dig the hole big enough for a horse. Then she told Eddie that he needs to come out and see her so he can ride her new horse. Eddie was pretty excited by this.
As for Travis, he's doing very well. He's quit smoking and he looks really healthy. His work is going well, and he gets enough time to enjoy going to the motorcycle races. He's a pretty solid dude. He used to be the smallest of all the cousins, but he's pretty big now. No teasing Travis anymore.
It was a short visit, but so nice to see everyone.