What a cool way to start the morning!

My kitty cat was snuggling by my head this a.m. as I lay watching the end of JAG, before starting the day. All of a sudden my cell phone began jumping all over the dresser as Lynx leaped about nine feet into the air. When I grabbed the phone, the name showing said "Judy in Winona" so I shrieked "Hi!!!!!". She said "hi" back and started to explain about being back in town, wondering if we could get together for lunch or if she could bring lunch........Oh, oh, she is not talking to this Kim. I interrupted and said, "This is Kim, did you know that?" and she said she was Judy and then paused. Oops, she realized she'd called a different Kim with whom she wanted to have lunch. We both laughed and agreed there's no such thing as an accident, we were meant to talk to each other today! If not on-line, then over the line! I hope she finds the other Kim and they have a wonderful lunch together.............and I'm jealous!!!!

*

It's overcast right now and am wondering if the rain will hold off long enough for the roofers to do their thing. After Ladies' Group last night I stopped off on the sun deck to visit with the "sitters", and the man in charge of the project said they'd discovered and repaired the leak going into Travis' unit, which means my problem will also be solved. Talk about trickle down, right? Such great news!

*

I also got to hug on a lady I've known for many years, at least 8, for whom we built a home that long ago. She's best friends with one of my upstairs neighbors and I've seen her visiting before. Merry asked me if I liked living here and I told her I did very much, and she said, "Good, you deserve it!" as she walked off. I don't know about the "deserve" part but love the sentiment and love my home. My fondest memory of her was the Valentine's Day after Timmy died, a month after, Merry and Tammi, who worked in the tennis center, brought me flowers plus a room fragrance gizmo from Bath and Body Works. I can't remember what it's called but this was pre-wall socket room fresheners. The fragrance was vanilla sugar cookie or something like that and was wonderful. But the expression of their care was the nicest gift of all. Did you ever think about something you've done for another which may seem insignificant to you, but means the world to them? That's why a smile is seldom wasted!

*

I just heard on the news about a car accident south of here where a mom and her teen-aged son were killed in a chain reaction wreck. The report said he was her adult son, but he was 17. If you ask me, he's still a child, or at best, a teenager. Adult son would be 25, in my opinion. And why do I care about this? My own child is coming up on his 21st birthday soon and I'm alive with trepidation over this. What's going to happen when he's turned loose? What influences will he be exposed to and who will be watching over him like he watches over his friends, like a "mom"? God will be, but as his Father! What's all the hand-wringing about? It always comes down to a First Commandment issue, not trusting the Lord enough.......ugh, I hate to be defused!

*

Bertha is shaking her fist at us as she passes Cuba and I am so happy to know the forecast has her going north and east. No more will Jacksonville shrug its shoulders when a storm is coming this way, a lesson or two or three was learned in 2004! At Pam's the other day I noticed how nicely her yard came back in after being underwater and wondered if I did the right thing back then having all that work done. Of course, my yard was hamburger after having all those trees topple over, pulling the sod and soil up with them. Yeah, it was a mess, and then the repairs to the dock and boat house----and make no mistake, home owner insurance does not cover this type of damage. Everything came out of pocket, and only a month or two after moving there, too! I can only be thankful my home itself was undamaged because the deductible on that would have been a huge sum, too!

*

So glad I don't have to concern myself with those type of things any longer and hopefully won't have more huge assessments for a long while here. We are planning on having the building caulked and painted next year, including all the windows being caulked, which will also help with preventing or stopping leaking, too. And the repairs to the sundeck.....We are playing catch-up here with regular repairs and maintenance which hadn't been planned for over the years, the "newer" owners now paying the price. I guess that wouldn't happen anymore in modern condo associations, as funds for capital improvements and maintenance costs are put in reserve accounts for situations such as these. As I mentioned to the group a couple nights ago, if we had a private home with a 33 year old roof, we'd have had to replace it almost 20 years ago already. Why are we surprised that we have to replace this roof which has had nothing but band aid repairs all along?

*

Travis, my neighbor running for public office, and I were talking about some of the issues coming up. I told him I was opposed to adding more impact fees on the developers and builders, as one man said, it might be just enough more per home to price someone out of the market. There can be no more obstacles put in the way of building, with the hurricane standards and more fees....... He agrees about this, and said the county failed to plan or anticipate the rapid growth and is playing catch up now. I said, "Just like our building!" and he said, "You are right, young lady!" Love it when he calls me that! And I love to be right!

*

I wonder if I can get Judy R. to call every morning as my jubilant wake up call????? What a great way to start the day!!