Oh, I am crushed!

Here I had myself all psyched into getting out the paints, brushes and canvas this morning, and then, Chris called-----she is feeling quite achy and sore from the rainy weather plus had a bout with vertigo.....okay, I get it, she is not coming today. Rats! This also means that Martie will not be coming because Chris was going to bring her as Martie's car is in the repair shop. Rats again! Chris gets a huge pass from me, though, as she is rife with rheumatoid arthritis and is really quite the trouper. When she says she cannot do something, you had better believe her! We are going to try again for next week when hopefully the barometer will be just right for her to venture out. Some areas of town have had more than three inches of rain since it began yesterday, with chances all day long for it to continue.

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In her mid-50's now, Chris has had many operations and procedures to help her get along better, and I like to tease her that she has no original parts! Most recently her throat was operated on, making the opening larger, preventing her from choking as often when eating. RA is a sneaky illness and affects people in different ways, not every patient the same. She also had back surgery recently and foot surgery, to replace a portion of her ankle. Chris keeps on truckin' and forbids any one from feeling sorry for her. Of all the ailments and things she experiences, the ONLY regret she has in her life now is that she can no longer run......can we say as much? Martie and I often express to each other what a great inspiration Chris is for us. She would flip if she knew that! I mentioned her name once in front of Kathy B. and she knew Chris, too---actually had sung in choir with her at a Baptist church in Oakleaf or Argyle in the past. Small world!

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First thing this a.m. I checked my computer as best I could to make sure I did not have the virus we have been warned about. Suzanne sent me info from her IT people plus what I garnered from Fox and Friends this a.m. about how to detect it, who is vulnerable, and such. It seems that home computers are not as likely to be tapped, but mainly people using shared files and servers, those in business, and those who do not have regular security updates, etc. Since I was able to type http://www.symantec.com/ into my browser line and had it come up, no virus is yet in my machine. If one cannot open the above security sight, the virus is preventing it and you might have a serious problem.

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Last week I took advantage of a 50% off coupon from Coldwater Creek and ordered a few tops to use for the summer months. Just because they look nice on the catalog page or on the models, does not mean it will look nice on me! Ugh! The styles I chose seem to be quite clingy and you would think in my size of garment, clingy would not even be an option. The fabric is such that it sucked on like cling wrap is supposed to do, not one bit flattering. A couple tops worked out okay, not fabulous, but okay while the rest can be returned at the store at Town Center Mall. At least I do not have to ship them all back.

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Poor Joanne! She has the most incredible things happen to her, or around her...Sunday night she got a phone call reporting that a house she has listed near Palatka, which has a fully-executed contract written by her as well, had burned to the ground! Never before has she had this happen and how to proceed?? First order of business is to speak with her Broker and then with the Real Estate attorneys in their association.....unbelievable! The good news was that no one was living there and the sellers had much of their belongings out of it already. It seems another agent had shown the property Sunday afternoon as a back-up contract in case the first one did not work out, but when they left the house, all was well. Fire investigators have been on-site and a detective interviewed Joanne over the phone to see if they can piece things together. How this all plays out is yet to be determined but I felt so badly for her, as she had both ends of the transaction, and now basically had it snatched away by a disaster.

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It seems I neglected to mention what I got in the mail the other day----no, still waiting for my money awarded by the Court----two boxes with my name on them! Mom sent me a dozen sugar cookies from the wonderful bakery in Sheboygan, Johnston's. She did not send the frosted ones like those I get at Copp's or at Johnston's when I am down there because she was not sure the frosted ones were sugar cookies, since the sign did not specifically say so. These are so delicious, and when Joanne munched on one, she was oohhhing and aahhhing about how good they are, declaring them to be "the real deal"! That they are! I even bought milk yesterday just so I can dunk my cookies and enjoy. Thanks, Mom!!!!

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The other box, obviously book shaped, was sent to me from Linda J. A couple weeks ago she mentioned reading a book about splashes of joy that reminded her of me, so she had one sent to me!!!! I tore it open and started reading, even though the pages are dated, figuring, "hey, it's MY book!!!". Oh, it is rich with Scripture and good advice, fun stories, uplifting verses, abundant joy. Thanks, Linda!!!! Not only I am now enjoying dunking cookies, I am splashed with daily doses of Joy!!! I am no longer crushed.........it passed!

Fun and tears on a rainy day (Warning)

This afternoon went by quickly as I put the finishing touches on The Palace Press and got it sent e-mailed to my neighbors. Only one man needs it printed off as he has no computer so I did that. As it printed I went into the bathroom to put on some lipstick and fluff my hair so I could deliver my newsletter to Gus. You never know who you will encounter in the elevator or at the mailboxes, to say nothing of saying "hi!" to Gus, right?

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Just as it finished printing and I stapled it together, I heard a funny noise from the kitchen. The door? Maybe the wind pushed it open---after all, it's been storming most of the day. Then I heard footsteps in the hall and my door pushed open----Justin! Poor Lynx freaked out and flew under the bed for safety. We were not expecting him so early and I was delighted! He remarked that his stomach was bothering him so I coaxed him to sit in the recliner while I went downstairs to give Gus his newsletter. As I went outside, he came right behind me, remembering he had something for me in his car, so we went down together.

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I wasted my lipstick because Gus was not home and no one besides Justin was in the lobby. He brought me a gizmo for my laptop to help with reception for in the family room, the wireless connection I use. My mailbox was empty yet, nuts!, so upstairs we went. Mom would be so proud of me, checking the mail now every day as I await my money awarded by the Court. Still nothing. Nuts! To make me feel better, Justin told me he ordered some flowers for me and they will arrive next Thursday. Guess the suspense was killing him, because he blabbed!

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When we got back up here, he made himself comfortable in the family room where he had the TV set up to watch "Seinfeld". He is a convert! His choice used to be "Frasier" but he began watching a segment here and there at his place and is now hooked! Justin's biggest problem with the show is Kramer, who he thinks is just the worst possible neighbor or friend you could have. Today we saw "The Roaster", one of my favorites, and the one where Kramer finds himself cooking for a Jewish singles group but does not know what he is doing. I warned Justin that I have them pretty well memorized and laugh ahead of time, but he is used to that anyway. When it was done, we watched the outtakes portion of the DVD where Jerry is trying to talk to Kramer who has taken up smoking and made himself look even more hideous. I just roar and hoot in that episode, and now, so does Justin! He made the remark, "These are the ones you are always talking about!". Yeah, that's right!!! That was good, I really needed the laughs today...

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After we were done watching, and he was contacted a couple times via cell phone, we went into the back bedroom to dig around in "the closet". The V-PK at Victory is looking for certain types of toys and there just happens to be some Legos in the plastic bins in "the closet". Justin pulled several bins out to sort through and gather the Legos together, and I did really well with that, as Lisa's boys only last summer played with many of these same toys. A cardboard box a bit deeper in, however, I did not fare as well. I pulled out a large plastic bag, unsure what was in it. I set it on the floor and then continued pulling stuff out. An ark! A yukky ark! It looked like melted candy or something all over it and sort of moldy looking to boot. We both went "ewww!" and I put it aside to wash.

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Justin's giant checker set from Cracker Barrel was in the box as well as the board from his Jumanji game. He said he had recently thought about the game because the movie was on TV not long ago. He had me put it back into the box, with the large plastic, noisy vacuum cleaner his brother loved so much. I was struggling to get stuff back into the box in tight quarters and Justin said, "Let me do it." I stepped out and he put his arms around me, saying, "I think you need this" as he saw the silent tears rolling down my face.

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He wrestled the toys and such back into the box, but we forgot the bag. Cautiously he peeked inside, determining these were the birthday presents I had bought for Timmy but never got to give him. There was a V-Tech carry along computer to help him learn to read. A pair of Dragon Ballz slippers, with what Justin described as cool toes. A Scooby Doo towel, wash cloth and soap dispenser that was shaped into Scooby Doo. Oh, man! At first I had him put the bag away but then stopped, thinking the VPK at Victory could use the computer thing, or maybe I should give it to Manny for his birthday at the end of the month.

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Wow! This was huge for me!! Why not give the whole works to Manny, a special special birthday present for a sweet little guy!? Not really hand-me-downs because they have never been played with, still with tags or in the boxes. Justin said there is a Dragon Ballz movie coming out soon so the slippers will be perfect. He wondered, though, if we should get Gabe a matching pair.....don't know if I am up for that or not................