My weekend is ending…

Right at this moment we are watching “The Proposal” in Lori and David’s new media room as the laundry is being done. David whipped together a wonderful conglomeration of fingerling potatoes from the farmer’s market, tomatoes from the garden, chicken and cheese from the fridge. Oh yum! He flew around madly making and serving Lori and I as we first watched “Sweet November” on NetFlix.

The morning began with us setting up shop in the parking lot of Festival Foods in Onalaska, selling jewelry made by Lori. David entertained passersby and us with his guitar and dulcimer. We had a few sales and said “hi!” to many folks. We were surrounded by booths selling produce and flowers. Lori wants to get a sign made up that says “Woman does not live by vegetables alone”, in hopes that ladies will stop by the one way through the other stands.

I managed to buy a pack of note cards drawn by a local artist featured on the front, getting her last packet. Also bought a lovely bouquet of flowers from a stand. I asked the seller what happens to the flowers they do not sell and he said they donate some to the food shelter and compost the rest. What a beautiful compost pile they must have, but it still made me sad to hear that.

After we packed up, around noon, we met Dusty at Famous Dave’s BBQ where we had lunch. Oh, how I loved the beef brisket, corn on the cob, and topped off with ice cream for dessert. Lori and I left the menfolk and went over to the Mall to CJ Banks, entering the store through Barnes and Noble. Oh, oh….more books! I got two books that are soon to be movies, at the recommendation of Lori and other of my friends. When I go back to Florida, I will have a small library in my suitcase as I have books at Mom’s to take back with me besides my new purchases. Got a birthday book for Justin as well, but won’t put the title in this posting on the outside chance he reads it. We eventually did get to CJ Banks where I found two pretty tops to buy. Lori got a few pieces as well, including one to replace the shirt she was wearing at lunch which wore part of her lunch. I am not the only one who has this problem, it runs in the family!

We came back from the Mall and stayed in the rest of the day. Lori took a nap and I caught up on Facebook and talked on the phone. It got busy all of a sudden. I had a phone message from Carol saying she was thinking of me all week and wanted to hear my voice. When I had called her back, I got the machine but did finally reach her today. Joanne called when I was talking with Judy C. so I called her back. She was not aware I was gone out of town so we made plans to get together when I am home again. Carol is going to take the altar flowers to the cemetery for me tomorrow, since I could not get hold of Cindy S. to do it for me. Judy would have taken care of it but did not know where the gravesite is, since she had never been there.

With the help of Dusty, we managed to get connected to NetFlix to watch our movie, since we couldn’t hook up my computer to the TV in order to watch “Frasier”. I don’t know what we would have done without him to figure out the intracies of the wires, cables and remote controls. And it’s their media room! Lori liked it so much better without all the wires and game equipment that came home with Dusty from college.

And now, we are tired and ready for bed, so good night and perhaps more will come tomorrow, once I am settled at Mom’s.

Some photos from the Conference, etc.

In reverse order from my trip, this photo was taken today through the window at Metropolitan Salon and Day Spa where Lori and I enjoyed a day of beauty (I know, nice try, right???). A storm was approaching and the sky looked quite haunting. I desperately needed a massage after all the walking and stair-climbing I did at the Conference...whew! It felt quite wonderful but its effects are not always immediate like the walking is!

This is another view of the same storm but I also found the shops and stores to be quite interesting as well. Such a charming city Holmen is! Lori took us for a ride around various parts of the town to show me where the bike trails are, where she enjoys climbing hills and coasting down, some paths through the woods, and so on. We had a nice lunch alfresco at Features Restaurant before coming home to find David busily cleaning the garage for next week's party. He is such a busy man!

The ladies on the left and center of Judy R. are my drivers from the WELS Worship Conference who deposited me on the deck at Judy’s house. They attend a small group Bible study together, and Judy is often the host house for this. Tami, on the left, is the “Queen of Music” at St. Matthews and Barb plays the organ as well. They were quite excited about the music pieces they purchased at the Conference and look forward to introducing them at church via the organ and the choir. Judy is on the right, sporting her new eyewear!

This arrangement affixed over the cross at Gustavus Adolphus College (GAC) were pictures painted by the Youth Chorus of various cross styles, displayed on the closing day of the event, Good Shepherd Sunday celebration. On either side of the cross were banners showing Jesus as our shepherd, the theme of the morning’s service sermon.

At long last I was able to meet my Facebook friend, Tammy, who is married to a pastor, a son of Good Shepherd. Her mom was attending the Conference with her son-in-law, whom we remember as “Johnny” but Tammy and her kids were able to drive over for the service and dinner from their home to New Ulm. Because we missed finding each other at that service, she came back to GAC with her mom, and managed to find Judy and me in our dorm room. What a true delight she is, as I knew she would be, and her mom is equally as nice. My life is richer having met all these people, those shown as well as those of whom I have no photos. Must rely on the fond memories of them! Excuse please, the partially closed eyes as I was smiling big and bone weary after our long but enjoyable day!

A fond farewell...

....at least for a while. I am not sure what my circumstances will be when I am traveling but will have the laptop with me in case I do have connectivity wherever I am staying. If you are Facebook users, look for me there as I have access to FB from the cell phone, as well as e-mail receiving and sending. Sigh...I am ready to go, want to get this show on the road, and in hopes that all the plans have been made and finalized.

Judy R. got me a ride from the Worship Conference to her house, or at least to Winona, from whence Lori or David can bring me home. I know not what time it will be when the Conference wraps up on Friday but do know that once we are in the car, Barb and Tami with me in tow, we face a three hour approx. ride to Winona. I might have them leave me at a restaurant in town rather than up at Judy's so it is easier for Lori or David to find me as dusk falls. It might time right with David's getting out of work. Oh oh, not all the details are finalized!!!! Thank heaven for cell phones!

It is time for me to haul my suitcase outside to wait for Mike and Judy to get here. Good thing I bought more mints yesterday at Publix because I feel as though I still have funky breath this a.m. after twice brushing me teeth. My neighbor, Pat, invited me to have dinner with her, homemade spaghetti sauce over pasta and salad. She made her own salad which included chopped onions and then sqeezed half a lime over the salad. Very interesting but oniony!!! And garlic toast! Love doing that before flying and breathing on folks!

Talk with you soon!

What a delightful breeze!

My doors are open, front and back, as the warm air blows through. Earlier today I heard the A/C kick in so I had to adjust it up to keep from cooling the outdoors. When I was in the pool this afternoon, I was plenty cool, as the sun kept going behind the clouds instead of warming the water, and me, like it’s supposed to do.

At five minutes to 4:00 pm I took delivery of my hamburger from the cabana, not realizing she was going to open for dinner tonight. Rats! At first I was going to simply carry the burger upstairs with me for my dinner but the smell of it drove me wild and I dived right into it. My plans were to go back out for a bit with the neighbors but none of us ate anything except for leftover wedding cake from the wedding that afternoon in The Club. The head of the dining room brought out three flavors of cake to share, which is weird for a wedding cake---I think! The nice young lady who runs the cabana now instead of Danny Cabany made me one of the drinks served on Independence Day, which I am still sipping at in my room.

Justin came over yesterday afternoon for a little while, getting a chance to be met by my house guests and taking care of a few things with the two computers. He began running the Windows updates on my new laptop, beginning about 3:00 and it ended this morning around 8:30. Wow! I was concerned about it taking this long, assuming something was wrong. Justin said if I had to reboot the computer, I might lose all my data. NO! I got in touch with the two Steves who worked on it and the Sr. Steve assured me I would not lose everything, and to be patient. Apparently my computer can to dealt with from another location (i.e. their office!) and I am not sure if that’s what happened this a.m. or not. I am just glad it restarted and we are good to go.

Justin also picked up a photograph I had here for him to give his father for his birthday. In going through a few things here recently, I came upon a sepia shot of his dad wearing his bus driver’s uniform, for which Justin could simply get a frame. Makes a nice gift, especially when that poor guy had no idea what to get for his father.

Justin also installed my USB hub on the new computer, a sort of extension cord deal for the laptop, since I ran out of places to plug things in. Have two of everything makes for an outlet shortage. Justin did disconnect my DVD player which I don’t need any longer since the new machine has a built-in player. One or two less items on or around the desk is nice, only he didn’t put them away…they are lying about my room now! For now…

It was most difficult for me to say good-bye to my young friends and their teacher yesterday, but I managed without blubbering terribly. The same could not be said when Justin left me, as I won’t be seeing him again for two weeks. I hate that! But, after all, he is a big boy now and I cannot expect him to travel with me all the time. The last time he was ‘home’ was for Alayna’s graduation party, June of 2010. Justin left here with several bags of goodies harvested from my fridge, some leftovers from the kids’ stay and other stuff I just had no use for before leaving town. Lovely parting gifts for him!

My sleep was good last night and I am sure it will be tonight, especially when I finish this adult beverage. Before going to bed last night, though, I worked on the countless travel arrangements needing to be taken care of before departing Tuesday. I ended up renting a car from LaCrosse to drive across the state to Mom’s, and keeping it for several days, for the ride back over to Lori’s. It was more cost effective than trying to do a one-way rental, which got me only as far as Green Bay! I would have still needed a ride from there to Manty, for heaven’s sake!

So, I will have my own wheels for part of my time away, taking me to Manty and then back to LaCrosse for Lori’s birthday party the next weekend. That’s a lot of trips forth and back across WI, plus part of MN from the Worship Conference. Judy R. firmed up a ride for me from St. Peter, MN to Winona, for which I rejoice! Lori or David will come fetch me from Judy’s house on Friday night, and then I will see Judy again the next weekend, either at Lori’s party or only at the Shakespeare play where she works. Yay!!! So, now, I can sleep!

Speaking of sleeping, Justin also loaded my mini-laptop with every single episode of Seinfeld, and showed me how to play it back on a continuous loop for my sleeping purposes in the dormitory. Judy C. says she is fine with that, so if I want to sleep, that is what I need to do! Plus Nyquil capsules will be helpful for dropping off.

We are not sure what the bathroom situation will be either, we might have to wander the halls to find one instead of right in our rooms. Yikes! Must limit my fluid intake the latter part of the day, and definitely NO water! The church in Palm Coast has 6 people going including my friend, Bonnie, formerly of Victory. I gave her a call today, reporting I saw her name listed on the seminar e-mail we got. She said she saw Judy’s name but not mine but then realized she was looking under the D’s instead of the L’s. She has a rental car because they are being housed at Bethany College instead of at Gustavus. We will have a ball, all of us, and Judy R. told me to brace for ‘late night talks’….I can do that!

"Can we please call you Auntie Kim?"

Here is the entire crew from Rocky Mountain High School, plus Mike Chappell. From left is teacher Kari Muente, Nicole, Mike, Sydney, and Denver

The closing night wrap up of VBS took place at my house, with the teens settling in to watch a movie. Anna, our pastor's daughter, joined the fun, as did three young men who helped out this year. Nice kids all!

After loading the kids' belongings in the van, we posed for photos at The Club entrance

Saying 'good-bye' was hard to do, but I smiled through it....first with Sydney, who is my twin (she is quite particular about neatness and order!)

....and then Nicole. I could not have asked for better, nicer, sweeter kids to be my guests!

Posing with my newly found 'family' in front of the well at The Club

Leftovers from Thursday

At Bible study on Thursday, Pastor Hoyer showed us a couple books he is reading to review for Northwestern Publishing House, including one written by a non-Lutheran but ‘Christian’ man titled “40 Days To Better Living: Optimal Health”. The author wrote about things we can do in our daily living to improve our bodies, minds and souls, using Bible passages to reinforce his points.

It surprised me that NPH, although I guess it should not have, carried materials from non-Lutheran sources. Pastor H. assured us that every book NPH carries has been read by a Lutheran pastor or theologian. When Justin and I were leaving The Cheesecake Factory where we had our lunch, we met a lady from the class, Dawn, who had just picked up the book from the bookstore. As you might guess, this is not a book I am likely to pick up, as I told Linda, I am so sick of hearing about this topic already. Spoken like a true fatso!

No Jesus?

Snitched from a posting of Lisa's on Facebook this a.m. (She is my niece in WI, with three young sons)

by Lisa M Ellison on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 12:26pm

Last night on our walk we passed Grant Grade School (which is only a block from our house). I asked the boys why we sent them to St. Paul's all the way out in Howards Grove instead of sending them to Grant. Gabe said, "I don't know but if you sent us here, I could walk to school." I looked at him and said, "Yes you could but they don't teach about Jesus at this school." The look on Manny's face was priceless. He looked up at me with confussion and said, "No Jesus? That's not fair.' Gabe said, "I want to keep going to St. Paul's just so I can hear about Jesus." This is why they go to a Christian Day School! GOD IS GOOD!

The end is near…

…but for now, the kids and their escorts are enjoying a Harry Potter movie in the family room, getting ready for tomorrow’s premier of the final in the series. They are going to the World Golf Village to the IMAX to see it, which made Justin envious to hear. I guess it’s in 3D there, not sure if that’s true for every showing or just for the IMAX. Shortly, I will be going to bed but the grown ups will see to it that things are buttoned up when they leave. The movie is lengthy so a pizza was popped in the oven to hold them over. There is also microwave popcorn and small bags of snacks for them to enjoy while they watch.

Earlier, when enjoying greatly a phone conversation with Linda J., I saw the moon rising, pink against a steel-grey sky. Now, it is nowhere in sight, hidden by the clouds. Around 4:00 pm or so thunder was rolling as a storm came down the river, but not a single drop happened here. I even stepped outside to make sure as some of my Facebook friends were reporting rain.

On my TV is an episode of “Frasier” titled “The One Where Woody Comes to Visit”, the bartender from Frasier’s days on Cheers. Or rather his nights on “Cheers”. It always makes me laugh, some of the exchanges are simply priceless. “Niles, would you like to join Woody and me for some pizza and beer?” “Why not? I’d love to share a pizza with a couple of rapscallions” to which Woody replies, as Frasier is ordering the pizza, “Could you make that half pepperoni and half rapscallion???” Tears me up every time! Woody is concerned that Frasier’s life is boring and that he has no plans, but it was really that Frasier rather cleared his schedule to spend time with Woody. It came back to bite him, making himself appear sympathetic rather than successful and happy with his life. While Frasier feels sorry for Woody, who has little success business-wise, he is happily married with two children back home. It ends up being a horse apiece. The parting scene has the two men drinking a stein of beer, tapping their glasses and saying, “Cheers”.

Justin and I attended Bible study today, a new class looking at how Christ crushed Satan’s head, and the ramifications of man’s fall into sin, the Promise made in the Garden and the fulfillment thereof. I looked ahead!

The other night I called Jessica, my upstairs neighbor, to see if she needed anything from the store. Being quite close to her delivery date, it is not easy for her to lug her 15 month and herself through the store. She asked for organic skim milk, which I found interesting. Joanne, when she lived with me, drank some funky milk, too, only hers was soy or something like that. One of my other friends from church also uses the organic milk so she doesn’t get hormones and something else. I have no problem with hormones, considering skim milk to be as innocent as anything else. I am willing to roll the dice when it comes to milk, especially since the cost difference is significant.

It’s getting so late, I think I will end this for tonight. Perhaps in the morning I can add more but for now, this will have to do. Sleep the sleep of the just, all! Good night, Linda J.!!!! My sides still ache from laughing and I have stains from my tears…..

The Tuesday wrap up

My arms ache from water exercising yesterday, as we practiced a few new routines using the bar bells. Certainly we used muscles in different ways than we had before, this I can tell! At least the sun is back our enjoyment, and for that of the kids staying with me. They had a great day boating, tubing, and canoeing at the home of one of the members from Christ, Keystone Heights. I wonder if their arms ache from trying to paddle the canoes....they don't appear any worse for the wear. They came in from VBS just minutes behind me, we timed that well! It seems their classes were smaller last night than on opening night but it is not uncommon to have the classes fluctuate some, even grow, before the week is out. They retired to the family room to watch more Harry Potter movies, getting caught up before going to the premier of the newest and final movie Friday at the IMAX at World Golf Village. Whoo hoo! The group is always letting me know that I am welcome to come along but I would be such a hindrance to them, especially on the walking outings. Besides that, I have things to do here!

One of those things was meeting Justin at CompUSA last evening before Trivia to buy a new computer. He had done the research and was steering me from the all-in-one desk tops that are modified laptops toward getting a laptop to use as a desktop. I know, confusing, right? He can rig it so that I can use my wireless keyboard and mouse, not having to 'worry' about using the keyboard on the laptop at all. In fact, I think he can work it so that my existing monitor will work in concert with the new one so I can a sort of split screen deal going on. I think the application for that is limited in my case, but can see it when transferring photos and such. I hate to sacrifice desk space to a laptop plus an additional monitor....we shall see. It did cost a bit more than the figure I had in mind, the cost of the repairs plus maintenance on the old computer, but not by much. Today I will take the new laptop to The Computer Guy to have my information transferred and hopefully I will be up and running soon.

We took 3rd place at Trivia, our team of three people since Jesse didn't make it and Erica had to work. I messed up on two questions that I should have known the answer to but answered wrong and risked too many points on. Rats! Like I told the girls this a.m., I always know the answer right after he gives it! The nice people at the Diner allowed Justin and me to special order our meals, with me again having the sliced rib eye steak, bathed in fried onions, and draped in provolone cheese. Justin took his the way it came, without the tomatoes, but mine was more plain. He took home the bread mine came on because it's nearly enough for a meal for him. More like a baguette than a bun or roll, but certainly more than I could handle. Give me the steak, onions, and cheese, and I am a happy girl!

Reading the radio's website is not making me happy, though, as it is heavy local news day. A day or two ago some young boys were 'handling' a rifle in their family home, and one 11 year old boy was accidentally shot in the head. The medical folks struggled to save him but he died yesterday. Not only did he die, but a toddler drowned in a pool in Arlington, and another child was fished from a retention pond, unresponsive, but still alive. My mouth is so dry I can barely swallow right now. Some folks hang on news like this but I was NOT in search of it, just looking for my radio program. Aching hearts in our neighborhoods this week.

On a lighter note, in more ways than one, the sun is brilliant on the river and Sydney was trying to take a picture from the river room. I fear that will not turn out very well due to the brightness, hard to take a picture against the light, but I hope it does. They have just left for the day, my first glimpse of Denver, the quiet young man. He keeps a low profile in the mornings, not a breakfast eater, it seems. Off they go on their days' adventure in the Oldest City, on a hot hot day!

Well, I guess it is time to stockpile the incandescent light bulbs---Lowes, here I come! They carry Sylvania-brand bulbs, made in the USA. Try as they might, the Republicans could not get the "greenies" to back down on their support of the foreign-made mercury CFLs replacing American-invented incandescent bulbs. Do you still recognize your country?

R.I. P. Big Blue

There it is, prior to the Computer Guy came to take him to the hospital. After getting the news about the cost of repairs and the cleaning thereof, it made more sense to have a new machine rather one refurbished. Sigh....I won't know what to do with a quiet computer instead of the gas powered one running!

Please join in mourning...

...my big blue computer, the gas powered one. It seems that I have to make an executive decision about whether it is worth the cost of repairs on an 'old' machine or simply buy a new one. The cost would be nearly the same, and at the end, I would have either an operational 'old' computer or a new one, smaller and more efficient, with a great deal more megabytes or something. You will never guess with whom I have consulted on this----Justin! He is by far more knowledgeable and is the go-to guy when his friends need a new computer. Even The Computer Guy agrees that a new piece of equipment might be the way to go, although he has good things to say about my injured machine. Getting by on the laptop alone is not an option since it does not have word processing capabilities. When I do, if that is my decision, replace the Alienware computer, Steve will reload all my information from the old computer to the new one. Kind of get the new one dirty right away, putting all my nonsense back into place. Fortunately he thinks he can salvage my registration for the Office software which is a huge relief!

Steve's son came by late morning to collect the machine, as it's far too heavy for me to carry. To even begin to unplug it all is nearly beyond me, but my guess is the replugging process will be more involved. Hopefully Justin will be able to do that for me. We had a long conversation this afternoon when I let him know what was going on and he thinks I should forego desk top and go to laptop, to be used as my desk top. I know, right? In order to accommodate all the cords and peripherals he said I will need a splitter. That sounds easy enough but certainly having all sorts of things plugged in will make it less and less portable, which is fine. Steve could have loaded the information from the old computer onto the existing laptop, but when he found out what I had, well, he described it as being like a plastic garbage bag----disposable. But, this laptop suits my requirements, is lightweight and easily portable. However, I also know he is correct, it would not be wise to depend upon this little laptop for my primary purposes.

Justin said he would research it for me this evening, after he is done at the gym. Jesse and he were going to watch TV tonight, must be their favorite programs or something, and do his research then. I found a couple on-line that would suit but I yield to the master. He does know I care more about my wallet than I do about gigabytes or whatever but I also need to be able to do my thing. Guess the sign-up sheets for the Mexican dinner next month will simply have to wait! Yes, when Lynn and Linda J. are here, we will once again be having a special dinner at church, prepared by our chefs, Mike 'n Mike, which means Lynn, Linda, and I might want to rethink our themed dinner at home, which was also going to be Mexican-style foods. We can still have the margaritas though, right?

Sad to say, until I get a replacement computer for word processing, I will not be able to adjust the text size or font on this blog posting, and I am sorry about that.

Oh, what a wonderful movie I saw today!!!! Called "Midnight in Paris", it's a story of a screenwriter on vacation in Paris with his future wife and in-laws. He longs for the romantic life of the 1920's Parisians while his travel companions are busy looking down their snooty American noses (greatly exaggerated, in their defense) at the French. He is successful in his work, lives well, and all that, but also wishes for the struggling writer life which made up Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Stein, and other writers and artists of that era. Somehow he finds himself meeting them all, having drinks with them, dancing, and living the dream, as it were. It was charming, and yet, reflective. I would see it again, just ask me! I went with Maggie O., her friend, Pat, and with Ellen. We did not carpool, we Palace dwellers, as Ellen had to go somewhere afterwards. Next we want to see "Larry Crowne" and after that, when I get home from my summer travels, "The Help". My friend at the pool, Rick, suggested that book, The Help, to me also so I had better get a move on! Yesterday I ordered some more books, including one about the Secret Service ('boring books' according to Jessica, my neighbor!) which Linda J. also wishes to read. Guess having a sick computer is not the worst thing to happen, with so many books waiting for me, and more coming!!!!

A whirlwind Sunday

As I struggle to keep my eyes open here, I will sum up the day as quickly as possible. Even though I went to bed early enough last night, I had a terrible time going to sleep, being 'aware' of my houseguests still awake and movie watching in the family room. Something made me think they might need me or have a question or whatever, and I wanted to be available, or at least, alert. In so doing, it was around 2:00 am or after before I fell asleep. They were asleep in their rooms, it was me who had troubles! This made for a sleepy Kim in the morning.

The young people got themselves up and ready for church, the girls having a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, in the river room. I am not sure what Denver ate, if anything, for breakfast, but he did empty the dishwasher. Michael had called me Saturday night to let me know they should bring their lunches and a change of clothes, as they would stay after church to ready things for VBS. Hastily they threw lunches together for themselves, one girl not even using mayo or mustard for her sandwich, which I think would be quite dry, and off we went to church.

As I pulled on to the church yard, there was only one car there, and I said, "Oh, no! Not again!" The kids confirmed that Michael had told them there was Bible study today and as I parked, three more cars came in behind mine. Whew! That was weird, thinking that I goofed again. Once the kids secured their belongings in the fellowship hall, we went back to the classroom building for Bible study. Part of the class is a narrated slide visit a professor made on his trip to the Holy Land and Darwin stood by the light switch to flip them on or off, as needed. We read from the book of Ruth about the kinsman-redeemer, discussing the lineage of Jesus.

When class was over we headed to church and the kids got situated with their teacher, Kari, while I got my attendance sheet ready. There was a better "house" today, which was helped by having our guests from CO, around 65 in church. Robbie played the organ for the service, having had the organ recently repaired so it is not being trashed as some thought would happen. We sang, "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" for our opening hymn, one I know mostly from memory, but from the TLH. "Ponder anew, what the Almighty can do...." Love that hymn!

Following the service, Kari was asked to say a few words about Rocky Mountain High School and how they are attempting to grow, how they serve, and so on. From there, then, all were invited next door to the Fellowship Hall for an Outreach Social and the WELS Connection. I will look it up on-line as Judy C. and I left to have lunch. I was coming back to have dinner at church with the workers and Mike S., who made a Boston butt on his smoker for the meal. Yummy!

Judy and I shared the Chili's appetizer combo offering of chicken tenders, potato skins, and mini-sliders. Perfect sized for us for less than $20, especially since we would eat bigger for dinner. Since I was so weary, I decided to take a quick rest when I got home instead of heading straight to the pool. It was overcast so I expected it to rain any second. After a time I got up and put my suit on, and got to the pool area just as it began to thunder. I sat for a while with Gigi and saw this guy, Mark, coming up the path from The Club. He got into the pool anyway and declared it was cold, which I could have guessed from the night before's dip. Mark and I had discussed the future plans of NASA in the pool the night before. I had printed off a news item regarding the future of NASA and their new direction of Muslim outreach so gave it to him to read, which he was doing, shaking his head as he read. I came back upstairs to dress.

I headed over to church to meet the rest for dinner and found Judy busy in the kitchen, of course, tidying things up, but in the dark. Since the parking lot was nearly flooded, it occurred to me that the electricity might be out due to the storm, but she informed me they were watching a movie and that's why the darkness. A Harry Potter movie played with the teacher and two kids watching, and Nicole was practicing the music for VBS in the church. I took pictures of the decor for the backdrop of VBS and one of her at the piano. Our meal was absolutely amazing, the pulled pork, macaroni salad, baked beans, and garlic bread were fantastic. Kari supplied the ice cream and cookies for our dessert, loving Publix! Who doesn't???

The kids and I came home so they could get into the pool before it got too dark out. It was far too cold for my purposes but they didn't mind. Boy, can teenaged girls squeal and shriek, though. Did I ever do that??? One girl, Sydney, has a camera that works underwater and they took turns photographing each other under the water, trying to coordinate their photo shoots. Hence, the shrieking! I sat at a table off to the side, swatting mosquitos, while I read a paper Michael C. gave me, that I had asked for, regarding backdoor losses. I had heard him talking about it with Pastor when I was in the church office a while back and was glad to get a copy of it from him. Interesting reading, especially since I just sent out one of the newsletters I put together for the members away, shut-ins, and 'seldom seens' from the congregation. Can we do more, as a church, for the straying? The paper addresses this and I have more to read!

Since I was so tired from the night before, I bid the kids an early 'good night' and came in here for bed, while they watch "The Bucket List", at their request. I took the entire basket of DVDs to them to sort through and chose that one. Now, before I nod off, I bid all of you a good night as well!

The time is my own

As the kids and I enjoyed a lovely breakfast at Grumpy’s, we were comparing notes. At least the girls and I were, as Denver is silent for the most part. What I did find out was that he would like to pursue a career in the medical field somehow, after he graduates from high school. He has two more years to go before he faces those decisions. But the girls and I talked about life and what makes it go, over ketchup and hash browns. It all makes perfect sense to me---now!

Grumpy’s served up delicious breakfasts for them and a wonderful patty melt for me, as it was about 11:30 or so when we arrived there. They had a fairly late night, getting home from Universal Studios around midnight or so. It seems they might still be feeling the effects of the time change which I know for a fact messes up sleep patterns. Sydney reported that she had not had that much sleep all summer long, so she must have really needed it. Plus she is getting over a cold that she brought with her which might either help or hinder the sleep process. It was in our plans to sleep late in the day, and even I rolled to catch a few more winks before waking for the second time, around 9:00.

After breakfast, I took them up to church, arriving right at the appointed hour. Others were already there and the rest, pulling in. Robbie was there, practicing for tomorrow so I introduced him to Nicole, who also will be helping with the music, in order for them to work together on the VBS stuff. The rest of the gang was getting busy in the fellowship hall with markers and a giant plastic sheet with cartoon figures on it. Yes, they were going to color!

Michael is making a shrimp boil for their dinner to which I am invited but since I do not eat shrimp, well, it was not worth my while to venture back over there. I asked if there was leftover potatoes and corn that I might have some of that, so a doggy bag may find its way home with my charges. If not, no problem, I have half a patty melt and some fries to enjoy!

Last night I had a funny thing happen: at about 6:30 or so, my phone rang, showing a number I did not recognize. Since it was local, I thought it might be a call I should take. It was Mary Lew, the low-talker, calling me from The Club. She was wondering if there was Happy Hour going on, after she told me she had been at the cabana and it was locked up. Hmmm….that’s a fairly good sign. No one around and the doors are locked. It has always been a ‘weather permitting’ schedule at the cabana, even for dinner.

I asked her if there was anyone at The Club she could ask and ML said, “Well, I asked a few people but they didn’t know, so that’s why I called you!” Of course, if the staff doesn’t know, call Kim! Other than a wedding going on, with hideous decorations, according to ML (who used to do that for a living and now does for holidays and special occasions at The Club), there was no other activity going on. She said she should have called first, since she drove over in the rain….from the Riverside area. Poor Mary Lew! I feel badly for her and wonder how many others showed up to be disappointed. Guess not everyone has Danny’s number so they can text message him and find out if it’s a go or not…..

Waiting for the shuttle to go

The other day as I was driving somewhere, instead of Neal, who was on vacation, I listened to Laura Ingraham who had a guest author discussing whether or not people could actually multi-task. This is a fascinating topic for me as it gets thrown around often in conversations. The professional speaking said that there is really no such thing as multi-tasking, as one’s brain does not process that way. What is actually taking place is called ‘toggling’, where the brain switches from one task to another more quickly in situations, and in people, than in others. This is more or less comparing the brain to a computer, which makes me wonder which came first---the brain, as a type of computer, or the computer, a picture of the brain…Of course, I know that answer but still, it's fun to compare!

The reason this came up right now is that I am simultaneously watching LIVE from NASA the preparations for launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis, listening to Neal on the radio (via Internet) and writing this! Oh, a man just held up a sign in the ‘white room’ that said, “God Bless America” as the crew leaves that area, readying the shuttle to pull away. I wonder if the guys have to put everything back if the shuttle does not go today. They might have to hook the whole works back together and do the same routine tomorrow, or the next day. If the Cape is as overcast as it is here, they might not go. It is quite cloudy here, but getting a bit lighter grey than dark.

Hopefully the weather holds for the ‘kids’ and their escorts who are at Universal Studios today, having left here at 6:00 a.m. They needed no help from me in getting up and ready but Sydney told me they were tired because while they had set their alarms on the phones, turning the volume so they would hear them, their friends in CO would send them text messages late in the night and wake them up! They were frustrated by that! “Like, come on, guys!”, she said to me. I imagine the kids back home were not thinking about the time difference, or were in their mode of ‘living in the moment’. While one would not even think of calling someone at 3:00 a.m. or showing up at their door just to chat, sending an e-mail or text in the wee hours might not faze a person. I told them they can sleep in the car on the way down and on the way back home again, and sleep late in the morning tomorrow. As far as I know, that is!

It was publicized at church to have our teens and those of Keystone Heights join these young people for the trip to Universal Studios but I did not hear that any others were going. Pastor’s daughter is in a baseball tournament today so she would not be going. Someone at the pool asked if we (GS) can’t do our own VBS, sort of sassy but not really, and it gave me pause. Without answering them out loud, in my head and heart I thought, “No, we can’t”. One of the young moms at church asked me if I was coming to help and I said, “Well……” and immediately she said, “Yeah, I am so over it, too…” That pretty well sums it up. There are some for whom their gift is doing VBS and some whose gift is to write about it. And to house the willing and enthusiastic helpers from Colorado!

The countdown is “go” right now, with them announcing the launch windows being open in the default landing areas around the world in case of engine failure. When Joanne S. was growing up, they lived in Belgium where her dad, an Air Force officer, would visually track the spacecraft for NASA. Imagine that! I am sure he had equipment for that, not just standing outside with his hand shielding his eyes…He also helped select chimps for the first launches with life inside them. Joanne has the black and white photos, head shots, as it were, of several of the chimps. I called them her 'family photos'!

We are presently at 36 minutes and counting, with Justin letting me know that at a State Park down the coast a bit, they have sunshine. Oh, good, I am excited for him!

Tragic employment numbers announced today really put a damper on the other news. Glad something could replace the news out of Orlando and that trial, but folks are often more interested in the sensational news rather than the important stuff. Slight of hand being performed via the media, turning people’s head away from goings on in Washington or their states. The nation is now presently closer to 10% unemployment with hiring reportedly stagnant. Hopefully that is not the case for those I care about who are searching for work. By the way, Mom, Justin loves his new clothes, says he really likes the way his ‘job searching pants’ feel around his ankles!

I am a bit hungry right now but hate to walk away from the monitor in case I miss something on the launch pad! Guess if I scurry it will be okay for me to leave. Maggie O. and I had tentative plans to watch the shuttle launch from my balcony and then have lunch. Launch and lunch, that sounds like me! In the afternoon we might attend a movie, “Midnight in Paris” at the Mall, since it got bumped already from the Fleming Island theater by “Cars II”. I had sent Lisa a caution about that movie, the Cars II one, which is reportedly alive with 'green' propaganda, much like "Wall-E" was. Nothing subtle about it, as even the director of Cars II admitted, he was going after so-called 'big oil'...and this was prior to the accident in the Gulf. Ugh!

Raindrops on the window here and in the river but Justin reports he has sunshine. The launch director just said, “Godspeed” and a few other words to the astronauts....Very touching exchange between launch control. My sister, Lynn, just called to see if I was at the beach watching but I told her I am in my window, watching the rain drops hit, while watching LIVE on the computer. She has the same or similar in front of her, so we are watching together!!! Godspeed, Atlantis, Godspeed!

They’re here, they’re here!!

…but not right at the moment. The young people are out doing the Lord’s work, in my place, and I am so terribly appreciative. The three ‘kids’, as I will refer to them from now on, are fabulous, simply fabulous, and are loving their digs here at my place. They cannot believe their good fortune and I am so tickled to have it to offer them. They were laughing how all four of us in the house could go to the bathroom at the same time, with no waiting. I love pointing that out!

They arrived this early afternoon, after I finished my meal with the friends at the pool. Michael had to drop them off and unload the belongings up there because today, of all days, the driveway down to our building is blocked as, at long last, the pot holes are being filled in. Talk about convenient! Connie quickly got on the phone to let folks know so if anyone had to leave, they could move their cars up to the pool area or stay home until after 5:00 pm. Good thing Jessica did not have to rush to the hospital to have her baby today!

Something kind of cool happened at and around the cabana today…I saw Danny walking forth and back with a tablet, appearing rather solemn. At one point I asked him if he was sad and he said the chef told him to get a checklist of things together for the cabana. Then he told me that Chef let him read the e-mail I sent over yesterday….oops! Oh yes, besides praising the staff for their efforts at good customer service, I also made suggestions for improving said service. One suggestion was to have forks on hand for people attempting to eat lettuce and chicken salad, or worse yet, linguine pasta salad! To not have pina colada mix on hand for one the biggest holiday weekends, with a wedding thrown in, of the summer and NOT have mixes for the tropical drinks people love, is, well, just terrible!

I was extremely kind in my remarks and observations, which prompted the checklists being drawn up (Marlena had already done this but no one paid attention to them, she says) and another of my suggestions was addressed as I paddled around in the pool. The maintenance man for The Club came out with drill in hand, and I just KNEW he was going to flip the doors on the refrigerator! Wish I had thought of that---oh, wait, I did! The first time I visited the cabana in May and saw the new appliance, I remarked, “Those doors have to be reversed…” As I told Chef in my e-mail, in your own home you would not be willing to walk around the doors to get stuff out, it certainly was not efficient when hustling, preparing food in the cabana. Changes were already in effect and I only sent the e-mail yesterday afternoon. You know I do love good customer service!

Marlena was so thankful that I said something because she feels as though no one listens to her. After a certain point, I imagine that people get weary of hearing the same stuff from the same person all the time. It is in The Club’s best interest to remain in my good graces or they will hurt in their cabana sales to be sure! Actually, the statements came in yesterday’s mail, including a small piece of paper for Feedback, so it’s not as though I caught anyone off guard. They ask and I deliver!

Justin is getting a day off from work tomorrow as he accompanies his father and likely others to see the final shuttle launch. They are not attempting to go all the way south to the Cape but somewhere along the way will pull off to wait. The launch may be scrubbed due to weather besides having a possible lightning strike today when a storm rolled through. Ugh! I hope it goes for the sake of all involved, as well as for my visiting kids from CO to witness from Orlando when they go to Universal Studios!

Years ago, probably 1991-92, the Jachimstals were here, and with Mom, we drove down to Titusville to watch Atlantis go up. Tommy loves to show the video recording he took that day, but my fond memory is to see him taping the launch, the vibrations thundering our chests, as tears ran down his cheeks. Much like they are on mine right now, thinking about it. Best wishes, Atlantis, it was great!

“You make me want to be a better man…”

This is a line of note from the movie, “As Good As It Gets”, and you will see later why I titled my posting this way.

My house guests will be arriving after midnight, accompanied by their teacher, Kari, who is a friend of Michael C.’s from MLC days. Because of the lateness of their flight, they will all be staying at Judy C.’s house tonight and be dropped off here tomorrow around 1:00 pm. Hopefully the kids will be up for some pool time during the afternoon before they are taken back to church for canvassing purposes. It occurred to me today that because of their ages, we will have to use the teen/children’s pool so I will be with different folks than usual when poolside. That is, IF I choose to stay with them on that end. Certainly they won’t need me to oversee them, and likely the girls will choose to sun themselves more than romp in the pool. But, we shall see!

On the way home from Trivia last night, I gassed up the car and then stopped at Winn Dixie to get some more supplies for the kids. My freezer is now stocked with waffles, pancakes, breakfast entrees, and even individual pizzas to make for late night snacking. If nothing else, I can make the pizzas and have them to-go for breakfast in the morning. Some people like cold pizza. Also I got Hot Pockets, bread, and bagels plus cream cheese for them. And fruit! Grapes and ‘beenanas’ for their enjoyment. Forgot all about buying orange juice but I do have V-8 Fusion if they would like that!

We had such fun at Trivia last night, only four of us on the team, with Justin being occupied with a function given by his father. Because Justin did not come, Jesse did not come either, so we had Stephanie, Erica, with her friend, Justin, and me. Our group did fairly well until again, that second half when the questions are more difficult. We ended being tied for 3^rd place with “Senior Moments” and had to endure two tie-breakers before they finally beat us. All that for 3^rd place!!!! My meal was fantastic, having the sliced rib eye steak, coated with fried onions and provolone cheese. I dumped it off the bread as there was no way I could have picked it up to eat. Should have ordered it without the bread, and will do that next time. One of the DJ’s that plays against us, Amadeus, had a birthday so we were treated to ice cream for dessert. Nice!

I had a couple interesting conversations this weekend that I wanted to write about but now I cannot remember all of what I was going to say. The one I can remember was with Miss Chardonnay on the 4^th, poolside. We were talking about the upcoming event that evening as we gathered for the fireworks show and how nice it was going to be to get together again, as a building. It seems that things have somewhat fizzled social-wise, with paranoid me thinking I was overlooked when it came to invitations or whatever. She rebuked me for thinking that, saying I am the nicest person she knows. Now, it WAS a bit late in the day….

Anyway, I started to say how I fear that I make people uncomfortable because they have to watch their language when I am around, but right over the top of me she said, “You make me behave myself, make me be good!”. This was a compliment to me, the way she said and meant it, as though she did not mind behaving once in a while! I felt much better after she said that, and she simply assured me that no one is getting together, well, hardly anyone, and all sort of miss it. Her friend asked who was on the Social Committee and I knew the answer, knowing this young lady is soon to have a baby (#2!!!) so has no desire to put social functions together, not since baby #1 is only 15 months old! Am I going to have take on being the Fellowship Lady for the building?????

The weekend's photos

This long weekend was a fabulous one, and I am sort of sad it's over. Even today, as I was at the pool, it just wasn't the same, you know?

Here is a photo of The Club, taken from the north end of The Palace, as Judy C. and I sat in our chairs in preparation for the fireworks show to begin. Instead of participating in the buffet dinner at The Club, I had a hamburger at two minutes to closing time of the cabana, at 4:00 pm. Yes, I was hungry at bedtime!

Judy and I enjoyed the summer breeze as we sat along the river, watching the boats arrive to view, up close and personal, the pyrotechnic display. As we sat there, the sailboat in front of us raised this gorgeous sail which I simply had to capture!

This photo surprised me being so very green, reflecting in the water this way. Another fabulous explosion of color! Our building was very well represented on the property, being orchestrated mostly by the O'Connells. They got busy carrying the sundeck chairs downstairs but the attendees carried them back up again. Judee, who lives on that end, first floor, offered her bathroom in case anyone needed to use it during the waiting time and the show. I love my neighbors! (Can't get rid of the underline!)

Amid the oohs and ahhhs, strains from a CD Hugh put together for the fireworks gathering was playing including "God Bless America", "America, the Beautiful", "God Bless the USA", and others. My favorite moments were when the national anthem played and our group of about fifty or so neighbors and friends joined together in singing along to "The Star Spangled Banner". I found it quite stirring.....

...and the grand finale was absolutely fantastic, makes my heart thunder in my chest at the 'shock and awe'. Fireworks were visible up and down the river as far as the eye could see, including our being able to see the show going on at The Landing before the Town of Orange Park's show. I am sorry it's so expensive to do, and I do pray we can have it again next year for America's birthday party!