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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!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I forgot to mention something

Something sort of fun happened to me last night at La Nap....As I arrived, I heard a voice call to me, "Hi, friend!" but for the life of me, I could not see where Martie's voice was coming from. I headed across the parking lot, thinking that once I got up on the porch I could spot her. And I did! She was just down the lot from my car, facing the opposite direction.
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As Martie made her way to the porch, two women came walking along the sidewalk toward me, having already been "served", if you know what I mean. One had a to-go cup in her hand, claiming it was coffee, and giggling. She came up to me, threw her arms around me, and complimented my outfit up and down. She just gushed about how cute I looked with my earings matching my shirt and then my little orange shoes to tie the outfit together. And then she threw her arms around me once more before they made their way to a car. Martie and I greeted one another, as I explained to her that I had never seen that woman before in my life. Martie said she thought we must have known each other but I said I had no clue. "I'll have what she's having......."

I hope no one killed themselves overnight!

In the movie "Julie and Julia", the blogger, Julie, is having a particularly rough time of it making a recipe from Julia Child's book. As she throws herself across the bed in frustration, her husband asks her what is the worst thing that can happen if she does not write a posting to her blog? Will people take poison and kill themselves because she did not write about her failed attempt at aspic? At that point, Justin gave me the knowing nudge with his elbow because even though I do not get daily comments, people do go in search of my posting and I hear about it if I miss a day! And I missed yesterday! While I did write on the Comments page, I failed to post, making it a lost "Day....in the Life of Kim!"
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Facebook buys me some time, I will give you that, but for those who do not read and participate on Facebook, it is like I did die overnight. I am fine, however, was quite occupied yesterday (yippee!) and worked on other things besides my favorite thing of writing for the blogsite. Please excuse me!
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My day was rich with friends and other contacts, ending late with a chat with my friend, Suzanne, online, of course. Sadly, earlier this late spring/early summer, she had been laid off from her job, and after some struggles and searching, found a job in insurance. Suzanne studied like nuts, took the State exam and passed, is now an officially licensed insurance agent. But the job connected with the license stunk to high heaven and was taking a toll on her spirit. Humbly, she quit the job and continued searching. Job opportunities, some great, some not so much, dribble drabbled in and she was able to sign-on for some "contract" work at a couple places, since Suzanne is skilled in computer programs and accounting, especially in regard to TV and radio stations. Today she begins a 90-day contract job with a major investment/insurance firm doing some intense accounting work, but in the meantime, has been contacted to work full-time at a local TV station, in her field!!! We have a good and gracious God, we surely do! Now, if only Miss Betty could find something like this....
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The school kids around here are all back in session now, except for the private school students, and I am guessing that even Olivia has gone back to Knoxville without us getting a chance for a decent farewell. Thankfully we have Facebook, text messaging, e-mail, and all those marvelous communication devices to keep in touch. When we had lunch a couple weeks ago, Sandi said she was going to send me a plane ticket so I could fly up there to spend some time in the mountains. She does not need to send me a ticket, I will come on my own, perhaps before it starts to get too cold! There are so many neat shopping areas, antiques, quaint places to see and experience, plus my friend, Judy H. lives in Knoxville and I have long threatened her with a visit! We shall see, we shall see!
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My Tuesday morning was divided between Wal*Mart, Great Hang Ups and Koko's. I had called in my refill for a scrip so despite only needing to pick up one thing, I still had a cart in front of me! Oh, no!!! I did get my baby aspirin which is recommended for people my age, actually low-dose aspirin, for thinning the blood. Not a good idea for someone who is already a chilly willy! Since I was working on a mailing and ran out of envelopes, I stocked up on them as well. ( By the way, the Humane Society had provided me with address labels and I really liked having them, so I hope some other charity sends me more before the next mailing goes out!) It is really quite rare to mail stuff these days, which might account for the drop in business the Post Office is experiencing. No shortage of catalogs and magazines coming in, however, as I had quite the stack when I got the mail last night. My neighbor was there as I opened my stuffed box and she was amazed at the amount of mail I had----until I explained that I do not come every day!
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After my one-bag trip to Wal*Mart, I headed over to see the ladies at Hang Ups. Since Ellen has gone out to San Fran., I decided I would make sure her bill was paid, as I had picked the items up a couple weeks ago already. Dee had done some "repairs" to photographs Ellen had, did some miraculous things with them, in my opinion. Ellen was a little, more than a little, brittle in recent weeks, so I held off in giving her the retouched photos, for fear of causing a set-back. Now, she is away for an indefinite period of time, I did not want to leave her bill outstanding. I know she is good for it, will just wait for her to get back and we can settle it up.
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Dee also did some tinkering on a photo of Timmy for me, which had begun fading. It was a digital picture printed on a home-printer and light causes those type to fade over time. She did a remarkable job but was not satisfied with the results. The photo is the one I refer to as his "immigrant" look, the day he dressed himself for Lisa's wedding. Kerry had given the photo to me in a sunflower frame and the photo will have be re-sized to fit in the frame. Dee can do amazing things with people's pictures, even help us lose weight or remove braces from graduation photos!
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Martie and I had dinner at La Napolera on Kingsley Avenue after she was done working last night and we talked for hours! I even got to see Twila and her friend who were dining before going to their Embroidery Guild meeting. The strawberry margarita was so delicious and my taco salad was good. I only made a small dent in it but sent the remainder home for Ernie. He does not care that it looks like a dog's dinner! Alpo, anyone? It was nearly 9:00 when I got home again, and met my other neighbors at the mailbox. They were just coming back from The Club, they went without me, boo hoo hoo!
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Diane, a financial counselor whom I love, came by this a.m., and she loves my home. She referred to it as a sanctuary and a haven, and I am forced to agree! In our years of working together, we always met at her office so this was a first for her. The view from the "back" is lovely, too, and that just blew her away, looking at the river on the front and the pools with Italian cypress framing them, from the back. In a few minutes I am meeting Martie at Dairy Queen to do a hand-off of some artwork to hang in Island Realty as Martie is Art Guild chairperson for this change-out. After that, the nice computer man is coming back to take the laptop back in because the repair did not hold. I hope this will not cost me anymore money!
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This red framed piece, a watercolor, is going to hang at Island Realty. Perhaps someone will have mercy on it and buy it!

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After Wally comes for the laptop I must concentrate then on the newsletter for church, with an expectation of a submission from the preschool yet. I am ahead of schedule somewhat and rather like the feeling of breathing a bit easier. The other newsletter went out in the mail and e-mail yesterday so now the focus will be on the Flock Talk and Palace Press. Cannot get enough words, you know?