Travis won!!!!!!!

I just got home from Travis' celebration party at Holiday Inn and it truly was a celebration! He won handily over his Republican opponent and now has to gear up for the November elections. If he thought this battle was tough, well, it's going to get tougher yet! The Democrat running against him is a River Road dweller and most of those folks were rabidly against having the Poker Room added to the dog track, which Travis supported. This could be a problem and I hope "we" can overcome this arguement.

*

In speaking with Jessica, his fiance this evening, I told her if the battle gets ugly and mud starts to fly, or get down and dirty, I was out. She said they'd (the election committee) already decided not to stoop low and lower the standards, that it wasn't worth it. And this is why I love Travis!

Tropical Storm Fay

Here's a view of the river looking south from my river room. I am surprised they left the dredging machinery in the basin area, but removed the much larger barge from the area beyond the basin. You can see the wind whipping the palms furiously, and I can almost hear the sound they make when this happens.

This photo immediately made me think "here's the calm during the storm". Noah is enjoying his book, being able to read two and a half books during his vacation time in Florida. Just like on a cruise! Manny is just lying back on the sofa, watching the storm throw water at my new patio doors. I wish the doors would have been more resistant to water infiltration but this was not to be. I'll call Jack, my window guy and one of my fans, to see what he can tell me about this door situation.

Jack gave me a lovely black and white photograph his friend took of a cross on a mountain top in Switzerland. One day last year, Mom and I came home to find this wrapped present on my kitchen counter---a thank you from Jack. It got a bit wet when the water (during Fay)came down the walls from the unit above me. This picture hangs just behind my TV. The photo is fine, only the black paper on the back was wet.

"The sea was angry, my friends" but no golf balls or whales to be seen. This shot is looking down from my river room to the bulkhead below, as the waves are being tossed toward the patio doors of the first floor units. Gus, in one of the lower units, was out of town, so various neighbors kept an eye on things in his house, as well as checking on Mike, next door to Gus. Mike is in a motorized chair and all were concerned about him sitting alone down there. Especially without electricity to charge him up! He did fine, and in fact, became a bit annoyed that everyone kept asking him if he was okay......Is there such a thing as too much love? I think not!

You might possibly be able to see the streaks of water which are running down the wall where my TV usually stands. I'm glad it didn't short out my wiring and such which was behind there. Lisa put a metal cooking pan, also known as a kettle, to catch the drips. When the rain and leaking ceased, we moved everything back into place and I noticed my wall was rippled where water had gotten between the drywall and the paint. That's okay, it's not obvious, and hopefully mold won't be cultivated in there. The blue light which you see hanging there was purchased in Santorini, Greece, from Justin's and my friend, Jeanne, in 2006. It's blown glass, cobalt blue. When I saw it in the shop window, I looked at Justin and said, "That's for me!" Ta-da!!!

This view is looking north toward the Buckmann Bridge. It had to be closed during the height of the storm, not only because of the high winds but also because a sail boat, a sizable one, had broken loose at the marina and was banging against the sides of the bridge supports. Not good, for either the bridge or the boat! Since I don't normally hang off my porch railing, I hadn't noticed my new neighbors had placed a grille on their patio......I told Ed at the "Insteada Dinner" party on the 5th floor that I was going to be his new best friend! He said anytime I want to, I can cook on his grille. What a guy! He doesn't realize (yet) that I come with about 20 people!

This is the tree which stands just outside my patio doors. It's the tallest of all the palms near my windows and faired the best. The shorter two look quite squished down, as though giant birds tried to sit on them. The palms along the basin don't seem any worse for the wear either. I'd hate to lose the palm trees as they add so much to my view and enjoyment of the river. Thanks to all who remembered us in their prayers, asking God to watch over us "weathering" the storm.

Just look at how the waves are splashing over the breakwater! The river isn't at its high point here which is why the flat barrier rocks are still visible. During high tide, no rocks and no grass was showing which made for a creepy look. And now, it's as peaceful and calm as can be, as though nothing's happened. At least it's this way here.....other areas around Jacksonville are still using boats and/or waiting for their power to be restored. I am so blessed!!!

Various and assorted photographs

Gabe and Manny look like cool dudes, waiting for our table at Clark's Fish Camp. We are so glad we went on the very first day they were here as conditions deteriorated quickly starting Sunday!

The boys and Noah really got a kick out of the decor of the fish camp, totally surprised by what they found once inside the doors. Not what you'd expect at all. We were able to enjoy our meal on the open porch (a.k.a. 'fetid' swamp, as Lori called it) and Manny took great pleasure in throwing food to the turtles and alligator. Noah enjoyed his meal, the stuffed flounder, which Mom said is the best meal in a restaurant she's ever had! He didn't care much for my fried dill pickles but did like his alligator nuggets. Some like pickles, some like pencil erasers......

Looking like he's about to go up in the Space Shuttle, Manny is strapped into his car seat, ready to head to the airport. Gabe was on the other side of the car, trying to climb up into his seat, when it tipped and he fell backward from the car. All we adults were busy hugging and kissing good-bye and didn't notice he was on the way up. Gabe was fine but his clothes were wet so Noah and Lisa rapidly stripped him down and changed him just inside the garage, with no one the wiser. Some day he'll appreciate the adage about patience being a virtue.

Here is a great shot of the boys watching the storm from my family room window. Lynn and I put the glass back into place after moving it a couple days earlier--just in case! My left hand window was wiggling in the wind because it's not fully latched and we couldn't get it to lock in. A trusty piece of packing tape prevented it from making the noise of metal against metal. The shelf needed dusting anyway.....We ended up putting one candle holder back on the glass shelf because Lynn would forget it was there and hit her face on it when trying to look out. The candle reminded her head the glass shelf was there!

Gabe looks pensive as he rests his head on my foot stool. I was so proud of how the boys entertained themselves during our basic "lock-down" existence. I'd apologized to Tracy in the house below mine, explaining the boys need to run their little legs every now again. She thought I had a dance machine going up here.....right! Well, I could probably do that dancing now that I have my new bra! Justin's bringing them the Play Doh was absolutely brilliant, and I don't care one little bit if there was a mess on my glass topped table. Having no electricity allowed the boys to play using imagination and crayons, like in the old days when we wrote with chalk on a slate......okay, that's a bit of a stretch, I admit it!

At Gabe's recent VBS, the kids were taught to clap their hands when the talking and noise level got too high. It seems the clapping catches on and the kids realize they are to be quiet and applaud. Lisa and the boys demonstrated this for us Saturday when the noise level got a bit higher than we'd like. It shut Justin right up!!

It's such a lovely day today!

I didn't mention this in previous postings but when we woke up on Saturday morning, it was quiet outside. This was in stark contrast to waking three days in row to the wind whipping the palms outside my windows and the roar of water crashing and splashing against the breakwater. It was quiet!! It was weird!!

*

Saturday opened with clearer skies and some sun light but it didn't stay. By the time my family was about to board their plane, it was thundering and raining here at the condo. Lisa texted me to report all was dry at the airport and they were able to leave Jacksonville safely.

*

Well, today began early, again with sunshine and clear skies, and a phone call. Justin wanted to let me know he was leaving home so I could gauge my getting ready for the day according to his drive time. He suggested I think about him being like Dominoes and he'd be here in 30 minutes or less! Funny boy! We were going over to the polls to vote for "ole Travis" and the rest on the list. My friend, Diane, was also running for an at-large seat on the Board of Commissioners. She handles some of my finances for me, and we've bonded with each other (go figure!!). Bonded, a little play on words there!!!! Don't put much stock in what I say.......we have a mutual admiration for each other.....enough with the investment puns already!!!

*

So, back to Justin and me voting....there were no lines at the polls, sad to say. We marched right in, got scanned, voted, and then off we went, sporting our "I Voted" stickers. I saw one of the Art Guild members there voting also and we are both looking forward to Guild starting again next month. At least I think so now!

*

Since he had time, before heading to the polls, I had Justin go around picking up toys and putting things away now that the boys are gone home. I was too lazy to do it yesterday and the house keepers were coming today. He disassembled the Rokenbok game and put it back in the box plus gathered the assorted cars, trucks, and Legos to store away in the bins for our next guests to play with. I hope Lucas is coming in the Spring before Lent. Oh, and Grace will be old enough to play with toys by then also. Lucas will be four years old in September, on the anniversary of Hurricane Jeanne----a day which shall live in infamy---for many reasons!!!

*

Justin and I had breakfast at Grumpy's, where I received a hug from Mike Taylor, who is running for Sheriff. Lynn and I had seen his contingent and him there on Wednesday morning before I took her for the facial. This must be his headquarters, and I teased him that he'd have his victory celebration at Grumpy's!!! He did invite us to join his party at HoJo but I said I was going to Travis's party at Holiday Inn. I was also invited to Diane's party for tonight at Honey Bee's but I'm committed to "ole Travis"!! He gave me a thank you present last week, a gift card for Carrabba's. It burned a hole in my pocket so used it on Friday night already!!!

*

Justin had to head back to his side of town because he has classes during the day on Tuesday and Thursday. I'm glad he took the time and gas to come back over here to vote--I'd have felt quite badly not having my kid vote for "ole Travis" after he'd told me about 6 times about Justin being able to vote early at the Tax Collector's office!

*

I am also glad Justin is enthusiastic about his classes this semester, because he didn't do so hot on his summer class. He got a C which is just barely what he needs to keep his "scholarship" money, what his father and I pay for him to be a student. Of course, I'd love to see much higher grades instead of just making the grade, but........

Perhaps we should have stipulated his maintaining a solid B to keep his "scholarship"......It's a good thing he loves his subject matter so much, covering Romanesque and other types of art and history.

*

The basin is active with boats and leaping fish this afternoon. The dredging folks have located the floating barriers much closer to my building, which makes me think they'll be coming this way soon. I do so enjoy watching the mullet leap for bugs, as they are much easier to see now that the river is smooth. It's difficult to remember how rough it was not even a week ago!

*

Earlier I'd mentioned being lazy yesterday after I posted my blog. I answered all my e-mails and other communications and then went to the family room with my lap top in tow. Justin showed me how to "search" for non-secured Internet, floating in the air around my building. I watched a couple "What Not to Wear" episodes and then chatted for a bit with Mona, my sister-in-law in WI. Arno was home from the hospital as of that afternoon and was resting comfortably. He's not yet fully regained his strength after this hopsital stay and a physical therapist will be coming to their house to help him get stronger. So, I am still on schedule to go up and help out while Mona and John are gone to see JR at West Point!

*

There were several splash and dash rain storms yesterday which prevented the roofing guys from working on the edge of the building. Understandably so. It did dry enough for us to gather on the shelf (sun deck) to enjoy happy hour and each other's company again. We had so many people, we ran out of chairs! I told Jack he was wise to bring his own (a wheelchair). The new neighbors, Ed and Karen, treated us to some delicious tea-flavored vodka made in South Carolina. Ed picked up a case on a recent trip there, to their home in Charleston. Wow, it was wonderful, served with fresh-squeezed lemonade over ice. Yummm! A couple of the folks bought bottles off Ed as we sat there. Some one is going to look around locally to see if it's available. I can see that going over very nicely at some of my social gatherings!!!!! Oh, yeah!

It's a blessed day!!!!

Oops, it's been so long since I used my own computer that I forgot just how it works! I accidentally posted a blog with nothing written in it.....sorry!

*

We are currently up and running in The Palace! Evidently I was correct about the tree lying on the wires out on Astor, because when I came home from Bible study and lunch, the tree was removed and Comcast restored to my home----and all is right with the world again!!!!

*

We had the most marvelous discussion this a.m. in class. Our subject matter was about moral absolutes, which is dear to my heart. It appears that sins of the flesh are high on people's lists of evil things to do, and the conversation covered anywhere from Hallmark now offering cards for same-sex "unions" to couples living together without being married to killing unwanted children. Heavy material to cover on a Monday morning, let me tell you!

*

So many of us have the same situations in our own lives or in those connected to us, often feeling afraid to rock the boat by pointing out the error or transgression. It's that boat rocking thing that gets in the way of being faithful Christians. We must be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have, and hopefully this class serves us with the answers. One of the participants commented that even though someone pushes us away, doesn't wish to hear the Law and Gospel, we can still serve them through our prayers, which they can do nothing about. We can ask the Lord to soften their hardened hearts and see they are going in the wrong direction.

*

I was thinking of the Pranges today in Bible study. One of the Bible stories we reviewed was the visit of the Magi to King Herod and how they failed to return to his palace with reports of locating the baby Jesus. Herod ordered all the male infants to age 2 killed, in order to eliminate this new King from being able to steal his earthly throne. Paul Prange preached a sermon on this text the Sunday after Pete and Tarren's wedding and there was hardly a dry eye in the house! It was a marvelous sermon, but personally affected me deeply. I think it had only been two years since Timmy had died plus I'd talked about Timmy at the reception with Pete's family and friends. They were all quite familiar with us and our story, since Pete was at our house when Timmy drowned. Anyway, whew! It was rough leaving church, even Pete's mom was wiped out. I asked Pete to get me a copy of the sermon but he said Paul doesn't write his sermons out, goes from the top of his head, sort of. Or, more properly, from his heart! So, I was thinking about Pranges this a.m.

*

The manatees are celebrating the departure of TS Fay, too, at the moment. The water is being stirred in the basin and shiny fins and backs catch the sun light every now and again. My family was able to view some manatees when standing on the 5th floor balcony Thursday night. This was before the sea was totally angry, my friends!

*

Gabe impressed us greatly one morning when he told us about the waves in the river. He said it was really wavy out there, and that the wind was making the waves. Lisa was so surprised to hear him say this, because she didn't know that he knew! A proud mama moment! Unfortunately the boys missed seeing the cherry picker machine which is parked along the building today. The roofers are putting the finishing touches along the face of the building.

*

One of my neighbors sent an e-mail to us all, asking if we wish to have the roofing guys caulk our windows from the outside. I'd like that, yes, but am wondering how much such a service would cost. The entire building is to be done next year sometime, but I wouldn't mind going ahead and doing it right away. Might help keep the spiders and other intruders from finding their way into my house! To say nothing of the water!!!

Here is some more from me.......

Let's see if I can recall some of the highlights, as compared to the low lights of the water leaking....
*
Lynn and the family stayed for the rest of the day Tuesday at Magic Kingdom, getting home right before 8:00 pm. I'd left to meet Martie for a margarita and taco salad, and told Lisa I'd leave the door unlocked for them....Well, I very foolishly but automatically locked it up, so when she called me, I had to rush home to let them in. The boys were this close to tinkling in their pants, but it took me less than 1o minutes to get home from when she called me. I felt so terrible about it, and didn't even realize how late it had gotten since Martie and I met right after 6:00 p.m. when she got done working.
*
They'd driven some in the rain but not all the way, thankfully. Noah showed me a photo of Manny holding up four fingers, which was how many times he went on "It's a Small World". Lisa and Gabe went into the Haunted Mansion and the Pirate ride more than once, but they are too intense for a little guy like Manny. I think they also went on the Thunder Mountain roller coaster which is a wild ride. All had a really good time, and the boys each brought home a stuffed animal souvenir courtesy of their Great Grandma K.
*
Wednesday was the day we set out for Eagle Harbor where I showed Noah the neighborhoods and homes we lived in. Lisa and gang were behind us all the way but I had Noah to myself---poor guy! The boys enjoyed watching the fella cook our food right in front of them at Koko's but Manny didn't care for the oil being lit on fire and flaring up like it did. The chef did that special just for us, because ordinarily they do the "show" stuff for dinner only. It was really slow business-wise since it was noonish, but I guess that under the circumstances, it was okay.
*
We stopped at Hang Ups after lunch and the boys really enjoyed petting the dogs and feeding them little treats. The kids were well behaved considering all the breakable pretties in this store, and I was happy Dee and Julia got to see them at their best behavior. All the adults were treated to a brief yet lovely back massage using Dee's glass paper weights, as is her custom. As I'd already mentioned, Lynn and I went back to the condo while the Ellisons went shopping. Lisa bought me a Catch Phrase game as a thank you gift, and I am so glad to have it. We never had enough people to play a round while they were here visiting, or at least, didn't have the interest or enough light!
*
Thursday was a sleepy day weather wise. Lynn and I watched the boys while Lisa and Noah went to breakfast at Grumpy's and then shopping at the Mall, just to pass some time. I may be off a day or two on these dates but since its not for a grade, it won't matter. The days rather ran together because all it did was rain, blow, and rain some more. Thursday evening we went upstairs to the social which was forced indoors by the weather. I took summer sausage and Ritz crackers for our appetizer, as the function was named "Insteada Dinner". My downstairs neighbor, Tracy, had commented to Lisa that she heard the running sounds from my unit, and thought I must have bought myself a Dance Dance Revolution machine which would account for the racket. She was just kidding, of course, and totally understood about the boys needing to run their legs off now and again.
*
We watched some TV that night, I think we watched Mr. Holland's Opus before heading off to bed. We still had electricity when we went to bed but shortly before midnight, the house grew quite silent without the sounds of TV, ceiling fans, and appliances. Oh, oh........now what? I did have ice and Justin had brought me foam coolers in case we needed to put the freezer contents into them. I'd had the foresight to set both my fridge and freezer on their coldest settings days earlier and had set dishes of water into the freezer to make blocks. This was in addition to the ice bags, juice packets and other frozen hunks to help keep things well preserved for the duration. As long as no one opened the freezer......and no one did!
*
I absolutely HAD to open the fridge to get out something vital to my existence.......I'm sure you know I'm talking about my soda supply! Simply reaching and grabbing the carton as fast as I could----the kids can live without milk or juice, right? Nah, we did grab some of that, too. I had Pop Tarts on hand for times like these as well as graham crackers and Lucky Charms for the boys' breakfast. One of the days Noah made breakfast for us when we still had power, and it was the first time, I think, that bacon was cooked in my condo. The smell is absolutely intoxicating! Lynn said there should be a candle scented as "Bacon"!!! I'd buy one! He couldn't believe that I could live without bacon but I'm not usually a breakfast eater and certainly wouldn't bother making some just for myself. I made a hot breakfast on Saturday, cooking sausages and scrambled eggs with cheese in them. Yummmmmm.....
*
On Friday evening we met the Rosses at Carrabba's for dinner, driving to the restaurant in the midst of a tornado warning. It seems Brenda and Carey actually saw the funnel cloud reported on the news, and it traveled down the river toward Orange Park. My friend from church, Gordy, must have called me half a dozen times with church related business as well as trying to keep me updated on the weather reports as he knew I had no power. I did have a battery radio and the little TV but it made him feel better to tell me himself. It was sweet that he called me while I was driving to the restaurant to warn me about the twister. Justin joined us for dinner and came back over to the condo with us for the evening. As we pulled up to the house, we saw Tracy and Jeff loading their car, reporting we had zip, zero, nada for electricity yet and were off to the Holiday Inn. Their friend owns it and offered them a room. As we sat around in the darkened river room waiting for a breeze, Lisa checked on their flights for the next day. All was still a go ahead for taking off. Nuts! Noah wanted to rent a larger car and drive all the way home if the flights were cancelled....I'd have hated that idea! About an hour after arriving home and sitting in the dark, warm house, Justin noticed my computer printer making noise and then, ta-da! All the lights came on and we were good to go! I immediately dashed to the laundry room and started washing the wet towels we'd gathered so far. Yippee! Justin told me he rolled down his window and shouted "thank you" to the JEA guys when he left my house. That's my boy! Lisa and I stood by the doors and listened to shouts of glee going up from the neighbors. She thought we should call Tracy and tell her the power was back on....I figured they'd be settled in for the night. It was nice to sleep with the ceiling fans on and A/C running for those who required it.....
*
Lisa hadn't seen Brenda N. yet this visit so she came over on Saturday morning. It was great to see her, more so for Lisa. Brenda was able to finally meet Noah, as so many people didn't even believe he existed! Now all can see where the boys get their looks from! Or, at least, some of their good looks----Lisa contributes much to their appealing faces! I have some great photos of the boys which I'll share once I'm home on the desk top computer. Seems like that will never happen....but, of course, it will, perhaps even tomorrow already!
*
The whole gang packed up and left me on Saturday afternoon, leaving around 2: 15 p.m. for the airport. Their flight didn't leave until nearly 5:00 p.m. but they wanted to make sure there was enough time for the drive out to the airport, returning the car, checking in, and finding the gate. It started to storm again just prior to 5:00 p.m. but when I sent Lisa a text, she replied that it was still okay at the airport, and they were on the plane already. Nuts! I was sort of hoping to keep them another day but that was very, very selfish thinking of me, and I'm the tiniest bit ashamed of myself!

I feel like my arms have been cut off!

This message is coming to you from my laptop where I am writing from Justin's house! My building is yet without Internet and/or cable service restored since some time on Thursday, I believe.

*

Thanks to so many who wrote, called, e-mailed, or sent smoke signals to me, wondering how we did through the storm. It's finally over, at least nearly so. Today is presently overcast with a bit of drizzle which might not be terribly unusual for this time of day and this time of year. Having had no cable, I've not been able to keep up the weather channel news, other than what the local stations show. I have a tiny black and white (or, as Justin would say, "mother of pearl") battery operated TV to use until we have cable restored.

*

I am not sure where to begin with this saga. I may jump around a bit in telling my story....I hope you read the previous posting which will catch the readers up to when the Internet was lost. My supposition is that we lost our service due to the rather large tree presently lying across Astor Street. Wires are draped under the branches, and since the electricity was restored on Friday night, it seems the wires must be for something else.

*

I did still have some leaks in the same old places as prior to the roof being replaced which means it might not have actually been a roof problem to begin with. Lisa and Noah got busy pulling the TV and the love seat away from the walls and put down towels to collect the water. Lisa put a kettle behind the TV to catch the drips which made the most interesting clang clang clang as the water fell into the kettle. Lynn and I made with the towels and sheets to sop up the water in the river room. Once again, I was able to make the remark: 'the thing which attracts us the most to living where we do, is the same thing which causes us the most trouble'!!! Water!!!! I haven't checked my floor in the river room today to see if the wetness damaged the finish or not, because the towels are still in place should we have more rains yet. Someday I'd love to have my ceiling replaced in the family room, and my electrical stuff recessed into the ceiling, although the exposed conduit and boxes looks rather European....

*

I am not sure whose insurance would take care of such a dramatic repair as that, mine, or the guy who lives above me, or the people who live above him, or God Himself....In the river room the leaks come from the doors rather than from above and I am n0t sure of the solution to this situation. My doors are new so this is not the problem. It could have been the driving rain that forced its way between the slides of the doors. Oh, you know what I mean.....It's nothing a few dozen towels and a CHRISTmas table cloth can't handle!

*

At this writing, I can hear thunder and see occasional flashes of lightning through the closed blinds. It's like a cave in here, but it seems the boys like it this way. Tonight are the closing ceremonies for the Olympics and I'll have to watch them on my tiny TV in a very non-descript fashion. They'll have to be pretty spectacular to impress me on 4" of television. How did people live back in the old days?

*

My thoughts are scattered, since so many days have gone by since I last wrote! One of my self-described daily readers told me this a.m. that she thought of me last week as she was struggling with something in her purse while pushing her shopping cart along using her elbows. She said she thought, "Oh, Kim would be so upset with me for doing this!" Jennifer, you made my day!!!! Thanks for being so faithful....in every way!