The mess at the border

One of the sites I follow on Facebook is about my hometown of Manitowoc, WI. I learn so much about the history and the stories of the town in which I grew up. Actually we lived in 'the country' which meant outside the city limits but not by that much that we were necessarily rural, as if it matters. Some of the recent 'threads' on the site have been about the old days of the County Fair being held in town, at, of all places, the Fairgrounds!

Some of the participants on the site were telling about the terrible polio scare in the same year I was born, and that a young girl died from it. The County Fair was very poorly attended that year due to this 'scare' but those who braved it enjoyed having the place to themselves. I remember as a child standing in line at the police station in our Sunday clothes to get a sugar cube with polio medication in it. Polio and other diseases which used to take lives have been eradicated in the US thanks to the development of vaccines and other treatments, and thanks to God for allowing their development.

Now, we have the fear of those formerly eradicated childhood and adult diseases finding their way back into our lives. If you are watching the national news shows (I understand some of the broadcast networks aren't covering this as much) you know about the crisis along the Southern border with illegals being dropped off. The people being 'dumped' in the US are mainly kids, those under the age of 18, who serve as 'anchors' for their families to join them. Somehow a message went out in the countries to the south of Mexico, the central American nations, that the US had open borders. How those parents can put little kids on a bus and send them thousands of miles away by themselves is beyond me.

The facilities where the illegals are showing up and being held 'for processing' have insufficient means for caring for the kids and adults that are flowing in. How this is happening, why the buses or the modes of transport aren't being prevented to pass the checkpoints or whatever they are?? At first photos of the environment were being allowed out but now are prohibited from being shown. If there are no pictures, then it's not really happening, right? Reports are that there is a good deal of sickness being dealt with along with food shortages, lack of bathroom facilities, and yes, shower facilities. Showers might be new to many of these people, especially to the little children traveling alone who aren't even going to know how to do this. What a mess!

In the movie, "The Godfather II", in flashback-style, young Vito Andolini is shown running away from the 'mafia' in his home town in Sicily and boarding a steamer bound for the US. He was about 10 years old doing this, seemingly without a escort. In fact, when being processed at Ellis Island, it came out that his name was Vito from Corleone, and he ended up with that as his last name! The language barrier, the great numbers of emigrants, and his age allowed for this to happen. What also happened during his physical check-up was the discovery that he had small pox and had to remain on the Island for three months in a cell-like room until he was healed. He was sponsored/adopted by another Sicilian family who finished raising him.

Now, what's happening in the border towns in TX, AZ, and NM is people are being stacked almost like cord wood, mixed all together with poor sanitation facilities. Most, if any of these people, especially the children, have had no immunizations or other medical attention in the countries from which they came. Now, the medical folks tending these illegals are forbidden to discuss what they are seeing and finding for fear of arrest. This does not sound right to me, not in America (North America, I should say!). It reminds me of what happened in Northern Europe in the 1930's...

When the photos were still being allowed at the detention centers, I was struck by the little faces of those kids, my heart went out to them, as it should. This is not their fault but that of the governments involved. There is fear and concern that the kids might be used for ugly purposes so they are thought to be safer here. That may be true but this is so not the way to do it. If they weren't sick when they arrived, they will be in those traveling and living conditions. 

Their 'deportation' from their own countries was not unanticipated by ours because as early as January this year employment opportunities were posted on gov't sites looking for escorts for the underage illegal immigrants. 

While this is entirely out of order and should not be happening, I know personally one radio hosts' philanthropic arm reaching out with food, water, toiletries, and supplies for infants and little ones. This is just a big, fat mess, and not by accident, which is so disturbing. They are expecting about 100,000 such illegals arriving at our borders and the poor agents supposedly protecting the borders are busy doing diaper duty. The arrivals have a memorized or written script with 'key words' in it which would grant them 'asylum' here.

It will be interesting to see how the various Federal and State departments decide to handle this mess and get it straightened out before they have riots on their hands. The last thing our nation needs are more people being supported by programs which are already struggling to meet the truly needy. The system will be collapsed, as has been predicted or even planned to have happen. I pray this is not the case. 

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/07/02/medical-staff-warned-keep-quiet-about-illegal-immigrants-or-face-arrest/?sc=573297105347906271

A battery of problems today

Yeah, it was funnier when I said it the first time, but I used it again. The day started just fine with me taking my bag of 'goodies' along to church to leave for the VBS snacks. My donation was flat-bottomed ice cream cones and three boxes of fruit roll ups. I'll be interested to see what they use these things for in their snack/lessons. Michael was hustling to find someone to handle the snacks and getting helpers for the various positions. Hopefully people step up, especially those with kids in the classes! Years ago it was my job to do the registration and get kids signed-in but since the CO students have been coming, I'm fine with my role being only that of hostess!

Today, after church, which was Favorite Hymn Sunday, there was a potluck being held. There was no occasion for it, a 'just because' pot luck. Since my lady friends are still in Dallas for the LWMS Convention (probably on their way or home by now), we didn't go to Chili's for lunch. Justin had a couple of tech appointments right after church so he headed out right away. Mike S. had too much yard work of his own to do so passed on lunch as well. I was fine with that since I wanted to get home and into the pool, planning to eat lunch at the cabana. 

But, FIRST, I had to stop at Publix in Loch Rane for soda. The price is so good, had to stock up. Justin had gone last night and got some, too. We need to fill up our larder while the price is right. But, it ended up costing me far more than saving money on the soda. When I got back to the car, my battery was dead---as in door nail dead. Barely a click-click-click could be heard. Shoot!

I grabbed the milk and butter to take back in the store with me while I called AAA. By this time I was shaking and sweating bullets, so very upset about this turn of events. Not only was my car battery dead, my cell phone battery was nearly dead. I had to go back to the car to get my charger and fortunately, found an outlet to plug into in the front of the store where I sat and charged it. I was in queue with AAA for nearly 15 minutes before I finally got a dispatcher to speak with me. Unacceptable! 

The guy was very nice to me once we spoke, told me he was sending a battery replacement truck my way but I would have to wait my turn. That turn became almost an hour. "Ricky" was good about calling me and letting me know his status, encouraging me to remain inside until he got to the parking lot. It was over 90 today which is must easier to take in the pool! He told me he'd be in a white truck with the words AAA on this side. No kidding!!! 

He got it jump started and then we moved to an adjacent lot so he could work on replacing it for me, since he couldn't guarantee that it would start the next time. Even though I likely have some time left on the warranty of the old battery, I wanted to feel sure of my car, so had him replace it. If there was time left on the battery, I'll bring it up to Sun Tire, from whence the battery came. I paid him and sent him on his way to the next stop after giving him a nice hug. Oh, he also used his compressor to blow the leaves and debris from under the hood for me. Nice!

So, my car battery was new and fully charged, and my cell phone nearly charged as I drove home. At least it wasn't raining yet. Justin was waiting for me when I pulled, as he had been at my neighbor's house doing computer stuff. Tommy had, in fact, offered to come jump my car for me, but I assured him Justin needed him to stay there and AAA could handle me. Very nice of him to offer, though. Anyway, Justin had checked on my status a couple times and when I let him know I was coming home, he helped me to get the groceries upstairs before leaving for his next appointment. Nothing spoiled or melted, except for me!

I got out to the pool and was greeted warmly (ha ha) by those already out there. By this time I had not eaten and didn't really feel like it anymore. The rest were done so I just enjoyed their company and shared my story. Sadly, I got only an hour or so in before the rain started to come down again, so I just made my way upstairs. I'm getting good at this---running for cover from the pool! I don't want to be good at it! Justin was waiting for me in the elevator lobby, again between 'jobs' and escorted me upstairs. I was wringing went and extremely sad about my upset day. Nothing a nice caftan wouldn't take care of...that, and some toasted raisin challah bread from Publix! 

Reunited and so good!

This a.m. I dilly-dallied in my bed with the little laptop and watched the news much longer than usual. It just felt so good to not have anything on the agenda to take care of or anywhere to be. At least, I think I didn't!!! What I did do is write a note to Pastor H. expressing to him my thoughts on his two Calls and my opinion that his work here in JAX was not yet finished. For what it's worth, we'll see what happens since it's ultimately in God's hands.

I did get up long enough to capture with lovely but fleeting sunrise this morning. They are all nice but sometimes they are simply spectacular, this being one of those.

Fran took this photo from our table. I am in the pool talking with Bob and Susie.

Around lunch time, I ventured out to the pool to find my friends Rick and Fran already there. They were reclining on loungers so I sat down at the table where Bob was situated and chatted with him for a bit. Rick came over to join us and then so did Fran, eating our lunches together when Bob went home to have his lunch. He is officially boycotting eating at the pool due to the increased pricing, that curmudgeon! Talk about a Grumpy Gus (sorry to the real Gus, who is not grumpy!)! Bob likes to tell me that behaves better when I am around which I take as a compliment but he still likes to murmur about things. I'm glad he feels comfortable enough with me to talk things over. At least his daughter and grandkids cheer him up which is such a blessing.

Bill and Nancy came over after Nancy got home from work at noon but Bill wasn't able to hang around very long. He had to get back to work. Fortunately, or not!, the skies clouded up and the afternoon storm kicked up, so he didn't miss too much of the pool fun. Nancy waits all week for this break after working and then inevitably gets rained out. It's all about the timing. I waited upstairs here in my suit for a while but then decided to just put my nightie on and be done with it. We are watching a tropical disturbance in the Atlantic and hope it won't come this way. That is my sincere prayer!

A day of news

This morning was Bible study at Victory, our first class after being recessed for two weeks. Boy, I missed it, too! Oddly enough, I had to hurry last night to do my homework for today's class as it seems two weeks was not sufficient time to get it done. Just like a kid...

It almost didn't matter, however, if I had my sheet filled out or not because Pastor had other stuff for us to talk about. He has a Call to a high school in SD as Development Counselor, in addition to the one to Victory. Pastor encouraged our questions and opinions regarding this new Call, as well as discussing the present one to serve the flock at Victory. 

I sent Justin a text message with that info and he wrote back that Pastor H. has to stay since he's the elder pastor for the area. Well, almost, anyway. The retirement pastor serving in Keystone is older but Pastor H. is the Circuit Pastor, and has been here 16 years now. Of course, I'd like him to stay where he is. I told him once more how Justin has said if he could attend this Thursday Bible study every day, we would. When he was in college, he'd try to schedule his classes so he could have Thursday mornings off. That says a lot for a kid that age!

From Bible study I headed back to OP in order to meet Brenda for lunch at Steak 'n Shake. It was good to spend time with her, though we only get our visits in hour-long increments. Today was hers to treat to a milk shake which we take with us at the end of the meal. It was great to hear how her granddaughters, who are staying with her, are enjoying their summer. One recently spent time at a church camp and absolutely loved it. This was made possible by a scholarship from Brenda's church. Very nice for Olivia and a great way to spend a week of her summer.

As we ate our lunch, I got a text message from my brother-in-law in WI reporting his father-in-law had passed away that morning. Oh my! I had visited this couple when I was in Manty this winter. Harvey was in the better health, being able to stay in assisted living which was adjacent to the nursing home Clara lived in, my former place of employment. My bro-in-law, also named Harvey, told me I could call but when I did they were at the funeral home so I had to call back later to talk with them.

Apparently Harvey's fall, broken hip, and surgery were just too much for his failing heart and he passed away after the surgery. At least they got Clara to the hospital in time to hold his hand as he passed away. His family was also with him except for the grandchildren, two of whom live in Washington state and will have to travel for the funeral. 

Justin and I with Harvey and Clara at their apartment

I've know this family since the early 1970's and have spent some very good times with them in their 'younger' years. I feel badly for Clara who will miss her husband and companion of so many years. They are both right around my mom's age which is late 80's. When I talked to Barb, whose dad it is that died, she said she feared Clara would not last long now that her dad was gone. I will have to make sure to get over to Shady Lane to see her when I am 'home' in July. 

His service is on Monday, which is a conflict for my mom and sister as they already have one service to attend that day, at First German. Mom said they will get to the visitation at least to extend their sympathies to Barb and her family on this loss. I am thankful for that since I cannot be there. ...sigh....

Listening skills

This article was intriguing for me as I've been interested in this topic for some time. Observing people and their interaction, wondering what makes them 'tick' and so on is almost like a hobby. Being an artist (ahem, ahem) I find the art of conversation to be quite fascinating, either when I am giving, or receiving. 

Years ago when I first started to use e-mail, I was telling my sister, Lori, about how much I liked it. "Now I can dominate the conversation!" was my announcement. Her reply made me think: "Since when did THAT make any difference?" Yeah, she was right! Hopefully I have learned since then to refine my conversation skills and am doing better in the give 'n take parts of life. 

I see this often on Facebook when someone writes as their status update about the weather, how they are enjoying the day, buying groceries, or whatever else is going on in their lives. Inevitably someone is going to jump in with THEIR current temp or what they are experiencing. That was NOT the subject---wait to be asked about your weather or post your own updates! It's not a contest, folks---just let people tell their stories!

This came up again in my life about two weeks ago when a new lady joined our water exercise classes. One of our long-time participants had just returned from a trip to France and said, "Kim, don't get out yet, I want to tell you about my trip!" The new lady was also still in the pool near us and before long, inserted herself and HER travel experiences into Joy's story. 

Wow, it was hard for me to not say something but that would be even more rude than the new lady was being. In order to steer it back (there I go again---controlling the conversation!), I would ask Joy a question to get the story back to being hers again. How often do we do that?---hear someone else tell about something and then want to jump in with our story? Even though I've been to France, that was NOT what Joy wanted to tell me. There is a difference between hearing and listening, and between talking and saying something!

This article is directed to parents and children, but it applies to all people, I believe. Let me know what you think:

"I come from a family of talkers. Gather our crew in a room, and there’s no chance of an awkward silence falling. That’s a good thing. The bad part? We’re also a family of WORLD CLASS interrupters. If you want to finish your thought, you’d better spit it out fast and get a little loud at the end for insurance because somebody is sure to be responding before you’re even done.

That’s because we lack some serious listening skills. My people tend to listen specifically to formulate a response, rather than to understand what’s being said. And as soon as that response comes together in our brains we get so excited, we have to blurt it out. Immediately.

Kids—fairly or unfairly—often accuse their parents of simply not listening. It’s true that if you’re preparing to give the parental response the entire time your child is trying to explain her feelings, you’re going to miss some important things. So what does listening to understand your child look like?

Maintain eye contact and don’t multitask.

We parents (especially moms) are notorious multi-taskers. But when your child is trying to ask a question, or explain something to you, put down the phone or that stack of bills, look them in the eye, and focus on them alone. It communicates to your child that their thoughts and needs are important enough to merit your full attention. It also models for your child the good communication skills they need to acquire.

Wait for a pause and ask clarifying questions. One way to improve communication of any type is to clarify unclear ideas or feelings as you go. Wait for a natural pause in conversation and ask questions about details that aren’t clear. If you think you understand, bounce it back to them in the form of, “Okay, so what you’re telling me is…Am I right?”This way, misconceptions can be cleared up before they derail the conversation.

Express empathy for their concerns.

Even if you’re not able to give your child what he or she ultimately desires, expressing an understanding and an empathy for their feelings let’s them know that they have been heard. It might sound like, “I understand that it’s frustrating to you to have to babysit your younger siblings when you’d rather spend time with your friends. I remember how important time with friends was to me when I was your age. But, we all have to pitch in to make our family work and this is an important contribution we need from you right now.”

Don’t set the stage for conflict.

Even in conversations where you know you may have to enforce boundaries or impose discipline, set the tone as one of “Let’s fix what’s broken here”rather than one that feels like “Me vs. You.”And even when the basic facts are clear (for example: you know she broke the rule and that consequences are in order), let your child talk. While it won’t change the thing that needs to happen here and now, it may reveal something about why the problem occurred and enlighten you on how to parent going forward to lead her toward better choices. There’s always something to be learned on both ends."

Dana Hall McCain

Meatloaf is what's for dinner

                 

Justin is loving my meatloaf recipe with its ground beef, a half box of Stove Top stuffing mix, the savory flavor, and an egg. I thought I had a loaf pan but could not find it anywhere. Justin reminded me that the last time I used an aluminum disposable pan so this time I used the mini-loaf pans to bake them. I covered each mini-loaf with bacon and ketchup before baking them. We had corn on the cob with them and called it dinner!

Between Justin's cooking and my attempts at it, we find ourselves eating more often at home than out. Justin is usually bone-tired when he comes in after work, but finds his delight in meal planning and prep. And then, of course, its consumption. He follows websites on line for recipes and I see stuff posted by friends on Facebook that simply entice me as well. I just don't know what's going on around here. 

It occurred to me that Justin and I haven't had our upstairs neighbors, Dick and Debbie, here for dinner in a while. Perhaps, we should make that happen soon and practice a recipe on them. I can't make meatloaf for Dick, though, because he is the master of them. One time when talking, I mentioned my love of meatloaf and the next day he brought one to my door. It weighed a ton, too! I cut it in half and froze part of it. Justin can come up with something else to delight our neighbors at the table...between Pinterest and Facebook, there's likely something out there to appeal to us! Good night all!

A good workout

Not what you would think a workout is like---this one did involve some hustling, however. I got home after our church meeting just in time to get my clothes changed and out to the pool, introduced by a clap of thunder. NUTS!  On the way out I greeted Bill and Nancy who were just picking up their towels to leave but put them back when I arrived. I stepped over to greet Fran and Rick, their first weekend at the pool this season, and then over to sit down with Jacquie and Mark. (An aside:  yesterday Fran sent me a text message that she was at the pool. I told her I had a previous committment, sadly. Then, Nancy M. texted me, having seen me leaving with my dishes in hand for the shower, wondering where I was going. I told her about the shower, but suggested Bill and she make the acquaintence of Fran and Rick, and I understand that they did just that!) 

And then the heavens opened. Bill and Nancy stopped at the table where I was with Mark and Jacquie on their way out, saying they should have left two minutes ago but stayed when I came out. Now, they had to walk home in the pouring rain. Good thing they were in their swimwear, but hope Bill didn't have his iPad with him. Everyone else packed up, too, to go home, leaving me to wait for my burger in the cabana. Miss Chardonnay was sure the storm would blow over, wanting me to sit with her in the cabana and watch soccer, but I excused myself to go home to eat my burger. Scurrying in the pouring rain....to get home. 

My neighbor, Sharon, captured this shot of the strange clouds which accompanied our afternoon storm. We get rain nearly everyday in the 'summer' but not usually so early in the day. This is unacceptable!  We can't blame our weather on the lake being extra cold because that does not apply!

As I mentioned briefly above, we had a congregational and voters meeting today following worship. It was also Fellowship Sunday and Betty, filling in for Judy C., was informed at the shower yesterday to make extra coffee and sandwiches instead of only serving cookies. She follows orders well, though grudgingly. It never occurred to the lady giving those orders to make some sandwiches, though, interestingly enough. But, Betty did not make extra coffee and in fact, ended up throwing some out after the meeting. 

Our congregation president was absent so Jim conducted the meeting for him. The guys had worked so hard in the terrible heat doing the pressure washing of the church, I should say guys and girl, average age 63. Two others cleaned out the garage which made everyone miss Sterling, who handled this task so ably last time. So, anyway, perhaps Mike physically taxed himself yesterday doing that work which didn't allow him to come today. I do hope he's alright tomorrow. 

For dinner tonight, Justin tweaked his chicken and dumplings recipe. He said it would take just 5 minutes to put together if it wasn't for pulling the chicken off the bones of the rotisserie bird. Because the chicken is pre-cooked, the casserole doesn't take long at all to bake, only long enough for the dumplings to form. It sure is delicious! 

The baby shower

 Angel is getting a corsage pinned on by Sue, as Lynn looks on 

 Kristin's daughter, Caitlan, made the chocolate dipped strawberries for the party

Kristin, Sue, and Jean getting things ready to go for the shower 

Angel opening her presents

This cake decoration is made entirely of icing

Kristin and I each bought paper products for the shower, choosing exactly the same ones! The cake Sue ordered matches perfectly, too!

The wedding

Today was the wedding. I have heard much about the wedding---the planning, the build-up, the time off, all that. The yard crew guys took today off in order to take care of business, not the least of which was to get hair cuts and beards trimmed. Justin, Jesse, and Ray, the groom, all got groomed! Then, Ray drove Justin's car to the repair shop in order to get the latch replaced, and then Justin took Ray wherever he had to go before the wedding. Jesse and Ray were going to spend the day together leading up to 'show time' and am glad they had time to squeeze this trip to the repair shop in while doing so. 

It was beastly hot today, too, which made for an uncomfortable night for some, since the ceremony was held outdoors in the garden at the Hilltop Club. Justin took his suit coat along, a corduroy one, but I don't believe he ever put it on. His boss, Will, didn't even bring a jacket. The brothers, Ray and Jesse, looked so good in their suits, seeing them all dressed up. It was a very nice ceremony, many more Scriptural references than I expected. I was quite impressed and pleased to have them take their vows after hearing what God has to say about marriage. 

The lady in front of me, in the patterned top, is Janet, my friend and neighbor.

Another blessing about being at this wedding was getting to see my friend, Martie, again. She works in Jesse's mom's office, with Jesse, too, but I hardly get to see her anymore for one reason or another. We made plans to get together this next week and I hope we can keep them! Also got to see many other folks I haven't see in a long time which was great fun. 

Justin and I sat with his boss, Will, and his wife, Beth, plus his other friends, Ron and Sarah, and Darryl. The meal was served very late but was delicious, including prime rib, which I ate on dinner rolls. Didn't want to stand in line at the pasta bar. I walked to my car after dinner, being escorted by my neighbors/friends, Janet and Arnie, who are also family friends. Justin stayed behind with his friends to party on while us old folks toddled on home! It was a great wedding and I wish Ray and Rose all the very best in their married lives!

New friends!

No Bible study at Victory this week again, this time due to their Vacation Bible School taking place. I have gone a long time without a class, having missed Monday due to the dentist appointment. Since I didn't have Bible study, I could partake in the water exercise class. This week we've been joined by two ladies, referred to as The Canadians, Jennifer and Darlene. They were so much fun, I hate to even think of class next week without them!!

Wednesday the group helped our friend, Randy, celebrate his 79th birthday with this huge chocolate avalanche cake topped with chocolate strawberries. Wow!  His wife, Carol, came over to help celebrate, staying for lunch as well. Since some ladies couldn't stay, we had the cake first, like an appetizer! The Canadians joined in the fun right along with us. That cake was out of this world!!

Today, Jennifer asked the lifeguard, Tiana, to take pictures of the Flying Noodles, our official title, for posterity's sake. This one shows us with noodles in the air!  The Palace is in the background...

Here is another shot of the group with our bar bells in hand (mostly under the water) except for Marlena's which are up in the air! This shows Olla, Susie, Randy, Kay, Nancy L, Pat G., me, Burnie, Darlene, Jennifer on the steps, and Jerry, with his in the air. (click the photo to see us all)

This photo shows us in action on Wednesday, with me on the far right (of course!!!), and next to me is Nancy W. My soda can appears on the edge of the shot, perched on the side of the pool for periodic sips. (click the photo to see us all)

We said good-bye to our new friends as they went their separate ways, Darlene doing some more touring after the IWS wrapped up, with Jennifer and her husband driving back to TX first thing in the morning. She is now my Facebook friend so we're all set!

A worship week

For a few days now I've been printing and gathering information for the meeting we had tonight. I volunteered for this duty, serving on a worship committee set up after some goals were set by a vision task force. I know, I don't like the sounds of that either, but I need to be in the thick of things. We were asked to peruse an essay written by a worship counselor which was presented at a conference, and I printed off the 43 page document. Later, when going through my other worship information, I found the same document, all 43 pages of it. Must be a good paper!

Now I have an assignment, the committee members, to complete by Sunday, coming up with 'big ideas' for each of the goals the initial committee set. Will have to squeeze that in between my other activities this week, including writing the newsletter!

Tuesday I went out to water exercises just to sign the card for Randy's birthday and got to see Nancy again but my cold kept me from enjoying the water. I got to meet two new ladies in the class, however, hotel guests who participated. They were both Canadian, one now living in TX, but they did not know each other until they were introduced at the pool on Monday. How funny is that?? I'd have sworn they were long time friends, the way they behaved with each other. It was fun to watch, having them again in class today. 

Their husbands are part of the Institute of Worship Studies conducted nearby, getting their extended degrees in liturgy, etc. One lady's husband was a music minister for years and is now going to be a professor somewhere, upon finishing his degree. They are loving being along for the ride with their spouses and staying on the banks of the St. Johns, taking in the sights and activities The Club and the area have to offer. We have lots to talk about, as you can imagine.

Because of my meeting tonight, I had to miss Happy Hour and Trivia. I got home at the same time my neighbors were coming back over from The Club and I got the business for missing (Justin wasn't there, either) Trivia because our team lost by one lousy point! Heather told me she knew I'd have gotten the Bible question right but when Nancy W. texted me the question, (she was on the winning team), I answered wrong. The question was 'which king threw Daniel in the lion's den?' Justin and I both thought Nebuchadnezzar but that was not right. Nancy texted me that she thought it was something like Prius....Oh, I know!! Darius!! Nancy didn't say if anyone got it right or not. I have more than once answered incorrectly on Bible questions, so I am cautious. It's okay to let the other team win once in awhile, right?

I heard from the car repair place where Justin's A/C was fixed that the part came in for his hatchback latch. His hatch latch! Boy, it's expensive but the hatch has to operate in order to make it saleable. Now, we just have to get the car over there to have the latch installed and it will be ready to go. Justin's boss has offered to help sell it since Justin can't really take care of any of that stuff during the week. Once the latch is in, he needs to clean it all up and get his car show-room ready. The more he can sell it for, the more he can pay toward his truck, so presentation (and a working latch and A/C!) are everything!

Justin is working a crazy week due to Raymond's wedding on Friday. They are all taking off for the day, even though the wedding is at night. It is not a formal affair but they are acting as though it is. Justin is sure the two of them could have at least worked until noon on Friday in order to not have such a hard week. He is so reasonable! 

He has decided to work a couple hours on Friday morning in order to make sure the lawn at church gets done, should knock it out in about 2 hours. Ever since he saw our member, Jim, on the mower one Saturday, as wet as if he'd been in a shower, Justin has been doing the yard work (an hour's worth donation) every other week. He felt so badly for Jim. Raymond and Justin just fly around with their equipment and get things looking decent, at least twice a month, anyway.

Dinner with friends

Tonight Justin and I hosted our friends, Judy and Michael, for dinner, guinea pigs for a new recipe Justin was trying. Since Justin was working late it fell to me to pick the chicken from the bones of the rotisserie bird I’d picked up the day before. Not my favorite job but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In advance of his arrival home from work, I had gotten as many of the ingredients he needed to use ready for him so he could throw his casserole together quickly and get it into the oven. He had stopped at Publix to get a bag of salad and also got some bi-color sweet corn which went perfectly with his chicken and dumplings.

For dessert I had made a cherry chocolate cake, using the cake mix Jacquie had given me as a joke after my failed cupcake episode. I happened to have a can of cherry pie filling on hand to use, plus two eggs, and a teaspoon of almond extract. Very good, nice and moist, and it turned out! 

We had a nice visit with our friends, with tonight being the only ‘free’ one for a while. Wednesday I have a church meeting, Thursday is Bible Information Class, on Friday Justin and I are going to his friend, Raymond’s, wedding, and Saturday is the baby shower. Sunday Judy leaves for the LWMS Convention, going in advance to visit some friends before the Convention gets underway in Dallas.

Justin is pretty much over his cold but he has nicely shared it with me. In fact, he told on Sunday that he knew I’d get it because he licked all the door knobs in the house. Oh, that rascal! I didn’t go out for water exercises due to my cold but did go out at the end of the class to sign a birthday card for our friend, Randy. His birthday is tomorrow and we are having a cake to celebrate his 79^th year. Some are staying for lunch with his wife and him, but I am not sure if I will order lunch at all. This month’s menu for the dining room lunch is not all that appealing to me, but the others like the choices. Wish I could order a burger or hot dog instead!

It was good to see Nancy W. today, after not seeing her for a couple weeks. Justin and I did drop off some clear soup from Koko’s the other night but only to hand it to her through the car window. She didn’t want me to come into the house and get germy. I got germy elsewhere, I guess (the door knobs!). She started out with bronchitis not long after Linda left, which became pneumonia. And then the antibiotics she was taking messed up her digestive system and made her quite ill, so she had to take probiotics to get it under control. She lost about 10 pounds in 4 days but imagines that will come back now that she can keep her food down and in. When Linda was here, we had gone shopping at Wal-Mart and Nancy picked up what she needed to prep for her colonoscopy. Once she got sick, that test was put on the back burner, so now that she is feeling better, she still faces that test. Poor kid (she is my sister, Lynn’s, age).

Justin’s underling and friend, Ray, is getting married Friday, as I mentioned. Justin and I used to hang out with Ray’s mom, brother, Jesse (Justin’s friend and former roommate), and him on a regular basis. The wedding and reception, small scale, is being held at The Hilltop Restaurant, which is owned by his mom’s fiancé. This is the same young couple who lost their belongings in a house fire not long ago. Now they are trying to get on their feet and we wish them all the best going forward.

Feeling icky

Only yesterday was I lamenting how I had not been to any Bible study in 10 days and looked forward to our Monday morning class. But, instead of Bible study, I experienced what my dentist/friend, Peggy, calls VIP treatment as they got me in for a look-see. My head cold has kicked into high gear and at the same time my upper teeth were starting to give me jabs. That is never good, and even though many of them have had root canals already, I just never know what is what when they start to act up. I sent Peggy an e-mail last night letting her know what was going on and she said to call in the a.m. I did just that and I got an appointment for 10:45. Shoot! No Bible study for me---again.

Of course, this morning things were quieter tooth-wise but that did not mean I slept well last night. Justin had given me some DayQuil to take as well as cough drops to suck on to sooth my irritated throat. He also had some Mucinex-type tablets he uses ever since he lost his hearing in the left ear. It seems when he had that particular virus, he experiences drainage which causes him to have to continually clear his throat. So much for our determination to not have allergies!

Peggy's assistant, Yvonne, looked things over first, could see nothing but was also sure it was my full sinuses causing the pressure on my teeth (again!). I also have a tender spot in the area around my old bridge where neither she nor the dentist could find anything amiss. They both felt around on my lymph glands finding nothing like infection or swelling there. Yvonne scraped around and cleaned things a bit, and Peggy gave me some little brushes to use to under the bridge. I promised to get my tooth pressure washer out and make good use of it, and I will!

Glad to have the all-clear, I got out in time to meet Judy and Betty at Sweet Tomatoes for lunch after Bible study. Some soup was good for what ails me, and I had some nice chicken noodle soup there. The macaroni and cheese was a bit bland and Judy recommended salting it. I still ate only half of that but all of my tuna tarragon pasta salad. For dessert I had a dish of soft serve with sprinkles which felt so good on my scratchy throat. Ahhhh.....

One made it to my courtyard and was melting quickly

After lunch I came home and worked at my desk for a while. My weariness caught up with me, having not had a good night's sleep because of my aching teeth. I took to my bed and rested a while before being jarred from my apparent sleep by the sound of tapping. What in the world?  Big, fat raindrops were coming down and not only that---hail stones! Yes, about the size of peas, hail stones were bouncing off my railing and windows, and in the courtyard, making a pinging sound as it hit. I ran from window to window to watch and listen to the terrible racket which woke me from my nap. 

Tonight was a Board meeting here in the condo. I had missed the last one when Linda was here visiting so I made sure to get there tonight. It took about 2 hours, a bit longer than it had to because some of the folks went downstairs to look at some trees on the property possibly affected by carpenter ants. I am so thankful for those who are willing to serve on this Board as I am unwilling to put myself out there like these folks do. It is a good thing our building isn't larger or have more units in it...Justin was in bed already when I came in so instead of microwaving anything for dinner, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This should hold me over....

Trinity Sunday

Today is Trinity Sunday, when the Christian church recognizes the three persons of the godhead. One time a year the congregation gets to read The Athenasian Creed as part of our worship---well, most of it. I think we read about 2/3 of it this a.m.  We were pleased to have Kathy R. play one of the hymns for us, a Supplement hymn. 

Besides being Trinity Sunday, it is also Father's Day. Those poor guys don't get all the fuss that Mother's Day does, but I wished every guy I knew was a dad a happy day! Mike S. got a Father's Day card from one lady at church. Ooops! He took some ribbing because of that. Our Sunday group had a bit of a wait at Chili's, not because they were so busy but it seemed, again, understaffed. No foresight, apparently, that servers are going to be needed. It was okay, though, once we were waited on, the food came quickly and our glasses kept full. They need us, and we need them!

It was a gorgeous day at the pool once I got out there, no running for cover this time. Got to see many of my 'pool friends', enjoy their company and the weather together. Saturday I had gotten my ice packs together in the freezer, in one stack, ready for me to take out to the pool to share with Patty. BUT, I forgot them, so I texted Justin to please bring them out to the pool for me. He did, but the young lady they were for had left already. 

Patty is going to be tending to Katie tomorrow after she has her wisdom teeth pulled. I told her yesterday how valuable it was to keep the ice packs in place. When Justin had his out, we used a strap to secure the ice packs to his face to keep his hands free, and after he came around fully from the anesthesia, was able to play his video games. So, that is why we were lending Patty and Katie ours. The ice keeps the swelling down as that is what often causes the discomfort after extraction. Thankful for Justin being able to bring them out to me, and meet Patty, Mark, and Mark's daughter, Cameron.

Justin and I ate dinner in tonight, polishing off some leftovers. I have come down with a cold, feeling a very sore throat and full sinuses. Will be an early night for me, hopefully my aching teeth allowing sleep. Most of my teeth have root canals, or rather, many of them do, but still they can give me a zap when so inclined. My dentist already let me know she can see me tomorrow. Justin has kindly shared his cold medications with me, in addition to his germs!

Storms on Flag Day

This late morning I got myself all suited up, sprayed, and had my shoes on ready to go to the pool. When I stepped from the elevator lobby to the parking lot, it started to rain. Turning right back around, I went upstairs to wait it out. In an hour I tried again, successfully this time, and got myself out there for a while. At least there was a couple of hours with no storm until these clouds rolled in:

Looking straight out my windows

A bit more southerly view of the same layer of clouds 

And, then, after the storm, the skies cleared up and looked like this. The picture does not capture the pinkness of the sky. It was gorgeous!

Full moon and all that

Yes, the moon is full and yes, it's the 13th and yes, it's a Friday. I heard it mentioned several times especially this week, that this won't happen again until the year 2049. I will be in heaven by then, I pray. There is an 'old wives' tale' about not having anything done to your hair during the full moon which is why I get my hair cut then. Speaking of my hair, Sunday when Twila was greeting at the door, she asked me what I had done to my hair. I told her nothing, other than my monthly cutting. She had sat behind me during the service and noticed the salt 'n pepper going on, plus now the sun is having fun with it. I told her it was "au natural" and both Jean and she really liked it. I appreciate their compliments.

The moon tonight is partially hidden by clouds, playing a bit of peek-a-boo. With our goofy weather here, we are pleased to catch a glimpse of the sun (that might be an exaggeration) much less the full moon. My friend/neighbor did capture a lovely shot though a couple nights ago. 

This picture sure does live up the hype about having a full moon on Friday, the 13th!, except this was actually taken on June 11th. 

Today I went out to the pool late morning to take advantage of the sunshine, knowing that Bill and Nancy were coming out after lunch. Nancy works half days on Friday and Bill works from home, it is a good plan to meet on Fridays. Bill has been swamped with work, having a major project to complete and was successful in accomplishing this task. He told me this afternoon that he saved the account for his company and is officially 'the man'!!  Whoo hoo! He is relieved to have that behind him and looked forward to having some down time at the pool, and in it. Sadly, the clouds moved in and thunder was heard. At least we had some time together before the weather interrupted the fun. We scurried off to our homes, but not before the winds started to whip things up. 

My downstairs neighbor has gotten a dog, a Greyhound. Yesterday for much of the day and part of this a.m. I could hear the two dogs (one already lived there) serenading each other, and me. Cass told me that she just got her and the two dogs are getting used to each other. We have so many dogs in the building now, as though one comes with each unit! Glad there is none in this unit, I am good without that added burden or responsibility. Not an animal lover here, unless it's between bread with bbq sauce! That joke doesn't go over well with some people, but I like it. In fact, I enjoyed a burger at the cabana today, discounted by a buck a burger since folks 'complained' about the cost of it. I told the chef my hamburgers don't need a first name (Angus), I can settle for the kind of meat they used last year. My needs are simple. 

A printing fool!

All these stormy afternoons free me up from my labors around the pool to actually take care of business up here. Yes, poor me!  I truly did have some stuff to take care of including designing and printing 50 invitations to the baby shower, getting them done just before my yellow cartridge went empty. Whew!  Also, I printed the VBS logo on envelopes to put out for monetary donations for that upcoming event. Must say, they are so cute, who can resist using them?

My lunch today was some leftovers from Koko's, from our dinner last night. Justin was still feeling funky, having some bad days at work and suffering from a cold, so I treated him to Koko's. The staff was most kind to us, with the hostess coming by to thank me for coming in the evening. She had sent me a message via Facebook, explaining their reason for not being open at lunch time during the summer, and asked for my understanding. Huong, the owner, sent out extra rice with the chef for Miss Kim. I ordered two side orders of the clear soup for my friend, Nancy W., who is ailing. 

We stopped at CVS after dinner to get some soda and some more cold treatment supplies for my poor sick boy. The lady checking us out told us if we spent a certain dollar amount more we could qualify for a free gas card. Justin went back and got a couple packs of toilet paper so we are all set for a few months! It's good to have extra around for when the kids are here from CO next month. All that for a few gallons of gas at the Shell Station! 

Sunday night Justin made some brocolli beer cheese soup, embellishing a packaged soup mix we had in the cupboard. My, it was good! Tonight we enjoyed the leftover burgers he made, my baked beans, his soup, plus the Koko's---a real international feast! Next time he wants to use the same recipe for the burgers to make mini-meatloaves, which sounds good to me. I can eat them on a bun if I wish to, but they sure are dense and quite filling. I sure do hope he feels better quickly, the coughing is wearing him out and the sniffling, too. You know he's sick when the leftover Koko's has no flavor to him. Poor guy....

I had a good laugh with my brother-in-law, David, last night. My phone gave me a notice that my voice mail was nearly full so I had to go through and erase unneeded messages. Many of them were marked as being 'Face Time' calls which I have never done. Hmmm...obviously I have butt dialed or otherwise dialed this list of people and not even known about it. 

I pressed the button thinking I was erasing it and accidentally dialed David via Face Time. Immediately I hung up, but not soon enough, because he called me back via Face Time. I explained how it happened and we had a good laugh over it, but as long as he had me, I got a tour of their newly remodeled bathroom!! How cool is that? I think I am the first family member to see it finished and I like it. They used a vintage dresser/console with a square bowl on top as the vanity/sink, new faucets, of course, and painted the room. I liked their previous room but they were ready for a change. They have excellent decorating taste, and I am glad I pressed the wrong button and got the tour!

This is getting old!

Here I am at the desk, yet again in my night gown, in the middle of the day. Usually the afternoon storms commence around rush hour but this week they've been showing up closer to noon than I like. We at least get to do our water exercises before the skies darken. Today's water was colder than we liked but we sucked it up and carried on!  One of our original participants, in the group from back in the day when we worked out in the teen pool at 8:15 in the morning, returned to class. Randy, in his late 70s, had been out all of last season after suffering a fall in his home and then undergoing surgeries and other procedures to get him whole again. Welcome back, Randy!!  

Sadly, he's lost more than just time in the water as he had to be reintroduced to each and every routine we did, as though he'd never done them before. His wife dropped him off for class and then came back to pick him up afterward. She was going to join in this fun but she had overslept and only been able to get him ready to go. At least Randy remembered the names of most of the "old-timers" and I am sure the routines will become just that as he gets back into it.

I was thinking about something today, some "Justinisms" from long ago. He is excited right now about the filming taking place of the next "Star Wars" movie. Many of the original actors are coming back, the props are the same, including the little motorcycle-looking jet bikes he used to imagine seeing in the woods as we drove to school. He confessed one day being obsessed with Star Wars. You think? I made a rule for him at one point, telling him that he could talk to me about Star Wars until we got to the Doctors Lake bridge and then he had to talk about something else until we got to school. The car was very quiet after the bridge, strangely enough, which might back his claim about being obsessed! This was before Timmy was born which would make him less than 9 years old at the time. 

When he was younger yet, he would talk about what business he was going to be in when he grew up. At one time he had a whole litany about the hotel and restaurant he was going to have. That would be an entire blog of its own if I told that story. But, one particular dream of his was to have a stand on the side of the road by "Place Island", as he called it, where he would sell flowers to passersby. His first order of business would be to go to Sam's Club and buy a briefcase to carry the money home in, and, of course, a cash register!! 

He was going to sell sunflowers, and charge people $1 for each one. His father told him that no one would pay that much for sunflowers, and Justin nobly informed him that at the end of the day, he'd bring any unsold ones home for his mama! I love that!!  On Easter weekend, I bought a bouquet of sunflowers at Publix for the Easter tree in front of the church. Guess how much each of those flowers cost---yes, they were $1 each!   Don't you just love it!? Those kind of memories NEVER get old!