Taking a break

A break? From what? Well, perhaps the scent of Soft Scrub from my hands will give it away....I began the process of cleaning for the party tomorrow night, and I do this in increments so as not to upset my back. Often I find that cleaning wears on me, so I will allow Justin the privilege of moving the chairs around when he comes to vacuum clean this afternoon. That is sometimes a back-breaker for me as my dining room chairs are quite heavy. Once the floors are cleaned, he can place the chairs in the family room so I can prepare the table for food. Later I will go get some items from the store including wine and soda, and perhaps some beer. Most are wine drinkers these days but I think I must have something for all, as a good hostess. Justin will tote it upstairs for me which saves me the job.

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This a.m. before getting in the shower, I stripped my bed and threw the sheets into the washer. The water seemed reluctant but did not do its usual spitting and sputtering which normally happens if it has been off. Huh. At least it was still coming out, right? I went to take my shower and as I stood under the lame stream, I scrubbed like mad to make sure I got done before the water quit all together. Now what? I did not even get to my hair but that's okay, mostly I wished to remove the soap from my skin. Once out, I called the maintenance guy, Hugh, to report the problem but got his answering machine. This made me hopeful that he was out there addressing the problem. I also called Tracy downstairs, as she is still the president of the BOD but she knew nothing of the situation. By the time we completed our conversation, the water pressure had returned to normal, and I restarted the washer. And I washed my hair in the kitchen sink!

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Outside my door I heard some racket and opened it to find Connie out there sweeping around the plants and such in the courtyard. This pleased me because I want it looking nice when my company arrives. She told me mine were the sole plants that survived the freeze. The only special treatment I gave them was using hot water to water them and not every day. No covers or anything, and mine lived! One pot contains plants from when Timmy died so I really wanted them to make it. Some look a bit weary but are otherwise alive.

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Again, a Jami story: just prior to her surgery, Jami had been training for a marathon, her first one. On the day of the marathon she found herself in the hospital, facing emergency surgery to remove part of her colon. The doctors are not exactly sure what happened there, whether it was from the training or if it just happened on its own. As she recovers now, she did a dramatic change of attitude, last night declaring in no uncertain terms that she was going to run a 'stinking' marathon!!! The 'stinking' is my word, not the one she used. Good for you, Jami, go get 'em!

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The party tomorrow is going to be fewer folks than I invited, as often happens, with Pastor calling this a.m. with his regrets. He had surgery earlier this week to repair a hernia and he is taking longer to feel like his old self than he expected. Sadly, his wife and he won't be able to make it to the party, and in fact, his dad is coming up from south Florida to help with the service on Sunday. What a blessing that is for us all! Having a spare pastor in your back pocket, so to speak. It is good that his dad, a former professor from the seminary, is a phone call away when needed. One can never predict how long recovery will take, as we all heal differently. My guess is he is not planning to run a marathon any time soon but does intend to see his kids' sporting events on Saturday and then turn in for the rest of the day!

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I called Hugh back a bit ago to let him know the water was okay again, and he said they were cleaning up a mess in their condo. It seems one of them dropped a bottle of chocolate wine on the kitchen tile floor and they had sticky wine and broken glass all over. Yes, they will need some water to clean that mess up! Yikes! I have a similar bottle in my fridge that I got from a wine tasting party so I think I will wander down there with my bottle to replace theirs. They are such good neighbors, and I will likely not serve it or drink it myself. Hugh can either drink it or pour it on the floor!

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Here is a PS to my posting: I just came back upstairs from Hugh's and observed there was water in the swimming pool on the far end. It has been empty and under repair since September. I guess with the horrific weather yesterday I just did not notice the refreshed and lovely blue from that end of the property. Another big news event this week was a group of men filling in the treacherous pot holes that made an obstacle course out of our driveway from the street down. We are guessing that is what caused my most recent flat tire, hitting the pot hole. This prompted the jokes from the Geico commercial and really made me laugh. K, bahy!