Breaking into the "emergency" boxes....

Mmmm....just got home from having my therapeutic massage, feeling and smelling awesome. Carol uses whatever scent of oil the client wants, and I pick patchouli. It reminds of when I was a girl using that oil as my perfume. She put in on my clavicles so that I can smell it all day. Ahhh, Carol really helps aches and pains to go away, or at least at ease for awhile. Dee is the one who introduced me to her, so I'd better include both those ladies in my Will---what the heck, I'll even add Julia since she's the first one I knew who went to Carol!

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It was such a blessing when Dee got me an appointment for a massage when I was suffering from sciatica back in October. Carol knew just how to manipulate my arms and legs in order to ease the searing pain. I could actually walk when I got done with my first treatment, and made appointments to return for more. She uses a procedure called "orthobionomy" which really did the trick for me. Anyone who has a hitch in their get-along should really seek out a massage therapist who uses this technique. In Orange Park, Carol is located at Salon 2000, Fleming Island. Tell her Kim sent you!

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Okay, so what about the "emergency boxes"? I will tell......(my best European accent..) You know how there are fire extinguishers in metal boxes with glass doors and a little hammer attached? There is a sign that says "In case of emergency, break the glass to get the extingisher out" or something like that. For my birthday, I received from Dee and Julia a pyramid of 7 hexigon-shaped boxes, secured largest to smallest with a lovely ribbon. Each box contains a different, delicious treat of some sort, from peppermint candies to Ghirardelli dark chocolate with caramel filling. Need I say more? I broke into the boxes today (after exercising amazing restraint!) and removed a piece or two of the contents to enjoy as I write. Don't wish to make a habit of that, wanting to keep the special treat boxes "in case of emergency". No hammer required. What an awesome day so far----massage and chocolate!

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I am sad that my family is having such a rough winter this season. Yesterday the western shore peoples were house-bound due to snow drifts and icy roads. Mom assured me she had sufficient supplies so she wouldn't starve. Maybe she'll rethink this "not traveling anymore" mindset, given the fact that the winter is quite harsh thus far. Just the day before, my friend, Judy in Winona, MN, reported that the schools were closed due to weather, which probably means that Lori and family had a snowday as well. The Mississippi River peoples got clobbered on Tuesday and the Lake Michiganders the next day.

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Sometimes I think I might be Greek! Pastor was reading a Scripture passage the other day, and it was one long sentence. When finished, Pastor remarked that this a characteristic of Greek writing, the run-on sentence structure. According to Gus in 'My Big, Fat Greek Wedding', everything is Greek or comes from the Greek, including run-on sentences!

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Jen and I really enjoyed the opera last night, much more than I would have expected. Subtitles! On a screen across the top of the curtain, the words were translated into English for us non-Italian listeners. This was a first for me, and certainly garnered more story having the subtitles (can they be 'sub' if they are overhead??) for us to follow along.

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Oops, got a bit carried away with this today so will let you guys go. And gals, too. A quick rundown of the rest of the week includes Art Guild meeting this evening, a harpsicord recital downtown tomorrow, worship Sunday, and Super Bowl party later that day. Monday is my first day with a new art teacher, Bob, who is going to try his hand with teaching someone who is un-trainable!

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Please have a wonderful afternoon and don't forget to write! Break into your emergency boxes and live it up!

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p.s. I forgot to tell you about something: when doing massage Carol commented about my "happy hips" and "happy lymphs". I chuckled when she said that and told her I was going to write about it...so, say hello to Happy Hips!

The music of the night

Jennifer called me the other day to tell me about a sign along the road to her parent's house. I'd seen it myself when going there for Memrie's birthday-----Convert Your Vinyls to CD's--now isn't that a wonderful service to offer the world? Must be the latest in the "work from home" gambit. As I discussed with Jen, my albums, though I'd love to hear them again, are in such wretched condition that not even the finest machinery would be able to capture the sound faithfully. I got so accustomed to hearing the music with skips and scratches, it's possible I wouldn't even like the "new" version!

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That conversation is what got me thinking about the music from the "old days", the songs I listened to when getting dressed for school, carried with me in my back pack (trend setter in the early 70's!!), and sang me to sleep at night. Who knows? If there had been iPods when I was a girl, I'd be more brain dead than I am now. But, in those days, people had to actually speak to each other, using words rather than symbols.

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If you've read the Profile about me, you'll see where my musical tastes presently lie. My desire these days is to keep my soul in a happy place, to feel joy in my heart. Oh, I don't care how it sounds to you...so, I'm a drip! With modern technology (or would it be electronics?) my car boasts six slots for playing cd's, and moves between discs without my coaxing. My steering wheel holds buttons and switches that allow me to skip the songs I don't wish to hear and crank up the ones that rattle the windows. That Sarah Brightman sure loves her bass!!!

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Without much climbing around, Joni's Blue was located in the family room cabinet and now stored in my computer's iTunes library. It's playing as I write and am surprised that I'm not typing the lyrics instead of these words. How come I remember them as clearly as ever, yet still stumble around on "The Phantom" sound track? It's heck to get old. I need to add some more gigs or "erase" some things from my brain's memory banks, to make room for the music of the night. "Turn this crazy bird around, shouldn't have gone on this flight tonight"........

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What's funny, to me at least, is that the first five slots in CD player are dedicated to Sarah and Andrea, soul soothing, inspirational tunes. But Number Six is special--"Cheap Thrills" circa 1968 gets played when the mood is right. Janis is unleashed and bounces about the walls of my car as I drive down memory lane. What were other kids my age listening to in 1968? Perhaps you guys remember the music back in the day.....

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Lori and I liked folk music, which is how I grew to love Joni, Judy, Joan, Bob Dylan, and Buffy St. Marie. Her college friend, Bonnie, played the guitar and we all sang "House of the Rising Sun" around the campfire. It seems like it was every weekend during the summer, but again, that memory of mine might be playing games with me. Lori and I used to sing a song by Judy Collins about whale boats and Greenland--"no more, no more Greenland for you, brave boys."

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Our combined collection included Simon and Garfunkel, The Allman Brothers, Steppenwolf, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Black Sabboth (yes, I used to listen to Black Sabbath!), Pink Floyd (Umma Gumma)---we were all over the place in our tastes. Lynn was more the collector of the pop music, and she did love her Elvis! If I'm not mistaken, I believe she listens to "Oldies" music to this day. Must hold some wonderful memories for her as well.

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David, my brother-in-law, told me that it's wiser to purchase re-mixed, or whatever they are called, CD's rather than attempt to record the old vinyls. This is good advice and have done that on several occasions. Justin told me about the newest release from Sarah, came out yesterday, and we went back and forth about the best way to "purchase" it. Who knew there'd be so many avenues for obtaining this music? Oh, you did? Silly me!

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Time to get ready to go pick up Jen as we are heading to the opera this evening. Tonight, it's Tosca, at the Times-Union Center. We have to leave plenty of driving time and hope to get a spot in the handicapped area if we get there early enough. We have seating in the handicap area which should be comfortable for both of us. Can't think about the opera without remembering "Pretty Woman" when she goes to the opera for the first time, and tells the old lady next to her that she loved it so much, she nearly wet her pants! I pray that doesn't happen to either of us tonight!

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Have a pleasant evening everyone!

Quiet times on the river

It's noiseless here tonight, not a welcome quiet at all. My company is gone as of this morning. The warm embraces will have to last us awhile, until I get to Morton Grove and visit them. The time went by so quickly, but I appreciate every bit of it. Poor little Grace had a goofy ear on Saturday night so Tarren took her to Solantic to be checked out for infection. The doctor found some fluid build-up but no infection, which made all of us feel better. It would have been a very long car ride with and for a baby with an ear infection!
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Boots Day has a new address everybody---under Paul and Emily's bed! As soon as Paul put him down in the house, zoom!, away from the girls to the safety of the bedroom. Oh, you should have heard the loud meowing all the way over there, so pathetic. He beat the daylights out of the floral bouquet I had in the back of the car, as he tried to climb over the seat. Oops! Didn't see that comin'! I was able to sort of repair it before leaving the bouquet at the cemetery this afternoon.

Lynx has been sort of mopey today, all by herself in the quiet house. Justin isn't staying here right now so it's safe for her to come out. She hid pretty much when Justin was staying here, as well as when Lucas was up and about. Last night she was quite friendly to Tarren, almost acted as though she'd hop into her lap. She's been hanging around my space heater, sort of curled around it the way I would if I could get back up again! Good thing it's not so cold tonight, but it could be warmer. The forecast is all over the place, highs near 70's some days, and near freezing for the low temps other days. Hang on, it's going to be wild ride! And dress warmly......
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I'd meant to write about this a few days back but got off on another tangent....Lori and I used to play a game with our albums many moons ago, where we'd drop the record player arm, play a few notes, then see if the other could guess the song. We were not bad at that game! Usually we could 'name that tune' in just a few notes. Those were the days! Even yet, I'll chant a few lines from a song to Lori to see if she remembers the rest, usually a Joni Mitchell song. She's still got it, most of the time, anyway. For some reason I was singing "River" by Joni between Sunday school and church yesterday. Now, I need to hear the entire thing to satisfy my mind. It is just quite possible that I have "Blue" on CD in the family room, but will search in the light of day rather than crawl around tonight.
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Earlier the sky was lovely in shades of blue and pink. Who'd think of clouds as being pink, since we usually describe them as being white? Living here, up high like I am, there is such a wonderful perspective on the river and its life. The sound of the trumpeting herons mixing with the roar of the boat motors. Add to that mix the helicopters and Navy planes, but none of it annoying. The beauty of the river makes everything else fade away, at least for me it does! I should be writing songs from my lofty perch here, but instead have some Minutes to type among other things. Off I go!
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Sleep well, all my friends, sleep well! The Lord is going to make it all okay.......He promised this!

Sweet sounds echoing through my house!

This morning I woke to such sweet, sweet sounds, aside from the rain hitting the window. I could hear children noises and kids' TV programs coming from my family room. The little ones were up! Rather than fly out there in my nightie with my hair standing up (wait, it is always standing up!), I took my shower and brushed my teeth before donning a gaudy caftan to greet my guests.

By this time little Grace had already fallen to sleep and was in their room catching a few more winks. But Pete and Lucas were having some fun watching "Happy Feet" on TV. Evidently it didn't hold Lucas' interest long as eventually the movie was changed to a Veggie Tales show. I'd heard good things about the "Feet" but had never watched it myself. If I remember correctly Twila took her great-grands to the IMAX near St. Augustine to see it more than once. It made me cold looking at the ice bergs, but I think the weather here had more to do with that.

My guests have now left for a day of outings to visit their grandparents, leaving Justin and me here with the cats. Today is Boots' last day in the condo, as he's found himself a loving home to move to---he's moving in with Paul and Emily!!! When they heard I was looking for a home for the two cats, they immediately offered to take Boots as they've grown to love him over the years, and Sarah is particularly fond of him. This was very cool with Justin, as now he'll still be in the family. (I can just see Paul doing his Godfather imitation at the word "family", that chin scratching thing that amuses me!)

Later this morning I am looking forward to hearing Robbie sing with some choral groups at UNF. A mass of singers, I guess you'd call it. It makes me happy to be personally invited and love encouraging him in his music. This makes me think of a Harry Chapin song from way back, "music was his life, but it was not his livelihood"....I pray that's not the case for Robbie. Go Robbie, or "Wobbie" as Timmy used to call him....

Justin and I had a great day yesterday. We had an opportunity to visit the Cummer Museum for an exhibit called "Art from the Ashes". We saw actual stucco frescos taken from villas built near Pompeii. Oh, I felt like I was on vacation, looking at these lovely pieces and having the Professor explain what we were seeing. Dee thinks the world of this art professor and has told Justin how fortunate he is to have her as a teacher. There is nothing better than an enthusiastic instructor!

The museum store is fabulous and guess what! They had a few pieces of Chihuly glass on display. Judging by the size of the bowl in Frasier's apartment and these smaller ones priced at over $5000.00......you do the math! Now I am more concerned as the Cranes go 'flying' past that bowl on their way to the coat hooks.....one of these days, that bowl is going to get broken. Remember now, folks, I haven't seen all the programs yet, so don't tell me if it does or doesn't get broken, okay? Justin came upon a Chihuly desk calendar which was more in my price range plus we picked up a book telling how he created the ceiling masterpiece in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Justin is quite interested in this, as am I. When we're done with it, I'll pass it along to Julia for her enjoyment, too.

Tarren took the kids to Clark Park yesterday morning, meeting the other Good Shepherd moms with little ones, had a picnic and such in what I'd consider the middle of winter. The high was only 50 above zero but the sun was out which made it more tolerable. Lucas told me that Justin's and my God-daughter put sand in his face. He seemed a bit surprised that this happened, but hey, when kids play in sand, things happen. That's the charm of it, getting sand in your hair and between your toes...oh, wait, that might be at the beach, which is my sand box!

Tarren and Laurie got to spend some grown-up time together last night and then came back here to chat. It was a welcome break for Laurie who rarely gets an opportunity to just hang out without her boys (4 of them!) and got to enjoy holding and playing with a baby girl. She was quite amused listening to Lucas as he took his bath, the baby monitor carrying the unending narration from his adventures in the tub. He tells stories, acts out the different voices, and according to his parents, NEVER STOPS TALKING! It really was fun to listen to and it sounded to me like he has the voices in his head with him like I do! I shared the story of the time we put Justin to bed and he kept chatting and chatting away when he should have been asleep. When I went in to tell him to be quiet, he said, "But Mama, I have words left over." Wonder from where he got that characteristic................

It was great to also hear the news that Emily got a job. She was contacted yesterday afternoon and is to start right away. Today she's going out to get a few outfits, suitable for the office. She's been at home with Sarah for a long time and is ready to jump back in there. Sarah will be starting at the preschool on Monday, I think, which makes Justin and me quite proud and excited. Another family from our church finally sold their home after months and months of waiting, allowing me a full day of rejoicing for the church family!!!!

Pete was going to be here last night with the children, Justin and I joined him in some home baked pizzas and even got in a game or two of Scrabble. I do not wish to discuss who won the games, but let me say this---I am a great hostess who allows my guests to run roughshod over me in Scrabble.....Actually, the first game wasn't such a huge loss but the second one--ugh! Humbling, very humbling. It still love to play the game, even if the floor gets mopped with me, so will dive right back in and perhaps come out victorious once. I'll get to play again Sunday at Pizza/Game Night, so will consider these previous games as "training".....didn't I say I wasn't going to discuss it?????

The newsletter is ready to go to press which I'll do this afternoon when I'm up at church. That will be my stop on the way back from Robbie's concert. It's my turn to clean the church and I can run copies at the same time. E-mail now carries the news letter to many member homes, saving paper and my valuable time. Or is it valuable paper and my time? Either way, it's more efficient to do it that way. Those who don't have e-mail get the paper editions with the rest being mailed away. Another deadline loomed and was met!

Have a great day everyone in Manty, celebrating the trio of birthdays at Pizza Hut! Reminds me of the old days when Grandma Sickles wanted to come along to Pizza Hut with us, for Lisa's birthday. Now Lisa's a big girl, has babies of her own, and is still celebrating at Pizza Hut...love it and love you all!

Wishing you sweet sounds today!

The excitement is building!

Hi all!

I stole that title from the catch phrase we are using for our building project at church, but applying it in a different sense tonight. Tomorrow is the day that my company arrives and I am "so 'cited" as Timmy used to say. Mom said tonight that she's sad about missing seeing the Prange's. I do hope that maybe one of the other girls, or even me, can get her to Morton Grove after the snow melts so she can visit them.

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Tonight I was privileged to share in the celebration of Emily's birthday. It was wonderful to spend time, however brief, with this part of my extended family. On Sarah's baptism day we all went to Cracker Barrel after church. Emily's sister, Maria, told me I'd better get used to being around them all because "you're family now". I like the sounds of that! Justin had school and then was spending some time with his father tonight, so was unable to attend Emily's party.

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As I was leaving their house, I mentioned I'd tried giving Boots back to JD Saturday night but he'd told me there was a "no return" policy when we took the kitten, about 6 years ago. Nuts! So, when I mentioned this to Paul and Emily, they said they'd take Boots off our hands this weekend......the perfect plan! Justin will still get to visit his favorite cat but I won't have to mess with Boots anymore. Now, to find a home for Lynx.......

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Maybe I should do something about the mess of papers on my desk, in case Pete wants to check his e-mails when he's here. It really bugs me to have this clutter and such, but apparently not enough to get me to handle it. So many other things I'd rather do instead. The rest of the house is nice and clean, ready for the guests to arrive.

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Justin and I have been discussing some alternative travel plans for his Spring Break. He's decided not to go to Italy this year with his Art History class, saying they go every year. His shoulder and neck are still giving him a fit and he wants to be sure it's better when he does go. He's also going to have his deaf ear checked again, as he says he can hear some noises in it. This might be good news, or continue to be a problem without a solution. We pray that his hearing will return, but still feel that he has to do something to help that happen, like see an ear specialist. Or an allergist, as it supposedly was caused by an allergy. Been going on since August, enough already! For a young man, he sure is falling apart!

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We are talking about going up to New York instead and spend some time in the museums and galleries, which will also benefit his education. I was getting some prices together this afternoon, airfare and hotels accommodations. The time frame falls just prior and into Holy Week. I certainly want to be back here for church those nights and on Easter. The two of us have to sit down and hash this all over, so I can make the arrangements, before the fares go up.

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Justin and I had a lovely dinner at PF Chang the other night. He'd wanted me to go to Pottery Barn with him, thinking I'd really like it. This plan didn't work out, only the dinner therefore making another trip to the Town Center Mall necessary. Nuts! I really wanted to see "those jack-booted thugs" who send out the incessant Pottery Barn catalogs!!! Kramer (Seinfeld) hated getting all those catalogs and went so far as to brick his mail box so as not receive ANY mail. Mom wouldn't like that very much---loves to get her mail!

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The full moon is quite lovely reflecting on the river. The salon owner told me today she wants to see me again in a month to see how much my hair has grown. This is to prove a point that hair cut during a full moon grows much faster. Unfortunately, I go for a hair cut every three weeks which won't be a decent measurement for her purposes. People think such "interesting" things about the moon, don't they?

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Wow, where'd the time go? It's bedtime already! Before I go to sleep though, I wanted to mention that I spoke with Marian, my sister-in-law in South Florida this afternoon. She sounded great, her diabetes seems to be controlled and is looking forward to a visit with her granddaughter, Maya. Tina and Maya are coming down for a day or so soon, and Marian wants to take care of Maya while Tina goes shopping or whatever, on her own. Very nice! Biff is still working everyday but has doctor appointments coming up to figure out his lung problems. Prayers would be helpful for them both, that the Lord would bring them renewed health, or at least some answers to their health situations.

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Counting the hours until my company arrives........good night, all!

No Super Bowl for the Packers.......

I am numb with disbelief! The Packers lost the game in overtime, as though you don't already know this. If I repeat it often enough, I just might believe it!

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It's hard to imagine that there are worse things than not making it to the Super Bowl, major events in our lives that knock us off our feet. I don't remember the Super Bowl in 2001, although I am sure there was one...okay, I looked it up and yes, there was a Super Bowl played on the 28th of January that year, only a couple weeks after the funeral.

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A few weeks later we were off to the Builder's Show in Atlanta, as if nothing happened. Well, not really, it was obvious we weren't ourselves but had expended the money and the two people going with us were geared up to go. We felt we could mourn there as well as at home, and the distraction would be welcome. Many there knew our situation and offered comfort and support. We just weren't like other people, I suppose, not the way people expected us to react. Nothing I can do about that, is there? One thing I liked to hold to was "there are no rules when it comes to grieving". Grieving like people who had hope might have served as a light to some of those who knew what we'd been through. I don't know, maybe, I hope so anyway. I DO know I did better with people around me and that worked out nicely.

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Cindy S. sent me the loveliest note last night which brought me to tears, both sadness and joy weeping. She related what their household was like after Mike told her about what happened to Timmy, the emotions and reactions. Her memories are keen, she remembers Pete singing at the grave site, how Mike helped her to bear up although he was suffering himself. I love, just love hearing these stories from "the witnesses", as there is much that I either forgot or never even knew about. Thanks for that, my dear, dear friend!

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Today in church we sang the hymn "I Lay My Sins on Jesus", and I returned to my pew after communion in time to sing the last verses of it. I was doing just fine until we sang " I long to be with Jesus, amid the heavenly throng, to sing with saints His praises, to learn the angels’ song." Such a lovely wish to have, and that's what I believe Timmy is doing right now---or as Kerry says, he's telling it on the mountains! The author of that hymn also mentions how Jesus knows all our sorrows, which is comforting alone, as He knows what it takes to ease that grief. He provides.

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I am much too tired to see clearly any more so will let you off easy tonight. Thanks again for the cards, text messages, comments, e-mails, and other acknowledgements. Now, I'll try to turn toward joy and the coming of the Prange's for their annual visit. The housekeepers haven't been here since just after the family left so it's ready for some cleaning again. I've done a bit of vacuuming in between, especially by the messy cat box and after the tree and stuff was taken down. Styrofoam beads are such a hard thing to corral!

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Blessings on your coming week, all! Sorry 'bout the Packers---next year????

Still, Jesus Triumphs Over Tragedy

Here it is--Timmy's birth date. He'd be 12 years old now, which almost makes me sound younger than I am. That was the plan, after all....not really, but a lady at church told me when I had Timmy that having a daughter late in life kept her young. Now, we'll never know if that would have happened in my case! This cold weather ( a relative thing, I realize) is making me feel old today---I need some sunshine, please!!!!!

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The house is beginning to smell wonderful as my roasts are doing just that in the slow cooker, bathing in golden mushroom soup and "a little wine", as Justin Wilson used to say. Sauerkraut is in the oven, slowly cooking the flavor of the pork through it. Some would say that sauerkraut cooking is not a pleasant aroma, but I disagree. It sort of reminds me of when I worked at Shady Lane Home, in Manty. Those were the days.....

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Oh, wait, I have to watch this big news story on TV---okay, I see.....I am supposed to program my fitness regimen according to my astrological sign. Oh, please! First of all, there is no fitness regimen to speak of and secondly, Satan has so many cunning ways of infiltrating our daily living with what appears to be an innocuous method. Watch out everybody! Must be a slow news day, or something to counteract the caucuses in two states today.

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Shortly I'll be heading off to Cindy's for a card making class. For lunch, Martie, Justin, and I will be eating at Timmy's favorite restaurant, Sweet Tomatoes, as we've done traditionally on his birthday ever since he died. The first year after he died was the day we put in the pond in the backyard of The Preserve house, with the help of some of the Rosewood staff and Joel, a member over at Victory. He was our Boss, as his brother and he had done this type of thing before.

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At the end of the day, as tired as everyone was, we did our ceremonial birthday balloon launch down by the big pond on the edge of the property. Got cleaned up and then off the four of us went to Sweet Tomatoes. No, wait, I think it was only three of us, as Mom couldn't get herself to go. She might remember that better than I am. I was still married at that time, which makes for the three......

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The practice of having the balloon launch sort of started when St. Johns held a memorial service for Timmy with the pre-k and kindergarteners a week or so after his death. The chaplain had a brief service, many parents of the kids were there, and we had filled our car with helium balloons, courtesy of one of our neighbors in Waterford Landing, who was in the balloon business. The Eagle Harbor club staff blew them up with their machine for us. So nice of them! The parents and children dedicated a tree and a concrete bench with Timmy's name on it, and then the kids were given a balloon to launch to celebrate his birthday.

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We went back inside and served cupcakes and juice, Blue's Clues as the theme, as Timmy's missed birthday treat. He'd wanted a pajama party for his birthday party so I had gone out to buy some pj's so that I could attend. Usually I wear nighties so was going to be excluded. I kept those unused pajamas as a rememberance of Timmy's missed birthday party. It's funny the things that bring back memories, something which would have been insignificant if he was alive today...............

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How blessed he is to be celebrating not his earthly life, but rather eternal life, bliss, with the Heavenly Father! The tears are for ourselves, not for him. God bless, everyone!

Jesus Triumphs Over Tragedy

This day started early and am glad that I set the alarm on my cell phone to wake me. At 8:30 a.m. I had to be at an appointment and had a chance to "talk shop" with Diane, my financial manager. We talked about our business stuff first and then shifted gears to talk a bit of politics, mostly local in nature, and then of course, our faith conversations. She's had some tragedies in her life, too, so we are good for each other in many ways.

Today, though, I took her a little present--a service folder from Timmy's funeral. (For the benefit of new readers: Timmy drowned on January 14, 2001 in our backyard pool.) We talked about the outpouring of love that was experienced that week and forward. I also told her about having the funeral service on video so that I can watch and listen to the service, hear the wonderful message from Pastor Prange, see faces again of those who have now gone ahead of us to heaven, and just have a good, hard cry so I can enjoy a pounding headache. A little like biting on a sore tooth.....

Well, off I go to spend some time with Christine. We are finally getting together and doing our thing, and hopefully have a regular date on selected Fridays enjoying some culture and a "little lunch"!

Have a good day, all!

It's a grumpy looking day out there this morning

Almost didn't want to get out of bed because it didn't seem as though it was morning! I count on the sun shining in on me to remind me to get up.

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Rather than just throw the covers off and leap out of bed, I watched a couple episodes of "Frasier" from Season 4. Justin gave me the first four seasons of what is considered by some the "smartest program on TV", probably was in its day. Between that program and "Seinfeld", I spend way too much time laughing out loud in my house. I wonder if anyone can hear me in the neighboring units........must sound like there's always a party going on over here!
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Saturday I'd popped in at Great Hang Ups, my favorite hang out, and somehow Julia and I started discussing glass art and the making thereof. Oh, I remember now........Rick had told me about staying at The Venetian in Las Vegas when he was at a conference, and I curled my lip about it. I'd love to go there and see the pretty glass, but mostly to see/hear The Phantom of the Opera show that plays there. Jen mentioned the lovely ornaments that he brought back for her, and that's how Julia and I got talking about glass. (I always take the long way around.........) She pulled up a website for Dale Chihuly, a glass artist from WA and showed me some of his more famous work. All of a sudden I caught a glimpse of these fantastic bowls, and realized that this type of bowl, an art piece, Frasier has sitting next to his fireplace!! I love that bowl, it always catches my eye. I researched it on-line when I got home and sure 'nuff, on a trivia page about the program, it mentions the Chihuly bowl, made by "a local artist"! How fun!**************************************
On Seinfeld I am obsessed about the hook by the door, and on Frasier, the art pieces. In fact, Justin has the same style of Grecian helmet on his shelf that Frasier has on his! See, it IS smart!
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It used to be extremely difficult for me to sit and watch a program on TV, usually feeling the need to take care of something or someone, too restless to roost. I've really gotten quite good at it, and in fact, when it used to be unsettling for me to go to the theater, it's gotten to be quite comfortable for me to sit through a movie. Except for the fact that I like to talk during the movie (just like on Seinfeld!), and am usually freezing half to pieces. It used to feel as though time was a wastin', that there some work I needed to be doing instead of sitting around. Glad that I've gotten over that--lots of changes in my life in the last several years....used to feel that way about taking vacation, too, unless it was for a convention or seminar. No longer.....

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Presently I am in decision-making mode, trying to figure out what to do this summer for traveling. Besides the trip North in April, I am considering going with Julia to Gatlinburg for a class and staying in a house near there that the Hilchey's have access to. That would be in late March.

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Justin's trip with his art history group is in mid-March and since that's an expense I wasn't expecting, it sort of voids the trip we'd planned together for May. It isn't really prudent for me to pay for two, or rather, three trips to the Mediterranean. The school trip, as far as I'm concerned, is a "must do" as he's going to garner so much more from that education-intensive, professor-led tour than he would floating from city to city and merely scanning the sites.

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I do so enjoy traveling with Justin, as we aren't compelled to dash from site to site, but can "meander" at our own pace and soak it all up. When we go to the Greek Islands, I enjoy going bistro to bistro and just......ahhhhhh! Plus go see our friend, Jeannie, at her shop in Santorini, which is right across the path from, guess what?--another bistro!

This is a view of a patio just below Jeannie's bistro in Santorini

I have the option of going with the Humanns again in November, touching many of the same sights Justin and I had planned for May. This is an option, but am a bit concerned that I won't be warm enough...I've got this thing about being warm, you know?

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I am dressed and ready for the day pretty much, still have some fluffing to do before going to lunch at The Club. No jeans today, but instead have my nice velour pants on to help keep me warm. It looks like winter and most likely will feel like it too. Tonight is an Outreach Team meeting at church and we'll be finalizing some details concerning our sponsorship program and the plans for the Friendship Sunday in February.

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Just had a marvelous, long-needed phone conversation with Rosalie, my friend in Houston. She used to be the secretary at Good Shepherd and is dear to my family. She had gotten to spend some time with the boys in November of 2000 as she passed through on her way back to Houston from Melbourne. We had someone babysitting Justin and Timmy as we were on a cruise at the time of her visit, and didn't even know she was coming! Timmy was a bit upset about what he thought was a 'disruption in service' between the appointed babysitter and Rosalie. He didn't transition well, so I can't say that Rosalie and he had much warm fuzzy time during which turned out to be her last time to see him alive.

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She came back for his funeral, and spent good time with Mom and Justin, keeping them company and such during this rough time. She's a great friend to have, and even though we're miles apart now, we are still quite connected. Her family donated a lovely message-bearing picture in his memory, which hangs in Precious Lambs classroom now. The child in the painting looks so much like Timmy that it's scary. Dee offered to add some dimples to the cheeks of the child but I refused, thinking that would be just too much, too close a resemblance. But thanks anyway, Dee......

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Time to head over to The Club to have lunch with the ladies. I am so looking forward to having a nice visit with them, get to know Karen better and have some laughs together. Bon Appétit!

I'm in my happy place right now.......

Sarah is singing to me from my computer as I sit here, listening to the wind blow and watch the waves crash against the breakwater. She is singing "In Trutina" from Carmena Burana, and Sarah's voice is "like butta", as they used to say on SNL about Barbra Streisand.

I heard on the radio that we can expect to get about an inch of rain, which I predicted would happen after having my windows washed yesterday!

This afternoon I got my pretty Moroccan lamps and colored glass chimes hung up in my bedroom window, nice and clean again. Perfecto!

Justin sort of blew me out of the water today when he did some research about a piazza in Florence that's special to Twila, Jean, and me. In 2005, as we sat on the steps waiting for the rest of our companions, Twila tossed a cracker out to a pigeon who wanted a snack, and a thousand birds came diving in for the kill, nearly taking out the visitors to the Basilica Santa Croce, where we were sitting. We continue to laugh about that experience to this day, and every pigeon that came near Justin and me (2006) he'd ask, "Do you know Twila?"

Justin and I didn't go in for the tour for some reason, and he found out today all the famous people whose graves are inside this basilica. Among the names he mentioned were Michaelangelo, Marconi, Galileo, Machiavelli, Gentile and Rossini, thus it is known also as the Pantheon of the Italian Glories. He claims we missed it because we were busy looking for the Murano glass shop to buy my chandlelier. That might be, but I also think that the tour folks should have played it up more so we'd known what was in there. I think we took the walking tour that year, so had less time available for pigeon feeding.....oh, well, guess we'll have to go back. In fact, he is planning to go with his art history class over Spring Break, but that leaves me here to weep! Firenze!!! Anyway, we are kicking ourselves for not going inside this lovely building, simply admired it from the outside, across the piazza where we had our VERY expensive diet Cokes and shared a berries and gelato dessert. The edge of the Basilica can be seen on the left edge of the photo. In front of Justin is one of the $9 Coke Lites we enjoyed.....

This a.m. I met up with Jen and had a nice breakfast in an out-of-way place in Middleburg and then she went with me to the salon for my pedicure. Christine popped in for a moment and we got to chat briefly as she was on her way to an appointment. She looked lovely as always. Before running off, though, she invited me to join her for a musicale event on Friday which I would simply LOVE to attend. It's in the afternoon and she'll have to work around her schedule first. I'm excited and really can go by myself if I want to. Have nothing else planned for that day anyway.

Tonight while at Bible Bites and choir, I got great news that the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra will be performing as scheduled (the conductor left me a message on my machine at home!!!). The "bad" news is that the concert coming up is the same day as Timmy's birthday/funeral anniv. so I've offered my tickets to someone else. I am glad they've reached an agreement and are getting back to work, as I was getting concerned that we might not get to see/hear "La Traviotta" in February. Justin, Robbie and I are going to that together----can't wait!

There are a few more things needing to be taken care of before Janet, Karen, and Judy come tomorrow.....I can either take care of it tonight or get up earlier in the morning. I am sort of worn out emotionally tonight after experiencing something weird and upsetting from my past late this afternoon, so perhaps sleeping would be the best healer at this time.

"Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise; the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace!"

This is the kind of thinking that helps me sleep at night, and I hope you have some thing just as calming, soothing as this for yourselves...'night all!

What an awesome class tonight!

This evening was yet another interesting Bible study , our "People Close to God" series, which serves either as introduction to what we believe and why, as well as a wonderful refresher for those already schooled in the faith. There were some new faces tonight which makes it all the more interesting, as they will ask the difficult or probing question which sometimes makes the rest of us really put on our "thinking caps", especially the stuff we take for granted. Love it!

My hands are still cold, sort of can't wait to go to bed so they can get warmed up. Tomorrow is a big day for me as I am finally getting my long-needed pedicure out in Middleburg. Lisa, future daughter-in-law of my dear friends, the Woodruff's and fledgling entrepenier, has the blessed opportunity to groom my feet. Jen is meeting me for breakfast at Nana's first and then off I go.

Tonight one of the ladies at church mentioned how much she enjoyed the blog, and complimented me on the "way I turn my words". Thanks, LeeAnn, for saying that. This "gift" really didn't appear until immediately after Timmy died as I got busy trying to put my thoughts to print, for his funeral service folder. The first epic I wrote was too long so Pastor Prange asked me to shorten it, which I somehow managed to do. Rick and the office staff worked together to print the original with a lovely background paper. They presented it to us in a frame with a photo of Timmy, just prior to our heading out for the visitation on the 18th. It was quite moving how the Rosewood family thought enough to do that for us, for me, since it was my first real attempt to express in writing what made up Timmy Day. And so it began.....

Next time I'll have more to say regarding the blessings which have flowed since Timmy went to heaven, but for tonight, I want to just reflect a bit about his death and the events that unfolded. Don't worry, I won't spoil the book by writing it all on this blog. Have to keep the audience wanting more, as my leader at the Writer's Crew taught!

Peace be to you all!