Love waking up to sunshine and blue skies, much different than what my WI family and friends woke to this a.m. Almost a half-foot of snow covering their cars and roads. I read on Facebook that my sister, Lynn, made it safely to work but cautioned her son-in-law to use utmost caution if he had to venture to school, as the roads are quite treacherous. It seems his class is not until this evening but the traveler’s advisory lasts that long, too!
Today we are anticipating the return of the space shuttle ‘workhorse’ Discovery to return to earth. We might experience a sonic boom but from the maps, it appears the re-entry path is from the south. Which means we very likely will not hear it this far north.
Yesterday morning I got up, showered, and dressed in order to get my tax packet delivered to the CPA’s office bright and early. Every year it is getting less complicated to do my taxes, especially since this is now the only real estate I own. They are going to figure Justin’s taxes as well, so his W-2 was included in my packet.
It seemed I rushed off for no big reason as Justin did not come until I was back at home for some time. He was all set to paint the trim in my kitchen and mostly it looks very nice. In one area, where he had applied the blue tape, the paint did bleed through or around it, or when removed, the tape took wall paint with it! So, he had to get out the yellow paint to touch-up where the boo-boos occurred. When I came home last night, I could see the spot over the doorway still looks bad and will need more attention next time he comes.
He also had time to vacuum my bedroom floor but I still see dust bunnies swishing around. One of his projects in the kitchen was to dust the glass plates that hang on the soffits, plus the cabinet doors. I would have liked them washed with hot, sudsy water but was not specific when I asked him to do this job. Justin grumbled that everything gets dusty, “because you open those doors all the time and dirt blows in!” Yes, dear…..Not all the time, only when the weather gets nice!
As a good supervisor, I mentioned that I can see some handprints on the cove high up near ceiling level, where someone might have put their hands when changing the tube lights. He asked me where it was, and I pointed and directed, but he could not see them. Justin had THAT look on face and was amused: “of course, you can see them…” He often accuses me, jokingly for the most part, of being too, using a nicer word than he does, “particular” about this type of thing. Some day when this kingdom is his, he will be thankful that I was so particular! By the way, he climbed up and wiped the entire length of the cove in order to remove any and all hand-marks left behind!
Our original plan was to also weed out the no longer needed paint cans from the closet and cabinet in the laundry room. We pulled some out but did not have time to dedicate to sorting and deciding. He asked me, “Why did you keep them anyway, since none of the walls stayed the same?” Good question, but inaccurate since the trim was left pretty much as is, or as was. It is common courtesy for the previous owners to leave the paint for the next occupant, for matching or touching up. I have no problem with that, except now, most are dried up or just plain old. Justin and I plan to tackle the closets and cabinets as our next projects, as he works off his indentured servant status to his mother! Like I told Gus yesterday, he would come anyway, but this way, he feels a bit more obligated to perform!
As always happens, one project leads to another and I do look forward to tackling them and having a sense of calm when they are nice and straightened out. I have my untidy game closet which also has linens in it to be organized, plus my pantry, and front hall closet. With help, it will be great to tackle and knock ‘em out. Just need the time and muscle to take care of it.
While Justin was slaving away for his mama, I was heading down the road toward Shands Hospital to see Twila. The only time I was ever there was under horrible circumstances and have no idea on this earth how we got there, other than that Pete P. was driving. So, between google.maps and my navigation cell phone, I found my way down to the hospital, and after asking a few directions, found Twila’s room. It was great to see her and she welcomed the break in her day. Before lunchtime, Mike C. from church had been in to see her and hopefully someone was coming in the evening. Twila was hungry for some M & M’s…if only I’d known!
I must have done something wrong, though, because when I went into the hospital, I just waltzed in and roamed around, following the directional signs, etc. On the way out, though, I followed signs which led me to a metal detector and security guard. I had to go through, raise my arms for the wanding, and so on. I told the guy I didn’t come in this way and wondered where my car was….He said, “Oh, you’re not checking in?” NO!!!!! He directed me to a different door, the one I actually entered through, unguarded. What is up with that??
Once back in my car, I punched in the information for Johnny Angels Diner so the navigation system could lead me there. When on the road, the voice told me which way to go, and not once did we get into an argument about it. The directions walked me right up to the door of the restaurant, and directed me to a booth!!! With plenty of time to spare, I went across the street to fill my gas tank.
We had six people for Trivia, including Justin, Jesse, and Erica’s friend who is here on Spring Break. Somehow we managed to win the second place—whoo hoo! My dinner was absolutely exquisite, a steak sandwich with the meat cut up into pieces and on a grilled roll. I ate the meat with my fork, and Justin ate half the roll. That is the best meal I have had in a long, long time. I hope they offer it again as a special on Tuesday night because it is my new favorite!
Taking photos of doors, windows, and hardware was one my favorite things to do when traveling. This window caught my fancy, on the sidestreet in Mykonos, I think. Either there, or in Santorini.
This beautiful set of windows are in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. We had to take our photos without benefit of flash so not all of them turned out this well.
The Temple of Maidens near the Parthenon. It was a hot day the last time I was there and a young lady nearly passed out. I stopped a passerby to get them to share their water with her. I did not have anything to offer to her but these folks did!
Looking down from the acropolis at some of the ruins surrounding it
