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No longer on the river and, again, an empty nester. Back to living on Fleming Island and making some more friends!

Monday, January 26, 2009

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!
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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!
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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!