What happened after the pedicure?

Once my home was empty, around 4:30 p.m., I got dressed and fixed my face for the evening outing. Justin sent me an IM during the pedicure and I happened to come into my room for something and saw it. He asked me to call him when I got close to the Mall so he could meet me there and we could chat before the Hilchey's arrived. Cool!

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I had less than an hour of down time between activities so I sat in the family room to watch the news. Earlier I had turned on the TV for Memrie and discovered the recently crashed airliner in the river in NYC. Praise be to God for sparing the lives of all these people! As the events unfolded, it was evident that nothing besides the grace of God and the skill of the crew on the plane saved those folks. It was amazing and fascinating to watch, the first three or four hours anyway.

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Before long I had to throw off my Packer blanket and head out into the elements to meet Justin at Mimi's Cafe at the Town Center Mall. Twice in one day I made the trip over there! Olivia heads back to college on the 31st and we wanted to make sure we got together once more before they leave. Her mom goes with her to college, and has ever since Olivia moved to TN. Justin and I sat in the bar area to wait for our group, who called to say they were running just a bit behind schedule, having to come all the way from Middleburg to the Mall. That is a hike, believe me! The reason I wanted to sit on the high chairs in the bar was because the cold air blew on us when we sat in the regular waiting area and being up a bit higher kept the wind off our legs. Even Justin had the chills but wore a short sleeved polo, so he deserved it!

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We were given complimentary soft drinks while we waited and the bar tender, Jason, stood and talked with us a bit, comparing notes on cold weather. If we have nothing else in this world to talk about, there is always the weather! Our friends arrived without much delay and we were seated immediately. Owen and I each ordered the meat loaf and mashed potatoes, of which I brought half home. We also shared an order of fried dill pickles. Sneaky Sandy grabbed the bill before we had a chance, even after I told the waiter that Justin and I were to be billed together. She is so good at that, grabbing the bill. Owen said it was for my birthday, so we accept! I'd gotten a bag of grapefruit from Pastor Hoyer's tree and offered them to Hilchey's. First I took out two for Joanne to eat and gave the rest to Owen. I got to see my big red car again last night, too, as Olivia drives it now. It's still beautiful!

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While sitting in the restaurant, Lisa sent me a text message asking me to send her a photo of Timmy. I told her I would when I got home, but it was so late by the time I got into the house again that I opted to send some this a.m. instead. Joanne was still up when I got home from Mimi's so I sat in with the family room with her for a bit before heading to bed. I just longed to get under my covers and warm up! She was watching some of the coverage of the plane crash, and we just marveled at the Lord's hand over those people.

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Without much delay, I found myself asleep, snug and warm in my bed. Suddenly I was jarred awake by loud talking in my house and realized Joanne was on the phone with somebody having an intense conversation. My eyes told me it was still night time as the sun wasn't peeking over the edge of the sky yet, so I decided to go see what was happening. Since her dad is in an assisted-living facility on Fleming Island, I wondered if perhaps there had been an incident or something. At 3:00 a.m.! I flipped on the light in the hallway, partly to help me find my way and partly to let her know I was coming. She was in the family room on the phone, and I asked her if everything was okay. She said she was okay so I simply turned and came back to my room. Joanne has complications in her family all the time and this must have been one of those events.

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I anticipated having troubles falling back to sleep but somehow I managed to sleep until nearly 8:00 a.m.! Must have needed the rest or it wouldn't have happened! Fortunately I woke up just in time because I was in the throes of a horrible dream where my friend, Cindy's hubby, was trying to help me account for my expenditures as I prepared to face my former spouse concerning our finances. I can spend money on decorations for church and let the paint chip on the walls in my house, thank you very much! Dreams!, I tell you what!