The count down continues....

....to departure time! Judy C. was here tonight so we could make our flight arrangements for our shared ride north to the national Worship Conference in MN. She did not wish to wait to do this when I got back so we had planned to meet after choir rehearsal. I hated to do that to her since she has to get up so early in the morning to babysit but that's all we could work out. Then, at 6:30 pm, Robbie, The Maestro, called to tell me choir was cancelled because so many were not available to rehearse. Great! Immediately I called Judy and she came over to plan the trip. We had tried using her computer to register for the Conference but it would not allow us to connect or something a few months ago so opted to do the travel arranging from here instead.

My trip and hers are ending quite differently as I come home again in August from WI. At least we are flying up together, and as far as I know, we might even sit together. The website, Travelocity, would not allow me to process my trip, kept telling me to try again later, so I did Judy's instead, with no problems. After entering ALL that information multiple times for my reservation and not being able to complete the transaction, I switched over to Orbitz.com and made the reservation! Ta da! Without having the reservations side by side (hers was e-mailed to her home e-mail instead of to me), I had to make the seat selections. If we do not end up together, perhaps people will trade with us so we can!

There was a Board Meeting for the condo but I missed that, knowing I likely would anyway with choir and this meeting with Judy. Hopefully I can wrap up The Palace Press when in WI, using Jill's computer. If I do not get the official Minutes in time, then Ellen can give me the low-lights of the meeting. Most of the newsletter is ready, just waiting to fill in some blanks.

Earlier in the day, I met my two lady friends, Betty and Robin C., for lunch at Longhorn on the Island. The place was simply crawling with police, actually from the Sheriff's department, in support of Special Olympics. I was escorted to the table by a young man in a motorized chair, and handed my menu by him as well. Others 'working' were special needs kids in conjunction with the CCSO and staff. It was great to spend time with the two ladies again and get caught up on their news and situations. Betty has a possibility for a job and I am so hoping she gets an interview for it. She fears she might lose her home and then what? It was the home built by her father somewhat from a kit, she lived there with her mom, and now, she owns it. She and the bank, that is. My heart hurts for her situation. Betty is also taking three classes during the summer semester, good for her!

When I got back home after lunch, I got ready for the pool. Only a few folks were out there, more on the kid's end of the pool area. The lifeguard had turned on the music so it was nice when I was doing my 'laps'. My upstairs neighbor's cousins, regular visitors, were down there and it was great to chat with them. They come from PA several times a year and are so nice. They are a married couple, official "kissing cousins" of Donna's, one from each side of her family! How about that???? They were leaving this evening to fly back into PA and I hope the weather allows for safe flights.

When the sun went behind a tree, I opted to come back in and get things organized before my trip. I folded and put away some laundry, got items ready for the luggage including my long-johns, as it's quite cold up north these days! I can hardly wait to stand along Eighth Street for the Memorial Day parade...yikes! My family is freezing and when Judy was here, she closed the sliding glass doors because I had the shivers. We were sitting in the breeze in the river room. "You should not have to shiver in your own home!", she said. Once the other doors were closed, however, the breeze was not moving through the house and it is fine for sleeping. At least I think so!

Tuesday night at Trivia, our little team of 4 people, went from 1st place at halftime, to not even ranking in the second half. We came away as LOSERS, somehow. Some of the answers were easy to get, including the 'free' answer provided on their website, but others, as always, kick our butts! While I am gone we are taking a break and as Jesse suggested, we need to study the Oscars, rock music, and sports. No small order there...since the questions are sometimes quite obscure information. There is trivia and then there is 'what?????'

Today I stink!

And not from sunscreen like the other day. No, because I have made poor use of my time today, neglecting to post in the a.m. as originally planned. With so much to say, I should not delay another moment.

As I sit here typing, my toenails are visible which means I should have found time to get to Middleburg for a pedicure. Otherwise I will simply have to get them done in WI. Remind me to take them along! Last year I decided not to have them polished during the summer because the pool is hard on my toes, wrecking the polish in no time at all. Not even wearing the annoying water shoes prevents this so I might do the same thing this season. Since I normally do not sport sandals, it matters not if they look like bratwurst with ketchup, when I go out. At the pool, my bare feet look just fine with undecorated toes!

Perhaps I do not stink so badly after all, thinking back to what I did accomplish today. The mail has been taken care of, being held for me until my return; had a nice lunch with my Justin at Koko's; spent a bit of time with the ladies at Great Hang Ups; started working on The Palace Press newsletter which hopefully I can finish in Manty on my sister's computer; did a load of wash in preparation for packing; paid some bills on-line; thought about which books to take with me; talked on the phone with two Judys; drank two bottles of water since getting home from lunch; wrote two cards to shut-ins and got them ready to mail...that's enough! Opted to not take time for the pool and such since the lunch came up rather abruptly. The way I like it! Also, am making plans to meet two friends tomorrow so we can have lunch and say "good-bye" for a couple weeks. Whew!

It is a gorgeous day, weather-wise, but my sis-in-law, Mona, told me the temperature in Manty was in the 50's today. Yikes! Going to need the long pants and warmer shirts. Mom has a jacket I can borrow that used to belong to me, so won't need to take one with me. Mona told me that Sharon is doing better, responding well to the antibiotics, sitting up to eat, and laughing. Great news!

Last night the sleep was good, although I did wake up once or twice, able to fall back to sleep. There was a dream this a.m. but right now, I cannot recall it. My eyes are rested but somehow, I feel like a nap would be welcome at this moment...huh. That reminds me---I must grab my "driving down the road" glasses from the car, in case I do some night driving in Manty. And my car charger for the phone as well. Mental notes going on here...excuse me a moment...there!

Let me see now, what happened since the weekend? Did I mention being at the pool both Saturday and Sunday? Both visits allowed me to have a hot dog from the cabana, with a strawberry margarita one time, and a pina colada the next day. Many of the regulars were around, some enjoying the water, others enjoying the cabana being open. Sunday, the staff was experimenting with some treats and made me a tiny glass of a shake, which was ice cream sandwiches mixed with some milk and ice. Oh my, what a refreshing treat it was! Randy W. had come out to take the water's temperature, declaring it to be 86 above zero but my thinking is he measured too close to the shallow water where it's always warmer. In other words, the water was too cold for my tastes, but I hung in there, so bravely!

Saturday, my friends, Fran and Rick, met me poolside, and it was great to catch up in person instead of via Facebook. Rick is a pharmacist, enjoying a week of vacation, culminating at the pool. He told me I did not have to take the Mobic (my bad knee medicine), instead taking over-the-counter Aleve or store-brand equivalent. This would prevent my needing to go back to the doctor for a check-up at six months to check my kidneys. Nice! He suggested taking the Aleve in the a.m. so it lasts all day, instead of the evening as I am doing now. Despite me making a face about that, I can try to remember to do that. It has to be taken with food which is a problem in the a.m. since I am not much of a breakfast eater. Eating in bed is no problem, when I normally take it, but in the morning is nearly a deal breaker! Rick is a confirmed Kindle user and spoke highly of its value. Good to know!

Sunday after my time in the pool, I joined some of my other neighbors on the 5th floor at Michelle's house for a concert. Kort McCumber, a St. Johns grad and now professional musician, is traveling with his musical partner, James, who is from Superior, WI. They played only the bouzouki and acoustic guitar, with Kort's sister, Beth, joining on several numbers with her violin. The music is mainly folk-style, original pieces, incorporating local sites in many of the tunes. Not sure if everyone around the US enjoys hearing the charms of Clay County or Middleburg, or Jacksonville, but we sure did! It ended tearfully, as the entire group raised a cup of champagne in salute of Michelle and her daughter, Maya, as they are moving out. Michelle is being divorced after nearly 25 years of marriage, her spouse's company buying their condo at an extremely discounted amount, so the two ladies are moving to the Beaches area before relocating overseas in the fall. Maya will be attending college in London for a semester, a student of voice, while her mom returns to her family home in France. She is keeping the place at the beach as their 'headquarters' in the US. It was quite sad, as you might imagine, as her friends and neighbors wished them well. Kort performed her favorite song, Marjory, as his closing number, and there was hardly a dry eye on the veranda....

Sunday before pool time but immediately after church, MamMa and Jeff came upstairs so she could try out my potty. She is quite petite but has troubles getting up again in her bathroom, so I thought my raised height toilets would be ideal. Only, it is exactly what she has now! Either Tracy did not realize that, or she thought mine be higher than theirs. Jeff thinks they might go to the health aid store to see about getting an attachment for the seat, but I fear that may too high for MamMa. Oh well, she took mine for a test drive anyway!

Monday was Bible study and then lunch, when I said more tearful 'good-byes' to the ladies. Gretchen gave me a couple hugs to-go, for Lynn and Mom, and I took an extra long one for myself, getting a bit choked up. I love her so much! Jackie was jealous her hug was not as long so I gave her another one to hold her over. Wednesday night I will say 'farewell' to the choir members and then that should be it until Thursday when I say 'bye' to the Victory Bible study folks. Nothing matches saying 'good-bye' to my boy, though, which we will do at the airport on Friday. His father offered to take him along to WI in June, as he and his lady friend are coming up for one or both of the graduations, but Justin refused. He does NOT want to travel more than a day at a time, and that's it! Unless it's on a cruise or something....hmmmmm.

Listening to the breezes

What a gorgeous evening it is! The breeze off the river is a delight, not too hot outside right now, after being near 95 most of the day. It felt great to be in the pool and alongside today, in fact, my shoulders are aware that I spent the past three afternoons in the water. When I hang on the edge of the pool and do my bicycles, my shoulders support me, as best they can. Thank heaven for buoyancy!

My eyes are like pokers tonight so this posting might not be lengthy but I can make up for it in the morning. It seems as though being in the sun so long this afternoon made my eyes tired, even though often they were closed. Maybe those wrap around sunglasses were not a bad idea! Also, I had dinner this evening with Terri T. where we each had a blue drink at Blu Tavern. It is new, where a bbq or two used to be on Wells Road. I loved it there, lots of blue accents and decorating, sort of like the Blu Grotto looked like on Fleming Island. I hope this place does better than Grotto did.

Interesting news from the weekend, aside from the horrendous destruction from the weather, from the getting-crowded political field. Wow, this is getting exciting! Who's next to enter the fray? The tornado news from MO is awful but also areas in and around Minneapolis and even Oshkosh, where my sister, Kerry, lives had serious storms. If it isn't flooding, it's tornadoes...and people worry about us living in Florida with hurricanes. At least we get a bit of a head's up that it is coming!

I will check back tomorrow with more words, as my fingers are lazy tonight! Hugs!

A smile on my heart!

Angelo with his brothers and Mama were outside today, enjoying a lovely day, at long last. The two older boys and Lisa were reading together and Angelo just looked around and amused himself. I hope the weather is decent when I am up there!

Living a life of compromise

Once in a while I wax profound and yesterday was one of those days! Earlier in the day I was in the kitchen, yes, you read that correctly, making my escalloped potatoes with ham. Tracy, who lives downstairs, was calling from the road, asking if I was ‘a lady who lunches’ or not today. Since I was pretty quick at getting my dinner made, I was in! She mentioned that MamMa and she were going lift chair shopping.

I asked how the getting settled part was coming along, since MamMa moved in downstairs. A couple weeks ago there was a struggle in more than one way getting Willie Mae and her stuff into one room. It seems to have settled down some but now were adding another piece of furniture to her already tight quarters. MamMa is greatly attached to some of her furniture but it is not really safe to have her room more tightly packed than Rooms to Go! Tracy has a hard time being firm with MamMa but as an outsider, it is easy for me to say that something has to go. I told Tracy, who is a licensed therapist, it is all about ‘living a life of compromise’…Tracy said she really liked that and was going to write it down for future use. I am flattered!

And it is true! All the time we make a compromise, not necessarily the ones thrust upon us but some we make just to get along in life. Are we really so attached to an idea or something tangible that we become unyielding? I do not get upset when the palm trees are trimmed on our property, yet others are out taking pictures of the “butchered landscape”. Excuse me, really? Would you prefer to have dead branches and hardened fruit crashing through the glass than have them trimmed? Before summer is out, or hurricane season is over, the growth will have returned to its pre-trimming splendor. We compromise, or sacrifice, the branches on the trees for our safety and well-being.

If we are uncompromising and insist on having 11 pieces of furniture in a 16 x 16 room, and we are 90 years old with a walker, something has got to give! At some point one must surrender or compromise. Especially when it comes to downsizing, as I have done plenty of that in the past eight years. Wow, has it been eight years already? No, actually it has been a bit longer than that but for publishing purposes, yes, downsizing I did! Some of the things I really really liked, I kept. Other things were easier to let go of for spaces’ sake or for my own sanity. And for purposes of decorating in my own style. Mission accomplished, I’d say!

The ladies came last night for Dinner and a Movie, watching “The King’s Speech”, with Martie and Betty seeing it for the first time. When the King is forced to make his first wartime radio address, his coach was right there with him, helping him along. In the background played a song by Beethoven which I know better as one sung by Sarah Brightman. A haunting melody which truly enhanced the drama of the speech as well as the King’s ability to deliver it. Oh, rats! I gave away the ending!

My escalloped potatoes and ham were well-received, with Martie and Twila going back for seconds. Twila reported that the creamed corn is her favorite which I was glad to hear since I only had green beans besides the corn. She is on a blood thinner right now and has to avoid green veggies which is why I chose the corn. No leftover corn but at least another meal or two of the potatoes. Tonight my friends, Cliff and Carol, are coming over so I might make a frozen pizza or perhaps, if I feel getting dressed, may get a Papa Murphy’s. Since I am happily in my swimsuit now (yeah, no more dust bunnies!!) I will stay in this until I decide to put on clothes for when the my guests arrive. But now, off I go!

After a great day....

....a lovely morning! The sun is beginning to shine but the line which marks out Mandarin is blurred by fog. My thought is the sunshine will burn off the fog quickly and we will see 88 degrees before the day is out. I will spend part of my day making escalloped potatoes with ham for my Dinner and a Movie gathering this evening. Guess I had better get that fire extinguisher from outside and bring it in the house while I cook.

Last night at dinner I shared my doctor visit stories with Linda H. and Judy J. and we had good laughs over it. Judy especially questioned the reason for asking me about a fire extinguisher, that simply baffled her. I had heard a radio host report a couple years ago that we will come to a point where we will not recognize our country anymore, or the world, for that matter, and I think it's happening. That which would have been ridiculous a few years ago has come to pass, including questions about loaded weapons and fire extinguishers!

Besides the laughs we also enjoyed good conversation and delicious food at Cracker Barrel. Linda's mom, Iva, is in a rehab facility, recovering after a couple of falls. She is not making much headway in getting her strength back because she has suffered additional falls when Linda has her over to her house. As much as Linda likes getting Iva out, it often ends in disaster. Iva, on the other hand, is as stubborn as ever, and prefers not to eat in the dining room with all those old people. And the physical therapy???? "What good is it for me to put colored pegs into the holes? That's so stupid!" But, Iva has a boyfriend in the Home, a young orderly/NA....so she does have a bright spot in her stay there. I have seen this all before when I worked in the old folk's home, and Judy's daughter is the administrator of a nursing home in MI, so shares stories as well.

Speaking of nursing homes, as Judy was driving us home, my bro-in-law, Harvey, called to ask me if anyone had called me about Sharon. It seems his sister has been in the hospital on and off and now presently since Friday, at this time in ICU in Green Bay. Sharon is the cancer survivor, having had a brain tumor at the age of 16 and given six months to live. She underwent conventional treatment and then experimental treatment, some controversial ones. Though she lost her sight, she got back her 'reason' for most of her life, but over time, the scar tissue and her background prevented her from maturing beyond age 16, or even regressing some to a younger age. But acts like an old lady, again via her background.

So, anyway, she lives in an adult group home and they noticed that Sharon was sleeping more and falling more. The doctor checked her out and thought she was okay but the next day, Saturday, the staff took her to the ER. Then she was transferred to Green Bay where they could run more extensive tests and her doctor was on staff. Harvey and John both told me she was unable to speak clearly, as though she had marbles in her mouth, was running a fever, but the doctors could find no infection. She has stomach pain which might be attributed to gall stones but the tests showed no infection. Also some liver involvement which is often connected to gall bladder problems. The medical folks are baffled but I guess she is where she needs to be in this situation. John has been to see her a couple times, and since Harv lives in Green Bay, he can stop by after work to check in. I guess Nancy went to see her one day since Sharon was admitted. I am so glad that Harvey called and let me know.

When I got home, I called Marian to let her know about her younger sister, Sharon. It turns out that Marian had only recently been released from the hospital herself, having congestive heart failure. By her voice, I could tell Marian was agitated and she informed me that she had her medications changed again, adding steroids and lasix to help get the fluid out of her heart chamber. But she is also suffering with a skin rash from head to toe, no apparent cause. Biff even tried washing her clothes at his facility to see if it was soap or something like that. No one can figure out what the cause it but the rash was making her wacky. They gave her an Atavan, and the nurse applied a hydrocortisone ointment which helped to settle her down a bit. I asked her if she didn't already take Atavan, as I knew she did before, and Marian said the doctor took her off the medications for controlling her mania and depression. Yikes! I could tell in her voice and cadence that she was off of them. On top of all that, she has basal cell carcinoma on her face which will be surgically removed next week. Her strength is sapped so she now needs someone to push her wheel chair around instead of propelling it herself. Other than that, she's fine!

So, I called Harvey back to tell him about Marian's condition and told him that she was sad that she has not heard from anyone up north in a long while. I had sent her mailing address and phone numbers to everyone so they could keep in touch. He assured me that it's not that they don't care but rather they are not good at communicating. That is true, and I am honored that he has called me twice in the past few months. I let him know I greatly appreciated being informed and warned him that I am coming up next week so we can get together somehow. It sure will be nice when he is retired and not have to work those goofy hours like he does now. Often I will tease him that he might as well have been a farmer with that early to bed/early to rise bread route of his!

Today I will get busy and write, or type, a note to Marian since I don't have time this weekend to drive down there. Tonight is the aforementioned Dinner and a Movie, and tomorrow evening my friends, the Douglas's, are coming over just in time for the end of the world to arrive. We are going to hold hands and go together, just as it should be! They were at Cracker Barrel last night when we were there, on their date night. Sunday is worship and Bible study and then pool time, Lord willing. There was supposed to be an event at The Club but this a.m. I woke to an e-mail reporting the Island Bash was postponed until August! That frees me up to attend the house concert on the 5th floor then, the last one as the owner is moving out due to divorce. So sad! And the condo is being marketed at just less than half its original value. Ouch!

Is it morning already?

It seems I only just laid down and already I am up, typing away! It is light outside and Fox 'n Friends is underway so it's alright for me to be awake. I cannot recall precisely what was on TV when I went to sleep although I do believe it was The O'Reilly Factor, which is exactly what I woke to this a.m. In my dreams during the night, people were making plans, sort of, for the end of the world to come this weekend. My sister, Lori, bought a bunch of wallpaper which was put on a big sale for the end of the world, 'just in case'. Sunday morning we will know if she can use it or not! One of the participants in Monday Bible study brought along a flyer he got in the mail, which featured a photo of a billboard near Orlando which proclaims the world is May 21. Rats, I spent money on a plane ticket for after that date! Justin heard us talking about this topic at Trivia the other night and he said I should not even worry about it, I won't have to pay for the ticket if the world ends. How true that is!

We were joined at Trivia on Tuesday night by Cary and Nancy, members at Victory with Stephanie. They were going out of town on Wednesday so wanted to eat out the night before to avoid having leftovers and such to deal with. Once again, we all brought something to the table, with even Jesse coming up with a correct answer this week. Sadly, we had competition unlike last week, but we did not win even 3rd place. The group behind ours won first place, the first time we had seen them there. Ringers!!! One of the questions was to name four actors who won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in their lives. We only got one right, Denzel Washington, which Nancy contributed. We totally missed stars like Gene Hackmann, Robert DeNiro, and someone else. That's why we do not always win!

Cary and I had the pot roast open face sandwich, served with real mashed potatoes and gravy. Oh, my, it was good! I brought about 1/4 home with me and frankly, it did not reheat very well. The potatoes were okay but the meat seemed rather chewy the second time around. It was the special that night, as often I will try the special since I have no 'regular' choice at Johnny Angels. But there I do often have a scoop of ice cream with hot fudge on it, no whipped cream because I am cutting back....Justin had a chocolate and peanut butter shake, which he had me taste. I am not crazy about that mixture, even though it is like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Just not a fan!

The sky is beautiful this a.m., but no sun has broken through yet. A few buildings north of here, yet on the property, is where my friend, Sharon, lives and she regularly captures the morning sky and posts the photos on Facebook. She is a talented lady: professional photographer, RN, musical director at OP Methodist, and is basically a very nice lady. We do not see each other when choir or bells are in rehearsal as both of us are tied up on Wednesday nights! I cannot wait to see her morning posting today, should be lovely!

At choir rehearsal, we had a full house of singers including Carol who answered the impassioned plea of her son. One family who has rejoined the church after years away has a young daughter, about 9 or 10, who wanted to come to choir. I had to let her know it was for confirmed members only but encouraged her to sing with the Sunday school kids. Robbie said last night that he wished he could put together a children's chorus, with 'enthusiastic' singers but we do not have enough kids to do that.

Having Carol there to sing alto with Debbie freed Kristi to sing soprano which works out better since I will be away for one of the anthems. Whew! I hated to leave them in a lurch, but it cannot be helped. For Holy Trinity Sunday we are singing Psalms 150, an oldie but a goodie. Our friend, Gordy, who directed us on this anthem many years ago, had us moving around on the sheet music---men here, women there...the copies are quite marked up, making it hard to know when we are to sing. Robbie has changed it back again, to women singing the women's parts and men, their own, but with all the markings, it gets almost comical. Robbie is a true director, making us learn the anthem, and not simply sing it. Draws us out, and makes us better. Kristi complimented him about that last night, and I told him later, how, when he was talking to us, I thought, "I love that guy!" He loves me too, so we're even! I will miss singing for Ascension Day, at least singing at Good Shepherd. I will get to sing at First German, from the pew!

Today is full day beginning with Bible study at Victory, lunch with my Justin, and perhaps a stop at Payless Shoes at the Town Center Mall since Erica works there. She might not be working when we are there, though, since she is still in high school. Two weekends ago she graduated from FCCJ with her AA in business but has yet to graduate from high school! She is bright and beautiful, choosing to attend Wisconsin Lutheran College this fall. Erica made friends with a young lady who came to Jax from WLC to help with canvassing, etc. this year and is going to be roommates with Erica. Sweet! Her grandparents and auntie live not terribly far away in Janesville so she will not be all alone 'up north'. Erica is a dear young lady and I will certainly miss her...

Yesterday was my grooming day so I went to see my friend, Barb, for my full-moon haircut. She was telling me about her daughter and son-in-law moving up here from South Florida soon. I was so happy for Barb and her husband, having them closer (living with mom and dad at first!) and lending a hand with their grandson, Nicholas. He has a form of autism and her daughter is quite pleased with the program offered at Fleming Island Elementary. Now, they just need to find jobs and get health insurance benefits to be all set. I know Barb is so glad to have them up here, it's been a long time coming. But then Barb dropped a bombshell of having breast cancer!! What?? She had found the lump herself over a month ago before leaving on a cruise and has been running to doctors and specialists in order to determine the course of treatment. It appears to be a contained cancer, similar to what Judy R. had, but the surgery keeps getting put off day by day. She was to have already had it but now it is scheduled for next Friday. A tear sneaked out as she told this news, but then she told me how her daughter cried for 10 minutes when Barb called her with the news. A few more trickled down but I wiped them away quickly, apologizing to Barb for them. When we parted company, I hugged her and wished her the Lord's blessings on the surgery. Her surgeon is the same one who did my last one, just before Timmy died. I know she is in good hands.

This evening I am having dinner with Judy J. and Linda H. with whom I used to dine every week when we still had Bible study during the week. We do not see Linda much as she takes her mom, Iva, to church at Keystone Heights most of the time. Iva is in a rehab center in Starke after experiencing some falls at her home. Linda works in Mandarin so it is on her way home to stop for dinner with us. She was hungry for 'comfort food' so Cracker Barrel it is! Must remember to take a jacket!