Another gorgeous sky

My niece, Alayna, meets her new cousin, Angelo, and snuggles with him on ThanksLiving Day!

What in the world was I doing awake at 5:03 a.m.? I don't have a baby, or a pet needing to be let outside and yet, there I was. The strains of the M*A*S*H theme were playing, perhaps that is what woke me up. In my dream at the moment, I was pouring someone, who may have been my former spouse, a glass of water. Aha, I must get up and go to the bathroom! Love how that works in dreams! I did serve water in real life to Joanne last night which is why I have water on the brain, so to speak.

After the fog lifted yesterday, ThanksLiving Day, it became quite steamy outside, by some standards. It was about 80 above zero and my neighbors were deep-frying a turkey in their courtyard, in shorts and a T-shirt. I walked that direction when I heard the talking and Joe asked me where I was going 'all dressed up'. His family and he were sort of surprised when I told them I had just gotten home from church. I know of two churches in my area that had services on Wednesday night instead of on the actual day. GS had decent attendance for a holiday but there are some who simply will not come because of getting their meal prepared. In my mind, having the feast later in the day (gasp!) would yet allow for worship time. But, I guess....

Upon getting home and settled at the desk, I worked on a few more things for the Ladies' Advent Service, which reminded me that I must come up with a bag of potting soil, a shovel, pot, and seeds for one of the "presents" which will be opened at the service. I might have the soil, pot, and shovel but might have to go and look for seeds. BUT, do I want to do that today? The worst (or best, depending upon how one looks at it) shopping day of the year....I wonder if the drug stores have seed packages, or is this not the season? One of my friends on Facebook, Ed from Victory, reports that even the home improvement stores are having big sales today so I would hesitate venturing there today. However, this is not something to leave to the last possible moment, either. Or did I already do that?

The expression: "I will clean your clock" often means something involving violence but in my house, it means calling the repairman to see why the grandfather clock has stopped chiming. Of the three weights that get cranked every week, only the one in the center is actually moving downward. This is something new, as the last time I wound the clock, everything was working properly. It has been a while since the fellow has been called to set the clock, and I cannot remember if he came here to start the clock for me or not. I know that he did at the lake house, and at The Preserve house. In fact, "Dick" came to start our clock at The Preserve January 13, 2001. Somehow, I remember that...

When Mike was here on Wednesday to grout the floor in the back bathroom, he was going to rinse the sponge in the 'new' sink, but there was very little water coming through the faucet. Oh, oh, now what? When the plumber, the not funny one, was here the previous Friday, he had to shut off the brand-new valve, and discovered the handle was not on properly, and told me he would change it. This made me quite nervous, of course, and when he left, told me he had re-installed the handle. Well, Mike turned the handle and it was in the open position, so there should have been water. The toilet flushes and such, so I wonder how in the world did Sherri not notice there was no water from the faucets, and where is it? My downstairs neighbors had one of their shut-off valves replaced, the second time in 4 years, on Monday so I am wondering...I will call the plumber today to schedule for next week because the last thing we need is a problem on the Friday after ThanksLiving!

Justin and I went over to The Club for our lunch, with reservations for 2:30 pm, but from the looks of it, we could easily have gone sooner. Justin's tummy was still a bit full from his brunch at The Hilltop so going earlier would not have worked for him. We were seated with Marlena as our waitress, but before we were settled in, Rosemary, our neighbor, came over to invite us to their table. After Justin and I discussed it briefly, he said he was fine with moving so Marlena made that happen for us. 

The buffet was wonderful, and I am sure many folks enjoyed the variety of sidedishes and salads offered. Being a meat and potatoes girl, I had mashed potatoes, prime rib, a broccoli cheese dish, something with spinach on top, and cranberries. Justin might have had some of the shrimp, I did not even note what he had on his plate. The turkey looked good too but I knew I would not eat both meats, nor did I have any of the smoked salmon. Danny, the cabana boy, was working the dessert table, which matched any lovely display seen on a cruise ship. From his table I took a champagne glass of creme brulee for my dessert. I had baked two pies when I got home from church so I had plenty of sweets coming my way. Oh, and Justin brought me a box of dark chocolate covered cherries, too!

We came back home after our feast and sat around in the family room. Justin was excited to show me a clip from Conan's show regarding the new pat down procedures by the TSA. He thought it was hysterical but I was not blown away by it. Might be his age....or mine!!! After the Conan clip we turned on the football game, muted, and listened to the radio show that we both enjoy, from the day before.

Joanne came by after feeding the 5000 at the Rodeway Inn down the street. Her church group served the free feast using the former dining room for this Inn which used to be bustling. No longer, but some of the rooms in the Inn are now used for homeless folks long-term, and the occasional truck driver. She told us that the old Holiday Inn, near the freeway, is going to be reused as a homeless shelter, if that is the right name for it, when it is taken over by the County. I know of an area police sergeant whose task force periodically does sweeps of the woods and other out-of-sight areas for homeless people, trying to get them to the shelters available. So often it is by choice to live that way, but the County strives to get folks the help they need, whether they want it or not. Joanne said they were told not to overdress for the serving, so as not to appear 'superior' to those partaking of the free meal. She was exhausted after standing so long behind the steam table and serving folks, it felt good for her to sit and be served her pie!

Justin left for his next feast so he did not get to see Brenda N. when she came. We ladies had a great visit and enjoyed our pie. Her son was not able to come as he was concerned about his mom having to drive him home in the dark, so she had dropped him off at his house before coming over to my place. It was a different ThanksLiving Day for me but it was just fine, you know? My family was gathered at Lisa's house in Sheboygan, first for the feast and later for the birthday celebration for Gabe, who is Jesus #1 Fan!