Labor Day fun

Here is the giant-sized slide The Club put up for the Labor Day events. Folks with kids told me this was the best thing yet, and I shared that info with the folks who run things there. This slide scored a home run with the kids and their parents! I had a great time with my friends at the pool before the rains came.

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My poor boy had a rough, rough start to his day today. For the first time since he's moved back home, I stuck my nose in his room at 6:35 to see if he'd left yet. Nope, he was wrapped in his sheet, fast asleep. Even on this holiday he had to work and was about 20 minutes late picking up his co-worker, who had no phone or other communication device. In 5 minutes he was out the door---amazing!

I went back to my room and was getting settled with my laptop when he called me. Justin asked me to go look in his room for his wallet, telling me it should be on the foot of his bed. Nope, no where to be found. He then asked me very nicely to go outside to see if it was lying on the ground near his car. I told him I would go and look after getting my caftan on.

Sure enough, I rode the elevator down with my neighbor (at this hour of the morning???) so explained my situation. He helped me look, as did my other neighbor who was leaving for work. No wallet. On the way back up, I called Justin to report my sorrow, being quite upset about this. He does not travel light in his wallet---besides cash, he has a debit card and ID. 

Justin's thought was he put it on top of his car and it toppled off when he was still on the property. I offered to go and look which gave him some relief. I took my purse, thinking I might drive it, but instead went up the battle-field driveway on foot. Wearing my Jamaican caftan, red shoes, and my purple purse, I hiked up the hill toward Astor Street. What a sight I must have been!!! Should have left the purse in the car, in hindsight.

As I neared the top of the hill, to the tennis courts, Justin called me to report he located the wallet in his work bag. He dropped it in a 'different' pocket on the bag when he put his cough drops into it. I was so very glad to hear that, and he was thankful to me for going on an early morning jog, carrying my full-pack, like a soldier would do!

He is suffering with a sore throat, itching ears, and other 'cold' ailments, like strangling on stuff in his throat. He stocked up on remedies at the store after getting home from work, to knock this thing down. 

I offered to make dinner for us, since I bought some chicken at Winn-Dixie the other day when we stopped to shop. He requested my 'Lazy Ass Chicken', which makes me roar with laughter whenever he calls it that. The actual name is Busy Day Chicken but he likes me to roar! I had all the ingredients I needed, only using brown rice instead of white.

It bakes for about an hour so I began the process of putting it together right away, before The Five came on. I measured out the rice and water in the steamer, plugged it in, and waited to hear the wailing it usually makes when at work. The red light did not turn on...hmmm....now what??? It was dead!! NOOOO! 

                           

This is only the 2nd steamer 'we' have had, this particular being one we replaced after the 1st one quit. Lynn, my sister, had given one to us many, many years ago, and when it quit, we immediately had to replace it. Now, this type of steamer is no longer available new, only used on e-bay. Shoot!

What is going on with my small appliances around here? First, Linda and I had to go to Wal*Mart for a new coffee maker. When I had gotten it out to clean it for her visit, the on/off button popped right out of the machine! I have never bought a coffee pot before, so that's how old this machine was...pre-dates my singleness. It only gets used when company is here so not like it's worn out or anything. Only $9 for a new maker and it worked just fine for Linda. And now the rice/veggie steamer quits. Are they trying to tell me something???