"Your feet are terrible!" Part II

If you have read this blog for a while, you might recognize the title from a previous posting when I was discussing my serious need for a pedicure with the little boys in the kindergarten. As usually happens during swimming pool time, my toe nails "look terrible", to quote Wesley, even though he had not viewed them. The polish is chipped off and edges of the nails are ragged. Recently I was in the pool with some ladies, one who accidentally located the jet which moves the water around the pool. I told her that is why I usually stand right there, to have the jet of water massage my feet as well as chip off my polish, and she immediately moved away. Good plan, Kim! I do not want any interlopers taking "my" spot where I 'beach' on the edge of the pool and puddle away. There I can peddle my bike under water, keeping those legs of mine moving and then resting them with a blast of water which removes some but not all of my polish!

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An interview is being done on F & F with a teacher in Florida who is complaining about the dumbing down of students using primarily the FCATs which help determine how much money the schools get. This standardized testing is the absolute focus, about the only thing taught in the classroom are the things which show up on the test and little else. The school then gets appropriated funds based upon the total scores of the students so games and contests take place between the grades within the same school and it gets almost nuts. Kids and teachers alike count down the days until the FCATs are over. Fortunately we avoided that since Justin attended a private school, and while he did take an SAT, overall learning and teaching was the focus and not how to pass a test. This lady being interviewed is correct, the kids might learn more when the teachers are actually allowed to grade papers using a red pen. To heck with the student's delicate sense of worth--if they are wrong, they are wrong, and make them more ready for high school and college.

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When Justin was a senior he was always murmuring about his teacher for English class, or some other name for what I remember as English class, as she enforced certain rules regarding writing term papers, etc. Oh, she was the worst, Jerry, the worst teacher and he wondered how St. Johns could ever hire her and why did she have to be so picky.....Yeah, yeah, yeah, just do the paper the way she said to and be done with it. Ugh! So, when Justin started at UNF and he was to do a paper for one of his classes, he was late, as always, in handing in his rough draft. When Justin met the professor in the hallway, he apologized to the prof for handing the paper in late. The professor told him it was okay he was late, because his rough draft was so much better than the others completed work. Justin was beside himself with glee and when he came home, he told me that the next time he saw his teacher, he was going to give her a hug. And he did!!! Justin attended a function at St. Johns with his friend and saw the teacher there, told her what had happened, and gave her one of his famous hugs! Use the red pen, teachers, use the red pen!

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I really have to get busy here but might write again later on. For now, I must be getting my bedroom ready for the workers coming at long last to move my furniture and tear out this flooring. Jeff, my downstairs neighbor, just called me to report that the trash doors have been unlocked and are ready for the disposal of my carpet and pad. My job today will be to strip this bed and get the room as bare as I physically can before they get here, removing any and all obstacles from the progress of the job. I hope I do! Mike asked me last night where they were going to put the furniture they move out, which took me by surprise because I thought we were on the same page with this----anywhere you can!!!

Happy Birthday, USA

The wind is still here and the breeze is lovely blowing through the rooms this a.m. The sun is peeking out and reflecting from the water on the Mandarin side of the river. The first time I woke up and went for a little walk, the sky to the northeast was a brilliant pink. Unfortunately, due to my room being in upset, both my cameras were out of reach, so I just climbed back under my covers for another hour or two of sleep 'n dreams. No rain was predicted for last night so I kept the sliding doors open when I went to bed. Nice!

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Oh, would I love to be in NYC for the nation's birthday! On F & F, the plaza outside their studio is all set-up for a picnic and the Army Jazz Ambassadors are playing their music as various cooks are having a food-making contest for other military folk. Love seeing those guys, mostly guys today, in their uniform. Speaking of seeing uniforms, there was an evening wedding yesterday at The Club as we were enjoying our social time at the pool. About half of the 'congregation' were in their dress white uniforms and it looked just smashing. The groom was also in dress whites and the bride wore a white dress. We understand that at some point in the ceremony, or afterward, the men will form a double line and have the couple walk under a canopy of crossed swords. And traditionally, the last man swats the bride across the bum with his sword. Not sure what that is supposed to mean, butt.........

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Around noon or so I decided to go down to have some lunch but did not put on my swimsuit since the sun was not shining. Normally I have a hot dog but this season's dogs are simply not measuring up. In fact, Marlena gave me a free one to try along with my burger, to see if was a cooking-issue. Danny, the usual cook, had called in sick, so she was handling all the work with one of the lifeguards helping out. One bite told me that nope, it was the product and not the cooking. She was going to let the chef know that I had a problem with them but later, he came down to the cabana to check on things. I spoke with him myself and explained the issue. He thought that I might have a problem with the dogs being natural casing but I told him I was a big natural casing girl, coming from WI, but said the meat seemed to be a little mealy. Also assured him that the lame hot dog was not a deal-breaker for me, I can switch to the burgers and be a happy girl. When this order of hot dogs is used up, he said he was going to back to last year's brand, which was Nathan's, I think. I told him I like the Boar's Head brand of natural casing dogs but they are expensive. Chef seemed to believe that the dogs used in the cabana are about the same price. Perhaps so, but certainly NOT the same quality!

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After finishing my lunch, I stepped outside and checked the sky. It was getting more and more blue with the sun appearing sincere, so I went back upstairs to change into my suit. Yeah!!!! There were no umbrellas out as the wind was still wild but I preferred sitting in the sun anyway, trying to make my unbaked bread brown. (Thanks, Linda J., for that!!) I decided to take a dip and splash around a little but oh, my goodness, was that water cold!! A few days without sunshine and lots of rain changed things dramatically in a week's time. Folks complained last weekend that the water was too warm, like taking a bath, but I disagreed. Brrrr! Others said the same thing, that it was cold, but they liked it that way. After I sat a bit, my newer friend, Penny, who moved here recently from St. Paul, MN, came over to sit. She said she knew a die-hard or two would be at the pool. Since it looked like it would stay nice for a while, she decided to go play golf. Before she left though, Ellen and her daughter, Maggie, came downstairs to enjoy the poolside. Penny and Ellen were introduced, and Maggie, too, of course, which helps widen Penny's circle of acquaintances. She does pretty well for herself, makes friends easily.

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After Penny left, the three of us enjoyed the time together, with Maggie going back upstairs at one point to bring an apple pie down to their table. I declined a slice because I was still full from my lunch. When the sky became overcast, I decided to go upstairs but told Ellen we'd be back out for dinner that night.When I did go back downstairs, Ellen and Mags were still there! Ellen sat at the table with us for a bit and then went upstairs but her daughter stayed to chat with a friend of Travis', my upstairs neighbor. Jessica brought the baby down and Travis' carried Beckham all around the pool to show him off. My goodness, that is one adorable and friendly baby---just like his daddy!

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I am molting....molting!!!! During the week my face and nose, which is part of my face, was peeling and now my shoulders/upper arms are at it. And yes, I did put lotion on my face and arms and legs. I call that 'closing the barn door after the horse has gotten out' but lotion nonetheless. Nothing says 'pretty' like skin falling off! When I came back up after dinner, I took my shower and got ready for bed, greasing myself all up, even my feet. NOT a good idea when a person still has some walking around to do before falling asleep! Tends to be a bit slimy when walking on ceramic tiled floors. When Penny and I were talking at the pool, she told about having to go grocery shopping during the week, which she prefers not to do, because all she had in her cupboard was enough oatmeal for one serving, and that was it! No wonder she is so tiny! I don't know what made me think about that just now...

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Shortly I must get ready for church. Our Bible study is at 9:30 during the summer, hardly enough time to really get into anything but still, at least we are studying. I have not been to Good Shepherd for worship since early June so it will be nice to see everyone again, those I have not seen at the Tuesday Bible studies. Some of the regulars are attending Victory today to celebrate the nation's birthday, although I know for a fact that at GS we will be singing "God Bless Our Native Land" as part of our service. I get a sneak peek at Victory's sermon as part of an e-mail Pastor Hoyer sends out, with the first couple of paragraphs from his sermon included. It sounds interesting, based upon what God told the Israelites as they were about to enter the Promised Land.

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Last night, as I laid here watching the "House" marathon on USA, I could also see fireworks going up all along the river's edge on the Mandarin side. Sometimes I could hear the boom but not always. It is so pretty and downright festive to see that and tonight will certainly be more of the same. Ellen is so sad we are not having any in Orange Park as last year a bunch of us enjoyed apple pie in her condo, on the 4th floor facing the barge which launches them. Boo hoo hoo! Maybe I should ask our neighbors on the south end of the building if we can come to their balconies to watch the display from Green Cove tonight!!! I am not shy!

Gearing up for the big weekend

If you can call blogging from my bed as 'gearing up'! The sun has just now begun poking through while the wind continues whipping the palm trees outside my windows. Having opened my sliding doors, a breeze is moving through my rooms as I write. One project to be tackled today will be doing some dusting in the other rooms but now that I think about it, this might not be the very best idea. The workers will be here either midday Monday or on Tuesday and undo the dust removal planned for today. I just gave myself an excuse for not doing it---or doing it as thoroughly as I had intended.

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Listening now to an interview of a female golfer who introduced her own wine label in support of breast cancer research, on Fox and Friends. The inevitable questions about Tiger Woods came up and she said she wishes him the best. She knows this is a rough time for him, having lost his family, getting a divorce...Excuse me, but he did NOT lose his family, he sacrificed the family for his own sinful pleasures. Treatment, my foot! He simply got too big for his britches and that is the long and short of it. Certainly his fellow golfer is not going to take any other stand than saying she hopes things work out for him but...

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Back to the day---due to the winds, sailboats are having a good time, and several already moved through the water since I got up. The other night I heard much helicopter traffic outside, seemingly lower than usual and could see police lights on boats closer to the bridge. Since I do not get the local paper or watch local news, I have not heard what, if anything, was happening. Hopefully not a boat accident with people in the water or something else equally horrible occurred. Yesterday afternoon my upstairs neighbor called again to report the manatees were very close to the building. Sure enough---there was Clarence and Clarise resting in the shallows, and Jessica thought she saw a baby manatee as well. The reason I did not spot them myself was my big computer desk is located in the 'back' bedroom, away from my view. It has its blessings, being away from the windows, as it seems I work more quickly on whatever is in front of me, so that I can move back into the light!

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Twila was out and about yesterday showing one of her rental homes and we decided to meet for lunch at one of our favorite places. Miller's Ale House, next door to Carrabba's serves great 'comfort' foods besides their full menu but Twila and I usually share an order of the loaded fries, and we added chicken fingers in an attempt to assuage our guilt. Twila took home about half the order of fries, covered in cheese and bacon pieces, plus two of the four chicken tenders. I think we talked more than we ate! It was GREAT to catch up, it has been too long...

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As you might guess, since the sun has been gone, the temperatures have come down correspondingly. At this moment, it is 'only' 80 above zero out there, and I will suppose the wind is keeping it cooler here. I hate to waste the sunshine but if the air is not very warm...Oh, I know you folks who are living in the north would not consider 80 to be cool, the same way I would not consider 60 to be warm. Guess I won't be burning my feet on the promenade today! Hopefully it will not rain for at least the next four hours as there is an old-fashioned July 4th picnic on the 3rd at the Town Hall, sponsored by the Tea Party. I should get dressed and head over there but fear that the parking will be hard to come by.

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When Justin was here the other night, he asked me if I had ordered my area rug yet. Area rug? It never occurred to me to put down a rug in this room after tearing the carpet up. My intent is to keep the dust down in here and think laying a rug might add the problem back in. Hmmm....Justin feels that acoustically I would want the rug and feels I will not be happy with the starkness of the room. That might be true, about the starkness, but I feel that the bed would be sufficient to absorb the sound. I DO have problems about having the TV on too loudly as my hearing is quite acute and wonder if not having carpet on the floor will affect that. Last Sunday I talked with some folks around the pool and one man told me about his sister finding a very nice rug at Wal*Mart for about $30. I had seen some on-line for closer to $200 so finding something between those two prices to add color to an already colorful room shall be my goal!

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The other day I got a box out of my mailbox just as Jessica and the baby were heading upstairs. She said, "Oooh, something from Amazon....More boring books?" Of course, I laughed, because she had asked me Sunday in the shelter of the cabana about what books I was reading. She had borrowed mine about Julia Child, "My Life in France". Jessica was not blown away with my recent reads, wrinkled her pretty little nose at my subject matter. I told her I had finished The Overton Window just the night before and had picked up again the book about the Lutheran hymn writer and musician, Kurt Eggert. The look on her face was priceless. Guess that is not her type of summer reading! She told me about a book she is reading, perhaps an octopus with two heads, or something like that. Fiction reading is more her cup of tea.

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In order to not be tempted, I left the newest books stacked in the kitchen for now. The new Larry Schweikart book is one of them, plus "The Council of Dads" and one by John Kasich called "Every Other Monday" written about his 20 years taking part in a Bible study. The last two will be quicker reading than the history book and there is really no reason to be in a rush with reading any of them. I am current on my goal set at the New Year to read a book a month. I think I need to get some reading glasses, though, as my eyes get awfully tired these days....perhaps they are bored, too?

"Eat dessert first"

Yesterday afternoon, upon getting home from Great Hang Ups, I immediately checked my Facebook page to see Lisa's posting about her new baby. She was going to be told the gender at her appointment that morning. Most of us in the family, them included, were hoping to add a little girl to their collection of adorable sons but the Lord, and Noah, had different plans. I rejoice for another great-nephew, whom they plan to name Angelo Cruz. I called Mom to let her know it was a boy, and she said, "We could easily change that name to Angela..." Yes, but that would not go over very well, he might take a bit of teasing for that!

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Mom and I chatted a bit as she had some stray thoughts that a.m. before climbing out of bed, trying to remember which house we lived in during The Street of Dreams, in Eagle Harbor. Like I said to her, who knows where those thoughts come from? They just show up! We lived and ran our business from our home in Fiddlers Ridge, only a short way from the neighborhood where our entry was located. She remembered that our SOD House won some prizes, and, in fact, we won most of the prizes except the Best in the Show, which went to Steve Johnson's house, which had a pool. Thinking back now, we had to keep the price of the home at $250,000 and folks who bought those homes got amazing deals! I wanted to buy a beautiful dress at Added Dimensions but Mom talked me out of it, saying it was too much money, but I had fallen in love with it. Since the awards events was such a big deal, my spouse thought I should have the dress I wanted, and others agreed, except Mom, so I went back to get it. A gorgeous fuscia full-length gown with sequins and layers (I think....). My spouse wore a tux and we looked dashing!

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As we talked, I mentioned that we would not be having a fireworks display along the river like we usually do since the Town cannot afford it. Every year the area Boy Scouts sponsor an event called "American Apple Pie" or something like that, culminating with the fireworks shot off not far from my building. There will be fireworks elsewhere along the river which I will be able to see and hear but.....Mom said that Festival Foods, a grocery store newer to the area in Manty, is sponsoring the fireworks there this year. She anticipates that some of the usual curmudgeons who regularly call in to the local radio station will complain about the fireworks display. She said she wonders if 'they' ever wake up and thank the Lord for giving them another day....to spread their vitriol?!

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Mom said, "I bet they just get up on the wrong side of the bed" which brought to mind another 'Justinism'! I said to her, "Maybe they got up on the toy box side of bed"! which made Mom laugh. She remembers Justin using that as an excuse for having a bad day back in 1994 or so. We had moved into a new house, our first one in Eagle Harbor, which was again a new set-up of a bedroom for Justin. We waited to have Mom come down to FL until we were moved in already but the house sold. We moved once more after 7 weeks of living in the house! Anyway, Justin was cranky and out-of-sorts, and when asked if he got up on the wrong side of the bed, reported, "I got up on the toy box side"...which was the 'wrong side'! Oh, how we laughed! And we use that periodically to this day to express ourselves when having a day. Before you throw those covers off in the morning, make sure you are not getting up on the 'toy box side of the bed'!

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It was at this same home that my in-laws also came for a visit when Mom was there. My spouse and I took them off on an outing in an attempt to entertain them while Mom and Justin remained at home. She had gotten some fresh strawberries when attending an LWMS Rally with some people from GS, and had cleaned them at the sink. When we got home late afternoon and were getting things ready for dinner, I noticed that Mom and Justin, who was about 6 or 7 at this time, had already enjoyed some ice cream and berries. I asked, "Oh, you guys ate dessert before supper?" or something like that and Mom, looking a tiny bit guilty told us, "Well, Justin said, 'Life is short, eat dessert first', so we did!" What a fun grandma!!

Borrowed from a friend's page

My friend took this photo from the airplane window, looking down at the city of Jacksonville. Many of its bridges show up nicely in this picture as does the water. It sure looks like a nice place to live, does it not?

Call it a dry run

Silly me! I goofed and went over to church for what I thought was our monthly Outreach Meeting and found only one car in the yard. Okay, so where was everybody? Finally I went into church and found Debbie playing on the piano. She said that there was an Outreach thing tonight but I could not get a clear picture as to what. I called Pastor and he said there were some folks going out tonight to hand out fliers or something. Since I had a headache and had just taken a Tylenol or similar before getting out of the car, decided to forgo the outing. There were teams already formed, so I would have been a fifth wheel, or sixth, as the case might be. It was Outreach, just not the Outreach I was prepared for.

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When I came home, I checked the mailbox and found my most recent shipment of books from Amazon. Oh, the pressure is on to "read, Kim, read!!!" Which might be the reason for the eye-ache I am experiencing, so much reading these past few days. Today I got the Palace Press finished and out the door, so to speak, which was not simple to do these past couple months. The Board has not been having meetings which means there is little to report as far as the business of the building. Why they are not meeting is beyond me, but I understand that sub-committees are still getting together which means the work is still going on. In fact, last night, my downstairs neighbor, Tracy, asked me about working on the condo documents (again!) to avoid having to pay the attorney any more fees. I really do not wish to do that and perhaps tap danced my way out of it. I hope so anyway...

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My friend, Jen, called this a.m. to invite me along on an 'adventure' with Ricky and their daughter, Memrie, today. At first it was enticing but when I heard what was planned, had to decline their wonderful offer. They were going up north/northeast to Fernandina to take a ferry ride passed Cumberland Island and such. A trip like this would require the majority of the day and I had a schedule in front of me. My plan had been to attend water aerobics class at 10 a.m. but the sun never did come out so no class for me (I am classless!) and then needed to be back in time for the alleged meeting tonight. It was just NOT my day today!

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Well, it actually WAS because I got to take Julia some lunch and spend time with her at the shop this afternoon. Her mom, Dee, is in the mountains on vacation so Julia needs to be fed and watered, or unsweetened ice tea-d, as the case might be. She requested McDonald's today, some sort of chicken wrap and I had the McChicken sandwich from the Value Menu. She loves their tea, as do many people, my son included. We had no Bible study at Victory since they are having VBS during the day all week, so Justin was going to the beach with his friends instead. Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately depending upon the opinion, there was little or no sunshine for them, since they are all pretty well fried yet from last week.

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Today, listening to the radio, I vacillated between laughter and dismay, preferring the laughter hands down. There were idiotic speeches given in the last couple days plus the hearings for the next Supreme Court judge might have given me the headache....not to be believed! But the laughter when listening to the podcast really helped get passed it. Ugh! Seeing the 'light side' of these reports makes it so much easier to take. I was just roaring earlier and right now, I cannot even remember what was so darn funny!

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I think I neglected to mention my lovely, lovely lunch on Monday with my friend and financial consultant, Diane. We were planning to meet at Honey Bee's on the Island but she called in the morning to ask if we could instead meet at the Olive Garden. Sure! She had a client scheduled at her office downtown that morning so instead of working from home, she went in to the office. The client failed to show up! Oh well, Olive Garden was just as good. It was more a social visit than business and neither of us had my 'paperwork' along on purpose. I did ask her about the Mark Brunnell situation and she assured me none of my investments were in any way connected to his dealings. The former Jaguar associated with her company is Kyle Brady and is on firm footing, soon taking his CFP exam. He is a guy, she says, who can read a textbook and then take the test without needing coaching or lectures. I love that in a man...good financial acumen. Whew!

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From the Olive Garden I went to get my hair cut just in the knick of time. In fact, this is so true because more than one person told me at the pool recently how much they love my hair and wish they could wear it this way, and so on. Murphy's Law says that will happen, just as one is going to get their hair done, someone compliments them on it! My original appointment was set for Friday. I could not pull myself away from the pool so moved it to Monday since I would be out and about already. Great plan! Barb, my booty shop lady, told me it has been incredibly slow in the shop so my moving the appointment to Monday worked out just fine for her. I guess most folks are on vacation or letting themselves go over the summer!

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As I write I am listening/watching the radio show and they got me laughing again, so hard this time that I had to wipe my eyes. Oh, I swear, they are just so darn comical, and all the more so when I 'watch the radio show'----like, who does that?????

More photos sent by Brad

These two photos were sent by Brad, the daddy of the Langley boys, taken the day the kindergarten kids were treated to making their own pizzas. Mario, the taller boy in the blue shirt, is fortunate to have his parents work at their family restaurant.

Here the kids are lined up, ready to work the dough with the flour spread on the tables. They look so nice and clean in this photo, but that would not last. From left is Brylen, Brant, Mario, William, and Wesley.

This photo was taken after the event, where Cris, Mario's daddy, posed with the kids and their to-go boxes which held their unfinished hand-made pizzas. What great fun that day was! When I talked the other day with Mario's mom, thanking her for the wonderful time and the great food, she said this would never happen again, and she is probably right. This class, just the right size, was perfect for a day of pizza making! What a great memory this will be for them all!