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!!!