A "Day" in the life.......of Kim

At least the day began nicely...

2012-02-15T20:58:00.000-05:00

This was the sunrise which greeted me this early morning, begging me from my warm bed to grab the camera

When I went to bed last night, I had a goofy tongue and gross sac inside my mouth, thankfully without pressure or pain. Except for the 'hot' feeling on my tongue. Boy, the ice cream I had at Johnny Angels Diner felt so good sitting in my mouth...

...and now I know why! I made my appointment first thing this morning, getting a time slot of 2:00 pm. Okay, I can wait. When I got there, I had to stay in the waiting room for a bit until they were free to squeeze me in. I drew a crowd! The young lady assistant looked at things with her mirror, referenced my x-rays from Feb. 1st's appointment and said, "Hmmmm...." a couple times. Pretty soon Yvonne came in and she said, "Hmmmm....", too. Then Dr. Lessig, Peggy, came in, started looking things over and tried to figure what that was.

The assistant had taken an x-ray before the others came in, so they were scratching their heads, figuratively speaking, trying to determine what the heck it was. Two of them tapped on a couple teeth to see if one of them 'ached' when pressed or tapped. Nope, although one felt 'different' than the others. It turned out to be a remaining live tooth, but not where the sac was located. Hmmm....

Peggy decided to take a measurement, using a piece of equipment put into service for root canals, and pushed it up into the 'pocket', the drain. And then another x-ray with the thing in place to see how far the space went up into my head. It did not make sense to her so she referred me next door to the endodentist. My friend, Michael! Rats!!! IF it's one certain tooth, it already has a root canal in it...IF it's the other one, it has no root canal. She thinks it might be the one already treated that sprung a leak. Her poking around opened up the draining a bit more so I taste it now.

I asked why I did not taste anything yesterday already and why my tongue felt funky. They indicated that the ooze would be salty. Aha!! That would explain why I was so incredibly thirsty yesterday, drinking Diet Coke after DC and then water to quench my thirst. Now it makes sense. It also aggravated my tongue, like eating too many chips or nachos. It is much better today, by the way, probably thanks to the ice cream!

Monday is the soonest that Michael can see me, which puts me in the middle of Bible study which I hate to miss. In the meanwhile I am taking penicillin to beat down the infection. I had the scrip filled at Publix while I shopped and remembered there being no charge for antibiotics there. Yay!

I got my ingredients for making dinner for Stephanie and Jean Friday so I am all set. And restocked my own sherbet supply for medicinal purposes. I was supposed to be at choir tonight but simply did not feel up to it. Robbie excused me, saying we will rehearse on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. as we sing for the service that day. So glad I still get to help edify the worship---at least I hope this is true!

"Your face is falling apart!"

2012-02-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

We had to wait for a table...imagine that! When we arrived at Trivia, the first of our team, all the tables were taken in the area where "Nothing Tips Like a Cow" generally sits. It seems that many use Johnny Angels Diner as the place to take their valentine to dinner! Tara, our faithful waitress, said it had been busy all day, and she would know since she'd been there since 6:30 a.m.! Wow!

Cary came alone as Nancy was out shopping for a mother-of-the-groom dress. For some reason, his help was not needed on that project. Erica was absent as well, being out with her Justin for St. Valentine's Day. Stephanie and her visiting mom, Jean, rounded out our team, which managed to take 3rd place. Jean returns to WI on Saturday so this was her last time with us this visit.

Before Justin and I headed to Trivia, we stopped at the cemetery to leave the floral bouquet which graced the chancel Sunday, in memory of Timmy's baptism. I had collected the bouquet on Monday but didn't take them over as I wanted to get home after lunch. The bouquet was lovely with white and yellow flowers plus a trio of purple upright flowers as the backdrop. Cliff said they looked like a frame for the rest. Just beautiful...

The reason I wanted to get home so intently was because two main cut-off valves were being replaced in the unit two above me. This made me nervous even though the water was being shut-off for the entire building while this took place.

When I was in WI, I had gotten a call that this unit had a leak from the ice maker line but neither Justin nor Hugh could see any damage or dripping in my condo. The Owner told us later that two of the three valves in his unit did not work, were 'frozen', in his words. Thankfully they had the good sense to replace the inoperable ones, and, without incident, this has been accomplished.

I had made a plan to have Stephanie, Jean, and Erica come for dinner on Saturday night, not realizing that Jean was leaving that morning. Instead, they are invited to come on Friday night. Nice! The only time Stephanie had been here was the Saturday after the Great Flood and my house was torn apart. This time she will see it in its more orderly setting.

Rita has invited Justin and me to join her for lunch on Thursday after Bible study, as she has a Groupon to redeem for cupcakes. We are looking forward to this outing and the time together.

I bought a Groupon for having videos transferred to DVD's but have now realized that the videos must be shipped off in order to have this done. I am very hesitant to do that, so may have wasted $30 on this 'deal'. When I read the "fine print", it indicated the service was offered through Walgreens, but I guess they send them off as well. Because the videos are primarily 'home movies' of our kids, I would rather keep them local. I wish the machines for doing the conversions were not so expensive, in order for me to this myself. Once the videos were transferred, the equipment would sit there, idle. I wonder if a used one would be a good investment...

When Justin came home from work, I told him how my tongue felt goofy, as though I burned it. I stuck it out to show him and he exclaimed that it was all red, with a cut down the middle. Yikes! I leapt to my feet to check in the mirror, and sure enough, it looked beet red with a seam. I had noticed also an owie between my gum and lip which was tender. A reaction to something I'd eaten?

This is rather gross but since I could not see in there using a hand mirror, Justin offered to take a picture using his iPhone camera to show me. A pustule has formed for some reason. I will be seeing my friend, Peggy, in the morning to have her check this out for me. In Justin's words, "your whole face is falling apart!"

Back from another trip

2012-02-13T21:30:00.000-05:00

Once more I spent some time in Paris, in the 1920’s, as well asthe turn of the century, this time with Martie. She has been unavailable forsocial things since I returned from WI due to having had pneumonia. I was soglad when she told me she was up for a movie and dinner tonight! Yay!

The original plan was making a turkey pot pie but it seems I didnot have the cream of chicken soup I thought was there (it just occurred to methat I did not check in my food storage closet!) so that idea was scratched. Myintent is to clean out the freezer somewhat, rotate stuff and restock with fresh,frozen (is that an oxymoron?) food (lovin’ the alliteration! and punctuation!)I had pie crust on hand as well as the turkey pieces from the ThanksLiving birdto use. I must get some mixed vegetables and the cream soup in order to makethe pie.

There was a Stouffer’s lasagna in the freezer which I chose tomake for us. Justin was going to be away for the late afternoon and evening fora Team Teal event downtown so this lasagna would be enough for us two ladies. Infact, we ate only half of it. The lasagna could be prepared either in themicrowave or baked, but I did not allow enough time for oven baking. Earlier inthe day I turned the heat on for the entire house, rather than only my spaceheater for my room, to take out the chill from the air. (I cannot wait until it’s80 on Thursday!!) but having the oven on would have helped as well.

I served cranberries with the lasagna as well as the green beansI had made on Saturday, using the bacon and mushrooms, like Suzanne taught me.Yummy! It was wonderful to catch up with Martie and then we got into the movie,“Midnight in Paris”.Yes, it was the 4^th time I’d seen it, the third time at home, but itis so fun to watch it with someone who is seeing it the first time. I do hopeit wins at least one Oscar from its various nominations.

Martie liked it and suggested we go to Paris. When I told her how Justinhad found a place for us to go on our next trip (he told me this on Saturdaynight), she said, “Not Greece!!, please tell me not Greece…”I assured her it was not, and very, very likely we would also not be going toTunisia, which Justin had suggested. Apparently there was a movie made thereand all the sets remained for tourists to visit. Which movie was made there, Icannot recall. And I won’t ask, either, and reopen that can of worms.

A valuable lesson has been learned since my boy moved in withme---I cannot expect to find things in the cabinets or fridge which I thoughtwere there. One example, for dessert tonight, I was going to serve vanilla icecream with whole cranberry sauce over the top. I went to check the ice creamand sure enough, there was only enough for one serving remaining in thecontainer. I had not eaten that much of ‘my’ carton. His carton was Oreo Cookiewhich he consumed alone. Glad I checked, how embarrassed I would have been!

On the weekend, I had mentionedsomething to Justin that we could make as I had what was needed in the fridgeor cabinet (can’t remember right now) and he said, “Not anymore…”So, because of this, I will not make plans for preparations without checkingfirst for the ingredients. I joked with him when he was making yet anotherbatch of cupcakes that I am going to have him sign a piece of paper acquittingme of all charges if he regains his lost weight. I am not the one making thecupcakes nor am I the one devouring them. Now cookies are a different story…
********

Friday was the day my lady friends and I went to Great Hang Ups.When I pulled into the stall, I looked at the lovely windows of the boutiquenext door, which features clothing NOT for women of size. One display had aopen mesh white poncho, for spring. In that moment I was sad that it was not mysize and also pondered again what ever happened to my black open mesh poolcover. I was even wondering if Justin would have done something with it sincehe is NOT fond of me wearing what he calls ‘fishnet’. Then, I walked into GreatHang Ups to see my black mesh poncho lying on the counter as well as my book aboutChihuly glass. What??? I couldn’t believe it!

Julia was cleaning some stuff up and came upon the poncho andthe book which she has had for a couple summers. When her hubby and she visithis folks’ beach house, she borrows a swimsuit from me and evidently forgot toreturn the cover-up. What great fun that was, when I had just been thinkingabout my missing top! Love when that happens!!!

A chocolate birthday

2012-02-12T18:00:00.000-05:00

Today I went downstairs to help my friend, MamMa, celebrate her birthday, her 91st. Tracy, the granddaughter with whom Willie Mae lives, stated that MamMa loves chocolate above all else so it was my privilege to provide the cake for the event.

Originally, Justin was going to bake chocolate cupcakes with the same frosting and sprinkles. Instead, though, I got her a chocolate decadence cake from Publix. It was a hit! Tracy bought a heart-shaped ice cream cake to serve with the decadence. The rooms were decorated with heart-shaped balloons, and other Valentine decorations. Several of Tracy's friends joined the festivities as well as Jeff's mom from Ohio, and the interim caregiver, Virginia.

Willie Mae got a few gifts, all in the form of chocolate! Hershey Kisses, Hershey Nugget Bars, and a box of assorted chocolate. That should hold her! It was nice to meet these ladies and visit with them. Tracy's sister from Tampa was expected to come for the weekend, too, but a family emergency kept her from joining the festivities. It was a very nice afternoon!

Despite the terrible cold morning (28 above zero!), I managed to get myself to Bible study on time. There were plenty of seats, with the cold keeping some away. Judy C. said she would be absent as she spent the night at her daughter's home near St. Augustine, but would be there for worship. Gretchen claimed she ran in "Donna's Run" which is why she missed Bible study. So funny! When Gretchen complains about the cold, you know it must be!!!

Pastor likes to have 'break-out' sessions during the class, dividing us by table, with one at the table being the reporter. He said the one who keeps their thermostat set the highest was to the reporter. Yes, I assume that would be me! Not sure about the other two tables, how that was decided...The next time, the reporter was whomever has been the furthest north. It defaulted to me, again, even though the Hallenbecks had been in Alaska with me!

Worship went nicely, with the little ones singing at the beginning of the service, "I am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus", four stanzas. Very nicely done, from memory. After worship, Laurie needed my ear for a few moments before our lunch bunch headed to Chili's to eat. Justin was able to join us since there was no football (boo hoo!) to rush off to. Gretchen was lamenting this as well, today. Only 25 more weeks until the pre-season!

Anyway, I tried one of the new mini-sandwiches with the trio I usually order (yes, a creature of habit!), a Philly Cheese sandwich. It was okay...When my plate arrived, I sort of looked at the sandwich first, and then realized that Terri was watching me watch my plate. I glanced up and she asked, "Yes?", tentatively. We all laughed, like I was looking at something so strange as a Philly sandwich. I pulled off one green pepper and then bit in. As I said, it was okay.

Justin made everyone laugh as we sat at the table, asking me, "What kind of salad are you having today?" They all stopped talking for a second and looked at me, like, "What?" Terri said, "Some thing's happened since last time we ate out..." He ordered a Cobb salad and a bowl of chicken tortilla soup, and I said, "He does that to embarrass me..." The rest of us had the trio entrees and we all shared an order of chips and salsa. Michael, I am sure, appreciated having another male at the table, although he's never complained about being outnumbered.
*******
Away from the table, I grow weary of the entertainment news, wishing for more coverage of CPAC and the results out of Maine. Fiddling again while Rome burns. Speaking of burning, more rioting is taking place in Athens/Greece as the unions and retirees riot about changes in their plans. I cannot imagine it being a very good idea for healthy men and women ending their work lives at the young age of 55, or whatever it is in Greece. There are not enough working folks left to support all those collecting. Some thing has got to give and those collecting are not willing to bend. Burn and riot, yes. But end the rioting, not so much.

Let me say this about Whitney Houston---she really performed one of the finest versions of the National Anthem at the Super Bowl back in 1991. Well done, bravo!

A Day at the Movies

2012-02-11T18:00:00.000-05:00

More like an afternoon at the movies. Mylocal lady friends with whom I usually watch movies and dine were unavailablethis weekend so I was on my own. Or so I thought…When working at my desk, I sentLinda a text message reporting I was watching “Nights inRodanthe”. Shewrote right back to report she was also watching it, on Lifetime, the networkforbidden in my house!, and was also boo hooing. I love it! We were watchingmovies together, but 1200 miles apart! How cool is that?

Linda had planned a dinner andmovie day with her sister, Georgia, since Tommy is out of town, planning towatch the movie, “Courageous”. I had bought the movie, too, with plans to showit on a Dinner and Movie night. Last weekend Anne H. sent me a message sayingshe watched it and cried almost the entire time. She said she thought of me,and the family from Victory who lost a child to cancer a year or so ago, andcried her eyes out. Anne recommended I watch it first by myself, which was wiseadvice.

Well, I sort of took her advice but notentirely. Linda, Georgia, and I all watched together, or, should I say, at thesame time, with me here and them, in Manty! In my “picture eyes”, as Justinused to say, I could see them sitting in Linda’s family room with a box oftissues between them. We kept up with each other via text message on the cellphone, with the sisters being a few seconds ahead of me in the movie.

Not to give too much away, (you mayhave gotten the gist of it from the previews shown on TV) the story involves policemen whovow to be better fathers, become men of honor. One man lost his young daughterand begins a journey toward being a more dedicated parent to his son, a betterhusband to his wife, a better man all around. Others get on board and thenreflect their vow in their workplaces, etc. This movie is done by the sameBaptist group in Albany, GA that did “Fireproof” and “Facing the Giants”. It is nicely done, has a healthy dose of decisiontheology in it, but the movie as a whole, was great.

In between the “…Rodanthe” movie which stars Diane Lane, and the other movie, Ipopped in “Under the Tuscan Sun”, also with Lane as the star. I remember whenJustin and I were at Blockbuster after “Tuscan…” came out, looking for moviesto rent. I read the description aloud: “Recently divorced author with writer’sblock takes a Tuscan vacation and never goes back…” Justin did not want to get it because of that, and Isaid, “I don’t have writer’s block!” We were planning a cruise that summer andhe was worried I would stay behind. It was very tempting, believe me! But hewould not let me stay there without him and that wasn’t possible. As Katherinesays in the movie: Terrible ideas----they are always the best ones! It turned out that he fell in love with the movieand the scenery as well, and to this day occasionally calls me ‘Francis’, thecharacter in the movie, which is, in fact, a true story! I have since readanother book written by Francis Mays about her life and cooking in theMediterranean region.

Here is a girl truly outstanding her field! In Tuscany!

Prior to watching the movies, I waswatching on TV and reading on-line the various speeches from CPAC, taking placein Washington, DC. The keynote address, always the highlight of the conference,is being delivered by Sarah Palin. Should be a good one! Last year was AlanWest, a powerful man with a powerful message. I wish he would consider runningfor president, perhaps in 2016 if things don’t work out for GOP, or thecountry, in 2012. At one point, one of the websites was shut down by having toomany viewers so I had to go elsewhere for information. So glad to know otherscare or are interested in this event!

Justin was home all day and I had him vacuummy floor, the hallway and the kitchen. I just went through the hallway to thekitchen and couldn’t help but notice more dust under the decorative table below Timmy’s portrait. I think I need the dust mop for jobs like this. It neverends! My books on the end of the bed are coated in white dust, clearly visiblefrom my seat here. Only last weekend all was dusted, and now, all is dusty!

For dinner I am making country-styleribs bathed in golden mushroom soup, plus buttered noodles, and peas. We aredining-in! Earlier I told Justin that if he went anywhere, I would give himsome money to pick up a bottle of Jack Daniels from the store, so I could makemyself the delicious drink which I had enjoyed poolside this past summer. I had the otheringredients on hand, since Lynn and Linda were here in August, but not the alcohol.He turned on his heel and I could hear him clanging around in his room, movingboxes and such, banging bottles together, etc. Soon he came out with a halfbottle of Jack, moved with him from his bungalow. I teased him about having asecret stash in there and he said, “I even forgot I brought it with me untilyou asked for some!” I might make myself a nice summery drink tonight, when thetemps are dropping into the 20’s!

A day of superb proportions!

2012-02-10T22:05:00.001-05:00

Today was such a nice day, the firstpart especially. At first I was tornabout climbing out of bed to go to breakfast at The Club but decided I would. Itmade me very sad to see the moving truck parked downstairs and seeing my dearneighbor’s belongings being carried around. A tear or two sneaked out as Italked to Connie and to Gus about their moving out. This brought back memoriesof my own moves, making me not a little bit envious. Not that I am in a bighurry to get out of here, especially when nothing is leaking, but the prospectof redecorating and such is appealing to me. Right now, here to stay!

When I got to The Club, Randy andCarol were already there at ‘our’ table. After a few moments, Mary joined us.It had been a couple weeks since I saw her and I was so glad she came! PoorRandy was a bit out of the circle with our ‘girl’ talk since Mary was tellingabout an upcoming wedding to which she is invited. It takes place on St. Valentine’sDay in St. Augustine (that’s a lot of saints!) and all are encouraged to wearred.

Mary is a whole head taller than Iam and has trouble finding appropriately sized garments, much less formal wear.In red, no less! Her feet wear size 10 ½ which gives her grief as well.Today she was sporting her new sandals in order to wear them in a bit before thewedding. It was interesting to listen to her lament about being a big, tall,Swede with giant feet!

When I first met her, she mentionedwanting to write a book describing the sorrows of being a woman like her. Itold her it’s not a picnic being my height either but I can get stuff easilyfrom the lower shelves in the grocery store. Mary can get the high up stuff!She was the lady who made me laugh so hard at water aerobics, when discussing buoyancy,claiming she could never pick up the penny from the bottom of the pool! Thatjust tickled me!

Carol mentioned that she had an oldphoto of her father that needed framing and after a bit of planning, off wethree ladies went to Great Hangs Ups. Carol first went home to get her photoand came back to get Mary. I drove over myself because of needing to go toPublix. I warned Julia we were coming and asked her if she needed anything to eat.Since Dee retired, Julia often cannot get away, not wishing toclose for lunch. She was fine, though, so I went over. Justin’s Packer stockcertificate was framed and ready to go, looks fantastic!

The ladies and I had a great visitwith Julia, selected the frame and matting for Carol’s picture, and Mary evenbought some jewelry and ceramic plate. She thanked me for introducing her to myfriends, and I am so glad for us all! We ladies thought about going to see “TheArtist” this afternoon but it was no longer showing in our area. We guess itmight come back again after the Academy Award show, when it will likely win acouple Oscars. There was nothing else we wanted to see without watching thetrailers first so scratched the movie watching. Instead, I just went to Publixand came home.

Justin was going to make chocolatecupcakes with chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles for MamMa’s birthdaybut when I saw that the Decadance cake was on sale…well….I snapped it up! Nomuss, no fuss, and MamMa’s wish for chocolate will be granted!

It’s a Bible study day!

2012-02-09T18:30:00.000-05:00

This morning, Justin went to work early to get a couple hours’work done at the office, reformatting computers and such. He has to initiate theprocess and then wait until the cleansing is completed. Together we wentto Bible study at Victory and then I took him back to do work for the rest ofthe day.

He was planning to use his father’s car tonight to bring home hisbookcase, at long last. Having thebookcase will go a long way to helping him get organized, as would having hisbed here. For some reason he did not bring the bookcase to my house after work, as originally thought. Justin hasto stay at his father’s house overnight to keep an eye on his younger step-sister while theparents are out-of- town.

We began a new study today but right now, I cannot recall thename of the booklet. Pastor H. gets them from another synod’s publishinghouse. The turnout was fantastic, with a dozen of us around the tables. On theride home, Justin remarked that he knew something about everything that wasdiscussed in relation to the topic, and said his mind was so busy with what heknows. In the booklet, the example was given that physical maladies formerly were treated with a topical medication. This would be before thediscovery of antibiotics and similar oral medicines, relating how Jesus worksinternally, etc. Justin gave me the run-down on the how’s/when’s ofsterilization of hands and equipment in the ‘dark ages’, which helped save many lives. And that, my friends, is why I like my hands clean!

Pastor H. knows someone who works at Mayo in MN who called this morning to report a new research program being started. The researchis to find a cure for death. WHAT??? Wouldn’t all medical research be to that end? Perhaps not a cure fordeath, but a cure of the illnesses which cause death? I declared I want thisresearch to stop, because, when I die finally, I will wake up in the presenceof the Lord. All agreed, our destination, or hope, is to have an end to oursojourn here and go home.

As part of that discussion, Justin told the story of how in his younger days, Prince Phillipof England, as an environmentalist, used to pray for viruses to come and reduce the population of theearth. The conversation had evolved to how some people more or lessworship the Earth, the created, and scorn the Creator. Making their heaven onearth and wanting to control the things they can, or think they can, here.

Pastor H. told about a recent discovery, under the permafrost inSiberia, of a fresh-water lake, two miles deep. Scientists are busily ‘harvesting’life from the water to see what type of amoeba or living creatures exist.Harold, of course, said two miles down was ‘not that deep…’ to which Justinsaid, “Yeah, only 10,000 feet!” Oh, honestly! I wonder what prompted anyone toeven explore to see what is under that layer of ice. That must be what makespeople become scientists, the curiosity. So, all in all, a good class withinteresting discussion and a great way to spend the morning.

Tonight is Bible Information Class and I am sort of wishing Iwas not going. Most of me wants to stay right here but that’s not as beneficialas attending. It is especially good for Amber to have Judy and me there alongside her. And it is never bad to have this periodic refresher of what we know!Judy J. had called me Wednesday to go to Aron’s for Stromboli and discuss therecent caucuses and primaries, but Justin and I were eating at home (what isthis world coming to?) since I made a kettle of chili for us to enjoy. Judydeclined my offer of a bowl of chili, however. We actually ate dinner after Igot home from choir rehearsal, which is more my schedule anyway. I make goodchili, I am not afraid to admit it!

A new Word for me

2012-02-08T13:59:00.000-05:00

Not the Scriptures, but Microsoft Office which includes Word. When I got my new laptop last year, I took it to the computer guy who had tried to fix my gas powered desk top machine. He, then, transferred all the data from the big one to this new one, including an upgraded version of Office. I was quite pleased when young Steven delivered my freshly loaded laptop and hooked everything back into it. Justin was not called upon to do any of this for me, I had a paid professional on the job! I explained to Steven that I needed the new computer to write my newsletter and such since I did not have any word processing capabilities on the little laptop. Steven reached in his pocket and pulled out a jump drive, and proceeded to load Office on the other computer. Wow! I was ecstatic to be able to do it all, just about, from my bed!

Well, recently, when I opened Word on the bigger computer a warning came up, saying I had only 30 days left on my trial use of Office. Oh no! There was a box for me to enter my 'code' (not another code!!!!) which, of course, I do not have. Yes, I could have contacted Steven to see if he would give me the code, but I suspect this was not, um, the right thing to do.

In discussing this with Justin, I had looked on-line to see how much it cost to buy my own copy and wondered how I would get it loaded on the little one without buying the downloadable version. I know, I know, too much to think about. He suggested I purchase the software at the store so I would have the back-up disc for installing, and figured if I ever had to update the little laptop, I could simply enter the 100 character code. Okay, I exaggerate the length of the code, but the little laptop has no place to insert a disc to download it so would be updated via the code---we think!

I went yesterday to Office Max, as I had only one day remaining on my 'trial basis'. When Justin came home from helping his father, he wanted to take a rest but I coaxed him into loading it for me. He HATED to do because it seems I had the top-of-the-line version in place and the one I bought was closer to the bottom. My needs are really simple in that regard.

Justin had to uninstall what was yet in place, and install the lesser-quality version, which totally galled him! "But, Mom, on Publisher you could make origami swans and write stuff on their wings...." Yeah, I am all about that...and he is all about the bells 'n whistles. I so appreciate his help, believe me, and have to understand his passion for the upgrades! And he did get his rest before Trivia!

Monday Justin asked me to force him along when I left for Ladies' Group and drop him at the gym. I can wrestle him into the car, right? I said I would and told him I'd be at church at least an hour and a half, plenty of time for a work out. When he came home, he said I did not have to force him after all. He spent part of the day 'weight lifting' at the office, apparently stacking desks in the extra space. Why stack desks? There is going to be yet another 'yard sale' at the end of the month, selling the remaining office equipment and furniture. He stacked the desks by himself, so, yes, that was quite a workout!

At Ladies' Group, we had two extra ladies who came in response to an effort to get more interest in our group. I had made invitations (not origami ones!) with a Valentine-theme to hand to those not normally coming. It was also noted in the Flock Talk. Michelle used to be a member of GS years ago, had moved with the Navy, and then got orders back to Jax. Terri T. was the other 'guest' which was also nice. Judy C. made heart-shaped cookies, formed in a deep-dish cookie mold. Oh, my! Were they ever delicious!!??

Jean brought a lovely plant to offer as a door prize, which was won by Ellen, who had announced how she murders plants, prior to the drawing. Jean almost wouldn't let her take it home! I had to leave sort of quickly as Justin was making our dinner and didn't want to have him wait too long, but Judy packed up some cookies to-go. Justin got none of them!

He entertains himself nicely with his video games and declines my offers to help him put his clothes and such away. Hint, hint! His friends on the other side of the river are busy on weeknights with work, classes, or other activities. Weekends he generally does stuff with them but this past one he went over on Sunday after church for movies and football.

Saturday he shuffled some stuff around in the other guest room but much remains to be done to make it habitable. I have some house-guests coming next month and though they have been made aware of the now tight quarters, we should still make every effort to make sure they are comfortable.

A choir is coming down from WI Lutheran College next month also, appearing at Victory on a Thursday night. Guess Judy C. and I will be missing BIC. I suspect Pastor will wish to go as well. The secretary there gave me 10 tickets to distribute to our members at GS but already I am out of them! Hopefully she give me a few more tomorrow when I go for Bible study. Love to know so many from GS are interested in this event. It's been a long time since we've had anyone come down this way, I guess it costs too much to venture so far from home!

An en'light'ning conversation

2012-02-08T10:48:00.002-05:00

“..they will try anything to push their secularagenda down the throats of the religious community..” Boy, thismade me sit up and take notice! I was ‘watching’ my radio show and heardthis horrific declaration made by a guest on the program, the spokesman for theCatholic League. He was speaking in regard to the battle being waged againstthe edict from HHS requiring religious hospitals and medical facilities toprovide “services” contrary to their doctrine. Nancy Pelosi, herself an R.C.,said, “But we have to pass the Bill so that you can find out what is in it, awayfrom the fog of controversy…” Controversy about contraception, and alsoabortion. Um, yeah, that’s a good idea, Nancy, and, now, according to Rev.Wright, “the chickens are coming home to roost!”

A letter was composed at ‘headquarters’ for allpriests, bishops, chaplains, etc. of the Roman Catholic faith to read to their parishionersexplaining the church’s position on this matter. That’s fine,except that the Dept. of Defense stepped in and forbade the chaplains to readthe letter. Oh oh! Might that be construed as government interference in thechurch? Who ever saw THAT coming?? All the soldiers swear to protect and defendthe Constitution which speaks to religious freedom, and yet, the chaplains arebarred from reading the letter. Hmmm…A variation on the famous Niemoller quotefrom the late 1930’s: “When they came for the Jews, I said nothing becauseI am not a Jew. When they came for the Catholics, I said nothing because I amnot a Catholic; but when they came for other Christians, there was no one leftto speak for me.”

*******

Mybreakfast this late morning consisted of two leftover mini-subs from the SuperBowl party. Judy had made them and left a couple for Justin to take for lunch. Heforgot them twice so now, they are mine! Monday at Bible study, one of theladies asked how the party went, wondering if it was standing room only. Judyand I laughed, reporting that only 4 people were there. The ladies werestunned, and said they didn’t come because they thought it would be toocrowded!!! I should have posted a sign-up sheet, I guess.

Monday night the sameremarks were made. Though it was not how I planned it to be, I am quite happywith those who did come and the great food we enjoyed! Amber, our prospect/friend, came over after Judy called to tell her there was plenty of room forher. Amber doesn’t like crowds, so no worries!

While Amber was here, her first visit, she kept saying, “You could havesome mean parties here…” I assured her that usually I do have a largercrowd and have plenty of room for entertaining. She said she remembered ‘my’parties in the past and I told her I was glad she back in my realm again. I hatedit that we lost track of each other when her spouse stopped working for us. Soglad that Judy told me that she worked with her at Moosehaven, and now, we goto church and BIC together!

Afterthe Tea on Saturday, Justin and I cleaned the chandelier which badly needed attention.First I tried using the compressed air to push the dust out but that did no good. Simply wiping the cups on the fixture would not do it either, so Justinmust dissemble it in part for me to wash the cups in the sink. We have a fairlygood system, having done this about twice a year since 2007. However, thistime, it was different---when it came to rotating the fixture to remove thebowls, the yellow one tipped right off the bracket!

Itseems some Super Glue might be needed to secure the clear ring which supportsthe cup to the clear ring, attached to the arm. He had not touched it yet, but it tipped off anyway.Now, it would seem to me it was already detached, which leads me to think oneof the housekeepers might have had an encounter with this and knocked it loose.The cleaners I ‘bought’ from Groupon used a vacuum cleaner for much of itsdusting of fans, etc. and I am guessing this might have loosened the part. Oops!

Nothaving time to make the long-term repair, he asked me if I had anything in myscrapbooking supplies to hold the cup in place for now. YES! I had some bluetack which he applied between the cup and clear ring, hardly noticeable, and itheld! Boy, that was pretty upsetting because I don’t know how ‘we’ would getthat repaired otherwise, short (ha, ha, electrical humor!) of taking thefixture down and having it repaired by a glass artist, I guess. Such an artist repairedone of the flowers which serve as a center-piece on the dining room table. The repairis not visible at all! Perhaps the blue tack will stay in place for the rest ofmy days!

BeforeI left for the Tea event, I told Justin we would take care of that chandelierwhen I got home. He muttered, “That thing is more trouble than its worth…” andI corrected him immediately. It is of great value, if nothing else, it warms myheart! To remind you all---I had seen this chandelier hanging in a Murano glassshop in Florence, Italy when on a cruise with the Nichols’ ladies and fell inlove with it. However, there was no place for such a fixture at the lake house,so I left it behind.

In2006, after moving to this home, I took Justin on a cruise for his graduation,and we went to Florence. Instead of touring the Santa Croce and seeing those famousgraves of Michaelangelo and Rossini, we went in search of the shop. In my mind’seye, I knew exactly where it was, but in reality, I did not. He was relentlessand eventually found the shop. And there it was!!! I am sure we surprised theshop clerk by being so decisive when it came to buying it. The price was lessthan I remembered and I was happier than I ever imagined!

I have been on a little trip

2012-02-07T15:46:00.001-05:00

When I became Queen of the Ladies’ Group this year, Twiladelivered the presidential L.G. records to me in a plastic shopping bag. Actuallytwo shopping bags, doubled, so the folders would not poke through the sides.One folder is a ring binder and the rest are the pocketed folders, some withthe clasps down the middle for holding the pages in place. At Wal*Mart the other day, I bought new ringbinders to somewhat consolidate the records.

The first foldertransferred quickly into the ring binder as it was the most recent of the records.There was nothing all that intriguing contained on those pages. The secondfolder, however, was quite a different story. The first page affixed to the claspswas dated “January 8, 2001”. Oh, wow! I was the president then also, and thiswas the Monday prior to my surgery which was the 11th. Less than a week afterthis meeting, my son died.

The next month’smeeting was conducted by VP Louise B. and in March, I was back again. For somereason, this seems odd now, but I know how it was for me then---the busier, thebetter. As I tell others since who are grieving, there are no rules, and I amthankful that I had the outlets to keep me busy and involved, both at churchand in my business. And the friends and trusted ones to help me out!

Other interestingthings found in that folder were the obtaining the new banners for Lent; makingour presently used Chrismons; establishing the church library; planning andimplementing regular game nights; having a House Warming for the new preschoolteacher; obtaining the Paschal candle for use at Easter; and being invited tojoin Victory at their store front worship center for an Ascension service. Boy,I would like to have Game Nights again!!!

I’m baacckk!

2012-02-06T22:56:00.001-05:00

This morning I woke tofind an e-mail awaiting me from Google, informing me there was one more step torestoring my e-mail account. Yay! All I had to do was click the link, enter anew passcode/password and I was good to go. Such joy! It was like someonewheeled a cart of gold into my room, bringing my e-mail back to me. When hecame into my room this a.m., I asked Justin if he’s ever seen a happier mama. Hesaid that he had, but that did not deflate me one bit!

Yesterday’s Old Testamentreading was from Job when he lamented his miserable state, even his boils hadworms, and all that…I told Justin I knew how Job felt. Well, not quite,actually, not by a long shot, but I was sorely distressed about the terribleproblems I would have fixing everything if I needed a new account. Whew! I knowsome people are disturbed that football players and fans offer supplicationsto the Lord on behalf of the game, but I am not above asking Him to help meremember my password or find another way to solve. “Another way” is how itworked out! Thank the Lord and Google for restoring my ability tocommunicate.

Photos from the Tea

2012-02-05T15:15:00.002-05:00

Jackie really enjoyed the tea event at Basketique, this was truly 'her cup of tea'!

The room where we were served our tea. My bro-in-law wondered if this was someone's home, thinking it was decorated quite gawdily

Judy C. and I at the table. I fear this tea room made me look fat!

Another course was served, the food just kept on coming!

Here is a shot of the room as we were served the second round of sandwiches. One was made with raisin bread, a spread of pumpkin and cream cheese, and then rolled in chopped pecans. Oh, yes!

Terri was a good sport and drank a spot of tea before all five of us ladies ordered Diet Cokes!

Okay, folks, stand by...

2012-02-05T09:09:00.001-05:00

Those of you who read this blog might also follow me on Facebook and know I am having terrible problems with my e-mail. At least I can still access it from this laptop as long as I do not close gmail. Sometimes upgrades come when the computer is shut down or does so automatically. If I suddenly drop off the face of the earth, seemingly, it's because I lost this computer's access.

Blogger (blogspot) is run through my e-mail account so if I am unable to get into it, I am unable to post. Facebook is independent of the Google account so at least I will have that.

I could get a new e-mail address but what a nightmare that will be. This morning I filled out a form which Google sent through Justin's e-mail so I could fill it out, send them $3.00 and they will try to help me. Obviously they cannot simply take my word for it but if I could just look into someone's face and plead my case, it could be fixed chop chop.

It is all my fault for not remembering what I changed my passcode to about 10 days ago or so. I was getting deluged with SPAM, horrible stuff, and thought changing the passcode would filter that for me. Not so, and now I have a problem. There is not a way to grab the passcode from this laptop, unfortunately.

Much takes place via my gmail account such as bill notifications, account info from the banks and investment companies, many many things interact with the e-mail, other than simple communications. We are held prisoner by our electronics and are made to look like fools when we forget important information like our passcodes!

If Google cannot help me, then I must change my account name and start over new, which is a huge inconvenience. I took a screen shot of my contact list so I can recoup that if lost, but will have to retype them all in again. More cleaning will take place, I suspect. I copy/pasted e-mails into a Word document and hope I didn't miss anything or anyone. Yikes!

Push comes to shove, you can reach me via my cell phone or on Facebook. Or write me a letter. Some of my friends say they keep a list of their passcodes at their desks but I did not do that, so now, I have a big headache and a tummy ache over not remembering the passcode!

I will keep you posted, some way or another, if I have to change my blog address and all that stuff. This does nothing but make me feel frustrated, impatient, and a little foolish---no, lots foolish!

What does Saturday hold?

2012-02-04T10:15:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, as I mentioned, Justin and I, mostly Justin, tackled the game and linen closet in my bedroom. There is only room for one of us at a time in there so I pulled my desk chair over to the card table he set up and helped sort the sheets, pillow slips, and beach towels while he went through the games. I thought it might be more difficult than it actually was, more of a trip down memory lane for him than for me.

Some of the games had either never been played (requiring more than one player) or seldom played, and others, well played. We kept the M*A*S*H trivia game and I do hope we pull it out once in awhile to at least read through the cards for refreshing our memories.

One game in particular that I might have been okay with letting go was not even discussed, which meant to me that he wanted to keep it. Husker Du?, which is a matching game we had played as a family. Even though the box is banged up from multiple usings and multiple movings, it is a keeper. All he said when he pulled it out was say it's name, and slid it back in...

He carried the no longer wanted games, as well as the box of stuff from the pantry closet, to the car. It's on me now to get it to the Quigley House since Penny retired from there. I liked it better when she would take the stuff for me, directly to those who needed it rather than to the resale shop. I am okay with it going to the shop but think the families being served in the secure home might like the games. Oh well...He also toted two bags of clothing from my closet which I had had ready for Penny since before ThanksLiving. My house is emptier but my car is full!

Today is the day for the Ladies' Tea Party at the little shop down the street from my home. Located in the former railroad station, Basketique serves tea and sandwiches and other goodies, plus offers a charming gift shop where they sell many of the items used during the tea luncheon. I cannot wait! We have only 7 attending, which is too bad, but those who are attending will tell others what they missed!

A few items needed for the party must be picked up at the grocery store which I will do on the way back from the Tea Party. Justin will carry up the heavy items for me, and prepare the wrapped smokey links for tomorrow. So far he has no plans made with his friends (he is often the social chairman!) but that is subject to change, which means we must not delay in getting at our projects. UP goes the TV and AROUND goes the link wrap! This means I must now be UP and AROUND myself!

Plans for Friday

2012-02-03T19:46:00.001-05:00

Things did not go as originally intended for the closet cleaning on Tuesday, so we tackled those jobs today. Later, Justin is planning to make cupcakes for movie night so the kitchen will bear the aroma of confetti cupcakes again. What a marvelous scent they have, like a party!

First we went to breakfast at The Club where we enjoyed a lovely meal. Marlena was not there as she had a slight accident, falling over her dog while out for a run, and messing up her face. The chef 'suggested' she take a few days off to heal (look better) before coming in to serve the guests. The good news is that she did not break her nose or any other bones in her face.

I came up with a plan for raising the height of the TV to allow viewing for more people for the Super Bowl gathering---using my wire file baskets, a board, and a tablecloth to disguise the props. This should raise the TV about 12”, almost like going to the outdoor!

My often sweet boy regressed a bit, and made the remark that he would be upset (“I know it doesn’t matter to you…”) if he was watching the Super Bowl on a non-HD TV. THAT sounds more like the Justin I know and love!!! How could anyone reduce themselves to watching such a low-class TV, and it’s not even a plasma or LED type either??? Hey, it seems when he and I went TV shopping in 2007, this TV was the cat’s meow, and now, not so much. When he makes a fortune cutting lawns, he can have any kind of fancy electronic device he would like---every single month, a new one! I simply smile, inwardly and outwardly, and knowingly!

“That would be us…”

2012-02-02T15:51:00.003-05:00

At lunch today,Justin and I were enjoying our Bubba Burgers and fries. It was his first visitto a BB restaurant, the franchises in our area owned by my neighbor Jeff andhis wife, Kathy. We splurged, and should not have, on an appetizer of friedpickles which promptly filled me up before the meals came. The fries are moredelicious than just about anything in recent memory, and I long for the nextvisit to have more!

Justin is going to his friend’s house for movie night Friday buthad not heard yet if dinner was being provided. He told me he still hasa gift card for Taco Bell to use up, so checked on-line to see the burrito special forthe month, just in case he had to get his own dinner. An app on his iPhone takes him to arestaurant coupon page, and he read off a few that would be of interest to me. Onewas for Sweet Tomatoes and he rattled off the ‘deals’offered for lunch and dinner diners. One he read was Dinner for Four, twoadults and two children for a certain dollar amount. I think I simplyacknowledged the good deal, but then he said, “Thatwould be us….” It just struck me, the sadness in his voice. Yes, that would be us….

For his birthdaythis past July, I gave Justin a copy of George Washington’s “Rulesof Civility” which includes, besides the Rules, a couple of Washington’sspeeches. I would guess his friend, Jesse, upon seeing the tiny book, thoughtit was a dud of a gift; however, Justin loved it. In fact, he mentioned it tome again on Tuesday as we walked over to vote.

Justin said it wasdifficult for him to know what to do when a woman and he approach an out-swingingdoor, or pool gate, as the case might be. It is awkward for him to reach aroundthe woman, who is already in front of him, to grab the door knob or handle, thenstand out of the way for her to pass. If there is anything he stronglydislikes, it is feeling ‘awkward’. I was not sure what to tell him about themanners involved in such a situation, other than to ask the female to standaside while he gets the door. And she can retain the option of getting the doorherself. Not sure that helped him with his dilemma but I do let him get thedoors for me if he wishes.

I don’t know forsure that the Rules of Civility covers the out-swinging door issue or not, buthe also follows a website or blog which deals with the art of being agentleman. I cannot tell you how great this makes me feel, knowing that itmatters to him how he treats people. The site gives advice such as ‘What does agentleman wear to a funeral?' and other things on that order, which he often quotes tome, and, hopefully, to his friends!

One time, he told mehow he took his buddy to the side and reprimanded him for not being more complimentaryto the young lady who had made their dinner. She is this guy’s ‘intended’, seemingly taken for granted by her beau, but Justin tried to set him straighton this. What a sweetheart he is about these type of things!

Yesterday, I was atthe dentist for a cleaning and check-up, the office located in our ‘old’ officebuilding. I am no longer an owner but still have an attachment to it. Peggy, mydentist, is also my friend, and the hygienist lives in The Preserve, where Iused to live. I told the hygienist that I would not be surprised to see Justin peekingin the window at me while I am in the chair. His father's office is back in the building again, on the far end, but Justin tends the shrubs and grass, etc. for the entire property. She and the dental assistant whohas been with Peggy for over 12 years both told me how much they love Justin. Healways has a smile for them in the office and greets them warmly. “He is alwaysso polite!” What mom would not like to hear this???? By the way, I had a goodcheck-up, a shiny smile and no cavities!

What a good looking morning!

2012-02-01T20:06:00.000-05:00

When I opened my eyes this morning, I wondered what was that white stuff floating on the river. Suds? Algae? Ice bergs? I went to the river room to look out and determined it to be clouds. Clouds! And not in the water but actually reflected on the very, very still water by a not yet risen sun. It was too dark at that moment to take a photo, would have not looked like anything. This photo, taken by my neighbor, shows the sky once it lightened up.

Another dream

2012-01-31T11:29:00.003-05:00

When I woke up this morning, I thought it was 9:00 am. Wow! Did Ireally sleep that long? It was 11:00 pm when I switched over to watch O’Reillywith my eyes closed, often my habit. In fact, more than once, I have awakenedbetween 5 and 6 in the morning to find myself in exactly the same place in hisprogram where I fell asleep the night before! Love when that happens! The actual time was 7:00 am so I did not miss much of the news.

I don’t remember waking up in the night or in the very early morning hours. UsuallyI get up, take a short walk, and go back to sleep, which is when I have mostmemorable dreams. As far as I know, I was not 'up in the night' , yet I had such a dream this morning and I think I know why.

In the dream, people were there that I have not seen in a long time,such as Mark V. who had been my Elder at church years ago. I was gettingcustody of a young lady who was moving in with me, my ‘home’ being theone I grew up in. The people who werehelping, mostly faceless, were moving things around in the basement, sweepingfloors, shuffling stuff around , and finding things from my past. The basement lookeda whole lot nicer than it really was, which I was glad for the sake of the guest!

At one point, Justin and I were sitting in some stadium-style seatsand he was showing me a book he found, a pictorial done of one of my favoritemovies, The Way We Were. I never hadsuch a book but I used to have some movie stills (not sure if I still do or not…).Justin asked me if I knew what it was and I pointed out immediately the starsof the film without even looking for them. Hmmm….

A sofa needed to be moved, a rather new sofa, red in color, like theone I had at the lake house. Mark was helping me with that, and I was horrifiedwhen I lifted the cushions off to find all sorts of food schnibbles and a whole messof Legos. Oh, oh! Timmy would have already been gone several years before I gotthat sofa so why were there Legos under the cushions? As I cried, I joked withMark, asking if he wanted a snack. That sort of sounds like something I woulddo! I think the Legos were eventually associated with my little nephews. (At church this past Sunday, I told a youngcouple with little ones that I would get out some old toys I have on hand fortheir kids to play with at the Super Bowl party) This might be why I was thinking about Legos and such.

Also, today, Justin and I are going to clean out the game/linencloset in my room and I know some decisions will need to be made in regard tothe games and such. Do we keep them even though no one plays with them, or iftheir pieces are missing? The ‘reason’ for keeping them would be because Timmyhad played with them and it’s extremely difficult for me to part with thosetype of things. But in late 2010 when my hand was forced by The Great Flood, I did whole lotbetter letting go of things. Perhaps today won’t be so hard, either. Perhaps….

We've got company!

2012-01-30T19:30:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is the big day here in Florida, withthose who have not already done so will hopefully be at the polls for theprimary. I heard a reporter speaking from the campaign trails say he could notturn on a TV anywhere without being bombarded by ads for the two front runners.It is a battle of wallets over ideas right now, and because I do not watch muchregular programming, I have been able to avoid much of that. The candidateshave been making appearances in the area with Justin being able to press theflesh with Mitt Romney this morning. He was impressed that his hands were roughand that he did not wear “mom jeans”.

WhileI was talking to Mom on the phone Sunday evening, Justin came scooting into myroom to report that Mitt was coming to Jax and would speak somewhere off ofPhillips Hwy. I asked what he was going to do, and he said, “I think I have totext my dad and tell him I will be late!” The speech was scheduled for 8:15 amso he would not lose the entire morning if he went.

Ihad Bible study which I would not miss but he was willing to go by himself. It turnedout that his father would go with him, leaving from the office and then visit ajobsite at the Beach. That works! When I heard him leaving, I hoped he wasdressed warmly because it was pretty chilly outside. Usually, if he knows I’m up, hewill come into my room to say ‘good-bye’ but when he leaves so early, he does not. Later, he reported his feet were absolutely frozen from standing on thecold concrete with thin-soled shoes!

AtBible study, the group was about half in number, still a group, though! Onelady, Betty, is traveling in IL to see her son who is terminally ill withcancer. A couple ladies did not let anyone know that they would be absent andour hopes are that they are okay. Probably just doctor appointments orsomething. Twila had a house she was getting ready to rent so had to work whenher helpers were available. Only four of us went to lunch which was kind ofnice, allowing for us all to talk together at a round table.

Fred,the manager, stopped by our table before our server had gotten to us, asking meif I was going to have potato soup today. I had to chuckle that even he knowsmy likes and dislikes. Instead, though, I messed them all up by ordering aburger. I said, “I hope you didn’t dish up the soup already!” and he said theyhad not. Funny! Also, the waiter, Jason, our regular guy, asked me if I washaving a blackberry tea with Fire Fly in it. I just had Diet Coke so he had tocatch the Hostess to stop her from ordering my other usual. I probably threwoff their entire day by changing it up! One good thing was the restaurant beingquite busy, love to see a thriving business!

Undercover work

2012-01-29T20:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, I am under thecovers writing this wrap-up (ha, ha!) of the day’s events. We are having somecooler temperatures overnight, waking on Saturday to temps in the low 40’s. Layersare the plan for the next couple of days. But, after dinner tonight, under thecovers I went!

This morning, I arrived late forBible study and not by accident, just by dawdling. I had some stuff to do whenI got there, with things being switched up due to the remodeling of the Fellowship Hall.The subject is “Prayer”, the hows and whys of doing it, andthe what. It was Favorite Hymn Sunday and a couple I requested were used.Robbie also played “Behold a Host Arrayed…” for me during the offertory. When hecalled me Wednesday about choir, he asked me if I had a hymn that I would liketo hear during the offertory and that is the one I chose.

After worship we hadFellowship Sunday, held in the classroom building where a few minutes later another event, Family Connects, was taking place. I enjoyed a tuna sandwich,actually a quarter of a sandwich, and an oatmeal butter scotch cookie. Judy C.makes the best tuna salad sandwiches! She and I were going to the movies butnot until 2:15 so we had lunch at TGIF, next to the theater. I had my usual there,Jack Sesame Chicken appetizer, which is just right for me. Judy had regularchicken tenders and it was a huge portion, besides having a large house salad.

We got into thetheater while it was still in cleaning mode so had our choice of seats. It wasfine to sit and visit before the previews came on, and people began to arrive. Themovie of the day was “Red Tails”, the story adapted from thehistoric Tuskegee Airmen, all black flight teams. It showed how they rose invalue from taking out supply lines to escorting bombers on missions, protectingthe ‘heavies’ from German attackers. Quite some flying and bravery exhibited,and even a love story woven in for good measure. It was good, but I sure wish Ihad not seen/heard the review the other day which somewhat tainted myappreciation of the movie.

When I got to theMall, I had to drive up and down the aisles to find a ‘close’ place to park,and finding none, had to walk a distance toward the theater. No Rock Starparking for me this time as I had last week! About four rows from the theater,I saw a car I recognized---Justin’s!!! He had left early this morning to attend Victoryfor the 9:00 a.m. service and then was meeting his friends on that side of townto go to the movies at Tinseltown. There he was, parked like a Rock Star! I senthim a message to let him know I was there, too, in case he was having lunch orsomething. Jesse and he ended up coming alone to this side of town for an11:15 movie. They saw “Red Tails” also and enjoyed it, being Star Wars fans and all that.

When I got home afterthe movie, still in the light of day, his car was parked in the lot. He had gottenhome early, did the vacuuming he did not do on Saturday, and seemed to be busyin his room. There is a video game attracting his attention which is causing someof the delays in progress. In between games, though, he made another batch ofhis stew, using the rest of the cabbage (“I can’t believe how much I likecooked cabbage!”) and, as I write, the house is filled the aroma ofstew---again!

Making up for yesterday

2012-01-28T17:04:00.000-05:00

It is a very pretty day today, entirely opposite of the weather yesterday. It was drizzling most of Friday, or at least felt wet in the air, overcast until midday. Eventually the clouds broke and some blue shone through but it certainly remained conducive to napping!

Click to enlarge the photo

As I write, shore birds are feasting along the edge of theriver. This morning there was a giant flock of birds outside, more and morecoming but none leaving. It was quite interesting to watch them enjoy theirbreakfast. I never did notice when they left, perhaps Tracy, who lives downstairs from me, did. Randy,upstairs, thinks they were dining on mosquitos as he had a wall full of bugs after his exterior door was open last night. My friends at breakfast Fridayreported the red buds blooming along River Road, which usually marks the comingof spring. As Randy said, “It’s been a great winter!”

For the past couple of weeks, I have been experiencing some achesand pains and pulsing muscles periodically in my right arm. My thought is thatI have strained something when carrying in several heavy bags of groceries. Not wishingto make two trips to the car, I carried all the cold items up at once.Where is Connie when I need her? She usually offers to help if she sees someonecome home with bags in the car. I had milk, juice, plus other refrigerateditems, leaving the other stuff in the car to tote when I picked up Justin fromwork. They were heavy, that is for sure. And since that day, it seems to me, myarm has been goofy. Not all the time, and not incapacitating. I have to chucklea bit since my mom had troubles with her arm when I was in WI, andwondered if I caught something from her!

It occurred to me that I have many more aches and painsparticularly since I stopped taking my arthritis medication. Ya think??? I knewI had more left on my prescription at Wal*Mart, which they confirmed and filledfor me. Of course, my arm feels like its old self again before I even took the first one. As I told Justin, Imake myself use it rather than favor it. I wish I had a tennis ball or one abit smaller to sit and squeeze in order to strengthen my hand and arm. I suredo hope I don’t have carpel tunnel syndrome. It’s been years since I’vepressure washed anything so all I can do is ‘blame’ the groceries and mylaziness!

My idea, besides taking my medication, is to just get back inthe pool again, and I even went so far as to consider joining the fitnesscenter on Wells Road for the pool/Jacuzzi privileges. Carol W. thinks they havea plan just for that now, instead of paying full dues, which I would dearlylove to avoid. This might be something worth checking out, as it will take along time to get the pool temperature here up to the way I tolerate it. Likethe lady said to me last summer when Lynn and Linda J. were here: “Oh, waa waawaa!” I am a big baby when it comes to the water being warm enough!

A couple quiet days

2012-01-27T19:49:00.000-05:00

Otherthan dashing from my bed for “Breakfast Club”, the rest of my weekend is somewhatquiet. Thursday was active with Bible study and lunch with Justin, picking uphis new glasses, a trip to the bank, Winn Dixie, and then home. We had planned to get hisnew cable for repairing the hatch latch (love that!) on his car, but he hadleft it behind so we opted to get that part another time.

Thursdaywe had a Tea Party event at La Nopalera, going with my friend, Peggy. I thoughtparking would be an issue, as I have had ‘problems’ there in the past so weleft home quite early. Peggy asked me to save two seats, as we expected a fullhouse. It actually did turn out to be a good-sized group but at first, Justin andI were alone in the room. We had great service that way!

Theconversation was lively, no speaker scheduled due to the debates taking placelater. The ‘powers that be’ are yet deciding upon the changing of the boundarylines for the districts so the leader urged us to keep up with this. There isone man from Clay County government thinking of throwing his hat into the ringif and when the boundaries are re-laid. The woman in whose district Justin andI reside, being on the ‘wrong’ side of Hwy.17, is fighting the redistricting tooth and nail. Hers is a gerrymandered district from Jacksonville to Orlando. Thiswill hopefully change and we will have a new or different representative.

Justinand I listened to the beginning of the debate in the car as we drove home fromLa Nop, hearing the UNF Chorus singing the National Anthem. Imagine that---sungwithout any screeching! One of my friends who is in the music business wrote onFacebook about how well her students and fellow teacher did with the Anthem onnational TV. I let her know how I told Justin, when the anthem was sung, “Nowthat was just beautiful!”. And it was! We sat together in the family room towatch the debates, both of us thinking all did well. I am rooting for myguy who is still in the race but Justin is leaning a different direction. UNFshowed nicely on the TV but I only saw one person in the audience that Irecognized.

Fridaymorning was my breakfast with friends as The Club for which I took my carrather than walking in the rain. Not that I was concerned about my hair, but rather,about sitting in wet clothes in a cold restaurant. We had four people aroundthe table but no game playing, so my name for the gathering is catching on! Iam cool with that, too, love the visiting!

Oh,I have to back-track a bit---I had gotten an invitation to partake of birthdaycake for the owner of The Club, as a surprise, but it was Wednesday night. SinceI have choir rehearsal at that time, I had to send regrets. About 6:00 pm, justbefore Justin and I were having dinner (I made scalloped potatoes and ham forus), Robbie called to cancel choir. Oh, an unexpected free evening! We ate ourdinner early anyway, since everything was ready to go, and then later wewatched Jeopardy! When it was over, it suddenly occurred to me that I couldhave gone to the birthday event. Since it was now 8:00 pm, I assumed the wholething would be over as Happy Hour usually wraps up at 7:00 pm. Rats! But, atBreakfast Club, one of the ladies told me that they did not even serve the cakeuntil just after 8:00 so I could have made it! Double rats!

Backto Friday: Justin went to work on Fleming Island, using his own car, with mydriving to work days over for now. It turned out he spent about four hoursin the car, making two trips to St. Johns County for getting a permit. He said,”Drivingis exhausting!” and he is so right about that. At least for the eyes and thebrain, and maybe even the butt.

Thursdaywe bought the ingredients needed for Justin to make a recipe he found on-lineinvolving pork, apples, and cabbage. He wanted to make it for Friday’s Dinner and aMovie,but this is not going to happen until Saturday evening. Since he was notcooking on Friday, he made plans to go to Mandarin for Game Night with his pals. But, Idid not go hungry as he brought home some leftover food that his step-motherhad given him. He had four half-sandwiches and a partial Caesar salad. The chickensalad sandwich I ate was fantastic, and I would have eaten another but half wasenough! I think there were grapes cut up in the chicken, and perhaps evenchopped nuts. Man, that was good!

Saturdayas I mentioned I have three ladies coming over to watch “Midnight inParis” and have dinner. That’s all I have planned forthe day unless something else happens…you never know! Sunday is church andBible study, and in the afternoon, another movie, “Red Tails”, which I understandis poorly directed. The movie is a good enough story to hold its own, but thedirecting is shoddy. One critic asked, “Did Lucas have a stroke or something? What’shappened to him??” I will try to not notice the flaws and take in the greatstory!

The biggest news is that today is Mom's birthday---she is 87! Her plans for the day include going to dinner with a bunch of people from church for their Dinner Club. I hope she has a perch dinner to celebrate. When Justin came home from work, we sang Happy Birthday into her answering machine which will have hopefully sung her to sleep! Happy birthday, Mom!

My friend, Patty!

2012-01-26T09:36:00.002-05:00

This is one of my Facebook friends who is a relative of Carrie U., at FG. A small world! To make it smaller yet, she is from Morton Grove, IL where I have other 'family' connections. We had never met in person, only over the Internet, but we knew each other anyway. Last summer I had the privilege of hugging and officially meeting Patty, and her husband, Terry, when I crashed the graduation party of the Ungemach's. Linda had a boot on her foot so I was her driver to the party, and there I met Patty! How exciting it was!

More organizing going on here

2012-01-25T11:13:00.002-05:00

Notclosets today, or the drawers, or even the fridge, but my head. A few thoughtshave rattled around, things I meant to report but forgot when the time came.

First,thanks to everyone who extended good wishes and warm thoughts during what Icall “funeral week”. Several of my friends, whether they remembered it or not,came through for me with invitations and such, and got a lovely cardfrom my sister, Lynn. Via Facebook many folks wrote their comforting messages,from all over the place. Some did not even know Timmy, but will,some day!

Myfriend, Julia, at Great Hang Ups, is celebrating 25 years in business and hasasked clients to send in photos of work done in their shop, with a little storyabout the piece. She was looking for special memory pieces as well as photoswhich have been restored, and the like. I agreed to send in some of the specialones done for me and did so.

Click to make photo larger

This paper hug made by Timmy in pre-k was framed by Dee and Julia and hangs over my bedroom door to the river room. Besides framing the original one, they also had a copy made, and laminated, so that I actually can 'wrap it around you when you feel blue'....Yes, I would say this counts as being "special"

Ona lighter note, I posted on Facebook yesterday that I might be ready to go theH-O-M-E soon. When getting my bottle of water from the fridge (yes, you readthat correctly!), I reached into the shelf for the lemon to squirt into thebottle, and nearly used yellow mustard instead. Yikes! In my defense, bothbottles had yellow caps, but to indict me, the bottles are shaped entirelydifferent, and certainly smell different! Another time, I told Justin to getready to pack me away when I nearly put in two different earrings. Either wouldhave looked good with my outfit, though.

Manyof my friends, then, reported going out with one black shoe and one brown shoe,even different styles of shoes without noticing. Another lady wrote to say thetell-tale sign is when you find the mail in the refrigerator. This made melaugh because Connie told me the mailman is afraid of me ever since my deliverywas lost, so he delivers the packages to my door now. I am not mad at him nordid I give him any grief other than encouraging him to check his little truckfrom one end to the other. If he puts the mail in my fridge, sets me up to besent away, well, that’s on him. (Is paranoia a tell-tale sign?)

Justinis so funny, and seems to be moreso since he’s come back home. His doing thelaundry has brought up some interesting discussions, starting right off the batwith his washing HUGE loads at once. This discussion was short—NO! Not in mywasher or dryer! His theory was as long as they are wet, they are clean. Well,this is simply not the case, as I explained the technical aspects of themachine. The agitator in the middle moves the clothes through the sudsy water,and then moves them again through the rinse cycle. The dirty water goes away,and the laundry is now considered clean.

Mymachines, though newer, are not the heavy-duty style he must be used to, morebasic (i.e. cheap) than impressive. The same is true for the standard dryer Ihave. No sense loading it jammed full if the clothes cannot bounce around (hencethe name of the dryer sheets!) and get dried (hence the name of the machine!)See? I get that. This has not happened again although sometimes I do look askanceat how much he puts in, since his jeans weigh far more than do my pull-ondenims.

Another time I usedthe washer after he was done and discovered dirt all around the top of themachine, and under the lid around the edges. When he helps his father, he doesnot usually come home filthy, but when he works his landscape job, he is amess! Often Justin will step immediately into his room to change so he does notdrag the grass clippings and other soil through the house. The schnibbles,then, end up in the washer for me to clean away, more easily done when theyhave dried. I asked Justin once why, oh why, is there enough lint in the trapto make a bail. His immediate come-back was, “…because my undies are cotton,not silk like yours…” Ha! That is likely the right answer, and a funny one, butI do not wear silk underwear! Nice that he thinks so, though!

What is this world coming to?

2012-01-24T16:30:00.000-05:00

Does that make me sound old? Just because the world is upsidedown, that should not necessarily age me, but it has. I was reading an article abouta student who wrote a pro-marriage column in a school paper near Green Bay. Youwould think that would be a favorable thing. But, oh no, it’s not! Because itwas in favor of traditional families rather than the opposing article ofsame-sex couples adopting children (pretty deep stuff for high school kids!),the author, a boy, was considered guilty of ‘bullying’. Oh, for heaven’s sake!

How would our playing “King of the Hill” in grade school be looked at in this era? Maybe I would view it differently if I were not oftenKing! When the plows cleared the parking lot/playground at FG, huge mounds ofsnow bordered the perimeter. The ‘big kids’ would play King of the Hill bygetting to the top and throwing down anyone who could not stand their ground ingetting up there with us. In those days, I could hold my own with the boys,battling my way to the top despite the best efforts of the older, bigger boys. OccasionallyI would have a broken bow or nose piece on my glasses but I was King of theHill. And evidently, a bully! We got no participation trophies for thisactivity, either, only the broken glasses to show for our efforts.

When talking with my mom earlier, she was convinced that it wasprimary day here in FL but I assured her it is next week Tuesday. We do have ‘earlybird’ voting here, typical of Florida but I prefer to vote on the actual day. Theprecinct is right here on my property which is incredibly convenient. Thursdaynight there is a debate at UNF and one of my friends has applied to get aticket for it. Rita said she had to fill out a short form and jot down aquestion she would like to ask if a seat is given to her. Having lived outsidethe USA on a couple occasions, including in China, her question was in regardto how the US is regarded by other nations, our role in the world. A goodquestion to open to discussion in the debate. “You take this one, Dr. Paul”! AsI mentioned, Justin and I will be having a margarita at a Tea Party gatheringat La Nap instead of battling for position at UNF. The topic discussed is considering the remaining candidates, which should be interesting. The guy I like isstill in the running but Justin’s first choice candidate dropped off severalweeks ago.

When Justin came home from work Monday he thanked me for gettinghis car repaired because he actually used it to drive to St. Augustine thatday. Wow! First, he was afraid to drive to Winn Dixie and now he goes crosscountry (well, almost!) with it. He was still apprehensive but did it anyway,having to get a permit in St. Johns County. Next on the list is to get hiswindshield replaced, as it has a long crack in it. This happened when totingsome boards from one site to another and they didn’t quite clear the windshieldwhen he closed the hatch on his car. The boards shoved forward, cracking thewindshield from the inside. We have insurance for this type of thing but he washesitant to report it due to the cause. Using his car like a truck was not agood thing for having things last more than 5 years, it seems. He’s had to haullawn equipment, the pressure washer, building materials, and moving officestuff back and forth, which has really taken its toll.

Well, anyway, back to today---we play Trivia tonight with a guestplayer joining us. My friend, Stephanie, has her mom visiting from Janesville,WI for a month and will join us on team Nothing TipsLike a Cow. Last week we took 2^ndplace but our most faithful contenders were absent. We can only hope to dobetter this week, or at least stay the same. It seems the more people we haveplaying on the team, the worse we do, but the food and company make up for theloss.

Justin’s new glasses are ready for him to pick up so we will plan thatfor Thursday. He will have a fresh outlook on life from that point on! To improve his outlook in his room, he is picking up a different light kit for his ceiling fan in hopes of casting more light into the corners of his room. Because of the windows being high on the wall and under the walkway roof, the rooms on this side of the condo are extra dark, dramatically so compared to where I spend my time. That was why I moved the office into my room in the first place---it was too dark to be productive in the extra bedroom, but it is perfect for sleeping!

Later this evening is the State of the Union show, which I should not have a problem finding a channel for, opposite situation of the most recent debates. I should probably just wait to hear the radio programs revisit it tomorrow and read the text instead, but we shall see. Justin might want to watch and we can digest it together. Alka Seltzer at hand...

Debating again tonight

2012-01-23T21:30:00.000-05:00

Justin and I are in mourning that football season is nearly over, with neither of the teams we support going into 'overtime', as it were. I am still having a Super Bowl party which might be even more fun without a dog in the fight. Michael C. reminded me that the last time I had a Super Bowl party, or perhaps the last time he came, it was the same teams playing---2007. He remembers it best because Gordy was here, too.

Sunday at lunch, we were talking about my decision to have the gathering and I said that Michael had talked me into it. Justin piped up, "Oh, you just wanted to have a party, that's all!" Terri laughed, but Judy defended me, saying Michael had asked about it. But, I fear, Justin is also correct! At lunch today, Michael asked what he should bring, but I leave that entirely up to him. I am sure it will be delicious, whatever he brings.

Bible study had a nice group, every chair filled. Jackie was not there but Sue K. came instead and joined us for lunch. In fact, she treated Michael for his birthday. Our study is "What Must I Do to Be Saved?", with him being our leader the first two weeks. Next week Pastor will be back, conducting the class in a different fashion than does Michael. Being a teacher, his classes have much more interaction and discussion than do Pastor's .

I forgot to mention that Pastor K.'s father was our guest preacher Sunday. Before class began, we were discussing how much we enjoy his sermons, when he comes up from Leesburg to preach. Such a smooth delivery with a soothing voice, but not so much that it puts one to sleep.

My lunch was the half sandwich and a bowl of soup at Longhorn, but the potato soup is so filling, I could not finish it! The same thing happens every time I order it, but I still do! The sandwich, braised bbq beef, on a good roll is so filling, I could never handle the entire sandwich. In the past I have brought home the remaining soup but left it this time, since I have bean soup leftovers to eat up.

Judy and I told the others how much we enjoyed "War Horse" and invited anyone else who wishes to to join us next Sunday for "Red Tails". Justin told me at dinner that George Lucas, who produced this movie, thinks it will be on the shelf next to the Star Wars series in his own home. His 5 year old son, when viewing the movie, asked his dad which of the Star Wars movies this one was from, because the planes reminded him of some from SW!!! That's kind of fun, through a kid's eyes...

Justin is going to the movies next Sunday, too, with his buddies, on the Southside. They will likely see Red Tails or he mentioned another one that I never heard of. He wants to see the "Extremely Close...." movie, featuring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, with me instead of his friends. Obviously they would not be in a hurry to see this one because of its highly emotional content, but he is comfortable seeing it with me. We have been known to cry together now and again...

We ate dinner in with my resident chef preparing something I had never eaten before---Pad Thai chicken. I was apprehensive but should not have been, because it was absolutely delicious. Justin started with a mix for the noodles and flavor packet but added a mess of veggies and some other things I did not recognize. They turned out to be oddly-colored baby carrots, plus bean sprouts. Yikes---I ate bean sprouts! He forgot to buy peanuts and I mentioned there were some in the snack mix in the cupboard (I had bought a plastic container of trail-type mix when Lynn and Linda were here last summer) but he told me that was eaten up. There goes the peanuts!

He had plans to clean up his room this evening but that did not happen. We watched Jeopardy! together after dinner and then I retired to my room to finish watching my Internet show on Roku, which is hooked up in here only. He is catching up on old TV shows he had downloaded, including "The 4400" from years ago.

We were both in search of finding the network carrying the debates but did not find it listed for the channels I have. Instead, I am watching it via the Internet as I type at my desk. When they go to commercial, the site goes quiet so I have to refresh every little bit to make sure I don't miss anything when they come back. Thursday's debate is at UNF but we are not going. First of all, it is very difficult to get tickets and secondly, we are joining my friend, Peggy, for a Tea Party event at La Napolera that same night. I think we'll be just as happy there and then go home to watch the debate!

Just call me poker-eyes!

2012-01-22T19:30:00.000-05:00

My eyes are sore and make-up entirely gone, and I am happy. Not about the way I look or the way my eyes feel, but from watching a wonderful movie with Judy C. Her daughter had gotten a gift card for the AMC Theaters but where she lives, there are none. So she gave it to her mom to use...nice! We are going again next week to see "Red Tails", a WWII movie about Black pilots as heroes.

But, now, back to WWI, the Great War...This story takes place first in Great Britain, showing a young boy witnessing the birth of a pony. It progresses to the boy forming an affectionate bond with the horse, named Joey, who is put to work on the family farm, with hopes of saving it from being a total loss. When the Great War started, the British army representative came to town to buy horses from people and away went Joey, sold to save the farm.

The movie follows Joey and his heart-sick young owner through the war, and all the lives touched by this valiant beast. At one point, Joey got tangled in barbed wire right between bunkers occupied by the opposing sides. One guy from the Brits' and one from the Germans' bunker came out to work together to cut the horse loose, and decided who would get custody using a coin toss. Fortunately the Brit won and the horse went back to the bunker with him. Truly a good good movie about the struggles of making a living and for ending life, and preserving, all at the same time! I highly recommend it!

Justin and I went to Bible study and church this a.m. The class was held in the church office which was a bit tight of a fit, but can't be helped, I guess. We could swap rooms with the Sunday school but I am not in charge of arranging the rooms. The preschool room is off-limits to other uses so one of the classes meets in front of the church, setting up tables at which to work.

The Fellowship Hall has been vacated with an extremely well-attended workday Saturday clearing everything out. One of our newer members, Sterling, who rides his bike as transportation, took charge of organizing the garage portion of the classroom building, with more than one person telling me about it. I was told he worked there all day but he said it was only three hours...A Navy man who plays in the Navy Band, physically fit from all the bike riding. And an organizer, to boot! When I thanked him for his work, he sort of shrugged it off as nothing. I told him my lifting and toting days were behind me and he said, "That's reversible..." and he is probably right about this!

Justin asked me what time the movie was and when I told him 3:45 pm, he said, "Oh, good! We have time to go to lunch!" Yes, we did, going to Olive Garden with Judy C. and Terri T. Judy had a gift card for there also. Life on gift cards, it's a beautiful thing! Justin and I had the soup and salad, both us full to the brim for less than $20, and in good company. He was taking some of his bakery to his friend's house for football watching but the games did not begin until 3:00 or after.

On Friday I got the e-mail that goes out to Victory members which tells about the Sunday service and other events for the weekend. It mentioned a baptism being held at the 2nd service, which Pastor had mentioned at Bible study on Thursday as well, when Rachel was recording the music for the service. When I saw the name of the parents, I was overjoyed, and toyed with attending to witness the baptism.

Years ago at the lake house, my 'pool boy', Jeff, would come at the break of dawn to take care of the pool. My bedroom was immediately off the pool/patio and I had no curtains or blinds covering my windows. I don't know if anyone could see in or not, but when I would hear the squeak of the screen door, I flew for my robe!

Jeff, a nice young man, was the boyfriend of my friend's daughter, Natalie, who shared ThanksLiving dinner with us recently. He did pool work as his side job, working in the graphic arts for his day job. Eventually he got a job at the brewery, working the worst hours at first, which caused him to quit the pool business. Natalie and he also broke up at some point, so I did not see him at all.

Anne H. works at the same brewery, so I kept up with his news and goings on via her, as well as Brenda N., whose daughter is Natalie. It's that social network again! Jeff got married a few years ago and now has a baby, who was baptized today. Anne sent me an e-mail and a text message from Pastor's phone, besides the church e-mail, inviting me to come to Victory. But, I had to sing a psalm for the service, I thought, and could not go. It turns out the psalm we practiced is for a different upcoming service, so I blew that! I can still send Jeff, the pool boy, a card, and rejoice that perhaps his wife and he will have found a church!

I shall sleep better tonight!

2012-01-21T20:30:00.000-05:00

Last night, I had a terrible time falling asleep, due in part to having to get up early in the morning to get Justin's car to the repair guy. We had decided to leave here about 7:30 a.m. for our less than 30 minute trip across the bridge. We wanted to leave a large margin of error in case the car acted up. As it turned out, we left closer to 8 a.m. with his car starting right off without any problems. Whew!

Once we found the shop, actually a bus lot where "Pat", we found out, is the head mechanic for the school buses there. Pat, whom we had never met, is the gentleman friend of our teammate at Trivia, Justin's, mother. I know, right? Justin is Erica's boyfriend, and Erica is my friend, Stephanie's, daughter. Victory friends! When Justin S. sent me a message at CHRISTmas in WI, telling me that Pat could do the repair for cheap, my Justin made me laugh. He told the family members that his mom was her own social network, finding someone to fix his car for less.

Altogether this repair cost far far less than what RPM told us they would charge. Pat also changed the burned out light bulb in Justin's taillight, and managed to get the hatchback open, despite the broken latch, to access the light bulb! He showed Justin which cable needs to be replaced in order to make the latch operative, and offered to install it for him (takes 10 minutes according to Pat) once he has the replacement! Nice!

While the car was being worked on, Justin and I went to Publix to pick up a few things. He stocked up on some noodle meals (perfect college student food!) on sale for 45 cents each. Both the cashier and the bagger remarked about how good these are, and how they eat them a lot as college students! Justin bought another confetti cake mix and a can of frosting to make treats for his friends, plus the little cups for lining the cupcake pan. We found some break and bake cookies on sale, a strange brand, plus some cleaning products, real miscellaneous shopping, just to pass the time.

We were unfamiliar territory on that side of town, but thanks to Justin's cell phone, he got familiar! Besides Publix, he found us a McDonald's where we got breakfast and sat down inside to eat. They had TV's on there so we could watch/listen to the news as we wiled away the time. Justin had his iPad with him on which he played a game. My book was left in the car because I didn't really feel like reading, and talked with Justin instead. We got a text message that the engine mounts were installed so we headed back to the shop. Pat was still doing the lightbulb thing so we stood around and watched/chatted with him while he finished up.

With renewed confidence, we headed back to Orange Park, Justin so glad to have his car up and running again. We got our groceries upstairs and put them away, then we retired to our own rooms. He was glad to have that broken-down car burden behind him, and I was just dog tired! After our little rests, he came into my room and relocated the router and modem to hopefully allow him better reception in his room. He got busy baking and, after my rest, I did a load of wash. Instead of making the confetti cupcakes, he made red velvet ones which smell and look great! His friends were not doing much so he was not going over to Mandarin.

Feeling somewhat celebratory and a bit relieved about his car, I suggested we go to Manny's Bistro for dinner. The 'family' has all been asking about him, so off we went. The parking lot was nearly full when we got there and I joked that perhaps we'd have to park at La Nap and walk over. (In 2010, my friend Judy C. and I had our cars towed from this same parking lot when going to La Nap!!!) Because they were so busy, it was hard for the family to hang around to visit at all, but he got a couple of nice hugs.

Rosaria reminded Justin about how he grew radishes in his backyard garden more than 10 years ago. Wow, even I had forgotten about that!!! She was struggling for the right word in English to describe what she was telling about, calling them 'pomadoro', for the color, before he recalled the radishes. Such fun that was! "Oh, you so handsome, honey, so handsome..." Yeah, that won't get old any time soon!

The rest of the evening will be spent watching the returns out of South Carolina and reruns of "Big Bang Theory", bouncing back and forth, waiting for the results. Who will be the next to leave the race? Any bets?

The Lost Friday

2012-01-20T22:30:00.000-05:00

Friday went by so quickly, it seems. Itbegan with friends and ended with them, but different sets. I like that! Earlyin the morning, I walked over to the “Breakfast Club”, as I have taken tocalling it, since we have not played games for several weeks. This time only Carol W. was there which isperfectly fine with me. She is the wife of Randy, our token man at wateraerobics. He was expected to join us but he goes to the gym first and sometimesforgets to come for breakfast. She did not leave him a note as a reminder.Carol invited me to join them at an Italian restaurant in Mandarin to hearRandy play the piano at dinner time but I was already booked for Dinner and AMovie. My other friend, Mary, was going along as well.

Afterbreakfast, on the way out, one of my pool friends, who works in the office,called to me. Patty wanted to know how many tickets I wanted for the upcomingfashion show. I was going to order two at some point but since she caught me,the first two sold were mine! The show is a fund raiser for the Quigley House,a home for battered women and their kids, for which my friend, Penny, works.Hmmm…I had better confirm the date so I don’t accidentally double-book. WhenJustin cleaned out the pantry, we got a few items together to donate to QuigleyHouse. All I have to do is get it to Penny.

WhenI got home, I busied myself getting the soup made for our dinner. I had soakedthe beans overnight in baking soda in an attempt to defuse them somewhat. I had mentioned to Justin that I can use a can of chicken broth to help flavor itsince the packet in the bean bag said “chicken flavoring” on it. I am a bitslow on the uptake because I did NOT notice the bean soup was meant to have chickenadded to it rather than ham. I never even knew to verify that but so what? Inwent the broth, the season packet, and cut up ham, and a handful of shreddedcarrots.

WhatI did not bargain for was the inability to properly ‘boil’ the soup since thepot was so full. If it came to a rolling boil as the directions said it should,soup would splash out onto the stove. If it did not boil enough, the beanswould be tough when dinner came around. Fortunately, when Justin straightenedthe pantry closet, the large stew pot came to the front, allowing me to reach itdown. Using both hands and one foot, I managed to pour the larger kettle ofbean soup into the larger still pot, with plenty of room for boiling andstirring. Problem solved!

Justinwas going to try using his own car for going to work and but if that didn’twork out, he was taking mine. When I went out for breakfast, my car was gonewhich lead me to believe his would not start. We needed his to be able to run inorder to get to the repair shop in the morning, so I was sad. Later, when he camehome, he said the car did start but he was concerned it would not again when itwas time to leave work. The landscape equipment is kept deep into aneighborhood, actually beyond it, and would be hard to give a wrecker-driverdirections to help him if he needed it. Seems reasonable.

Whenhe came home from work, he asked if I needed anything from the store. Sure! He wentto Winn Dixie and got fresh dinner rolls and some bread for making sandwiches.Betty drinks regular Coke so he got her a small bottle for the evening. When hecame back, I asked him what he had gone to get, thinking he wanted somethingfor himself. He said he did not need anything, but knew he had left me withouta car all day…What a nice guy he is!

Thesoup turned out wonderfully, despite the chicken flavoring, and all were happy.The ladies, Betty and Robin C., were glad to see Justin and spend some timewith him. Once we finished our meal, Justin cleared things away as we ladiesgot set to watch our movie, “Midnight in Paris”. Robin had brought brownies andBetty, a coffee cake which tasted like a cheese cake. Yummy for dessert! Justinwas going to hang out with his other friends but when he went to start his car,it would not. Instead of using mine and joining his friends, he jump startedhis, drove around awhile to get the battery filled back up, and then stayedhome! He watched the end of the movie with us (said it looked good, what he sawof it!) and spent the evening with us old ladies! He said he did not wish tofool around with his car in the morning, wise choice!

Myneighbor, Randy, offered to plug his charger into Justin’s battery overnightbut Justin kindly refused this suggestion, being sure that now the battery wasfully charged and ready to go. Other of my neighbors offered their help if weencountered problems with the car on the way to the shop, or to just get out ofthe parking lot, and I am so so thankful for the support. Now, just to get itfixed…awesome!

Timmy's birthday

2012-01-19T21:30:00.000-05:00

Well, here it is---the day which would be Timmy's 16th birthday. Yikes! What an incredible thing for me wrap my head around. In fact, I will not even try, because, as I told Beth B. this morning, he is always going to be 5 to me! Beth lost her daughter, Hannah, the age of 12 to brain cancer at in 2010, and she considers her daughter as always being 12. We have become fast friends for some of the obvious reasons, and I was glad she was able to attend Bible study yesterday morning.

Justin pointed out to me that I attend two Bible studies on Thursdays now, since the Bible Information Class began last week. "Ask, and ye shall receive!" He had to work today and was going to have lunch at Sweet Tomatoes with his father, a custom since 2002, to celebrate Timmy's birthday at his favorite restaurant. He called it "Taste Tomatoes", with the strawberry on the sign. No, it was not a strawberry, but as far as Timmy was concerned, it was!

So, without Justin, I went to Bible study at Victory, and then took my car in for an oil change. Instead of sitting in the waiting area in the shop, I had a small stromboli at Aron's Pizza, next door. I love it that the young waitress knew what I was going to order, and even brought the to-go box with extra sauce in anticipation of my taking half of it home with me! The guy at Sun Tire, who also rotated my tires for me, assured me all was well under the hood, news I love to hear, and I was on my way home again.

For awhile this afternoon I worked on the church newsletter, writing an article about the coming of the season of Lent. Imagine that! We no sooner finish Epiphany season and now Lent. I like doing the research or the reading about the seasons, hymns, liturgical colors, and so on. I need some info yet from the preschool staff and then the newsletter is good to go.

I also sent out a blanket e-mail to all our members inviting them to a Work Day at church this Saturday, to prep the fellowship hall for renovation. The building has to be emptied out (and put it where?) as the roof is being modified and the ceilings replaced. We understand the kitchen remains 'as is' but will still be affected by the overhead renovations. I hope lots of people with good, strong backs show up to do the heavy lifting.

A couple people have asked me if I was having a Super Bowl party and I said I would have to wait to see if the Packers won. As we know, the Packers did NOT win but I have opted to have a party anyway. Why not? Without a team in the running, it might be even more fun, and I have not had a gathering here, of any size, since the Ladies' Group party in early December. I don't care how many people come, it's a party with two or three, or even only one!

In the late afternoon, I got a text message from Justin telling me he was ready to get picked up. Usually I have to get him when my favorite TV show is on but today I got to see the majority of "The Five". Soon we should have his car repaired and he can drive himself. Saturday is the day for the repairs, yay!

Since I had to be at BIC by 7:30 pm, Justin and I timed our visit to Sweet Tomatoes accordingly. While we were there, I mentioned to him that I saw several folks eating by themselves, so I could have done the same. He jumped on that quickly with "I would never let you come alone on Timmy's birthday!", even though he 'had' to eat there twice in one day. Good answer, Justin! He said he knows that now he gets two of everything, including CHRISTmas dinners, birthday parties, and other events, and is good with that, as long as he doesn't overeat. That guy!

We had enough time after dinner for me to bring him home again, instead of his plan to walk from Wells and Hwy. 17. He wanted to watch "American Idol" (ugh!), but when I walked in the house after class, I discovered more had taken place...He was cleaning another closet! After American Idol was over, he tackled the pantry closet near the foyer, having two card tables set up and using the glass table in the family room. Wow, I have alot of stuff! This closet had not been cleaned since we moved in and was loaded by Martie and Brenda T. in 2006.

Again, many items will be donated to Quigley House or to anyone who wants them. Foods which had expired in 2007 were disposed of, just in the nick of time!, and other items relocated to the freed shelves in the front hall closet, cleaned out on Tuesday. Sometimes a person just has to organize and shift things around to make more room, and that happened tonight! The tables are still in place with the items to be donated waiting to be boxed up. Robin and Betty are coming tomorrow night for Dinner and a Movie so they can have first pick before we box them up. Nice!

Time to rest!

2012-01-18T21:12:00.002-05:00

What a busy and fun day I had today! First order of business was to take Justin to work on Fleming Island, in the rain. Yech! At first I had the notion to go to McDonald's for a breakfast sandwich (had coupons!) but then considered the fact that I was meeting my two lady friends for an early lunch. Nah, no need to get a sandwich when I will be eating a more substantial meal in a few hours, needing to leave room in my tummy for beef brisket.

Robin C. invited Betty and me to lunch to celebrate my birthday which I don't mind doing. Since I was the birthday girl, we got to eat where I wanted to go. Koko's is closed so I chose MoJo's BBQ instead. Betty had no idea where it was, her first visit. I do hope she liked it enough to go back another time. When we last ate together, we promised to not let so much time go between visits, and we were true to our words! Plans are made to meet again, here, on Friday night for Dinner and a Movie. I am making a kettle of bean soup since Justin won't have time to cook for us. He has offered more than once to cook for us when I have my ladies over but because he has to work late on Friday, I will make my soup and be done with it.

From the restaurant, I headed to the groomers to get my hair cut, but had to wait a little while as she was running behind schedule. No worries about that, because I enjoy reading the Neighbor to Neighbor newspaper when I go there. Barb was telling about her battle with the insurance company and the hospital in regard to an outstanding bill that was supposedly handled. Too many hands involved and none of them getting it done. I told her the guy who runs the hospital lives in my building and she said she might come over some day and knock on his door. Not really, but I understand her frustration. He, of course, has nothing to do with the billing mix-ups, but someone in his office had supposedly taken care of it. No one told billing, I guess. It's bad enough to battle cancer but then to battle bureaucracy, well, that's over the top!

After the beauty shop and shearing thereof, I went to the car parts place to get Justin's engine mounts. I had spoken with a lady named Dawn when checking if they had come in, but when I walked in, a lady named Beth met me at the counter. OH MY GOODNESS! It was none other than Betty's daughter! Years ago, when the preschool was still fairly new, Beth worked there, and her son, Marcus, red-haired cutie pie, attended. How funny to hug her and tell how I just got done eating with her mama! She was glad Betty went out, said she needs a change of scenery from school and homework. I told Beth not worry, I had it covered!!!

From Advanced Auto I went to the Edward Jones office to sign a piece of paper which took only a few minutes, since my friend, Debbie, was gone for the day. We can talk for an hour otherwise. I should ask her to come over some time....I made my way home in rush hour traffic and was glad to at last make it back here. My little heater was turned on, the baby blanket across my legs, and laptop fired up, so to speak, until it was time to leave for choir. Robbie has a sinus situation going on right now and I assured him I would not be one bit upset if he cancelled rehearsal but he felt good enough to put us through our paces.

...and now, to the roar of jet engines outside the windows, I am enjoying being under the blankets, snug and warm, as it continues to mist.

This picture was taken this morning at sunrise when both the sky and the water were shaded in pink. After I snapped the photo, I realized it was raining. What a capture!

The gifts that keep on giving...

2012-01-17T21:30:00.000-05:00

....or the mama who does that! Justin needed new glasses for some time, his lenses being all blotchy with the film or protective layer looking all spotted. I would not be able to tolerate that in front of my eyes all day long. When Living Social offered a deal last November, I snapped it up to give him 'new glasses' for Christmas. Before they were going to New York for the Packer/Giant game, he was lying on my bed lamenting not having new glasses for the trip. I gave him the certificate ahead of time but he did not get to the eye clinic to make it happen. Well, now we have and somehow it ended up costing more money, above what I paid for the 'deal'. Oh yes, it was a deal, make no mistake, but I didn't realize that the lenses are charged separately than the frames and the eye exam.I guess I should have but...We could have stopped with the eye exam, kept the prescription information and ordered the glasses from Zennia on-line at an extreme discount, and I would have been money ahead. But now he will have new glasses to wear for times other than when he's working.

For Christmas, he also got a stock certificate showing he is an owner of the Packers. Instead of keeping the certificate in the folder it came in, I thought it needed framing. We took it to Great Hang Ups to have it properly matted, in green and gold, mind you, and framed. Not only did I have to buy (not really 'have to', I wanted to!) the stock, but also insisted it be framed. Good thing I am friends with the framers!

Dee, by the way, is now retired but we did get a chance to see her. She had high high praise for the home inspector I sent her, my former co-worker, Jim. He is the guy who called Timmy "Hurricane Hank" in the office. Dee said he did a thorough job, could come in the time frame she needed, was personable, and helpful. All good things! Yay! The sad news is that our favorite restaurant, Koko's, next door to Great Hang Ups,is now closed, the owners having also retired. Something must be going around!

For a couple years, perhaps since the Great Flood, I have been wanting to go through the little closets and sort through the items stored there. Justin and I took care of the front hall closet, relocating leftover tile and grout to the cubby near the elevator, and disposing of old paint, etc. Connie would take care of the paint cans for us, all he had to do was take them downstairs. He vacuumed the shelves and the floor, and we put back what was being kept. A bunch of items were sorted out to take to the preschool at church or given to others. It gets easier and easier to let things go, it seems. He did find three cans of beer in the closet, from 2006 according to their dates, his graduation! He wanted to keep two of them, as collector's items, while I poured one into the plant at the front door. Nourishment for the greenery!

We played trivia tonight, with seven in our group, but only five teams in the competition. It was great fun, going into the final in 1st place. That did not last, though, as we blew the final question. We were supposed to put in order a series of four movies according the year they came out. Inevitably we mess up on these type of questions (not really a question...). The list was Poltergeist, Police Academy, Airplane!, and Jaws 2. We got every one wrong, but did not put any of our points at risk. We got 2nd place, again, and are not ungrateful. Besides the fun of the game, the company and the food are great!

Tomorrow, Stephanie's mom comes down from WI for a month, her first time visiting alone, since her husband died about two months ago. And on Saturday, Erica leaves to return to school in WI, at WLC, after her long 'winter break'. I asked her boyfriend, Justin, to come to trivia anyway, even if Erica is not there. Justin is the one who arranged for us to get Justin's car worked on this coming Saturday---we hope! The parts should be in, I will call tomorrow to check the status of them so we can get his car back on the road!

Oh, goodie! The debates are on!

2012-01-16T22:19:00.000-05:00

Yes, I am a watcher of the debates---whether I see them live orreplayed in the night or in snippets on the news the next day. We are minus one whodropped out today, narrowing the field yet again, now down to five participants.

Looking around my room, I see several areas needing attention,perhaps tomorrow for that. One thing is the plastic bag holding the Ladies’Group documents and folders. A trip to Office Max is in order as I would preferto have one or two larger ring binders for organizational purposes instead ofthe paper-covered folders like were used in school. I am all about beingconcise and orderly with my stuff like that, so I can grab it and run!

When I did my sheets the other day, I had to empty the bed ofthe reading materials which are stacked elsewhere. One of my “Breakfast Club”friends, Carol, mentioned that she has a bookcase next to her bed and Ithought, “hmmm….” but would not wish to eliminate the night stand already inplace (and piled with books!) Perhaps, though, a small bookcase on the otherside of the bed would work, although I have a lovely glass-topped table with myspecial Engleton lamp displayed upon it. There is room on the existing shelvesif I moved some stuff around which might be the more economical way to go.

Once the end-of-year and beginning of the New takes place, Imight be able to secret my rolling file cart into the closet and do the filingin there. Justin is going to relocate the modem and router from the built–in bookcaseshelf to the other shelf closer to the river room. This will, hopefully, allowhim enough speed to make use of his Netflix subscription from the family room,and then I should be able to access it as well in my room. So he claims. Rightnow I cannot imagine having a use for the Netflix but guess it would not takeme long to get caught up in the fervor of it. However, I won’t mind one littlebit having less wires showing, although he does not seem to consider myaccumulation of wires to be all that much. At least, not compared to his massof wiring---wow!

What a great debate this is! The moderator has his hands fullkeeping the candidates and questioners on track. Newt is talking about young entrepreneursin the doughnut business which reminded me about Judy C. making doughnuts athome. She got a machine, similar to a waffle-maker, she described it, for makingball-shaped doughnuts in the comfort of her home. She had her two grandkidstoday because of the school holiday and this would be their afternoon activity. Soundsgood to me! Not only can she make those, she can also make her own soda athome, and likes it!

On the way to work this a.m., Justin asked me how to make a baddream stop. Other than waking up, I am not sure. It seems we both had that typeof dream (I had two this a.m.), my first one involving him as a young child. In my dream, it seemed my extendedfamily and ours was shopping at a mall with a major toy store in it. Justin,about age 6 or so, was begging for something inappropriate for him. When I refused to buy it,he took off on me. Originally hisfather had been shopping with us but then was no longer in the picture. Everyonewas looking for him, scared that he would get out in the street or something. Icalled his father to report Justin missing and he told me to keep looking butthen had some business stuff to talk to me about. Why does it always come backto the business?? I am hoping we found him and I am also hoping I did NOT buyhim what he was begging for! I don’t remember what Justin said his dream wasabout (shame on me!) but it might come back to me later and I will add a postscript to this.

Right now, though, I want to focus on the debate. At thismoment, Ron Paul is speaking, whom Justin refers to as “Walter” from the JeffDunham comedy routine. I get that!!! How funny!!!

Not too worn down this a.m.

2012-01-15T08:17:00.001-05:00

I woke up this morning, composing the followingin my head:

“This morning I awoke with one less child

But heaven more beautifully adorned.”

This was more true 11 years ago, as one mightimagine the horror of waking up to realize it was not a dream, but that itactually happened.

My friend and co-worker, Betty, was slated totake me to the surgeon’s office to have my sutures checked out while my spousewas going to our place of business to get things arranged over there. As far asthe surgeon could tell, there was no outward damage, which was what the nurse toldme at the ER the night before. The pain killers I had been on made me droopyand fuzzy, and I needed to be at the top of my game in the coming days. Thesurgeon prescribed something less powerful.

The wife of one of our employees came to ourhouse to basically hold down the fort (Amber) as we had to take care of funeralarrangements. Besides supervising the kitchen and the influx of food, Amberplayed games with Justin to keep him occupied. The guidance counselor from St.Johns had brought Justin home that morning, as he spent the night with ourformer neighbors (we had moved only about 6 weeks ago). Caroljo spent sometime with us, and at some point Twila and Jackie came over, which was helpfulfor my mom.

Okay, that’s enough of that for today!

Yesterday morning, Justin came in my room andwas talking to me about his plans for the day and so on. A commercial ornews segment came on featuring hash browns and we both went “mmmmm!” I asked ifhe knew how to make hash browns and he said he did not know how to operate mymachinery for making them. I have an attachment for the mixer which would shredpotatoes plus I have a Pampered Chef gizmo somewhere for grating. At this Imade a sad face and he asked, “Wanna go to Grumpy’s for breakfast?” My blanketsflew off and my feet hit the ground as I scampered to get ready. He waslaughing about this as he threw himself together as well. In minutes we wereout the door on the way to Grumpy’s. It was just before 10:00 am I think and Ifeared we would be barricaded into our complex due to a Florida Strider’s racethat morning. It seems the race was already underway so we were able to escape.

After a short wait for a table, we enjoyed anice breakfast and even more talking. He asked if we could stop at Winn Dixiefor the ingredients to make a pineapple upside down cake to serve for dessertthat night. Of course we could do that and ended up buying a couple cake mixesand matching cans of frosting, as a sale was going on. A nice lady in the aislewho heard us talking suggested a sure fire way to make an upside down cake. We gotthe needed items and some not entirely necessary, then went home.

Justin had some vacuuming to finish but he toldme he was taking a few minutes ‘for himself’ to play some video games and thenwould get busy. I had to chuckle about that, it hit me funny. Every littlewhile he came in my room to show me something he found of interest in a “Geek”catalog I get since ordering on-line for CHRISTmas. He is all about the geekystuff. Soon I heard him in the kitchen, making his desserts for the dinner andgame night events.

At one point I went into the kitchen to hear himsay, “Oh, oh…” as he stuck a tooth pick into the center of his cake. It wasvery runny yet, but the edges were done…this might be because he used a 9 x 9cake pan instead of a 9 x 13, making the cake VERY thick. He overlooked thenote on the box saying to use 2 of the smaller pans or one of the larger ones. Hisidea was to remove the top layer of baked cake and reinsert the remainder inthe oven, alongside his already baking lasagna. Okay…..When it came out, it wasblackened around the edges due to the oven being set on 400 degrees for the lasagna.Not his day for baking! Oh, wait, he successfully made confetti cupcakes whichwere a good substitute for the pineapple upside down cake. What he did salvagefrom that cake looks good, but he is hesitant to try it himself.

When I sat down at my desk upon getting homefrom breakfast and WD, my phone rang. It was my friend, Judy C., asking if Iwanted to meet for lunch. Rats! I explained that I had just walked in from arather good breakfast but was available for dinner. That was fine with her sothose plans were made. Justin had to laugh, as such is my life! Other yearspeople have stepped up, knowing or unknowing, to keep me somewhat busy this ‘funeralweek’, and it was happening!

Judy and I met at Manny’s Bistro, thereplacement restaurant for Sarnelli’s, now closed. The family is still togetherat this place, and I got hugs from all of them. They asked about Justin so Imust must must get him in there one of these days so they can see him. Tina,the owner’s daughter and our waitress, said she had not seen him in a coupleyears, which may be true. It was good to see so many people coming in, eventhough it was ‘early’ for dinner standards. This restaurant is located on thesame site from where Judy and I had our cars towed in 2010, so we parked verycarefully last night!

When I got home after dinner, Justin’s friendswere all here, but had not eaten yet. Perhaps they were waiting for halftime inthe football game. There were two girls and four guys, planning to eat and playgames while watching football. They did two of the three, with footballtrumping the board game. Not a good idea to plan game night on a game night! Theladies sort of tidied up the kitchen afterward since they were not drawn intothe game. I stayed pretty much out of the way to give everyone their space butlater ventured to the kitchen to empty the dishwasher and refill it.

As the later game came on, after the firstquarter, Justin came to my door and announced, “Well, it’s all over…” They wenthome!! I guess the girls were good for one football game but not two so theguys (Josh had already left a bit earlier) took the girls home. One is insports medicine but not a football fan, and the other a medical student.Theladies are roommates and live in Mandarin. The med student, Sarah, is expectingto be engaged to Ron, with whom Justin plans to live when he buys a house. The otheryoung man is Jesse, Justin’s former roommate, and is helping Ron find a houseto buy. The fellows are all St. Johns kids, which I think is kinda fun. I feltbadly that the evening didn’t work out the way Justin expected it to and neitherdid the Bronco game, which I watched for a while with him. We both decided togo to bed when it looked like a hopeless case for Denver.

Today, it’s Packers!!!!!!

A Poem from Jill, for Timmy's anniversary

2012-01-14T12:52:00.001-05:00

I’ll Lend For You

“I’ll lend you, for a little while, a child of mine,”He said
“For you to love while he lives and mourn when he is dead.

It may be six or seven years, or twenty-two or three,
but will you till I call him back, take care of him for me?

He’ll bring his charms to gladden you and shall his stay be brief,
you’ll have his lovely memories as solace for your grief.

I cannot promise he will stay, as all from earth return
but there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn.

I’ve looked the wide world over in search of teachers true,
and from the throngs that crown life’s lanes, I have selected YOU.

Now will you give him all your love not think the labor vain
nor hate me when I come to call to take him back again.”

I fancied that I heard them say “Dear Lord, Thy will be done.
For all the joys thy child will bring the risk of grief we’ll run.

We will shelter him with tenderness, love him while we may—
And for the happiness we’ve known forever grateful stay.

But should the angels call for him sooner than we’ve planned,
We’ll brave the bitter grief that comes And try to understand.”

Written By: Edgar A. Guest

So far no fire trucks

2012-01-13T16:40:00.002-05:00

My house smells marvelous as I prepared a nice dinner for Justin and me to enjoy tonight. I attempted to caramelize some red onions and red peppers using olive oil and two strips of bacon, plus a dash of wine. Not sure how it will taste but it certainly does smell divine. In the oven on a low heat are four little steaks in a roasting pan, and when they are done cooking, I will spoon the mixture over them for a bit. Perhaps I should put a couple potatoes in the oven as well. We could have a salad,too, since we now have two bags of lettuce in the fridge, being BO/GO at Publix. He is a salad eater! Justin wanted salad to serve with his lasagna dinner tomorrow night when his friends are coming over for dinner and game night.

Originally he was going to make those steaks on his portable grille but he is missing a part or something that makes it go. I could have pan fried the steaks but thought about making them this way instead. While I was 'cooking', I also emptied the dishwasher, which Justin had loaded and run last night, plus wiped the poor, helpless counter-tops within an inch of their lives (even though they have no life!).

Besides three cases of Diet Coke on the counter is the Green Bay Packer flag. Justin got it out last night, and I will attach it to my railing on Sunday morning in celebration of the playoff game.

At 3:30 pm on Sunday I am invited to my newer neighbor's unit to celebrate King's Cake or something like that. They live next door to Randy, in the penthouse on the south end of the building. This celebration is something from their French heritage so it might be fun to check it out---for an hour! Kick-off for the game is at 4:30 and I already explained to my hosts that I would only be there an hour.

Monday night was our first Ladies' Group meeting of the year, with me at the helm and little on the agenda. Janet B. is the VP this year and wants to initiate some programs to help stir interest in the Group. Ideas bandied about including having ladies host the meeting for the month, using a particular theme such as Valentine's Day or St. Patrick's Day. I cannot think of a non-secular theme that would be inviting for folks to attend Ladies' Group except the beginning of Spring, and then Easter! Easter works for me, I should sign up for that month to hostess. I think I got rid of much of my 'spring stuff' after the Great Flood though. Thinking cap time...

The problem is, there aren't that many people to entice with the fun and business of our group. Older folks don't care to drive at night any longer and those who have joined us for the dinners out just want the dinner, not the 'obligation' of being in the Group. What to do, what to do??? Ideas, anyone?

Again?

2012-01-12T21:56:00.000-05:00

This morning began with the sun beaming in the window which usually means it will be a good day. Quite a different sky than the one the day before which thankfully did not turn into the heavy storms that had been predicted. Justin and I were going to Bible study at Victory, our first time back since mid-December. Before he got up though, as the sun poured down the hall and across my bedroom floor, it was again evident that some vacuuming was needed. I took the broom, propped at the end of the hall outside his bedroom, and swept the cruddlies into a pile for him to vacuum later. I did the same in my room around the doorway, getting much more than I like from a small area. He will get that with the machine, later, too.

At Bible study, we were a bit surprised to find the class had not advanced much further than before I left for WI, still in the topic of The Keys. The 2 pages were in a question/answer type of format and we got through three of them. One of the ladies, a former grade school teacher from Milwaukee (not a Lutheran school) has many good questions and statements to make, which took us to a discussion on the newest Bible translation. Justin told me later that he does not care if we ever finish that page, he just loved having the give 'n take our group enjoyed today. Before this particular discussion, he had input to add plus looked up stuff for the class on his iPad in regard to the ancient calendar. A great great class!

Rita, with whom we had planned to dine, was not able to make it to class because her son was home from school due to illness. Justin and I went to PF Chang instead of the planned 5 Guys lunch, then, with us each bringing home leftovers. The honey chicken with brown rice is so delicious and I look forward to having them again maybe tomorrow for lunch! He had a goofy tofu creation with broccoli, but if he likes it, well, to each his own.

On the ride home, he got busy on the iPhone looking up prices and parts shops for the things needed to get his car fixed. Advance Auto Parts had the best price for the engine mounts (we found out on Tuesday that we had to provide them). What we did not realize is the shop would not have them on hand and needed to order them. Yikes! There goes our opportunity to get it fixed on Saturday then, since the parts won't come in until the 17th. Rats! We ordered the parts, I paid for them, and now we wait.

As we sat near the intersection of Blanding to turn onto Kingsley, we felt a little clunk from behind. Justin said, "You just got bumped!" We had a few seconds to decide what to do and I chose to go around the corner and pull into the lot at the high school. The little white car followed me. We hopped out to look it over, and she got out of hers, apologizing. The small lady, Puerto Rican, as indicated by the flag hanging from her mirror, was apologetic as we examined the cars for any damage. There was none--no harm and no foul to either vehicle. As we parted I urged her to drive carefully. That would be all we needed, to have no vehicle between Justin and me!

Fast forwarding here....As I was talking on the phone to Linda J., someone was trying to call me over and over. I excused myself from Linda to take the other call. It was Randy, my neighbor, calling to let me know there was a water leak on the other end of the building and he needed my 'expertise' on how to handle the leak. I guess my method of running in circles with my hands in the air is considered 'expert'! He had fashioned a trough with aluminum foil, directing the water into a cake pan for Nancy, which prevented the water from running into Rose's unit below hers. What he was asking me for was a name of a plumber for Nancy to call. Since I had been told the one company, who installed my water heater, would not come back here, I tried to get the name of the one who recently 'helped' Jessica. It was that company that failed to put the washing machine hose back into the drain and water pumped onto her floors and into my ceilings in November. Yes, let's get them back here again!!!

In the meanwhile, though, I went to Nancy's and she told me it was all arranged, a plumber was en route to make the repair to the same type of valve that caused the problem in my unit. Nancy asked me to have a cocktail with her but I refused, due to going to Bible study later on. Otherwise, I would have loved to had one with her.

Rose told me by phone that her situation was under control and that she had called a handy man to come by tomorrow to look over her damage. Ugh, my heart! I let Randy know what I knew, but he had to leave for choir practice himself so had to run. He told me his 'bar' was open after 8:30 pm in case I wanted to come up.

I went to the newly begun Bible Information Class tonight where we had four people, including Judy C.'s and my shared friend, Amber. One of the newly elected Elders also is taking the class as a refresher, which I think is just marvelous. Mike is one of the chefs who prepared our wonderful meal last Sunday, and works as a landscaper by day. In the winter he sells firewood to make extra money so we must, believe it or not, pray for cold weather!

The class went about an hour and a quarter, with me getting home just after 9:00 pm. I did go up to Randy's but Justin opted to stay home and 'work' in his room. He has such good intentions...Anyway, Randy made a rum and diet Coke for me as he filled me in on the history of the gulags in Russia, the number of people slaughtered between Germany, Russia, the Ukraine, and the other areas involved in WWII and prior. He was a Soviet studies major in college so has particular insight into this subject. This came up because of a TV program he was watching on the National Geographic Network, since there was no football to watch! We must adjust soon....

When I got back downstairs, Justin had finished the vacuuming but left the machine sitting in his doorway, as he needed to use it in his room. Perhaps tomorrow night? I think I made an impression upon him to encourage his getting things organized. I was going to have a dinner and movie night Friday but it seems folks were tied up or perhaps it is too soon after I got home. Justin is having a game night here on Saturday that will hold me until the next opportunity arises. Judy C. goes to her daughter's home in St. Johns County every other Friday so I have to allow for that. There is a pile of movies I wish to share and might have to widen the circle!

Windy but clearing up

2012-01-11T16:26:00.000-05:00

Earlier today I took this picture with my cell phone of the threatening sky to the west, this after having had some sprinkles earlier. It had been predicted that rain would last much of the day but it seems to have blown over. It looks ominous yet pretty at the same time!

Yesterday I made the heinous error of wandering down the hallway to the two extra rooms and was horrified to find such disarray. It seems Justin has, in fact, moved in, and over flowed into the other room as well. I am a bit particular about my rooms and their order, and it seems to be totally out of control.

Of course, once he gets his own bed here and the book shelves, some order will be restored. I, however, could not wait that long and at my urging, he vacuumed his floor and put away a mess of his clothing, etc. Interestingly, he has more than once stated that he would like to live in such a way as to take his belongings in his car, and that's it. Um, not so much....

I will be more than glad to help him get organized in his room, and straighten up the other one as well. Who knows when my next house guests will come? We need to be ready within days once we find out. He has made good use of card tables for sorting purposes, since when he moved out of the bungalow, things got tossed into boxes to expedite things. Perhaps less TV viewing in the evenings and more sorting would be in order. Or we could do both? Boy, do I sound like a mother these days!

Justin has discovered a humorous program that he has downloaded and he roars with laughter the same way I do when watching "Seinfeld" and "Frasier". The show stars Tim Allen in the role of dad to three daughters and is married. He is trying to maintain his 'manliness' under these circumstances. Justin finds it most amusing, and I laugh when he laughs, even though I am not watching it! He has a contagious laugh, like Hawkeye Pierce and I sure do love to laugh as well.

This Saturday we are taking his car in to be repaired by a friend of a friend, whose primary job is being a diesel mechanic. Supposedly it should be an inexpensive fix, comparatively speaking, with us providing the parts needed. I hope this is true and we are not disappointed. It will be grand to have his own wheels again so I will not need to drive him to work, etc.

It is time to get him from work and then we are meeting Judy J. and Linda H. at Cracker Barrel for dinner. Justin wishes to walk home from there for the exercise while I go on to choir rehearsal. Afterward, I am stopping at the new BW3 near the Mall, to see my friend, Dan, who is in town for business. That is the appointed meeting place for his friends in order to see him, so I may have to take a number!

Some more photos

2012-01-10T11:55:00.002-05:00

On CHRISTmas Eve morning, Justin was busily making breakfast for the family, frying bacon at the moment. The smoke was so dense in that area---I am surprised we can even see him!

Because of the smoke, I opened the patio door a crack, Mom's window a crack, and the door to the hallway. BIG MISTAKE! While that would work here in the condo, it did not work the way I expected at Mom's apartment building. The smoke alarms and sensors in the hallway detected the smoke and activated. Since there was no number for me to call to have it turned off, someone suggested I call 9-1-1 to let them know it was a false alarm. The nice lady told me she would make the call and the alarm stopped. It turned out the maintenance man was outside spreading salt on the ice, and he shut them off. A fire truck was dispatched anyway but with two guys and clipboard. Guess it is protocol to investigate anyway. They asked, "DId you set a place for us?"

The bacon was done to perfection, once we sat down to eat. Before they left, one of the firemen went down the hall and opened Mom's window wider and I moved the Christmas tree away from the door to open it wider. When the firemen left, they said to leave the door and windows open for a while to air it out. No sooner were they down the hall, Mom said to close the door, as she was cold. It was funny because the fire truck was still in the driveway below her apartment and they could see if it was open or not. For days the apartment smelled like bacon, not like smoke, which is a good thing!

Here is a rather good photo of Alayna and Justin, on the sofa in the community room at Mom and Jill's apartment building. We had to wait a couple hours after the celebration and gift exchange to watch the Packer game, but we are good waiters!

Kerry is geared up in her Packer attire, awaiting the start of the game. Angelo can clap his hands, with encouragement, to cheer for the Packers! When he was at Grandma K's house on Friday, we had to laugh at him because every time someone called his name, he would shake his head. Evidently he gets told "No!" alot!

Angelo got a nice big box of diapers with his picture on it! Lisa showed us how Angelo will come and lie down after she tosses a fresh diaper on the floor in anticipation of his being changed. He crawls to the spot, picks up the diaper and assumes position, waiting for his fresh one! He is trained, but in a different way!

Who can resist a face like this one???

That's my boy! He has taken quite a liking to this soda can, a boy after my own heart (and his auntie Kerry!). We had to wait quite a while to open that particular can once he was done playing with it! Jill is sitting there watching him, almost like he's going to open it and drink the soda!

A recap of the earlier part of the trip

2012-01-10T09:16:00.002-05:00

On the day we left for WI, Justin and Iwere taken to the airport by our friend, Judy J., which saved us parking fees.The only question remaining was how to get Justin home from the airport thenight he returned to FL, but his father agreed to get him.

An aside: Justin's flight home was not asuneventful as mine---he was delayed leaving MKE, after being dropped off thereby my sister and family as they went home to Holmen. It seems the air trafficwas messed up from ATL, delaying the arrival of his inbound flight.
Then, once loaded on the plane and taxiingout, the plane sat another 20 minutes before taking off. This would give himmuch much less time between flights once in ATL and he was extremelyfrustrated, and quite angry at Delta Airlines. It turned out his next gate wasonly steps away but he had hoped to get something to eat between flights. Thisdid not turn out as he had to hustle, only minutes before the next one woulddepart. He said he would never see his family again unless they came down hereif I booked our air flight on Delta! Yes, he was mad! Since then, he has cooledoff and even mentioned another visit some day, but not on Delta! (My trip homewent without incident, and attribute his problems to the rush of holidaytraffic/travel, only days after CHRISTmas.)

My sister, Lynn, picked us up in MKE, andwe drove in the dark to Manitowoc, even though it was not even 5:00 pm yet. We stopped at the Green Street Tavern for perch (Justinhad the broasted chicken). Some members of my family joined us there for ourfirst visit together. They have the best perch and the best fried cheese curds,and Justin was just so happy.

We went to Mom's house where we gotunpacked and settled in. Before Lynn left, Mom asked her to help make the bedbut Justin and I jumped on it, the job, I mean, and pulled her bed together forher. Mom's arm has an ache and pain in it, and an appointment was set for justdays after CHRISTmas to get it checked out. (At the appt. it seems the pain wasnot directly related to her Parkinson's Disease which was a great relief toher).

On Friday, we did some shopping, getting the things weneeded for our CHRISTmas snacks and such. We met Lisa and her family at thePizza Hut only a block or two from Mom's house. This was Justin's first timeseeing Angelo in the flesh and fell in love with him. He, we, love the othertwo guys very much, but there is something about Angelo's eyes that suck us in!Babies trump 6 and 7 year-olds any day!

When we walked up to the table, Manny showed us how hecolored his placemat, using blue to show a phart coming from one of thecharacters in the picture. Oh yeah, a true 'blue' little boy! This made Justinlaugh, and even Grandma thought it was funny!

Friday late afternoon we went to the Capital Civic Centerfor a sacred concert performance by Manitowoc Lutheran High School. Besidesbeing well-done, I like going because I can see so many people there that Iknow, in one fell swoop. In fact, I actually met one of my Facebook friends whoknew I was coming and sought me out. Judy S. asked me to be her Friend througha mutual friend on-line and now we have met, just as I met Tammy last summer atthe WELS Worship Conference!

From the concert, Justin and I went to Linda's to see her,since we weren't sure Justin would see her at church due to her knew knee (te he he!). We drove in a heavy snow (heavy for us!) and Icould hardly make out the lines on the road. Good thing I knew the way to herhouse! Justin described the riding into the snow as being like a space ridewith stars flying by us. It was a short snowfall, only an inch-worth. Their sonand his family were at Linda's, as was her sister, Georgia. Justin was so gladto see Linda again, even though he had seen her in August when she was herewith Lynn. As it turned out, she managed to make it to church for the specialservices, thankfully. Linda was able to continue working from home using asharing program between church and her home computer, which will be great whenthe weather turns bad.

My sister, Kerry, parked her car at a Park 'n Ride lotabout a half hour from her workplace, and Jill drove the 45 minutes to pick herup the morning of the 24th. In the meanwhile, Justin made breakfast for us atMom's, causing Mom and Lynn's routine to be disrupted since they 'usually' gofor coffee and a pastry Saturday mornings. I already shared the story of thefiremen coming to check out the reason for the fire alarms going off. I shouldhave not opened the door to the hallway, not thinking about the smoke detectorsout there. Strangely the one in the house did not go off...I have a photo ofthe fire truck and of the crispy bacon, which was delicious, and I will post itlater.

Right now I cannot recall where or what Justin and I atethe rest of his visit, perhaps someone else will help me fill in the blanks. Ido know that Justin got to eat at the Green Street, Culver's, Late's BBQ, PizzaHut, Perkin's, and the Charcoal Grille. There might have been more, but we hitour favorites. On the night the tree was decorated at Good Shepherd, thepastor's wife asked me about the plans for when we got to WI. I rattled off theplaces to go eat first, and she laughed, understanding fully what I was talkingabout. I did have people to see and other things to do, make no mistake, butmany of the events involve food and dining! I think Justin's needs were met,especially since he won't be seeing his family again (His angry text messageduring the airport delay stated, "Say 'good-bye' to the family from me...")

Here come the photos!

2012-01-09T11:30:00.002-05:00

My friend, Dolly, and I enjoyed a late breakfast together at Fork 'n Knife, getting caught up in person with each other's lives. We communicate via the Internet primarily, given the miles between us but it's the face to face meetings that are the most fun. We have been friends since she came to First German in the 4th grade and then again at MLHS. Such fun we had as young teens at her family's home in Mishicot, and at their cottage in Door County. We had children one day apart from each other, at different hospitals but still together!

Since Justin's visit was going to be shorter than mine, we made efforts to see and do as much as possible before he left for FL. On the Monday after CHRISTmas, Boxing Day, we went to see my mom's sister, Marie, who turned 90 last year. Her daughter, Barbie, came over as well, and made sure we had sodas to drink. Auntie lamented not having one single cookie this season, so at Justin's urging, we baked her some and delivered them the next day. We had such a fine visit with Auntie Marie when she came to FL for Justin's confirmation in 2002. She loved everything, especially the noisy frogs!

My sister, Lori, is holding that darling Angelo on CHRISTmas Day as we gathered for our celebration and gift opening. Angelo stole the show, and those with cell phone video features got footage of Angelo learning how to play catch. Oh, how we laughed!! Mom got the Scooby Doo ball in our white elephant gift exchange and he adopted it. David sat down in front of Angelo and began rolling the ball to him. He caught on and rolled it back to David. The game grew to three or four people, with video cameras capturing the whole thing. How cool it was to be witness to one of Angelo's "firsts" in his life!!! Justin fell in love with him, too, which I expected would happen.

Angelo has become quite a crawler and when the pathway is blocked by people's legs, he gets to a wall or table to pull himself up. He is going to get around the barricade if it's the last thing he does! Alayna is trying to keep up with him in this photo...a good job for the young among us!

Here his mama, Lisa, is helping Angelo open the book set Justin and I gave him for CHRISTmas. She told me that he really enjoys the books, thinking they taste awfully good! In the foreground is a nutcracker that Grandma K gave to Angelo, which he was charmed by.

Later on CHRISTmas Day, the fun continued in the Community Room in Mom's building, with the family gathering to watch the Packer game together. It was so much better for us to watch down there than in Mom's apartment so that she could watch what she wanted and not have to worry about us being jammed in her living room and cheering. What a great game it was, and needless to say, the Packers won!!! I am sporting a Packer stocking hat in an effort to encourage the team, but sadly, it makes me look fat!

I have some catching up to do!

2012-01-09T08:28:00.000-05:00

I thought when I got home from WI and had full access to my computers that the blog would get caught up again. Guess I will start that today. Unfortunately my phone does everything except make it convenient to write my blog...not impossible but quite a job if I tried it. No less than 25 words coming from me, which is why Justin said I would never manage tweeting!

In a few moments I must get up and dressed to take Justin to work, this time to Fleming Island. Between us we put together a grocery list which I might take care of while already near Publix. He will carry in the non-refrigerated items after I pick him up from work but I will have the cold items to tote to the condo. He likes to cook and he informed me that he "ate me out of house and home" when I was gone. This really would not take much, as long as he didn't get into the food storage. In fact, he said he added a few items to the storage from his own supplies brought from his apartment. I have a couple packages of pancake mix and wonder if he would make us those some time!

Last night we watched some football, once he got home from his friend's house where he watched the first game of the day. We were rooting for the Denver Broncos in the second game, which they won in a spectacular fashion in overtime. Wow! It was fantastic to witness...by the time it got that far, he had come into my room to watch together and we were jumping around. You would think we were major Bronco fans instead of Packer fans. The quarterback, for those who do not know, is a former Gator player and Justin is a fan of the Gators. (He does not like it when I refer to the college teams as 'amateur'...) And then we ate our dinner!

I made us some pork ribs with bbq sauce, roasted in the oven with tiny red potatoes. Mmmm...the creamed corn finished it off. Justin complimented me on the delicious meal. I can take it! And no firemen at the door---how about that???

Ooooh, cheese curds!!!!

2012-01-05T21:13:00.001-05:00

Baby, it's cold outside (again)

2012-01-03T14:06:00.001-05:00

This morning Manitowoc and I woke to temperatures hovering just above zero, with it currently 'warmed' to 8 above. Downright balmly! My friends in north Florida woke to similarly chilly temps, some areas below freezing today and will be again overnight. Justin reported this to me via text message and I have asked him to please water the outside plants with warm to hot water when he gets home from work today. That method preserved my plants through last winter and will hopefully work again this year. Connie, the maintenance lady, reported my outdoor plants were among the only ones to survive the winter, which I attribute my using hot water before the freezes.

Despite the cold air, Mom, Lynn and I went to Perkins for breakfast. I needed one more taste of their potato pancakes before I leave Manty. If I absolutely HAD to have some in FL, I could drive the hour to Palm Coast to Perkins. How nice that I have family there to visit at the same time! Lynn's first real day of retirement was today so it was good for us to be out and about, to ease her adjustment to being not at work. I will have to advise her from afar, I guess, on how to keep one's self busy or not busy, each day. Baby steps, though, baby steps.

Lynn made a lovely turkey dinner for us last night at her apartment, which is located on the second floor of a home. Yikes! Mom, Jill, and I managed to make our way up (it seems much more than a single flight somehow) to have baked potatoes, two veggies, and pineapple upside down cake with our turkey. She showed us her retirement gifts and thoughtful greeting cards, and I was so glad to see how much they thought of her there at LTC. Does my heart good!

Mom and I just hung out Monday during the day, watching first the Rose Bowl Parade, and some other daytime TV. Occasionally I watched the news for updates about tonight's caucus in Iowa. When the time came for the Badger game, we switched over to that and watched an exciting back and forth scoring game. Unfortunately, the mighty Ducks overcame the Badgers and took the prize at the Rose Bowl. At half time we left for Lynn's and watched some football there before the bird was ready.

The festive bird on Lynn's table

Justin was planning a full day of football at his friend, Ron's, house, beginning with the parade yesterday morning. Before he left though he was going to make some muffins as he had a couple days ago. I think I will enjoy having someone so ambitious in the kitchen when I get home. My only concern is the clean-up as I like the kitchen to look as though nothing happened there. He plans to make steaks on the grille the night I get home from WI, having a portable gas grille to use in the courtyard. Sort of makes me nervous after the frying bacon incident but I must trust his skills. I sure do like a steak!

Speaking of steak, I enjoyed two thus far in Manty---one from the Charcoal Grille where I went with my family the Monday after CHRISTmas and the other from Harborside. I ate only half of that one, and it was on a sandwich! Huge portions at Harborside...it tasted wonderful reheated for breakfast the next morning.

This late afternoon I am meeting my nephew, Uriah, at Applebee's in order to give him his gifts from Justin and me, and from his uncle in FL. He had to return to school already today (which is probably the right timing...just seems too soon to me) so will come when he gets out of classes. I look forward to seeing him again, the last time being in the spring at his cousin, Allie's, graduation party. He is a nice guy, a senior in high school this year. I am tempted to change the location to the Charcoal Grille for another of those delicious steak sandwiches but perhaps Applebee's has something as enticing!

A birthday hang over

2011-12-31T17:52:00.001-05:00

Today is the day after my birthday and I am still enjoying all the greetings and good wishes extended. My friend, Dolly, presented me with an extremely touching card and treated me to breakfast at Fork and Knife today. Loved our time together, but as I stated on Facebook, sadly, I had words left over. Two hours (slightly less) flew by for us, and even a few tears were shed. The mark of a good visit is shed tears!

My sister, Kerry, was expected this weekend but opted to wait until later in the week to manage a visit this direction. She might get an extra day or so, which will be her birthday. A cake for the two of us is in the air, so to speak! Jill and her son, Danny, are down-state this weekend to visit her other son and his family, which leaves me without a car to use. Lynn is our wheel-man for church and other outings until Jill returns. We are going to church this evening and again in the morning. Football tomorrow afternoon for which I am making the advertised recipe of Velveeta cheese-food and Ro-tell tomato dip for nachos. I am quite excited to try this, my first effort!

Back to the CHRISTmas Day celebration: Justin and I made the meatballs with sweet/sour sauce and two people made ham. There was cheese ‘n sausage as well, snacks, teeny hotdogs in bbq sauce, and a cookie/candy tray. Very nice selection! The boys enjoyed their gifts, except Gabe tossed one book I gave him off to the side. Humpf! Lori loves the book as well, suggesting it needs to be read to him in order to be appreciated. It is the story I used for the memoir writing class I held for the church ladies a couple summers ago—“When I Was Young on the Mountain”. Otherwise, they were happy, and we were, too!

The adults did our first ever white elephant gift exchange and it was a hoot. Some of the presents were goofy and some not, just unwanted or unneeded items. The one I got brought down the house, though, as it was a car magnet in the shape of an extremely muscular arm, like a body builder would have. If attached properly, it would appear that the driver of the car was a big hunky man instead of a short, chubby 56-year-old woman! Nice going, David! Justin’s donation was an ice scraper that fits over someone’s hand like a mitten, to keep it warm while scraping ice. We thought it was funny, but is actually quite practical.

On Monday, Justin and I went to visit my 90-year-old auntie, Marie, and my cousin, Barbie, who had stopped by. We had a very nice time with them, and my other cousin, Jon. Auntie gave me a framed photograph of the five Lahaie sisters, posing at a fireplace after Lynn’s surprise birthday party two years ago. Very nice and much appreciated! Auntie mentioned not having one single CHRISTmas cookie this season, “not a one!” As we drove off, Justin mentioned how sad he was about that and asked if we could go to the store for some cookies to bake. Sure! We bought a couple packages of break ‘n bake cookies, made them up, and were delivered the next day along with some leftover chow mein noodle chocolate candies Lori brought. She was thrilled and I hope she saved one or two for Barbie!

Justin was to be taken to the airport by Lynn and I (after she offered to drive instead of me alone in Mom’s car) on Tuesday, but then my sister and her husband offered to take him along as they were going back to Holmen. Nice! Justin and I talked it over and he was fine with it, although he had expressed the night before if they took him, he would not get to say good-bye at the airport. (I had not suggested this to anyone else, it was their choice to offer the ride) I left the decision, then, up to him, and said our farewells at Mom’s instead of me bawling at the airport. Lynn, Mom and I went to Sheboygan anyway as Lynn had a return to make at Boston Store. We went to the Christian bookstore next door to it and did a bit of shopping there. I was privileged to explain to the nice clerk in the store what Epiphany is, surprised that she did not already know.

The status of the young traveler, Justin, was updated via text message as he was extremely frustrated about delays leaving MKE. It seems the delay originated on the inbound flight from ATL and he feared missing his connection once there. It did all work out but far too close a time frame than he liked. His father picked him up at the airport and dropped him off at the condo. Justin had to work for his father the next two days and then for the landscaper on Friday.

After he was home, I enjoyed a great day having lunch with Linda, her sister, Georgia, and my sister, Lynn, at Harborside. What great food we had! I went with Linda across the street to the nail salon as the other two ladies went on their way. We had a great visit there, as usual when I am in town, and I even got a bottle of hand cream as a gift for making them laugh. Linda still cannot drive after her knee replacement so I took her home afterward. We sat and schnuddered for a couple hours and then the call came….

My upstairs neighbor/friend, Randy, called, hating to disturb me but, there is a leak! He had seen/heard Jessica out in her courtyard, upset because she had water coming into her place from above, and she knew I was not home. YIKES! Randy said he had met Justin down in the parking area 5 minutes earlier, so I called him to go back home and deal with it. Also, I called Hugh, my 2^nd floor neighbor, who would secure the key and get into my place before Justin got back. He had met Jeff (my downstairs neighbor) on the stairs so Hugh went to my place as Jeff went up to investigate the source of the leak. It seems the ice maker line let go in 504, leaked into their home, and then down into Jessica’s unit. But, their quick action seems to have prevented it from getting into mine. Thank heavens! Justin called to let me know it was okay and promised to check it again in the morning. This is getting to be too much already!

Once calmed again, I went to my in-law’s home for a family get-together with John, Mona, Sharon, Harv, Barb, and Allie and JR. Mona had all the standard holiday goodies, home-made, and I enjoyed it very much.

Since I had not gone home in between the day’s visits, I did not have the presents with me, so have made plans to distribute them next week. Mom would have to buzz me back into the building as she had the house keys so I left there at a reasonable hour in order to not keep Mom up late. Barb’s mom, Clara, had ended up in the hospital CHRISTmas Day evening so Justin and I were not able to see her before he left. I did see her in the hospital yesterday and today she is moving to my old place of employment, Shady Lane, to recuperate and get her strength back. She is in good hands there, as she worked next door at Park Lawn for 17 years herself!

Last night my family took me to Sheboygan to have my birthday dinner with Lisa and family at Shuff's Resort and Bakery. What a wonderful meal it was, and Lynn treated me. She also got me a small box of the hand-made chocolate covered cherries from Beernstein’s Confectionary. Talk about deliciousness! I am pacing myself on them to have them last a few days. She spoils me! Once home, I will include a photo taken with my camera phone, which is dark and unclear, but a photo nonetheless. It was excellent and want to go there again some time!

A sneak peak at what I am enjoying

2011-12-29T13:50:00.001-05:00

This photo was taken at First German Ev. Lutheran Church on CHRISTmas Eve during the candlelight service. We were singing "Stille Nacht" as the church lights were dimmed, lit by the tree and our candles. It was glorious, just like I remember! Justin helped light his grandma's page so she could see better. Love it, love it, love it!

Trying to catch up this blog!

2011-12-27T10:27:00.000-05:00

Finally,I get to sit down at the computer to write! What a rapid-fire visit it’s beenhaving Justin here, but today, he returns to Florida so he can worktomorrow.

Wehave spent time with family and friends since we arrived on Thursday evening,beginning with Lynn collecting usfrom the airport. Our dinner was had at the Green Street Tavern, myfirst taste of perch! Friday we did some shopping at Copp’s, got my favoritesugar cookies plus some other unique to the upper Midwest baked goods.The evening brought a sacred concert presented by Manitowoc Lutheran High School at the Capital Civic Center. Awesome!

Afterthe concert, Justin and I drove to see Linda, in a snowstorm! Yikes! At leastit did not last very long and we made it safely home again. He was glad to seehis friends, Linda and Tommy, and enjoy a delicious cherry cheese torte made byGeorgia, Linda’s sister. Yum!

Wewent shopping at Kohl’s the next day as Justin needed to replace a couple itemshe returned for credit before we left FL. Two of my other sisters were there aswell, doing last minute shopping. I saw a coat there that Justin would like,checked for the right size, but walked away. Later, with Lynn, I went backfor it, but the right size was gone. Lynn said it was not meant to be, someoneelse needed the coat. Later, as I walked the aisles looking for Justin, hedirected me to the coat section and I told him there was none in his size. Hereached into the rack and pulled one out. It seems he had it with him in the dressingroom when I went back to get it. Great minds think alike! I did get it for him,for no particular reason, on sale, mind you.

Wewent to church on CHRISTmas Eve at First German and it was glorious. Thecandlelight service was edifying and tears flowed from some in our row, forvarious reasons. I remembered Timmy not liking the ‘new’ version of “Away inthe Manger” and how Miss Clara would let him sit on the bench with her as sheplayed the original version for him. “Stille Nacht” always stirs tears, thecandles and the pipe organ combination, evocative. Back home to bed and a goodsleep after worship.

Justinand I enjoyed our time together here, got to eat the good food, shop at Copp’s,make our celebratory foods, and even have a visit from the fire departmentafter setting off the smoke alarms in Mom’s building when frying bacon onSaturday morning. Such excitement! At least the bacon was crisp! And today, heleaves me to fend for myself---I think I will manage!

Ready, set, GO!

2011-12-21T20:43:00.001-05:00

Whew! I can now rest at just after 6:00 pm, almost entirely set to go for the trip tomorrow. All I need yet is for Justin to get home to stand on the scale with my suitcase to determine if I have indeed over packed. It would be awful to be told I am overweight! I can always pull some clothes out if it's too heavy and possibly replace them once in WI. Items needing to go, the presents and such, can stay, but if no one is concerned about me wearing the same outfits over and over, well, good!

For some reason, waking up so blame early to take Justin to work is making me tired! I don't think I sleep as well, fearing I will over sleep and cause him to be late. We had to leave earlier today as the boss asked them to begin about 15 earlier, for some reason. I dropped him off at the McDonald's as he was grabbing breakfast for Jesse and him, and his buddy would swing by with the truck to collect him there.

When I got home again, I went right to my desk and got to work. I watched the rest of the news and was so drowsy, I wanted to put my head on the desk. What the heck? I will take a nap! My radio guy was on vacation so instead of listening to the radio, I found something to watch on TV during my rest. Imagine my joy of seeing "HOUSE" was on! I fell asleep about 30 minutes into the episode and slept through the other half and an entire next one! I was out like a light. And such dreams I had---oh my! One segment of the dream had a child getting his foot bitten by an alligator. It must be connected somehow with the HOUSE episode I slept through.

Plans had been made to meet my downstairs neighbors for lunch today at La Nopalera. Oh, it had been a long time since we ate there together and it felt so good. I enjoyed a strawberry margarita and half of my beef quesadilla. We discussed books and Tracy told some stories about a couple of her clients, young teens who made her laugh. Don't worry, she breached no confidentiality. Tracy is going to do a study on poverty, somewhat related to her class, and it sounds like it will be extremely interesting She is going to share the book with me when she is done. I had better get going on my own reading in that case.

Tracy had to go back to work this afternoon and Cassidy was coming home to make cookies. She was making Justin's favorite, snickerdoodles, plus some others which are her dad's favorites. While I was in the restaurant, I got a phone call from a number I did not recognize so let it go to voice mail. Later when I checked it, the call was from my other neighbor who had a present for me. It seems she had been at a party with her lady friend, a chef for the Crown Plaza hotel, and won a drawing. She won a two night get-away at the C.P. hotel in Madison, WI. She has no use for such a thing but knew I was from WI, so she gave it to me! I have someone in mind for it once I get to Manitowoc. What a nice surprise it was. When I told Justin about it, he chuckled, saying it was like I live in a movie where people just come up and give me things for no reason!

I got the newsletter for church done as far as I could and e-mailed it to myself to finish when I get up north. I decided against taking my laptop along since the new battery I bought makes it quite heavy. The battery weighs as much as the laptop alone does, but holds a charge like it is supposed to do. I will have my phone to check e-mails and Facebook but will have to use Mom's computer to post my blog. My phone was not working properly so I got on-line with a technical person via a live chat. The first guy I had 'ended the chat' before we got anywhere so I tried again with a nice lady. The long and short of it was I had to shut off the phone and then she did a refresh from her end, which allowed once more for Internet connectivity. Yay! I kept chatting at her and she would send some pre-programmed answer to me. That only egged me on until she wrote her own sentences to me. Eventually I wrote, "I will shut up now so you can do your work".

Justin was dropped off after work which freed me from running to get him. He sent me a text message saying I could take a nap before Trivia since he was getting a ride. Nice! We took 2nd place last night, but almost ended up being in 3rd. There was a new team playing across from us, a gaggle of young ladies who did not appear to be as wise as their score indicated. At one point toward the end of the game, Erica told us that one of the girls had her cell phone on under the edge of the table and was looking up answers. This happened once before where one of the teams was caught cheating so they quit coming. Anyway, this time, it turned out the guys sitting behind their booth turned them in. We moved up to 2nd place fair and square and had a ball doing it! It was nice having Erica, her friend, Chantey, and Erica's boyfriend, Justin, play with us. My Justin gave Stephanie a shopping bag full of DVDs for her to give Ed and Judy A. at church. They will then take them to the USO to be donated to the wounded warriors. A roundabout way of getting the DVDs where they need to be!

Since hearing the news about Justin's car troubles, I have gotten names and phone numbers of various places where we can take it for an estimate and possible repair. Just this evening I heard of two places including one where the cost would be less than a hundred dollars, if that is an accurate quote. Seeing is believing and we will take care of this once I am home. Thank the Lord for friends with connections and those with hope that the car is salvageable.

Tuesday was an action-packed day beginning with taking Justin to work in the wee hours of the morning. I got home again from there and worked on the newsletter until it was time for me to leave again. My first stop was the UPS store to mail my niece's camera to her in Palm Coast. She had accidentally left it at her uncle's wedding last September and the 'responsible one'---Justin---had collected all the abandoned items after the reception. Hers was the only item unclaimed and she wanted it back before CHRISTmas. Yes, I know, it was not my responsibility to get it back to her but she asked me as a favor, so I did.

Once that was taken care of, I went toward the beauty shop for my grooming appointment. It felt so good to get this mop taken care of, I had delayed going due to being away when it's time for the next clipping. Plans had been made to meet Judy J. and Terri T. at a new place called Manny's Bistro, owned by the folks who formerly owned and ran Sarnelli's, around the corner from me. All the family was there and to a person they asked about Justin. I must take him in there some day, when I get back from WI so they can see him! We used to go there often when he was younger, and charmed the ladies. My friends treated me for my birthday and Terri gave me a lovely tea towel for my birthday. She said she looked my kitchen all over when she cleaned up after the Ladies' Group party and decided any color would work. So thoughtful! We all stunk of garlic and I tasted mine all the rest of the day!

From lunch I went to visit one of our members, Bonnie, who is undergoing chemo treatments at home. She went in to the Center for the initial treatment the day before and then has to wear a pouch of chemicals which continue to pump into her system for a couple days afterward. She looked good and was glad I came to visit as long as I did. I left her one of the books of prayers I like to use when calling on sick folks. I hope she finds some comfort in it. Only a couple months ago she lost her son and now all this...she can really use the prayers. Justin had let me know he would need a ride home from the DeBarry area but not for a while so I went back home to await his summons. As I mentioned before, he had a ride home so I could rest before Trivia.
Once home from Trivia, we opened our gifts to each other. this was my idea because I wanted him to have his new outfits to wear to WI. A long day to be sure! No wonder I was tired last night!

We celebrated early!

2011-12-20T22:30:00.000-05:00

Justin 'presented' me with The Complete Trivial Pursuit book, about 1 1/2" thick, page upon page of trivia questions and answers. He snapped that up when in New York, 'totally on impulse'! He also got me a CD titled "Concerto" by Andrea Bocelli which was recorded at Central Park. He bought the CD in New York, as well, found while standing in line at the Starbucks on the corner (one on every corner!). When shopping recently with his friend, Sarah, she needed some lotion from Bath and Body Works. He went in with her, saw the bottles of hand sanitizer ("My mom loves hand sanitizer!" he told Sarah) and got me 5 little bottles for my purse, plus a larger one for the counter, in my favorite fragrance of Warm Vanilla Sugar. It not only cleans, but leaves the hands smelling nice and feeling soft!

Justin is now an official owner of the Green Bay Packers! He is holding his stock certificate with his name on it. We both got a bit teary-eyed, as expected. I loved getting it for him as much as he enjoys having it. Besides the stock, he got several new shirts, plus I am getting him new glasses, via a bargain through Groupon!

We celebrated 'early' as tomorrow we will be packing our bags for the trip north. Besides the stock certificate, I got him a mess of shirts he 'hinted' at on sale from Old Navy. He is going shopping Wednesday night so he can exchange a couple of them. I ordered as requested, but they fit a bit too snuggly and he wants them for the trip. Justin will exchange for a larger size so he can layer, which is wise. He was going shopping anyway to that same store, so it's no trouble for him to swap them out.

Sunday photos

2011-12-19T13:37:00.003-05:00

This Sunday was dedicated to Fellowship where we, as a congregation, lend our support to two students at Luther Preparatory School. Sandwiches were made and cookies enjoyed!

Katelyn is lighting four candles on the Advent wreath

The Cookies by the Pound sale taking place. I liked to tell people this is their weight BEFORE consumption. On the right side of the photo is Amber, the shared friend of Judy C. and me, enjoying some shopping!

This beauty is me! Justin took control of the camera to free my hands for selecting cookies. Behind me is Jayne and Brett, regretting getting in line behind me!

One of the two bouquets in the chancel was for my birthday, which is at the end of the month. They look perfect for CHRISTmas, decorating the grave site for the holidays. My friend, Carol, had been at their son's site also and noticed there was nothing on Timmy's---we must have just missed each other!

Young and old gathered to prepare the church for CHRISTmas, including Darwin on the ladder, Gretchen reaching up to afix an ornament, and Teresa, in blue, supervising

Following the decorating, The Maestro played the piano while we sang carols and some secular 'holiday' songs. Carol had the idea to stand in the open doors of the church to sing out to the passersby and those coming for the chili supper. We sang two hymns and it was wonderful to do that!

A Sunday wrap up in pictures

2011-12-19T11:56:00.000-05:00

The chancel is decorated for CHRISTmas Eve's worship

Once the decorating was done, we enjoyed a wonderful chili supper

The tree is dressed and ready for CHRISTmas worship!

Paul, Emily and Sarah came by see the tree but didn't stay to have dinner with us. Justin and I had lunch with them at Chili's and they were still full from that! Sarah is the goddaughter of Kim and Justin, just so you know....

I am so blessed! (WARNING!)

2011-12-18T08:39:00.002-05:00

This morning I was reading a blog posting written the father of a not-yet born baby girl, diagnosed with Trisomy 13, a chromosome problem. The parents are not sure how much 'damage' their baby will have, once born, as her mom did not miscarry which more often happens. The dad wrote about his serious breaches of faith and even considered momentarily terminating the pregnancy to avoid the 'burden' of having to care for this child possibly all the days of their lives. It was a heart-warming yet tragic read, as this man recounts his feelings through the pregnancy, mixed excitement with dread, and so on. The recurring theme, however, was how his wife and he rallied in their faith in the Lord and His providence, trusting He knew how this would work out. Toward the end of his posting he wrote how glad he is that the Lord is trusting his wife and him with this baby, knowing they will be the best parents for her.

As often happens, my mind went to my own situation when I was expecting Timmy at the ripe old age of 39-40. Despite the concerns of the medical folks, the pregnancy was nearly flawless--no diabetes even though I was fat. There was one episode of 'morning sickness' after taking my horse-pill vitamin (I never missed a beat as it happened in the shower and I just kept washing!). From that time on I took the vitamin at dinner with food, solving the problem of taking it on an empty stomach. Never missed a day of work at Sprint, quitting just a couple weeks prior to his planned delivery. He jumped the gun by a few hours when my water broke the night before he was scheduled, which should have tipped us off to how much of a rascal he would be!

So much could have gone wrong but did not. He could have been born prematurely and suffered with deafness or respiratory problems. He could have had Down's Syndrome and been dependent on me all his life. Instead, though, he was almost perfect, could turn his bottle inside out when drinking, and he did his best snoring during church. He was alive with character, that guy!

At age 3 months he was in the office with me nearly full time, walking at the horrendous age of 9 months---yikes! "Hurricane Hank", as our purchasing agent, Jim, liked to call him. Timmy's job, once ambulatory, was to press buttons on the computers and tear open archive boxes, distributing files around Jim's office. They loved each other!

Jim, who did not work for us anymore when Timmy died, took the death very hard. His co-worker at the time, named Betty, told me about it later, how he came to her house after hearing the news, needed to be with someone to mourn. I did not know Betty and she did not know me, but we felt like we did after the conversation! He told me he nearly passed out at the funeral service, but thankfully did not.

Yesterday, I had to ask my friend, formerly of GS, whose son is a month older than Timmy would be, what grade her son is in. Tenth grade, really? A sophomore, with his learner's permit for driving. The Lord, in His mercy, took Timmy home almost 11 years ago to spare him and me all this, whatever 'this' might be. He is now enjoying the bliss of eternally being able to see the Lord's face and circle the throne. And I am left here with tears running down my face, wondering what I missed out on with him on earth...

A hot time in the kitchen

2011-12-17T21:30:00.000-05:00

I am not crazy, though some might dispute that, about this new or different composition page for the blog. I put in a complaint on the feed back site to see if that garners an answer. If this is improvement, they need to think again.

Justin left bright and early with my car to drive to Green Cove to get his father's car. He needed the larger vehicle to move his stuff from the bungalow at the beach house, and made two trips back to this side of town with his belongings, finishing the project. Not only did he accomplish that, but was able to meet his friends for lunch (he sounds like me!). Much of his stuff he unloaded at the office in some unused space for the time being. It is funny how he asked for clothes for CHRISTmas, yet he is buried in clothing in his room now! Will the new pieces see the light of day? I do hope so.

Last night we had dinner at Koko's, making up for last week's missed lunch on Saturday when Koko's was not open. From there we stopped at Publix and he offered to just run in for the couple of items needed. The bag of coconut was used then, once home, to finish the last batch of cookies for the bake sale at church tomorrow. We are having a "Cookies by the Pound" sale and we will have four different types to donate and possibly re-buy from the sale!

Earlier in the morning I got busy in the kitchen with the baking, taking my laptop with me to hold me there. I caught up on my Internet radio programs as I stirred, rolled, and baked. For the brownies, I used muffin tins to bake them, placing a dark chocolate kiss in the middle of them. Later I thought about using the paper cups in the muffin tin and kicked myself for not thinking of it sooner, as they got a bit knicked up coming out of the pans. Next time, will use the paper liners!

Besides the brownies, I made oatmeal scotchies plus peanut butter cookies with the same kiss on top. I had mixed up the sugar cookies already and was waiting for Justin to bring me the coconut, thinking he was going to be back before noon. The break from baking was welcome, and it only took a few minutes to finish the last batch. I mixed the coconut into the sugar cookie batter, then shaped them into balls to bake. Yummy! I learned this from my friend, Julia, at Great Hang Ups. And now I have 3/4 of a bag of coconut left. Pina coladas anyone?

My upstairs neighbor, Randy, had expressed interest in the bake sale some time ago and I had planned to bring him a pound. When he saw that I was baking he asked for some pre-sale samples as well as an order from the sale. I already had him covered but told him I would bring him some samples which were edible but not presentable. When I got up to his place, he answered the door but stood behind it. He said, "You should know by now that I don't wear pants..." as he reached around the door for the plate. Now, I had already told him I would bring him a plate as he commented on FB "delivery is always good..." I had to chuckle about that. In a few minutes, he wrote that he loved the treats, especially the oatmeal scotchies.

My other neighbor, Tracy, had left me a card with a bag of oatmeal scotchies on my window sill this past week and I went after those cookies like mad. I let Justin have a couple but the rest were mine. Hers were much more dense than my cookies turned out, almost like mine had too much butter. I followed the directions and used the entire stick. Hers were like a meal, but mine, a treat.

Judy C. told me that Betty was bringing frosted sugar cookies ("which put mine to shame" according to Judy) so I will look forward to buying those tomorrow. One lady usually makes candy but with her spouse being ill, she might not be able to do that this time. But, if she does, look out!!!

Not only do we have that sale, but we are also decorating the church and chancel for CHRISTmas and having a chili supper afterward. Our two chefs, Mike ' Mike will handle the food portion which will be wonderful. I have a container of dinner rolls in the freezer, an extra from ThanksLiving, which I will take to have with the chili. We usually carol but am not sure if that will take place or not, depending upon The Maestro's availability.

Justin and I have a disagreement. When I checked the TV listings for Sunday's football games, the Packers did not show as being the game aired. I was sad but knew I could watch upstairs at Randy's if I wanted to see it. At dinner, Justin checked the listings from his phone and it showed the game being aired on FOX at 1:00 pm. What? He said I looked too soon, too far ahead and that the network might have switched the games around. We shall see just who is right, because as I look at it now, it still does not show as being on here. Does he have an inside line on this or what? I hope he is correct though because I would not wish to go up to watch and then have to leave to go back to church for the rest of the day's events. My allegiances might be dallied with!

Judy J. is on board to take us to the airport Thursday which will save us the parking fees. She is a doll for offering and I will bring her something nice from WI. She brought me a jar of Saunders ice cream topping when she came back after ThanksLiving. MI is known for this topping as well as Vernor's Ginger Ale. We can get the soda here but not the chocolate topping. Connie, the maintenance lady, said it is cheaper to use a taxi for the airport runs than to park one's car at the airport. Of course, this would depend upon the length of the stay but she might be correct on that. Getting picked up at the curb is very nice too!

The last of my mailings went out in today's mail so I can cross that off the list. Work has begun on the church newsletter, working as far ahead as I can before going north. I can put the final touches on it at my sister's and e-mail from there. Now, to clean off the desk and get things in order before we depart...I have books stacked all over the place which not only makes me look crazy but feel crazy at the same time. Whenever you see a movie about a mad man, he is surrounded by dusty books. At least mine are not usually as dusty as they could be!

Full Friday

2011-12-16T23:10:00.006-05:00

This morning was the Meet, Eat and Play breakfast at The Club so I was up and at ‘em earlier than normal. Justin came in to give me a hug and kiss good-bye (bet he missed that when he lived alone!) after we made the arrangements for his ride home from work. Jesse was picking him up with the landscape truck on their way to the job. I just had to get him home, at a yet undisclosed time.

We did have five show for breakfast, including a new participant, Stephanie. She is very nice lady and will be a welcome addition to the circle. Retired from the phone company and collecting some disability after a serious surgery, she now has time for enjoying the benefits of The Club. Stephanie told us about her move-up career at ATT (BellSouth) which was an inspiring story to hear but it has a tragic turn to it---when the markets collapsed a few years ago, her 401-k investments took a $300,000 hit. That sort of changes everything for her, and I’ll tell you, it made me feel a bit sick to my stomach! But, at the end of her story, not told with a sad face, she remarked, “God is good!” Yes, I think I will enjoy visiting with her some more. But no game playing as we chose to talk instead!

I had taken a couple movies along to share with Andrew, whom I met last week, but he did not come today. When I got home later, he had left me a message saying he had to ‘go to town’ for a doctor appointment, as he is recovering from a back injury. Sad we didn’t get together, and I would have loved for him to meet Mary, who treats people with his type of injury. I sent him all her contact information so perhaps they can get together. She lives and works within walking distance of The Club, more convenient than going downtown. Oh, it’s funny that the pool guys are always doing their work when I walk through for breakfast. Yesterday one of the guys asked me if I worked for The Club, and I said I live at The Palace but dine at The Club. A new wardrobe for me might be in order if I look like a staff person---hardly!

Once home again, I got busy on the church newsletter, working as far ahead as I can before leaving for WI. I will send it to myself via e-mail and put the finishing touches on it at Mom’s, and then at Jill’s house. Jill has the high-speed Internet needed to transmit the document, it chokes Mom’s dial-up service. I sent a couple e-mails to folks in search of information for the letter and managed to make forward progress. Judy C. was able to answer some questions I had in regard to upcoming events and we shared the concern of just whom was getting the tree for church. We are all set to decorate said tree, we just don’t know who is going to obtain it. More e-mails addressed that and were answered late this evening. Whew!

Justin was going to be ready for pick-up in the OP Country Club around 5:30 so I planned my trip to the store for prior to getting him. There is a Publix at the entrance to the OPCC where Robbie works where I got my supplies for making cookies, which I will do tomorrow. We are having a “Cookies by the Pound” sale at church Sunday and if I want to buy some, I should bake some! I hope someone makes frosted sugar cookies for me!

Tonight Martie and I attended the Clay County Christmas show at the Thrasher-Horne Center. It was absolutely fantastic and we enjoyed it very much. The closing act is a live nativity which featured a new shepherd this year, Robbie! Judy C. and Donna W. rounded out our group, with Debbie S. being a no-show. We had arrived early enough but the parking lots were getting full and she would have had a really long walk once parked. Debbie’s health is not wonderful, having to use a cane to walk and has problems breathing. Her mom, Arlene, is near death so we speculated if that might be why she did not come. Mike C. had visited her mom in the hospital and she was not aware of his visit this afternoon. She is 90 years old and not strong enough to endure the surgery needed for her heart. She was a charter member, or very near, of Good Shepherd, the last one still at the church.

Martie and I got back here just after 10:00 and she headed for home, having to return to the office tomorrow to finish a mailing she was working on. If I wasn’t busy in the afternoon, I would help her, having done my share of mailings in the past. In fact, I have one of my own, on a much smaller scale, to take care of tomorrow! Justin was quite chatty when I got home, offering to dish me a bowl of ice cream so he could have some. He did not want to violate the fresh container purchased earlier so waited patiently for me to get home before having some ice cream. Boy, is ice cream ever getting expensive! I bought Blue Bell Creamy Vanilla, promoted as ‘still being a half-gallon!’.

Justin asked if he could use my car on Saturday for getting more of his belongings and I said he could since I will be making cookies and staying home. It will be so nice when he is moved entirely and settled in---right now, it’s a mess in there!

p.s. My apologies for the uniform size and color of font...this blog page no longer allows me to vary it, not even by typing it first in Word and transferring it. I might have to make a change of blog pages after the New Year! I gotta have more colors!

A great evening tonight!

2011-12-15T21:57:00.008-05:00

Justin and I were treated to dinner by my dear friend, Joanne, at Carrabba’s. Not only did we dine together, but I will continue to enjoy the deliciousness at a later time since I brought home the ever-present to-go box. Justin had wisely asked for more bread which we also put in the box to come home. Yum! It has been a long time since we’ve seen each other, likely about six months ago. We talk to each other on the phone or via Internet but sometimes, no, often, we need to speak face-to-face and let the electronics rest. I will make sure to get in touch with her as soon as I get back from WI, entice her with some cheese curds! She is going to Atlanta for some CHRISTmas time with her two sisters, but coming back on the 25th to spend time with her dad, in the Memory Care Center. A sad situation for them both.*Justin had originally planned on using his father’s car to move more of his stuff but I guess they did that together earlier today when checking on a house being built out toward Justin’s place. His bed has now made it as far as the office and hopefully this weekend he will get his bed home and set up. First he will have to move the day bed to the other spare room in order to clear floor space for his double-sized bed. He is sort of tall for the daybed so have been using the trundle where he can hang over the ends! I never had that problem. I have let my downstairs neighbor know about the moving in racket, in case they wonder what the commotion might be. MamMa’s room is directly below Justin’s and she would be accustomed to no noise at all from that part of the house. He told me that last night he dropped a coin on the floor and it sounded like a gunshot in his room. He hoped it didn’t startle the grandma downstairs. I wonder if we should get an area rug to soften some of the sounds…*Besides our wonderful dinner, Justin and I sat in the family room to watch the Jaguar game. We were torn between the Jags and the debates, flipping between the two until I figured out to stream on my laptop and watch the game on the TV. The football game was going horribly and Justin said he was sick of the game, as we switched to the TV for the debates only. At halftime, the score was 27-0 in the favor of the Falcons. Bad news! Around the same time the 3rd quarter began for the football game, the debates took a break, and Justin went to bed. He has a long day doing yard work, from just after daybreak to just as it gets dark. I will have to pick him up after work before I go to the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Clay County Christmas. The Maestro, Robbie, informed me he is taking part in the live nativity that concludes the program. I am very much looking forward to my evening tomorrow night! Breakfast and game playing tomorrow morning at The Club, which Marlena believes will have six joining the fun. I am just delighted about that, looking forward to more visiting and taxing my brain.

Let’s hear it for the sun!

2011-12-14T12:08:00.006-05:00

Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! As I drove home from Trivia last night, the moon was beaming brightly off to my left, showing me the way. Nancy told us at Trivia that Thursday was when the sun last made a showing. Cary said he did not see the sun when he was golfing but Ed, near Mayport, rode his bike in the sun. That is how weird the weather can be. I reported that only once this cycle did I see the moon growing full. And now again, last night! For sure I know it’s haircut time! I have that internal clock like Kramer has, but, like him, I sometimes hit the snooze!

Yesterday I heard some heavy-duty helicopters going up and down the river, not my usual traffic. Ed reported that the Marines were doing some maneuvers out of Mayport and this might be their equipment. They sure looked like Marines---the choppers, not the crew members! Usually I can doze right through the helicopters coming and going, but these demanded all my attention!

Justin rode with me to Trivia, after I collected him from the office. He brought me a treat of a caramel apple coated with mini-chocolate chips. Oh, yummy! The last time I had such a thing was when Billy Powell, my neighbor, brought some to me as a special treat. Talk about sweet---in more ways than one! The box it came in shows a pattern for cutting it into segments, not really meant to be eaten in one sitting by one person. Before we left for Trivia, he helped me make my bed again, making sure everything was nice and even, smooth, and no sheet edges exposed. Fussy, fussy, fussy!

Jesse was able to join us for Trivia since he is done with his classes at UNF for the semester. Rita was not able to make it so we still had six players, with Nancy, Cary, and Stephanie rounding out the team. We stunk on ice! Sometimes everything just falls into place and sometimes it doesn’t. Last night was a “doesn’t night”! But we certainly do have a good time, good food, and a good workout on our memories.

Justin rode to the Beach with Jesse after Trivia, in his mother’s Suburban, borrowed so that Justin could load it up with more of his belongings. Jesse, then, dropped him and the stuff off at home this a.m., on his way to work. They are not doing yard work until a full day on Friday so Justin is working at the office in hopes of using his father’s car to move the bulk of his belongings. He needs to move his dresser, bed, night stand, etc. which is more than will fit in his car, or mine. I wish we knew someone with a pick-up truck to help him but neither of us are friendly enough with anyone to ask for such a favor. It is really up to Justin to work this out but I cannot help but wish I could help more. I have offered repeatedly to help him organize the room but until he gets his stuff over here, well, it is of little point.

Today he got brave and started his car, venturing out to Fleming Island to the RPM shop for his repairs. GULP! He was a nervous wreck, fearing the very worst and having to face the ‘bad news’ of what is actually wrong with his car. He did not want or need me to go with him, but asked me to have my shoes ready in case the car died on the way to the shop. Twice he came back for hugs and kisses before he left, and then sent me a text message informing me it was running fine. Whew! Since then he reported that he dropped it off and was walking to the office. Now, we wait….

Justin told me he would stay here with me until such time that he’s paid off the debt he will owe for the repairs. As much as I like the prospect of having him here, I will also need to have the other guest room ready for more friends coming from Rocky Mountain Lutheran High School in July, to help with VBS. Last summer, the teacher had trouble getting names for doing this, and brought all three of those who applied. After the kids got back and talked about their great experience (ahem, ahem), Kerri now has ten students vying for an opportunity to come help out. Wow! The kids who came last summer are not eligible to return, sophomores only. I will take as many as I can house, as requested, but might have troubles taking them all if Justin is still here. I guess I don’t have to be a hog and host all the students but I think their friends really talked up the place here!

A couple weeks ago Judy C. did the great favor of shortening the sleeves on one of my fleece tops. I have had it for a couple years and wore it with large cuffs, as the sleeves are terribly long on me. She cut off 4” and then hemmed it by sewing machine another inch or so. The sleeves are now the perfect length, coming just passed the wrist and will work nicely with layering a T-neck under it. Last night I did the same type of thing with a cotton top, putting up the length by approx. 4”. When I finished it, my thoughts were, “Mom would have a fit!” because any sewer worth her salt would have cut off the extra length and put a decent hem. I am still proud of my stitching ability after all these years, not using ‘horse stitches’ as Mom used to call them. Now, two more items need my needle and thread, both being sweaters. One has a fraying edge (not really a repair that should be made with thread, but oh well…) and the other needs a button sewed back on. Then, I will ready to set up the card table to start packing for my trip to WI!!!

It stopped raining!

2011-12-13T08:51:00.012-05:00

Yesterday was a soaker with nearly constant precipitation, varying degrees from a heavy downpour to mist in the air. The wind is quiet too but yet no sunshine. I will wait!

During the night I remember being warm, sticking my foot out to cool off. This morning, I am chilly again, even under the covers. I think I will wash my sheets today as Justin will be home this late afternoon to help me throw the bed together again. It all depends upon how my back feels—it gets angry on sheet-changing day sometimes. There is hardly anything as nice as sleeping on freshly laundered bedding. Life’s simple pleasures…

Justin was dropped off at the office in Fleming Island yesterday, back in our original building next to the daycare center. I took him up there and then went to Bible study. He asked me to please be careful when driving to church because of the crazy rain and puddles on the road. When I got to church, I sent him a text message reporting my safe arrival. Worry wart!

He would go home from work with his father, then, and make CHRISTmas cookies. Since he is working again today, he simply stayed overnight and will ride with his father. Tomorrow, we plan to take his car in to the shop to find out what is going with it. The car makes a rattling noise which might be a simple fix, like a badly needed oil change or an adjustment, or………………$$$ worth of repairs!

I think I might need to go to Sears to get vacuum cleaner bags for my canister vac. The last time Justin cleaned, it didn’t seem to get all the dust..hmmm. If the bag is full, the suction would be affected, or perhaps the floor brush is too worn to handle the dust. After I showed him the residual dust, which he sometimes finds a bit too fussy on my part, he had to agree that it wasn’t doing the trick. The sun is not kind when it pours across the floors and shows dust where one thinks there is none.

My chandelier, on the display at the Murano Glass Shop in Florence, Italy 2006

The other day Connie came in to see my tree and decorations, after the Ladies’ Group party. We were looking at my chandelier, which she just adores, when I noticed a cookie or something on the Turkish rug. I bent over to pick it up, but only part came with it. The rest, caramel, stayed on the carpet. Yikes! Thankfully no one had walked it into the rug but I keep forgetting to try getting it cleaned up. This might be a good project for Justin to work on. I believe that ice will work for making the caramel less sticky so it should be, should be, a simple matter---right? Where are those ants when I need them?

The needed supplies for preparing the First Time Visitor bags for church have been obtained, so there is nothing stopping me from getting them done. Then, why aren’t they done yet? Probably for the same reason the Inreach letters have not been mailed or my CHRISTmas cards not finished up….distractions!!! Or procrastination? I am also working on the little tags to attach to the candy canes for the kid’s bags for church. Also, we are including a card with “Stille Nacht” printed on it, if not for the kids, then for their parents, to enjoy. “An old-fashioned Christmas”, according to Cindy. Guess I could walk away from the keyboard for a bit, right?

p.s. In checking the vacuum cleaner situation, the bag is, indeed, ready to burst open! And the good news is that I have bags on hand, no need to go to Sears!

Where were you when the lights went out?

2011-12-12T19:07:00.002-05:00

Oh, the excitement of being able to watch two football games on Sunday afternoon, back-to-back viewing of the two teams I support. What could be better? Well, for starters, having them both win! For another, having electricity at all times to allow the TV to air the game. Oh, is that asking too much? It seems it is!

I got home from lunch with Judy and Terri T. in time for the end of the second quarter, where the Jags were up 28-14. This cannot be, but it was true! No nap for me during halftime or third quarter as my eyes were glued to the set. The Jags did a very nice job of defeating the Buccaneers, a team which was less than challenging, according to Justin. But, for a short-sighted girl like me, it was fantastic! Backing up a little bit, when I got home, immediately I turned the TV to CBS to watch the game but it was not there…hmmmm…..where could it be? I found it on FOX instead, strangely enough. Okay, that’s fine.

Next it was time for the Packer game to begin, and instead of being shown on FOX, it was on CBS. The world really is upside down! I settled in to watch, and about 10 minutes in, got a phone call from Patti, my next door neighbor. She wanted to know if I had electricity in all my rooms, as it seemed she lost power in some of hers. That’s odd…She was going to call the others in her tower and I gave her my best wishes for solving the problem. About 5 minutes later, poof, mine was gone. Okay, now it really mattered to me!

Within seconds of this happening, my phone was going off, with Randy calling to see my electricity had gone off too. He wondered if there was a main circuit anywhere to check and I told him it was in Connie’s maintenance office. Hopefully someone had keys to get in there to check it but then he said, “I hear voices outside…” so he was going to check. I called JEA, after getting the number from Patti and went through the touchpad of commands in order to report an outage. It seemed to be aware of the problem, but I also pressed the ZERO to speak to a lady. She was very nice and told me 225 homes were affected by the outage, caused by a transformer fire (it was quite windy out there). While I talked with her, Randy came to the door to find out what I knew. She nicely told me it might be 6:00 pm before it’s fixed and I whimpered that the Packer game might be done by then. She apologized for the inconvenience and I asked her if I could go out there to cheer the workers on. I was told I could do whatever I wanted to do…

When I hung up with her, Randy asked, “Wanna go find a sports bar?” and I said, “YES!” He asked what I needed to do to be out the door and I said I’d put on shoes and grab my purse, as I was still in my church clothes. He told me to do that and he’d pull the car out of the garage. I dreaded having to do the steps, but I got ready like a fireman, and as I locked my door, Randy yelled over the railing not to be in rush, he’d been upstairs to lock up. As he got to the 4^th floor, we heard shouts from the neighbors that the power was back on, so he headed for the elevator and me back up the steps. Before he got in, he said, “Hey, if something happens, I’m in the elevator…” He told me he had his cell phone with him but there are also emergency buttons and a phone in there. No problem, he got back to his place to watch the Packers win, and I got back to my room to watch the same thing. We missed about 20 minutes of greatness but I will simply rejoice having the power back on, especially for my heater!

Once more, angry seas!

2011-12-11T21:56:00.003-05:00

It sounds downright wicked out there, as another nor’easter makes its way through. Some of my Victory friends, some formerly from GS, were camping this weekend at a park in our county. My friend’s pop-up camper is on the fritz, won’t pop-up!, so they opted to tent camp. Not the best weekend for sleeping out in the elements, as it were. According to the reports on Facebook, all had a marvelous time, the weather was favorable, and best of all, the kids had a great time. Little Daniel is celebrating his birthday with a camp-out plus later this week, a dinner at Golden Coral. That reminds me so much of Timmy, he just loved to eat at “Golden ‘Ral”. Happy birthday, Daniel, my dear!

Tonight, though, the wind is whipping wildly and it was misting most of the afternoon. Likely it felt cooler than it actually was, with the temps in the 50’s. Only once did Justin and I see the moon of the river this cycle which makes me wonder if it really is time for my haircut or not….It is, actually, but I am holding off as long as I can so it’s nice for CHRISTmas.

This morning I had a nice chat via Facebook with Linda J. who had a better nights’ rest than the one before. She is recuperating from knee replacement surgery at home and sometimes experience leg cramps after her therapy. The doctor said it’s not unexpected but it is quite unpleasant.

Linda told me she went to sleep thinking about my friend, Amber, who was coming to church today. Amber is a friend of Judy C.’s, a former co-worker, and what a surprise it was years ago to hear that they knew each other!!! I had not seen her in ages but Judy kept me up-to-speed on what was going on. Amber’s spouse, now separated, used to work for us with Michael, whom my auntie referred to as the house boy. Frank was the one who would ask Timmy, who was a free spirited child, “Dress yourself today, Tim?”

Amber recently experienced serious health problems and out-of-the-blue asked Judy about being baptized. Holy cow, so to speak! I wept when Judy told me, since we could count on one hand the number of times she’d been to church in her whole life. In fact, while she carefully tended the kitchen and helped out with Justin right after Timmy died, she was unable to attend the service. She stayed behind to keep an eye on the house so no one robbed us. Today, she came to church, with Judy!

Last night Judy called to say Amber was coming but was concerned her clothes were not good enough for church. Judy told her not to worry about it, but told me not be surprised if Amber came in jeans. I said, “I can wear jeans tomorrow…” and after a brief pause, Judy said, “So can I!” And we did, with Justin teasing me a little bit this a.m., as he also tickled Amber was going to church. Sure enough, when Judy and she walked in, Amber was in slacks! Judy and I in jeans and Amber, dressed for church! Oh well, we were prepared for 'just in case'…After taking attendance, I had sat down in the pew behind them, but after the sermon, Amber patted the seat next to her, that I should come up there to sit. I did! She told me she was so nervous, like everyone was looking at her. I told her they were looking at me, so not to worry.

Judy came back to church for the Annual Meeting after taking Amber home, reporting she wants to come back again next week. Baby steps to having her baptized, let the Holy Spirit do His work on and in her heart. Amber did not realize I lived so close to where she works so she said we should get together some time. Certainly! No problem!!!!

A fantastic day

2011-12-10T21:25:00.009-05:00

It’s been dark for an hour and yet, no full moon visible on the river. Rats! Last night afforded no moon view either as the clouds took precedence. This was unfortunate since Judy J. was here last night and so enjoys seeing the reflection on the water. We had dinner together before watching “Sarah’s Key”.

What a wild ride that movie turned out to be. Some of my friends in book clubs had read it already, as had Judy J., but Judy C. and I had not. Avoiding giving away the story, we ladies agreed that we had not ever heard about this going on in France during the war. OR, it has been blocked from our brains, but I do suspect we were never taught. This story seemed almost too outrageous to be true, which means it likely was. In one scene in the movie, when the magazine staff was sitting around a table discussing what took place, a writer expressed her dismay that no one did anything to help the 1942 Jews. The main character asked her co-workers, in 2009, “What would you have done?”…very similar to what is taking place now in regard the Jewish people.

We so enjoyed, besides the movie, delicious lasagna and garlic bread. Justin was going to be in for the night so he shared dinner with us and took care of the clean up thereafter. He busied himself in his room, supposedly getting things straightened away. It seems he is making some forward progress but also some not forward at all. Before we went to bed last night he put some stuff in the washer on the rinse cycle and was then drying them in order to avoid ironing. It works better when they are pulled out immediately rather than the next day….Oh well.

Tuesday, Justin went shopping with his friend, Sarah, and bought my CHRISTmas present. He is chomping at the bit to give it to me but I think we have to wait. He goes through this all the time, he just cannot wait! But he must. What he did give me was a wonderfully thoughtful present of hand sanitizer from Bath and Body Works, in my favorite scent of Warm Vanilla Sugar. Oh yum! Not only does it sanitize, but instead of drying my hands the way regular stuff does, it leaves my hands nicely softened and great smelling. What a sweetheart he is!

Today, Justin was my driver, making sure I got to Great Hang Ups in time for the Open House. Julia was still busily making things ready so we pitched in to help get the shop situated. He used wires to attach the ceramic mugs to the lattice wall while I smoothed wrapping paper and cut up the entry forms for people to use for the door prize drawing. Also I helped Julia price a few things and dressed a table which the jewelry designer would use when demo-ing her jewel creations. Janet wraps gems and cameos in wire and then attaches them to necklaces or chains. They are amazingly gorgeous pieces and it is quite something to watch her work. In a couple hours’ time, she has a piece ready for sale. While the doors were not banged down, or pulled open, as the case might be, the Open House did generate some sales and framing orders, which is good!

Justin used my car to run errands and I gave him my debit card in order to fill the gas tank for me. At noon he was coming back to have lunch with me at Koko’s but we forgot they are not open on Saturday’s for lunch. When he came for me, we had to decide where to go instead. I suggested Mojo’s for some brisket and he said he knew that was where he thought I would want to go. We ordered onion rings for an appetizer and shared the lunch size brisket meal. It was perfect for us, no leftovers!

When he took me back to the shop, I reminded him to please get gas but that stinker went all the way back home and then gassed up on his way to collect me again. Ugh! He claims I still had two gallons to spare but my poor nerves cannot tolerate having that little light come on…which he knows well. Such a provocateur he is!

Once back home, he hooked up the Roku which was delivered via USPS and then got ready for a CHRISTmas party he is attending at Jesse’s mom’s house. He rattled off to me what his schedule is going to be for the next couple days, including getting up early in the morning tomorrow to sauté onions for their tailgate adventure before the football game. He has burgers, brats, tomato, onions, cole slaw, and buns ready to go, plus picked up his grille. He will miss church for the game and will miss again Wednesday evening as he uses his father’s car to finish his moving from the beach house. Time is of the essence now, it seems. He expects to be here with me until April sometime so I had better get used to it!

Justin has offered to repair or replace my switches and outlets for me as some are unsightly or won’t hold onto a plug. I am not sure I trust his skills in this regard but would not mind some fresh switch covers or clean ones, at least. He wants other projects to tackle as well, and I can certainly come up a sizable list for him. I may as well make things better for myself as long as I am likely staying here for a while.

Today I talked with a lady who lives in one of my former neighborhoods in EH. She told about homes in one of the nicer areas of EH that formerly sold in the 700’s now going for about half that amount. Folks get a lot of house for much less money with the neighborhoods looking weary because of it. This is certainly nothing new but interesting to hear about my old stomping grounds. And sad to hear, as well.

On another note, Wednesday night, Justin joined me for church. Before we left though, we had to stop up at Nancy’s condo on the 5^th floor where she was hosting a party. I had let her know I could not participate in the party due to church and choir but could chip in for the charity collection. Most of my neighbors were there and it was nice to see them again, as well as my friend, Penny, whom I’ve not seen for months. Oh how I wish I could have stayed and enjoyed the fun. Oh well! Miss Chardonnay said she was planning to have a party at her house on a night different than Wednesday so that I can come. This would be the opposite of discrimination and I like it!

Justin was quite warmly welcomed both at the party and at church, with some of the ladies hugging him. It must have been Easter when he was there the last time and he was not home during the Ladies’ Group party, so they didn’t see him then. That must have made him feel quite good, at least, I hope it did. I was outside on the sidewalk waiting for him to come out behind me, but Julaine informed me he was inside ‘still hugging people’!