In reading my friend, Jami's, blogsite this morning, she had a whole section which could be deemed "rant", prompting me to write a comment to her about us both being full of vitriol yesterday! How funny! I also noticed on some photos she posted that she and I have another thing in common---Obsession cologne! One thing we formerly had in common was our love for Diet Coke but since her surgery, Jami has kicked the habit pretty much. Good for her, bravo!
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She's been putting her recuperation time to good use, leading her readers on a path about forgiveness, and about how it eludes us. She has referenced the Scriptures, showing where the Lord encourages us to forgive others as we are forgiven, and also where there is "nothing new under the sun". Ain't that the truth!!! This "walk" is helpful for the work she does at the prison. And for all of us on this side of the wall.....
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This afternoon while making up the bags for Travis, I watched back to back "Frasier" episodes, the series ender. It's Martin and Ronnie's (a woman) wedding being planned, Niles and Daphne's baby due any second, Frasier's girlfriend moving to Chicago, just a whole lot of stuff going on. Daphne ended up having the baby while in the vet's office, and Niles came out into the waiting room to find Frasier and the happy couple, while giving a bottle of milk to a monkey. The looks on their faces were priceless!!!! When they went into the vet's operating room and saw the real infant, Ronnie said, "That twin is going to be jealous all his life!!!" and I was hysterically laughing. Without giving away the entire story, and I may have already, the ending is quite sad with all the good-byes and misunderstandings between them all, thinking Frasier is dying instead of simply moving away.......ooops! I gave it away!!!!
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Since I was going to dinner with Julia, I shouldn't have spent the afternoon in tears, but my eyes were back to normal by the time we met. It had been a long while since I ate at Koko's and received a royal welcome when we came in. One of the chefs shook my hand and commented about not seeing me in a long time. He said he thought since Matt left that I left too. This made me feel sad because I certainly wasn't doing it on purpose, it just didn't work out to go there all the time like we used to. The chef who cooked for our table always remembers how much I like onions and made sure I got lots of them, didn't give me the shrimp but let Julia have mine, and put an extra dot of butter on top my rice, all without my asking him. I don't really need the extra butter anymore since I've learned to use the shrimp sauce but didn't want to hurt his feelings. Even the bartender knew to put my rum and diet into a tall glass without being asked----there is nothing like excellent customer service!
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Yesterday late afternoon I went to Hang Ups and picked up Justin's birthday present for his father. He'd not done any shopping or preparation for the birthday but never fear, Mom's on top of it! Julia had told about this fantastic aeronautical chart/map that was unclaimed for a long time and she was going to use it in her "garage sale" in the fall. I knew that sounded like a nice gift for his father so I made sure it remained unclaimed until we came to get it. He was going to take it to his father's house tonight before the guys headed off to the movies. Justin came by here to pick it up since it was still in my car, so I got to see him for a couple minutes, just long enough for him to ask me for some cash money to use at the movies! He cleaned me out, plus got a nice present for his father! That guy can sure work the room, can't he?
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After going to Hang Ups Wednesday, I went down to the booty shop to get my hair taken care of, opting to keep the top a bit longer than usual this time. Susan, the proprietor, commented how much she liked my hair BEFORE I had it cut, a Murphy's Law, so in discussing it with Barbara, decided to keep it a tiny bit longer. This might make for more frequent trims, though, so we'll see how that goes. I can't have it touching my ears, you know!
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Judy J. came to meet me after my hair appointment and we shared a basket of fried dill pickles at Whitey's. We each ordered the fish 'n chips, and she took the combined leftovers home to her grandson for him to consume. She says nothing stays long in the fridge since the two boys moved in with her last spring. Judy had some stuff she needed to talk about with me and then the Hilchey's arrived. As soon as Judy finished her meal and we said "good-bye" to each other, I moved over to the Hilchey's table and sat with them. There is only so much of me to go around......moreso since having the fried pickles! It's great to have someone to share the pickles with, as a basket is way too many for one person to eat, and they won't give me a half order.
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On the way home from Whitey's I stopped at Publix to buy some envelopes and stamps to finish a mailing I was working on. There I met my former next door neighbor and got some nice hugs from Mike. He called his wife to report his Kim siting, and Judy wanted to make sure we got together. We made plans to get meet at Shogun. They no longer eat at Koko's three times a week like they used to, but preferring now Shogun. I'll wear three layers of clothing to eat there, because it's so very cold. Maybe their company will warm me up! Heather, the daughter who is the same age as Justin, is presently on a trip to Egypt so I am excited to hear about her trip!
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Another program I watched while stuffing campaign bags was one called "10 Years Younger". Women surrender themselves to a team of "remodelers" who strive to take at least 10 years off their looks. They will get dermabrasion, teeth whitening or reconstructing of their teeth, and some even undergo LASIK eye surgery----at the networks' expense! Wow! They show the women having the eye surgery, which I had performed on myself eight years ago. Then, they see themselves and start to cry, so happy to be without glasses.
I have a problem with that, since I had strict orders to not cry until the healing was complete. Maybe it's changed in the past 8 years but I can't help but remember how difficult it was to avoid weeping back then, with all the junk going on in my life. My final tweaking procedure took place after Timmy died, so man, I had my work cut out for me, to not cry and wreck my eye. The last surgery was postponed until August, I think, in order to allow enough time to go by after his death. Through the magic of TV, these ladies undergo amazing "corrections" in a short period of time, get new outfits to wear, and end up looking "10 Years Younger". I only saw this show because I was too lazy get up and change the channel, being so engrossed in my bag stuffing!
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Lisa called last night to report sitting in the darkened house, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for supper because their power was out. Apparently some wretched weather came through and knocked down trees and power lines all over the place. The good news was she had enough battery power on her computer to play DVDs for the boys before bed, as they are accustomed to having CDs going when they fall asleep. Manny had a landmark day, actually a week, by using the toilet all by himself. Yippee! Like I told Lisa, their trip down here will be so much nicer if they don't have to concern themselves with diapers and finding places to change him. I have a washer to use if an accident happens, for any of us!!!!!!!
