"Unseasonably warm"

One must love a report such as this. It was in the mid-70’s today at kick-off of the Jaguar game, and the announcers reported it being a warm one. That was all that was warm about this game, unless flaring tempers count. My friend in IL is fairly convinced the coach will be leaving the team very soon, perhaps even before the season is complete. The team has no hopes for playoffs and the game today was supposed to be played for pride. Well, that didn’t happen! The only thing to be proud of was the military presence both on the field during the pre-game and halftime, as well as in the stands. It was Military Appreciation Day and I envy those who were able to witness this portion of the festivities.

I am unsure if it’s still warm out but the winds have picked up substantially since the sun went down. It sounds much colder than it is, my guess. The oven is reheating my leftovers to have for dinner, a juicy steak and potato skins. The steak is from dinner last night and the skins from today’s lunch. My neighbor asked me up for steak and to watch the Badger game last evening, and who can refuse steak on the grille? It sooo reminded me of the lake house when Justin and I cooked (or Rick did) the beef bought ‘on the hoof’, from the County Fair. Talk about delicious! And last night’s steak was quite good, too, and will be again tonight.

The Badger game was such a blow-out against Penn State that we did not watch the end of it. Only once have a seen a Badger game all the way through, that being the Rose Bowl game with Lynn. Twice now I have seen portions of games---once with Stephanie at Bahama Breeze and this one yesterday. When I left, Randy said I brought him bad luck on his bets, so perhaps I will live without steak for a while! My friends who are Florida/Florida State fans had a game to watch in the evening but that was not for me, not when no steak is involved!

Tracy, my downstairs neighbor, brought me a piece of the wonderful cake Cassidy had made for their feast. Chocolate bundt cake, iced, with assorted berries adorning it. The fruit had been soaked in Kahlua and tasted extraordinary. Perhaps I would simply starve if not for my church friends and my neighbors….Nah!

In all my life I had never seen the movie, any version, of “Death of a Salesman” so Randy loaded it on my laptop via a jump drive. It was in two parts, for some reason, so I watched Part One on Friday evening and the rest Saturday morning. What a grueling yet interesting venture that turned out to be! It was a trip through one man’s life via flashbacks and his own struggles with holding onto reality. Willy talked often with people no one else could see, usually his brother, the play being laden with soliloquies. He lived a life of quiet desperation, my description borrowed from Thoreau, and it turned out, one of lies and unmet dreams. Now, I can chalk it up to having seen the play/movie, this time with Dustin Hoffman playing Willy, and appreciate the references made to this play.

Today was Bible study and church, the first Sunday of the church year. It felt as though one should have a new outfit to wear or something. The mystery of the lost banners solved, the church looked just lovely, resplendent in blue. Part of Bible study was spent finishing our study of Advent and then we recessed to the church where The Maestro, Robbie, put us through our paces in rehearsing the singing parts of The Compline service being used this Wednesday.

Personally, I believe the congregation did not really need two weeks of rehearsal, especially since only a handful of folks were there for it, and half won’t come on Wednesday night. It is wise, though, to make sure nothing is ‘sprung’ on folks, which is why we are going through this process. Last week I wrote an article, which was printed both weeks in the service folder, explaining what to expect that first Wednesday. Robbie is an excellent teacher and explained the service just beautifully. He used this service in his class at school and wowed his fellow students with it, many of whom struggled singing the psalm. Because ‘we’ are accustomed to it, it is a piece of cake, but the music majors struggled---go figure!

When I arrived at church, there were a couple men in the front yard near the sign, apparently looking for something in the ground. Once I got inside the Fellowship Hall I was informed we had no water. Oh, oh! That was a problem not only for us worshipers and for making coffee but also the preschool which cannot operate without running water. As men began to arrive, the able-bodied and skilled got busy trying to figure out what was going on, and the maintenance chairman was reportedly on his way. One of our members is a plumber so Darwin called him to come early to church to help out. Unfortunately the men were dressed in their church clothes but none seemed to be muddy from head to toe. New pipe was being installed, a repair to a connection it seems, and flow restored not long after church began. Judy stepped out before the sermon to brew the coffee and all was again right with the world!

At the opening of the service, Robbie served as cantor as we sang “Come, Come Emmanuel” antiphonally, something we have done in the past. It reminded me, as always, of my former pastor, Pete, and made my heart smile. It was a good service today!

Being Fellowship Sunday, we recessed to have some refreshments and add our monetary support to the scholarship funds we have for two students at LPS. One, Anna, is the pastor’s daughter, and the other, a young man from Christ, Keystone Heights. Judy makes wonderful little sandwiches and has cookies besides. Since there were sandwiches leftover, she sent them home with Mike S., who is a single guy. He said it forces him to stop for lunch, now, instead of working straight through. He is such a nice young man and was the first one busy with the shovel this a.m.

After getting things cleaned up, Judy and Terri T. and I went to Chili’s for lunch, as Terri had a coupon for free appetizers. My entrée is the appetizer but did not use her coupon for it. Judy and she shared one plus another appetizer as their meal. It was good to be out with Terri again and catch up on what’s going with her. Judy and I get to see each other regularly but not always is Terri available. Loved it, perfect way to conclude the holiday weekend! Too bad the Jaguars lost though….