Sun bathing in January

First of all, thanks to all who reached out to Justin and me yesterday, and on Timmy's anniversary day, which Justin calls his "death day". That is right, one is his birthday and one his death day, the day he entered eternal bliss!

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Finally the sun has broken through, burning off the fog which concealed Mandarin the first part of the morning. It feels so good roasting my back and shoulders, even making me squint a bit as it comes around my face. My desk is piled with my CHRISTmas and holiday cards, and, yes, there IS a difference. After I record the senders in my computer for the coming season, I will sort them according to their theme, and take the CHRISTmas ones to church for recycling. Booklets using parts of the cards are made at the end of the year for distribution to the shut-in members and when we go caroling. The rest, those that will not work for re-using, will go into the trash. It saddens me because I love my cards so much but some cleaning up must be done before my party on Saturday night!

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Justin will be coming after work Friday to do the cleaning, badly needed since we took down the decorations. Lori had vacuumed on New Year's Eve but it still needed much more attention than she gave the rugs and floors. Those nacho chips are just so messy! Must add that to my shopping list for the party---chips and dips! At this writing only a fourth of those invited have replied to my invitation but today is the day the invitation asked for RSVPs. Until I know how many are coming, I am holding back on my food preparations. Much is already on hand but some will need purchasing, especially the adult beverages. Justin can help me with that tomorrow after Bible study and lunch.

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Justin and I met at the cemetery yesterday and placed a Thomas the Tank Engine balloon at Timmy's site. Some one had already placed a bouquet in the vase so the bouquet I brought was placed in a glass vase which was rolling about in my back seat, waiting to be dropped off at church. The wind wanted to blow it over but I secured it well enough to prevent that, I hope. Justin tied the balloon to the bench, as the lady applied extra length of string for me to make it easier to secure. As we stood there, we speculated what kind of boy Timmy would be today and I recollected that Pete had said, "Some kids will do anything to get out of my confirmation classes!". If I thought piano lessons were tough, I can just imagine getting the homework for confirmation completed!! I do better remembering and thinking of him as 5 and not a hard-to handle teenager! Justin figured Timmy would be interested in Pokemon or some type of game system, something his father would have had to buy for him since the mom in this household is too cheap!

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We enjoyed our lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, reminiscing about Timmy and discussing our usual politics and his TV passion of the moment. Now that "24" has started again, he is caught up in that, plus "American Idol". I know that any time now he will be sending me youtube links to listen to this singer or that artist doing an interpretation of a song he thinks I would like. He tries so hard to draw me into "Idol" but I am not a taker. Leave me with my old TV shows or hulu to entertain me if I need it. Oh, and Cash Cab is back on Discovery Channel which I really really enjoy because it takes place in NYC!

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He had to leave rather abruptly from our lunch, where, by the way, he ate the chocolate muffin with ice cream that his brother loved so much. Justin needed gas before heading back to the southside for his class and he was not sure his backpack was in the car. I gave him a pen to use for the class in case he was lacking his backpack and he would pick up a tablet at the bookstore if he had time. Parking takes the longest at school, longer than the class itself, so he needed to allow extra time for that. Hope he made it on time. I sent him a text message last night after the good news from MA broke and he replied to me but I did not continue the conversation, knowing he was deeply involved in his TV show. He told me the other day that his buddies warned him--No Talking!--during their programs. He was put out that they "shushed" him, which is a "Seinfeld" reference, of course, but he liked to say that about me at the movies! He talks more than I do, coming into that honestly, as the expression goes!

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The other day I mentioned the purple sweater that was bounced in my dryer in order to stop the lint mess. Yesterday, I was using my bathroom sink and thought, "My, this is soooo dirty in here!". When I wiped it out, the dirt was actually purple fuzzies from that same sweater which I wore on Sunday. Yikes! There are still purple tumbleweeds blowing about in my closet and bathroom, which connect. What a shame to have to clean up behind yourself after wearing a garment!

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Before meeting Justin for our time in remembrance of Timmy, Twila called, asking me what I had in mind for the day. Great! I told her about my lunch date with Justin and said I was open after that. The ladies had decided to go to the movies that afternoon, and before hearing what the movie was, I said "YES!" It was better to go do something than sit home and do nothing. Well, they were seeing "The Lovely Bones" which I had heard much about, with my friend, Jami, reading the book. When I told Justin what we were seeing, he asked, "Have you lost your mind??!!??" The movie really did get to me, but not the reasons you would think. Besides it being about a girl supposedly caught between earth and heaven, there was a great deal of soaring and swooping with the camera and images that made me more than a little motion sick. Jean, too, experienced it and I was glad to have taken a Dramanine early on to allow me to stay in the movie. Much of it was watched with my eyes closed, just like Linda watches movies!!!