Yesterday morning we woke up in North Florida to fog as thick as 'mushroom soup' as my little nephew would call it. Facebook was alive with reports of stop and stop traffic, folks late to work by an hour in some cases, while others took an alternate route through downtown to avoid the congestion on the beltway. I call it the freeway---how provincial of me!
The fog may have come into play for a terrible accident or two which took place around 4:30 a.m. on the other side of the Buckmann Bridge, sending four to the hospital, two after being ejected from the car. No seat belts were worn. To avoid that accident, a semi loaded with Blue Bell Ice Cream swerved to miss hitting a car which had abruptly changed lanes, and over he went. Fortunately, he was not injured but I don't know about the ice cream. Nothing good happens after midnight unless it's a baby being born, and that's it!
The fog hung in a long while and then suddenly, poof!, it was gone! The sun was shining, the sky was blue with some white clouds, and all was well with the world. But wait!, there's more! Justin had a short day of work, and had asked to use my car for shopping at the Town Center Mall. Since he was going out, I asked him to swing by Victory to pick up my floral arrangement ordered from one of their members. He did pick it up for me, a silk/artificial all-weather arrangement for the cemetery. Saved me a trip over there!
But, while he was out, the winds picked up, the heavens opened, and we had a doozy of a thunder storm. I was concerned for him being out there in such terrible weather, and he hates it just as much. He was white knuckled, nearly, when he got home as he said my transmission was really acting up for him. Shoot, shoot, shoot!!! I felt sick to my stomach, but he thinks it should be okay for getting me to the airport on Thursday. I will see about getting it repaired when I return from WI.
Anyway, the storm lasted into the evening, and I wondered how my upstairs neighbor would manage to host all her guests, including me, for her Christmas gathering. She has the veranda which extends the width of the building, perfect for entertaining. As it turned out, the patio was dry enough for enjoyment, and the lightning simply added to the ambiance.
I had mixed up a packet of dip from my pantry, using sour cream and mayo already on hand, and served it with wheat Ritz. Don't know why I ever bought those! My "small appetizer" was not that small, because of the platter. Oh well! Justin was concerned about my slipping on the wet tile on the way up so he carried my appetizer tray for me to Nancy's door. Safe!
I placed my $5 fee in the charity basket, and accepted the job of overseeing folks making their deposit, then writing their names on a piece of paper. Later, there was a drawing of the names, and that person got to say where the collected monies went. The lady who won donated the money to her favorite charity which is "Pets for Warriors" or something like that. It provides service animals or companion pets to wounded warriors. I was glad she won!
By 8:30 I was home again, after singing a rousing rendition with 11 others of "The 12 Days of Christmas". I worked up a sweat in the process, as it was warm and humid up there. Mid 70's, torrential weather, lightning, and The 12 Days of Christmas seemed like an odd mix to me!
