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No longer on the river and, again, an empty nester. Back to living on Fleming Island and making some more friends!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

A Wonderful Sunday

Justin had spent the night on his friend's sofa but came home at 7:00 a.m. to ready himself for church. Linda is an early riser so she was ready well ahead of me this morning. When I woke up, instead of dilly dallying in my night clothes, I jumped into the shower and got myself ready for the day. 


We were leaving for Palm Coast at 8:30 in order to allow time for any delays including wrong turns or traffic problems, which also allowed for visiting once we got there. The ride down to Christ the King was flawless, the only traffic 'problem', if one can call it that, was the great number of motorcycles on the roads. There was a bike event in Orlando over the weekend, and if we saw one motorcycle, we saw 100! Some bikes were being trailered but most ridden. Extra head's up needed on days such as this. 


We were greeted on the sidewalk by young people handing out the service folders. Just inside the doors was Bonnie, waiting to greet us, as she heard we were coming. Linda, Bonnie, and I had a quick Church Secretary's Association meeting (we changed it from Union, since we don't wish to use that moniker!) but then she had to get ready to play for the service. Pastor Huebner greeted us, I got my hug, and also one from the Vicar. I was surprised and impressed that he remembered my name. After I asked about his new baby, born 6 months ago, he informed me that his wife is expecting their second baby, due in October. 


The service was exceedingly well done, with the Vicar serving as liturgist and Pastor giving the sermon. He preached from the position as being Nicodemus, vying to hear from this great teacher that draws so many people in and knows the Law backward and forward. Even Justin remarked at what a good sermon method that was, told the story well.
http://vimeo.com/38728611 (Click here to watch the sermon being delivered)
The service had no gimmicks or anything included, but they did welcome about nine new members. CTK also has the practice of dismissing their children after the readings, bringing them back after the sermon. Justin likes that idea, which is also done at Victory, but I am of the thought that children need to be in church and actually can learn something. They do have a Bible lesson while they are out of the church, but one thing they don't learn is how to sit nice in church.


Bonnie plays the baby grand piano beautifully, with the closing hymn being, appropriately, "Beautiful Savior". She played the 3rd stanza more softly which allowed us to hear the harmony being sung---love it! Since CTK has a school, there are teachers and they likely can read music and sing it, too. Possibly it was choir members or simply a member who can sing the harmony, but it was fabulous to hear. When we were dismissed, the Vicar called Justin by name, which was pretty cool. I didn't think I introduced him nor did Justin meet him at Marian's funeral, so I bet Bonnie filled him in!


We couldn't stick around as we were going to The Columbia for lunch. Justin was our driver from that point on, as he was dropping Linda and I off at the street in front of the place so that Linda wouldn't have too far to walk. He managed to find a place eventually, watching as someone pulled out and he could pull in, like a rock star! I loved my meal, the breaded veal Milanese, and Justin finally got his long-awaited 1905 Salad for which this restaurant is known. 


The waiter was somewhat new, so we broke him in well. The 'bad' news was we could not have our Mojito's before 1:00 pm, so opted for sangria, which was allowed. Hmmm....Linda ordered the shrimp Creole which ended up being too spicy for her to entirely enjoy. She said it was not their fault, she should have known it was spicy by its name. Justin and she had some bread pudding for dessert, eating half of it. Three boxes came home with us.


In the little gift shoppe adjacent to the restaurant, I snooped around a bit as Linda bought a bottle of water. At the register I saw a display of interesting items including ornate drawer pulls. I have pulls everywhere I need them with the exception of the door on my desk storage so I snapped one up. It is bejeweled  and I know I will love it, once installed.


We got home right after 3:00 pm and put our feet up. Justin went to his room and took a long nap, and then, in his words, putzed around in his room. Linda got hungry so she munched on her leftover chicken wings from Saturday's lunch from Mojo's. I told her after she arrived that she should remember that I don't eat at regular times so if she gets hungry, she should let me know. That works! Later she had more wings and the remainder of the bread pudding. I ate about half of my leftover potatoes and corn from Mojo's. I wish I could just order the brisket and corn, and be done with it!
This photo is taken with Justin's cell phone, Linda and me at The Columbia
Justin and me at The Columbia, basking in the sunlight coming in from their skylights

Linda closed her eyes for a bit as we sat in the family room and once she was awake, we watched "Midnight in Paris", her first time. No tears were shed in the watching of this movie. How funny that is!  We also watched the news for a while before the movie, and then caught a portion of "Pride and Prejudice" which played in the background as we yakked 'n schnuddered. 'Twas a good night, talking until almost 11:00 pm!