You never know what will set you off

Many of the readers are aware that I am fan of the "old" Joni Mitchell, not so fond of the newer stuff she has put out, but from my personal collection. One song has a line in it that expresses my feelings fairly close: First she's laughing, then she's crying on someones knee---saying laughing and crying, you know, it's the same release." The next line goes on to say: "I told you when I met you I was crazy....." Well, we will not go to that place but it all makes perfect sense now, does it not?

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I brought this up because earlier, as I lay in my bed, denying the fact that once again our building has no water due to a main break, I watched Fox and Friends. Before I knew it, I was sitting up, laughing my head off (I told you when I met you I was crazy......) at the weatherman. The "news" story leading up to the weather report was about the casual dress policy established in the White House these days, how shirt sleeves and such are now acceptable attire and sweaters on the weekends, etc. The Chief of Staff was quoted as saying one could grow orchids in the Oval Office because it is kept so hot in there. A saving grace? Well, flash to the weather man, Rick Weichmuth, as he stands in front of the map with his jacket off, tie pulled down and top buttons opened, reading the weather. Flash to the curvy couch as the two male anchors start peeling off their jackets and opening their ties, and so on. Oh, I just roared with laughter. The news anchorette made a comment that the boss was on Line 1 so they quickly redressed and sat up nice. It was just a hoot!

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Joanne came back upstairs from her car, as she was leaving to do her "toilette" over at the office to report that Hugh, our resident Maintenance supervisor, said he put a call in to the plumbers to let them know our main was broken again (yesterday, too!) but the office did not open until 8:00 a.m.! The company is called, get this, A.S.A.P., but that seems to have a few restrictions on it. My understanding was the repair on Friday was a band-aid fix until Monday when the plumber could get the parts he needed, but oooops! Poor Ellen, probably with a houseful of people and such, and no flushing toilets! We can always scoop water from the pool but........

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So, I finally decided to get up and move about for the day, as I must head to church to vacuum. What I should have done is leave early for game night and do it then but did not plan properly for that. I want to have it done in case the family comes to set up a memorial display or something and I will be in the way or making a racket for them. Do not want that to happen.

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As I ate my toast at my desk, I read some of the multitude of facebook things that arrived in last night's mail. I was reading through, catching up with folks on their latest moves, when I read a posting about one young mom's living room. She reported that her living room is now a parking garage for her three year old's trucks! Another young mom wrote back that her room is a cross between the Island of Sodor and building blocks. The Island of Sodor is a Thomas the Tank Engine place and my Timmy just adored the Thomas thing. Hence, the tears. You see? It is the same release!

In case this posting was lost in the shuffle......

Between the blog site and facebook I have had some interesting discussions regarding life, death, and the parts in between. One thing came up recently when my friend, Cindy, had a close-call with the safety of her little grandson, CJ. He had found a way out of her house and walked around toward the backyard in the direction of the pond. His escape and the danger was thwarted by a vigilant grandma and mama but it scared the daylights out of Cindy for days! This made Cindy remember Timmy's accident and the times that followed, and she stressed that his influence remains in the front of her brain and on her heart to this day.
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This brought to mind another scary story we experienced after Timmy's death in our pool. My former spouse installed a pool alarm that would make a huge noise if some one or some thing landed in the pool and caused a wake. The security people installed window and door alarms on the pool-facing openings which would make a loud signal if they were opened when they should not be. This type of accident was not going to happen again.
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Meanwhile, there was a young father at our preschool named Jeff who had a darling son named Thanos. Jeff had asked me to babysit for a weekend when he had to go out of town for a meeting and I agreed. Justin was not happy about that situation because he had already told me once, "No substitutions!". He was afraid I was bringing Thanos in to replace his brother, as though that could ever happen. I assured him I was only being helpful and instead of putting Thanos in Justin's room in the bunk bed/futon, I put him in the first floor guest room. Proper distance from Justin's room, and from Timmy's, which was still untouched.
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My former spouse was working out in the yard or something into the late evening and was still outside when the rest of us had gone to bed. He came into the house to change into his trunks, saying he was going to rinse off and cool off before coming into the house. Forgetting all about the pool alarm, he dived into the pool and the alarm fired up. I sat up like a shot and heard Justin's feet hit the floor and come flying down the stairs. He was hysterical, thinking that Thanos had gotten up and was in the pool. Thanos never stirred, thankfully. My former spouse was incredibly sorry for freaking us out, and bringing all that back to us like that. Poor Justin!

I can finally sit down----whew!

But then, only for a minute! My friend, Martie, is coming for dinner tonight and in response to the recent enormous spending package the House of Reps passed last night, we are wearing layers of sweaters and eating Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper instead of going out!

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This paragraph above was written and immediately interrupted as Martie arrived to have dinner. Time simply had gotten away from me on Thursday and was so glad when I could climb into bed and go to sleep!

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With all the events taking place in recent days at church and in my building, things have had a sort of frantic air to them. My ear is red from being on the phone and trying to answer questions and to get mine answered as well. Kelly T. was going to ride with me to Bible study at Victory yesterday morning but called just before it was time to leave to tell me she was not feeling well and really didn't do rain. It was just pouring buckets all night and into the morning so I certainly did not blame her for not wishing to go out.

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At the same time that I spoke with her, I was also instant messaging with Justin as he wished me a good day at Victory, and I told him what Kelly said. We decided to meet after Bible study and his morning class to have lunch. I arranged to pick him up at "parent pick up" at UNF (he hates that description because the first 7 weeks he was in college, I still drove him forth and back each day he had classes!).

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The ride over to Victory was rough and long with the heavy rain and traffic, with me arriving before some of the others but still just in time. Our lesson from Heroes and Heroines of the Bible was about Daniel being thrown in the lions' den because he refused to stop worshipping the true God. This lesson brought to mind current events, the most recent being the passage of the huge government spending bill the night before. We talked about how Christian liberties and privileges we enjoy now can be eroded or forbidden soon, putting our missions at risk, etc. by some of the sinful programs included in that package. It is just sickening to see what is included under the guise of "stimulus"!

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Darius was forced to uphold the sinful, prideful law of worshipping him only for 30 days and throw a man with "exceptional qualities" into the den of lions, with some hope that Daniel's Lord would protect him. It was interesting and I made the observation about how the king could not eat or drink, nor did he partake in any "entertainment" all night long, because he was so concerned about Daniel. I remarked how we fight our version of lions all day long and then go home behind our doors, close the curtains, and partake in entertainment. It might be TV or computers or some sort of games that we use to distract us..............Anyway, it was such an interesting comparison between those events and the ones we face today. We, for the sake of financial security or surety, may end up being forced to worship something other than the true God if we are not careful.

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It was great having lunch with Justin at the pancake place at St. Johns Town Center Mall. We had often talked about eating there instead of at Panera before Bible study but never did it. Once the manager turned up the heat it was more comfortable in the dining room but prior, we just shivered, as did those around us. My meal was potato pancakes which fell quite short of those from Perkins Restaurant, and Justin had an Irish omelet which had corned beef hash in it. It was only "okay" in his opinion, so I guess we will not be rushing back to that place soon. He told me that a weight loss place was moving into the Rosewood office building, and it was cute the way he described it. He said they had several smaller offices which I am sure is where the staff will do their consultations and such. He said, "I think it's like the place where you went that time where you had to eat the cheese sticks." Oh yes, that would be LA Weight Loss, which worked like a charm for Judy C. but not so much for me. There was just wwaayy too much food expected for me to eat, plus pill supplements every time I turned around and even when I didn't, ugh! I found myself staying up later at night just so I could get the required amount of food consumed. The heavier a person is, the more they had to eat, but holy cow! And then it was good food at that. My system was in shock, and yes, I was eating cheese sticks, even had them in my purse so I always had something handy. Too much of everything for me!

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So, after lunch, I dropped him off at school again and headed back toward O. P. On the way back I decided to stop and do a couple Outreach contacts in a trailer park. An extended family has been coming to church with some regularity since CHRISTmas so I was reaching out to the elder of the family. She is responsible to watch great-grands in the afternoon when school is out while her granddaughter is at work so cannot join in evening functions but I did encourage her to attend Monday a.m. Bible study and our upcoming Ladies' Brunch (or breakfast, as Judy J. insists) on the 7th. Betty is a really nice lady and had a nice place, I must say.

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It was only drizzling by this time as I made my way down Blanding toward Kingsley to visit Twila. The nice nurse aide led me to the Staff Lounge so I could buy Twila and me a bottle of Diet Coke, as I was sure she was thirsty for one. When I got to the room, she was fast asleep so I pulled up a chair and made myself homely for a bit. All of a sudden she called my name, realizing I was sitting there. She was delighted to have a Diet Coke and proceeded to spill half of it onto the bed and floor! I dashed to get a towel and came up with only paper towels to mop up the mess. Always excitement, and I cried over the spilled soda! Not really....

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After our nice visit, where I recounted the Bible study and current events conversation from that morning, I said my farewells to her and went to see Gordy. He was awake and resting his sore knee. For some reason his knee was giving him a fit and I attributed it to the rain and nasty weather. He said his daughter was talking with doctors and such about the proper medications and such, and is going to see the cardiologist today. Terri was bringing him a good supper, though, last night, food from Popeye's Chicken, spicy coating and the sides he wanted to go with it. Oh that guy! Almost made my mouth water!

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Unfortunately I could not stay long as I had Martie coming for dinner and had not even gotten anything out of the freezer to make. With little more than an hour to do so, I managed to whip up a pan of Hamburger Helper with a can of peas mixed in, and tossed it in the oven. In the meanwhile, two ladies from the condo board approached me to serve on the board as the secretary, which I respectfully but forcefully declined. That is the second time this month, maybe the 3rd, that I have been approached for this and so far, I have declined. My role now is the one I wish to keep and flourish in, and not have the weight of BOD on my shoulders, too.

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Maggie, a friend of Ellen's, and with whom I took water aerobics in the summer and fall, called to personally invite me to the memorial service for Billy. It is tippy top secret to avoid the press and fans from knowing about it. Again, in the meantime, my neighbor called to ask me to be the one to ask this select list of neighbors to the service, saying he thought I would be the perfect one to do it, stressing again the high amount of discretion needed for this, as well as some finesse. And they want ME to do this???!!!!

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This brings me up to the opening paragraph today, which was written last evening when the doorbell rang........................

Re-print of posting telling about Billy and Ellen

It took some looking backward through my postings but I found it! Remembering I had picked up Ellen's framed work from Great Hang Ups, I finally looked in my check book register from last year to get a reference point. So, ta da! Forgive any similarities to my previous posting today, it seems I have nothing original to say!

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Saturday, October 11, 2008
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Saturday and I've got ants in my pants!
Well, not exactly, or I should say, not yet, but they are having their way with my desk! Last week I opened a bag of cough drops and it, too, was alive with ants. I've put a double ant trap on my desk which will hopefully eradicate them. The ants are teeny tiny and fast as all get out, but not quite fast enough to outrun my thumb or pointer as I squish them. The Douglas family would have a fit with me squishing and trying to kill these ants. It's either me or the ants, me or the ants!!!! I hear the theme from "Pink Panther" as I chase them around my desk: dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant.....
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The housekeepers were here yesterday when Justin was hooking up the Internet for me, and after he was gone, Angela just went on and on about how handsome and tall he's gotten since she first knew him. I've used this company since the lake house so they knew him in high school. She remembers how I'd say not to worry about his room because it wasn't clean enough for the cleaners to walk through! Every now and again I'd have to work my way into the room and work with him, much to his delight. Oh, yes, those were fun times!
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I'm listening to a "Seinfeld" episoda which includes more chanting: "Mandelbaum, Mandelbaum!" Jerry gets into an unwilling competition with an extremely aged trio of grandfather, father and son who want to show Jerry they are stronger than he is. Jerry's dad loves the T-shirt Jerry brought with him, which Kramer bought from a street vendor that says "#1 Dad", about six sizes too small, saying it's the best gift Jerry ever gave him. Jerry says, "You do remember I bought you a Cadillac, don't you? Twice!"
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Kramer asked Jerry to bring him back some Cubans from Del Boca Vista (Miami), and he agrees, only to discover they are not cigars, but human beings! When Jerry calls to tell Kramer they are people and not cigars, Kramer says, "Jerry, Cuban cigars are illegal in this country" in a real righteous tone, saying he's bring in Cuban cigar rollers to make his own!

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The Mandelbaum's are in the crepe business and to make a long story short, the cigar rollers, who are really Dominicans, end up in the crepe business, but blow the whole thing up by rolling the crepes too tightly, like you would a cigar. "Try to take a vacation, you come back and the whole operation is in a shambles!" I feel that way, too, when I get back from a trip.
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My neighbors and I are not able to coordinate our Saturdays to allow for going to the movies and my Sunday is full to the brim. I gave them permission to go ahead without me because with Jeff's flying schedule, they aren't as flexible with their time. Yesterday I went to see Ellen, my neighbor and friend, taking her framed piece and touched up photos. Ellen has been ill, doctoring with stomach ulcers and such. She was in bed, sleeping, but Billy took me in to see her anyway. We ladies had a nice visit although I had to carry much of it, but no problem. She is still groggy from her medications and has no appetite or ambition. I left her to her nap, but Billy was evidently tickled at having someone to talk to. I was treated to a lovely private concert on his rehearsal keyboard, which sounds exactly like a grand piano. He played original compositions in his favorite genre, classical. Billy's training was in classical music and it's his passion, he told me all about his teachers and such when he was growing up on the Westside.
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He showed me, again, his special guitars and other pieces of memorabalia, some with autographs of the original band members, those killed in the crash. Billy told me the reason he needs to wear the dark glasses is because his tear ducts were damaged in the plane crash, but fortunately, his vision is not affected. He is a walking story, let me tell you!

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I, of course, launched into the framing and preserving abilities of Great Hang Ups and offered to have him come down to my home some time to see what they've done for me and to see my glass pieces from there. He said, "I can come right now" so off we went. I am so glad the housekeepers had just been here! He loved the place, and went crazy, figuratively speaking, about my house. I might not have gold records on the walls, but I do have other treasures.
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One thing that caught Billy's eye was the arrangement of plaques on my dining room wall about faith, hope, love, integrity, trust, etc., which Justin had gotten me for Christmas a few years back. As I opened the plaques, Justin said, "I got these because this what you are all about." Talk about a gift! Obviously, the fact he thought that about me was gift enough, but then he, in his inimitable Justinisms said, "They had your eye prints all over them!", since they were from Kirkland's, one of my favorite stores at the Mall. That kid! Anyway, Billy loved the plaques and he loved the story behind this gift. He kept saying he had to bring Ellen down here to see my glass and all that, but Ellen has already been here a number of times. He said it was like being in a museum.
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Well, after he left, I got busy in my office making good use of my new Internet connection. All of a sudden, I heard this bang, bang, bang at my door. I dashed to see if perhaps I had a delivery or something, and there stood Billy with a tin of cookies and some caramel apples for me. Wow! He said the cookies had to be frozen or eaten immediately so I told him that I'd sit down and eat them right away! He thought that so funny! It was a huge tin of David's Cookies, and I popped it into my freezer. One of the apples had caramel, nuts and tiny chocolate chips on it, but the apple was very difficult to cut apart. What a sour apple it was under all that good stuff! Don't tell him but I only ate part of it, and it was mess---chocolate chips and nuts all over the place. Hey, that might account for the ants!!!

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Posted by Kim Lahaie Day at 9:58 AM

Oh, my heart!

This is a photo taken in late summer of 2007 of Billy Powell "modeling" my beautiful red leather coat purchased in Ephesus, Turkey. Ellen, his wife, has such gorgeous shawls and coats so I went to show her my latest find. Billy felt left out of the fashion show so took a "turn" trying it on. Ellen took the photo with her cell phone and sent it to me. In his hand is a fancy walking stick, so he reminded me of Kramer when he was wearing Joseph's technicolor dream coat in "The Wig Master" episode! First, Billy had grabbed a guitar out of the display thing but Ellen made him put it back because it was too valuable to fool around with. It had signatures and such all over it, so I imagine it was quite valuable. Behind Billy on the wall you can see gold records hanging. Billy usually always wore colored glasses which he explained to me this fall, when he brought me some chocolates and caramel apples, that his eyes are sensitive since the plane crash, because he nearly lost them. That day he also played a private recital for me of classical and original music he had composed, being a trained classical pianist. Now that time spent with him is that much more special to me. And I hope it was to him, too!

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I just got back to my house after having lunch with my friend, Christine, over at Pengree's. I had made up my mind not to let the phone interrupt our time together as so often happens but when I saw Justin's name come up on the screen, I opted to answer. He is the one who told me that Billy had died last night!!! What???

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Apparently Billy called 911 reporting chest pains and shortness of breath, as Justin heard reported on the radio. Justin was distraught. He and I both think the world of Ellen, Billy's wife, and only this a.m. I had thought I should give her a call to see how she was doing. Ellen was staying at their daughter's house for a while to help out with the dogs, leaving Billy here with only one dog. I just had a visit with him last Wednesday and now this Wednesday, he has gone home, too.

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On Wednesday, Billy told me about the good time they had on the recent cruise tour Lynyrd Skynyrd took. The first time they had a cruise tour like this, he told me it the easiest money and the best, he ever earned because it was so simple to do. The downfall was that he was given one of the best cabins on the ship which offered no privacy from the other decks. So, unless they wanted to be called to, waved at, or observed from vantage points, they had to stay inside with curtains closed. I understand there are no fans like Skynyrd fans! It was the same day when he told me about this cruise that I expressed to him, apologetically, that I was not a Skynyrd fan, sorry. Billy told me not to apologize and that it was actually refreshing to have a friend who was NOT a fan, but just a good neighbor!

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This Sunday after I left the bouquet of flowers at the cemetery, I drove out past the big marker where the bodies of Lynyrd Skynyrd band members were buried in 1977. Almost daily is someone there with a piece of paper and a pencil, tracing the names and dates of the lead singer, another member and his sister, a back-up singer who were killed in the plane crash that Billy survived. Sunday was no exception, and as I got closer, could see a man at the grave, paying homage. I sort of snickered, inwardly or outwardly, that the guy was wearing a stars 'n bars T-shirt, typical of a Skynyrd fan. (Sorry if I offended anyone by pointing this out...) This group was known for their Southern rock so it was nothing unusual to see stars 'n bars all over the place.

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When Ellen met Billy he was with a Christian rock band, Vision, prior to the group having their reunion tour after the plane crash. He had expressed to me his belief and faith in the Lord and His work so I am comforted thinking of him in heaven. My heart aches for Ellen, though, and I cannot wait to talk with her. When I went to the door after getting the news, her friend, Maggie, who took water aerobics with Ellen and me, said Ellen was resting but would tell her I had stopped by. Their daughter, Maggie (not the same Maggie as above) had gone home to rest, too, and the other daughter, Ashley Rose, was flying in from San Francisco today. I only know Maggie but look forward to meeting the rest of her kids.

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A while back I wrote a posting about listening to Skynyrd music after Justin had sent me a link to a re-make of a song called "Simple Man". He felt I would like the song because it talked about the things that I admire. The song, re-done by Shinedown, tells about not being hung up on rich man's gold, to remember God above, to be content, and to be 'a simple kind of man'. Do you know what I loved about that song? I love it that Justin said it made him think of me!

My neighbor died, too, last night.................

Skynyrd Keyboardist Dies
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One of the last remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd passed away early this morning at his Orange Park home.
The band's original keyboardist Billy Powell dialed 911 shortly after midnight, complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath.
Police and Rescue found Powell in his bed room where the musician was pronounced dead.
He was 56 years old, and he was one of the band members who survived the band's 1977 plane crash that killed lead singer Ronnie Van Zant.

I started to write this the other day

Between the blog site and facebook I have had some interesting discussions regarding life, death, and the parts in between. One thing came up recently when my friend, Cindy, had a close-call with the safety of her little grandson, CJ. He had found a way out of her house and walked around toward the backyard in the direction of the pond. His escape and the danger was thwarted by a vigilant grandma and mama but it scared the daylights out of Cindy for days! This made Cindy remember Timmy's accident and the times that followed, and she stressed that his influence remains in the front of her brain and on her heart to this day.

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This brought to mind another scary story we experienced after Timmy's death in our pool. My former spouse installed a pool alarm that would make a huge noise if some one or some thing landed in the pool and caused a wake. The security people installed window and door alarms on the pool-facing openings which would make a loud signal if they were opened when they should not be. This type of accident was not going to happen again.

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Meanwhile, there was a young father at our preschool named Jeff who had a darling son named Thanos. Jeff had asked me to babysit for a weekend when he had to go out of town for a meeting and I agreed. Justin was not happy about that situation because he had already told me once, "No substitutions!". He was afraid I was bringing Thanos in to replace his brother, as though that could ever happen. I assured him I was only being helpful and instead of putting Thanos in Justin's room in the bunk bed/futon, I put him in the first floor guest room. Proper distance from Justin's room, and from Timmy's, which was still untouched.

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My former spouse was working out in the yard or something into the late evening and was still outside when the rest of us had gone to bed. He came into the house to change into his trunks, saying he was going to rinse off and cool off before coming into the house. Forgetting all about the pool alarm, he dived into the pool and the alarm fired up. I sat up like a shot and heard Justin's feet hit the floor and come flying down the stairs. He was hysterical, thinking that Thanos had gotten up and was in the pool. Thanos never stirred, thankfully. My former spouse was incredibly sorry for freaking us out, and bringing all that back to us like that. Poor Justin!

"Welcome to heaven, Rick!"

My niece wrote a little comment on a photo of Timmy's posted on my facebook page, saying she missed him but knew he was having a ball in heaven. I wrote back that Timmy and the Lord got some more company from Good Shepherd tonight as one of our members, Rick, went home. He had put up quite the battle these past couple years with the most recent illness being the one to wear him out. Pastor got the phone call during our Bible study and opted to take it, expecting to hear the news we did get about Rick. As recently as Sunday yet Pastor was able to have a devotion for Donna and Rick, through blinking and head movement could they tell he could hear the Message.

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"Good night, Rick, and welcome to heaven!"

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Love,

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Shorty

Happy Birthday, Mom!

I just tried the second time to call my mom to sing Happy Birthday but her line is tied up. Either other folks are calling to sing and wish her well or she is on the Internet reading the newspaper and hopefully my blog! She is 84 years old today, and when you are this age, it is not embarrassing to have those numbers noted.

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So, when does that happen? When are women, or people in general, not hesitant to share their ages? My blogging friend, Jami, had a real hard time facing the onset of age 40, but has since realized it is not such a big deal. In fact, she is meeting her friends in Las Vegas to celebrate this rite of passage. I like to remind her that I had a baby at age 40, so it is not so bad! When people are "back on the market" doing the whole dating scene, are they going to be straight forward? Girls wants to appear older so they do not get carded, and when they are older love the fact that they are still carded! Old guys going out certainly do not want people to know they cannot sleep through the night because of prostate troubles.

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Someone I used to know made the comment once that "age was just a number", but that might have been when no back muscle spasms have occurred for awhile. Nothing reminds one of their age like a health problem, as I mentioned about experiencing the sciatica problem which kept me homebound for a couple weeks. Oh, I hated feeling like that. Thanks to Dee and Julia for getting me fixed up with Carol, the massage therapist!

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One time when I did a huge amount of pressure washing at church, getting ready for our 25th anniversary, my hands and arms were affected by the vibration. The doctor sent me to have "shock treatments" (now it all makes perfect sense, does it not?) to determine why my hands and forearms were feeling so funky, and the tests showed I had carpel tunnel syndrome, a result of the lengthy pressure washing. It was so worth it, believe me, to have things spruced up for our big event! I got braces to wear on my wrists and had to use them whenever I used the lawn mower or blower or my beloved pressure washer. My former spouse did not like that, I think he associated the wrist band wearing with his sister who has numerous ailments. We certainly did not want to show signs of human fraility, now did we??!!??

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Surgery was not required for the carpel tunnel syndrome and although it has been years since I moved into the condo and was not able to use the pressure washer or blower, I have my wrist supports standing by for when the occasion will arise again. I sold my "old" pressure washer at the church yard sale, because it was losing its ability to perform and plan to replace it for church use once we have our garage/storage ability back again. Until then, I look sadly at the stuccoed sign in front of the church, covered in mold and mildew, and sigh that I have no pressure washer to clean that off!

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My sister, Lori, who is a few years older than me, had her first and only child at age 40. She is a real trouper, that Lori, strong like bull! But one day she told me a sad story. She knew she was getting old when David and she were trying to carry a sofa from their downstairs up to the living room and she had a terrible time trying to support her end. In her younger days, she could pick up her little hubby and carry him across the threshold, as it were, but now, it was all she could do to hold up her end of the sofa. It was a humbling experience for her to realize she was not as strong as she used to be. Perhaps if they moved furniture up and down stairs more often, she would build up her muscles!

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A p.s. to the original posting: My sister, Lynn, sends the most beautiful greeting cards, and her birthday card to me was no exception. The message was perfect for this posting today and I will include it:

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You'll always be young in spirit, no matter what the years may say, if you live life to overflowing and with joy, embrace each day! May your birthday be blessed to overflowing and may God give you the gift of a spirit still growing!

Taking a break from the newsletter

This afternoon as the time eased by, my friend, Kathy called me. It appeared she was coming back from a school board meeting and asked if she could drop by with some more surveys for the Synod Team. Since I will be at church tomorrow night for Bible study, she asked if I could just take them along. Sure! It was a welcome break to have Kathy come by and enjoy some time on the river with me. I mixed a drink for us and we discussed a few of the items on the agenda of the School Board tonight. Nothing good coming as far as the budget discussions go. Hopefully the powers that be will come to a favorable agreement regarding the teachers and the funding.

We sat and discussed many other things including music, which is particularly close to her heart as a musician and singer. Another topic was about fixing up our homes, the timing thereof of projects and the lengths of our do-it-yourself updating. It was perfect timing for this conversation as just this afternoon I was wiping things down in the kitchen and tried to wipe finger prints off the door frame around the pocket door. When Bruce replaced the trim, the painter had already left, which means the frame was never touched up. I just may try it myself, because, after all, I used to do it for a living! Why does it seem like a much bigger job now, merely touching up, than painting an entire house inside and out used to be???

Ever since Suzanne brought up this subject in her blog the other day, I have been pondering the age factor in my life, our lives. As I walked from my car this afternoon, carrying my grocery bags, and wishing Dave the Doorman was still here, I considered my age. Exactly at what point do we (I) cross over from being one of the young ones to being the same age as the ladies 20 years older than I am? Like some of those with whom I have lunch on Mondays. Would I be their age if I still had a 13-year-old to raise? I will bet not. My point of reference would be entirely different, my focus redirected, my 'freedoms' limited. Physically, if I lost some weight or grew taller, perhaps I would have increased stamina or an interest in running or riding bike, like my church friend, Jennifer, does. Bearing in mind Jen is much younger than me and has young kids at home.....

Kathy and I talked about when people, such as parents or in-laws, no longer are interested in receiving things as gifts ("I have no use for flowers") and start to purge their homes of as much as possible. For years and year now, Gretchen has been going through stuff in her home, sorting and getting rid of things, and coming up with fun pieces or articles to show us. People at her age like to say they don't need another thing in their homes, like my mother-in-law used to say when it came to gifts. I just wonder when that will happen for me, if it will. I remember my mom did not like it when I moved my rooster collection to a back bedroom here, but, for me, I was done collecting roosters, I had enough. I hope I never get tired of colored glass!

Sure, blame me!

Yesterday morning when Joanne was making breakfast, I came into the kitchen for a soda as she was putting a dish in the machine. She said, "Here! Look! If there is any doubt we have a problem....." and let the comment trail off. She was gesturing at the row of bowls in the bottom rack as well as the silverware rack being loaded with ice cream scoops. What was she getting at? What problem? Well, it seems that since she moved in here, and in spite of shopping for unusual food items at Whole Foods, she has fallen into the habit of eating ice cream with chocolate over the top---daily! In my own defense, I told her one of the bowls had held my rice from dinner the night before.........But it is my fault she is hooked on ice cream. At first I would pin her down and force the ice cream down her throat, but now she comes willingly, and even in the wee hours of the night for her fix!

*

Joanne is taking part in a weight loss contest at her office (New Year resolve and all that) and has lost several pounds already, in spite of living in what I describe as the "carbohydrate capital of the world". She knew this coming in so it was not news to her. Joanne is often "forced" to dine out with clients and her buyers' agent when they are out and about, and then comes back home to tell me what wretched meal she ordered. Never a big juicy hamburger or a plate of fried chicken---no, she orders some sort of fish prepared in a way that I would never even imagine. My face screws up when she tells me what she ordered and ate, but she loves that and I am quite happy for her!

*

Boy, this morning I woke up with a jerk, and I haven't done that in a long long time! Ha ha ha! In my early morning dream state, I was being attacked by aggressive alligators, while seeking shelter in a raised structure at the beach. What in the world??? I was not alone in this structure, Martie was with me, talking on the phone and totally oblivious to our situation. In the dream I was screaming at her to hang up and help me throw these corn cobs at the alligators so they would not attack us. It seems when I awakened, I just may have been hollaring out loud, because my mouth was so dry and my throat sore. Wow, what a weird dream! I am hungry now for corn on the cob!

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Mike and Cindy in my river room

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My friend, Cindy, called me late last night to share a scary story with me. Her recurring theme through the story and following conversation was that no matter what, Timmy was still influencing us. Her grandkids had spent the night this weekend and while in the course of getting things together, car loaded, and good-byes being said, the older toddler of the two opened the front door to her house and went outside. Only a moment passed before Cindy realized that CJ was absent and she shreiked, "Where is CJ???!!!???" Everyone hustled to locate him as the little guy had headed around the back of the house toward the pond where he usually feeds the geese with his grandpa. Cindy said they are so incredibly careful to secure the back doors and windows to prevent access to the pool area but CJ chose the front door instead! This totally freaked Cindy out but she was impressed by how coolly and calmly Tara handled CJ. Cindy was a mess the rest of the day, although nothing really happened, other than him getting away from their normally watchful eyes. It only shows how quickly things can happen, or nearly happen, but sometimes it takes a tragic accident like Timmy's to bring it all home!

I have my mad face on.....

.........because there is nothing to listen to on TV today. No football, no Law and Order, no "Music and Lyrics"! The TV listings on the computer as well as the preview channel indicated that "Music and Lyrics", a movie with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, was coming on at 3:30 p.m. A great way to spend a "down" afternoon, watching this mindless movie---except when "they" conduct an overthrow of the network and opt to rebroadcast something from Tuesday's Big Event. Ugh! I had no idea Josh Groban was one of the performers, oh, for heaven's sake. Imagine my disappointment....So, here I am back here at this machine instead of vegging out as originally planned.

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Joanne and I had something interesting going on here earlier this morning. She likes to gaze from the river room with her trusty binoculars as she is quite the bird watcher. I heard her crowing and then she came tapping at my door to announce there was something floating in the river with a dog sitting on it. I thought it looked like a bale of hay, surrounded by birds who seemed oblivious to the object with a dog floating on it! We were puzzled at what was going on and what to do about it. I suggested we call the Coast Guard about it and was going to find the number on-line but, in the meantime, she called 911. Not what I would consider a real emergency but who knows? In the meantime, Joanne spotted a person sitting up on the floating thing so then we knew it was not an abandoned dog, but perhaps, an abandoned person!

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She called back one more time to report that a human appeared to be on with the dog, or two people, as the case might be. While Joanne was on the phone the 2nd time, we saw a police boat cruising up to the floating thing. With her x-ray binocs she could keep an eye on things from my porch but not even my telephoto lens was able to pick out exactly what was going on. The police boat eventually left and the floating thing remained doing just that. It was gone by the time I returned this afternoon, and the birds with it. The dispatcher whom Joanne talked to earlier said another person had also called in the same report. We were so curious about what they were floating on, since it did not appear to be a boat or raft---certainly did look like a bail of hay to us---with a dog on it!

*

Church was sort of empty today as Pastor and his wife were at a marriage retreat sponsored by the Synod, in Orlando. People seem to think they do not need to attend when the cat is away. Pastor's kids stay with his aunt and uncle who live near there, which is quite nice for them all. Paul did the liturgy portion of the service and Michael read the sermon. All went smoothly except for a "misprint" on one hymn board, which is the one Paul read from. I could tell by the melody coming from the MIDI that it did not match the hymn Paul announced but it did the match the hymn posted on the opposite board. Those of us who caught it sang out enough to make up for those who did not. With that the only slight snag in our service, not so bad. Paul sort of ad libbed the benediction, but I liked the way it came out. After church he told me that Pete had told him once that the benediction can be the trickiest portion of the service and he regrets now blowing that off! Pete was right, but Paul muddled through just fine.

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Emily and he are planning an anniversary cruise in a week or two, so his mom and her hubby are coming down to stay with Sarah. I offered to give them a break or anything if they needed it. Paul assured me his mom and dad have been counting the minutes to come down from Saginaw to do this with Sarah. She has quite the fan club, that little one! Paul and Emily have been busy trying to get things done around the house before they arrive, like always when you have company coming!

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We had a brief meeting after church regarding the collection of information for the LES Team. The data package was due to be sent off tomorrow but I guess there are too many empty blanks yet. Ugh! (I am getting good at that "ugh" thing....). One of those at the meeting felt the need to flex a bit and bogged us down with some minutia that really has no affect on the outcome from the Synod Team. Apparently there is some discrepancy between the dates of incorporation and date of first service and the date of leaving mission status...........please! Really, it matters not, and I suggested we simply use the information found in our church's history as written for our 25th anniversary and let us move along, please! "Death by committee!"

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After church I met Brian and Kathy at Red Lobster, one of Twila's favorite places to eat. On the way in to the restaurant, I met two of our other members just leaving, with to-go boxes in tow. Brian, Kathy, and I enjoyed a great social time together as well discussing some upcoming plans for the youth group and even younger! One of the young parents from the congregation called me yesterday with a suggestion for serving the littlest ones in our membership. It is such a delight to hear that others wish to contribute in some way and stimulate interest in new avenues of serving our members!!!! Love it!!! A few years ago, I conducted a monthly group called "Moms 'n More" but it sort of faded away without developing a life of its own. It will be wonderful if a similar group is begun again, with different people at the helm!

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I told them the story about the security deposit and Brian already knew it, and knew it well from his own daughter's four moves and four lost deposits. He says it is a racket to not return the deposits but I guess the difference in our case is that we (Justin) actually had a check in hand at one point and then it was stopped. I have asked Justin to gather the paperwork from his room as well as from Grove's so we (I) do not look terribly foolish when presenting our case. It seems that college students are easy prey, or is that they cause so much damage and do not seem to care about it if the parents pay the money? I hope it is the former!

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I have given in in one small way to the 'earth' and 'green' movement quite by accident. Joanne has a guru whom she subscribes to in matters real estate and life management. Many in her office are also in this group and attend the conferences and such that go with "membership". One of the projects planned to help kick off sales and such in 2009 is to do a set number of what are called "pop-by" visits all last week. So besides the real work of listing and selling, she also had to make up some drop off bags to leave at her clients' homes, both past and future, just to remind folks that she is here to serve them. In her bag, one of which I was a recipient, was a light bulb, complete with tag line about shedding light on our real estate needs. It is one of those fluorescent curly bulbs which I installed immediately in my bedside lamp. I am now doing my share!

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That brings to mind the Publix stop Justin and I made yesterday before the opera. I waited for a few moments in my car before going in because I had a head start on Justin, which gave me a chance to people watch. Nearly every shopper that went into the store was carrying the nifty, European-looking mesh bags for their groceries. Oh, no, I am more than glad to take and use the bags already supplied by the store, thank you!

Let the day end!

Oooo, and it was an expensive one at that! I headed over to church to clean and had the presence of mind to check the schedule to make sure it was my week. As far as I could tell, it is not my week, contrary to what the service folder told me, my cleaning week is the last one of the month! Terri was on for this week, but it is really quite confusing the way it shows up on the schedule. It lists specific dates for the start and end of the week of service. For example, the February schedule has me listed to Greet "February 8 to February 14th." So, that means on the 8th, I greet. I do not know but it seems it was more clear the way it used to be written up. Others get confused, too, so it is not just me being dense. I called what I thought was Terri's cell phone number but got her dad, my friend, Gordy, instead so we had a good chat. He said that someone else told Terri they were taking care of the cleaning so I guess I am off the hook. I am just concerned that I will show up at church in the morning and find a dirty rug! I could have vacuumed anyway when I was there but it did free me up for more time with Justin!

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Justin and I met at Publix at the Town Center Mall because I needed a few things. It turned out he did, too, so my bill was a little more after he got there. He did purchase his own hair products which I found noble. Since it has warmed up some these past couple days, my plan to purchase hamburger was thwarted, as the temps were creeping up toward the mid-60s, too warm to keep in the car that long. My mother-in-law used to keep a cooler in her car just for these occasions.

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We left his car parked there and drove to Staples, a bit further down the Mall from Publix. Finally! I got my ink cartridges so I can print some more photos, both for my scrapbook and the Flock Board at church. Arno gave me money for CHRISTmas which I used to make this purchase so I will send him a photo of Justin and me to put in his room at the Home. We got only what we came in for, strangely enough, and headed to the theater from there.

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We decided to eat a light lunch at ChickFilet where I had the three piece order of fingers and he had a full entree. I ate only two of the three because I got full quickly, although they were delicious.

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While dining, I suddenly remembered to ask him the status of the security deposit due back from the other condo. He had gotten a check for the reduced amount, which had deductions for the cleaners and for touch-up painting, we thought. He deposited it in his account because it was made out to him. (In hindsight, he should have endorsed it over to me and have me deposit it instead!!!) The bank did an automatic hold on the deposit due to the amount and I guess it would take 10 days or something to make sure it cleared.

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Some time had passed and I sort of forgot about it, remembering today. Well, he told me that he has to call the bank because the check bounced. What??? A check from the real estate company bounced? Well, actually it was denied. Okay, what does that mean? Had he not checked into that? Called me? Called the realtor? Anybody??? Ugh! Kids!!

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Justin was chokin' a bit, upset now because I was upset, something he wished, advisably so, to avoid at all costs. Too late, I am upset! He said he did not have the agent's number and I "encouraged" him to look it up on his cell phone. He came up with the number and I called her office, managing to cajole the cell phone number from the receptionist. Upon reaching Cat, she said the check had been stopped because apparently the costs the owners experienced were going to consume the entire sum of the deposit. Well, isn't that nice? After the check has been issued, the place inspected by her, the agent, they can stop the check???

*

So, neither of us finished our lunches and had to head toward the movie theater to meet the Hilcheys for the opera. The parking lot was packed but we found a pretty good spot and then got in line for the tickets. The people were lined up, snaking around in two lines (might be a good idea to open another window or two!). I bought tickets for Justin and me, while he paid for their tickets so they wouldn't have to wait in line. I took mine to go in and save our seats, as we heard many folks ordering opera tickets. The line for drinks was equally as long and it took way too long for me to get our sodas. Fortunately the feed did not start right away but by the time they finally arrived and got in, it was so dark they could barely see to walk. Olivia said she was on her knees trying to find the steps to our seats. Good thing I did not go too high up!

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Afterward Sandi offered to buy us dessert and since we had to go the Mall again for Justin's car, we opted to go to the Cheesecake Factory for our treat. I had the warm apple crisp and Justin had carrot cake, which he barely made a dent in. Mine came home with me to be consumed tomorrow but he did not take his along. Justin was going to Jesse's house tonight so we parted company but not before he offered to come this week and bring "Night in the Museum" with him. I have not seen it and the next one is ready to come out. Always always I am playing catch up on these things!

Let the day begin!

Hey, where is the sun this morning???? It did not wake me like it normally does and I can barely see it peeking out behind the clouds in the buttermilk sky. Joanne left here quite early as she has an appointment with clients in Welaka first thing to write a contract on a condo in foreclosure. I mentioned them yesterday, I believe, the 50 cent on the dollar sale price. Terrible for the developer but a fantastic buy for those in the market to purchase! She got home before I did last night but did not last long in the family room before heading off to bed.

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Yesterday I attended a Tupperware Party at my friend, Kelly's, house in Fleming Island Plantation. Arriving fashionably late, I missed the consultant's demo of the microwavable dishes in which she made a chicken and then "baked" a cake. The reason I was late was I could not locate my invitation and finally had to call to find out the time. NOW!! It did not matter, I was not planning to buy more Tupperware as I have become a fan of Gladware disposable/reuseable storage dishes. Tupperware reminds me of a "Seinfeld" episode where Kramer gives a homeless man the leftover Chinese food in a Tupperware bowl and is upset the homeless won't return the bowl. "It's assumed!!!" Not having his Tupperware bowl really throws Kramer for a loop!

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While not being blown away by the plastic bowls and 36 minute chicken, I did meet and chat with some nice people, including Kelly's mom and sister. In her first life, Kelly was a beautician, and she graciously offered to do a repair on her friends' haircut before she left. Throw on the animal print plastic drape (not Tupperware) and the scissors flew, adding layers to the original haircut. She did this in a room separate from the party but where we could sit and watch. What a great friend Kelly is!

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Her family was making plans or nonplans for the evening so we made our own to go visit Twila at the hospital. The area where the hospital is located is near where Kelly used to live so she knows it like the back of her hand. I let Kelly be the 'wheel man' for our trip. When we got to the hospital and walked four miles to Twila's room, we found Jean sitting there with Twila. She had stopped up after work and was going home shortly so we took over for Jean. Twila had been feeling urpy and had indigestion much of the day but when we left, she thanked us, saying we took care of her indigestion problem with our visit. Again, just another service I offer! I wonder if they had anyone in the hospital waiting to pass a kidney stone...............

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Today will be full, at least the first part anyway, as I am going over to church to clean. Not my favorite job but necessary nonetheless. From there I am heading toward Justin's place as we are attending the opera again today at his invitation, which is at one o'clock. We are trying a different theater to avoid, possibly, having feed troubles from New York. ".....looking all New Yorkish............" Oh, Suzanne, you just break me up!

Because I am so excited about the upcoming movie........

These are the famous windmills usually shown in movies about Greece, these being the row of five that line the banks along the bay at Mykonos. It is incredibly windy up here, which is why the windmills existed at this site. Only on very special occasions do the Greeks put the sails on the arms because they are fragile and not meant to be working any longer. At this point, looking back over the village, Justin and I are heading toward the bus which will take us to the ship. He had to drag me kicking and screaming back to the bus area by prompting me with going to Santorini on our next stop.....

The blues are bluer here than anywhere else I have been and look especially so against the whitewashed buildings, this one a Greek Orthodox church.

At Little Venice in Mykonos, Justin and I sat along the wall of the outdoor dining cafe and were joyfully splashed as we ate! I got this vase of flowers to pose for me, as Justin kept saying, "Work it, work it, work it" like they do for live models! He is so funny!

Whoosh! Here comes a big wave! In my physical scrapbook I have a progression of the waves coming in, hitting the breakwater, splashing into the air and then recoiling to strike again! It is romantic to sit here, not in the "normal" sense, but in the sense of the experience.

Not exactly the ruins of Greece, this is a photo of Justin taken standing amid the ruins of Pompeii, where he was able to locate an address of a structure he studied about in Latin class. This class is what stimulated his fondness for things ancient (me included!), the art,history, mythology and such that make up the Mediterranean region.

I can barely see against the sun

This is merely a comment, not a complaint! I so enjoy sitting here in the sun with heat warming my arms and face. I do not mind getting lines around my eyes from squinting against the glare as those lines are evidence of laughter and sunshine! Guilty of both!

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The google.com blogspot was down for maintenance last night so if you had problems accessing the site or posting comments, that might be the reason why. I have not noticed any changes or improvements to the site so the work done must have been quite behind the scenes. Sometimes google will make changes to the page that opens first, and when they do change it, the reader looks at it like, "Hmm, this looks different....is it?"

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Joanne poked her nose in to declare that her phone has simply been ringing off the hook, an expression few will understand much longer as more folks go cellular vs. home phone. Her clients, present and future, are trying to kill her, she claims, but it is her own fault for being such an excellent Realtor! It is amazing how busy she is in this depressed market with both listings AND sales, and I am so glad for her! She was out of this area for nearly six months taking care of her dad and his home in Kalamazoo, came back and has picked up where she left off without missing a beat. Praise be to God for that! She even has buyers for the condos further south of here that are going into foreclosure. Those will be difficult to close due to the foreclosure red tape, but folks are getting this waterfront property for fifty cents on the dollar.....hmmmmm. She did not come home last night until well after 9:00 pm and is already off this a.m.

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Today brings concentration on preparations for the Ladies' Group Brunch, as I am in charge of publicity and for bringing Linda! I printed off labels to afix to foam hearts picked up from Michael's, so I can distribute them Sunday to the female members not normally participants in Ladies' Group. We are planning this event primarily to feel people out regarding their interest and future involvement in Ladies' Group and to stir interest that might not be there!

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Kathy B. and I had a wonderful evening together, enjoying a light dinner at TGIF before heading to the movies to see "Last Chance Harvey". It was a very nice movie with a happy ending but only a little tears. "Harvey" is played by Dustin Hoffman, a forlorn musician who instead of playing jazz piano for his living is playing jingles for advertisements. He is headed to London for his daughter's wedding and has to face the fact that he is an embarrassment to his remarried former wife and his daughter. It tugged the heart strings to see how he is either intentionally or unintentionally shunned by the others at the wedding functions, even having to stay at a hotel separate from all the others.

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Harvey struck up a friendship with a woman who was also "alone", whom he met at the airport, and they end up as a couple. Harvey has made all sorts of compromises in his life, without a whole lot of character development we don't know what all transpired, but now finds himself at a crossroad with his new friend, Kate. Kate insists that he attend his daughter's wedding reception no matter what, and she agrees to join him. At the reception, he gives a very gracious toast, not at all what the family was expecting, and yields to the daughter's step-dad. He admits that he stunk as a father and husband, and thanks the step-dad for stepping in where he failed. Harvey grew up in one weekend's time! I recommend it, especially if you like this type of movie, a "Hallmark" movie, as Olivia refers to them. No slashing took place in the making of this movie! Oh, wait, let me take that back......a side story has a Polish butcher living next door to Kate's mother....

My namesake cafe and apartments in Santorini! Justin and I found this place, which overlooks the bay, in 2004, again in 2006, and then I went back in 2007 with my new friends!

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BUT, what nearly took me out of my seat were the previews of upcoming movies!!!! Nia Vardalas, from "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding" is in a movie where she takes a job as a tour guide in Greece and is called "My Life in Ruins". I saw the windmills in Mykonos and the acropolis and parthenon in Athens, and the blue doors of Santorini....................I cannot wait! I cannot wait!!!!!

What a way to begin the day!

Man, it was soooo cold this morning, I simply hated the prospect of climbing out of bed. Sometimes we have no choice in the matter and are forced to throw off the covers, walk on the cold tile floor for a minute or two, and then head to the kitchen on more cold tile to get a soda. Back I dashed to the warm bedroom where my little heater was hard at it and had been all night long and dived under my covers. The news was pretty much a re-hash of the week's events so I opted to grab my "Grandma Speaks" book instead of watching TV.

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In reading chapter upon chapter in rapid succession, it occurred to me that the author, Pearl Rainwater, is just a pseudonym for Judy Rusert! Aha, you are so busted, Judy! While I realize it is not actually Judy's writing, it certainly could be. She recommended this book series to me, the "used" ones I mentioned in a previous posting, and I am richer for it. First 'The Shack' and now these books. Wow! The chapters consist of a number of paragraphs about the author's life and family, spaced with the appropriate Scripture passages which tie it all together. For example, Chapter 8 begins with the passage from Matt. 18: 10-14, which cautions not looking down on little ones, that their angels in heaven are always seeing the face of God....Oh yes, good stuff.

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Finally I did have to get up and dressed as it was time to leave for Bible study over at Victory. Before I left, though, Jean Nichols called to report that Twila's hip replacement was already complete and all went very well. Praise be to God! Twila was still in recovery and had not been assigned to a room yet but Jean promised to call back with a room number and phone number when she had it. I called Pastor with the news as well as a few others who would be interested. Even called Mom to let her know and she was so surprised that the whole thing was over already this a.m.! It is an hour earlier there than here, of course.

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We had a full house at Bible study as two 'snowbird' members returned to the roost. They own a restaurant outside of Milwaukee which their kids now run so the parents can enjoy retirement in "warm" Florida!!! They remember me and I them from when they came to check out Good Shepherd many years ago. (I worked in the church office at the time and had a nice long chat before Pastor came in to meet with Dick and Audrey.) It was great to see them again and join "our" Bible study!

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Before class began, Pastor filled in the attendees about Timmy's accident, then included me in the opening prayers as well as those who were having surgery or health problems. That was incredibly thoughtful and greatly appreciated. Audrey reached over and clutched my hand, again, greatly appreciated.

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I would have liked to meet Justin for lunch today but had to get back to this side of town because of a Board of Directors meeting for Art Guild at the library. It occurred to me it was Martie's day to work so I called her to meet for lunch at Pengree's before my meeting and her working. Great! Wishing they had meatloaf, I am on a kick these days!, we instead shared a patty melt and fries. Oh well, perhaps next time we will strike on meatloaf day!

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The meeting room at the library was freezing cold, certainly had to have been without heat for some time. Sonya allowed me to drape my lap with her leather coat as she had her internal furnace turned up extra high. Her heat did not help me any! I simply could not get warm and could not wait to get out of the meeting. It went quickly because the President was ill and Sonya ran it instead. Once back to my car which was warm from the sun and my heated car seats, I hustled it back up here to defrost.

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But not for long! Kathy B. called to say she had taken off of work early for a test so was available for dinner and a movie! We had talked about doing this on Sunday but tonight works just as well. I will put on socks and oxfords so my feet are warm and even take my "Bible study" blanket along to the movies. I have to get to the bank first to get some cash as I got cleaned out at the BOD meeting for a gift for our President!

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Justin was here to clean yesterday and he once more invited me to the opera! Saturday the Met Opera House in New York is broadcasting live to the area theaters the opera about Orpheus. Of course, we are going, but to his AMC instead of Orange Park because last time it took a long time for them to connect with NYC and we missed part of it. He has a gift card or two to use up so we will use those to help defray our expenses. It is still open as to whether or not we will worship at Victory Saturday night, guessing it depends if he makes plans with his friends or not. I will be satisfied with our time at the Opera....

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Last night Suzanne made me roar with laughter after choir. She was telling me a story about traveling to New York City on business and about her hotel situation. The room was small and cheezy, a twin bed and over $300 a night to stay there. She said she walked into the lobby to check in, pulling her bag behind her, wearing her jeans and sweatshirt, as usual. She started to tell me that a lady was standing there "looking all New Yorkish"....................and that is all I heard. I lost it, totally lost it, looking all New Yorkish.....so funny! Just what Justin and I love about NYC, she hates! Go figure!

My niece's posting from her blogsite, for those who couldn't find it.....

Monday, January 19, 2009

Where were you...
WARNING: Just a warning to all of you...this may be a tear jerker.

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Where were you eight years ago today?

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"Why eight years ago," you ask? It's not an easy number to remember such as 5, 10, or even 20 years. How would you remember what went on or where you were on such an odd year? Well, for me eight years ago today was a very sad emotional day. Never in my life did I think I'd feel so many different emotions.

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Eight years ago today my entire family and I were in Florida to say good-bye to a very dear loved one. It was eight years ago today that we laid to rest the one person who we didn't think would pass at such an early age. We were all at the funeral of my five-year old cousin, Timothy Charles Day. What made the whole event even more trying was that today would have been his birthday. We buried a five year old little boy. I have a five year old, and I can't even imagine what it's like. Every year it's the same sad feeling I get when I think of how awful it was the night I received the horrible call. "We lost Timmy tonight." Yes, we may have lost Timmy, but on the happy side of things, look what heaven gained! The bright eyed smiley little boy with the lowest voice I ever heard from a little fella.

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I can remember walking into the house the night we arrived in Florida. It was very hard for me to look out at the pool. I collapsed into Roger's arms and just sobbed. Then Kim said something to me that I will never forget. "Timmy's sitting on Jesus' lap, probably pulling on His beard." Yeah, he's sitting on Jesus' lap. What a perfect vision. Kim always knows just the right thing to say at just the right time. The Lord may have taken Timmy from her, but He blessed her with the gift to comfort others in times of sorrow. I feel that to be a bitter sweet blessing.

A year or so later, when Vickie and I took our girl's vacation, we stopped to visit Timmy's resting place. Vickie's mother had just passed away a few weeks prior to our trip. All of us were standing by Timmy's grave crying for different people. Kim knew just what to say then too. "Mom" passed away while sitting at the dining room table getting ready to eat a meatloaf sandwich. Kim put her arm around Vickie and said, "Your mom prayed, "Come, Lord Jesus" and this time he came." Oh how true. Vickie told me that night, "I never thought of it that way. That makes me feel better."

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Kim wrote in her blog today about people saying, "Get over it." or "You need to move on." What kind of words are these??? To me, they are a slap in the face. You never fully get over losing a loved one. They are always in your heart and memories. I remember the Friday before Timmy passed, I talked with him on the phone, and he sang to me. He sang "Who Let the Dogs Out". I used to think it was a stupid song. Now it's a treasure I'll never (get over) or forget. There are just things that you can't move on from. Yeah, it's been a whole eight years, but it's going to take forever and back to GET OVER IT. Never once has anyone said that to me, instead, only words of encouragement.

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I've had a few downer days this last week, and there are several quotes I'd like to share from people who tried to comfort me. Each quote shows that yeah, it's bitter sweet that we lost a loved one, but look where he is now...PARADISE!

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"It comforts me to know that the last 8 years have been much better for Timmy than it has for us. It's sad we didn't get to see him grow up but we will see him again. I wonder if he will be the same age or if you age in heaven?"

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"Chin up, he's in heaven smiling down. We should all be so lucky."

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Some day we will be so lucky! I'm so looking forward to being up there and seeing what it looks like sitting on Jesus' lap. Of course, I have the manners to not tug on His beard!

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Because Timmy was called home at such an early age, Kim has had the opportunity to "counsel" other families who have lost children. The Lord has blessed her with the gift to console. She went through the pain and sorrow of losing a child, but she can feel the joy of helping others to overcome their sadness in times of grief. What a blessing that is for all those she consoles. And my family and I are blessed that we have such a strong caring individual who shares her story to help others.

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We don't keep stories of Timmy to ourselves in the Ellison household. We talk about our cousin quite a bit. We want our boys to know what kind of a loving and happy child Timmy was. Gabe asks questions about him once in awhile. "Is Timmy the boy by Jesus?" "Timmy is in heaven with Jesus, right mom?" I only wish they could have met the boisterous little guy we were able to love and adore for five years. I also have the poppyseed donut in the face to remember him by! For those of you who were there you know the laugh we had.

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Good night to you all and God bless you!