Pictures, so you know I was telling the truth!

This un-retouched photo was taken on Friday, December 19th, before the sun rose, if it did that day. The snow makes for an almost spooky look over Mom's parking lot. You can barely see the legs of an overturned lawn chair sticking out from the bank, which helps demonstrate just how deep was the snow.

Wisely, I stuck a yard stick into the bank/drift on my Mom's patio, just off her living room. Sadly, only I know what it said as far as depth goes, and you'll simply have to take my word for it that the measurement read 11".

My niece, Alayna, busily attempting to remove the ice and snow from Grandma K's car, as it runs in the parking lot. This was not the same day as the first blizzard but more likely after one of the smaller storms we experienced that two weeks I was up there. Someone asked me today if I'd given more thought to moving back up to WI, and my answer was swift---NO!!!!!!!

A full day for the end of the year

This early a.m., Joanne and I watched a bit of a national news program, not Fox and Friends, and saw 2009 being rung in down in Australia so we know it's a go!!!!

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She had a busy day in front of her so she got herself ready for work. Joanne and her co-worker were heading to the beaches area to look at a home for another client. She's spending wwaayy too much time at the beach these days!! When I talked to her a couple hours ago, she was walking around in this fabulous home with an extraordinary view. Joanne always wishes I could see these homes, so after the work with the financials is through, I'll go for a "ride in the country" with her. That's what my former spouse and I used to do, threaten each other with a ride in the country-----you had to be there, I guess.

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This afternoon, Justin popped in for a little while to take a quick shower, change his clothes, wrap the gifts he purchased on the way to my house, and grab his luggage. Whew! He is going, after all, to celebrate CHRISTmas with his father, his father's lady friend and her family. He needed a box or basket or something to put the new purchases into, and I came up with a basket that held flowers from Timmy's funeral. Why not? It's just packed away in a cupboard so I figured it would make a nice way to hold his purchases. He hustled around looking for wrapping paper and tissue and tape and scissors and tags.....Justin was really happy to get his luggage back so he can have his "date night" shirt I bought him for CHRISTmas; otherwise, he was trying to persuade me to take him to Penney's today to find another one. Wow, he really liked his shirt!

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After Justin left for his father's house, which is going to be the site of a New Year's bash later on tonight, I got myself ready to go to Green Cove Springs to pay my taxes. I had to tear my suitcase apart to find my box of earrings because I simply could not go to the Court House annex to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, without earrings! While I was at it, I also renewed my license plates, a regular one stop shopping event! Just in case the 'girls' were working up in the building dept., I took a ride in the elevator to say "hello" and "happy New Year". It was busy in the office but Robbin invited me in to her office for a quick chat. She is not cropping as much as she used to, deciding to play with little Hannah rather than crop pictures of her! Krista, her supervisor and dear friend, scrapbooks religiously yet and we are going to get together for a crop soon. Justin had to take something to the Building Dept. recently and he was saddened to report that the pictures of Timmy were taken down. But, he was mistaken---they are still there on the wall, where Robbin's desk used to be. Not obvious from the lobby area but still well-posted for their purposes.

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On the way back from GCS, I decided to stop at the new Publix on Fleming Island to pick up the pasta and some garlic bread for our dinner tonight. Joanne made a large kettle of spaghetti sauce which we are going to enjoy once I get back from church this evening. We are on an Italian roll, as compared to a French roll, since we ate at Carrabba's last night and having spaghetti tonight. I also picked up a small cheesecake and some cherries to dress it up with for our dessert. When we talked about our dinner and evening plans, we both figured there'd be no ringing in of the New Year in this household tonight----after all, we did that once already this morning!!!!

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I had fun earlier opening my greeting cards, many of which were birthday ones. I opened one which littered my lap and floor with tiny schnibbles including hearts, flowers, dots, and even some Charlie Brown silhouettes! That was from the Kelly's, my dear friends from church and the Building Committee. What fun! When I was looking for my earrings, I discovered the box containing the lovely angel figure that Linda gave me. It bears a poem that discusses the feelings of grief, how the Lord helps us through it. Beautiful! Thanks, Linda!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig....

Upon returning home, some things are the same, some are different: my desk is still messy, piled full of papers and other "to be filed" items, the same. This morning I waded through the mail which arrived after I left for WI, and opened all the greeting cards, different. I tuned into my morning radio shows right off the bat, the same. In listening to the program, however, it appears to be "best of" Neal Boortz program, the same. However, I did miss many programs during the time my sister was here and while I was away, so now I can catch up, different. The river was outside my windows when I woke up--same, but with extremely low tides--different. The sun was shining into my room, same, but the outdoor temps were not reflective (a play on words!) of it's heat, different. We are having some, relatively speaking, cool temperatures in the a.m.s, with the highs expected to be low to mid 70's.............ah, that's more like it!

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Nearly my, our, entire day was spent traveling, or not traveling, from WI to FL yesterday. I'd hoped that at least I would get a pat-down at the airport as a birthday present, but nope, cleared security with no contraband telephones tucked away. Oh, well.........My sister, Lynn, and Mom drove us to the airport without incident, as more winter weather advisories were in effect. In fact, they made such great time going back after "dropping us down" (as Timmy used to say) that the two ladies stopped at our favorite bakery in Sheboygan for coffee and sweet rolls! Snow did come eventually but long after they were safely back home.

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Justin's flight was scheduled for two hours earlier than mine so we checked in at our respective airlines, meeting in the middle. We had plenty of time to spare, since already at check-in, Justin found out his flight was delayed! We went up to the Food Court to have a breakfast sandwich. He delighted in showing me clips from "Dark Knight" which is downloaded on his telephone (new-fangled inventions!) but it really is a bit "dark" for me.

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We both flew from the C Concourse so sat together in his gate area until it was time for me to wander to mine, just down the hall. His flight was really really late, but would still allow him to catch his next flight in St. Louis. When I got to my gate, I found out mine, too, was delayed over an hour, which meant my connecting flight in Charlotte would be gone when we landed. The airline had already re-booked me on the next flight which would get me in at JAX around 7:00 pm. Ugh! We had birthday dinner plans!!!!!

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Well, it all worked out---Justin waited for me to arrive in JAX, collected me, plus both my bags, from the claim area, and asked me drive because he felt like his foot was too heavy or something. You must know Justin to appreciate this.....a Justinism. Of course, his car was also out of gas, with the little gas pump symbol illuminated on the dash, which he knows I hate!!!! He claims it was 'an accident' that he ran low on gas, but he did have the car running to cool him off while he waited for me to land. How ironic, to be running the car to remain cool instead of desperately trying to get the frost off the windows!!!

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We gassed up, him pumping and me paying, of course, and then headed to Carrabba's to meet Joanne and the Ross family for my birthday dinner. By the way, Justin's bag wasn't there at the airport, but a different red suitcase was left instead. It appears that someone accidentally took his luggage and the airline assured him that when they brought the bag back, the airline would deliver the correct piece of luggage to him. He asked them to bring it here since his student housing doesn't have ready access, and my name is the one on the bag anyway. It did show up yet last night, and it was delivered to my door sometime during the night. Justin asked me to leave a signed note on the door saying it was okay to just leave the bag, and sure enough, it was there this a.m. when we got up! Now he's in a pickle because he'd "cancelled" his CHRISTmas celebration at his father's under the guise that his presents were in the missing bag! I feel badly for Justin, finding himself in such a spot all the time.

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I just heard from my friend, Judy J., whose birthday is today. We sang to each other, and then she told me about her birthday surprise---her son flew in from Detroit to celebrate her birthday with her! When she called me, Jeff was sitting in the driveway in a lawn chair, soaking up the sun. Another irony!

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Instead of the pat-down at the airport, I did have another neat experience......I had gotten several birthday wish phone calls while waiting for my plane. It's not easy to have private conversations on the phone in the airport. While sitting there, I'd made my usual eye contact/smile contact with the gentleman sitting across from me. He was just a moppin' his face and entire head, that's how warm it was for him. I was fine, of course. As he stood up to catch his flight, he wished me a happy 'birfday' and offered God's blessings to me. I thanked him 'warmly' (ha ha) and then he asked me if I liked art. I assured him I did, and told him I was a member of the Art Guild here in Florida. He gave me his business card and told me to contact him at the website listed. The man, a gentleman of color, informed me he has a condo at Jax Beach and a permanent home in Atlanta, where his art studio is located. He wants to give me a piece of his art as a birthday gift! Can you believe this?? No strings attached, just being a nice guy to poor, weary traveler in the airport on her birthday............

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Another almost nice thing happened at the airport---the young lady working at the gate desk who was struggling to re-book all these folks told me that she would have upgraded me to first-class seating IF the airplane actually had a first-class! All because she felt sorry for me being delayed from attending my birthday dinner at Carrabba's. In this case for certain, it is the thought that counts!

Gathering thoughts and packing up

As we search the corners of the room we shared, Justin and I are getting things together to begin the tedious yet necessary packing process. Well, at least one of us is! The room isn’t really quite large enough for us both to be working at the same time so, in order to be gracious, I’m letting him go first. He got a bunch of presents and isn’t sure he’ll have room for all of them in his luggage, perhaps overflowing into my pieces. Not that I didn’t get a bunch, too, but mine seem to be more “compactable” than are his. At first he’d toyed with bringing only a carry-on bag for this visit in order to avoid checking luggage but he did change his mind about that once he began getting things together for this trip. It’s not a good idea to go minimal luggage for that reason, avoiding baggage checking, because inevitably one returns with more than they came with anyway.

Instead of going to visit Auntie this a.m., Justin stayed here to take care of the laundry so he doesn’t have to take dirty---and smelly---clothes home with him. We both smelled heavily of smoke after dining at the Green Street Tavern again on Sunday night. After we got home last night, I took a shower to help get the smell out of my hair. Phew! Although I hate having government intervention in such a matter as smoking, it sure is refreshing to not having smoking allowed in our area restaurants in OP. I don’t remember if it’s statewide or not, but I like it for the places at which I dine.

My sister-in-law, Mona, picked up Justin and me for lunch today which we did enjoy at Perkins. Justin hadn’t been there yet this visit and Mona liked it too, so off we went. Sure enough, when we pulled into the parking lot, there was Lynn’s car sitting! She had the two older ladies in tow, although they were nearly finished eating by the time we got there. Justin got to “hug on” Auntie after all so it worked out great. We had a nice meal, Mona treating us both for my birthday, which is tomorrow. Allie was at basketball practice and I think JR was with John checking out nursing homes from my father-in-law.

When we got back to Mom’s, we were greeted by Linda’s twin granddaughters. Alayna had to leave again to go back home to get something she’d forgotten so we watched the girls. After attempting to amuse them, I asked if they liked to watch the Disney channel and they said they did. Justin searched the directory to find a station suitable and came up with the Cartoon Network. The girls were enthralled with a show called “Chowder” which Justin found offensive because the characters did a lot of pharting and belching. We just couldn’t believe it!! Lisa doesn’t like her boys to watch it either but the girls kept shushing us so they didn’t miss a sound, or a word!

After Linda came for them, we followed her home and had a nice visit with them at her new house. She conducted the 50 cent tour for Mom and Justin and then put out wonderful CHRISTmas treats for us to savor. Lynn brought along a plate of cookies too and Linda put those out for us as well. The four of them were going to Green Bay for supper and the girls were excited about this outing with Nina and Gumpa. I believe tomorrow they’ll be reunited with their parents and life will return to normal for them all.

In packing my luggage tonight, I realized I’d not mentioned much about my presents! Justin gave me the travel game of Apples to Apples plus the DVD “Mamma Mia!”. He already told me he’s getting me a wireless router for the laptop computer so I have dependable service in the family room. I spend a bit more time in there now that Joanne lives with me so it helps to have trustworthy connections. My sister, Jill, gave me a lovely red/black sweater plus a box of chocolate covered cherries, my favorite! Mom gave me a sparkly red sweater; Barb, my sister-in-law, gave me blue booties, red nail polish and a small bottle of Obsession, perfect for my make-up bag. I’d put the polish on my list, because I couldn’t find it in Orange Park. She struck it rich by finding it here!!! I’d already mentioned the tie-dyed shirt and bracelet from Lori for my birthday, plus Lynn gave me a musical jewelry box with a “sisters” poem on top, decorated with purple irises, another favorite. My apologies if I forgot to mention something, and I’ll know more when I unpack my luggage in Orange Park, whenever THAT happens…..I hate unpacking!!!!

Monday morning comin' down

Sounds morose almost, doesn't it? Justin and I are waiting for my sister-in-law to collect us from Mom's house so we can enjoy a nice lunch together before we head out tomorrow. Alayna needed the car for a short while and Mona offered to pick us up. Little Missy, as we like to call Alayna, will be watching my friend, Linda's, grandkids for a bit this afternoon since Linda has a nail appointment, and then the bunch of us are going to spend some time at her new house. Mom, Justin, and Alayna haven't been there yet and Justin wants to see it before we head back to Florida.

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It's been a busy day already----Lynn, Alayna, Mom, and I went to visit my Auntie Marie who lives exactly one block south of Lynn, they even have the same house number, one street apart! I get a big kick out of her, she's so lively yet for a lady her age. Auntie may be about 86 but seems quite full of fun yet. She misses her lady friends who have either passed on or moved into nursing homes. Alayna and I had to leave but Mom, Lynn, and Auntie were going to have lunch somewhere. Maybe we'll run into them out and about! Lynn had to walk back home to get her car, refusing the ride offered. Justin, like his father, is in the shower as I write, even though our driver will be here in less than 5 minutes........

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I'll have more to write later when we get back here from Linda's, so check in again this evening. We'll have to pack our bags tonight and have them ready for when Lynn picks us up at 6:30 0r so in the morning. Justin is really looking forward to getting back to Internet land, lamenting that he's behind in his "tech" updates. Oh, yeah, me, too! I am lamenting having to work on the financial junque for Court when I get back, it really burns my biscuits that I must upset my entire household and schedule for this, but it is in my best interest to do so. It's all about protecting myself, my assets, and my future, and mainly, my joy!

A football weekend and then some!

On this foggy, drizzly afternoon, Justin and I are sitting at Mom's watching the Florida State Seminoles play against the Wisconsin Badgers in Orlando. The fans in the stands are wearing tank tops or T-shirts instead of the layers like they would here, or rain gear, as the case might be. Neither of us are fans of these teams, ironically, but still, it's a FL team vs. a WI team, in our "home" state!!! I can't help but think about Gordy, lying in his hospital bed, recovering from the surgery needed to repair his fractured hip. He is a die-hard Seminole fan, and I hope he's alert enough to watch the game today. While I feel terrible that Gordy is in a bad way, I can't help but feel badly for his daughter as well, as she is always the go-to person concerning Gordy, and he's really been keeping her hopping in 2008!

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Earlier I referenced the weather, and its nastiness thereof. It's been wet in the air all day long, starting already when we went for breakfast this morning. Lynn came down to Mom's to pick us up, meeting Jill and Danny at Toby's Diner for some down-home cooking. It was chilly in their dining room, though, and not conducive to sitting around chatting. The temperatures are hovering around 40 degrees above zero, but now it's raining lightly and the fog is so dense, you have to feel your way down the road! It makes the scenery downright eerie in appearance.

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After I started a roast cooking in Mom's oven, Justin and I set off for the afternoon to visit some friends and family. We had to wait until the weather allowed, and when it did allow, we couldn't see where we were going. Last night I bought a huge bag of salt which Justin and Alayna spread around Mom's car, on the walkways, and in the parking lot. Of course, it wasn't necessary with the warming temps but at least the thickest of the snow and ice is gone for now. The two of us went to visit my sister-in-law's parents for a bit, and got to meet some of Barb's cousins who were also there visiting. We had a nice visit and as soon as I have access to a computer where I can download my photos, I will do so. They've been part of our lives for nearly 35 years, at least in my life. They are so darn cute, even though they are older, still spunky.

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We took a couple cookies from Clara's to deliver to Arno, our next stop. He was in the dining room when we arrived and the CNA escorted him, making him use the walker, to the room for our visit. It is incredibly sad how much he's gone downhill since I spent time with him in September. His 'dreams' are so real to him that he thinks they are true, and I'm not 100% sure he even knew exactly who we were. Once he talked about Justin and me as though we weren't us. This was not the man from September, but is what he's become following his surgery and time spent in this care facility. At some point he must have fallen and hurt his back, causing a compression fracture, but the Home has no record of it occurring. Mona is quite upset with the staff about this, thinking they should have been more aware of what was going on with him. Anyway, it is just so sad to see him like this.

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From Arno's Home we drove the rest of the way to his "old" home to drop off the presents for tomorrow's exchange. At first we couldn't tell if anyone was home because the garage door was closed, but JR answered the door, so we were in!!! Mona had plans this afternoon to do something with her brother and I knew this so had no intention of hanging around

Our original plan was to also visit my sister-in-law, Sharon, this afternoon but sort of changed our minds after seeing Arno. Justin will be spending tomorrow afternoon with her at his other family's CHRISTmas celebration so she won't be totally forgotten. I write to her every month and my cousin, who is Sharon's caregiver, reads the notes for her. Since I can't be around here to visit, except for today, ahem, ahem, I try to stay in contact that way. Sharon is blind which is why she lives in a group home facility.

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Instead of going to see Sharon, we went to Kohl's to exchange a shirt Justin got for CHRISTmas and make some additional purchases. Mom's bathrug is shedding blue fuzzies something fierce and since her birthday comes up in January, we decided to replace her bathmat as a birthday present. It's hard enough for her to see to clean the way it is, and to have a bathmat adding to the mess just doesn't make good sense. Justin also got the rest of his exchange gifts for tomorrow's gathering. Upon leaving Kohl's, we drove to Copp's where he ran in, said 'hi' to my friend, Cindy, in the bakery and got us some more sugar cookies. We no longer needed to go to Walmart because of shopping at Kohl's so he asked if I'd take him to the bookstore downtown to get the new Harry Potter book. He'd not put it on his list for CHRISTmas so I drove him, peeling away the fog as we went. Now he's a happy boy with a new wallet to replace the shirt we took back, football, a Harry Potter book and sugar cookies!

Second CHRISTmas Day

Merry CHRISTmas everyone! Today is a calm one weather-wise, but tonight, we may not be so fortunate. The good news is that the temps are above freezing, finally; the bad news is that what’s melted and may come down will probably freeze and make for some very dramatic driving!

Yesterday morning was an awesome, awesome CHRISTmas Day service at First German, a single worship time which means instead of two services, as on Sundays, all who wished to attend did so at one time. That made greeting all the more delightful because otherwise I see only those who attend early worship on Sunday mornings. It’s almost like two separate churches, early service and late. That’s just the way it is. Anyway, the Festival Service was mainly all singing, congregational and choral, the pipe organ as well as the extra-sized orchestra as the college kids were home from school and could pitch in. Pastor mentioned that even some parents of the congregation joined the young people on their instruments and made a glorious noise to the Lord! Singing “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” with the orchestral accompaniment is just our way of singing “Happy Birthday” to the Savior King!!!

Lynn and Alayna sat with the family in the pew and simply went up front in the church when it was time for the choir to sing, as the loft was filled with the orchestra. It was good to actually see them sing instead of merely hearing them. Linda, too, of course, and other familiar faces. One of the ladies with whom I used to sing many years ago was sitting across the aisle from me, no longer a choir member, and I told her after church how fun it was to sing together again, even though we weren’t in the choir. We used to have so much fun, lots of giggles, when Mom paid me $2 a week to sing in the choir!!!

After worship, too, I spoke to the director of music from MLHS, telling him how much I enjoyed the concert on Tuesday night. I also told him of trying to get the drawl-prone little ones in G.S.’s Sunday school to sing “Go, Tell It On the Mountain”. He laughed and said he could only imagine how that sounded, and I told him that no matter how hard I tried to get them NOT to say “mowntaaan”, when they got into that refrain, all bets were off!

An aside: in communicating with a long, lost but recently reconnected friend in northern IL via facebook, it came out that she already has five grandchildren, and she’s younger than me!!! I told her that if Timmy hadn’t died, I’d yet have a child in grade school, which, when you think about it, seems bizarre. I guess the writing about Sunday school brought that little conversation to mind…….My mom got a CD with mainly Pachelbel’s Canon in D on it, and it’s playing right now in her living room as I write this---and it reminds me of Timmy’s “nap music”, which was Canon in D.

Kerry arrived at Mom’s in time to attend worship with us and made us so happy! She at first sat upstairs in order to see her little girl, Alayna, aged 16, singing with the choir, not realizing the choir was sitting in the “general population” downstairs. Eventually she came down and sat with the rest of us---four of my mom’s girls plus three of her grands all in one pew!

Once back from church, I got several phone calls including one from my friends, the Douglases, back in Orange Park. Carol wanted to wish us Merry CHRISTmas and tell about their worship services at G. S. Three of her grandsons were in the children’s portion of the service on Eve, as well as the rest of their Sunday school classes. She said all went well, and that they had 40 people in church on CHRISTmas Day. She said we were missed and just wanted to touch base with me. I love them! The Maestro played the entire service on the organ which was a nice touch…..Justin asked if he pulled out all the stops….a little pipe organ humor, there. I also placed a call to a busy household in Winona to speak briefly with my friend, Judy R. and her family. All were busy preparing for the feast but stopped to chat with me. I even got to say Merry CHRISTmas to Jer Bear, Judy’s hubby. The joy, love, and warmth came over the phone, both to them and from them! A mutual friend of Judy’s and mine, Kari Hahm, at First German, sent a telephone hug to Judy and family. Kari is dear friends with one of Judy’s daughters, and if you are friend of the daughter, you are friend of the mom, too! Kari and I share a love for the Ruserts, between Winona, Manitowoc, and Orange Park!!!

Lori, David, and Dusty made it safely from Holmen, arriving at Lisa’s house in Sheboygan just ahead of us. The ride down was perfection, no icy spots or snow covered roadways to hinder travel. We could smell the turkey roasting before we even climbed onto Ellison's front porch! Mmmmm! Lynn made her delicious mashed potatoes and Jill made a salad called, get this, Prange Salad! It’s a pasta salad with a dill seasoning and was simply wonderful. I’ve requested the recipe so I can make it every time I get lonesome for my friends, the Pranges! Of course, it’s probably named after the store but I can think it’s named after my friends instead, because it makes me feel better!

Lisa’s boys were adorable, of course, as they greeted us at the door with light sabers. Each has a colored Star Wars saber which makes a whooshing sound as it’s swung. Great fun for two boys in small quarters! After lunch and dessert we finished opening our presents, as we’d already begun the night before at Jill’s house before the candlelight service. As an early birthday present, Lori and family gave me a fabulous pink and white tie-dyed shirt with a handmade matching bracelet. Besides that, she gave me a lovely silver necklace which says: Live well, laugh often, love much. Couldn’t have said it better myself! She told me I’ll have to take care of it because it’s real silver and will require the loving care of the jewelry cloth she gave me last year…….I just have to remember where I put it!!! Lynn, who had Justin’s name, got him the perfect wireless mouse for his computer. We know it’s perfect, because he described it and sent the link to my computer when she was at my house. She said, “Buy it!” so I did. She liked the idea of it because it would be easy to pack in his luggage for the ride home again. I really don’t think he expected to get it from her, and is happy he did!

Last night, after the festivities, the Schippers went to visit with his mom and some family, before checking into their hotel room. Once there, Justin, Lynn, and I went over there and played a couple rousing games of Apples to Apples. Justin got me a travel version of this same game so I was more than happy to play with them. One round Justin knew I’d pick his card because the one he threw in was titled “Pez dispensers”. “Seinfeld” wins again!!!! The category was “Humorous” so Pez dispensers worked perfectly.

Lynn dropped Justin and me off at Mom’s around 10:00 pm as all were pretty well pooped out, them after a long drive in a.m. plus the long day besides. The weather was already kicking up as we drove home, but regardless, plans were made to have breakfast at Four Seasons at 9:00 a.m. We met without any driving problems, even Mom came along for this outing. The streets were a bit slippery but not wildly so.

After meeting Schippers and Lynn for breakfast, the ladies and Justin went to WalMart to shop, as he had one last present to buy, MINE!!! Our store was out of what he wanted so he waited until he got here to get me “Mamma Mia!” on DVD. He’d not gotten anything for his father either so he did that while out and about today. That side of the family won’t be getting together until Sunday but we’ll need to drop off our presents beforehand. We’d originally planned to get together with some of them tonight but our plans got changed due to the dinner tonight plus a birthday party on Mona’s side of the family. More complications!!!

This evening is the Hahm’s farewell dinner so I got a card in which to write a few lines, plus one for the pastor who is remaining. He needs encouragement, too, now that he’ll be serving this huge congregation by himself. Let me rephrase---he’ll be the sole pastor serving this congregation, with the assistance of the parish boards, teaching staff, and, of course, the Lord! It will prove to be an emotional evening, certainly, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world!

Winter wonderland

Well, we woke to a white CHRISTmas, just like the ones we used to know............

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Early in the morning my sister, Lori, called to report they were aborting their plans to head this direction, at least for today. The roads they use were already snow covered and slippery, so for the sake of safety, the plan is to try tomorrow instead. I only want them to be safe but on the other hand, I am greatly disappointed they won't be here tonight for the present opening. There is no rule that all the presents must be opened tonight, we can do some more tomorrow at Lisa's house. My sister, Kerry, hasn't yet decided if she'll try coming today---told me she is playing it by ear. A man was killed yesterday on the same highway she uses to get here so she's pretty freaked out about having an accident and such.

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Lynn came and took Mom and me with her to have some coffee and refreshments at a locally owned shop. I like going there to have their sugar cookies, and since Copps disappointed me last night, today I'd have fresh ones! It was pretty snowy out there, that is for sure, but gave Lynn little trouble trying to maneuver the car. Let's say it wasn't bad enough to prevent us from going out! I got a nice supply of sugar cookies and Mom bought Justin a scone for his breakfast. Lynn offered to take Justin to WalMart so he could finish his shopping but he declined, saying he'll just give it to me later.......I wonder if that type of thinking would fly if reversed? He would just rather stay in and watch "Harry Potter" movies with Alayna than get dressed and go out, I think.

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Justin got the ironing board and iron out for me to do his shirts and slacks. It's more important to me that he looks nice than it is to him, and I don't mind doing it. Actually, ironing warmed me up a bit! Randy came to pick up Alayna and take her home as they have some housework to do before she comes back over to Jill's for the late afternoon/early evening. The choir is singing before the candlelight worship at 8:00 pm so she has to come fully dressed for church, and try not to drip bbq sauce on herself at the gift opening! I can't wait to see Lisa and family tonight, I hope they can make it from Sheboygan safely. I can't believe I've been here since Thursday night and haven't seen them yet!!! This weather!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Justin and I are looking forward to the worship tonight, to hear the choir and orchestra, and again tomorrow for that song service....the rest is merely icing on the cake, or rather, icing on roads!!!

We just got plowed out and more snow is on the way!

Can you believe this? We are again facing another day or two of snow and freezing temperatures here in the northland. The good news is that Alayna and I were able to safely drive to Milwaukee and back to fetch my boy from the airport. We allowed extra time for driving since we weren’t sure how the roads would be and arrived almost exactly at the moment his plane touched down. He was found with little difficulty because he was wearing his garish orange Gator hoodie and he said he could pick me out easily because of my very red coat!
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The roads were the worst in Manitowoc County but improved condition-wise as we traveled south. On the return trip we stopped at McDonald’s to get some food and got immediately onto the road to head back home before it got dark. Justin laughed because even though his plane landed at 2:03 in the afternoon, we still had to “worry” about it being dark before getting home. The roads going back north were quite clear and we flew, as it were, at speed limit all the way. Either the sand/salt trucks cleared the way for us, or the sun helped take care of the accumulated ice, but regardless, it was a carefree ride coming back to Mom’s. I can’t say the ice melted from the sun, though, because the temps were at -2!!!
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My mom heard an obituary on the radio---yes, they actually read the obits over the radio here---where some of the survivors live in Green Cove Springs and Orange Park! I am going to have to look them up when I get back, although I doubt they’d remember me. Most people remember this family because they lived on a main street and had 100 kids—a slight exaggeration, but they had more kids than anyone else we knew. Not members of our church or anything, just that we knew of them and their large family. That’s enough to warrant a phone call when I get home!
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We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Green Street last night with my in-laws, John, Mona, JR, and Allie. JR is the young man from West Point Academy, home on leave, and Allie is my beautiful young niece, now in high school. John and Mona were the couple taking care of my father-in-law until Arno had to move into assisted living due to his failing health. I hope to go see him one of these days but am waiting for the weather to clear and for Arno to start feeling better physically. He’s experiencing some back pain and his medications cause a bit of “delusional” thinking, and I’m afraid I’ll send him over the edge with my visit!!!
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Justin, Alayna, Mom, and I bundled up and drove over to church to help assemble and disseminate the newsletter this a.m. Linda called for able and willing hands so off we went in the deep snow. Again, nearly impossible to get out of the back door to the parking lot here due to no snow being shoveled and I have determined to call the owner of the building to let him know the situation. The good news was the dumpster was finally emptied yesterday---we are thankful for the small things in life! If only we had a shovel here, Justin would be willing to shovel just so his grandma could safely come and go.
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More good news! Mom called the manager of the building and he’s sending someone over to shovel. Late this afternoon I had to stop at the local music shop to buy a gift certificate for my brother-in-law, a regular customer at this shop, leaving Mom and Justin in the warm car while I made the transaction. After that we headed to the Capital Civic Center for the Lutheran High concert. We arrived quite a bit early but intended to do so in order to have ready parking to this downtown theatre. Mom can’t walk much without her walker and in the snow; it’s a no-brainer to arrive early. To our delight, the doors were unlocked and we could stand inside out of the elements. The nice usher, who used to be my 7th grade teacher and music director at my church allowed Mom access to the sofa inside the lobby so she didn’t have to stand very long. Once they allowed those waiting to go into the theatre, Justin and I gathered Mom and headed in, saving a seat for Lynn. The concert was fabulous, such talented, gifted musicians and wonderful teachers at my alma mater! And, I got to see soooooo many people I knew, as we seated ourselves near the entrance for greeting purposes. My mama didn’t raise no fool!
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After the concert Mom, Justin and I headed to Copps to buy some things we needed for CHRISTmas Eve and Day as we are invited to homes both days. We also picked up food to make for supper, brats and a pasta dish Justin likes. Oh my, the house smells great with the aroma of cooked brats! We are lying low the rest of night, expecting even more snow overnight. My sister, Lori, and family are due in tomorrow from across the state so we watched the local weather for her and gave an update. She thinks they’ll be okay to travel and we’ll hope for the best. My other sister, Kerry, isn’t so sure she’ll try it, coming from not so far away, but has to be back for work on Friday. She can’t miss work and is concerned about the wintry travel conditions.
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I am trying to make connections with the rest of my in-laws but between their goofy work schedules, other family obligations, and a complication for the weekend, I may not be able to spend time with them. Nuts! I don’t care if they have my name in exchange or not, I’ll hate not being together at CHRISTmas! Saturday would have been an open date for me but there is a complication affecting that. Nuts again! This weather and work schedules really make it difficult to get together. I told Barb, my sister-in-law, that I might get to see her folks but not her this visit, and she said, “That’s entirely possible!” Barb and Harv live north of this town in an unknown burg known as Green Bay so it’s not like it’s blocks away. In good weather it is a hop, skip, and jump, but in wintry weather, not so much!
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I got some sad news while in the concert this afternoon. My dear friend, with whom I just spoke yesterday morning, Gordy, fell and broke his hip today and finds himself spending CHRISTmas in the hospital! I guess he’s going to have surgery but the doctors are hesitant in the local hospital because of coronary issues. Tomorrow I’ll call his daughter and get the scoop, but tonight the phone was ringing off the hook as folks wanted to make sure I knew about Gordy. Keep him in your prayers, please. And to all, a good night!

The Lord's Supper Carving

This beautiful carving is displayed in the church narthex at First German Lutheran Church. When seen in person, one can pick out facial expression and depth of this lovely piece, which was donated many years ago by one of the members. This congregation is more than 150 years old, and my mom has been a member here all of her 84 years. The pastor pictured on the right is the one who is leaving at the end of this month, and Justin and I will have the privilege of attending his farewell dinner and last service here. Sort of makes the bad weather worthwhile.........sort of.

So much for seeing Gabe in his CHRISTmas service!

Sorrow of sorrows, disappointments heaped upon disappointments…..there was absolutely no way we could get to Sheboygan to see Gabe in his first Sunday school CHRISTmas service today. The primary reason I came so far ahead of the holidays was to attend that special major event in his life, and mine, which made me all the sadder.
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Instead, we bustled about here getting ourselves ready for worship at First German which thus far hadn’t cancelled services this morning. Alayna went out ahead of time to start the car and clean the windows off, somehow managing to rock and maneuver the car toward the side door to pick up Mom and me. We could open the door from the building about 12” before the drift stopped it but Alayna took the broom from Mom’s car and swept a path as best she could against the wind so we could get out. Oh, brother! My friend, Jennifer, from church, you just have no idea what it’s like to negotiate in the weather like this! I hope you never will, either!
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The good news, of course there is always something good to be found, was that First German was using the Morning Praise Order of Service today. I love being part of this service, and then the choir was singing the psalm today so Alayna was going to be able to participate after all. Linda was up in the choir loft but Lynn was not, as she was still snowbound. Linda and Tom got out because "Mr. John Deere" came to the rescue and got their driveway plus probably six more in the neighborhood cleaned out before dawn. Tommy loves his new toy---can’t wait to see what he does with it in the summer time!
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After worship was Bible study, with a look at Genesis, which is always quite interesting. Linda, Lynn, and Alayna are going through the same study on Thursdays with Kathy Wedland, making them doubly wise regarding this book. Linda asked if we wanted to go have breakfast since we were already out and about, so she drove us to Country Kitchen. When we got out of the car there, parking right by the door, the wind was so powerful it took our breath away. Alayna had control of her grandma so she wouldn’t tip over but wow, what a strong wind, icy at that! On the radio, Jill said as we drove over, it was a 30 degree below zero wind chill effect which might account for the chilled bones we had.
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As we enjoyed our breakfast, Alayna casually mentioned having to be at work by noon so we had to hustle finishing our meals and paying the bill in order to get her to work. Linda dropped Mom and me off at church for her car and then brought Alayna back here to Mom’s so she could change clothes. At church, the wind blew the door shut before Mom had her leg in and she couldn’t push the door hard enough to get the leg into the car! Finally, the wind rested enough so she could maneuver the car door, or I’d have had to go around and pull it open once more. Linda took Alayna to work just as Mom and I pulled into the parking lot, taking any available space. We had to navigate through the tire tracks Linda's car left to walk to the door, all the while being slapped in the face with icy wind and snow. Gotta love it!!!!
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As I sit here writing, I glance to my right in order to look out the window but the entire pane is covered in ice. The door to the lobby was blocked open with snow but when we got home, I pushed it around with my foot in order to get it mostly shut. This apartment building management is shameful to say the least but we are most thankful for the man with the plow to come make a path for us. He doesn’t do the shoveling, only the plowing portion of the clean-up. We can’t even take the garbage out to the dumpster because it’s heaped full from not being dumped in a couple weeks. What should be an automatic weekly thing is now on the “when the tenants call to complain” basis. Ugh! The common area floors are filthy and I might even go out later and sweep a bit because I can’t stand it. This is why I toyed, already last September, to sell my condo in FL and move up here to get my mom out of this ‘lack of management’ establishment. We all regret now that we made such fun of the in-house manager when she was still alive and running the joint, because this place was well-kept and neat as a pin under her reign of terror. Of course, living through this wretched winter weather the past couple days has really changed my mind about moving here, and I can’t help but wonder if my Florida friends had anything to do with managing the weather here for me!!!!!!

We got out!!!!

Hey, you guys, just because I am snowed in doesn’t mean you can stop commenting! Sorry, didn’t mean to go off on you like that---must be the stress of being home-bound….
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But, today we got out and hit the town, first having a family breakfast at Perkins, enjoying my usual, potato pancakes! I saw and talked to a few people while there, including one woman with whom I attended high school, except she was a couple years ahead of me. She is now a teacher at MLHS and has my nephew in three of her classes this semester. I told Karen how I connected with another classmate of hers, Russ, and told her to check out facebook.com to see who else is waiting to be found!
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After breakfast, two of my sisters, Lynn and Jill, plus Mom and I went to Kohl’s, which was absolutely swarming with shoppers. Everything was on sale, it seemed, and Mom was able to accomplish much of what was on her list to buy. I even found something for Justin while there but the rest of my time was spent talking to people I knew, including a lady I worked with at Shady Lane years ago. It was so nice to see her again, so nice! Later, I met the sister of another friend I recently connected with on facebook and told her how much she reminded me of their mother, now gone to heaven. Her husband backed me up on that, so I didn’t feel badly about making the comparison. They were not surprised that Dee Dee was on facebook, and loved it that we found each other again.
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After making our purchases, we stopped at the Dollar Tree store to re-supply our household with gift boxes and bags to wrap all the presents. Such great fun that store is, again, a busy place on this date after the storm and before CHRISTmas. Justin told me that today he was going to be playing touch football with his friends; Joanne reported she was heading to the beach with her visiting family, and the Rosses claimed they were beach-bound today too, as the temps soar near 80 above zero. Yeah, well, everybody sunbathing today---I am going out for perch tonight----so there!

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Before I sign off though, I want to report receiving a special e-mail from dear little friend, Rafi, in Mexico City. His father actually is the author, and he kindly invited me and my friends in Casa Maya to come to stay at their home next spring. I won’t be able to join Judy R. and her group as it conflicts with Linda’s visit and our opera outing in February, but I wept at the very invitation and joy of it all! What a wonderful CHRISTmas gift it is, to be remembered by friends in far-away lands!

Now that things are settled down some.....

…..I can replay a few events from before I left Orange Park. Wednesday night was Advent worship so Lynn and I arrived at church about 15 minutes early, although not as early as I normally would have been there. It’s always different when one has company, the changes in schedules or the lack thereof, in my case. Those who knew Lynn greeted her warmly and she distributed the hugs sent down by my mom to her lady friends at Good Shepherd. Gretchen is always so tickled to see Lynn, and Ethel as well since they got to know each other on the Alaska trip in 2007. A few of the attendees thought I was already gone to WI and gave me grief for thinking I’d left without good-byes! That’s what they get for not having Internet service and following the blog!!!
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The Pioneer group was just finishing their project and meeting when we got there so I got to see some of the folks there who don’t usually attend the Advent services. Earlier in the day Lynn and I had gone to Cracker Barrel where I had a plate-cleaner meal of meatloaf again. I told her I had a couple little fellas at church I’d like to get something for so after lunch we went in to the store of C.B. where I found some cute little stocking stuffer things for Colby and Caleb. I particularly am fond of Caleb because he reminds me a great deal of Timmy, but, he, of course, is charming without being a look-alike! A couple weeks ago he showed me a Webkins toy in the form of a cardinal which was much more attractive than the bat he showed me at Halloween! I wrapped up their little gifts and expected to simply put them in the mailbox for another time, but there they were, in person!
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I got to say special good-byes to the Pioneer peoples then, including Jennifer, who runs the show (sorry, Rick!). When it was time for church to begin we went in and got Lynn settled while I went in back to take attendance. Robbie and Brian were singing a duet, our opening gathering rite, and it was just beautiful. We had a good number of people at worship which brought me joy, all of us, joy.
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The biggest blessing was having my dear friend, Leanne, become a member of Good Shepherd. She had her friend from work and now church, Linda, stand beside her as well our other two new members, the Harris’s. Carolyn is an avid scrap booker so she’s welcome in that circle, too! All those folks plus Judy J. and me were at Leanne’s little birthday party last week at Cracker Barrel. As soon as they went up, my tears were flowing. Twice we went through Bible Information Class together, and we’ve spent countless hours discussing the Word, answering questions and such that she just didn’t comprehend, due to her previous religious background. And now, there she stood and made her public confirmation! After church Pastor said he looked back at me and then he got tears in his eyes also! He said, “You should have been standing up there, too, with Leanne,” but I assured him that would NOT have been a good thing, to have me blubbering all over the place. It will be such a privilege to be able to attend the Lord’s Supper with her after all this time where she abstained. Praise be to God!
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At the Fellowship portion of our evening, the hugs and farewells began in earnest. Lynn was greeted once more, had conversations with many people who knew Mom and/or Lynn while I hustled around. First, I had to hand over the giant box of battery-operated candles to Suzanne who needs them for the children’s worship service on CHRISTmas Eve. Then, Cliff chased me down with a ceramic tile and caulk samples of which I made quick work of choosing a color for our new classroom building. Earlier in the day I’d worked with Mike Kelley on the wall and trim colors, which I thought was already “cut” and dried decisions. In the hustle and bustle, Judy C. approached me about whether or not I’d still be supplying the flowers on Sundays when no one signs up, which has been my custom. I take the bouquets to the cemetery to dress Timmy’s marker, but if I have to cut my expenses, that purchase might be one I’ll have to let go. I told her to go ahead for January because two of the Sunday would be mine already, Timmy’s death anniversary and his birthday/funeral. February would be one of mine also because of his baptism birthday. As we spoke, almost nose to nose, the tears welled again and she apologized for causing me to weep. I explained that I’d already started without her, so she shouldn’t feel badly. It’s emotional to say good-bye to loved ones, you know?
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As Lynn and I were heading out the door, all business taken care of, I had two more guys to wish a Merry CHRISTmas to, being Joe and Gordy. I told them I’d see them at the end of the year, as we have worship on New Year’s Eve, and Gordy said, “I don’t know why you have to go in the first place!” I told him I have to go see my people and he said, “Your people are here!”. And, he was not wrong………….
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I’d gotten and given hugs all night, but then Kathy gave me a wonderful present to send me on my way----a bottle of Firefly Tea-flavored vodka, dressed in a knit keeper. She hand-made the card, poured her love into it. Such a special gift, so unexpected, but will be greatly enjoyed. In fact, later that evening I had a glass with lemonade and Firefly mixed in it! The choir had begun their rehearsal when I stuck my nose in, and The Maestro gave permission to anyone who hadn’t said good-bye yet to do so. Talk about a disruption! Thanks, Maestro! And bye church family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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Yesterday’s e-mail, opened here at Mom’s, brought a lovely note from Ed, my new best friend from Publix, who was the guy who got me the tickets for the Packer/Jaguar game. He said he knew where we were sitting on Sunday and when the Champion’s Club was introduced and walked on the field pre-game, he waved our direction, in case we could see him. Ed said, “I was thinking of you when I walked out on the field” which I find just delightful, and I did mention to Lynn and Justin that Ed was part of that group on the field, so, yes, I was thinking about him, too!

We made it!

Lynn and I arrived safely, soundly, and not the least bit warm in WI, right on time. Although we left Jacksonville nearly an hour behind schedule, we still managed to make our connection in Atlanta via a great deal of huffing and puffing. On the first leg of our journey, Lynn had the entire row to herself while I shared a three-seat row with one man. I told him he could lie down if he wanted to and he found that quite amusing. He introduced himself formally as we landed and we wished one another CHRISTmas blessings before parting company. “Ron” graciously offered to retrieve my bag from the overhead bin, not even knowing if I had one up there! Gotta love it-----and him!
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My friend, Judy J. took us to the airport this a.m. because I’d asked her before asking Joanne to do the honors. She was Johnny on the spot with picking us up at the appointed hour and we had a great visit on the way to the airport. I made sure Lynn ate something before leaving to avoid motion sickness or anything else during our trip. I also ate an English muffin rather early in the day which is not a good idea since then I become hungry, as though the muffin begins the process of feeding. Normally I don’t have anything until closer to 10:00 a.m. or so, unless I have lunch plans. So, I was hungry as we waited for our delayed flight!
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Oh, and of course, I set off all the bells and whistles AGAIN while going through security because although I remembered to remove my stainless steel bracelet and put it in my purse, I forgot the one thing that trips the alarm every time--------my cell phone! Darn it! I was sure I put it in my purse but nope, back through the line I had to go, fish my phone out and drop it into the plastic bin and then try again. The man behind me was chuckling because he saw where I kept it and I joked to him that I should put it in my purse like other people do. He said, “I don’t!!!” to which I replied, “Good point!” Later I saw him in the concourse and he winked at me, because we shared a laugh.
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Lynn wanted to get a coffee at the Starbucks and I went in search of a bottle of water---------nah! Gotcha! I went in search of a bottle of Diet Coke for on the plane. Bottles are simpler to handle than is a cup with lid, as far as I’m concerned. While waiting for Lynn I spotted my downstairs neighbor, Jeff, also getting a coffee. He is off to Ohio to drive his parents back to Florida to their “winter” place. What a good boy he is! He says its been a couple years since they enjoyed their place in Florida and he is making it possible for them in 2008. We wished each other well and parted company. (I didn’t mention this the other night but his wife, Tracy, came upstairs to very cordially twist my arm about serving on the Board of Directors for The Palace. Of course, my answer is ‘no’ but a soft ‘no’. I’d hate to compromise my status of being the 'peace maker' in my little Palace community instead of being a rabbel rouser!)
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Back to the traveling: Lynn and I found our luggage down stairs in the airport and made our way to the parking garage to find her car parked there oh so many days ago (7). All the cars have the same grey matter spattered all over them, making the car colors all the same. It was cold in the car but she had some blankets to cover my legs with and her heater took care of warming us both. Without much ado we headed toward “home” and arrived at Mom’s, being greeted with the aroma of baking meat loaf. Mmmmm! We stopped at the Kwik-Trip before heading to Mom’s so I could pick up a couple 12-packs of water------nah, soda, again in case we are truly homebound by the snowstorm tomorrow. So, I am all set to wrap presents tomorrow and play a couple games of Scrabble with Mom, enjoying my time in extremely cold Manitowoc! Bring it on!

A little food for thought to hold you over....

.....until I get on-line at my mom's!

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My now roommate and long-time friend, Joanne, sends a newsletter to her clients on a monthly basis. This month's was of particular interest to me and thought I'd share a few thoughts with my readers. The subject matter is more like New Year resolutions than CHRISTmas wishes but here's a sampling of what it suggested:

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The first suggestion is to take a pro-active approach to life and work, not waiting for things to happen to or around you, take responsibility for yourself.

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Keep the end in mind (we Christians already do that!) but, in this case, it means to set a goal and work toward it, don't be a rudderless ship!

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Prioritize! Love this one, but not enough to do it myself yet. This means to avoid wasting time and effort, and prevent less than superb performance. (Please remember I am paraphrasing).

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Listen to others, no matter how lame their argument----this does not mean you have to do what is suggested by them, only give them an ear and hear them out. When they are done with their piece, give yours and expect others to honor your turn at the wheel, as it were.

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Recognize the gifts and blessings other people bring with them, and put them to use if you can. Mainly this would apply to the workplace, as many of these suggestions do, but often in everyday living, people need to have a place to use their special "gift".

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Make sure you take time to recharge your batteries, don't allow yourself to get worn down by life, but rather, be invigorated by it!!!!

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Some suggestions to simplify your existence include setting up as many bills and monthly obligations on automatic payment so less thought is required to manage your household bills and expenses; set aside time to pamper each other, whether it is helping out with kids so the spouse can get her nails done, or the other spouse watch a sporting event on TV with minimal interruption. Remember these are borrowed in part from Joanne's newsletter and in part for me, so if you don't like them, they came from her newsletter!!!!

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I'll be away from the computer for a day or so, having to use my mom's dial-up service in WI so please don't be upset if I am not posting daily. Please pray our traveling safety tomorrow as we fly into the snowy north and for Justin's safe travel on Monday as he comes north for CHRISTmas!

Does anyone see the resemblence in Blogo??

Again the morning the news showed stories about the governor of Illinois, affectionately known as, or not so much, 'Blogo'. I simply cannot get over how much he looks like a former friend of ours in Manitowoc, a real estate developer who used to live in our neighborhood, Indian Bluffs. Every time I see the photos of Blogo, I see our friend, only mucho younger, of course. He, too, had a few rough edges but I don't think he used filthy language like the governor does! We'd built a number of houses in partnership with this fellow and did numerous other type of transactions. I've mentioned him in other postings a while back, I think when talking about how hard it is to get to know some people, but once you do, your life is better because you tried. I wonder if I was as profound when I wrote about it the first time!

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Through the networking tool, facebook.com, I've become re-connected with several of my former classmates from grade and high school, much to my delight. The other day I was contacted by a friend from grade thru high school whom I'd not heard from in many many years. She lives in IL but her dad attends church at First German, my home congregation. I think it would be awesome to catch up with each other when I am up there later this week. Another e-mail friend with whom I attended grade and high school might be able to connect with Dolly and me over the holiday season. Great! Maybe I should have gotten a haircut yesterday after all!

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In reading something the other day, I saw an article talking about taking care of our teeth. Being a big fan of teeth, it was interesting to see what this article had to say. The item I came away with was the recommendation to use only a pea-sized dab of toothpaste vs. the "caterpillar-sized" amount shown in the commercials selling the product. This brought to mind a TV show I saw when still living at home, an expose on advertising, with the story that stuck being the one about shampoos. Since both my mom and I worked in the shampoo and body care manufacturing/bottling business, it struck a cord with us. The news report told about how Japan advertisers had multiplied its sales in shampoos by adding one word to the "Use" portion on their bottles---Repeat. That simple word, this statement, influenced people to use double the shampoo, supposedly, as they normally would have if not prompted by this direction on the bottle! Many many years later my now former spouse would bring it up, "your family" (what? my family???, as though we had this written over our doorposts) always scoffed at 'Repeat'! Funny how things come back to us after all these years, a simple TV program a hundred years ago!

"Everything with you comes down to toilet paper!"

I'm listening to an episode of "Seinfeld" called "The Pitch", where Jerry and George try to come up with ideas for a TV show. The program opens with George speculating on what the soldiers used for toilet paper during the Civil War. Jerry gets frustrated that his friend's major concern in life regards toilet paper or bathrooms!

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Once more during Lynn's visit we dined at home with me doing the meal preparation. I began the process before 5:00 pm but had to leave in order to take Lynn for her hair cut. While we were at the booty shop, Joanne called to say she was coming home for the evening instead of working in her office so would join us for supper. I finished my conglomeration of hamburger, pasta, sauce, and corn, tossed it in the oven and cooked the daylights out of it. Call it a meal!

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Lynn and I stopped at Publix after getting her hair cut and I bought some peppermint stick ice cream and chocolate shell to squirt over the top. Joanne had a nasty accident with her peppermint-flavored iced coffee yesterday which brought to mind the ice cream treat. The cover wasn't tight on her cup and right down her front it went as she drove.....yikes! What a sticky mess that made for her!

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We had a nice time yesterday in St. Augustine, as the weather vastly improved for us, getting up into the 70's as the day progressed. We went to the outlet mall first as Lynn wished to shop at Sag Harbor where she'd gotten some great buys in the past. Sag Harbor was a bit more droopy than we'd hoped, offering little for women of generous proportions this time. Later, we drove a bit further down the mall and found a shop with great sales in the women's sizes so we came away with a bag or two each from Dress Barn. Such amazing sales, already marking things down to 70% off, or buy one/get one half off, that sort of thing.

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Without much difficulty, we found our bed and breakfast Inn, got parked and climbed up to our third-floor suite. We had to get a suite in order to have a king-sized bed, because Lynn and I certainly wouldn't fit in one queen! It was no extra money but we appreciated having the extra room to rattle around in. It was so quaint, and perfectly clean. At the appointed time we headed over to The Columbia to meet Justin for dinner. He did have to come down to St. Augustine by himself since his friend couldn't make it. The waitress was quite taken with Justin, having overheard me call him that. She asked what kind of work he did and was otherwise charming toward him. Her name was Angela, from Romania, and she reminded us so much of my friend, Judy R.!!! Probably about the same age, too!

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Our meals were delightful and the Cuban bread to die for! Mmmm! Justin was able to take my leftovers home with him, as well as half the chocolate bread pudding we shared. Lynn had the key lime pie which she enjoyed all by herself. Justin wasn't interested in coming up to see our room at the Inn as he wanted to get back to watch football with his friends. On the way back to our room, I stopped at the front desk to get a Diet Coke or three, but the poor lady was only able to cough up one can! She claimed the delivery man was coming in the morning, but that sure didn't help me now!!! Don't mess with my Diet Coke!!!

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Lynn and I both had trouble sleeping, even though I started out just fine. From the depths of sleep I heard my phone ringing---rather, "The Phantom of the Opera" was playing loudly---Justin was calling me. At 11:45 pm at night, Justin called me. He had gotten the best news, his grades came in just before the midnight deadline, and he'd done so much better than even anticipated, which prompted his great excitement and phone call when I was fast asleep! Good for you, Justin!!! He started telling me about his teacher, how much he liked him, hoped he could have the professor again next semester, and so on, but I had a hard time focusing and trying to be quiet so as not to disturb Lynn. I told Justin I was proud of him and that we'd talk about it in the morning........but I couldn't get back to a sound sleep to save my life!

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We had the most delicious breakfast in the dining room, enjoying Belgian waffles, ham, and assorted other continental breakfast-type foods. And, wonder of wonders, the Diet Coke man had come very early in the morning and brought me my soda!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thoughts assorted in nature

Last night while resting my weary bones, the three of us, Joanne, Lynn, and I, watched a movie called "The Other Boleyn Sister". Well, what a story THAT turned out to be! Not being a student of this era, I shall assume what we saw on the screen was historically accurate, to a point. Joanne has read the book which she says was about 3" thick so the screenwriters had lots of work to do to reduce the book to 2 hours. Like the Harry Potter books Justin is always upset about having been abridged in the movies. The movie was quite good, well done, but such a tragic way these women, and all the people of the time, were forced to live!

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My blogging friend, Jami, in Amarillo, went people watching at the local mall with her husband, which she later wrote about in her blog. The questions she asked were the type you'd think about when viewing what she did: "You DO know you are not at home, right???" So-called people were seen out in the mall on a Sunday afternoon in their pajama pants, tank top-style undershirts, hair every which way, and even sporting fuzzy slippers. I agree, just what is the "point" of looking like you had to run out for a can of formula or diapers in the middle of the night, when it's the middle of the afternoon?????????? As I said to Jami in a comment, "All the world's a stage"---this whole thing is nothing but an act, an attention-getter. Like Pete's dad would do, try saying something to the offenders about their attire, because that is really what they want, to be noticed!

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Friday night after work Joanne was at a 'healthy' cosmetic shop which sells 'organic' make-up. The store was quite busy and only one clerk was trying to take care of all these women looking for make-up assistance. Joanne was glad to see a busy store and struck up a conversation with the beautifully adorned person next to her at the counter while they waited their turns. The 'woman' had French manicured nails, long blond hair, lovely skin, high-heeled shoes, nice clothes.......................but it was actually a MAN!!!! Now, Joanne is quite the cosmopolitan person and yet she was totally blown away having this close encounter with cross dresser! 3" inches of organic cosmetics won't change the fact that you, sir, are a man!!!!

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"I hate teenagers!" This profundity came from Justin after he attended an office CHRISTmas party with his friend, Jesse, Friday night. Jesse's brother had a friend at the party, too, a teenager, which is what prompted Justin's declaration. I said something about the 'double lives' teenagers have, making nice for their parents while having secret corners in their existence where they act out. Justin said "No, it's not double lives", of course, but then sort of backed me up with saying, "If a teenager is smiling, they are looking to get into trouble!". These type of flat statements are just the type he dislikes his other roommate for making but it seems Justin can get away with it. "Hate" is a strong word, perhaps substituting "irritate" or "annoy" would be more accurate.

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A new face/voice will be added to the Fox News Channel in January, Glenn Beck. He used to be on, ahem, CNN, but lost his job during the elections because of his conservative attitude. It didn't mesh with the liberal bias of the management. He has a book out right now, a best seller called "The Christmas Sweater" which I'd like to read some day. Unless there is a movie coming out soon..............Anyway, he did a segment on the F&F program this a.m. where he discussed the "sissification" of our society. What does that mean? People have to be so overly careful when dealing with people because no one ever wants to have their feelings hurt, have toes stepped on, stand up for their views, experience failure.......Glenn made the remark about having two kinds of people in the world: failures and losers. We are all failures in one way or another, but keep trying and trying to succeed. Losers are the type of folks who feel like their lot in life is not their fault, not being the ones to take lemons and make lemonade. Interesting food for thought, don't you think? It gives me the picture of the 'humans' floating around in their spineless shapes in the movie "Wall-E". No personality, no drive or ambition, no desire for anything other than what is given to them. Whether today's discussion changes anything or not, it was good to consider and sort of remember the way it used to be!

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My poor friend, Twila, who has been ailing for weeks, ever since our church's yard sale, has heard from the orthopedist that she needs a new hip. This is great news because the old hip is giving her a terrible fit!!! Many many folks have shared their success stories with Twila which gives her confidence that she'll be a new girl after its over. Dates and times are yet to be determined but hopefully it won't be too long because she is some kinda miserable right now. We will rally the troops to help her out, though her son does live in the same home with her. Certainly there will be some therapy and recuperation time at home and no one minds going to help a friend, especially when she lives at the lake!

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Lynn and I are off to St. Augustine, going to see "Nights of Lights" as well as bum around the outlet mall and St. George Street. We found a deal on a bed and breakfast, splitting the costs, so we can each take a turn in the hot tub the room provides. The prospect of soaking away the aches from yesterday's long walks is quite appealing. I only wish the weather were nicer for Lynn's enjoyment, but at least we are not in the "zeroes", as my brother-in-law, David, would say. Maybe Lynn and I will get to hear the song, "Dominic the Donkey" again when we're in The Oldest City!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The river is a mirror this morning

This photo does not properly delineate the reflection from the actual, guess you had to be here!

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While my printer is making more newsletters to include with my CHRISTmas cards, I am gazing across the river at trees, both those on the shore and those reflected in the water. Waking a bit early this morning after some disturbing dreams about getting my paperwork together for Court, I couldn't help but be drawn into the scenery outside my windows. It was a view begging to be painted, or at least, photographed! In order to not wake my household, I tippy-toed out to the river room with camera in hand, slid the doors open quietly and snapped three shots. As I stood there a few moments, my eyes were searching for any signs of life such as raccoons or waterfowl, but it was too early for them to be out and about, I guess. When Joanne got up she saw kingfishers and other shore life but I didn't see that. She was excited about the magnificence of the view this a.m. and I told her I knew it, because I took pictures! It wasn't only me going ga ga over the quiet, reflective river!

It was Linda who pointed at that the palm trees, the trio, are "reflective" of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, ever-present in our lives!

Sitting and resting after the game

Home again, home again, jiggity jig...Whew! What a great game it was today! Sadly for Lynn, the Packers lost, but bravo for the Jaguars finally getting a decent win. The weather was absolutely glorious, and I was even a bit warm as we did our rather lengthy walk from the parking garage at the Coliseum all the way to the stadium. Forty days and forty nights of walking to our seats on the east end, in the Club Seats. Surprisingly and again, sadly, I didn't run into anyone I knew on the way in nor during the game. Afterward, as we left the stadium, we saw Justin's friend, Ryan, from St. Johns, but we couldn't stop to chat because Ryan had to try going back in to get his little cousin's jacket, accidentally left in his seat. Good luck fighting your way back through the mob, Ryan!

We did have some pleasant conversations-in-passing with other Packer fans, however, and I got a chance to tell a couple people I am a "cross dresser", wearing items for each team. Got some laughs out of it, which is good. A Jaguar fan told Lynn, while in the refreshment area of the Club House, that her hat was ugly, but Lynn didn't have a ready come-back for him. Nuts! Her hat was no uglier than any others, in fact, it wasn't ugly at all, but the Jaguar fans' attitude was uglier than dirt!

Justin and I found sustenance at the Outback mini-restaurant, him ordering Steak and Mushroom in a cup, with me having the wonderful cheddar fries. Lynn went to a separate place to get her food, opting for a burrito or something wrapped up with hot peppers. We found a high top table to stand at to eat, Justin thinking we wouldn't wish to carry our food boxes and soda cups down into the seating area. Obviously I couldn't eat all mine at once, so we took it along with us when we sat. I didn't want to miss the pre-game warm-ups (Lynn called it batting practice!) or any of the other activity on the field.

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If I could have changed one thing about our arrangements, it would have been to put some 'live' people in front of us, instead of the semi-comatose 60-ish couple who barely reacted to anything, whether good or bad. They were evidently Jaguar fans as he was wearing a Jags ball cap which I bumped more than once with my bosoms, accidentally, when getting up and down for different reasons. Of course, I was gracious enough to apologize for nearly knocking his head off, well, not quite that dramatic, but one could sense he was not happy being 'bothered' during a sporting event! Certainly we could have formed an understanding about the whole thing, a friendly understanding, but it was not to be. Once, his wife turned her head toward me and sort of smiled, and I smiled back, but still kept my bulk away from the back of his head as best I could. Good thing I didn't drink beer, nor did anyone in our group, to spill anything on him! That was the minor downside to the seating, otherwise, our seats and perspective of the field were most excellent!

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At halftime, we were delighted to have a mess of Army parachutists leap from a Navy plane. The skilled men all landed center field, only one not quite landing on his feet, but spectacular nonetheless. Justin and I found it particularly inspiring because JR, my nephew and his cousin, is at West Point and also trained as a jumper. The national anthem was sung by a man who competed on American Idol, an amateur show on TV, who is also a Navy man. The Coast Guard presented the colors today and two giant choppers flew over after the singing of the anthem. A great day for the Armed Forces today!

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I had Justin grab my disposable camera as I figured my full-sized Canon would not be allowed into the stadium. Once at the gate, we were split into two lines for frisking purposes, men and women. And it wasn't even my birthday! As we sat in our seats, the teams were just practicing and I wanted to take a picture, only to discover that Justin had left it lay in the backseat of the car. Originally he had it in his pocket and took it out to sit more comfortably. Nuts! We had to use our phones to snap shots, so those will have to do. Hopefully they will show enough of the sights and atmosphere of the stadium, although, face it, this is NOT Lambeau Field!

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The game was good, well played, in my opinion, and the Jaguars arose victorious with a 20-16 win against the Packers. On the way out of the stadium, I mentioned that the Jaguars really needed this victory today and Lynn said, sadly, "So did the Packers!" Not today, though, the game belonged to the Jags!