Yesterday, at church, Jennifer P. asked me about sitting out by the pool, when we discussed whether their pool was warm enough to swim in. She said her boys went in, and then came out to warm themselves on the pavers around the pool where the heat was stored. I told her I had not been poolside this season, except one day in March before my court hearing. She was surprised because I am tan, which I attribute to sitting here in my window with the sun beaming in on me. This does not get my legs any color at all, being under the desk, so I must consider making plans to sit poolside during the day and tan my legs soon!
*
Last night I stayed up late to write and watch TV in the family room. Joanne came in well after dark, did a bit of cooking before heading to bed because of rising early for jury duty. Normally the family room is her domain and because I had not turned on the A/C since getting home late afternoon, she was too warm to sit in there with me. I told her to turn on the air if she wanted to, which did cool it off enough for her to move out of the river room to where I was. After going to bed, I heard Jo get back up some time later, her thinking that I had gone to bed and left the lights on. But nope, I was still in there, using the laptop to communicate with the world. I doubt she got a full night's sleep, because I suspect she got up again later, since the TV channel was set this a.m. to the Weather Channel, which I swear I was not watching when I shut it off! Sometimes, the harder you try to go to sleep, the worse it is to actually do it!
*
This a.m. I did lie in bed a whole lot longer than normally would, due in part to staying up so late last night. When I woke up the last time, I heard the 'parting music' to "Monk" playing on my TV, which means it was after 8:00 a.m.! Wow, that is late for me. I got myself showered, dressed and ready for the day just in time to leave for Bible study. Kathy B. and I established that she was to be called when we finished class so she could join us for lunch. She had no school today or tomorrow because the school where she teaches is being 'sanitized' due to a student testing positive for the H1N1 flu. Yippee! A free day off! She did join us for lunch and is spending the balance of her day taking care of things around the house, making good use of her 'snow day'. Lynn K., our pastor's wife, thought she was off today too but not so. She very much looked forward to having a couple free days, as well, but it was not to be.
*
When I got home from the restaurant, carrying my to-go box with me across the parking lot, the maintenance lady, Connie, yelled to me. I must have looked startled because she apologized for making it sound scary....She asked me if my neighbor, Donna, had said anything to me about the snake. No, what snake??? Connie told me she was hosing off the promenades and courtyards on Friday, and when she got to my door, she noticed a long, grey snake intertwined in the bars on the kitchen door!!!! AAAAHHHHH! I could not believe it and have to wonder just how long it had been there, and why I didn't see it. What if I had? What would I have done about it???? Piled chairs against the inside wood door to keep it out, I guess. Connie used an extension rod to coax it to wrap around the stick and one of the young men downstairs escorted it to the island in the basin. Yikes! Here is the bad, scary part---my kitchen door, the wood one, was not quite closed tightly, which means that wicked serpent could have found its way into my house. She suggested we no longer keep the house doors open (what???) so no snakes come in. How did it get up there in the first place???? Oh, honestly!
Oh, my! Look at the delicious strawberries and chocolate sensations before us! Now this is what I call a Spring Fling! Judy C. is removing the protective covers from the dessert spread as we are ready to begin our fun afternoon. Janet called upon me to lead the prayer and I was honored to do so! On the wall above where Judy is working you can see a framed piece, The Lord's Prayer, which was a gift to us from my sister, Lori, when Timmy died. The brass plaque reads: The Big One, which is what Timmy called The Lord's Prayer.
The ladies wait for the next fashion model to come out with her up-to-date outfit on. Kathy B. is on the left in blue, behind her is Ethel, and across from Ethel is Gretchen. At the end of the table is Carol D. and her daughter, Laurie.
In the foreground here is Twila Squared, Twila's (in the yellow top) granddaughter. In pink is Donna W. and her daughter-in-law next to her, with her mom behind her, next to Twila. 
Here is Anna in her lovely "Ball Gown", all decorated in every sort of orb! Such great fun this fashion show was! It seems that Anna did not mind one bit serving as a model for the show, which makes my heart quite pleased!
These fine ladies joined us from Victory Lutheran, where I attend Bible study and occasionally worship on Saturdays with Justin. Bonnie, in the black top, is the church secretary; next to her is Nancy M., a fellow scrapbooker, and next to her is Marilyn, who is a former co-worker with Terri T., the person who helped me dish up the cake for the New Member Welcome. It was great for these two ladies to get together again, a wonderful surprise for Terri! In front of Marilyn is our party favor, a clay flower pot with decorated cup cakes stuck inside. The "flowers" are actually mini marshmallows!
This table of young ladies came to us from another end of the county, Christ Lutheran, in Keystone Heights. We will be serving as a joint ministry with this congregation as their pastor is retiring and the congregation can no longer afford a pastor. Ours will serve them with worship at 1:30 in the afternoons on Sunday three times a month, with one of our members, a former Lutheran school teacher, being Certified as a Staff Minister, to help serve both congregations. This will begin soon so it was nice to have these people come up to make our acquaintence. Some of us plan to go down there to worship on occasion, too, to lend moral and "sisterly" support to Christ Lutheran.
Here is the line up of models from the fashion show, with Janet, our hostess supreme: Far left is Janet; next is her daughter, Tamara, sporting her "14 carrot" ring (mini carrots fashioned into a ring!); Tam's friend, Jennifer who wore the turtles around her neck earlier; Lynn K. in her "evening gown", covered in stars; her daughter, Anna, in the ball gown; and Judy C. in her "sack dress"!
This is a "before" picture of the sandwich and appetizer table, before the guests devoured it. At the end were finger sandwiches and mini-quiches. All was delicious and the company amazing. We are pleased to have 60 ladies attend, some with daughters, in-laws, moms, sisters, or simply with their sisters in Christ! I borrowed a mom, Judy J., and am glad she came. She had a great time, lots of laughs and good fellowship. This will be a difficult show to follow, if it happens again next year---I suspect it will!
