I have a bit of catching up to do!

Again, working backwards is my best way to go, as my most recent memories are freshest. For our light supper tonight, Mom and I ate in, enjoying summer sausage sandwiches and later, we will have some ice cream to cool us before going to bed. Neither of us had a good night’s rest due to the heat in the house and outside, coupled with a storm brewing, making the blinds clang and the doors rattle. Hopefully this night’s sleep will be problem free!

This afternoon I took my nephew, Danny, shopping at Hobby Lobby to get some art supplies and scrap booking materials. Hopefully he will press his purchases into service and paint some lovely pictures and archive his high school memories. Beats playing video games and watching TV….he can even multi-task by cropping and viewing at the same time perhaps. Danny had an amount of cash along with him from his graduation money but I needed to help him out when we got to the register. I had offered to buy his easel and some scrap booking stuff, and did that. He claims he is good for the rest of it. I expect to see some paintings next time I come visit.

For breakfast I met my friend, Dolly, and her daughter, Kristin, at Fork and Knife. Oh my, how wonderful to see them again! Dolly and I have been friends since grade school and today we reminisced about our good times growing up, sharing this with Kristin. Another Facebook friend was in the restaurant as well, a sister-in-law to my sister, Jill, named Colleen. She was there with her parents, whom Dolly knew as well, and were celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary. Colleen’s mom still works somewhere, I think a convenience store, which is quite remarkable! We could have talked longer but the two ladies were heading to Green Bay in search of a GPS for Dolly’s car, her decision to get one. They are attending a wedding in Milwaukee and would like to know where they are going and how to get home again to Two Rivers. Her niece is marrying one of the members of the WELS musical group “Koine”, which is kinda cool.

After our breakfast, I dropped off two bags of my mom’s discards at the WELS resale store, the proceeds of which are donated to the Lutheran High School. She is getting so small that her clothes do not fit properly any longer and as hard as it was to get rid of her favorite things, off they went to the resale store. I stopped at Burger King to pick up a diet Coke and headed over to church to help Linda and Lettie with the service folder. I had not had a chance to visit with Lettie so this was my chance. I literally blew in the door as the winds were quite wicked, and sure enough, the storm sirens were sounding as we sat around the table. Pastor R. came in to tell us, because Linda’s A/C unit was too loud to allow our hearing it. Mom assured me she was fine, had been at the park when the winds picked up, and headed home when the siren sounded. She could have been swept away! She told me to stay put until the storm passed so I sought refuge in the church building with my friends. Pastor Schaefer came in, his shirt dotted with rain drops, and he greeted me, assuring me of “safe refuge, my sister”. He had taken his car home quickly when there were reports of hail stones, putting it safely in the garage.

When the storm passed, the two ladies went to lunch, which I declined, so I went home to Mom’s before Danny and I left for the shopping outing. I gave her my leftover pancakes and sausages to enjoy for lunch but they are yet in the fridge. Pigs in a Blanket, they are called, but are quite large blankets!

As I mentioned, we had a tough time sleeping last night, but earlier we entertained Lynn, Jill, and Danny for dinner, as Mom made luscious Swiss steak in her slow cooker. She made mashed potatoes in the ‘wave plus veggies and all was quite yummy. Danny, Lynn, and I got busy changing a light bulb in the fixture in Mom’s guest room, his first time ever attempting such a thing. I was too short to reach from the chair (plus Justin does not like me climbing), and it’s hard for Lynn to put her head back due to vertigo. He got the cover off, Mom washed it, and he managed to change one bulb as Lynn held his legs for him. I held the bolt and the bulbs, and offered advice (bossed!). The second bulb was quite tight so Lynn climbed up and did manage to loosen it, but we decided to leave only bulbs lit in this room. Danny climbed up to replace the fixture but he had trouble keeping the glass balanced while turning the bolt on, so Lynn finished the job. Then he got busy with an Allen wrench, and after Lynn demonstrated for him, he secured Mom’s kitchen chairs. His first ever attempts at household duties and he did well.

Prior to dinner, he showed us his collection of art projects done in school and I was quite impressed with his work. He had collages, watercolors, and other types of work, and we were able to discuss his methods and mediums. Jill said she had not looked through the artwork herself yet and was also impressed. After that discussion, we decided to get the supplies we shopped for today. Tomorrow he and I must go to MLHS to collect a chair he painted for art class. We could have gone today but the school is vacant after 1:00 pm. Must go in the morning hours then!

In the afternoon, following our lunch at Culver’s, Mom, Lynn, Linda, and I went shopping at Younkers, in order to get Mom some clothes that fit properly. All her church clothes are too baggy on her and she likes to look nice for church events. And what a time we had there!!! Mom got many pieces, all on sale, and I even got her a couple items, also on sale. She fought me on that, but it’s the least I can do for her, right? It’s for my own benefit that she looks nice, since I have to look at her! Linda got a couple things as did Lynn, finding a pair of blue dress slacks. We had a nice time and saved hundreds of dollars. Mom wants to go back again and save some more money!

Lynn took half days of vacation on Monday and Tuesday, so we took advantage and enjoyed lunch both days. Monday we went to the Charcoal Grille where Mom treated and we shared a wonderful, wonderful rib eye steak sandwich with onion straws. Oh, my goodness, was that delicious! Linda, Lynn, and I enjoyed an adult beverage with our meal and Mom had coffee. In the afternoon, I went over to Linda’s for a bit to schnudder and enjoy her patio. She was making dinner, too, preparing a chicken for roasting on the grille. Tommy and she were going shrub shopping after dinner so I did not accept her offer to stay. While there, Justin called to report the news about Anthony Weiner confessing, as he excitedly told us the story. Linda turned on the news and sure enough, the story was all over the place! As he drove home, he exclaimed that he came upon a car which had flipped over on the ramp to I-295 and it seemed the woman was able to extricate herself from the car. He said the EMT appeared to be about 20 years old, and said he saluted the woman as she got out of the car. The EMT saluted, not Justin.

He is suffering from a sunburn earned over the weekend at the beach and at his home so was keeping himself lubed up with aloe lotion. Carrying heavy ladders and wood trim on his shoulders did not help one bit with the soothing, as you might imagine. I told him where he could find more lotion at my house if he needed it but he said he had plenty on hand, so to speak. Justin had applied sun screen but missed a few places, including the tender ‘white’ skin on the underside of his arms. That hopefully won’t happen again!

I have started get more regular requests for when to expect me home again, including a phone call today from my pool friend, Mary Lew. They had the first water aerobics class today and she missed me. Marlena told her mistakenly that I was injured or something but I assured her that I am fine, only very far away! A couple other folks reached out via Facebook, which is nice. Our Trivia team played last night without Justin and me, and took fourth place. No prize but at least a good exercise for when we get back at it. Stephanie sent me a message asking one of the questions: Which city in the USA is the most populous one without a professional sports team? The right answer is Austin, TX but it took a while to come up with it. They did not win, but I appreciated the opportunity to play from afar….