April 18, 2011
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The Beast’s Brother
TALES FROM THE BRAT FARMThe Brother arrived around 3:30pm. Chewlee knew who he was and got so excited! She ran in to tell me he was here, grabbed my hand and proceeded to drag me out into the kitchen thinking I was going to miss him. He was not too tired, however, not to accompany the Beast to Lowe’s to *pick up a few things*. That’s all the information *I* got from the Beast so I knew he was going to be bringing home something I was not going to be happy about.
And I was right. He brought home a blueberry bush AND some potato starts…white potatoes. That’s the Brother’s influence because their father, when he was alive, used to have potatoes in his garden. It’s not like the Brother planted them or took care of them but he’s an expert now on them. *I* am not an expert but I do know that, like watermelons and cantaloupes, they take up a lot of room and they will take over an area if left neglected for even just a week!
We got a chance to talk after the Beast had gone to bed and he’s very concerned over the health issues his brother is having. Or, should I say *discovering* since there has never been a hint of a heart problem even before or after his strokes. The Brother’s wife is a retired nurse (she had to retire due to a severe work related injury that was exacerbated by a car accident when they were rear-ended a few years back) and, when she found out he had to undergo a stress test, got concerned because one of them she said can be difficult to recover from. Since they knew I took care of Chewlee and the Beast will be there for HOURS, they figured I wouldn’t be able to go along with him. What they didn’t know, and the Beast never told them, was the doctor’s fact sheet discourages bringing someone along and states clearly that there would be no problem with them driving home after the test. That would have reassured the Brother that the tests the Beast will be taking (actually it’s a couple tests) was not the one that they were concerned about. However, the Brother said it wouldn’t have mattered. He would have come anyway.
Chewlee spent the majority of the couple hours I had her here with her Papa and her uncle outside. She walked along with them looking at the garden, worried constantly about ants. She’s terrified of them since she was stung by red aunts a couple summers ago. She freaks out if any ant gets on her, even if they aren’t the kind that bite. She sat at the table on the deck with them and drew while they talked. She would run into the house (I was busy folding clothes and other things since I took advantage of the accidental babysitters
) to excitedly tell me about different things that were said to her or that she saw or even just for a popsicle or juice. By the time they came in, it was getting kind of cold outside and it wasn’t too long before the Princess would be coming to pick her up. I threw in the movie she wanted to watch (the Pinocchio one that the Boy sent her) and we watched that. It finished shortly before it was time to leave and she was totally engrossed during it. She LOVED it. It wasn’t the Disney cartoon but the one with Martin Landau as Gepetto and Jonathan Taylor Thomas (as Pinocchio…as a boy of course). She wanted something to eat so I gave her some of the Pina Colado jello that I had added some pineapple chunks to when I made it yesterday. She was crazy about it. I had given her kind of a restaurant sized serving and she wanted more. She just finished when her mother got there. I had to promise to save it for her before she finally grabbed her tee-tee and went to run out the door.
And that’s all for now, folks. The guys are in bed and this is overdue to be posted. Love you all and I really hope you had a good weekend. I hope you didn’t suffer any damages if you were hit by the storms these past couple of days. Have a great Monday!
