"My face hurts from smiling!"

These were Linda's words as we left the Symphony hall. It was a wonderful show, "Love, Romance, and Big Band" featuring a singer named Lynn Roberts, who performed with many of the bands back in the day. Wow!, could she ever sing!

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After watching Blazing Saddles, we had to switch gears, put on our symphony pants, and head downtown for dinner and the symphony. Our dinner at Juliette's was lovely and the service exquisite. We had some time before the concert so sat in the lobby of the Omni for a bit before heading over. Oops! I went out the wrong door and we ended up pointed in a different direction than the Times-Union Center. A nice guide on the street got us "on the right track" toward the hall, but I hated adding extra steps to Linda's poor knee. I guess we'd have had the same number of steps inside the hotel but still.......it was a pleasant evening and no rush to get there.

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From our seats in Box 2, we had a perfect view of the orchestra, conductor, and performer. It was awesome. When I'd called Linda to ask about going to the symphony, she told me it would be wonderful, especially since she was listening to Big Band music as we spoke. Again, perfect! It was a real toe-tapping show, and Linda was just blown away by the experience, telling me at intermission that she couldn't stop smiling. Now, I was the one blown away!

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In 2006, Paul and Emily used my tickets for the Oktoberfest symphony program. They so enjoyed the night out, the concert and performers. The next day at church, Paul thanked me up and down for the treat, telling me that "Emily didn't stop smiling all evening". That is a wonderful thing to hear and I got to hear it twice!!!!

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On this "note" the official Linda J. Day came to a close. We made it home before 11:00 so put our feet up and watched the end of a weird movie called "Powder". I wonder if I'd like to see the whole thing to make some sense from it, or if I've seen enough.....only I can answer that. Of course, if you read further down this blog, or up, as the case might be, you'll see that Sunday with Linda was spent at church, lunch with Judy J., home, and then off to the movies and dinner with Justin and Martie.

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To sum up the Church Secretary's Union Meeting weekend, I'll use Linda's words to me, expressed in the movie theater after seeing 'The Bucket List': (paraphrasing now) "I don't have to search for joy in my life--it's sitting right here next to me..."

We re-convene for our next event!

Saturday afternoon and evening of Linda J. Day were planned around cultural events. The First Coast Writer's group sponsored a speaker, Carol O'Dell, whom I've heard speak previously at writer's conferences. Her topic was about getting published and writing savvy---her own experience being the book she wrote: "Mothering Mother".

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I'd asked Linda if she minded spending part of her visit listening to an author speak and she was cool with it. In fact, as we went around the room introducing ourselves, Linda said she wasn't a writer but was a "reader". Carol O'Dell said, "We LOVE our readers!" Linda J. was a hit! Linda's mom has a similar illness so it will be a much appreciated read for Linda and her sister. It was a great choice to hear this speaker!

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Linda O. helped me to track down a friend hers, also named Carol, (I have Carols and Lindas coming out of my ears!!!), who I remembered was writing a book of similar subject matter. Carol W. told me afterward that prior to my contacting her, she'd put the manuscript away for awhile. Now she is renewed and has started working again, planning to use Spring Break for some serious writing time. It pays to track people down and stir them once in a while........I should take my own advice!

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I must pause here to mention that it was Linda O., with whom Justin and I had dinner after church last week, who put Carol W. and me together last spring. Linda O. had a wonderful "Beach Bash", where she thanked all the ladies who'd supported her after the sudden death of her husband, Dale. We ladies from all walks of life, of Linda's walk in life, hit it off nicely. It was a sincere privilege and pleasure to be there for Linda, both when Dale died and at the Beach Bash!

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Linda J. was thrilled with the afternoon's literary exposure, as she read excerpts from her newly autographed book. We had some marination time before the next event, so we turned on the TV, putting our feet up to take a cat nap. That didn't last, as we caught the end of "Blazing Saddles", and were laughing our fool heads off! Linda told me that Tommy and she had gone to see it at the theater and both fell asleep! What??? Now when watching it, she found the scenes most humorous and promised to rent it to watch again. I hope it's as funny for them as it was for the two of us! Somehow I doubt that!!!!

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Minutes from Linda J. Day!

I hope my readers are able to keep up with these Minutes of the Church Secretary's Union Meeting....which are being presented in reverse order! Is that parliamentary? I'd guess probably not!

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Saturday was designated by the Union members as "Linda J. Day" which began with a therapeutic massage by Carol. It was Linda's first massage and she is sold! One of the first things she's going to do when arriving back "home" is find a therapist for herself, because it was so beneficial. It didn't take away her wounded knee, and it won't for the first treatment, but overall, it's a wonderful experience and Linda loved it!

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No visit to Salon 2000 is complete without stopping at Great Hang Ups, so we popped in there following her massage. Julia did some hotel research for me on the computer using her AAA membership and found some great deals, pursuading me to join AAA. The savings on the hotel and airfare more than pay for the membership fee! Those ladies at Great Hang Ups are truly full service, don't ever doubt that!

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Justin, who had been staying at his father's with Mickey (oh, my goodness, I nearly typed "Timmy" instead of Mickey!!) joined us for lunch at Honey Bee's. While there we ran into Michael, my former co-worker. It was great to see him and we've made plans to get together later in the month. Our meals were wonderful, reminiscent of Sister's Tea Room, to whom these new owners are related. Hence, the delicious corn chowder...mmmmmm! Justin was heading to get his hair cut and an oil change, two separate appointments (ha, ha, ha) so off he went. Linda and I came back home to allow her to 'marinate', as Carol calls it, before we once again headed out the door to our next event for Linda J. Day!

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So goes the first half of the official "Linda J. Day"!

The Church Secretary's Union Meetings commence!

The ladies at church were quizzing Linda about all the fun we'd had so far during her visit. One asked if I was cooking wonderful meals for her....ha, ha, ha, very funny! At first Linda was going to say, "oh, yes..." but caught herself before falling into the trap. We did relate our schedule of activities which thoroughly exhausted them!

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Here goes----on the way home from the airport, we discussed our menu creation planned for dinner and just how long it would take for Jell-o to set, and decided we had time for lunch and a strawberry margarita at La Nopalera....after all, our theme for the dinner was "From the Heart"! Strawberries are red, the heart is red, so there!

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Upon arriving home, Linda got settled into her quarters as I mixed up the Jell-o and applesauce, a low-calorie but highly flavorful concoction for the themed dinner. We chatted until the ladies started to arrive and all enjoyed a lovely feast of heartfelt foods. We had two tablesfull of guests, including Justin and his roommates, a perfect chance for a full, hot meal for these starving boys.

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Friday morning we headed to St. Johns Town Center Mall to the Joann store to buy paper, inks, and other cropping supplies for the card making night planned at church. We needed Easter/spring colors and believe we found the right "flavors" to enhance the papers. When Justin got out of class he joined us for a lovely lunch, dining el fresco at the Cheesecake Factory. The patio had heaters which kept us thin-blooded transplants cozy as we ate. Linda and I spent some time and money in the bookstore and then went to see Justin's condo. All three boys were home so we had a nice visit before heading back over here to cut up the papers needed to make the cards for cropping.

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Linda and I got everything set up for cropping at church and at first it seemed no one was joining us, but then we ended up with a nice group. Linda got busy with the card making, saying she loved to do it, so the rest of us worked on our projects while she stamped, glued, and assembled a stack of Easter cards. Man, she's quick! Jean worked on her black velvet coloring project (she told us that's her craft and now we believe her!) and the rest worked on our albums. Great fun, good pizza, and a relatively early night--home by 10:00! Thanks, Linda, for making the cards for our members away!

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...and the morning and the evening were her second day!