Photos from Reformation celebration

Our pre-service rehearsal had The Maestro sporting a gag idea for directing us and playing at the same time. Since he was behind the piano, it was difficult for some to see when to come in so he applied an antennae to his face. When he removed it, some of his eyebrows came with it!

The order of these photos is a bit confused, my apologies. Pastor Kuske speaking at the afternoon Reformation service, his dad seated in the front row.

Prof. Kuske led the morning Bible study based on Romans, "By Faith Alone"

Robbie, "The Maestro", and our fabulous soprano, Kerra, who attends UNF with Robbie, rehearsing Saturday. Kerra sang the 2 descants for which I personally was most thankful. She is a member at Victory, as is her boyfriend, Daniel, both from King of Kings, Maitland.

Setting up the chairs for our joint choir rehearsal on Saturday morning. Carol, in the blue top, now walks without benefit of a cane following her knee surgery. Bravo!

Here we are, ready to enjoy our Reformation Feast as prepared by chefs Mike 'n Mike. In the foreground is Joseph, with the white hair, next to Ellen C., Twila, and Jean. Across is Donna W.

Mike C., one of the chefs, in line to eat

Here is a group shot from my seat. In the foreground you can see the youngest attendee, a three-week old baby in arms, with her parents from Christ, Keystone Heights. That's the 'Buz', anyway!

Janet is dishing up some of that awesome feast, with Michelle across from her. Behind Janet is Rich, from Victory and WI (he used to own a restaurant along I-43, near Mequon!). Cary, my Trivia partner, is following Rich, Suzanne is across from them both.

Here is a close-up of the grape salad that I loved so well. Jayne made it, and Judy J. brought me a plate of salad, as I hollered to her across the room to do so. Funny! As I ate the grapes I thought I tasted peanut butter but those with me suggested I was imagining things. Jayne told me later that there was crushed Butterfingers in it. Do I know my grape salad or what???

The tables begin to fill......

“On earth is not His equal….”

This morning was Bible study and worship, not unusual for a Sunday. We had a guest study presenter today, as our pastor’s dad, a former professor from the Seminary, lead the class. The subject was “By Faith Alone” from Romans, dissecting a few passages which bring home the point that nothing we can do is enough to earn salvation. I sat with Judy C. and Laurie, no Gretchen today. She does not always make it to Bible study but usually does for worship. Today she missed both, unless she makes it this afternoon for the Reformation service. Terri T. was going to call her and arrange a ride for Gretchen.

Back to the study, though…once the class was wrapped up, we three ladies stayed talking at the table about a few things, as Carol came walking over. Laurie said to Judy and me, “What am I going to do after you ladies are gone.....?” and then added she didn’t mean to sound like we were old. Judy piped up that SHE would take our place and instruct her children in the true, solid Word. Just as Carol got there, Judy told Laurie that she had meant to call her anyway to fuss at her. Laurie said, “Go ahead, fuss at me” so Judy said she was concerned about the boys not getting to Sunday school, having missed a few weeks. Laurie said she knew, she knew, and said to Judy, “Thank you, Shirley”, as this was exactly what her grandma would have said. Carol laughed about Shirley still making an appearance in someone else’s body! Love these ladies!

Once in the church, one of our newer members, Cat, was sporting a shorter haircut. She had about a foot in length removed and she looks so cute. Her hubby and she are the parents of our youngest member, Eli. Cat donated the length to “Locks of Love” and I made the joke that I am growing the hair out on my legs for that foundation, too. “Oh, Kim……” Summer is over now, what can I say? Cat teaches Sunday school, having had a WELS background before they came to Jax. Her hubby, Tyler, went through Bible information class with Judy J., Judy C., and I as his classmates. Tyler was the first one people I know of that was baptized, confirmed, and had the Lord’s Supper all in one service. Very special for some of us in the congregation!

Robbie played the entire service today, using parts of different Orders of Service, including The Gathering Rite for the first time, I think. At least the first time we used it the way it is written or planned, with the organ music playing under the speaking parts, the exchanges between pastor and congregation. Sort of reminded me of the music service I attended at the Assembly of God church a couple weeks ago. (Sometimes I fear my face will stay this way!!!) We did sing the Te Deum after the sermon which was much appreciated by me, and the lady sitting behind me, as I said softly, “One more time!”

After church I headed for home, stopping at McDonald’s for a burger. The car in front of me had a lady I know from the Art Guild at the wheel and she was waving at me. I waved at her, too, and when we pulled around to the window, the passenger door opened and there was my other friend, Kris. She came to my window and asked if I was heading to St. Augustine, too, as they were going to take in art for a show going on down there. I told her I was going home to rest after church and then returning later to church for a special service. How funny it was to see her, to see them. At least I thought it was!

Shortly I will be readying myself to return to church, as half time is nearly upon the game, tied up 7 to 7 with Houston. The Jags might be a bit tired from the game on Monday night OR they might still be on fire after their victory. The announcers just said that the guy who is my favorite player on the team has legs like tree trunks! That is what my name means in Indian---woman with hair like straw and legs like tree trunks! Maurice is having a tough time hanging onto the ball in recent games, dropping it once already today. Hope that’s behind him and he is all tree trunk legs today!

Angelo all dressed up!

Poor Angelo---all dressed up and has no idea why! At least he looks warm in his dragon outfit. I cannot get over how much he resembles Gabe at that age!

Lisa reported last night that Manny came into her room and said, "Thanks for the plans for tomorrow, Mom..." Oh that guy! First they went to Whispering Orchard for breakfast and then Lisa and Noah took the boys Trick or Treating at Festival Foods (that's what she said...) When they got home, Angelo fell asleep for over two hours! All worn out after their day.

I am dog tired!

It happens every time I set my alarm clock---I cannot sleep! It is a matter of trust---I don’t trust my alarm to do the right thing. Justin stayed overnight last night because after he came to do the vacuuming for me, and went to leave, his car battery was dead. As a door nail. Of those in the building I called, none had jumper cables to try giving him a jump and even though we have AAA, decided to just let him stay the night and handle the problem this a.m. He needed some green shirts for work so we went to Wal-Mart and got two for $3 each, and a set of jumper cables! Burger King provided our dinner and we spent the evening watching TV in my room. He sprawled on my bed, with me at my desk. Nice!

I tried and tried to go to sleep but you know how that works---it does not! This morning I had a Meet and Eat and Play event at The Club but had to wait for the wrecker to come. AAA phone person wanted the man to try starting it (which it did with a jump this a.m.) but Justin and I wanted it towed in and not risk having it quit on one of the busiest streets in town, on a Friday morning! We would just hate that!

All went well with the tow truck coming for Justin’s car, which he successfully had started with a jump start and moved up the hill into more open space. But then, it would not restart. The tow truck driver had a portable charger along with him which he used to start the car and it stayed running after he disconnected the charger. This meant that the alternator was fine, or it would have shut off. He put it on the wrecker and delivered it to Sun Tire. They knew the car was coming, and, in fact, I called them several times today. Surely they grew weary of hearing from me, but loved it when I ordered the new tires. Yes, I bit the bullet and bought him new tires. He badly needed them, even the tow truck operator remarked about their poor condition. Justin had hoped his father would pay for the tires but when he got no answer on that, figured it would not happen. Since it was a safety issue, I decided to go ahead and replace them, and not let him know I did it.

When Justin and I got over there after he was done working, he asked if he should transfer his stuff from my car into his while I paid the bill. He did not notice the new tires but when I was paying the bill, I asked the man if Justin would get the same deal or warranty I got with mine. Oh, the look on Justin’s face….He got a bit misty eyed and was whispering, “Thank you, thank you…” under his breath. I had wept a bit when I gave the man the permission to put them on, because it scared me that the tires were unsafe. They were thread-bare. And the battery was extremely low and begging to be replaced. It’s like a new car for him---almost!

What a slave driver!

The Maestro, Robbie, worked us hard last night at choir, all six of us put through our paces. Our Reformation anthems will be well rehearsed and hopefully, well sung on Sunday. We have a group rehearsal on Saturday morning and then again before the special service the next day. Victory has more people in their choir but Robbie said we have it down pat. They are not accustomed to working as hard as Robbie does it, probably since most of them are music readers. Only half or less of our number do read music and I, for one, benefit greatly from the repetition. One anthem we are singing reminds some of us our former pastor who introduced us to “Gloria” by Haas, many years ago.

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a quiet one---no one came to the door and no place to be until choir time. I did venture to the mailbox in search of my letter from the insurance company and to mail some outreach letters. I had gotten stamps at Winn Dixie after Trivia Tuesday night so I could finish the mailing and restocked my soda for a day or two. The mail brought the sales flier from WD which has Diet Coke on special this week, so I will venture back over to fill my trunk. They also have Pepsi products on sale for a dollar less than the Coke ones, but my tendency is to drink the Pepsi products more quickly. Sweetness, perhaps?

Listening to clips from Paul Ryan’s speech from yesterday, what a powerful one it was! That man has a future, perhaps as someone’s VP choice in 2012? I just ate my leftovers from Monday’s lunch, half a bbq beef sandwich and the fries. Somehow the fries don’t translate well to leftovers so they got dumped out but the sandwich was good. Next week I will switch back to the soup/sandwich option as I like the new baked potato soup they are offering at Longhorn.

Justin is coming over today to do some vacuuming but wants to meet me at the bank where I do my business, actually a credit union, so he can get his coins counted. He is not an account holder there so cannot do it himself. He needs his mama! Since I have to go out again anyway to restock my soda for the weekend, we can take care of it then. He is working on Fleming Island so it’s convenient for us both.

Bible study at Victory was good again today, especially with the give ‘n take that happens. The lesson, about the Keys, was addressed more toward Pastors as they prepare for worship, remembering that the Word is inspired, God-breathed, and not to be messed with. I paraphrase, of course. Another section talked about how people expect to have a certain ‘feeling’ realized either in worship or when reading the Word. If one does not necessarily feel something does not mean that the Word is ineffective, or empty. We can be slaves to our sins, as found in John 8:33, which is also the sermon text Pastor H. is using this week.

We talked about how we carry things around that we don’t need to such as bad memories, grudges, guilt, or cruel talk. As this section was read aloud from the booklet, as we later discussed, many of us could insert our names in the various spots! Funny how it works out that way sometimes---probably far too often! We must live our lives as lights to others and not bring darkness where we go.

*

Since Mom was at her church (FG) this morning working on the newsletter with Linda J., I made prayer chain calls on the way to Victory. One of our elderly members, a charter member I understand, is going to have heart surgery early next week following a cardia cath. procedure yesterday. It sounds like Twila’s case when she was not urgent enough to do the surgery immediately but was too tentative to send home…so she had to wait, just as Arlene does. She is 90 years old but keeps on truckin’ along. One lady I will contact by e-mail as I did not have her correct phone number in my phone and is extremely hard of hearing. It works better for her to do via e-mail.

I did get Mom at home as I drive back to Orange Park and we got talking about the presidents and who served during the Korean War and such. Once I was home, I could look things up to answer our questions about Douglas MacArthur and Harry Trumann and Eisenhower, all brought about by a crossword puzzle stumper she had earlier in the day! So glad to have the Internet to solve these mysteries!

Today's earworm...

When darkness veils his lovely face,

I rest on his unchanging grace.

In every high and stormy gale,

My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand.

Oh, I hate that Dukakis!

Well, hate might be a bit harsh---rather, I hate that I scratched out my first answer, Dukakis, and changed it to Rockefeller. I was right the first time but another member of the team, Nothing Tips Like a Cow, suggested Rockefeller as the answer to “who was GHW’s Democratic opposition in 1988?”. I can still see pictures of ole Mike standing in the tank with the helmet on, and how he lost ground in the debates over the capital punishment question. Rats! I scratched out his name when I should have let it alone! That answer did not break us but I am beating myself up for changing it! At least I did know the answer "Vienna Boys Choir", the very first question out of the starting gate! (Started by Emp. Maximilian in the 1400's). Good guess!

Last week the owner of the Diner introduced prime beef burgers and I had hoped to have another one tonight, but nope, had to settle for less than prime. It was still delicious, no worries, but last weeks’ sandwich set the standard from that time forward. Jesse was able to join us part way into the game as he got out of class early, but did not arrive in time to help us with a baseball question.

I stink at the sports questions but sometimes surprise myself, like knowing the name of the guy who slugged a football player on his own team. Woody Hayes! Tonight’s question was the name of the manager of the team who won the World’s Series in 2002 but lost it in 2006 (I think…) We didn’t know but Cary and Nancy, in talking between themselves, actually did mention the name of the right answer, some guy from the Pirates. They are from IN and PA so have some knowledge of this. If they had said it aloud, it would have been right!

Justin reported that his boss lost one of the all-day lawn projects they do on Wednesdays so now, sadly, has less work at the moment. He figures he can work for his father on Wednesday instead of the Thursday, freeing him up for Bible study. I mentioned that Pastor H. said just last week that he missed having Justin in class, and before I could finish my sentence, he said, “Me, too…”, meaning he missed the Bible study. I rejoice he feels that way!

Late afternoon, I got a message from my upstairs neighbor, Randy, asking me if he could bring me my chili. He had put it in his freezer the day it was made so it was frozen when delivered. He was feeling a bit punk health-wise, and he claims it was unrelated to losing money on the Jaguar game. Randy said that when he placed his bet, he had drunk “the Kool-Aid” for the hype for the game. Justin, when he heard this, was upset that Randy bet against the home team but I reminded Justin that he is a college football guy, and not emotionally tied to any professional teams other than who is going to make money for him. Not like I understand it either, but it is all very methodical, like a job for him. At least, this is my deduction.

*

I was roused from my bed this a.m. by the ringing doorbell, so I hastily grabbed my caftan as I headed toward the door. It was well after 10:00 but I had just not put my feet on the floor yet, only to get a soda first thing when I woke up. When I got to the door, no one was there except a box left for me. Inside was a book that had been on back-order for some time, and when my order from Amazon failed to arrive a month or so ago, they offered to send my back-order overnight at no extra charge. And they did it!

The book is a Hemingway writing titled “On Paris”, articles written when he was a correspondent living there. I became interested after seeing the movie “Midnight in Paris”, which is now on pre-order from Amazon, due out toward the end of the year. On Facebook, I mentioned that something must be wrong with me as I cannot wait to tear into it! But I cannot, I admit it, yes, I cannot read and listen to my programs at the same time. Must be getting old!

Good thing I slept late this morning

It is going to be a late night tonight as I am watching the football game, not blacked out as was predicted. Apparently the last of the unsold tickets were picked up by the visiting team’s fans and spared Jacksonville the embarrassment of a black-out on national TV. The announcers said more than once that the local fans have really taken it on the chin this year with the team doing so poorly. Right now the Jags are ahead 6-0 against the Ravens at half time. This is not quite the same type of ball game as yesterday’s Packer/Viking game, nothing ‘edge of my seat’ about it---yet.

The days have been beautiful here recently---bright blue skies, mostly cloudless, and star blankets at night. This evening is no different, a starry dome instead of the dome the Packers played under Sunday. I kept my eyes and ears open for the Goodyear blimp but did not see it. Nor did I hear the fly over, which makes me wonder if there was one at all since it was dark out when kick off took place.

Last night I made dinner at home, consisting of pork chops, baked potatoes and creamed corn. For my dinner tonight, I cut up the leftover chops, even used my blitz hacker from Pampered Chef to mulch the pork. Then, I cut up the remaining potatoes and placed them over the top of the mulched pork, popping the casserole into the oven. I had added some sangria to the casserole before reheating it so that added extra good smells to the kitchen, and taste to the meat. I still have a couple more meals-worth of food after eating my dinner and fear I will grow weary of the pork before it gets too old.

My to-go boxes have chicken tenders and a baked potato from Longhorn on Sunday, as well as half a bbq beef sandwich from today’s Longhorn lunch! I should just put it all in the blender and whip it up, drink it with a straw! That won’t make it any less food, I guess…

I am so enjoying the Bible study about Nehemiah as it seems I knew nothing about either Ezra or Nehemiah aside from memorizing the names of their books of the Bible. Nothing ever stopped me from reading this book or studying it and am glad to now have the opportunity. We have this man who joins our studies, Joseph, who is someday taking custody of my old TV. Today, as he likes to do, he attempted to add some of his personal stories to the mix in the midst of the class. Pastor is adept at redirecting when he sees it coming. As we read about how Nehemiah kept a low profile at first when he got to Jerusalem, waiting until he had surveyed the project before speaking up, Joseph piped up that he thinks he is like Nehemiah….Pastor remarked, “Yes, I believe that Nehemiah considered himself a very humble man…” and left it at that. Whew, that was close!

After getting home from lunch, I made some prayer chain calls as one of our members had leg surgery today, and came through safely. Fran has had surgery once already on her veins which was not entirely successful and there was hope of trying again to open the clogs. The doctor was not able to open them wide but did improve the flow which will hopefully reduce the pain and discomfort she experienced. Tomorrow they will know more when she gets up and tries walking. Please keep her in your prayers, too, if you don’t mind. She is a dear lady and I love her.

After the calls were made, I worked some more on the newsletter, and was getting information for the letter as I wrote, from the congregation president. He was gone over the weekend but returned today and sent me more information regarding our financial situation. I was not able to translate the images from Power Point into Word but was able to do it in Excel. An extra page for the newsletter which required some more text from Jim. Once I add the information from the preschool, I am ready to go to press. Oh wait---still need Bible study information for November!

Wow, this football game is taking a turn for the worse here! A player from the Ravens’ team was just ejected from the game for punching a Jaguar in the face, nearly clipping the ref in the face too! He is out! As the announcer just said, this has been a very physical 3^rd quarter. Lots of flags being thrown, almost all on the opposing team. I just came back in the room after checking outside for what could have been the sound of a blimp. I think it must be a helicopter but it’s too dark out to see shapes. My downstairs neighbor was outside with his flashlight, probably looking for the alligator. Tommy claims to be able to see his orange eyes at night when he shines the flashlight across the water. And people wade around out there---not me!

Oh, oh, oh! I almost forgot to mention my good news---the insurance adjuster, Greg, called me last week Thursday to inform me that the insurance carrier for the people directly below me has decided to not pursue the lawsuit against me for The Great Flood of last year!!! He told them how he found no negligence on my part, the pipe broke in the wall while a leak was being repaired (technically speaking, the pipe is actually owned by the Association since it’s in the wall), and I was “held harmless” in this mess. A letter stating this is forthcoming but Greg said it might take up to 10 days to get it since his company outsources the letter writing. What? Really? What used to be done in a day or two, basically quickly, now takes three times as long by someone else. Perhaps in India or Indonesia?

What is going to happen with Iraq and Iran now that our troops are coming home? My upstairs neighbor, Randy, mentioned this to me when he brought the chili, how now there is nothing between the world and Iran’s nukes. Yikes! He is a Marine and has much knowledge of this volatile region. His son is active duty in the Marines and I wonder where he is stationed. My nephew is soon to leave Afghanistan and return to Germany so he will be somewhat out of harm’s way. Oh my, oh my! But not tonight---tonight is football and the unidentified sounds from outside. Blimp? Or just my reflection in the doors???

We have a good and gracious God!

A year ago, Angelo was born in Sheboygan, a few weeks early, so after being baptized, was transported to a Green Bay hospital to the NICU. Lisa could not travel due to her C-section so could not be with him until a few days after his birth. Notice Noah's thumb holding the pacifier for Angelo...

After a couple weeks, his lungs were strong enough to do what they are intended to do, and he joined his brothers and parents at home. His special formula helped to beef him up and allow him to fit into his older brother's Christmas outfit! In this photo, he is not crying but yawning, as his favorite aunt bores him to sleep.

Lisa keeps us updated with photos of the boys and especially Angelo's as he grows by leaps and bounds. He is nearly always cheerful, although his parents beg to differ. The dimple in the chin makes me weak in the knees!

And, here is the birthday boy! Celebrating his first birthday with a cupcake. His older brother, Gabe, is sneaking up behind him and one can certainly see the resemblance between these two boys. As I told someone today, I am a much better auntie than mother...these boys own my heart!

A lovely day

I did tons of cleaning today—well, at least it felt that way. Due to some recent conversations, I found it important to do some research. The place to begin was in my e-mail files, going back as far as I could when putting in search words. Yes, I know, how vague can I be?? But I must. What a wild trip it turned out to be, especially the notes from Judy R. and Linda J. over the years, going all the way back to when I first started to communicate with Judy after our cruise in 2007. Wow! Since we have begun using Facebook this much, the letters have gotten fewer as notes and private messages can be sent via FB. I read messages from my family members and friends marking the anniversary of Timmy’s death and his birthday, and so on. Some e-mails, the extraneous forwarded ones and such were deleted, sent to the trash heap. That is the extent of my cleaning for today!

That is not the only nostalgia, however. We have an independent TV station here that shows really old programs, and some not so old (Seinfeld, Frasier at bedtime) and right now, I am watching “Movin’ On”. This used to be one of my favorite programs in the early 1970’s , about truck drivers and their adventures. Now, when I see it, how funny it is! Very poorly done, the acting quite amateur, and the story lines rather lame, but, I still like it. They sure spend a lot of time in the truck stops! It rather reminds me of Bonanza, which I watched this summer with my mom. Even some of the actors are the same as in Bonanza!

I think I am now all caught up on my Internet programs, thankful to have dual screens at my desk in order to do so. Justin let me know that around Christmas, the new Roku will be coming out, in purple, no less, so I can then watch programs on the TV instead of the computer monitors. There is also a subscription feature on the Roku for downloading and viewing movies, similar to NetFlix or OnDemand. This likely would not be something I would do, as I can find stuff to watch for free after I watch my Internet programs. ‘Twill be nice when I buy myself a Roku for Christmas!

This conversation was had already not long ago with my friend, Betty, as I lamented not being able to shop for my family. No longer do the adults on either side of the family draw names for buying each other a present and I really miss that. Nothing to stop me, or anyone else who decided to do so, from picking up a little something if so inclined. We do buy for the kids, though, which is great fun. It’s fun to watch them tear into their presents and see the excitement. But often I will see something in a store or catalog and think about who this would be perfect for…As I said, nothing stopping me, right? Last year I gave the female adults a mounted vignette of my summer painting project. It’s not likely I will do that again this year, will have to come up with something else.

Before getting busy with my cleaning of mail boxes I worked on the invitations to my ThanksLiving feast. If everyone comes who is invited, I will need an extra table! It would be too good to be true if everyone was able or interested in coming but it will be fun to try! We won’t eat until after the football game is over, the Packers versus the Lions starting at 12:30, I think. Much of my meal prep and dressing of the table will take place the day before (I love being in charge!) so I should be able to watch the game and make things ready for guests. I sure miss having a TV in the kitchen---that might make all the difference for me, you know?

The other day I got a lovely handwritten letter from one of the young ladies who stayed with me this summer, Sydney. A couple weeks ago I got one from Nicole, as well as her class picture. Oddly enough, just the morning that Sydney’s letter came, I had changed my Facebook photo to the one of Sydney and me. Such nice girls they are! She would like me to come to CO at the end of May for a special concert the three houseguests will be part of. That would be very cool, probably in more than one way!

It’s windy outside this evening, I can only hear it blowing since it’s dark out. Water is hitting the breakwater and wind whipping the trees. No doors open tonight as it is rather cool out there, lows in the 40’s overnight. We got up to the mid 70’s today, bright and sunshiny, but definitely cooler and dryer than we are used to. The Packers play the Vikings tomorrow afternoon and the Jags will play on national TV Monday night. Terri T. and I have already made plans to have lunch tomorrow and I promised her I would stay to the very end of the meal instead of running off to watch the football game! Not sure who else will join us but at least two for sure tomorrow!

Friday night’s outing was such a blast, not raucous, but just great fun with my lady friends at the Pampered Chef (intervention) party. Both Kerri and Rachel love to cook, and are quite creative in the kitchen. After the presentation portion of the party, Rachel was showing the ladies a website she frequents called “Pinterest” where crafty or kitchen-comfortable people can go for ideas, etc. I am sure there is more to it than crafts or cooking, but that is what she enjoys. It requires a tutorial to get around in it, and I am not interested (or Pinterested!) but the others sure were! Rachel had walked the over two miles to Kerri’s house but I took her home since it was late and quite dark. Not the safest areas to be walking alone at night.

I was telling the ladies about our recent book sale at church, and they wished they had known about it. Many are big readers and would have liked to visit our tables. Never even crossed my mind to invite them over---oops! Victory is having a yard sale in early November and Anne asked if we were having a sale. That’s when I mentioned the used book sale, and told them the unsold books were re-gifted to Christ Lutheran’s yard sale which was this weekend.

The conversation rolled again to my not reading used books and someone else mentioned they won’t ever read books from the library. See???? Rachel told them how she never thought of it either until I brought it up over dinner that one night. Carol, from Victory, and a fellow writer, said in all her years as a media specialist (librarian) in the school system she never heard THAT excuse for not reading! I just blew her away with that one! But the other lady agreed with me, she prefers a Kindle to paper books for that reason. I am still a paper book reader. One new electronic device at a time please!

A Friday whirlwind

My day began quite early, complete with bright sunshine, as I had to be at The Club by 8:30 for our new social outing called “Meet, Eat, and Play”. I carried my very heavy box of Trivial Pursuit over, and for some strange reason, the Scrabble dictionary. Wishful thinking, I suppose. The reason the box is extra heavy is there are other boxes of cards in addition to the Genus edition for added variety. While we had six of us at breakfast, only three of us could stay to play. Mary, my new friend met at the pool late summer, joined us for breakfast and watched us play for a bit before having to see a client. She is in pain management, using reflexology and therapies similar to what my wonderful massage lady, Carol, uses.

Mary needs to find a new place to live, as the lady with whom she stays now needs the room for her granddaughter. I had been asking around if anyone knew of a garage apartment or a studio/efficiency place, but no luck. At breakfast, I asked Randy and his wife, Carol, if they knew of a place and Carol thought she might so hopefully that will work out for Mary.

Sloane, Maggie O., and I played the game, the short-cut version, which I ended up winning simply by default. We had to finish up as Sloane needed to get going, and since my pie was full and I answered my last question correctly, was declared the wiener! Maggie and I then went to Basketique so she could get a birthday gift for her friend, Pat, and I picked up my jar of muffuletta which the proprietress had ordered for me. It’s an olive mix and extraordinary tasting. The owner of the shop, Pat, told me that it is so good, a person could take a spoon and eat the entire jar in their closet. I laughed and said, “I live alone---I can eat the entire jar if I want to!”

Maggie loved the wax flower bowl I told her about and got one for Pat which was then bagged so beautifully that Maggie would not have to do any additional wrapping. She dropped me and my purchase and the heavy box of Trivial Pursuit at my door before she headed home. Tomorrow night she is attending the show “Mamma Mia” at Thrasher-Horne and is going to walk through the art gallery to see Dee’s show. I am glad she is getting to see it since last week when we did the walking tour with Dee, Maggie was unable to attend.

It was after noon when I got home so sat at the desk to listen to the radio. I was sleepy but resisted lying down. The temperatures outside were still chilly, starting out at 41 that morning and conducive to napping after my busy morning. My neighbor, Randy, contacted me via instant message, offering me some chili he was making. I told him I like sissy chili but he brought me a sample later on after it had brewed a while. It was quite good, did not have a residual burn in the throat or remove my fillings, so I said I would accept a container of it from him. We talked in the kitchen until my feet went to sleep, with me managing to get a story or two of my own in.

Eventually I did take my rest, but not sleeping, before it was time for me to get ready for a Wine ‘n Whine Pampered Chef gathering at my friend, Kerri’s, house. Her husband and she used to be at GS but when Victory was started, they transferred there. Joel was extremely helpful in the construction of Timmy’s memorial pond at The Preserve house, having done this type of work for a living at one time. Joel is the brother to the music director at Victory, Rachel. Anyway, the other Victory ladies were there, too, and we had a great time. Several are learning to knit using this special yarn which makes up into ruffles or interesting lacy looking scarves. Rachel was able to help those stuck to get finished and to help another lady get hers started. It is amazing! This is so not your grandmother’s yarn!

My order was simple from the party---I ordered a trivet and a jar of cherry almond topping to be served with pound cake or lemon cake, or over ice cream. Truly delicious! I really like the ‘rubber’ trivet for using when hot dishes are placed on the table, to protect the surface from burn marks. One young lady that came in after the party began was a co-worker of Kerri’s, at Pastiche, a gourmet restaurant in Jax. As she was about to leave, I said to her, “You look so familiar to me..” and she said I looked familiar to her as well. It turned out she is the niece of the lady who owns The Club, so I see her around there periodically, as well as being a St. Johns student in Justin’s class! She was a debutante when our friend, Olivia, was going through that. We knew we knew each other but it took a while since we were out of our elements. Love that!

It was an early start and late ending to a fun day, and sleep will be appreciated!

News ‘n Notes

That is the title of the bulletin insert at Victory, which I was able to help with this morning when I arrived. The pre-k kids were still in the back of the church having their snack so we have to wait in the church office, doing our thing. One of the fellows who is a known curmudgeon with the nicest wife was doing some folding, and not being careful about it. His pastor is quite particular about things like this so I was attempting to fix the unevenly folded papers. “Oh, you mean the page that no one reads?” he asked, caustically. The secretary was sitting right behind him and said, “Hey! I put a lot of work into that…” At that moment, I noticed one of the hymns included for Sunday’s worship as being sung at Timmy’s funeral, the one I chose, “Oh, For a Faith That Will Not Shrink”. I started to sing, attempting to defuse the situation between H. and the secretary.

Shortly, after my brief musical interlude, Pastor came through and asked me if I was serenading H. I told Pastor I was trying to soothe his troubled spirit, as H. had also gone off about Facebook being nothing but gossip. Having never visited the site nor used it, he declared it must have been invented by a woman because it’s nothing but gossip. I said, “Mark Zuckerburg is a man….” and very kindly asked him how much time he spends on the site. “Never!” “And yet, you know sooooo much about it!” as I sang some more for H.! He is an older man who, when you report the sky is blue, he would say it was red. You know the type. Sing for him!

The Bible study was fantastic today, a much smaller group than usual, as some ladies had gone downtown for the Southern Women’s Show. We are discussing Jesus’ giving the Keys and how many churches now are not using them. Lucy, one of the older ladies, who was celebrating her birthday today, was expressing her joy over her children making sure their kids are raised in Lutheran churches, in the faith. She gets teared up easily, like someone else we know, and was probably more so today. Lucy said she never talks about her faith to her family in the Philippines and sort of wishes she had. She said she would not be traveling back there to talk to them so I suggested she write them a letter. Lucy said, “I could do that!” Grumpy H. said he showed her how to type e-mail and I said, “Hey, Lucy, contact them via Facebook!” which made everyone except H. laugh. Sing some more…..

Some days the soda just tastes so good, and today is one of those. It goes down so well and I fear that by tomorrow a trip to Walgreen’s will be in order. They are offering a sale on Diet Coke, as is Publix. I need my personal shopper, Ellen, to run to the store for me and deliver it to my door. Talk about spoiled!

*Eating Cheetos and typing at the same time results in a messy keyboard, leaving sticky keys and yellow stuff between them. All cleaned up now as though nothing happened here. Yet, my fingertips remain discolored.

*Cold weather has come to the First Coast, with the high being only 65 today, but bright and sunny. I figured it would be good to wear layers this a.m. when getting dressed so I took out a shell in teal and a bright splash of color button-front jacket. As I sat in the church office, serenading the troubled soul of H., Pastor came through and remarked, “What a nice bright outfit today, Miss Kim!” I told him I wanted to look joyful and be warm. Of course, H. disagreed that it was chilly today although he had long pants on when normally it’s shorts. I left it alone….

*My friend, Rita, was planning to go with the other ladies for the Show downtown but had been sick, going to the ER via ambulance after playing Trivia with us on Tuesday night. She had told us that night about having a racing heart at her cardiac rehab visit that day, but had settled down by Trivia time. By the time she got home and was getting ready for bed, it started up again and did not subside, hence, the ambulance ride.

She was waiting today to hear from her cardiologist so we did not go to lunch or anything after Bible study. She has a young son at home that needs driving to school, at a magnet school near downtown. I wondered what would happen if she had to stay in the hospital---who would tend her son? He is a middle schooler so can feed and dress himself but not drive to school. Rita’s husband works most of the time in Canada but her in-laws are in the area and might be able to help out as needed. She’s had many health problems for her young years (only in her 40’s), starting with cancer when she was in high school. I hope she hears something from him soon and gets an answer/solution for this condition.

My bathroom vanity is a big, colorful mess right now. Earlier in the week, I figured out how to take my towel bar apart and dumped my necklaces and bracelets into the sink filled with sudsy water. The jewelry had gotten quite dusty hanging there on the rod and simply using the dusting wand did not suffice. They needed washing! I swept them into the water and swished them around a little, then let them soak. Later, I went back to let out the sudsy water and replaced it with clear water, soaking some more. Finally, I opened the drain and let the water go, in hopes that the jewelry would dry before I tried to hang them back up again.

What I did NOT consider was them becoming quite tangled with each other. Oh, fuss and bother! I put a towel under the bar and slid the necklaces back on, keeping some off to give away ‘to those less fortunate than me’ (I dislike that expression!!!). Many are so similar in color and style that I don’t need to have duplicates, and some even have their price tags still attached. The ones going to others’ homes will be put into baggies for sharing at church on Sunday but want to make sure they are totally dry before I bag them up.

Voila! A great find for someone like me is a product found in the refrigerator section at the grocery store. Manwich! It comes in a plastic tub, about a pound’s worth of sloppy joe’s in a resealable container. Perfect as a stand-alone meal, BUT it is also an amazing thing to have on hand for cooking. In fact, I used a container of Manwich when I made my fabulous chili last week. It has green pepper and onion already in it, probably not as much as I would normally use, but enough to give it sufficient flavor. Another plan I have for this product would be to make spaghetti, give it a try anyway, to see how it works. It can be mixed in with pasta and made into a casserole in a hurry. Or Shepherd’s Pie….What a great idea it was for Manwich to do this! And I got them for $2.50 each at Publix. No dirty dishes from browning meat, just mix and go!

                       Before they were washed....

My dear friends

Allow me to introduce my friend, Lee, whom I met at the pool this summer and formed a friendship. She dabbles in art, but first must get settled in her new home located not far from The Club. She visited my favorite gallery and met my lady friends, entered her name for the drawing and voila!---won the Grand Prize!!!

This is Dee and Julia at the opening reception for Dee's one-woman show at The Thrasher Horne Center for the Arts. I love them!

I found the debates!

A day later and a dollar short, I found the debates! Some got a little heated this time, showing some fire now and again.

I am actually not a dollar short because our team took first place at Trivia. Once more we all brought something to the table, with Justin on fire tonight! He came up with a few answers, some by deduction and others a wild guess. Even got a hockey question right. I stink at the music questions and some of the TV questions if they are from a certain era. Rita teases me that I must live under a rock because I do not know the answers, but she is a decade younger than I am and has younger kids than mine. I think we got both sports questions right but not because we were confident in our guesses, just lucky!

After I got home, I called Mom. I didn’t call as usual while in the car since Justin was with me both ways for Trivia. He is staying on Fleming Island at Jesse’s mom’s house to mind the pets and feed the chickens. Yes, chickens!

Mom has had a fun, full few days (lots of alliteration there!) including a trip to celebrate her great-grandson’s birthday near Janesville over the weekend, riding in the car with a grandson, and two greats! She went to lunch with her former co-worker, attended Bible study Sunday with her former neighbor and church member in town from TX. A really cool time for Mom.

During the day today, a goofy one weather-wise, I worked on the outreach newsletter and got it ready to mail. Need to get some stamps so I can mail them. Pastor was going to update my mailing list for me but thus far, it’s the same last minus a few names of those who moved away or what have you. All day long the forecasters were telling about ferocious storms heading this way, with intermittent showers making the day wet. Justin said that the heaviest of the storms were coming around midnight which might make his day doing yard work a bit more difficult in the morning. The storms which caused the leak in my living room a week or so ago also had a water spout grow into a tornado on Fleming Island damaging a few homes along the river. Some trees toppled and siding torn off, that type of damage, and the weather people predict the same type of weather for us. Hope not!

Well, Sunday after the game, I decided to go visit my ladies in the hospital. My cough was quiet enough to not have me instantly thrown out of the hospital. I took with me the new/old book of prayers that Judy R. recommended and I bought. One titled prayer, in the form of a poem, was “In The Hospital” and both ladies commented at what a nice prayer it is. It describes the healing bed being God’s footstool, He is close at hand. Bonnie is moving to re-hab and might be moved already and Carolynn had to wait a few days until the congestion in her lungs is cleared up, and then go home. She was touch and go there for a while, saved with CPR by her husband until the EMTs arrived at their home.

From the hospital, I went to see/hear my neighbor sing at his church. Remember, Randy assured me that the service was not going to be happy-clappy….Well, it was nothing but!!!! What an experience! I saw that my fellow owners from The Palace, from whom Randy rents, were there also, and looked equally out of place and ill at ease. It was like a rock concert where folks are on their feet much of the time but I sat down almost immediately after being invited to stand by the preacher. The music leader, about halfway through, talked as he played some music under the speaking, about how the preacher and his wife came to this church a year ago, where only 13 people remained in membership. Already in retirement, they came back into the ministry and now have about 200 people on a given Sunday. Not bad.

There was everything going on, just what one would think happens at this type of church and service, but I was quite surprised by the flag waving and cheer leading. I was freezing but as I told Linda J. later, if I had been running up and down the aisles, jumping, and clapping, I might have broken a sweat, too. The offering bags were locked away in the safe from the morning service, so they took the offering in the reusable shopping bags one lady had with her. The preacher said we were being treated like their own folk, literally passing the hat, a man’s ball cap. As I mentioned to Linda and Mom, the spirit took a break during the offering but fired back up after the music restarted. When I left, after about an hour and a half, the event still going on, I called Linda and said, “Thank God for liturgical worship!” BUT, I did get to experience something outside my realm and actually did get to see my friend sing with this little group of singers. No solos for Randy as far as I could see, unless it happened after I left. They use the ‘follow the bouncing ball’ type of music shown a screen, songs rather than hymns, most with repetitious refrains.

Monday’s Bible study was great, very interesting as we now study Nehemiah. We have a man, a non-member, who has a street ministry and I believe, fancies himself somewhat a 'colleague' of Pastor K.’s. Joseph is big into personal testimony and relating the subject matter to what he has experienced or witnessed. A real challenge for whomever is leading the class. Joseph is a black man with white hair and is missing the front teeth on the bottom, perhaps three or four of them, which makes it sometimes extra hard to understand him when he speaks. He is going to come and get my ‘old’ TV when he can arrange to do so as he takes the bus for transportation. Joseph lives in the apartments just to the east of the church property and walks for Bible study and when he comes for worship. I am glad he can use the TV but I cannot lift it to take it to him. It can wait until he’s ready, it’s not in the way at all right now.

Lunch was more intimate with only four of us, allowing for more conversation with one of our newer members, Betty. She is sooo quiet and we know little about her but she did open up some at lunch. Very nice! I had the new menu item of braised beef served as a combo with a bowl of baked potato soup. Next time, I will ask for no bbq sauce being put on it, and will certainly order it again. Most delicious! Justin and I had dinner together at Koko’s, as I have already reported, so the lighter meal at noon was just right.

Time for sleep and waiting for the storms to begin, now that it’s done raining for the night…..

Waiting for the debate to begin

Once more the GOP contenders are meeting to debate the issues, or field the challenges of the moderators, as the case might be. This time the event is being held in Las Vegas, and I thought it was going to begin at 8:00 pm. So far it has not gotten underway, with a show about Herman Cain being aired. Go Herman!! Justin and I are well familiar with Herman, having listened to his radio show in the past and hearing him speak at tax rallies. This is very exciting!

Justin and I just got home after having dinner at Koko’s. As we were leaving my house for the restaurant, we rode the elevator with the new neighbor who owns the Bubba Burgers. I introduced them to each other and Justin asked Jeff if he could arrange to have Justin’s row called at the Jaguar game for free Bubba Burger t-shirts. Jeff asked which row he was in and Justin told him, but then Jeff offered him a couple t-shirts from this past week. Nice! He will be get them from the office and by-pass the contest all together---go directly to the source for the free shirts! I also introduced Jeff to Gus who was out walking his daughter’s dog, and then Justin and I went to the car. Justin laughed about me introducing the neighbors to each other, saying, “My mama…….” That’s just what I do, what can I say?

We were the only ones in Koko’s and were warmly greeted. After the young man took our drink orders, he said we were the first customers since morning. Yikes! Just then two guys came in, one a good sized fellow who looked quite familiar, and the other more slight. The owners of Koko’s gave the one guy a Jaguar print apron and I realized that it was Kyle Brady. Just to be sure, I asked him who he was and he said, “Washed up football player” but then he gave his name. Excited, I said, “I have money invested with your company!” as my friend, Diane, is a partner with him at the financial place. We talked more about Diane and what a good job she does than about football.

Another fellow joined them and we all chatted while having our meals prepared in front of us. One of the guys is going to participate in a triathlon soon and I offered my support by eating carbs for him. The chef does a thing where he flips pieces of cut up shrimp toward people’s mouths and they have to catch it in the air. The one fellow caught his piece easily, and when Kyle tried, it sort of missed. He teased the chef that he didn’t throw like Aaron Rodgers (we had discussed the Packers and our being fans earlier). Everyone chuckled about that and I said, “If Aaron had thrown that, it would have gone in your mouth and come out the other end!” and the crowd went wild! Then Kyle said, “Yeah, you throw more like Blaine Gabbert…” the new Jaguar quarterback.

Justin told Kyle how Don Davey used to live next door to us in Manitowoc. We marveled at what a small world it is, and he told us Don does investment work at Neptune Beach, which I think I already knew. And, he has five daughters, none close to Justin’s age, unfortunately. One of the fellows is a finish carpenter and gave Justin a few of his cards, in case some trim work can be thrown his way. It’s all about networking. Also saw my old friend, Rich, who works with Joanne at RE/MAX. He said he gets so hungry for a good Koko’s dinner sometimes and tonight was the night! Nice guys, and a very nice dinner.

Justin carried my soda cases upstairs for me and then, just as he was about to leave, dropped a bomb on me. He said he would tell me something, now that nothing’s come of it….WHAT??? Very casually he told me that his friend, Jesse, had a wreck on Friday night, going too fast on a curve near their house and hitting a tree. The car, not worth much to begin with, was totaled as the radiator cracked.

Justin told me the yard where it happened needed some repair and I said, “Well, you guys work in landscape…” It was then he told me that he was a passenger in said wreck. Oh my! The tears flowed, which is what he was trying to avoid. He did not want me upset but knew I would be if I found out from someone else that this happened. You are darn right I would be upset!!!

I was upset enough hearing it from him and put tears all over his shirt front as he hugged me. Justin assured me that he always wears his seatbelt and was wearing it that night. I told him I went through this once before and he knew exactly where that was going. He said he knows that…

Here I was worried about Jesse and his situation and now, I am cross that he was a reckless driver. I told Justin I would offer prayers of thanksgiving that he was okay and he said he did the same already. This being a mom thing is tough some days!

P.S. I have tortured myself with watching CNN for no reason tonight, as the debate is actually on Tuesday night! Ugh!

Oh, I am stuffed!

I had a nice lunch from McDonald’s today so I could get home quickly for the start of the football game. It seems the drive-through was not running as smoothly as it should, with the line quite long after the order was placed. Two people in front of me had to pull over to wait for their orders to come out but mine was ready for me when I got to the window. I sure do love the Dollar Menu, it really does the trick for me!

The football game is on and already the Jaguars are behind. They are up against the Steelers but it might be okay. The punter has been replaced since last week---he was the oldest NFL player at the ripe age of 43. We shall see what happens today with a new guy doing the kicking. If they capitalized on the possessions instead of having to give it away, the punter wouldn’t get so much ‘service’, as it were. Easy to say from the arm chair, this I know.

The cough has quieted substantially even since yesterday for which I am most thankful. In fact, I felt so spritely that when I saw on Facebook Saturday a.m. that my friend Stephanie was up and about, made plans to meet her for lunch! It was a great day for dining al fresco at Bahama Breeze and as we sat, chatting, we also were able to watch the Badger game. That is a first for me, I think, or perhaps a second because I think I did watch part or most of the Rose Bowl game at my Mom’s with Lynn at one time. Last year, perhaps??? Basically speaking, it is rare for me to watch. Not for Stephanie who is a faithful fan of the ‘home team’, since she is a Janesville girl.

She told me that Erica was in town for a ‘surprise’ visit, spending the majority of her time with her young man friend, named Justin. Since Erica wanted to surprise everyone at church, she told Stephanie not to tell anyone she was coming. She asked Stephanie if I would be at Victory this week but since I was there last week, I had to be at GS this Sunday. Rats! I would have so loved to see her before she goes back to WLC.

Stephanie told me a little story, too, as we ate. She had attended a ‘small group’ Bible study on Wednesday and somehow, my name came up! The leader of the group, Dan, was trying to figure out who they were talking about since I am not there very often (Victory). One of the young ladies, Elissa, piped up, “You know who that is! She’s the short lady with the bright colored tops who is always so joyful…” Wow, Elissa, you have laid out quite a description for me to live up to. I can do the bright tops without thinking about it, but the joyful part, sometimes needs work! But I love it! What Stephanie did not say, though, was if that description helped or not…

No sooner did I get home from our lunch when I heard the doorbell ringing. As I scampered to the door, I heard my neighbors’ voice through the open kitchen door, “It’s the boogey man!” Randy had come downstairs to personally invite me to a function at his church Sunday night. He claimed that I blew him off when he sent me an invitation but I was sure I sent it back with a ‘NO’ answer. Randy assured me it would be a spiritually uplifting experience and I would go away filled with the Holy Spirit…Yes, at the Assembly of God church, I am sure I would!

And he told me I could leave at half time if I wanted to. Repeatedly I explained to him I am a Lutheran girl and don’t usually go to other people’s churches. But, when he said, “We’re going to sing some fabulous songs, some you probably know…” I said, “You’re going to sing?” Somewhat defensively he said, “Yes, I am going to sing”, okay, now, I’m intrigued! Also, I asked him, “No happy-clappy, right?” and he assured me there would not be any of that. I bet! I also asked him if there was food afterward and he didn’t think so. I told him Lutherans like to have food after church, or even before. Randy is my Marine neighbor who does not talk like a choir boy all the time. It surprised me to receive this invitation in the first place and then to know he is a singer as well…I think I’ll go! Report to follow….

Now that the cough is quieted mostly, I can safely go to visit folks at the hospital. Right now two ladies from church are there, one recently out of ICU and the other recovering after cancer surgery. She had lost her son, age 37, suddenly early last month and now discovered colon cancer. My new book of prayers recommended by Judy R. will go with me to the hospital. Love it! I can stop at the hospital before going over to the Assembly of God church for my uplifting experience!