Monday coming to a close

Oh, my tummy is quite full and happy after a lovely dinner at home, yes, at home! Joanne called me around 6:00 to see if I had made any plans for supper and I told her I was defrosting a container of chili from the freezer. I had no where to be tonight. I asked her why she wanted to know and she said, "Well, I was thinking some Chinese might be good...." Say no more! I hit the STOP button on the 'wave quick as a wink and called in our order. Joanne wanted to treat me and I allowed it, with Joanne and the delivery man arriving on the porch at the same moment. He climbed the steps while she rode the elevator, and it was a tie as to who got there first!

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The sweet and sour chicken with fried rice was marvelous, a real treat since it has been ages since Justin and I had Ming Moon delivered here. My order also included cheese wontons so barely any of the meal portion was eaten, but will taste good another day. The blessing of these type of meals is that they can feed me for a couple days. Joanne complained of a sore throat this a.m., as does Christine, so Jo was here yet when I got home from Bible study and Longhorn. Another to-go box added to the fridge! She was still wearing her pj's but decided to go into work in the afternoon, as she had much going on.

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When I got home from lunch, I saw a police car parked at our lobby. My neighbor, Tommy, was walking the dog and teased me that I should not go upstairs because the cops were waiting to arrest me! And I was just telling someone at the art show how I never had to worry about my hobbies and things I do, because I would never be arrested for doing them! And now they are at my door again....Joanne said that she thought she heard police walkie talkies outside the door for some time now, so I went back to downstairs to check it out. Connie, our maintenance lady, and Tommy were talking and I asked what was going on. Hesitantly at first, Tommy said that one of the renters in the building, on my floor, was found dead in his unit. Yikes!

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Sadly, I do not know the man, could not pick him out of a line up if asked, and as Tommy said, they must not suspect foul play or we would have been interviewed already. Apparently the tenant was a psychiatrist at the hospital or some where, but I never made his acquaintance. They said he kept a low profile and so do I, which is why I never met him. Tommy made the remark that we had better move out of this place because we have lost four people from The Palace in a year's time: the builder who killed himself lived here only two weeks prior to his death; the elderly neighbor at the end of my promenade who died in September; Billy, who died in January; and now this man. It is sort of creepy when you think about it! I informed the two of them that I was ready to go when the Lord called me home, that I had oil in my lamp, and Connie assured me she was ready, too. Maybe tomorrow we will hear some more comprehensive information as to what happened with him, etc.

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Lynx seems to have some sort of malady, too, lately. She has been spewing forth some frothy whitish/green spit-up, not hairballs. Joanne wondered if perhaps Lynx was plugged up (I never would have thought of that!) so I checked her cat box for evidence. Sure 'nuff, there were no tootsie rolls in it, and her food was scarcely touched. Joanne knows of a product to help cats with their digestive problems so I am going to go spend good money on a paste for cats tomorrow! Spending money on pets---indeed!

Let me try this again.....

..........at least I can write! I began my posting yesterday with that declaration, but never expounded upon it. In speaking with folks at the art show at Great Hang Ups Sunday, some were sad that I did not enter a piece in the show this time. I told some how I entered three times and was juried in three times, so did not wish to ruin my track record. Others I told how intimidated I am with the work of others and the singing I heard on Thursday at Mozart's Requiem making me not want to sing any longer....Boy, that opened a flood gate of encouragement! What a great place for me to be when I am picking on myself! The book Michael let me borrow yesterday came along at just the right time, although I do not know if he read the blog about my plans to quit everything or not. As I told those, when they offered counsel and advice, at least I can write!

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One man, Bob, from whom I have taken classes, was most encouraging and even admitted to feeling intimidated by the art work he saw at the show. Some of the pieces were 3-D, including a dog made from parts of a garden hose nozzle, a hammer head, a big spring, and magnets. Won the first prize in that category, too! The collage pieces are quite interesting, as several collages were in this show, and many more in the show at the Thrasher-Horne. I have two months to get back over there to better enjoy the art work, as it was so mobbed on Friday night that it was difficult to take in each piece. My former spouses' attorney was there, too, so I made the tour a bit more quickly than I would have otherwise. I know, it is only business, and while she used to love me, which she declared one night at scrapbooking, I do not need that kind of love, you know? The skin crawling does not suit me!

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Last night I enjoyed some time on the sundeck with the "shelf sitters", an informal gathering of folks from the building who enjoy some wine and a light snack before going in for dinner, or out, as the case might be. There used to be an unspoken "rule" about not staying out later than 8:30 or folks would forget to eat dinner but it was going on 9:00 before we broke up. Jessica brought out brownies which make a fine dinner if you ask me!

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While I enjoyed my time with my neighbors, I was also saddened to hear that more units in the building are now for sale, as folks, for whatever reason, are trying to sell their condos. One single man has health problems and might want to move closer to his daughter. Another man, a newly wed older man, is selling because the market has clobbered him so hard. Another newly wed couple wants to start a family and fear that The Palace is not the suitable, safe environment for an infant or toddler, the railings and such are not within limits established for cribs and such. I had the same concern when first moving here that Memrie or Sarah would try to fit through the railing on my balcony, and easily could have if we had not watched like hawks! My sister has a family with little children living above her in a rented house and is constantly annoyed by the noise they make overhead. I can only imagine what sort of racket would emanate from above with Big Wheels and noisy toys being banged on the floor. Even though they are substantial floors between the units, sound still finds it way to other homes, and can be bothersome. I am sad to think about my neighbors/friends moving away, and am also concerned about what their pricing will do to those who are remaining for the time being....