It was so nice to see the Hartke’s over the weekend!
We drove to Orchard Park mid-day on Saturday. The threat of rain was ever-present, but it never actually presented itself. My dad had warned me that highway 87 had a large population of police. He was right, and as a result, I was a real model citizen. We mostly listened to Jazz – I’m still working on broadening my children’s musical education. When we got to Orchard Park, I was surprised to find that it was a small city, and it had a real hometown feel. At least where Nate & Laura are, it looks like middle upper class white suburbia. With Orchard Park being so near to Buffalo and the Buffalo Stadium, I expected it to be more city-like, with industrial buildings and a general gray tint. This place was green and free of industry.
When we greeted the Hartke’s at the door, we found that Jen Riske was also there. What a pleasant surprise! Last time I had seen her was at the end of our Kyrgyzstan trip together two years ago. She is such a GOOD hugger. I think she missed me too… as did Nate and Laura. We also met Nate & Laura’s latest addition: Jacob, who is now 13 months old. What a cute kid! They now have three redheaded kids, and both parents are blonde. Nate quickly showed me his latest interest: he had an entire fridge dedicated to homemade beer. Three taps were on the side of the fridge, so over the course of the evening, I tried all three brews. The “brown bear, brown bear, brown ale” I tried twice because I liked it so much. I also tried a black beer from a local East Coast brewer. Just like the German counterpart, it was quite dark and quite sweet. I liked it (wow, five pints in an evening – I haven’t done that in 20+ years!).
Nate’s (Lloyds) ribs and chicken were spectacular. Chocolate dessert was served with a sweet Muscat wine, which totally worked with the chocolate. Yummy!
Jeffrey taught the group how to play “Kems,” a fun and easy card game that works with all ages. We had a good time with that. Later in the evening, the kids (plus neighbor kids) were getting a little loud, so I asked Jeffrey if he would teach the group of kids “Possum,” one of my favorite kid games (that I had made up years ago because I had active, noisy kids of my own). With Possum, the idea is to lie down quietly, without moving, as long as possible. If you move or talk, you get an “O” (we actually play Opossum), and so on. The winner must stay still for at least 10 minutes. The kids were initially really into this, but after 15 minutes or so, they realized what we were up to. The parents thought it was a brilliant game and wondered why they hadn’t thought of it. Two of the winners were very good – totally lying still. The third winner, Abby, had fallen asleep.
Nate also took most of my family to see his church. He did so today so that he would have the time to show us the whole place. Sundays for a pastor is just crazy, so we’d miss the opportunity. The main church was beautiful, but the rooms surrounding it were out of some sort of Escher nightmare. It was obvious that the complex had been built up over several years, and by several committees. There was no flow to the building. Somehow, they even incorporated the old parsonage with the new main church structure (the old church was now the narthex/lobby of the new church). This meant that the “apse” end of the church was a split level bachelor’s pad. Below that, in the “crypt” (formerly the parsonage basement?) is where they decided to put child care. Parents would have to bring their kids under the church and across its length to put their kids in childcare, then backtrack the whole way, and go up a flight of stairs to get to church. Nate thought, and I agree, that whoever did this (decided where to stick the kids) didn’t value young families in the church. There was also no cry room “skybox” where parents could take care of their infants and still see the service. Now that Nate is attempting to bring in young families, facilities will need to change. The church has extensive grounds, and owns two or three other houses, so there is plenty of room to make a complete “redo” if necessary… if money were no object.
I had also noticed that the speaker mains were underpowered for the room, but that’s a different diatribe.
Sunday service went great. Nate needed a bassist at the last minute, so I was volunteered. It was fun to play at a different church, and I was given a very nice bass and amp (both Fender). The set list was also set up for me – sort of Nate’s all-time rock & roll favorites. These days, Nate is playing electric guitar, and I was very impressed with his guitar solo on “Let the Praises Ring.” I wish I could have heard the other vocalists (or Nate and his guitar in my monitor), but at least I was near the drummer.
One big burly guy gave me a hug upon meeting him. I love it when church folk do that. Aside from him, I really didn’t meet many other people except for the band.
Lunch afterward was at Duffs, famous for their Buffalo Wings. Duffs and Anchor Bar have had a long-standing argument on who was the first to introduce Buffalo Wings, and who is the best today. Most of my online sources say that Anchor was the first, but that Duff’s is the best. After having Duff’s Wings, I couldn’t refute the “best” claim. These wings were great!
When we got back to the Hartke house on this very rainy day, Jen said good-bye to us and headed to her parent’s house in Detroit. She’ll be back at the Hartke house on Friday on her way to her new temporary assignment in Boston (she’s a traveling nurse). The remaining group played a little more “Kems”, and then we left around 4PM to head back to the Lake. It was nice to be back at the Lake, but I miss the Hartke’s very much, and I know that the feeling’s mutual.