The day begins and closes with tears!!!

...both times tears of joy!
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Yesterday Justin and I were talking about going down to visit Rafa in Mexico City, since I'm not taking a cruise this summer. And then this a.m. as I speculated inwardly if I should clean off the fridge for the repairman, I was looking at the picture of Rafa and family posted there. The thought went through my head that I should write a note to Rafa and say "hi!", but I didn't do it immediately....

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Well, when I got home from the grocery store, I came back in my room to work a bit. The first thing I saw was an e-mail from Rafael (the daddy)!!! He said they read my blog and he loves my painting "The Doors of Santorini"....I cannot even express how delighted I was to read his note! His wife and he are in Africa for a month, with the kids back at home with grandparents. Apparently they'd have to be 12 years old to go where Mom and Dad are in Africa. Wow, I love it, just love it!!!

This happened once before, not too long ago, when I was going through the process of transferring data from one computer to the other. I expressed to Justin my concern that I might lose Rafa's e-mail address and his other letters to me, and that very same night, I got an e-mail from him! The Lord is looking out for our friendship!

Here's the picture Rafael included in his e-mail, taken of Rafi in Acapulco....he's getting so big!

Thumbs down for the refrigerator...It seems that the freezer is not defrosting, hence not sending cold air up into the fridge portion. I don't need to understand it, only have patience since a part needed to be ordered, with them coming back on Wednesday to make the repair. On the bright side, of course there is one!, "Bob" lifted out the two shelf/drawers in the freezer portion to access the panel in back, making it possible for me to FINALLY clean up the mess from the spilled cookies, referenced in a previous posting. It's a good feeling to have the crumbs and sprinkles wiped away. It will cool now, as he defrosted the coils with a machine but suggested I not buy too much perishable stuff just yet. I already tossed most of the opened items such as mayo, Italian dressing, coffee creamer, and so on, and can live without those items at least until Wednesday!!!

Fausto would have had a field day today, if that's the correct expression, watching all the sailboats enjoy the river. It may have been part of some regatta but I couldn't find anything about it on-line. If there was 1, there were 100 boats out there at times, not obliviously racing but certainly much motion. All different colored sails and sized vessels, making my imposed captivity quite delightful today! I probably wouldn't have minded having to stay home all day if it were my idea instead of A & E Appliance Repairs'! It's different when it's your own idea, why is that?

Tomorrow Justin and I are attending Victory so don't look for me at Good Shepherd. We want to go to Joe's Crab Shack for lunch and spend some time at the beach enjoying the lovely 80+ temperatures. Twila was sick last Sunday and Monday, so I haven't seen her since getting back from WI. We'll have to see each other Monday at Bible study. Good thing we ladies were planning to crop here this Wednesday, since I have to wait--again--between 8 and 5 for the repairman to come back. Held hostage by an electronic panel, but at least I'll have co-hostages to keep me company!

I see now a good deal of grey/black smoke rising over Mandarin. Hopefully nothing terrible is going on. Lori called earlier this a.m. to report David and she heard something on NPR about Clarks' Fish Camp and an interview of the official alligator trapper in Duval and Clay Counties! How cool is that? It was on the program "Wait, Wait, I Know....." that I listened to with Judy and Jerry in Winona. By the time I got the message, the show had moved off onto another topic. Nuts! I don't know where I'd find a "public" radio station on my equipment, can't say I've ever listened to it on purpose! But, I would have loved to have heard my "community" discussed on a national radio program!!!! Especially Clarks'! When Judy comes down in October, we absolutely MUST go there to eat!

The ups and downs of refrigeration

Right off the bat this morning I am mopping up tears! Cindy sent some photos taken for Mike's and her 30th wedding anniversary. Tara's friend is a photographer and an amazing one at that. There is a slide show on the photographer's website and I simply adore the photo of Cindy laughing, head thrown back---ala Cindy-style! Love it! Great shots, great subject matter. Shiloh is Miss Photogenic, wearing her grandma's veil and posing on her gown!

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Well, the wait is on for the repairman to come and see what's wrong with my fridge. Yesterday morning when I went for a soda, it seemed to be nice and cold again. Great! I decided that something was still wrong with it because turning the temp up as high as it goes before it'd kick in......that's not right! So, today, between 8 and 5, I can expect company!

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I had good company yesterday afternoon as "Dr." Colon and his lovely wife, Marilyn Julaine, came over to look at the lemon tree. I had moved the tree outside by the front door since I knew chemicals and such would be sprayed on it. Fausto first used clear water to wash the leaves, picking off those destined to fall anyway, checked the soil acidity (which tested okay) and then sprayed it with a mixture of Dawn soap and veggie oil mixed with water. Under his microscope we could see "the little bastards", which are normally called 'mites', the guys wreaking all this havoc. The soap/oil mixture suffocates them as well as sealing the leaf from disease. He also left me printed materials and a book about Florida plants for my perusal. We shared a lovely lunch at The Club which brought back many memories for Fausto, as he used to keep a boat at the marina here and also held Club membership. His son and he made sure they had their "required" meal each month, never let the opportunity pass, something which I cannot claim.

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I told them how at first Justin and I ate at The Club frequently, loving the food and the whole idea of it, but gradually quit going more than once each month. Often when it's getting close to the end of the month, Pam will call and say, "I haven't eaten at The Club this month--wanna meet for lunch?" What's nice about summer is that our membership obligations can be fulfilled at the Cabana where I can have a nice cheeseburger and pina colada on the weekends without having to dress up! I can drip and order my food at the same time, and then rinse off in the pool!

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I've tried my hand at using the old-fashioned method of recording the "old" TV programs with VHS in my room. Skillfully I set the machine to record about 8 episodes of "Seinfeld"; however, when I tried to replay them this a.m., to see if it worked, I had several episodes of "Reba" and one of a show called "Still Standing". Ugh!!!! Please!!!! It's not a productive time for me to go sit in the family room and watch the DVR recorded programs so am ridding myself of the digital converter and HD thingy. Most of the time I'm in my room at the computer, during the day listening to talk radio, but I'd hate to miss my re-runs of Seinfeld and Frasier. As Justin said the other day, I'll probably get the DVDs anyway and can watch them at my leisure, sans commercials. I will keep trying my hand at mastering the remote control to record on VHS. Talk about living in the past!!

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Work has begun on the marina which is being re-built since the destructive Hurricane Jeanne took it out in 2004. The barge with the scoop shovel is idle today but during the week was busily pulling sand or silt from the basin area in preparation for the docks to be put in. I hope the manatees still come to do their thing out here by my window, as they put on quite a show for us. Pretty? No. Interesting? Oh, yes, they are! Here is a pile of manatees, doing whatever it is that manatees do......

The rumor mill claims the marina spaces will sell for $100,000.00 American money, which is wwaayy too rich for my blood! Let's say they are offered at that price---is this the price people will wish to pay? Having the marina will improve the property value, of this we're sure, but there is some question about the parking situation and so on. I'm not concerning my pretty little head about it, but do look forward to hearing the clang, clang, clang as the sailboats bob around in the water, the sail hardware hitting against the mast.....At my lake house, a friend, Alan, had his sailboat tied up at my dock and I loved hearing the clanging from his boat.....I grow nostalgic for the lake house, but not when I think about all the extra work there was to keeping a big house on the water like that. My condo on the river, as Fausto said repeatedly, is perfect for me!

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p.s.: My friend, Brenda, with whom I had drinks and chips at Whitey's, reports my "pool boy", Jeff, has broken up with her daughter and is no longer in the picture. This makes my heart heavy because I care about both of them. I used to say that Jeff woke me every Saturday morning, bright and early, when he came to clean my pool. My room was on the patio level and the bank of windows wore no curtains..... poor guy!