I had a fright!

Tonight, as I drove over to Victory for Bible study, I called my mom. She was enjoying the fruits of her miniature farm on the porch---a red, ripe tomato! Her dinner consisted of her home-grown tomato sliced onto bread. She said it wasn't very large but size does not a tomato make!

As the first one arriving in the lot, with 10 minutes until the beginning of class, I was relieved to see Shane pull in. He offered to open the church door for me so I said, "Goodbye" to Mom and headed for the door. The other attendees arrived at the same time and of course, Pastor had everything set up in advance for the    class.
                                            

When I ended the call with my mom, I had to slide the red arrow across the screen of my phone in order to disconnect. I noticed the screen was sort of blank and not responding to "taps" which normally activate things on the face. I shut the phone off in order to do the reset but alas, no response. Dead as a door nail. Erica's Justin tried taking out the battery and reinserting it, but still nothing. Then, he asked me the question: "Is it possible the battery is dead?" Yes, it is entirely possible but normally I would get a couple warning blips, which I must have missed.

                        

Once back in the car, immediately the phone was plugged into the charger. Still nothing. Shoot! I had phone calls to return either tonight or tomorrow, thinking I would have to borrow Justin's phone to do so. I was already planning my day tomorrow for getting a new phone or whatever was needed. Finally, when waiting at the light from the freeway to Hwy. 17, I wiggled around on the car charger and voila!, the phone came to life! I was soooo happy!

                   

When I got upstairs, I told Justin about my near disaster and he was not happy that it came back to life. Because he is all about the "new and improved" before it is needed, he has been wishing for me to get a new phone for a while now, for no apparent reason other than I have had this phone for more than one year. 


I shamed him about this thinking, but he claims that once the phone was replaced, the old one could be refurbished and sold on eBay, by him, to cover the cost of the new phone. OR, I can just keep the one I have, now that it's working again. That was a close one!

A delicate spirit

This morning I saw a possible comment to my blog, found in the SPAM file of my e-mail. In it was advice from an 'administrator' offering ways to improve my blog. "Mike" observed that I am not getting many readers and 'noticed' I am not getting comments. Ouch! It hurts when someone else is pointing that out! Of course, Mike had something to basically 'sell' me to improve my visibility in the blogosphere but I am NOT that type of blogger. But thanks, Mike, for pointing these out to me!

I know several people have told me they cannot figure out how to make a comment. My mom writes hers to me in an e-mail and often never get posted to the blog. There are a few faithful who will write something when the topic prompts them, but I remember something my sister said when I started the blog: "You just write about what you did that day...." Um, yes! Hence, the title!

******

Today, I did not go out to the pool at all, as it was a bit cloudy. When I left to go to lunch I did see several folks around the pool, including parents with kids. The teen pool is closed due to a pump problem, so all must use the adult pool until Tuesday when the part arrives to make the repair. But, I would rather go to see my friend than get in the pool under cloud cover today!

Rita just got back to Jax after an extended time away. I had left in early May and did not see Rita at Victory's Bible study before leaving. First, she was with her mom in MI, who passed away with her family at her side.  From MI she went to Toronto where her hubby and son were waiting for her. Her husband works in Toronto so they spent the balance of June and nearly all of July there.

Sunday she sent me a message on Facebook asking if I wanted to get together for lunch. I said I certainly did and asked if Monday would work. Yay for us!!! We met at Newks' Cafe in The Avenues area and I amazed myself by driving right up to the door of the place. 

The restaurant was a bee-hive with folks coming and going, but all Rita and I did was stay! We had much to catch up on, even though we'd chatted on-line. Face-to-face is even better. She treated me to lunch which I had not expected, and we even shared a piece of chocolate cake. This place was known for their cake, and I can see why!

As we left the restaurant, we saw that it had rained. The sky looked dark and as I drove, I saw lightning. Part of the ride home was in rain but I beat the balance of the storm by a few minutes. As I got out of the car, my neighbor with her daughter and grands were just getting home and were also glad to have beaten the storm. I suggested it was good napping weather (hear that, kids???) and Cathy told me that Moli (Betty, the Rockette) actually was napping upstairs. She so loves having her great-grands around but she gets tired, too. Therefore, Cathy took everyone to get pizza in order for Moli to rest. And now, the little ones can rest, too!

Once I got upstairs, immediately I made sure my phone and little laptop were charged or charging in case the power went out---I was going to be ready! The last two times it happened, I told Justin about wanting to get the lantern mentioned on TV for lighting a room and/or the LED flashlights which beat the old-fashioned ones I have. Perhaps a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot is in order...

Justin excitedly told me his friend, Ron, has gotten an approved contract on buying a house---at long last! Justin's original intent was to live here with me until April. As we look August in the face, he has been here much longer than expected. He was going to stop at Wal*Mart Sunday for more plastic storage bins for packing his things, but due to the rain, he didn't go. His feet slide around too much in flip flops when they are wet. No cardboard boxes for us, we have learned that lesson the hard way!

Justin enjoyed his birthday weekend by watching the opening of the Olympics on Friday night, and being treated to the Jax Sharks game on Saturday night. He stayed overnight at his friends' house that night but got my car home for me to get to church on Sunday. 

Last night, he went to his friend, Jesse's,  house for dinner where Pam made him a wonderful birthday cake. His favorite flavor of confetti cake, three layers high, and decorated with gummy life savers, M&M's, and fruit rolls ups. Oh, my! It is just delicious, having brought home over half of this cake. Think I must go and have a slice as my nightcap!

Job across the miles

Saturday morning in our usual chat, Linda J. asked me if I had watched/listened to any of the Bible study on the book of Job. This study is taking place in Mishicot, WI which is a suburb of Shoto, where I have attended Bible study in the flesh. Truthfully, I had sort of forgotten about it, though my intentions were otherwise. 

After letting Linda go to ready her home for a former pastor and his family who were staying with them over the weekend, I found the church's website and laid back to study Job. At first, it brought tears because in my picture eyes, as Justin would say, I could visualize the ladies at their tables with Bibles opened and worksheets in front of them. The video option did not open on my little laptop so I opted to listen. 

Kathy comes through loud and clear, leading the class. At times I think I could hear Linda answer a question or offer a comment. More often I could hear the little ones who came with their moms making a bit of a racket in the back of the room. Linda said the microphone is quite sensitive so picks up the sounds of the room. 

For over two hours I listened in and absorbed so much from these first couple of sessions. These ladies have been studying in some depth other Old Testament books including Genesis, Ecclesiastes, and others. 

Kathy's late husband, a pastor and missionary to Africa, left many notes and studies behind which are extremely helpful in putting the studies together. The students are knowledgable and do not get to answer questions with the pat answers, because they know better than that!

I learned more about Job and the history of 'his story' in those two hours than I ever knew. So appreciative for the Internet and its allowing me to be 'distance taught' in the form of Bible studies and listening to church services. That is how I roll! And some people wonder why I need this computer in front of me at all times....This is but one reason!

New friends in the same club

In Ecclesiastes we are told there is nothing new under the sun, but yesterday, I made some new friends in the sun, at the pool. Yes, I know what the Scriptures meant and it came true with my new friends. 

Friday I hit it off nicely with Mark and Jackie, with whom Lee had been visiting before I came out. On Friday evening  Linda J. and I were "chatting" on FB about taking a cruise in November, post-election. Only in the pondering phase right now. Well, yesterday, my new friends mentioned going on a cruise in November so I asked if it was the National Review cruise. Mark said it was not, but the NR one sounded good, too. Aha, a man after my own heart!

His opinion was that these conservative columnists and authors would not be the most exciting party people to cruise with but I said that if Linda and I were there, they would be! This would be true if they were early morning people, like we are! We can tear it up before 10:00 a.m. and then nap time for us...Yes, it was a valid point Mark made, but the reason for going would be for "reason", not necessarily partying!

As our little pool session was drawing to a close (for them!), Mark said he has be home in time to watch "The Five". Lee gestured my direction with her thumb, indicating the same is true for me. I had less a commute, though, to get home. These folks were going to work out just fine!

Today, when I got to the pool, Mark and Jackie were already there, having just taken delivery of their meals. I got into the pool instead of ordering lunch because of eating a later breakfast of sausage with toast. Lee was not to be seen all day. 

Before getting in, though, I stopped at the table where Gigi was seated and got some information from her. The 'young' man who used to live in the apartments near the pool was hospitalized and I needed his location. Zach was a hairdresser, and would compliment me on my summer hair, the highlights God adds with the sun. "Girl, you have the best hair!", he would gush. 

Gigi told me last weekend that he was very ill, was in Hospice care, not long for this world. Tracy, my downstairs neighbor, had gotten to know Zach as the caring neighbor who had checked in on MamMa when she yet lived in her apartment, so I let her know his situation. But, I had no name or real location for his Hospice but got that from Gigi and texted it to Tracy. I hope she finds him before it's too late.

As Mark, Jackie, and I visited in the pool, I was telling about Justin learning to drive, what a nightmare it was until I got him into Driver's Ed. After all my cautions to the teacher, he still took Justin on the freeway on the first time out!! They asked how come he was so old before learning to drive and I explained that he knew he was not invincible due to the death of his brother. Mark and Jackie reported that they also had lost a son, at age 23, only seven years ago. He was killed in a single vehicle motorcycle accident. As we talked, Mark said what I have often said to other parents: "We belong to a club we had no intention of joining."

I just knew I was going to like these folks and now we have that in common as well. Jackie told about how wonderful it was to have his viewing and service (Roman Catholic), how helpful it was. She journaled for the first year after her son died which really helped her to cope. I asked if she would ever put it into book form and she told me she tore it up some time ago, so her daughter wouldn't see it. Jackie might regret that but at the time, she felt it was right.

Jackie also mentioned how people who don't have funerals really miss an important part of the healing. If she wouldn't have been so sun burned, I would have hugged her! They reported how much they learned about their son from his friends, how he was the glue of this group of young folks and how much he meant to them. 

One young woman expressed concern that Ryan's parents would blame her for his death, as he was on the way to see her when he died. Of course, they didn't blame anyone for it, but that is a game 'we' play, that Satan plays with us. As believers, they know the 'reason for the hope that we have...' and I love it that they shared their story with me, on only the second day of our hopefully long friendship!

I think I am lacking something

Last night after our birthday dinner, Justin and I went to Publix at the Town Center Mall so he could get the things he needed for his treat. He was going to make individual sized lasagnas using wonton wrappers and the other ingredients usually used for such a dish. The bad news was---we could not find the wrappers. Up and down the aisles of the store, looking everywhere they could possibly be. Either this store did not carry them, or they were out. Instead of the wrappers, then, we took lasagna noodles, to make them work. 

Once home, that poor boy went right to bed. Justin was dog tired after his long day at work in the heat. So much so that he did not open his birthday presents---now THAT'S tired! He had an early start this morning and got home sometime mid-afternoon today. I didn't see him because I was at the pool.

After cleaning himself up, Justin immediately got busy in the kitchen making his treat for tonight. He is taking these mini-lasagnas to his friend's house where they are gathering to watch the opening of the Olympics. More about that later. 

                     

It smelled wonderful when I came up from the pool---sausage and hamburger cooking, marinara sauce---plus water boiling for the noodles. I had stopped at the mail box and saw a package which I had been waiting for had arrived. I didn't want him to see it so I came in from the front door and quickly tossed the package under the table in the foyer, to be wrapped later. 

Justin asked for my help with his creation, which was no help at all, since the fragments of lasagna noodles weren't working the way he wanted. I told him how Lee told me she buys these wrappers at Winn Dixie so off he went to WD to see if they had some. Yup, they did! In no time at all he had them put together just the way he wished them to.

Now we have cooked lasagna noodles in the fridge along with extra ingredients which were not needed. I can put it together in some sort of casserole or other delight, some day. He is off to Ron's with his special appetizer to share with the gang as they watch the opening ceremonies.

I, on the other hand, am not so caught up with the ceremonies. For a little while I switched back and forth between a rerun of "House" and the ceremonies, catching the portion where the Queen and Prince made their entrance. Justin is all about the Olympics and I won't take that away from him one little bit. 

He and I were in NYC years ago when the decision had not yet been made for where they would be held, and NYC was still in the running. The TV ads promoting the City to the Olympic committee were amazing and we were so disappointed that London was chosen instead of New York. His father had told Justin he would take him to London to see the Olympics but things changed dramatically since the Committee decision was made, and the trip offered. So, he can watch them on TV or on the Internet instead. With lasagna treats to boot!

It's Justin's birthday!!!

            

This photo of Justin was taken when he was 13 months old. If his feet were showing, likely you would see his little blue and white saddle shoes which were his trademark until he started school, I think. At St. Johns, the kids had to wear black dress shoes so the cute saddle shoes were done. He was dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy when he was younger.

Such a cute little boy he was! Terri T. gave me this photo of Justin, with his "Chip Off The Old Block" t-shirt.  (His father's shirt had "Old Block" on it, in the shape of a cheese block.) This was taken at church, with what appears to be a clown (on the right) with Chris Wolfle, the  Smith grandsons, one of the Almeda girls, and Julie Harris.

Justin's graduation pictures, taken in the 'borrowed' tuxedo from the photography studio. All the boys had to wear the same style of tux. We had such good laughs that day, as the harder we tried to be serious, the more we giggled. What could have been a stressful thing for him turned out to be memorable in other ways, for which I am grateful.

Justin graduated in June of 2006 with his ceremony taking place at The Thrasher Horne Center of the Arts. Our friend from church, Joe Z., wanted to take a look at the diploma, to make sure it was signed. Justin was honored to have Joe attend the ceremony for him, as well as the party held the following Saturday. We remember Joe having such a good time talking to folks, except he had trouble engaging "the older gentleman sitting at the table..." That gentleman turned out to be my father-in-law, who was the same age as Joe!

A couple years after they graduated, Justin's classmate, Olivia, a friend of our family's, participated in the local debutante event. That summer, Justin and I were invited to a number of the parties the parents threw for their daughters. This photo was taken at one of the parties held at the Orange Park Country Club. 

This photo is from April when my friends, the Schwarz's, were here visiting. You might note his hair style is changed yet again. I told him he could wear his hair any way he wished after he graduated from St. Johns (strict grooming rules there) so he eventually grew his hair out to his shoulders. He even scared small boys with this look but his hair was so beautiful. Eventually he has gotten shorter and shorter with at times sporting a buzz cut when Jesse and he cut each others hair. 

Now he is right back to his high school look, still gorgeous hair but far less frightening to small boys! (When he wore it long, a little boy in church whispered to his mama, "He looks like Jesus...") Not anymore, now we can focus on his face! Happy birthday, Lamby!

Dinner with friends

This morning, I chatted with Linda J. before she left for work but after she had done a workout. I love beginning my day in conversation with my friend, and sometimes with a couple of my sisters as their days are getting underway. And then, to the pool for some more conversation!

Last week I didn't go out one day for some reason (probably because it was cloudy!) and one friend sent me a message later saying she missed me, and telling me how quiet it was that day...They doze in the water exercise class when I am not there, I guess. Maureen M. is one of my new pool friends, but not so new as her family has come to the pool for years. Now, her youngest is old enough to not need all her attention so she can enjoy time with the grown-ups. We enjoy her as well!

My other friends, Hugh and Maureen O., left Friday for a drive to Chicago to help their son and daughter-in-law with a move. Denny is not doing well health-wise so extra hands are appreciated, especially those of his parents who are so gifted. Hugh is my go-to guy when I have a problem here and Maureen keeps every one organized around the tables at happy hour. I tease that she was in charge of the deck chairs on the Titanic!

Before Hugh and Maureen left, I asked them to let Denny know I asked about him. A couple years ago they had told me about his health problems and such, so when I finally met him (his friend and he came down to see the shuttle launch, on his Bucket List!), he thanked me for my prayers.

 

Today I got an e-mail from him, telling me again how much he appreciates my good wishes and prayers. His parents speak highly of me, he told me, and his sign-off handle is Prayer Warrior. He is my age and has suffered for many years with various cancers and such. I am glad his folks are there to help him out, but I am also looking forward to their return!

Back to the pool---after our exercise class 9 of us stayed to have lunch, ordered from the dining room. Laura, the young life guard and waitress, took care of us, as Marlena was 'off the clock'. Lee had come to class and I was glad to see her again. I know she would have liked to talk but with many people around, it is not very easy. Perhaps tomorrow in the afternoon we can get together. She missed pool time because life had given her some *&%# recently. Oh my!

Marlena was coming up in the afternoon to do some tidying so I had to excuse myself to get back up here to get things ready for her. She is coming back again just prior to Mom and Lynn's arrival to do the bathrooms and whatever needs doing but for today, dusting. Justin is also taking care of some of the making ready for our guests, as we yet wait for the new air bed to arrive. I got a notice that it will be delivered 8-3-12, which is plenty of time in advance of their arrival.

Justin was working with his father today, doing lots of errand running and such. In an air conditioned vehicle instead of mowing lawns and trimming hedges all day, should be a breeze! He gets tired when driving like that, though, which is typical. 

Justin was not coming straight home after work as there was going to be an office celebration of sorts at Whitey's to rejoice over some contracts being signed. Yay! Prayers answered!!! He half-way expected it to be a surprise birthday party for him under the guise of this celebration....but, no, it was not. 

Instead, then, when he got home, we went to Aron's to have some dinner. Justin was hungry for some calzone and the nice waitress knew in advance that I was having the small Stromboli. Love having things like this happen---dining with friends!

Take me out to the ballgame!

Thanks to Terri T. and her organizational gifts, Good Shepherd members were able to attend a Jacksonville Suns Game on a discount night. Whoo hoo! Some of the refreshments were offered at reduced prices but sadly, or gladly, I paid full price for my giant sized bratwurst and not one, but two blue cotton candies. Yummy! Two bottles of soda, too! It was hot there!

Here is a view of the group showing Jacob in the foreground, Donna and her son, Tim, Janet and Jim. Behind them are Tamara, Mark, and little Jordyn. Zach, their son, was down further with his glove, in hopes of catching a stray ball.

...and there she is! Big as life with my two Judy's, one beside me and one in front of me, plus Ethel and Darwin, and then Frank 'n Sue. Kristin is next to Judy J.

Here is the front row of our group: Judy C, Ethel, Darwin, Sue, and Judy J. Some are thinking they are going to catch the errant foul ball or avoid being hit by one!

Balmy Monday

This morning the sky was overcast but not darkened entirely. It did not seem that it was going to be a rainy day but more like I wouldn't get out to the pool. Thankfully, that changed and I did go out. Two ladies who walk for exercise were already in the water, not being scared off by the early morning clouds. Kathy lives in my building, for 25 years already, and Susie is new to our water exercise class. She was a Realtor for years and we have many friends in common. A delightful lady!

Susie, me and another lady named Mo (Maureen) had planned to go to Great Hang Ups and then to lunch in Green Cove Springs on Thursday but Susie told me she forgot about having Red Hats that day. Shoot! The good news was she had gone in search of Great Hang Ups herself, found it, and met my ladies!!! She said they spoke fondly of me (aw, shucks!) and they treated her well. Susie has several items needing preservation and thinks Julia can help her with that.

The other day I had been in the shop and grabbed a couple of Julia's cards to give to people but actually taking folks there in person works better yet. I had taken my friends Mary and Lee, and now they are hooked on Hang Ups! It's just one year this week that I met Lee. Wish she would come out to play, I haven't seen her in two weeks!

My sister, Lynn, called me to report she'd gotten Internet service at her home (finally!) and had some questions in regard to updating the browser. Sadly, my IT guy was at work but I sent him a text message and he was able to respond. Yes, she could go ahead and hit the ACCEPT button. We from the pre-computer generation are hesitant about pressing buttons when we aren't sure what they will do. The First Generation people do not understand that and we "pre" people cannot explain THAT to them! We are a horse apiece in that regard!

Before coming in from the pool, I sat and visited with Gus, who came out there to enjoy the weather. Earlier he had shared his sorrow over his daughter's dog dying the day before. Gus often kept Sheba for his daughter so I knew her. Sheba had lost most of her vision, and he told me that she also had cancer. Stephanie and Gus had taken Sheba out on the boat with them Sunday and enjoyed the day. When they pulled back into the dock, Sheba went to lie down under a bench, and just died. Gus and Stephanie took it hard, and he stayed the night  with his daughter for both their sake.

It was hot day today but the pool water and such cooled me off just fine. Once inside, I put my nightie on until I was sufficiently dry. Work was done on the newsletter for a little while and then I heard thunder. Oh, oh....I hadn't gone to the store yet to buy the things from Justin's list. Quickly I dressed and as I headed toward the parking lot, the rain came down. It seemed to evaporate when it hit the hot pavement, steaming, almost sizzling and not leaving a puddle. Plus, the sun was out!

Thinking this might be a drenching storm, I opted for Winn Dixie rather than Publix for the groceries. I chose some delicious looking steaks for using on the indoor grille, which were on sale, plus the veggies Justin requested. I got several items, including milk, and baby aspirin, of which I take one at bedtime.

When I got home, I had to unload the car, getting most of my purchases upstairs myself without the help of my neighbor. However, when putting things away, it appeared the milk and aspirin were missing and were not in the car either. Rats! I called the store and sure enough, the bag never made it to cart, was left at the check out by the bagger. He had loaded my cart and unloaded it to the back of my car so I never touched it. The man I spoke to told me they reshelved the milk for me but the aspirin were at the counter, with my name on them. 

Justin stopped in for the items on his way home from work, but they had reshelved the aspirin, anyway. I had to read him the item description from the receipt so he got what I paid for. He was not happy with the choice of milk because we often lose milk from WD or Wal-Mart due to premature spoiling. I told him how to avoid that happening---drink it!

I noticed when putting my fudge pops into the freezer that I accidentally bought No Sugar Added type. Oh man! Upon trying one, it was not bad, not bad at all! How I wish the closest store was a Publix, though, so I would be more confident shopping.

On Sunday night, Justin and I ended up watching "The Blind Side" on one of the cable channels, even though we both own copies of the commercial-free DVDs. Such a good story and well done, with Sandra Bullock nailing her portrayal of Leigh Ann perfectly. Justin and I do not normally sit and watch a movie together which made it extra nice for us. When we eat at home, we time our dinner to coincide with Jeopardy! and then switch over to "The O'Reilly Factor" when the other show is done. After clearing away the dishes, we generally retire to our own quarters, so I appreciated getting to sit and watch the movie together last night.

The steaks turned out wonderfully on the indoor grille, though Justin had his doubts about it. He is going to make the 3rd steak in the broiler tomorrow night as he will be home by himself. We wanted to experiment on ourselves before he tried making steaks when his auntie and grandma are here next month. I made two ears of corn, using a method suggested by Gus, and it worked perfectly!!! Also, I made a batch of mustard/mayo potato salad which Justin liked. He prefers German-style so I promised to make some soon---perhaps when our company gets here!!!

Interrupted sleep once again

Last night I went to bed somewhat earlier than I would normally, because my eyes were too tired to be on the computer screen much longer. After many hours in the pool and alongside of it that day, I was weary! One of the cable channels had "Sleepless in Seattle" showing, so I turned it on. I remember the last scene in my awareness being when "Sam" was explaining to his sister and bro-in-law about seeing this woman first at the airport and then again in the street near his home...and, snore....I was out!

Hardly any time had passed before I was awake again, which really irritated me. Ugh! I strongly dislike falling asleep early and then end up having only a power nap instead of a 'sleeping straight through the night' night. This time, however, it was quiet in my room. What the heck??? It was the quiet that woke me up, the TV shut off! Rats!, no power again. And my phone was nearly dead off the charger, so I couldn't even call JEA to report the outage.

From outside, almost immediately were the sounds of my neighbors, asking the same questions as the other night---what happened? how long? and did you call it in?? I could see the beams from the flashlights above and below my porch and heard one lady indicate she had called it in. Lights were on at The Club and a wedding reception was wrapping up. I fetched my flashlight from the laundry room, going simply by feel, but first running my foot into the dehumidifier which was parked in the hallway. Justin had prepped it for return to my upstairs neighbor and I didn't realize it was there. Ouch! Next time, and I hope there isn't one, I will get the flashlight first and then go wandering the hallways!

It was not possible for me to go charge the phone in my car this time because Justin had it for the night. I was defenseless phone-wise. However, I did have the laptop plugged in before losing power and was able to light my room as well as listen to "Seinfeld" until such time as we were re-activated. Around 2:30 a.m. or so, I heard my phone sort of chirping and when I turned over, I saw the face lit up. The rest of the house was dark yet but my phone was up. I stood up to see it better and was going to go into the bathroom when suddenly Justin appeared in my doorway, wondering what was going on. His ceiling fan started to go around without any actual electricity. Just as he began to speak, ta da!, the power came back on! We were so happy!

He went to check the A/C, of course, while I went into my bathroom. I heard him say, "Oh, oh...." and I asked what was up. Justin said that something seemed to be wrong with the A/C and the hall lights, as neither were working---yet. He asked if I had not heard the clicking sound from the unit and I told him I heard nothing from the bathroom. Justin wondered if the water pumps were affected from the outage, which are needed for the A/C units. That would have no affect on the hallway lights though, as we tried each of the three switches to see if we coax light from the fixtures. Nope.

                                               

At his suggestion, we simply turned the A/C to off, and he pulled the string on my ceiling fan to a higher speed, doing the same in his room. Earlier, he had dampened his sheet which kept him cooler and figured with the three fans in his room, he'd be okay. I was nervous, however, that something more was amiss with the electrical system of my house so had trouble falling asleep for a while. After an hour or so, I went to the hallway, flipped the switch, and discovered the lights were healed. I turned the A/C system to ON and away it went, as if nothing had happened. Over 165 families or households were affected last night and I know everyone was so glad to have their electricity and air conditioning restored. Now, to sleep!

Due in no small part, I am sure, to the 'sleepus interruptus' experienced, another wacky dream came from my subconscious. The dream scene opened in my church, in a less than orthodox service, particularly upsetting to some. At one point, a young woman, perhaps an older teen, went up front to the lectern to do a reading or something. From around the church, I could hear whispering and keys rattling, mine included, as several made their way to the doors. We were NOT going to sit still for this!

As we gathered in the parking lot, trying to figure out what was going on, a procession came around the corner from what appeared to be our church. There was a line of clergymen in their black robes, coming two by two, along with large carts loaded with what appeared to building materials. 

As they got closer, I heard the pastor say, "I don't think they know what they are looking at...." but I recognized the church pews in pieces, being hauled off in the carts. In one cart was Pastor H., seated in a wheelchair but straight as an arrow, even though the chair was on its side in the cart. He was almost like a statue in the chair, as it paraded passed us. Various portions of the sanctuary appointments came through in the carts with no one intervening or asking for explanation....and then it was morning! 

Wow, that left an impact on me. What in the world??? 

Back to real life---Justin and I had already decided last night to ride together to church this a.m. as I chose not to go to Bible study. The class is shorter in length due to summer hours and includes the children with the adults. That is a tough mix and I simply cannot be a good sport about coloring pictures or writing sentences about what the prophet might be thinking. 

                               

One of the older men who did attend today reported having coloring markers at the tables as well as some wooden building blocks for object lessons, but I think only about a half dozen were in attendance. Ethel stopped at my little podium and asked, "Where were you today? We needed you!" but I defended myself saying,"Judy and Gretchen weren't here either..." I really needed the extra sleeping time today and look forward to a return to adults-only Bible study. I wonder if that's what prompted my curious dream....

Dreams vs. Nightmares

This morning I could not wait to wake up---oh my! I was in the midst of a dream (or was it nightmare?) which left me greatly upset. This time not involving Timmy, but instead, Justin.

It seems, in the dream, that Justin and I were visiting some people, not sure of the relationship, in New York state. I was helping the lady of the house get things ready for dinner, wiping the table after it had been set and some folks already seated. Certainly no one would mind my doing that, right?

Justin and I and a third family member traveling with us, possibly my sister, Kerry, as a teenager, were going to be leaving that day but only Justin knew the time and other info. I asked him what time our flight was, and he answered without conviction. He was unsure!!! I commanded him to get on the phone with the airline and find out, as I was flying madly about without an airplane, to get us out the door. 

He sat almost calmly at the table, with the man of the house sitting next to him, on the phone. I asked what was going on and he said, "Well, our flight is leaving now but the lady is connecting me with Project 4..." What is that??? No one else knew, but when he hung up, he said, "We are on the next flight, upgraded to First Class!" Cool! 

When is the next flight? In 45 minutes!!!  This was never going to work (there is an episode of "Seinfeld" about just this thing!!!) but I was going for it anyway. I had everyone in this household flying about, with them offering to drive this trio to the airport. I have no idea where in NY state we were but certainly we were not going to make it. Not for lack of trying, but it seemed as though it was me, alone, who had the extreme sense of urgency about this. The last 'scene' I recall from the dream/nightmare was attempting to carry the luggage through a maze-like home, not even having my shoes on my feet. I yelled, "I will find my shoes in the luggage in the car!!!" and then I woke up. Whew!

On the bright side, someone bagged up a couple poppyseed-filled doughnuts for me to take along! I wonder if we made our flight....Lesson to take away, make sure you know exactly when your flight departs and get yourself there in time---with doughnuts!

We need to look to the Lord

What a story to wake to this a.m. Dead and wounded in a movie theater, including little ones. Every network, every radio program, covering the news. After a certain point, one must look away....and look up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0th-KRASl20

What a day!

Mid afternoon yesterday, a sudden and dramatic thunderstorm came up. First there were low rumblings of thunder and then POW!!!!!, such a crack of thunder and flash of lightning that it caused me jump, giving me a leg cramp. At least, it felt like a cramp---maybe I was struck??? Anyway, another flash and clap followed, speeding my decision to quickly get off the 'desktop' computer and away from the window. 

It seems the major crash and flash took out our electric transformer, right outside our front doors on the pool side of the parking lot. All night long we waited for electricity to be restored, but it seems that the JEA people were stymied by the project. We were without power for 11 hours--- it would prove to be a long night!

My next door neighbor, Patti, not expecting we'd be out of power so long, had the Clay Fire and Rescue guys come, about three blocks, to carry her hubby in his wheelchair up the stairs. His nurse had taken him to therapy and then dinner, expecting by the time dinner was over that the electricity and elevator would be back. The firemen did a good job of it, and were glad to 'only' have to carry him two flights and not three, as they expected.  Later, Patti thought maybe Jack and she should have gone to the hotel on the property, ground level, but who anticipated this?

Here is a shot from my balcony railing, looking down at the opened transformer. There was no obvious sign of having been struck by lightning so perhaps the better description might be 'affected' by the lightning. As you can see, it was still daylight when this was taking place. 


Strangely, earlier in the evening, all the JEA folks had left the area (not yet on the property of The Palace), thinking the outage was fixed. Tracy called them later and got a live person to report to, indicating we were yet without power. The lady put Tracy on hold, then came back, confirming that yes, indeed, we were without power. NO! It seems no one from JEA realized the outage was more widespread, treating a fallen branch on Astor as being the culprit. It took many more hours and several trucks later to get the roof off the transformer pad, a crane to remove and then replace the transformers, and far too many of their workers seemingly standing about, not doing much to help. I am sure they are specific to their tasks, and I would have been great as a stander-arounder. In fact, I was!

More later!

It occurred to me....

....that I have some scattered thoughts to share!

For one thing, the young ladies who shared the air bed in the guest room reported having a bad time sleeping their last night due to some sort of 'rupture'. Justin and I were aware of a small area at the foot of the bed, described by him as being a 'tumor', but I think that after all four of the kids would lie across the bed, the tumor grew! 

Justin reminded me we got this airbed, the walking one, in 2006 for when family came for graduation. After that, he used it as his full-time bed when he stayed with his friend in a loft and then later at an apartment. In the loft, he had to deflate the bed-walk it back, as it were-daily to allow space for moving around the room. This air bed was not really intended for that purpose, so he and I figure it ran it course. Or walked its course! 

The air bed is self-stored in a suitcase-looking wrap. It is unsnapped, with the flaps laid out to the side, and the cord is plugged into the wall. Once the dial is switched to INFLATE, the air fills the bed,  legs pop into place, moving along the floor, length of the mattress, like a robot!

Saturday, after the kids had left, I got online to look for the place from where I'd gotten the first one. Justin recalled it came from Frontgate (see your SkyMall Magazine for details!) so I looked on their site. There was one set which appeared to be double mattress height for less money, but it didn't seem like it would store as nicely as the original one does, or would. I opted to replace the bed with the exact same one simply based upon the ease of storage. It is on the way, and will be here in time for my next visitors in August!

******

One evening, I sat up from my perch on the bed and found my necklace clasp had hooked a thread on the decorative pillow. I looked like Quasimodo as I went to Justin's room with a pillow choking me. I knew those pillows would be the death of me! He got it free without wrecking my necklace and we shared a chuckle over my dilemma!

******

Sunday at church, while standing in line for my lunch, Sandy complimented me on my hair. She told me that during worship she was looking at me, trying to figure out what was different, then determined it was my hair. Sandy thought I had it done professionally, "sitting in a chair" and she was surprised to hear it was a patio chair. The highlights come quite naturally and I get many compliments on them as summer goes on. God gets the credit, not L'Oreal!

*****

A church fellowship outing is planned for going to a Jacksonville Suns game next week. The announcement was made to sign-up in the classroom, last chance that day. As we stood outside after worship, I heard someone calling my name and looked around to see Susan B. waving at me. She asked, "Are you going to the ball game next week? We aren't going unless you are..." I assured her mine was the first one on the list (since I posted it!) and she said they would go, too, under those circumstances. Yay!! 

Their son, Ryan, used to be a bat boy for the Suns, but he is currently in Washington, DC serving as an intern for the infamous Marco Rubio. Justin would LOVE a job like that and envies Ryan's opportunity to do it. Ryan is being 'watched over' by former members of GS who are now stationed in that area. Steve is taking Ryan around and showing him where everything is. I am not sure what his housing situation is, but I know Steve and Kris are watching out for him up there, much to Ethel's relief.

*****

Friday, when sitting poolside with Judy C., my neighbor, Pat, came around with a clipboard in hand. She was in charge of taking up the collection to help send our young friend, Julius, to Walter Reed Hospital to see his wounded warrior brother. The Navy hopper plane was not going to work out due to his work obligations, so our group is chipping together to buy a ticket plus send some cash along for meals, etc. Julius told me his brother wept when he heard what we were doing for him. Judy got a little teared up, too, hearing this story. The other good news was that Danny, the cabana boy from the previous years, will be filling in for Julius while he is away. Yay!!!!

Picture this...

...a posting with text and not just photos!

Yesterday at church, Jackie asked me about the dinner at The Greek Restaurant and I had nearly forgotten about it. Wow! Where did that time go? I do know that week ramped up to the arrival of the VBS kids and getting those things into place, but I should have mentioned the dinner.

Actually, this outing doubled as the Ladies' Groups' picnic, since no one offered to host it at their home. We had a good group, a few less than the 18 I reserved for, allowing for some coming without having signed up. Martie, my friend, had said she was going to join us but when contacted, told me she was held up at work on a mailing. Judy C. brought her daughter, Lynn, visiting from SC. 

This graphic was borrowed from another site, not an actual photo of my dinner

The item I ordered was the Trio of well-known Greek dishes, a sampler, which came with salad, plus two side dishes. Yikes! The platter was heaping with food, and I ordered the potatoes and carrots as my sides. Lynn ate my salad and I scarcely dented my entrees. I think everyone was happy but, sometimes, it's hard to tell. 


Twila ordered the steak, which is something I would have done having not tried the Greek food. She and I had visited this restaurant a couple weeks prior, which means the menu was possibly not her favorite. That is the way to go, though, have a steak and just enjoy yourself and the company.

                                             

I treated my friend, Judy J., thanking her for being my airport driver when Justin's work schedule changed our original plans for getting me to the airport in May. Judy had ordered a cheese appetizer which was normally delivered to the table ablaze. Sadly, the State law won't allow them to ignite it at the table, too dangerous, so she was sad about not having it flambe. It was tasty anyway. 


When the bill came for us two ladies, I thought something had been missed, so took it to the counter to have it recalculated. Nope, it was all there, and we ate for less than $40, even with appetizers and dessert! With two days' worth of leftovers to go home with me!

                 

Okay, yes, this is a picture but I did not take it. This is a cup of rice pudding which Judy and I had for dessert. She ate hers there but the waitress gave me mine for free, in a to-go cup, as a Thank You for bringing in my group of ladies! Love rice pudding!

Going away dinner

BEFORE picture of the classroom, set up for the going away dinner held for Deb, as she leaves for Houston, TX to work at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church

Deb and Kim, her daughter, at the end of the table at the going away dinner. In this shot are the other staff members, Lisa (left), and next to Kim are Cindy, and Brenda, who is not a member of GS.

Terri T. brought her grandson, Caiden, with her to church today. He slept for a bit which made it easier for Terri to concentrate on the sermon. 

Since the Fellowship Hall was not finished in time for this function, or for VBS, we had to use every available space for dining. These folks ended up in the church office, squeezed in between the boxes and other stuff stacked around the room. 

As the event wrapped up, folks were starting to clear tables. Even little Jordyn was helping out. Before we adjourned however, we joined in singing the birthday song to Joe (right foreground) as he celebrated his 94th today. He was touched, and even stood up to give a little 'speech', thanking us for remembering him. How could we not?

                                     
A shot of the room...close quarters....

Another shot of the room, including the birthday boy and some guests who are part of the preschool. The resident chefs, Mike and Mike, prepared hams for the meal, while the members donated side dishes and desserts. Justin and I took chocolate cupcakes with whipped icing on top. As always, plenty of food!