It's a blessed day!!!!

The mystery of the missing shipment from Tommy is solved! When I spoke with Connie, our maintenance lady, she said that more than once packages that belong at River Oaks Condominiums were delivered here and vice verso. So, off I went to check it out. I found the garage marked "304" where there was a truck parked with its doors hanging open. Just as I got out of my car, a group of kids and parents came out to the truck. I asked if they lived in "304" and they confirmed that, so I asked if they have received a box from UPS. They did!!!! One of the sons ran back upstairs to fetch the box for me and placed it in my trunk. I was sooooo happy!!! Mystery solved---UPS delivered to the right church, wrong pew!

An emotional roller coaster

As I sit here, wiping tears from my eyes, from awe and amazement for a change, I am also chuckling about jokes and funnies sent to be me via e-mail today. The tears were from watching the Live Feed from the WELS convention wrapping up this a.m. in Saginaw, MI, after a week of battling through the numbers which make the business-work of our Synod. The delegates finally found something to vote on which will serve the Lord well, keeping MLS open another couple years while making cuts elsewhere. Cuts, cuts everywhere, the real trickle-down of this economy. I tuned in late today, forgetting about the opening devotion this a.m. but did get to hear the closing of the convention which included the men singing The Doxology a capella. Hence, the tears flowing.....

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....and while that goes on, the Space Shuttle Endeavor was landing at Kennedy Space Center which I watched live while listening to the closing words from the convention. More tears for that, in amazement and relief that these scientists/pilots are safely back from their mission to the ISS. Neal, on the radio this a.m., commented that even the ISS has to resort to remodeling and adding on in this market!! I think it was him who said it....

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I do not think I mentioned in the blog that Justin was on the radio again this week with Neal Boortz! Twice in a few months he made it past Belinda, the producer of the show to speak live, on the air, with Neal! The topic that day was about how the "death tax" was going away completely in 2010, part of Bush's tax program, but the new taxes put in by PresBO brings it back in 2011. The irreverent discussion was about how people will start dropping like flies toward the end of 2010 so the families will not have to pay the inheritance taxes---sort of, ha ha ha, "grandfathered" in! Get it? I am so funny!!!! Too bad it does not work that way. But, Justin asked the question, "Do you think that the candidates running in the midterm elections will have the testicular fortitude (my expression, thank you very much!) to add this to their platform?" Neal agreed that it would be a good plank but the entire platform should be to address ALL the confiscatory taxes in place and replace them with the Fair Tax, of course! Justin is a proponent of the Fair Tax already, so he was not surprised to hear Neal's response. Justin was pleased to get the last word this time, getting to say, "Thank you" before Neal hung up. I am proud of my boy!

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The funny that came this a.m. still has me chuckling....it concerns a famous pop singer who used to be black, became white, died, and found himself somehow in heaven. Once more he was a black person and he asked God if there was anyway he could be made white again. No sooner did he ask but a loud voice answered, "Billy Mays here with OxyClean......." Now, that is funny!

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Yesterday I again had the privilege of picking up Anna from her softball clinic, as Pastor had to be with Lynn at the hospital. There was a complication when installing the chemo therapy pump which required some more "repairs" so Lynn had to stay overnight at the hospital. Anna and I got some lunch at Burger King before I dropped her at home, while I went right back to the swimming pool. While I was down there, Justin called and talked to me awhile as he pulled weeds in the full sun of afternoon. He had done the shady areas already, leaving only sunny spots for him to work in. Justin had heard another song that he wanted me to hear, with a good message he knew I would appreciate but since I was not upstairs, could not look it up right away. I must do that this afternoon when I get back from cleaning church.

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According to Tommy J., I should have received a shipment from UPS delivered at my front doors last evening, but no such box has appeared. I sent an e-mail to my neighbors asking if perhaps a stray box showed up at their doors but so far only one replied in the negitive. The maintenence lady said she has not seen any boxes standing around the doors but wonders if perhaps it went to The Capri or other condo building on our property. Hmmm, must investigate that option also! The box contains the earthenware jug from my in-laws' house as well as two ceramic plates I bought when at a gift shop with Linda J. in Newton. I will keep all posted as to the status of this mystery!

I don't know what to think....

.....or do I think too much? While I am writing I am also listening, so perhaps no real thinking is going on at all. The WELS convention is playing in the background and I keep flipping forth and back from the live stream to this, which makes me quite woozy. Better not do that or I will need to take to my bed rather than start my day on steady legs. I feel for the men juggling with the business portion of our work as a unified church body. How difficult these decisions are, with possible long-reaching ramifications...

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Last night, during Happy Hour at The Club, the conversation ironically turned to religion. Before it got too nuts, one woman wisely suggested we not discuss matters of faith, or the lack thereof, while having adult beverages. I readily agreed with her since it all started because of me! Innocently enough, Miss Chardonnay mentioned how she heard on TV that the official age for "middle" was now 60 years old. Yikes! She went on to report that a woman's life expectancy would be upwards of 85, which caused me to shrink into my seat. My friend next to me asked why I reacted that way instead of being enthusiastic, and I told her, "Because I want to go home." My friend to the left said, "She wants to go see her son...." and I jumped in with, "Yes, and to see the other Son!" She looked puzzled and her husband answered her face with, "J.C.", to which his wife retorted, "Oh, I haven't made up my mind on all that yet." The first lady was correct, not a discussion to have while drinking wine---or Diet Coke. A fertile mission field in my own backyard, but these people have already known the Lord and now seem to be rethinking. Thinking too much, or not enough??

Convening in Saginaw

As "we" speak, the opening devotion is being held at the WELS Synod convention at Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Saginaw. While I am not hanging on every word, I am sort of paying attention to what is going on. Earlier I listened to the summation of events from the two previous days, getting to see a pastor who is good friends with Linda and Tommy, who served at FG, Pastor Otto. I sent the link to Linda in case she had not seen it yet. He looks pretty much the same as I remember him, only a tad older! Linda saw him this summer and has seen his family often, including visiting them when they served the Lord in San Diego. May God bless the difficult work of the budget committee he chairs!

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The Flock Talk is ready to go for publication at church, but I am not sure they are able to receive it via e-mail yet. Saturday was the big moving day from the portable trailers into the new building, moving only the offices and the storage at this time. Pastor announced on Sunday that the move took less than two hours to accomplish and someone I spoke with last night indicated how obvious it was that the move was quite quick. Evidently, in builder's lingo, "substantial compliance" was the working phrase to describe the move. Yes, the items were relocated but no, not put into any particular order. The very act of moving exposes unnoticed, unreachable, or untreated dirt, whether an entire household is being moved or even cleaning in your own kitchen. Move the toaster and you find a pile of crumbs. Put the coffee maker under the sink and you find water spots on the ceramic tile wall where the maker stood. Some have the gift of moving boxes, others have the gift of organization, while others yet, the gift to talk about it!

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My little peepers are sleepy this a.m. but not because I had too little rest. After I spent some time on the computer last night, I decided to just go to bed! I can barely recall watching TV, although I do remember a "Friends" episode being on when I rolled over and closed my eyes. It was just after 6:00 that I woke again, listening to an infomercial about cutting up veggies. People!!! Don't you know you can buy the vegetables already cut up at Publix???!!! Why sit there ooohhing and aahhhing about these expensive tools which seldom work the same way once in your home?

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Joanne was here overnight Monday as her favorite TV show was on, with the finale taking place. The Bachelorette, which I thought was The Bachelor all this while. I sat with her a bit while it was on but it did not hold my interest. There is the dramatic music, suspense building walks onto a platform over water in a white gown....which man will she pick? The plot inevitably thickened when a man she had initially rejected showed up to propose to her. I do not understand the entire premise of the show, except that this woman accepts applications from men to court her and she weeds them out over time. Joanne announced in the a.m. that she approved of the man the woman picked so I guess they will live happily ever after.

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Joanne reported to me Tuesday morning that her sister heard there was going to be a reality show on like the "real" show the night before, only featuring "people of size" versus the models and body builders normally shown on these dating programs. As she is telling about this new show, I was trying like heck to zipper a dress she was planning to wear that day for work. It was like trying to dress Scarlett O'Hara, putting my foot on Joanne's back to work the zipper up. Sometimes sizes are just not as true as the tag claims, although she got it on sale at Talbots which is normally true-to-size, it was not going to fly. Once zipped, she would have been hard pressed to take a deep breath, so I suggested she have someone make a skirt out of it for her, because the pattern was so gorgeous. It sure gave us a good laugh first thing in the morning, though!

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Our pastor's wife has been diagnosed with breast cancer. I am not one, really, to ask the delving questions about stages, involvement, prognosis that others are asking me about. The prayers go out as requested for quick healing, using the chemotherapy that begins this week. My limited involvement right now is being allowed to offer transportation for their daughter today after her baseball camp. Pastor thanked everyone on Sunday for the prayers, hands, and time being offered his family at this time, but then, wisely, reminded us all that we have others who are ill or away from the congregation who would also benefit from our loving hearts and hands. That was an excellent reminder, because sometimes these folks can become "out of sight, out of mind".

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Monday night I joined my neighbors on the sundeck, which was hardly that, as a wind and thunderstorm roared upon us. Mo hustled us into her home which looks like something from a magazine, and we gathered around the table in their river room. Being an end unit, they have two-way views of the river, as well as the storm, as we watched it come around us. Here, we had little rain but much wind, other areas just across the bridge on Fleming Island had a half inch of rain. In the morning Tuesday I was in the pool, busily moving along the perimeter while plucking pine needles and leaves from the drains so it would clean itself. Grabbing carefully the accumulated leavings because I have seen hairy, scary bugs in the drains in the past, I removed handsful of debris and even broken balloons from a birthday party interrupted by the storm!

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We did a modified version of water aerobics since our teacher is on vacation this week and then Maggie and I came upstairs to change clothes. We were meeting Ellen and Ashley Rose at Koko's for lunch and then going into Great Hang Ups so Maggie could see what I am always talking about. Is that a dangling participle? We talked about grammar at lunch yesterday, about how little is taught in the classrooms any longer. Maggie, a retired teacher, indicated that if it is not on the State standardized tests, FCATs, it won't be taught. The higher the school's scores total, the more money the school gets for spending. Always an apple being dangled in front of the teachers and administration, instead of participles!

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No sooner did I finish my wonderful lunch with friends than was I making plans for the next meal only a couple hours later! Judy J. offered to be my driver for our scheduled Tuesday night dinner at Aron's Pizza where we met Linda, LeAnn, Kathy B. and her friend, Robin. My fridge now boasts several foam boxes whose contents wait to be devoured. Perhaps for lunch, the Koko's, but then tonight is Happy Hour at The Club with the free appetizers. Usually that is sufficient for me, but I suspect Ellen might want to stay for dinner. I am leaving room for that option and look forward to being once more surrounded by these friends, no matter if the food is fish and stuff I do not eat. I can always have leftovers later on!

The rest of the weekend........

Justin came to worship with me at Good Shepherd yesterday which was very nice and I got to stay sitting with him the entire service since the choir was not singing. Two weeks ago I had to keep getting up and down all the time to sing. He helped me cover the altar after worship since I was on for Altar Guild and then we went to Olive Garden for lunch, with Robbie as our guest. At first he wanted to go to Clark's Fish Camp for his birthday lunch. Then, he called back to say he wanted to go see "The Proposal" after church, grabbing a drive-thru lunch....But, since I had to be somewhere at 4:00 pm which required an hour's drive time, making the movies not doable Sunday. Plan C, then, was to go have lunch at Olive Garden which suited us fine. We took the birthday bouquet from church to the cemetery together before parting company.

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It was a long car ride to Keystone Heights, as I am sure it would seem for the first time. While I drove, I kept thinking that I remember being there at Christ Lutheran for something else in recent years but my memory won't allow me to think what it was. A certain convenience store on the corner looked quite familiar, like I stopped there with my passenger to get soda and gas after the event....just can't think what it was though....A seminar of some sort rings a bell, but what??? What????

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The congregation swelled the church as Good Shepherd's group matched in number those from this membership. The Hoyers from Victory Lutheran were also part of the Installation, with Pastor Hoyer giving the sermon, we have A Can-Do God! He spoke of the long ride between GS and Christ Lutheran and how Pastor K. can use that time in prayer for both his congregations, etc. A very encouraging sermon and service. "My Suzanne" played her viola pre- and post-service which enhanced our worship. Anne Hoyer leaned over to tell me that she loves to hear Suzanne play at Victory, too, because the acoustics make the viola sound all the more majestic.

Pastors Lemke, Kuske, and Hoyer after the Installation service

What a weekend it was!

First of all, I want to wish my sister, Lori, a very happy birthday today! David, please tell her I said so, since she does not daily read my blog. She taught me how to read before I even entered kindergarten, Lori gets the credit for that, but somehow I missed the book worm gene the rest of my sister's inherited from Mom!

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Around 7:00 a.m. I heard a scraping sound outside my patio doors and sure enough, there were my two friends, sanding and scraping my porch railing for painting prep. We had been asked if we wanted them painted at our own expense and certainly I wanted my railing to match the rest of them, right? Wrong! The talk around the table at happy hour told me that not many of those there were interested in getting theirs done, would have their grandkids do it, or some other option. Yikes! Here I was being a team player and found out I am playing alone....well, probably not, but was certainly in the minority. I have long disliked the appearance of the railing and while all else would be nice and fresh, I think the railing should, too. Certainly I cannot get out there to do it and how would I even attempted to do the portions outside the non-movable doors? Let the experts do it.

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And now for the weekend recap: fun! Justin's birthday party was very nice although some usual characters were missing from the fun. The Woodruff's were unable to make it as Jimmie and Jason were trimming a house for someone and would be working all day and coming home bone tired. Brenda is nursing a wounded knee and has trouble getting around so opted to miss his party. Brenda N. had her grandkids in town from TX so she was excused. Those who did make it enjoyed the time, at least, that is what was reported to me! The photos were posted last night in case you did not see them. Thank you, Lord, for wonderful friends and nice son!

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Earlier in the day I spent time at the pool, much of it in the water with Lonnie, a lady from my water aerobics class. We had a lovely visit as we exercised together in the sun. The sloping wall in the shallow end serves me well for back stretching, I feel cat-like as I can make my body into a "C" shape by walking up that wall. Ahhhh! The guilt I had for not going to church to help with the moving of the church office and storage units was assuaged yesterday when Pastor reported that it was completed in less than two hours, with about 20 people showing up to take care of it. Mike K. told me people were scurrying about like ants! Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of able workers and our finished building!!!

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When I got home from Publix with the birthday food, I pulled up near the elevators to unload my stuff. Those trays are quite heavy so I knew it was going to be several trips to get it upstairs. Since our lobby is being redone, the mail sorting counter and furniture is gone, so I used the water fountain wall to prop my trays and the cake. Judee, one of my neighbors, was coming through to get her mail, and saw me unloading. She was gracious enough to offer to help me carry them up and I was gracious enough to accept! When she walked into my kitchen, she said, "Oh, what a happy kitchen!" Nice compliment!

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After the party was ended and the clean-up complete, Justin and I sat down to chat a bit before I allowed him to leave. He was a bit weary having had a party at his father's house Friday night, with fewer attendees than he planned, and then going to the beach with his friends Saturday. His back/butt still hurts after his fall on the ceramic tile floor at his father's house last week when Nancy was here visiting so he did not play volleyball. We talked awhile before he left and I went to bed, not quite ready for sleep regardless of the hour. I was still excited about the party and all the fun, I guess!

Justin's birthday party

These lovely ladies are enjoying a light repast in the river room. Twila, Olivia, Betty (on sofa) and Jean share the view and meal together. Martie and her little grandson, Mark, came, too, but she prefers to not have her photos published. She was there, could not miss Justin's birthday party, right?

Justin was really hoping Ellen would come so she risked life and limb driving back from the beach in a pouring rainstorm to be there! Her daughter, Ashley Rose, is standing behind Ellen in the doorway. Justin is checking something on his cell phone, of course!

Olivia offered to take a picture of Justin and me as he is opening his birthday cards. This is the better shot of us, although Sarah popped through just as Olivia clicked the photo. I cropped her out, but left a tiny blur of blonde hair in the lower left side. Ashley Rose is again in the background. Justin and I both have had our share of sunshine this season!

Due to the recession, Justin only had four candles on his birthday cake! He was able to blow them out without spitting on it while doing so! Memrie is watching him intently, with such a cute look on her face! Betty can't get over how big she is getting already, looking at 2nd grade already this fall!

Saturday on the river

Oh, it is a lovely day! The river is flat and smooth as the fishermen cast their nets for some mystery fish I have yet to see. The blue net disappears into the water and when he drags it back, he simply casts it out again without even checking it. Evidently he would see a fish if he caught one. The flat-bottomed boat sits quite still on the water, not even rocking side to side, at least not from this vantage point, as the three men fish and two women sit with their hands on their knees. I have heard that a bad day fishing is better than a good day working---it must be so! We have seen the manatees several times this past week and that is exactly where the boat is sitting---would that not be funny if their noses popped up out of the water and scared those two ladies?

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In looking back through my postings, I do not think I mentioned the news regarding the pilot kindergarten program venture at my church. There is room in the new classroom building for this class, provided the State gives a variance for the bathroom access in the hallway. We have a young mom, Laurie, who is a highly educated and experienced elementary-aged teacher with three little boys ready for kindergarten this fall. A private school in our town closed so we are getting, at no cost, furniture, fixtures, materials, etc. for setting up a kindergarten for this year. She will teach for free, plus two other children will be enrolling and paying tuition, which will supposedly cover the overhead expenses. Twila has a great-grandson also ready for kindergarten so that makes three tuitions for 2009-10.

These are three of the six that will be in the pilot kindergarten program at Good Shepherd!

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When I came home from Publix and visiting Great Hang Ups yesterday, I saw that the painters were moved down the building. I had wondered how and where they would put my Windex once they finished with the window cleaning, but there it was, on the floor, right inside my river room. Huh, it never occurred to me that someone could actually just open my third floor doors and put something on the floor, or even, come in and make themselves at home. Oh, Kim, you are too much sometimes! Never even occurred to me to lock the doors, but good thing I did not, or I might not have had my Windex back for cleaning today! The doors look okay, not perfect, but they were not perfect before they pressure washed, either!

Bribing the painters

Yes, I did it! I gave the painters a bribe this morning! Remembering these men were not necessarily English-as-a-first-language guys, I spoke the international language of Windex, rags, and cash. As long as they are hanging around my house, I am going to put them to work, right? When they pressure washed earlier this week, my sliding glass doors got really wet but not really washed. I gave them my Windex bottle and some rags, batted my eyes at them, and they agreed to wash my glass doors. Only they had a condition: I had to get fully dressed! Just teasing---I had already put on street clothes as I plan to go see my lady friends this a.m. "News flash---two house painters in Orange Park leap to their death upon sighting heavy-set woman in her swimsuit. Film at 11:00...."

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The fellows graciously accepted glasses of water from me as well as the gratuity for cleaning my sliding doors, which they said they will do when they apply the second coat of sealant/paint this afternoon. It is quite overcast today which is a delight for them, I am sure. One of them is quite fluent in the English language and assured me they would take care of it for me. I explained that I cannot access those doors and they understood my dilemma.

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Justin is getting a raise today! The minimum wage was increased today by 4 cents an hour which is killer for many employers. I hope McDonald's won't have to end their McDollar Menu offerings, or any of the others that offer discounted meals because of this. The State of Florida minimum wage is now $7.21, the equivalent of about two cups of something from Starbucks! When I would pick up Justin from school, living in The Preserve house yet, he would occasionally ask me to take him to Starbucks for a frothy drink. I would roll my eyes and heave great sighs of annoyance, and take him to get his coffee drink. My treat, of course!!!! He would explain, "It's "only" $3.51 for this big drink..." At that time I could get two large diet Cokes for that amount of money, but whatever....When he began working the jobsites with Jason Woodruff and earning his own money, it suddenly became quite clear to him how long/hard he had to work in an hour to pay for a cup of that coffee drink. Working just over a half hour, hauling trash or digging trenches for irrigation lines, to prance about with his Starbucks cup. That is true for most people, I think, that the true value or appreciation for things is not obvious until it is either taken away or paid for out of our own pockets!

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Justin is having a birthday celebration with friends his age at his father's house tonight. It is not good for my spirit to know the plans but expect there to be adult beverages and fire works involved. Tomorrow during the day he is going to the beach (yes, he goes to the beach now.....must be more fun than going with his mother!) to play volleyball and such. In the evening I am giving him a family-friendly party here with the "old" friends from work and his church family, those who have had an effect and impression when he was growing up, etc. Certainly I cannot compete with fire works and rough-housing but can offer hugs, heart-nurturing and, of course, good food to eat and good friends to spend time with when celebrating 22 years! Sunday he is coming to church with me again, and then we are going to have lunch together. Pastor Kuske is being Installed as pastor at the church in Keystone Heights so I am going there in the afternoon for the service and meal. I squeezed out time for him Saturday night and then for Sunday lunch, so he can feel that his mama sufficiently recognized and celebrated the date of his birth!

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The lady I like to use for special cakes seems to not be around anymore so I am going to have to use Publix for his cake. Not like that is a bad thing, though, because they have excellent cakes. Dena, however, makes a wonderful lemon pound cake with cheesecake layers----oh, my---to die from!!!! Justin loves it, if she does not add the coconut to it, but I struck out getting that for his party.

This is a picture of the same cake I wanted for Justin, the above being for my birthday in 2006. Mmmmmm...........Kindly note my beautiful cake plate!!

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In chatting lately with Maggie O., Ellen and her daughter, Ashley Rose, many times the conversation sways to the Food Network. All of them are fans and were relating their favorite episodes of dueling cake decorators and Italian bake-offs. "Throw downs" was an expression used on occasion when discussing the programs. Sorry, but really, I get nothing from the concept of these shows much less from watching them. As I told Judy R. once, I derive no pleasure from meal preparation and that is just the way it is! I do truly love having people around my table and will be pleased to prepare for them, but in no way make any kind of major impression, unless the accidental fire or something takes place!! When Justin went to Dena's to pick up a decorated cake for me, he was so amused that they were watching a cake decorating show on TV when he arrived!

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Well, I guess I am off to Publix to take care of a few birthday party preparations. What would we do without Publix, friends???? Also going over to see Dee and Julia for a few minutes---yeah, right!

Can you take another posting?

Last evening a group of us from The Palace attended the weekly Happy Hour event at The Club. The new room was being used for the Spanish fiesta dinner so the HH was held in the "old" barroom and part of the dining room. They offer free appetizers and supposedly half priced drinks but no one ever check to see if that is true or not. The man who attends our water aerobics was there and fell head over heels in love with Ashley Rose. She is in her 20's, and he is near 70 and a married man, so....oh well, he can dream!

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The lady I had met a month ago, Sharon, was at HH, and I was delighted to speak with her again. She is a professional photographer, does weddings, graduations, and the like, and is also music director at OP Methodist. A truly delightful lady! She told me about being on a mission trip to SC with the youth group, where they worked to build a wheelchair ramp for a child who had been injured in a car accident. Sharon was so enthusiastic about their work, even about sleeping on the floor in an old Baptist church and using porto-let showers! She is older but not old, if you know what I mean. Such fun!

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After the appetizer function, none of us had opted to partake of the overly high-priced fiesta, most of us went to sit on the "shelf" at The Palace. Ashley Rose very nicely offered to go to my car and carry my soda cases upstairs for me. I was only going to get one at a time, a "prn basis", but she hauled the whole works up for me. Such service! She then ran upstairs to Ellen's and came down with a blue glass, which I love, and ice cubes for my soda, and Ellen's. It is a cobalt glue stemmed water glass which is often admired by me, so Ellen forced me to take it home. Mo wanted to know where they came from and Ellen confessed that came on room service trays at the Ritz. When asked which Ritz, she shyly, slyly said, "All of them...." So, now I am a receiver of stolen goods and lovin' every minute of it!

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One of our members is a concrete man, no really, flesh and bones, but works in concrete. Rick took care of pouring the approach and porch for the drop-off area for the preschool, this on the west facing side of the building. This photo was taken during VBS last week.

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Late afternoon yesterday I had gotten a phone message from Mike K. to report that our new classroom building at church has passed all its final inspections and is good to go! We are done! It is finished! Bravo! Since I could not reach Mike, I called Cliff, our contractor and fellow member, to rejoice with him as well, and offer congratulations. He, too, was pleased and told me that he had a call in to my former spouse to let him know, since the permit was taken out years ago on his license. This has been a long process and now, Mike wants to get people together chop chop to move the church office and the storage building. Once the temporary trailers are emptied, they can be moved off the property and we no longer have to pay for their rent!!!! A huge cost on a monthly basis eliminated. Mike is wondering if the phones are also ready to be moved, because it won't pay to move everything over if the phones and such are not working. Word on that is pending but he asked me to be ready to make calls and contacts to get people there to help with the move. Might be kinda tight to arrange on short notice.......BUT, we are done!!!! Rejoice!

I so prefer waking under my own power

Tuesday morning I was awakened abruptly by something not explained, but I will guess the painters or other workman made a big noise that disturbed my early morning sleep. All day I was out of whack, yawning during water aerobics even though I had tried going to back to bed to try to rest my eyes before going down. Today I was awake before 7:00 a.m., under my own power and my own idea to get up. That feels much much better than waking up with a jerk............

Here is a continuation of Wednesday's pressure washing team outside my patio doors on the third floor of my building, as taken from my river room. You can see how the apparatus is right against the tree. That reminds me, Judy R., remember when that raccoon was in the tree, the night we watched the space shuttle go up, with Chrissy and the scrapbooking ladies????

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Sunday afternoon and evening was spent poolside with Miss Chardonay who very excitedly reported showing property that afternoon to a friend of mine from church. I had spoken with this lady friend before she left and had not told me she was going to see a townhouse, but she was caught up in dismay about the new liturgy (didn't like it!) and the organ being too loud (no, it wasn't!). I had said, "Oh, I think you are having a bad day", so which she agreed and then left. So when Pat told me they looked at a condo, I was so surprised. The two ladies got into a spat about which of them was my best friend, and I am happy they did not ask me to settle it!

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As Pat and I wiled away the time poolside, Ellen and her daughter, Ashley Rose, came along with the dogs and sat with us. All three pets were on leashes and are smaller dogs so it was not an egregious violation of the rules. We sat and talked for a while when Ellen reported the advice from our downstairs neighbor that perhaps to help Ellen move on, she should move...WHAT? That is out of the question! Well, what Mo meant was to another unit in the building and I said, "Okay!" Pat, as a Realtor, was able to show the available units to give an idea of the other sizes and shapes, since they are all different. What fun! I saw one upstairs that was totally gutted and rebuilt with all sort of upgrades and such, and barely used after the renovation. It was someone's second home and they seldom came to use it. It was gorgeous!!!! We saw some lovely homes, floor plans, and great ideas. Even saw my upstairs' neighbors furnished and occupied home, which is equally gorgeous. The key thing is that all those other units were empty, making them all the more appealing than one crowded full of collections and "whimsy", as Ashley Rose describes her mom's home!

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We went to Pat's and enjoyed some time on her patio, with the nice summer breeze moving through her porch. Hers goes the length of the unit which is terrific. I can look down into patio/porch from my river room. After enjoying some refreshments there, we all moved up here to my house, since Ashley Rose had never been here. Ellen wanted her to see my colored glass and my whimsy pieces, which are nothing compared to hers. Normally I do not add my room to the tour because of the condition of my desk, but made an exception for these two ladies.

*Warning!

As I was showing Ellen the needlework piece Lisa made for me, Ashley Rose was sniffling.....she caught sight of the long piece above my door to the river room with Timmy's hug in it. He had laid down and the teacher traced his arms outstretched. On it the teacher wrote: "Here's a hug from me to you. Wrap it around you when you feel blue. Love, Timmy", with the 'Timmy' being in his own penmanship. She just lost it. I told her that I loved that she loved it, and she came back with "I love that you have that!". I then showed them the photocopied version of the original hug which ReddiArts did, laminated, so I can actually wear it as a wrap whenever I want. Pass the Kleenex, please.

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By the way, Ashley Rose approved of my whimsy because it was organized whimsy, so I got a pass!

Hey, there are men outside my window!! Again!!!

I just came upstairs after several hours poolside and when I opened my door, I heard this roaring sound coming from my house. I thought, "Now what!?!", expecting to be greeted by water rushing across the floor or my A/C on the fritz. But, nope, nothing was amiss---it was coming from outside my patio doors! Just as I came through the dining room, the painter's platform was passing on the way down. Seems a hose popped off the pressure washer or something so they had to go all the way to the bottom to check it out. They got to the neighbor's railing, stood on it, and then jumped the rest of the way down. Yikes!

This man was a bit on the Asian-side, it appeared, because when I spoke to him, he did not seem to fully understand me but answered with broken English with an Asian accent. I asked him what was going on with the water, and he thought I meant the hoses, so explained to me, sort of, about pressure washing the building for painting. Guess I am not the first one to ask that question, but really what I meant was the green water in the river!

When I pointed to the water behind him, he then changed his message to there being too much fertilizer running into the river, making for a green edge along the banks. It was not there this morning so I do not know if this is true or not. I just checked on it, and it seems to be dissipating somewhat. I wonder if is perhaps from the pressure washing and its run-off but I guess it remains to be seen. It is sort of a pretty color of green, though, isn't it?

A good time was had by all!

Monday late afternoon and well into the evening, I entertained my sis-in-law, Nancy, plus her two kids, Tabitha and Uriah. Each had brought along a friend on the big trip from WI, Kim and Cody. They are not staying with me but rather at her older brother's house down the road from me on Fleming Island. That had to be quite interesting having the name "Kim" bandied about those walls during their stay! Much of their time in St. Augustine was interrupted with rainfall and the drive back this direction was in steady rain. They opted to not go swimming so I got out my Apples to Apples game for the kids to play, while Nancy and I visited in the river room. Supper was still baking so it gave us time for adult conversation!

At Winn-Dixie I bought the family-sized Stouffer's lasagna to serve my guests, plus Caesar salad and Italian bread. It was buy one, get one for the Italian bread but I was concerned we would not eat two of those long skinny loaves, but the offer was also for regular loaves. Great! I will have toast for at least a month to come! You cannot really see it but Cody (on the left) is wearing a Lynyrd Skynyrd T-shirt. At some point his traveling partners had told him about my famous neighbors but I don't think that is why he wore the shirt yesterday. Uriah (on the right) was quite a gifted writer, having been published in grade school after writing a poem about his cousin, Timmy, who had died. Now his interests are in architecture.

Here we are, all squished together into the frame, as I lean over toward Uriah, who is kneeling between his mom, Nancy, and me. Tabitha looks like she is going to burst, must have been some good lasagna! These people, even the children, made me feel like a dwarf, with Tabitha soaring already to six feet tall! Uriah is not far behind her and their mom can hold her own when it comes to height. They told me that until Justin showed up at their uncle's house, Tabitha was the tallest in the room! These poor, pasty Wisconsinites all were sporting sunburns, as runs in the family, not so much sun tan as burning right away. Uriah had attempted to put sunscreen on his mom, but as often occurs, he missed several spots, making for interesting tracks and shapes on her exposed back!

*

After our dessert of raspberry shortcake, we quickly cleared the table of dishes and food. I removed the tablecloth to the laundry room and fetched the "Catch Phrase" game from the closet. Well, I will tell you---that was an absolute hoot! The kids really got into it and poor Uriah was so enthusiastic that he was sweating bullets! I DID have the air on!!! (Get it, Mom?) We played several rounds, not keeping score, with me having the most fun watching their faces as they struggled to come up with the suitable descriptions for the word without saying it, and then passing it like a hot potato! I call it "Password and Hot Potato" because that is how it is played! Finally, Nancy said they had to get going if they wanted to get an early start for the Zoo and Kingsley Plantation today. Tomorrow her brother is taking off from work, as will his girlfriend, and they are all going tubing on a river west of here. Joanne always threatened to take me there, but the "constant water temperature of 72 degrees" is not all that appealing to me!

An "oh my goodness" moment!!!

At one point this late morning, I went into the kitchen to get a soda from the fridge, and noticed the painters on my porch. They are such nice, friendly guys so I popped my inside door open to greet them. One man asked me where I had been because he said he "had not seen my smiling face" lately. I explained that when the sun isn't shining, I will not come out to sit by the pool, so that is why they did not see me much last week. Plus, as I noted, they did not work when it was raining!

*

As I was chatting with them, the one man asked me where I was from. I asked him, "What makes you think I am not from here?" and chuckled. He said I didn't sound like it so I confessed to being from WI. Remembering I still had two bottles of water for them, I offered my "guests" a drink, which they accepted. Since they had gloves on, I loosened the caps before handing them over.

*

Stepping back inside, I started a conversation with them through the screen door, regarding the news of the day. I asked, "Did you know that today is the 40th anniversary of the first moon walk?" The one man jumped into that right away with, "I know. I wish that Michael Jackson wouldn't have gone that way....." WHAT? Michael Jackson? What does he have to do with the moon------oh, wait, not 'that' moon walk, the REAL moon, Neil Armstrong on the face of the moon, kicking up dust....It never occurred to me that these men would think I was talking about dancing!!! The one guy said, "Oh, you're talking about the real moon, not the dance floor." Yes, the real moon, reflecting the sun's light to use at night, making living where I do so much more enjoyable! Oh, my goodness, no, not Michael Jackson, no....................

A day which shall live in infamy

No, not the fact that today would have been my 35th wedding anniversary, in a different life, but rather, the first time man walked on the moon! Unless you have missed it, this is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo mission that made it to the moon in 1969. A truly momentous, historic event, I would declare unparalleled in history. It usurps D-Day, the Kennedy assassination and, even the death of Michael Jackson, simply by the impossibleness of the whole idea. I do not know if that is a real word, but it seemed to express it best for me, so totally "out of this world" as far as accomplishments go. Breaking the sound barrier, momentous. Getting into orbit, momentous. Circling the earth in a space ship, momentous. Actually walking on the moon, historic!

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There is a memorable scene in the movie "Apollo 13" which was about the failed mission to the moon where the astronauts nearly died. The mission was successful, however, as the people in Houston and on the space ship worked together to save the men. The expression, "Houston, we have a problem" is from this movie. The head astronaut, played by Tom Hanks, is sort of looking in the "rear view mirror", as they had to abort and head back toward Earth, and his face said it all. So near, and yet so far. Imagine if the moon landing was taking place in 2009 instead of 1969---Geraldo Rivera would be reporting live from the face of the moon, drawing a map in the dust with his flag staff!

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I am having company for dinner tonight, as my sis-in-law, Nancy, and her four teenagers are coming over to swim and see my home. She invited me to come along to St. Augustine with them today and while that would have been nice, I fear I would have been a hindrance instead of a joy for them. My brain is rolling, trying to think of what to serve to a large group like this---teens, two of whom are boys---who eat like thrashers, I am sure! My thoughts are to buy the family-sized lasagna from the grocery store and something interesting for dessert. I heard that one of the girls can't have blueberries but I am not much of a blueberry girl anyway.

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On the northern front, today is the day that my nephew, JR, is leaving "home" after two months on leave, and going to his training center in OK. He is amazed at how quickly two months can pass when on leave and I pray that his training time passes just as quickly. Justin and I were torn about what to get him for his graduation other than money because after being in barracks or dorms in OK, he will be based out of Germany. There will be limits as to what he can take along with him, so we opted for a cash gift. Normally I like to be a bit more imaginative, personal, and original in my gift-giving but hope he had a good time spending it while he was on leave!

*

Neal Boortz was going on and on about the spending bill monies that went out, after visiting the website run by the government, which supposedly tracks where the money went. We have a controversial "turtle tunnel" being funded by our tax dollars in South Florida. Are you serious? A turtle tunnel? And then he went off on a rant about other areas getting federal money which is supposed to make jobs, including monies going to "Manitowoc, MN, for canned pork"! This got my attention....there cannot be two Manitowoc's so he must have meant WI. Sure enough, he came back to it, Lakeside, but I was so excited sending a text message to Justin to see if he was listening that I missed what he was saying about it! While I was texting, Justin called me! He was wondering if I was listening to Neal. I do not think the Manitowoc area stations carry Neal's show on the radio but folks can listen on the Internet like I do. Justin gets it on his iPhone via a podcast. Would the men have been able to land on the moon without the development of these technologies? I doubt it seriously---think I will have some Tang!

What am I talking about?

How can I complain or rather, remark, about being weary and worn out when my friend in IL is expecting 1200 people over four days at their family VBS? I would take it all "back", if I could, but my back is giving me a fit right now. Not to put the blame on VBS, however. The blame goes to carrying up all the groceries yesterday afternoon. I am sure of that! Having a more tired back than painful is the better description, and it seems I really need to do some moving about in the weightlessness, or reduced weight anyway, in the pool at some point. Certainly that would have been a blessing late yesterday when my discs started to nag at me. I must also blame standing at the stove and cooking, and then cleaning up the mess, for the weariness of back I experienced! But, good spaghetti resulted, probably several day's worth of it!

*

For breakfast this week I have been having a piece of string cheese or curds, my form of protein, in order to stimulate my metabolism each day. Stand back, you do not want to be too close when THAT happens. How does one know, though, when the metabolism is stimulated?? I guess losing weight vs. storing it is one good way to measure. Justin, my personal trainer, ahem, ahem, suggested I have some protein first thing in the a.m. My friend and former co-worker, Karen, was a bit taller than me, incredibly thin, and would eat frozen cookie dough as an afternoon snack. Or, entire cream pie from the middle out. And stay thin! It was amazing that we stayed friends as long as we did! It wasn't her fault, it was her metabolism that kept her thin, and what kept her hubby and me so very heavy.

*

During the night I woke several times to hear rain pounding on my windows and gurgling in the drainage pipes which run from the roof to the river. I do not mind hearing that but some of the residents in my building do mind the racket. Minding it is one thing, fixing it is quite another! We are so all about not being annoyed or bothered by things in life, when, hey!, rain gutters carrying water will not do so quietly. At least not during the storm! I guess we could go back to having the water pool on the roof and then leak quietly into our homes again....

This is a picture from the Clay Today newspaper which circulates through the Florida Times-Union. Jean Nichols came up to me at church last week Sunday with this clipped out of the paper, asking me if I was writing for the paper under a different name.....How flattering, because the lady in red is much thinner than me, but nearly everyone she showed it to said it looked just like me!

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This morning The Maestro is playing the organ as we use one of our newer liturgies from the CW Supplement, Divine Service 1. When I spoke with Suzanne yesterday, I told her I wished that we could have had a run through one more time before the choir sings two portions we have not practiced in two weeks. She is quite confident that we will get it, as she will be playing the viola with us, as well. I told her to play really loudly in case we mess up! It is the exception rather than the rule that the organ is used in our worship so I am tickled to be singing with it today. Justin, when quite young yet, used to say that when he won the lottery, he was going to buy G. S. a pipe organ but the pastor told him he'd better also win someone to play it!

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Oops, time got away from me so off I go to church for Bible study and worship! I will write more later..............love to all, and enjoy your worship this morning!

The week ended!

Whew! With a closing service last night where the parents came to see what the kids learned all week, including their special song with arm and hand motions, Vacation Bible School is over for 2009! Only yesterday I mentioned that our numbers had reached nearly 40 for Thursday but last night we had fewer than that as our larger carload of kids did not come. We had two families from the community that came with vehicles packed to the rafters with kids but for some reason, did not finish up with us. But, we still did have one new child register, a cousin to children who are alumni of Precious Lambs, so that was Good News!

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One daddy who brought his little one each night sort of hung around a bit after dropping him off since "Chase" would often cry right as the door closed. He will be a part of our preschool in the fall and this was a good way to introduce the child to structure and the other kids, as well as introduce Dad to separation. He told Betty and me that this was as hard on him as it was on Chase! My heart melted, how I loved to hear that! How brave of him to admit this! Oh, for more fathers who felt this way about their children....Since they are 'newer' to our preschool family and such, it was a privilege to have them join us this week!

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My primary job is to sit at the registration table and check the children in when they arrive for VBS. One of our newer members, Betty, brought her three great-grands to VBS with the youngest of them, Krystyna, giving me a present Thursday evening. She had made a picture of a mountain with a cross on top, with flowers blooming from the cross, a butterfly and the sun in the sky. At the bottom she wrote: "Mis Kim I drew this because I thought you would like it." Talk about a special special present! She barely knows me yet so I had better live up to her expectations!

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At the closing service, Pastor thanked all the parents for sharing their children with us, and then he thanked the staff who worked so hard all week to make this happen. He said he guessed we would all go home and sleep soundly---I sure did! I did not wake up for the last time until 8:00 a.m. today, with the sun shining across me. I must have wakened earlier because I had changed the station at some point, which I can do without looking or even being conscious! My first order of business was to send the link to my blog to two folks who asked me for it last night (I am so tickled about that!) and then posted some photos of VBS.

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On Fox and Friends this a.m., besides talking about the passing of Walter Cronkite, a reporterette is in Twin Lakes, WI, at a country music festival. My aunt and family used to live in Twin Lakes and that was the first time I was ever on a boat and ever caught a fish---a blue gill! One of our members at G. S. is from Twin Lakes (not far from Lake Geneva where the Navy has a training center) and might possibly be in this area during the weekend concert. I know they are traveling so I would not be surprised that they are up in WI right now, freezing, as the reporter is! According to the weather report, they are expecting drizzle and/or rainfall, which is badly needed, today with the high temperature of 67 above zero! So, why was she wearing a sun dress?

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While at VBS last night I got a phone call from my downstairs neighbor. Since we have known to experience leaks of the liquid nature in our building, I thought I had better take the call. Tracy, mom of the pianist, reported that she was moving her bedroom from the back of their home to the front, riverside, but were being barraged by the consistent thumping of music, mostly the bass. She wanted to know if I was making big music upstairs, or if Justin was home and playing music. I assured her my home was devoid of bodies, especially the kind that play big music. My guess is that the lower level people in the end unit, home to two teenaged boys and their parents, had the surround sound music going. It is about time for them to start playing it this a.m. also, as folks come over for breakfast on Saturdays and they gather on the riverside patio to smoke and eat and listen to music. This does not bother me, but I am an early riser and do not mind the smoke and sound. Tracy is allergic to smoke so I hope they do not have to move their furniture back again!

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The shore birds are lovely this a.m., swooping and diving for their breakfast or for a bath! There appears to be a breeze going on and several boats are scooting along in the water which is glittery and flat. Speaking of flat, has anyone seen the newest thing being promoted on TV commercials, the neckline slimmers? It looks like a nebulizer on a spring which one props under the chin and then pushes up and down to slim the neck. Who is going to go first and get their chin lifted? You can do the neckline slimmer while wearing your Snuggie, right, Linda?

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My friend, Ellen, also likes to shop from the TV, ordering things from the all-shopping channel, which I cannot remember right now. I used to dread the day that Justin discovered the shop from TV stations because when he would see something on regular TV that he thought his grandma or I would like, he would write down the toll free number for us to order. At one time Justin was intent on getting his grandmother a hand-held sewing machine "so she can sew on the bus ride down here". I can just see her sewing away on the Greyhound bus, making those cute shorts and shirts outfits for the boys!