Sunrise photos from October

These sort of make mornings worthwhile.....

October 4
October 4
October 9, Alayna's birthday and the day Hannah went home to the Lord

October 9

What happened to Wednesday?

It is like Wednesday did not happen. But it did, as I began early watching the Chilean miner rescue operation on the news where I was riveted. Such national spirit they have! Even down in their safe room the walls were decorated with flags. I am not sure if they were always there or just for the rescue effort but it was interesting to witness the patriotism they have. Then, when I looked at the time, I saw I had better get going because it was my last day in the church office and would be running the service folders once Pastor gave them the 'okay'.

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The preschool teacher had to let me in because I do not have a key for the new building. I stand at the window and hope one of the kids spots me out there, and yesterday it was Chloe who brought me to Deb's attention. She is the cousin to Sarah, my Goddaughter, and knows me. It took me awhile to check all the voice mail sites and sort the mail, and then Pastor came in to give me the okay for the service folders. Lynne had already done the Caring and Sharing portion which was kind of too bad as I had some things which could have been included. Oh well, that's fine, it is not too late to add my stuff next week. The new copier and I had not been seeing eye to eye but yesterday we were in full agreement and the copies were made. We used to print 100 of them but now are down to 75, a paper saver.

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On the way home I called Mike K. to tell him I would be there when he dropped off the flooring materials. He came alone to off load the packs of laminate which have to rest in their environment for 72 hours before being installed. He sized up the job and knows now that he will have to remove some baseboard and cove moulding in the hallway for the drywallers to work, and it appears the wallpaper will come off easily. Justin is set to come and take down the kid's artwork from the hallway and I was glad to have saved a cardboard box to stack them in. A bin would not do it, there are too many pieces!

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Mike's brother, Andy, is going to help him with the flooring and such, which is good because of his sawing skills. It will move along quickly which will please my upstairs neighbor, Jessica. She thinks she will go to her mom's or out-of-town while the work is going on so that the baby can sleep. It might be quiet enough in her bedroom for him to sleep, with the saw in the courtyard, making noise. The boards themselves snap together with little racket involved. Mike said he will take care of the painting of the walls and also the ceiling, which has some peeling paint from a previous leak. Yikes!

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As the day progressed, so did my cold symptoms, and when it came to late afternoon, I was running a temp. I had to dig around to find a thermometer and it is so hard to read, I never know which way to turn it to see the measurement. I could use a meat thermometer but that would hurt! Finally I gave in and called Suzanne to let her know that I would not be at Victory for choir rehearsal and asked her to pick up my donated dinner rolls for me. I had a dream this a.m. that she forgot the rolls and only picked up a loaf a bread. But she did pick up those tiny hot dogs served in bbq sauce. Dreams! Anyway, since I did not practice, I will not sing today although I truly wanted to. The song is a variation of "I Am Jesus' Little Lamb", one of Timmy's funeral hymns so it would have been a struggle anyway. It was best for me not to be there and infect all the choir members.

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Early evening, after a short rest, I woke up and checked for e-mails again, but did not post to my blog. The ibuprofen seemed to knock down the fever-feeling, but for some reason, my feet were hot. That hardly ever happens, unless I walk barefooted on hot pavement. Now they are cold like usual. My friend, Brenda N., called last night to check in as she had been in the Bahamas for a couple weeks, treated by her friend who has a house there. I love it for her, but they did encounter some bad weather when a hurricane rolled through. I had stopped watching the tropics, so totally missed the one that nicked the Bahamas. The worst thing was the choppy water and possible power outages but they did just fine otherwise. Just another adventure in Brendaland!

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Briefly we discussed the manhunt going on out in the Jennings Forest area on the far end of our county. Jimmie W. lives very near the search area and I talked to Brenda W. in the afternoon to make sure she was doing okay. She assured they were fine, with her parents and brother also sharing their driveway (like the Ewings!), all locked up tightly and weapons ready if the bad guy showed up at their doors. This man shot four people in his home earlier in the week, killing two of them, and wounding his parents, and has been on a rampage since. He robbed a convenience store and then tried to carjack a man taking his kids to school. Fortunately, the man also had a gun and scared the guy into the forest. The huge search continues since Monday and it surprised me that he stayed in the same area where he committed the crimes. Our conversation was cut short as Brenda W. got another call but she indicated this fellow had some mental health problems to start with. I imagine that is true! My guess is today they will catch him, using their dogs and thermal devices, having the forest surrounded by every branch of law enforcement. Ha, branch, forest, that's funny!

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On Tuesday evening I sat outside with some of my neighbors for a bit on the sundeck. At one point, Maureen asked me something about the adjuster being at my house earlier in the day but since other folks were there, I did not want to say too much. I did tell her about the drywall being damp yet and that it will be replaced. We chatted a little bit and then she said, "We think sometimes you can be a little naive..." WHAT??? Who does? Probably her husband and she, but I supposed it is because I try not see the worst in others. They are much more cynical than am I, unless I have some first-hand knowledge to make me think otherwise. Evidently they do have such knowledge about many of the folks in the building but so far, I pass muster, I guess.

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The rest of my day is going to be one of rest and drinking fluids, and taking my cold medicine. Around 1:00 pm or so I will head to Victory for the funeral service for Hannah, although I should not be helping in the kitchen or handling food at all. My friend, Ed, has been busily sprucing up the lawns and flower beds for the influx of guests today, and is deeply mourning this loss. His wife is running the kitchen portion of the day. I do hope Suzanne picked up the rolls for me and not only a loaf of bread!