Working backwards

Tuesday in Manty was a lovely day, with high temps in the 80’s, windy and even a crash of thunder to startle us at one point. Lynn did not hang her wash out today as it was predicted to be a stormy one but that really did not materialize. In fact, her wash would have been dried in no time at all in the wonderful breezes. Oh well….instead, we went to have breakfast at Warren’s Restaurant, although one of us actually had breakfast!

From there we went to Hartmann’s Garden Center where Mom found some flowers to plant in her window box and I found a lovely glass candle holder on sale in the gift shop. And made a friend, who enjoyed looking at the pretties as much as I did! We also made a trip to Wal*Mart to get a few things but we were warned of a pending storm complete with hail so hurried through the store to avoid being pelted. That never did happen so we rushed for no reason. After dropping off Lynn at her home again, Mom and I came back and wrestled our purchases up to her apartment. Whew! Who knew “Bonanza” was such a fun show to watch in the middle of the day?

Since I had trouble going to sleep last night, it felt good to take a short nap before having dinner at The Green Street with Lynn, Jill, and Danny. Perch! At long last, I had my perch, and no bones caught in my throat, either. Oh, so good! Mom was tired so opted to stay home but I brought her a piece of poppyseed torte and a perch filet to enjoy at home.

Earlier at Wal*Mart, I got a bottle of Tylenol PM to take for sleeping, normally breaking one in half at bedtime. That might have been my problem last night, as I had not brought any along for this trip. Tonight will certainly be a good sleep!

Monday morning some of us met for coffee at Manitowoc Coffee before heading out to the curb to watch the Memorial Day parade. What a delight it was to see the patriotic parade, soldiers and sailors and even Civil War re-enactors march along ‘main street’. (I took many photos but have not a way to unload them here, will have to wait until I am at home or perhaps on Jill’s computer, if she has a place to insert my photo card in her printer. That would be awesome!) Lisa and her family joined Mom, Lynn, and me to wave and put our hands on our hearts when the flag came by. At one point, when packing up, I realized my purse was not with me, and I rushed back into the coffee shop building to see if it was in there. Sure enough, one of the shop owners had just discovered it hanging on a chair and asked me, “Are you looking for this?” I hugged and kissed her and wished her God’s blessings for saving me losing my purse. Love love love this small town culture!!!

In the afternoon, Alayna and I attended a graduation party at church while the rest of the family went to Lisa’s house in Sheboygan for a cook-out. Naomi’s party was a true delight and I enjoyed chatting with some ladies there, some of whom are life-long acquaintances and one, a Facebook friend! We stayed about an hour or so and then headed to Lisa’s, arriving in time to eat again. They had a bonfire going in the backyard which was most welcome as it was NOT in the 80’s for Memorial Day! Lisa made apple and cherry ‘pies’ on her bonfire using a camping tool called Camp Chef, with simple slices of bread and pie filling. Yummy! Angelo, was, of course, adorable as all get out, laughing at himself in the mirror on his bouncing seat. Love it!

When we got back to the apartment, I watched a couple episodes of “House” before Mom and I watched the reunion show of M*A*S*H last night before going to bed, and, as mentioned, I had troubles going to sleep.

Sunday was graduation in the afternoon at MLHS and I got to see so many people that I knew. Family members and extended family from the in-law side of the family, folks I knew from FG days, and met Lisa’s pastor from where the boys attend school. She introduced me as the “auntie who writes the thank you notes” for the tuition help her family got for the boys’ education. I began to thank him some more and got choked up, explaining, “I cry easily…” and he said, “It must run in the family!” which made us laugh! She is just like me in that respect. His wife will be the boys’ teacher this next semester, both in the same classroom for 2011-12.

It was a quiet evening on Sunday, as we were tired from our full day of worship, fellowship, and then more fellowship around a large table at “Fork and Knife” restaurant with the family and Tom and Linda. The waitress did a fine job taking care of all of us, with Lori and David leaving right from there for home. Lisa and family were there, too, as they stayed overnight at the hotel where Lori was, enjoying the pool in the evening after Danny’s party, which was on Saturday. A nice weekend all in all for them.

As I mentioned, I have tons of photos to share but they will have to wait until I can unload them somewhere. We were in the news paper, my family was, either at MLHS graduation or at the parade. Celebs all!

A Memorial of my own!

I made it! I am here! Against the odds, I eventually arrived in WI later Friday evening than my itinerary indicated I would. Justin came to my house on Friday morning, telling me that he would come not long after he woke up that a.m., as he told me on Thursday, “I don’t want you to have any stress…” Somehow, that did not work out once I left Jacksonville. After my tearful farewell to him at the airport, I navigated without incident through security, going through the “put your arms over your head and make moose ears” screening device, which was more of a test of following simple directions than anything else. I did not mind being called “young lady” one little bit.

The flight to Atlanta was swift and without incident, and I made my way to the next gate with time to spare, allowing for a Chik Fil A sandwich and even some Aunt Annie’s cinnamon pretzel sticks. We boarded our flight to MKE, I was on track to have Lori and David collect me there on their way to Manitowoc. All seated, buckled in, and then the announcement came: “This is your Captain. When we landed we had one of the three generators not operating, which is fine, but now that the tail generator was disconnected, we see that we lost a 2nd generator. Who is optimistic with me that the mechanics can repair it in 20 minutes like they think?” I did not offer my support on this. Glad I didn’t because the repair they attempted failed and I had not charged my phone in the airport as I should have, leaving me with limited battery power. I borrowed a phone from the young lady next to me (we eventually because quite familiar as you will hear) and called Mom to let her know, asking her to call Lori and let them know.

Well, we had to get off the plane again and were told to wait in the gate area for further information, except those who had to make connections. They were sent down the hall to rebook. Immediately I located an outlet and charged my phone, sending text messages to Lori about the situation. The pilot stayed with us the entire ordeal, herding us from gate to gate before we found a plane that could leave once it landed. Three times we changed gates, and three times we boarded the planes, en masse. I felt most badly for the service people trying to get home to see their families on leave, and others on the plane had tickets for the Brewers’ game that night. Instead of arriving in MKE at 4:00 pm as planned, my plane landed around 7:45. And my heroes, Lori and David, found stuff to do instead of ditching me in MKE! My family and I were planning a dinner at Charcoal Grille that night but cancelled that as well. It was so wonderful to get upstairs to Mom’s and situated. For my inconvenience, I was given a $100 travel voucher from Delta…We’ll see if that is all I get, once I pursue this a bit further.

Saturday morning a group of my family went to have coffee (soda) at Manitowoc Coffee downtown where I saw some people I knew from the old days. Former neighbors and fellow builders who were host parents for one of the foreign exchange students graduating from Lutheran High Sunday. Nice! In the building where the coffee shop was housed were also a couple gift shops where Lori bought a purse. The man running the shop, I discovered, was a former classmate of mine, actually a year older than me, had a crush on me 100 years ago, as was indicated in my yearbook. (Proof!!!) He did not recognize me but I knew him. Lori got the MLHS alumni discount when buying a purse from his shop!

Kerry, Lori, and I went to run some errands for the graduation party to be held that afternoon for my nephew, Danny, and found a stand selling brats. Oh my! And do I love Festival Foods grocery store, too! The brat was delicious, would have to hold me over until I get my first perch sandwich, which was to have been Friday night!!!!!

More later, time for the Memorial Day Parade downtown! Thank you, service members, active and retired, for your service, and thanks to those whom we are remembering today!

The clock is ticking....

Here it is, 5:30 pm, and I still have not packed for my trip. I wish I had a midsized piece of luggage to use rather than my giant-sized suitcase but oh, well. Even though it is cold up there, by compare to FL, I am not taking my big, fluffy sweaters along, leaving more room for packing. It would stink to pack in too small a piece and then have to struggle in getting stuff home again. Sometimes it happens that items come home with me, but am not sure if much shopping will take place or if it’s needed. Shopping can be just plain fun too!

Right now the sliding doors are open as are the exterior doors. When I left for Bible study this a.m., I turned on the A/C to run until I returned in order for me to open the kitchen door. Justin was warned about this in case he comes over when I am away, although the humidity might be lower with the doors closed. He suggested over lunch that the door could be sanded down or adjusted in some way to prevent that from happening. We shall see about that…

Mmmm….somebody’s grille smells good! Not sure where it is coming from but it sure smells awesome. Hopefully the weather will improve enough in WI for us to have at least one fry-out at Mom’s. At least the church picnic will provide such burgers and brats, and the home-baked pies and cakes and bars! Starting right away tomorrow night, there are plans at some point in the day, except for Wednesday. Thursday Lynn, Linda and I are having lunch at Harborside before Linda and I get our nails done across the street. Wish I had not hacked away at my toes but certainly the professionals can repair the damage. Hope they don’t call me a ‘butcher’ like happened to me once with Cindy Sholes!! “You, butcha, you”, “you come back, every two week…” from the nice Asian woman.

Sunday night I saw Butch, the repairman, at the house concert. One of my former customers was there, too, and she was asking me about my house, if things were all put back together and such. Another lady standing nearby asked what happened, and Butch told her the whole long story. Later I apologized to him for having to repeat our sad lament but he said it was fine. He sort of likes to tell the story, a very animated little guy. We can look each other directly in the eye, that is how short he is! Now, it seems, he will have to talk to me some more as the insurance company for the folks below me wish to discuss my policies and such. That will need to wait until I am back home in FL, but I have forwarded the information to my insurer. Certainly they have the ‘power’ to address these issues, likely being no stranger to subrogation, the legal term for this action. In answer to Merry’s question, yes, I love my house! Especially when it’s not leaking on me, or me on anyone else!

Remember, folks, that Mom is on dial-up service in Manty so my blog posting might be less than daily. Perhaps you need a break from me anyway. See you when I get to Manty!

The count down continues....

....to departure time! Judy C. was here tonight so we could make our flight arrangements for our shared ride north to the national Worship Conference in MN. She did not wish to wait to do this when I got back so we had planned to meet after choir rehearsal. I hated to do that to her since she has to get up so early in the morning to babysit but that's all we could work out. Then, at 6:30 pm, Robbie, The Maestro, called to tell me choir was cancelled because so many were not available to rehearse. Great! Immediately I called Judy and she came over to plan the trip. We had tried using her computer to register for the Conference but it would not allow us to connect or something a few months ago so opted to do the travel arranging from here instead.

My trip and hers are ending quite differently as I come home again in August from WI. At least we are flying up together, and as far as I know, we might even sit together. The website, Travelocity, would not allow me to process my trip, kept telling me to try again later, so I did Judy's instead, with no problems. After entering ALL that information multiple times for my reservation and not being able to complete the transaction, I switched over to Orbitz.com and made the reservation! Ta da! Without having the reservations side by side (hers was e-mailed to her home e-mail instead of to me), I had to make the seat selections. If we do not end up together, perhaps people will trade with us so we can!

There was a Board Meeting for the condo but I missed that, knowing I likely would anyway with choir and this meeting with Judy. Hopefully I can wrap up The Palace Press when in WI, using Jill's computer. If I do not get the official Minutes in time, then Ellen can give me the low-lights of the meeting. Most of the newsletter is ready, just waiting to fill in some blanks.

Earlier in the day, I met my two lady friends, Betty and Robin C., for lunch at Longhorn on the Island. The place was simply crawling with police, actually from the Sheriff's department, in support of Special Olympics. I was escorted to the table by a young man in a motorized chair, and handed my menu by him as well. Others 'working' were special needs kids in conjunction with the CCSO and staff. It was great to spend time with the two ladies again and get caught up on their news and situations. Betty has a possibility for a job and I am so hoping she gets an interview for it. She fears she might lose her home and then what? It was the home built by her father somewhat from a kit, she lived there with her mom, and now, she owns it. She and the bank, that is. My heart hurts for her situation. Betty is also taking three classes during the summer semester, good for her!

When I got back home after lunch, I got ready for the pool. Only a few folks were out there, more on the kid's end of the pool area. The lifeguard had turned on the music so it was nice when I was doing my 'laps'. My upstairs neighbor's cousins, regular visitors, were down there and it was great to chat with them. They come from PA several times a year and are so nice. They are a married couple, official "kissing cousins" of Donna's, one from each side of her family! How about that???? They were leaving this evening to fly back into PA and I hope the weather allows for safe flights.

When the sun went behind a tree, I opted to come back in and get things organized before my trip. I folded and put away some laundry, got items ready for the luggage including my long-johns, as it's quite cold up north these days! I can hardly wait to stand along Eighth Street for the Memorial Day parade...yikes! My family is freezing and when Judy was here, she closed the sliding glass doors because I had the shivers. We were sitting in the breeze in the river room. "You should not have to shiver in your own home!", she said. Once the other doors were closed, however, the breeze was not moving through the house and it is fine for sleeping. At least I think so!

Tuesday night at Trivia, our little team of 4 people, went from 1st place at halftime, to not even ranking in the second half. We came away as LOSERS, somehow. Some of the answers were easy to get, including the 'free' answer provided on their website, but others, as always, kick our butts! While I am gone we are taking a break and as Jesse suggested, we need to study the Oscars, rock music, and sports. No small order there...since the questions are sometimes quite obscure information. There is trivia and then there is 'what?????'

Today I stink!

And not from sunscreen like the other day. No, because I have made poor use of my time today, neglecting to post in the a.m. as originally planned. With so much to say, I should not delay another moment.

As I sit here typing, my toenails are visible which means I should have found time to get to Middleburg for a pedicure. Otherwise I will simply have to get them done in WI. Remind me to take them along! Last year I decided not to have them polished during the summer because the pool is hard on my toes, wrecking the polish in no time at all. Not even wearing the annoying water shoes prevents this so I might do the same thing this season. Since I normally do not sport sandals, it matters not if they look like bratwurst with ketchup, when I go out. At the pool, my bare feet look just fine with undecorated toes!

Perhaps I do not stink so badly after all, thinking back to what I did accomplish today. The mail has been taken care of, being held for me until my return; had a nice lunch with my Justin at Koko's; spent a bit of time with the ladies at Great Hang Ups; started working on The Palace Press newsletter which hopefully I can finish in Manty on my sister's computer; did a load of wash in preparation for packing; paid some bills on-line; thought about which books to take with me; talked on the phone with two Judys; drank two bottles of water since getting home from lunch; wrote two cards to shut-ins and got them ready to mail...that's enough! Opted to not take time for the pool and such since the lunch came up rather abruptly. The way I like it! Also, am making plans to meet two friends tomorrow so we can have lunch and say "good-bye" for a couple weeks. Whew!

It is a gorgeous day, weather-wise, but my sis-in-law, Mona, told me the temperature in Manty was in the 50's today. Yikes! Going to need the long pants and warmer shirts. Mom has a jacket I can borrow that used to belong to me, so won't need to take one with me. Mona told me that Sharon is doing better, responding well to the antibiotics, sitting up to eat, and laughing. Great news!

Last night the sleep was good, although I did wake up once or twice, able to fall back to sleep. There was a dream this a.m. but right now, I cannot recall it. My eyes are rested but somehow, I feel like a nap would be welcome at this moment...huh. That reminds me---I must grab my "driving down the road" glasses from the car, in case I do some night driving in Manty. And my car charger for the phone as well. Mental notes going on here...excuse me a moment...there!

Let me see now, what happened since the weekend? Did I mention being at the pool both Saturday and Sunday? Both visits allowed me to have a hot dog from the cabana, with a strawberry margarita one time, and a pina colada the next day. Many of the regulars were around, some enjoying the water, others enjoying the cabana being open. Sunday, the staff was experimenting with some treats and made me a tiny glass of a shake, which was ice cream sandwiches mixed with some milk and ice. Oh my, what a refreshing treat it was! Randy W. had come out to take the water's temperature, declaring it to be 86 above zero but my thinking is he measured too close to the shallow water where it's always warmer. In other words, the water was too cold for my tastes, but I hung in there, so bravely!

Saturday, my friends, Fran and Rick, met me poolside, and it was great to catch up in person instead of via Facebook. Rick is a pharmacist, enjoying a week of vacation, culminating at the pool. He told me I did not have to take the Mobic (my bad knee medicine), instead taking over-the-counter Aleve or store-brand equivalent. This would prevent my needing to go back to the doctor for a check-up at six months to check my kidneys. Nice! He suggested taking the Aleve in the a.m. so it lasts all day, instead of the evening as I am doing now. Despite me making a face about that, I can try to remember to do that. It has to be taken with food which is a problem in the a.m. since I am not much of a breakfast eater. Eating in bed is no problem, when I normally take it, but in the morning is nearly a deal breaker! Rick is a confirmed Kindle user and spoke highly of its value. Good to know!

Sunday after my time in the pool, I joined some of my other neighbors on the 5th floor at Michelle's house for a concert. Kort McCumber, a St. Johns grad and now professional musician, is traveling with his musical partner, James, who is from Superior, WI. They played only the bouzouki and acoustic guitar, with Kort's sister, Beth, joining on several numbers with her violin. The music is mainly folk-style, original pieces, incorporating local sites in many of the tunes. Not sure if everyone around the US enjoys hearing the charms of Clay County or Middleburg, or Jacksonville, but we sure did! It ended tearfully, as the entire group raised a cup of champagne in salute of Michelle and her daughter, Maya, as they are moving out. Michelle is being divorced after nearly 25 years of marriage, her spouse's company buying their condo at an extremely discounted amount, so the two ladies are moving to the Beaches area before relocating overseas in the fall. Maya will be attending college in London for a semester, a student of voice, while her mom returns to her family home in France. She is keeping the place at the beach as their 'headquarters' in the US. It was quite sad, as you might imagine, as her friends and neighbors wished them well. Kort performed her favorite song, Marjory, as his closing number, and there was hardly a dry eye on the veranda....

Sunday before pool time but immediately after church, MamMa and Jeff came upstairs so she could try out my potty. She is quite petite but has troubles getting up again in her bathroom, so I thought my raised height toilets would be ideal. Only, it is exactly what she has now! Either Tracy did not realize that, or she thought mine be higher than theirs. Jeff thinks they might go to the health aid store to see about getting an attachment for the seat, but I fear that may too high for MamMa. Oh well, she took mine for a test drive anyway!

Monday was Bible study and then lunch, when I said more tearful 'good-byes' to the ladies. Gretchen gave me a couple hugs to-go, for Lynn and Mom, and I took an extra long one for myself, getting a bit choked up. I love her so much! Jackie was jealous her hug was not as long so I gave her another one to hold her over. Wednesday night I will say 'farewell' to the choir members and then that should be it until Thursday when I say 'bye' to the Victory Bible study folks. Nothing matches saying 'good-bye' to my boy, though, which we will do at the airport on Friday. His father offered to take him along to WI in June, as he and his lady friend are coming up for one or both of the graduations, but Justin refused. He does NOT want to travel more than a day at a time, and that's it! Unless it's on a cruise or something....hmmmmm.

Listening to the breezes

What a gorgeous evening it is! The breeze off the river is a delight, not too hot outside right now, after being near 95 most of the day. It felt great to be in the pool and alongside today, in fact, my shoulders are aware that I spent the past three afternoons in the water. When I hang on the edge of the pool and do my bicycles, my shoulders support me, as best they can. Thank heaven for buoyancy!

My eyes are like pokers tonight so this posting might not be lengthy but I can make up for it in the morning. It seems as though being in the sun so long this afternoon made my eyes tired, even though often they were closed. Maybe those wrap around sunglasses were not a bad idea! Also, I had dinner this evening with Terri T. where we each had a blue drink at Blu Tavern. It is new, where a bbq or two used to be on Wells Road. I loved it there, lots of blue accents and decorating, sort of like the Blu Grotto looked like on Fleming Island. I hope this place does better than Grotto did.

Interesting news from the weekend, aside from the horrendous destruction from the weather, from the getting-crowded political field. Wow, this is getting exciting! Who's next to enter the fray? The tornado news from MO is awful but also areas in and around Minneapolis and even Oshkosh, where my sister, Kerry, lives had serious storms. If it isn't flooding, it's tornadoes...and people worry about us living in Florida with hurricanes. At least we get a bit of a head's up that it is coming!

I will check back tomorrow with more words, as my fingers are lazy tonight! Hugs!

A smile on my heart!

Angelo with his brothers and Mama were outside today, enjoying a lovely day, at long last. The two older boys and Lisa were reading together and Angelo just looked around and amused himself. I hope the weather is decent when I am up there!

Living a life of compromise

Once in a while I wax profound and yesterday was one of those days! Earlier in the day I was in the kitchen, yes, you read that correctly, making my escalloped potatoes with ham. Tracy, who lives downstairs, was calling from the road, asking if I was ‘a lady who lunches’ or not today. Since I was pretty quick at getting my dinner made, I was in! She mentioned that MamMa and she were going lift chair shopping.

I asked how the getting settled part was coming along, since MamMa moved in downstairs. A couple weeks ago there was a struggle in more than one way getting Willie Mae and her stuff into one room. It seems to have settled down some but now were adding another piece of furniture to her already tight quarters. MamMa is greatly attached to some of her furniture but it is not really safe to have her room more tightly packed than Rooms to Go! Tracy has a hard time being firm with MamMa but as an outsider, it is easy for me to say that something has to go. I told Tracy, who is a licensed therapist, it is all about ‘living a life of compromise’…Tracy said she really liked that and was going to write it down for future use. I am flattered!

And it is true! All the time we make a compromise, not necessarily the ones thrust upon us but some we make just to get along in life. Are we really so attached to an idea or something tangible that we become unyielding? I do not get upset when the palm trees are trimmed on our property, yet others are out taking pictures of the “butchered landscape”. Excuse me, really? Would you prefer to have dead branches and hardened fruit crashing through the glass than have them trimmed? Before summer is out, or hurricane season is over, the growth will have returned to its pre-trimming splendor. We compromise, or sacrifice, the branches on the trees for our safety and well-being.

If we are uncompromising and insist on having 11 pieces of furniture in a 16 x 16 room, and we are 90 years old with a walker, something has got to give! At some point one must surrender or compromise. Especially when it comes to downsizing, as I have done plenty of that in the past eight years. Wow, has it been eight years already? No, actually it has been a bit longer than that but for publishing purposes, yes, downsizing I did! Some of the things I really really liked, I kept. Other things were easier to let go of for spaces’ sake or for my own sanity. And for purposes of decorating in my own style. Mission accomplished, I’d say!

The ladies came last night for Dinner and a Movie, watching “The King’s Speech”, with Martie and Betty seeing it for the first time. When the King is forced to make his first wartime radio address, his coach was right there with him, helping him along. In the background played a song by Beethoven which I know better as one sung by Sarah Brightman. A haunting melody which truly enhanced the drama of the speech as well as the King’s ability to deliver it. Oh, rats! I gave away the ending!

My escalloped potatoes and ham were well-received, with Martie and Twila going back for seconds. Twila reported that the creamed corn is her favorite which I was glad to hear since I only had green beans besides the corn. She is on a blood thinner right now and has to avoid green veggies which is why I chose the corn. No leftover corn but at least another meal or two of the potatoes. Tonight my friends, Cliff and Carol, are coming over so I might make a frozen pizza or perhaps, if I feel getting dressed, may get a Papa Murphy’s. Since I am happily in my swimsuit now (yeah, no more dust bunnies!!) I will stay in this until I decide to put on clothes for when the my guests arrive. But now, off I go!

After a great day....

....a lovely morning! The sun is beginning to shine but the line which marks out Mandarin is blurred by fog. My thought is the sunshine will burn off the fog quickly and we will see 88 degrees before the day is out. I will spend part of my day making escalloped potatoes with ham for my Dinner and a Movie gathering this evening. Guess I had better get that fire extinguisher from outside and bring it in the house while I cook.

Last night at dinner I shared my doctor visit stories with Linda H. and Judy J. and we had good laughs over it. Judy especially questioned the reason for asking me about a fire extinguisher, that simply baffled her. I had heard a radio host report a couple years ago that we will come to a point where we will not recognize our country anymore, or the world, for that matter, and I think it's happening. That which would have been ridiculous a few years ago has come to pass, including questions about loaded weapons and fire extinguishers!

Besides the laughs we also enjoyed good conversation and delicious food at Cracker Barrel. Linda's mom, Iva, is in a rehab facility, recovering after a couple of falls. She is not making much headway in getting her strength back because she has suffered additional falls when Linda has her over to her house. As much as Linda likes getting Iva out, it often ends in disaster. Iva, on the other hand, is as stubborn as ever, and prefers not to eat in the dining room with all those old people. And the physical therapy???? "What good is it for me to put colored pegs into the holes? That's so stupid!" But, Iva has a boyfriend in the Home, a young orderly/NA....so she does have a bright spot in her stay there. I have seen this all before when I worked in the old folk's home, and Judy's daughter is the administrator of a nursing home in MI, so shares stories as well.

Speaking of nursing homes, as Judy was driving us home, my bro-in-law, Harvey, called to ask me if anyone had called me about Sharon. It seems his sister has been in the hospital on and off and now presently since Friday, at this time in ICU in Green Bay. Sharon is the cancer survivor, having had a brain tumor at the age of 16 and given six months to live. She underwent conventional treatment and then experimental treatment, some controversial ones. Though she lost her sight, she got back her 'reason' for most of her life, but over time, the scar tissue and her background prevented her from maturing beyond age 16, or even regressing some to a younger age. But acts like an old lady, again via her background.

So, anyway, she lives in an adult group home and they noticed that Sharon was sleeping more and falling more. The doctor checked her out and thought she was okay but the next day, Saturday, the staff took her to the ER. Then she was transferred to Green Bay where they could run more extensive tests and her doctor was on staff. Harvey and John both told me she was unable to speak clearly, as though she had marbles in her mouth, was running a fever, but the doctors could find no infection. She has stomach pain which might be attributed to gall stones but the tests showed no infection. Also some liver involvement which is often connected to gall bladder problems. The medical folks are baffled but I guess she is where she needs to be in this situation. John has been to see her a couple times, and since Harv lives in Green Bay, he can stop by after work to check in. I guess Nancy went to see her one day since Sharon was admitted. I am so glad that Harvey called and let me know.

When I got home, I called Marian to let her know about her younger sister, Sharon. It turns out that Marian had only recently been released from the hospital herself, having congestive heart failure. By her voice, I could tell Marian was agitated and she informed me that she had her medications changed again, adding steroids and lasix to help get the fluid out of her heart chamber. But she is also suffering with a skin rash from head to toe, no apparent cause. Biff even tried washing her clothes at his facility to see if it was soap or something like that. No one can figure out what the cause it but the rash was making her wacky. They gave her an Atavan, and the nurse applied a hydrocortisone ointment which helped to settle her down a bit. I asked her if she didn't already take Atavan, as I knew she did before, and Marian said the doctor took her off the medications for controlling her mania and depression. Yikes! I could tell in her voice and cadence that she was off of them. On top of all that, she has basal cell carcinoma on her face which will be surgically removed next week. Her strength is sapped so she now needs someone to push her wheel chair around instead of propelling it herself. Other than that, she's fine!

So, I called Harvey back to tell him about Marian's condition and told him that she was sad that she has not heard from anyone up north in a long while. I had sent her mailing address and phone numbers to everyone so they could keep in touch. He assured me that it's not that they don't care but rather they are not good at communicating. That is true, and I am honored that he has called me twice in the past few months. I let him know I greatly appreciated being informed and warned him that I am coming up next week so we can get together somehow. It sure will be nice when he is retired and not have to work those goofy hours like he does now. Often I will tease him that he might as well have been a farmer with that early to bed/early to rise bread route of his!

Today I will get busy and write, or type, a note to Marian since I don't have time this weekend to drive down there. Tonight is the aforementioned Dinner and a Movie, and tomorrow evening my friends, the Douglas's, are coming over just in time for the end of the world to arrive. We are going to hold hands and go together, just as it should be! They were at Cracker Barrel last night when we were there, on their date night. Sunday is worship and Bible study and then pool time, Lord willing. There was supposed to be an event at The Club but this a.m. I woke to an e-mail reporting the Island Bash was postponed until August! That frees me up to attend the house concert on the 5th floor then, the last one as the owner is moving out due to divorce. So sad! And the condo is being marketed at just less than half its original value. Ouch!

Is it morning already?

It seems I only just laid down and already I am up, typing away! It is light outside and Fox 'n Friends is underway so it's alright for me to be awake. I cannot recall precisely what was on TV when I went to sleep although I do believe it was The O'Reilly Factor, which is exactly what I woke to this a.m. In my dreams during the night, people were making plans, sort of, for the end of the world to come this weekend. My sister, Lori, bought a bunch of wallpaper which was put on a big sale for the end of the world, 'just in case'. Sunday morning we will know if she can use it or not! One of the participants in Monday Bible study brought along a flyer he got in the mail, which featured a photo of a billboard near Orlando which proclaims the world is May 21. Rats, I spent money on a plane ticket for after that date! Justin heard us talking about this topic at Trivia the other night and he said I should not even worry about it, I won't have to pay for the ticket if the world ends. How true that is!

We were joined at Trivia on Tuesday night by Cary and Nancy, members at Victory with Stephanie. They were going out of town on Wednesday so wanted to eat out the night before to avoid having leftovers and such to deal with. Once again, we all brought something to the table, with even Jesse coming up with a correct answer this week. Sadly, we had competition unlike last week, but we did not win even 3rd place. The group behind ours won first place, the first time we had seen them there. Ringers!!! One of the questions was to name four actors who won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in their lives. We only got one right, Denzel Washington, which Nancy contributed. We totally missed stars like Gene Hackmann, Robert DeNiro, and someone else. That's why we do not always win!

Cary and I had the pot roast open face sandwich, served with real mashed potatoes and gravy. Oh, my, it was good! I brought about 1/4 home with me and frankly, it did not reheat very well. The potatoes were okay but the meat seemed rather chewy the second time around. It was the special that night, as often I will try the special since I have no 'regular' choice at Johnny Angels. But there I do often have a scoop of ice cream with hot fudge on it, no whipped cream because I am cutting back....Justin had a chocolate and peanut butter shake, which he had me taste. I am not crazy about that mixture, even though it is like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Just not a fan!

The sky is beautiful this a.m., but no sun has broken through yet. A few buildings north of here, yet on the property, is where my friend, Sharon, lives and she regularly captures the morning sky and posts the photos on Facebook. She is a talented lady: professional photographer, RN, musical director at OP Methodist, and is basically a very nice lady. We do not see each other when choir or bells are in rehearsal as both of us are tied up on Wednesday nights! I cannot wait to see her morning posting today, should be lovely!

At choir rehearsal, we had a full house of singers including Carol who answered the impassioned plea of her son. One family who has rejoined the church after years away has a young daughter, about 9 or 10, who wanted to come to choir. I had to let her know it was for confirmed members only but encouraged her to sing with the Sunday school kids. Robbie said last night that he wished he could put together a children's chorus, with 'enthusiastic' singers but we do not have enough kids to do that.

Having Carol there to sing alto with Debbie freed Kristi to sing soprano which works out better since I will be away for one of the anthems. Whew! I hated to leave them in a lurch, but it cannot be helped. For Holy Trinity Sunday we are singing Psalms 150, an oldie but a goodie. Our friend, Gordy, who directed us on this anthem many years ago, had us moving around on the sheet music---men here, women there...the copies are quite marked up, making it hard to know when we are to sing. Robbie has changed it back again, to women singing the women's parts and men, their own, but with all the markings, it gets almost comical. Robbie is a true director, making us learn the anthem, and not simply sing it. Draws us out, and makes us better. Kristi complimented him about that last night, and I told him later, how, when he was talking to us, I thought, "I love that guy!" He loves me too, so we're even! I will miss singing for Ascension Day, at least singing at Good Shepherd. I will get to sing at First German, from the pew!

Today is full day beginning with Bible study at Victory, lunch with my Justin, and perhaps a stop at Payless Shoes at the Town Center Mall since Erica works there. She might not be working when we are there, though, since she is still in high school. Two weekends ago she graduated from FCCJ with her AA in business but has yet to graduate from high school! She is bright and beautiful, choosing to attend Wisconsin Lutheran College this fall. Erica made friends with a young lady who came to Jax from WLC to help with canvassing, etc. this year and is going to be roommates with Erica. Sweet! Her grandparents and auntie live not terribly far away in Janesville so she will not be all alone 'up north'. Erica is a dear young lady and I will certainly miss her...

Yesterday was my grooming day so I went to see my friend, Barb, for my full-moon haircut. She was telling me about her daughter and son-in-law moving up here from South Florida soon. I was so happy for Barb and her husband, having them closer (living with mom and dad at first!) and lending a hand with their grandson, Nicholas. He has a form of autism and her daughter is quite pleased with the program offered at Fleming Island Elementary. Now, they just need to find jobs and get health insurance benefits to be all set. I know Barb is so glad to have them up here, it's been a long time coming. But then Barb dropped a bombshell of having breast cancer!! What?? She had found the lump herself over a month ago before leaving on a cruise and has been running to doctors and specialists in order to determine the course of treatment. It appears to be a contained cancer, similar to what Judy R. had, but the surgery keeps getting put off day by day. She was to have already had it but now it is scheduled for next Friday. A tear sneaked out as she told this news, but then she told me how her daughter cried for 10 minutes when Barb called her with the news. A few more trickled down but I wiped them away quickly, apologizing to Barb for them. When we parted company, I hugged her and wished her the Lord's blessings on the surgery. Her surgeon is the same one who did my last one, just before Timmy died. I know she is in good hands.

This evening I am having dinner with Judy J. and Linda H. with whom I used to dine every week when we still had Bible study during the week. We do not see Linda much as she takes her mom, Iva, to church at Keystone Heights most of the time. Iva is in a rehab center in Starke after experiencing some falls at her home. Linda works in Mandarin so it is on her way home to stop for dinner with us. She was hungry for 'comfort food' so Cracker Barrel it is! Must remember to take a jacket!

Oops! Tuesday got away from me!

Here it is Wednesday already and I missed posting on Tuesday. Was it so full a day? Not really but I did spend less time at this desk than I did between my bed and the loveseat in the family room, keeping my foot elevated. Since I was going to the doctor for my annual checkup, I wanted to not have any ‘red flags’ waving to draw her attention, such as my puffy ankle on my left foot. When I had called in my refills to Wal*Mart over a week ago, the recorded voice told me all three were ready for pick-up. When I got there, however, the technician (love that term for clerk!) informed me only one was ready but phone calls had been placed to the doctor’s office regarding the other two. Okay, I guess….

A couple days went by and I had not heard from either the doctor’s office or the pharmacy so I called the office to check the status. Primarily I was concerned about the blood pressure medication and that was the one called in to the pharmacy. I did not get my prescription for the ‘bad knee’ which allows for my ankle not to swell on the same leg. When I showed it to her yesterday (so much for avoiding red flags), she totally dismissed it, saying she had seen it much worse. When???? Okay, fine, if she has no problem with it, neither do I! It just feels funny to me, sort of inflexible. I attribute this to all the water I am drinking these days, as well as not having my ‘bad knee’ medicine!

When I got to the doctor’s office, things moved along quickly, almost rapid-fire. The young lady working with me, Hannah, was relatively new so it took her a bit longer to do things. When “Betsy” came flying, as she usually does, she began grabbing instruments and checking me, ‘double-teaming’ as she described it. Hannah left then and the doctor went ahead with filling in the blanks on the laptop records. Things I would have thought were already part of my chart, having answered these things several times before.

“Have you had any surgeries?” Well, you can play tic tac toe on my abdomen which I thought was in your records…”Dates?” Oh my goodness, the dates??? “What color were the surgeons’ eyes?” Not really, but it was nearly that bad. “How old was your father when he died?” Um, I know what year it was, but how old, let me do the math….”Do you see the dentist at least twice a year?” Do I need a breath mint or what?? She just wants to make sure I am taking care of myself from head to toe. Betsy told me she appreciated my humor and my patience with the new girl, and with her. “Do you wear wraparound sunglasses?” WHAT??? Granny glasses? Absolutely not! She told me they would help prevent the creases between my eyes and in the corners. I told her my son compliments me on the ‘sunbursts’ around my eyes. He calls them tattoos in reverse, because they are lighter than my face!

The barrage continued with information regarding getting or not getting the flu shot last fall/early winter. No, because I already was sick and could not have the shot. Now I have to wait until next fall to have the shot. Okay, I can do that. Do you have a fire extinguisher? No, but there is one on the building at the top of my stairs. “You have been divorced once?” Yes, once was enough, thanks.

“Do you have loaded firearms in your home…?” Okay, hold it right there!!!! I was surprised by the extinguisher question and the divorce question but when it comes to loaded firearms, I got irritated. I asked, “Okay, who wants to know this?????, indignantly. That is so nobody’s business if I have a fire extinguisher or a loaded weapon, other than my stove! She said it is for her records, and if I answered “Yes” then, she would have to remind me to store the weapon separately from the bullets, out of reach of small children, and so on. That, to me, is so incredibly over-the-top of a well-woman exam. However, I regrouped and kept my humor, informing her of the cannon I have in the river room, aimed at Mandarin. They had better not provoke me or it’s curtains for them! I wonder if I can decline answering these questions, like I decline being weighed! Betsy also informed me it is time for her annual physical, too, but she just hates going to the doctor! Well, we have that in common!

The doctor is highly complementary otherwise, besides the lifestyle questions, and told me that I looked good. She mentioned to Hannah that I always wear nice colors. Betsy again remarked that she wants after my moles (skin tags) but we have to wait until I return in 6 months when the sun season is over. In an hour I was out the door, with my orders for a mammogram in hand and the scrip for the bad knee medication phoned in to Wal*Mart. That way, I won’t have to linger in the store and be tempted to buy stuff while I wait. I do need some AAA batteries (should buy stock in Rayovac!) and might replace my mouse on the laptop. I have to go through all sorts of contortions to activate the mouse these days and it just might be getting tired. The laptop gets more use than does the desktop and that is my original wireless mouse. Wal*Mart has lesser expensive mouses than does Office Max but, unfortunately, I have to go through the DVD section to get to the computer supplies. Should wear blinders! Or wraparound sunglasses!

Reprint from March 24, 2008

This morning at Bible study we were talking about how we should be teaching our children important Bible stories and singing songs to them, and with them, to help them remember Bible truths. I found this 'old' posting and decided to use it once more....

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The day started early, reading e-mails before Dee arrived to repair some glass for me. Several people sent "Comments" to my post from yesterday, sharing their experience with "...Redeemer Lives" and I was moved to tears by them. If you don't usually read the Comments, please do so in order to find out what I am referencing. When I spoke to Martie earlier and she asked how I was, my answer was, "I am in a high emotional state." Oh yeah.........

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Linda shared her story of how she was managing to get through "Redeemer" until she spotted Pastor Hahm wiping away a tear...he said he was fine until he saw Mom and Kevin, the principal, wiping away their tears....."He lives to silence all my fears, He lives to wipe away my tears, He lives my mansion to prepare, He lives to take me safely there..." I hope that's right, I did it by memory. Oh, here is Timmy's service folder, I can check it out--oops, I got it wrong, borrowed from several different verses: "He lives to calm my troubled heart, He lives all blessings to impart". There's not one single "insignificant" verse in that hymn, which made it tough for Mom to pick the ones to use for the funeral. Good job, Mom! As Timmy would say, "You done it!" Kevin also has a little one in heaven so we share special hugs when we meet each other. I look forward to seeing him this Sunday at First German!! And Linda, too!!! And my peoples!!!
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Saturday morning as I was leaving to go to church for communion preparation, I saw a box sitting outside my door. A baby??? Nope, better than that---a lovely circular glass art piece made by the same guy that made my other "manipulated" glass pieces. Dee had dropped it off in the dark of night (or morning) as a surprise for me. She told me last week she had a gift for me that I wouldn't want to accept but she'd make me take it, and that's how she did it! Leave it on the doorstep and run away. The bad news was it had a crack in it, sort of swiveled like a hinge about half way down.
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I called to thank her for the present and then asked if she knew it was cracked. She was sad it was broken and said it had been mended once before, must have re-cracked on the climb up the steps! So, she came this a.m. with her glass glue in hand and we performed surgery on the piece. We glued some glass marbles I had on hand, flat on one side, which we used as "band-aids"on the back side, in the same colors as in the piece. I'll take a photo of it when it's done so you all can see what I'm talking about. "Dr. Roberts" makes house calls, twice climbing my stairs because of beautiful glass!
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After she left I did, too, heading for Bible study, my last one with this group for a month! Judy C. joined us today, as she quit her job last Friday, just up and quit! It was nice to have a new face for the study and for lunch. Our time together at Longhorn was lovely and the farewells tearful. Pastor had suggested putting a picture of me on the table where I usually sit to make it seem like I'm there, but, it would be quiet then!!! I said the quiet part, not him. Tonight are Visitation calls and then that's it for church activity. I will have to drop off some shingle, exterior, and soffit color selections for Cliff, but that gives me a chance to say good-bye to Carol, "auf wiedersehen ", until we meet again!
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Lisa called last night to share some Easter stories with me, putting tears in my ears--again! She told about Lori, Lynn, Alayna, and her singing with the choir, nothing less than the "Hallelujah Chorus" , accompanied by the pipe organ and orchestra. Lisa said she was trembling with excitement about singing it, and was holding Manny in her arms as she sang. He was clinging to her for dear life, probably expecting her to shake him right over the railing! She said he sang, too, throwing out a single "hallelujah" with the choir. Just prior to time for the song, Gabe leaned over and asked Lisa, "Is it time to sing "Jesus" now?" That's what he calls the Chorus. I love it that her little boys know and love that song! They sing that one in heaven, I just know it!!

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She also told about how they pick a song to sing before bed and Manny picks the one he calls "So". She had me guess what song it was and it took a second to come up with "...the Bible tells me so". Oh, my heart! She knew that would get me because my boys sang that also, with Timmy's being sung in bass! Gabe likes the song "Zaccheus", about the wee little man up in the tree. "Zaccheus, you come down! I'm going to your house today!" At church Easter morning, Paul was telling me how my goddaughter, Sarah, walks around singing "Oh, Christ, Lamb of God" continually. The preschool and young Sunday schoolers sang it in the service a couple weeks ago, and she'd sing it every week if they let her. I told him that was evidence of what wonderful parents she has, if that's what their daughter is singing. Gabe, Manny, and Sarah---our little missionaries!

Lucas and Sarah watching "Jeopardy" while standing in the toy box!

Time to get ready to go to the beauty shop again, this time to get my silver removed and a trim, and then over to church for Visitor calls. Time is getting closer and closer for my trip to WI and I'm getting so 'cited!!!

The bug plague

Click on photo to enlarge

If you look closely, you can see the dead bodies lying on the floor in the corner of my room. It seems the blind mosquitoes are attracted to the light, as there are few to none in the unused rooms in my home. Mainly in my room and the bathroom. They are called 'no see 'em' because they are so minute they can fit through screening and teeny tiny. But oh my, what a nuisance! I can get a pile like this almost every day, and this is before sweeping them up!

Going to sleep by moon light

The giant moon reflecting on the river is just too gorgeous to explain, it must be seen to be appreciated, I believe. There are shadows across the floor in the river room and my room, but I made them disappear by turning the lamp on in order to see. On TV tonight I watched a new episode of "House", something I normally do not do. It sort of freaked me out, as House attempted to perform surgery on himself in his bathtub! I tuned in a bit late and missed the reason why he was doing it himself, removing some blood clots or something. Apparently he had taken an experimental drug, tried only on rats before, which caused the clots, 'stealing' it from the lab in the hospital. "Idiot", as House would say. Cuddy to the rescue...I shouldn't give it away in case you have not seen it yet.

Tonight at church was the last of the two planned special meetings of the Council and Elders who are discussing the "Listening Sunday" surveys. Oh, to be sitting in on that meeting. Or, probably better yet, not! Hopefully Paul was able to attend, but I am not sure he is up to it yet since his surgery last week Monday. He had some work done on his cervical bones and as far as I know is wearing a collar or even a halo apparatus to keep his neck still. His input would be valuable at these meetings as Paul is well-read and a student of doctrine, etc.

Bible study this morning was interesting as we continue our study of the chapters in Matthew, dealing with Christ's passion and crucifixion. We have a video to watch that is word for word what the Bible says, but it sure adds drama to see the actors make it seem live. There was one part where Jesus is telling about the division of the sheep and the goats, and in the video, Jesus' character gets rather choked up when relating the end coming to those who have rejected Him. The one man, besides Pastor, in the class remarked that that portion of the video really hit him. The "Hollywood" version of the dinner where Jesus' hair was anointed with the costly oil showed a quite opulent setting which I think was a bit over the top, but I have nothing upon which to base my assumption. It sure looked like an elegant setting and the food even looked good! Pot roast, from what I could tell...

Only four of us went to lunch today as Judy C. was not yet back from her trip. Twila had a birthday last week so I treated her to lunch, as she and I shared the prime rib sandwich. That worked out perfectly for us. She said since her surgery, she cannot eat as much at one time as she used to do. Jackie told how John and she eat less and less meat these days due to the fact that they are tired of cooking! At least they are modern enough to have a microwave oven in order to heat things up. It is so funny how the man in the family can retire and sit all day watching the news or sports but the female in the family has to keep on working. Nothing changes for her except for having to clean around a body in the family room now! She is so funny sometimes!

My friend, Judy R., had a birthday recently and I had sent her a greeting via Facebook but had not written to her in a month or so on e-mail. The full moon brings that out in me so I wrote her a note, catching her up on what's going on around here and such. So far we are on track to see each other at the Worship Conference closing service and hopefully she can give me a ride as far as Winona afterward. Somehow I need to get the rest of the way to Manitowoc as Lori's party is not until the next weekend. Judy C. and I are curious as to our dorm situation since one of the questions on the form we filled out asked if we can sleep in a top bunk. We both answered 'no', but Judy claims if push comes to shove, she will do it. She is going to be 70 years old and climbing into a top bunk? Yikes! I'd probably pull the darn thing over trying to get up there...such giggles we have in our lives!

A long, lost family friend who lives in MN has contacted me via Facebook, a mutual friend of Linda J.'s, named Joanie. She was a classmate of my sister, Lori, and Joanie used to sell a product line like Amway or similar when she was younger. She is a humorous lady and Linda J. always has such a good time when they are together. A few years ago Tommy and Linda joined Joanie's family here in FL where they had rented a house for a week. It was this trip that Tommy and Linda visited "The Holy Land Experience" and Tommy came back to our house wearing a little cap like Muslims wear, claiming he converted. You have to know Tommy to appreciate this. The cap was actually part of a sunhat Linda had that came apart and Tommy "converted" for his purposes. Justin will refer to this as 'the time Tommy converted to Muslim'.....So, anyway, back to Joanie---she offered me her home to stay in while attending the Conference but it turns out they will be at Linda's that weekend, going to Door County for cherry picking season. Rats!

In the back of my car was a cardboard box put there by Justin some time ago. It worked dandy for me to keep my church papers and Bible, but other stuff got placed in there as well. I decided to carry it up with me after Bible study and lunch. At the bottom of the box was my choir music folder, of all things, complete with Advent music which belongs to Victory's choir! Thursday I will take it back to Rachel and leave it on the organ bench. One of the members told me that choir was done rehearsing after Easter at Victory, which is too bad. Our little choir is practicing some songs for Ascension and Pentecost, but sadly, I will be away for both of those events. We need a soprano to take my place as Kristi is singing alto to help Debbie S. who cannot pick it out herself. I hope someone steps up after Robbie's impassioned plea on Sunday. I think I might call Emily to see if she could make a couple rehearsals, that's all she would be needed....Yes, I will do that!

An at-home Sunday

Judy C. and her son, Mike, are gone to Nashville and beyond to see Judy's grandson graduate from Vanderbilt University. I cannot remember if they are coming back today or not, I lost track of the days. This resulted in my coming home from church instead of going to eat. Twila had only the day before gotten home from her week stay at Sanibel and needed to regroup in the afternoon, and Judy J. was counting the offering. Others stayed for a luncheon put on by Thrivent but I was not interested in that, so, I came home. And had a lovely quiet day in so doing!

My first stop after church was the cemetery as Gretchen had donated the flowers from the altar, given in memory of her loved ones, to my loved one. Yes, I was teared up right after Bible study when she told me that I should take them for Timmy's site. When I got there, the bouquet from Easter was gone already, the guys must have thought it looked tough and took it away. We have had some wild weather, either the heat or the wind must have wreaked havoc on the bouquet. When it gets hot, the bouquets just do not last very long.

For my lunch I had the last of my roast beef, which makes a lovely sandwich with the seeded rye from Winn Dixie. Oh, first I had stopped at WD on the way home to pick up another container of raspberry sherbet, some of which I had for dessert. Later, I went to the fridge to get a square of chocolate from the bag Justin gave me for Mother's Day, which is also raspberry. I am definitely on a kick here!

Most of my day was spent on the computer, looking up things or reading, until my eyes bled! After a certain point I took a little rest, probably less than a half hour, but enough to rejuvenate myself. The sun was out most of the day and since the trees were pruned, it seems that my view is even more vast. Bugs have again gathered in the corners of my windows but I guess they will have to stay there as I am not about to wrench those windows out of their frames to sweep them down. The professional guys that came to wash the windows had a hard enough time with them, big strong guys, so the bugs win until I have the windows done again! So there!

At some point this week I am getting together with Carol before I take off for WI at the end of the month. She wants to come here because she gets stir crazy being at home and would feel like she should be exercising her knee if she is at home. She even goes along with Cliff to check the jobsite just so she can get out. They will be heading to Highlands in a few weeks themselves and our paths might not cross much. I am working ahead some on the newsletter for church as I will be away and it just won't work for me do it from Manty. Mom being on dial-up just will not allow for downloading and editing and so on. Jill has high-speed access but I hate to tie up her machine and such, so will get it out the door, so to speak, before I leave town.

My can of compressed air worked just amazingly for cleaning the dust from my bedside lamp. It has nooks and crannies where the dust gathers and the air simply blew the dust away. Somehow that did not work on my remote controls, those must actually be touched with the baby wipes I normally use for wiping them clean. The wipes don't get into the small spaces on the lamp, though, so it delights me!

Monday is the final flight of Shuttle Endeavor which goes up just before 9:00 a.m. I hope it launches and I hope I can see it from my porch. Must remember to send out a reminder on Facebook for my Florida friends to watch for it. Today's worship was very nice, Good Shepherd Sunday, and we used Divine Service I, with nearly all the hymns chosen from the Supplement. Our closing hymn was printed in the service folder, from the CW, so we did not have to play quick draw with the hymnals during the service. Robbie, The Maestro, sang the psalm as cantor, while the congregation joined in the refrain. Jean N. asked me if his voice was improving or was she only just noticing. I said, "Both"! He also had recorded the accompaniment on the keyboard and then stepped near center aisle to sing, which likely came into play for her noticing. His young lady friend came to church and sat with the family in the pew. Brad and the boys sat with Great Grandpa in the row behind the rest of the family.

During the Bible study, one of the members came in about 3/4 of the way through to whisper to Pastor about a visitor being outside, hesitating to come in. She thought church began at 9:00 or something that mixed her up. Jackie went outside with Rick to meet the young lady and escorted her into the class. Later I was introduced to Stephania, whom Jackie excitedly reported was from Italy. The name rather gave her away. To make it better yet, it turned out Stephania lived near Naples and would go on picnics along the Amalfi Coastline, eating on the beach. Her story is a bit tragic, though, as it seems she followed a Navy man here and that did not work out. She spoke enough English to say it was very bad and that going back would be very hard. Yikes! Stephania said she was looking for a church with people she could trust. I hope that is us, but I am not sure she knows what she is in store for at a Lutheran church. My guess is she is not a Lutheran, not from Naples, anyway. She needs to come up here to my house and we can have a picnic, she might feel a bit 'at home' in my environment!