The moon is barely there

But I can see it, hiding behind a thin veil of grey clouds. One lone sailboat is working its way down the river, barely visible against the trees. In my mind, it is far too dark to be out on the water like they are, but hopefully the captain knows what he or she is doing. For supper I had some of my leftover sloppy joes, the same thing I had for breakfast. The balance will have to go down the garbage disposal as it has reached the end of freshness. When I made the batch last Saturday, I froze half for another time, so when the mood for sloppy joes strikes again, the container will be within reach.

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What an incredible morning I had! Early on, I stripped the bed, an enormous task given the fact that I must first unload the books and papers, plus now a box which brought my NPH shipment Thursday. The washer was loaded with the bedclothes and I headed over to church. Ugh! I go on record as NOT being a fan of the Yard Sale, making no bones about my misery being there to help mark and sort the sale items. A good work crew arrived ahead of me, and I sort of roamed about, looking for a place to put down my one donated plaque. The church secretary came in search and rescued me, in fact, from working on the sale. Lynne asked me a favor----since she is leaving tomorrow for two weeks, could I help out in the church office? Um, talk about short notice!! Wow, well, of course I will, but certainly need some re-training on the programs and such.

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She had stuff all ready to show me, to fill in the blanks on various worship items, passwords, codes to get the messages, etc. Whew! I even have to count the stamps to make sure all are present and accounted for. I am a bit intimidated by the prospect of producing these service folders and inserts, etc. but Lynne assures me she will be available via telephone at all times. Let me do the math here----Hawaii is about 5 hours behind us so if I need help at 10:00 a.m., she promises to grab her phone at 5:00 a.m. to help me. Claims she is a light sleeper after being in the service all those years. Let us hope I do not have to have her prove it!

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As I had walked back to the church office to be re-trained, the preschool teacher nabbed me to ask a favor. It was my day for favors, my favorite day! She asked if I would have time before the preschool and kindergarten Open House to put together a booklet and/or a poster about the other "opportunities" of which the parents could avail themselves at Good Shepherd. Oh, yes, I like this idea! We already have an "Opportunities" booklet printed up but it is a couple years old. It will be useful to copy from and I look forward to doing this. Whew again!

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As I sat next to Lynne for instruction, people kept coming and going from the office. Julaine came in to fold and staple the service folders; Fausto was working on the hymn board set-up; Mike C. came in to do some work; Pastor came in to try to work in the midst of the chaos. Jackie saw my car out front so she in search of me to say "hi"; Ethel came in to tell Pastor something and chat a bit; and finally, Lonnie and Renee came in with my purse, which they reported as being emptied for the sale. Oh great! It was nice of them to bring it to me as I never expected to be gone so long or for them to finish the job of marking/sorting so quickly. I told them I will be sitting in their hot tub tomorrow night after the sale to rest my tired bones, and they said it was fired up and ready to go!

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Martie and I met for lunch at Longhorn today after she finished running errands with Ernie. We were able to sit in Patty's section where we got her usual first-class service. We would have liked to do dinner and movie night tonight but her little grandson, Mark, wants to come to his MeeMaw's house. Even if he has to go to work with her Saturday, he would rather be with her than at home all weekend. He loves his MeeMaw! I had arrived first at the restaurant and told Martie on the phone that I would get our table. Once inside, I told the hostess, who knows me from my near weekly visits, that a friend was joining me but first I had to use the restroom, having consumed a Route 44 Diet Coke, or most of it, before coming inside. When I came out, Martie was sitting there already. After our greetings, I asked how she knew which table was ours, since I left no evidence of myself at the seat. She told me that when she came in, she told the hostess she was meeting a friend, and the hostess asked her, "A lady with red spiky hair and an accent?" Martie said yes, and that is how I am identified at Longhorn. For the record, I do not have red hair!

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My friend, the classmate from high school who wrote a song about me, sent an e-mail to me this afternoon. He had a couple tragic events in his life recently and has been feeling out of sorts, "blue", as he put it. He said my letters "brightened his day" which is good to hear. He also said my letters are like having a conversation. What a nice thing to say! Thanks, Steve!

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Still no bright moon beams on the river, hiding yet behind the clouds. Time to make the bed for a good sleep on clean sheets. Life's simple pleasures......