I just can't get enough

This little guy is just so cute, all day long! His two brothers are standing at the mailbox awaiting the arrival of a special gift from their great-auntie. Justin used to own several series of 'chapter books' which I thought we still had here at home. Alas, they are not to be found so Amazon to the rescue! I love it that they can read!

Playing peek a boo with the sun

Am I ever enjoying my day today! At this moment I am chortling at a “Frasier” episode, how I do love their banter. The other night I sent my sister, Lori, a snippet from a script which had me, figuratively speaking, rolling on the floor. It was a description Niles was giving a bartender when Frasier and he were looking for Daphne. Something about 'skin like Devonshire cream and eyes that pierced the soul'…typical Niles. Lori and I would simply roar at these if we watched them together. Perhaps Lori and David will come down at Christmas this year and we can sit together and watch. Sitting on towels, of course!

Earlier in the day, as I waited for the sun to come out, I watched the news and then “You’ve Got Mail”, the second half of it anyway. What a sweet movie it is, gets me every time! The news program I was watching switched to coverage of the murder trial going on further down the state which I refuse to give a moment’s time. Ugh! So, I found this charming movie and visited New York with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks instead.

At long last, I gave up waiting for the sun and went out to swim. In fact, I broke my own rule about swimming when the sun is not out and got into the pool. It was much cooler than the last time I was in, likely because of the lack of sunshine to warm the exposed parts of my body. For an hour I did my laps and when not circling the pool, I kept my legs moving when I stopped to talk. This nice lady, Kay, was sitting on the edge of the pool and we got talking about movies. (Her hubby is the one who reads in the pool and acts like he doesn’t want other talking when he’s reading…) She mentioned that she would like to see “The Way We Were” again, had not seen it in years so I am going to let her borrow it. She has never seen “The Bucket List” either so I am lending that movie as well.

One of the older ladies at The Club named Caroline was at the pool, arriving after I did. She comes to walk in the water, parking her walker at the top of the steps for when she gets out. Back and forth, back and forth she goes and what a pistol she is! I can only imagine she was a spitfire in her day, working as a Realtor back in the ‘old days’ of Orange Park real estate. Oh, the stories she can tell! It is obvious that she resents having been laid up by her malady requiring the walker, wanting to be free of it, but the recent doctor visit reported no change after three years of using it. Caroline did mention dancing a bit the other night with a fellow strong enough to hold her up! She was complaining that Pasta Market charges too much for their wine, which might be why they don’t do good business for the dinner hour….I found that amusing!

Speaking of spitfires, last night was Happy Hour at the cabana (instead of Wednesdays) and only a handful of people were there, due to a turn in the weather just prior to 6:00 pm. Fortunately I have Danny’s phone number now so I could text him to make sure activities would take place. Penny was waiting for me, and it was just great to see her again. Mary Lew, the low talker, was there, announcing to all who entered that she was the first one there! Randy and his wife, Carol, came later and I am always so glad to see her. She is simply a delight, and told me she finally made it to Great Hang Ups---without me! Carol had been a client of theirs for years when they were on Kingsley Avenue but not in the 7 years since the shop moved to the Island. Penny told Carol, “Kim doesn’t like it when we go to Great Hang Ups without her….” and she was right!

A couple whom I did not know joined our group, members of The Club, who live in Ft. Lauderdale. What a fun couple they were! The man sort of reminded me of Jim B. from church, and she, Joan, was just a hoot. They are about to celebrate their 50^th wedding anniversary and she told us her life story as we sat there. Most of us were riveted to the love story but poor Mary Lew, on the end of the table, sort of missed out on it. She was talking to Betty’s daughter, Kathy, who was trying to listen to this other story as well. I felt badly for Kathy, as I doubt she could even hear what ML was saying to her, just smiling and nodding at her. Next time I see Kathy, she might be wearing a puffy shirt! “…but I don’t want to be a pirate!”

Joan told us about how her hubby and she lived on the same block in Brooklyn, NY…she was 13 and he was 14 when they fell in love. They got married when she was 19 years old, and he was in the Air Force. After the Air Force he went to work for IBM and continues to work with Microsoft as a consultant. They were fascinating folks and I enjoyed meeting them. They come up about once a month, having already met Penny a while ago at a Wednesday Happy Hour. Joan and her hubby have a big shindig planned for their anniversary and after that, taking their entire family on a cruise. Joan mentioned she might have to just get up and dance on the bar at the party, and I believe she can do it!

Since it was Happy Hour, the regular menu was not being offered, only some appetizers were served. Being such a spoiled brat, there was nothing I was interested in eating. Some kind of bean dip which was to be stuffed into a pita thing, plus homemade salsa and chips. I could have had some chips but I do not eat the rest of that. Later on I made myself a summer sausage sandwich on a dinner roll for my dinner…..so sad for me! Not really, it was wonderful!

The other night when Judy J. picked me up for dinner and Bible study, she remarked how much she liked my hair. It is bleaching out, as it does in the summer, some natural highlights especially where the silver usually is. She said it looked good against my tan and I thanked her. But I also told her I just bought silver remover that very day! At first I thought I could stand waiting for a few months to do it, but gave in, and removed the silver before getting dressed again after coming in from the pool this afternoon. When I mixed it up, the new foamy type of treatment, it looked quite red so I tested an area first to make sure it would not turn me into Lucille Ball. Nope, I am more like Desi! Using the lightest brown color seems to be the closest to the color the rest of my hair is, for some very strange reason. Lightest brown would not be the color I would use to describe my color but I leave that to Nice ‘n Easy to figure out!

Thinking about our trips....

He will be greatly displeased if he sees this posting, but this is Justin enjoying an expensive glass of soda on the piazza outside of the Santa Croce Cathedral, barely visible on the left of this photo.

Yesterday, I wrote how thankful Justin is about our visits to Rome and the Mediterranean region. Sometimes I forget that he was not with me every time I was there, but in my mind he was...hmmm. I do depend upon him to remember things that I have long erased from my memory banks. That's where the scrapbooks come in handy.

Here is the chandelier which Justin would not rest until he found, hanging from the ceiling in the shop--right where I saw it in 2005 when visiting Florence with Twila and Jean Nichols. Had to go back to get!

He mentioned the story of the guys moving the car. Here's more of the story: When the car was in our way, we were on our way to eat at an Italian restaurant, go figure it would be Italian, with a group from the cruise. Justin and I were seated with some ladies traveling together, a mom, her daughters, and perhaps a granddaughter, if memory serves. They took a liking to Justin, of course. After lunch was our walking tour of the ruins of ancient Rome, seeing the spot where Caesar was burned, the three arches, just magnificent sites.

We were up and down, climbing, standing, walking, climb some more, in the summer heat, and I was physically taxed. We got back on the bus for the late afternoon stop at the "St. Paul in Chains" historical site and I was too wiped out to go in. Today I regret it but at the time, it was right to sit it out. The nice ladies took charge of Justin and enjoyed it with him. I perched myself on a wall and watched the world go by, with Italy having won a huge soccer event at that moment. Oh my! What a parade of flag waving Vespa riders and horns blowing and excitement was I witness to!! We must go back so I can see "St. Paul in Chains" and the Santa Croce cathedral we missed in Florence when we were chandelier shopping.

I turned the A/C on again!

It's warm in here, and this only hours after I covered up with my baby afghan from the bottom of my bed. My guess is that the temperatures dropped during the thunderstorm and have since come back up again. It was in the mid-90's today, and no smoke, or very little around here.

The water exercise class had four in it today, a very manageable-sized class for Marlena, especially since one of the ladies was a first timer this year, but had come a few times last year. I am sure I mentioned in this blog that I am the youngest in the class, usually by well more than 10 years, and am younger than Marlena, too. This does not mean more fit, it means I can usually catch on fairly quickly to what Marlena is telling us, and usually hear her the first time she says it. It is downright comical sometimes, which only adds to the fun.

Mary Lew, whom I have described in the past as a 'low talker' and whom Hugh calls "the mumbler", really made us laugh today. Marlena demonstrates the exercise we are to do, using a chair on the edge of the pool to show us what to do. She was telling us to do the frog leg routine, which we do every time, and of course, since she was standing up and not in the water, could only show us using one leg, obviously. Mary Lew asked, "Oh, only one leg at a time???" And, without guile, Marlena exclaimed, "I can only do one leg at a time from up here!" and we lost it!!! I mean, really??? The one man who comes, Randy, who always wants me to sing 'the old standards' in The Club, got into the pool today with his phone in his pocket. I believe it's shot but he was hoping it would dry out enough to work again.

Mary Lew wanted to eat lunch at the pool today so Marlena took our orders from The Club menu and delivered our meals poolside. The lunch Mary Lew got included soup which Marlena brought in a to-go type cup with a lid, like for coffee or similar, plus the foam box the meal came in. She gave Randy and ML their meals, told her that was her soup in the cup, brought them a glass of wine, and left. I ate my burger (served on a wheat bun.....) and fries, listening to the two of them chat. It seems they picked up where they left off last year, arguing about who is older. I stayed out of that conversation! ML finally announced that Randy and she decided she was nearly a full year older than he. At long last, they figured it out. I asked them if it took this long to do the math. Another good laugh. They were asking me if I knew of a Woody Allen movie that took place in New York---I thought they all did.....

About the soup----ML had finished her lunch, having ordered the soup and half-sandwich, when Randy discovered the covered cup between them. "Did you order this?", he asked. "No, that must be yours..." she replied. "Is it wine? I told her I did not want another glass..." "It feels quite hot..." I said, "Mary Lew, that is your soup, it came with your meal." Marlena had specifically told her this was her soup but she forgot or something. Time laugh again and get back in the pool, Kim.....

My friends, Rick and Fran, showed up as I was finishing my meal and I was so glad to see them. Fran was unable to come to the pool much lately since the smoke affects her badly, which she found out Monday playing tennis in the heat and smoke. Rick is a pharmacist and we share many things in common, including politics, so we have some fun conversations. I am going to make up a list of books I have for Rick to borrow as he fluctuates between novels and non-fiction. He is presently finishing "Heaven is For Real", a book on the side of my bed, borrowed from Judy J. He is not really impressed with it, but wants me to read it first so we can discuss it. Rick thought it would be somewhat special since it was a child's experience 'seeing heaven' but then realized when getting into the book that the father was a preacher. He feels that since the father is the writer of the book, some of the experiences might be "enhanced" rather what the child actually says he saw. Now the pressure is on for me to read the book!

When I got out of the pool, I checked my phone and saw that I had missed some calls. Only one left a message, my Justin, who was amusing himself with his video game again. He was calling to tell me where he was in the game, the location, something he saw when in Rome, and thanked me again for taking him to Italy. I love it! Those messages are to be kept if at all possible. This evening he called again, this time asking me to guess where he was. I said, "Let me see----Trivia?" and he laughed, saying, "I meant in the game...." Silly me! This time he was near a bridge where a pyramid was built into the wall (I acted like I knew....) "You know, where the car was in our way?" Yes!!! I do remember, because our bus was sideways under the bridge, unable to clear the turn due to an improperly parked car. He honked and honked the horn, and finally, a group of guys came out of a bar. They did not own the car but our bus driver, one of our passengers, and the bar guys, picked up the car and moved it out of the way! Thanks, Justin, for this reminder of another fun experience! (But why don't I remember the pyramid????)

Earlier this evening I gave Lynnie a call to tell her that a local network station was showing "Beach Blanket Bingo". She was yet in the car, driving home from the Wellness Center where she had her orientation session. How wonderful that she is going to go there and think of all the people she will meet. Already she knew a few faces on her first night...gotta love that! Linda J. goes very early in the a.m. before work for her water fitness class and such but I know some other ladies from FG who attend this center as well. It can be fun to go with someone, even if you work independently. Lynn got home while talking with me but her program guide did not show the movie in her listings. Too bad! I thought she might get a kick out seeing something from when she was a girl. Oh well, she was going to watch her recorded "Jeopardy!" program. One of the reasons she was joining the fitness center was so that she did not watch so much TV. Funny, but Linda J. told me the same thing last night, that she was dedicating herself to reading more and watching "the box" less! Gotta love that!

A busy day

As I enjoy a lovely frosted shortbread cookie, cut in the shape of a flower, before bed, I will recap my day. The cookie was purchased with the dinner at Panera Bread where I ate with my driver, Judy J. She was longing for her favorite strawberry summer salad, similar to what my sister, Lynn, enjoyed at Perkin's in Manty. This salad is served with strawberry poppy seed dressing which Judy sopped up with her French bread baguette. Good to the last drop! I had half of my mac 'n cheese and one of my cookies, which were on special when purchased with our meals. Judy took a bear claw to have for breakfast tomorrow morning.

From Panera, then, we were off to Bible study, an intimate gathering of four ladies, plus pastor. This class is offered intermittently throughout the year, called "This is the Life!", and our study last night was about self-control. We went through it quickly and then sat around, talking, afterward. In the class, one section lists 'favorite sins' and we were to read through them to see which ones we 'chose' as ours. Without the list in front of me, I will try to remember some: "Worry", "Not being loving enough", "Selfishness", "Unforgiving", and so on. We were supposed to do this to our ourselves, not really to say aloud which ones were our 'favorites', but one lady likes to mutter aloud and chose hers. I think she does not even realize she is basically thinking out loud, another 'self control' issue, I am sure. I shared the story of my visit on the phone with the insurance adjuster, who told me to find something else to worry about, because "I got this one." What a good feeling that is! Just like Jesus says to us, "I got this, don't worry about it..."

My morning began somewhat early as Maggie O. was coming by around 9:00 a.m. after taking a class for substitute teaching in Green Cove Springs. I wanted to be ready for the pool before she got here to change her clothes but then she called to say she was going straight home due to the smoke rolling in. Good idea, Maggie! Phew, it was dense and stinky smoke at that. The window repair man called to say he was about 30 minutes away so I cleaned off the ledge along the windows, got busy with the dusting brush and Pledge, and even swept some of the floor around there. Ugh! Gross! Good thing Justin was coming to vacuum clean in the afternoon. The repairs went well, with more than one thing amiss on the windows, which explains why the sash would not close down tightly. The guy told me that when the windows are going to be washed, they must be opened all the way up and then tilted so the posts (mine were replaced) won't be twisted or bent. They are going to come back again to replace a pane of glass in my river room, the lower sash only right now, as I cannot see through it due to scratched up film put over the glass. It is more cost effective to replace the glass than to try to scrape off the film!

The smoke was so thick that I decided to not go out to the pool at all, after they left. I looked out and saw only Randy paddling in the water. Whether Marlena was there or not, I could not tell. Instead of going out, I put all my stuff back in my room, did some more dusting and sat down at the desk to work. After having a bowl of cereal mid-morning, Justin sent me a message on Google chat which meant he was in the office at his father's office. I think he again thanked me for taking him to Italy (!) and then said he was "hoongry" for 5 Guys. Since I had to go to the Island anyway, I suggested we meet in a half hour, since I had to change into 'real clothes' and such.

We met there and dined alfresco as Justin was sweaty from mowing the lawn at the office building. Since I had recently had cereal, I was not hoongry but did share the fries with Justin. The best fries! While we sat there, I saw a Realtor I knew, who was the listing agent for my lake house. She came and sat with us for a bit after getting her meal to-go, and shared the story of her miracle, being spared from an inoperable brain tumor four years ago. She is strong believer in the Lord and was not afraid to let us know. I was glad she remembered me, and felt comfortable enough to share her story.

After lunch, Justin went back to work and I went to Wal*Mart to get a prescription refilled, where I ran into Danny Roy. He showed me photos of his grandkids who are visiting this summer from Italy, where his son-in-law is stationed. I had seen photos on Facebook but loved to look at his as well. I can always depend on a hug and smooch when I see Danny in the store! From WM, I headed to Great Hang Ups with a framed clay hand print with me, so Julia can match the frame for a picture she is framing for me. Dee is working on a round family photo I had done after Timmy died, and I want the frame to match the other one.

The photograph was actually two separate pictures which a co-worker of Suzanne's at then Channel 4, used Photoshop magic to unite. No other places would do anything with them because of the copyrights on them, since one was taken on a cruise and the other at Wal*Mart. So, the private party could do it. I wanted a small enough round photo to place inside a pocket watch which I gave Justin's father as a gift 10 years ago. Dee was able to take the larger of the round ones, tweak it, and make it frameable for me. Our other friend, Kris, was there at Hang Ups when I arrived so we ladies had a good visit before Bubba arrived. Bubba and Dee are friends, he is a retired 'educator', having been a Dean of Students and high school principal for many years. He is elderly, extremely hard of hearing, but charming all day long. I have read his poetry in the past, and spent some memorable times with him in the shop over the years. Today he brought in some items for framing, pictures and poetry, for his school in Naples, FL, where he served much of his career.

Once he was in the shop, the floor was his, so to speak. He told a funny lament about trying to get a new dishwasher purchased and then installed, trying to make arrangements over the phone, even though he's deaf! Funny stuff! As I gathered my stuff to leave, Bubba asked me if I minded letting him see my photograph, which Dee gave me to take home. She is going to resize a different one for the frame, so this was extra. I said I did not mind and let him look at it. The dear man complimented me in the photo, and said I was still as beautiful as in the photo. Bubba gets a smooch, too! He asked me about the boys, as he remarked about how cute Timmy was with those big dimples. When I told Bubba that Timmy was in heaven, he got all teared up. Quickly I pointed out that I still had Justin, pointing at him in the picture, while Dee gestured that he was quite tall now. Bubba said that Justin really resembles me, and Dee said he did, in more ways than one. Bubba was still moved about Timmy, asking me how old he was when he died, and I held up my hand to show "5"....He told us he never met a student in all his days that he did not care about, that to this day he hears from some of them, thanking him for all he did to make them turn out decently.

Justin came by my house after work to do the cleaning and swept through (ha, ha!) quickly. Far more quickly than I can do, that's for sure! At one point I told him there was a dead palmetto bug under the sofa in the river room, and he asked, "Can you see that from your bed???" No, I had seen it when in there with the window repair guys, silly boy! He already thinks I am too particular (my word, not his!) about my dust and such, so it would have been funny if I could see under the sofa from here! After he was done with my cleaning, he was going to do yard work at his friend, Ron's, home because Ron's dad was coming home from TX and expected the yard to be in decent shape. Those boys will have to hustle. Instead of beach volleyball on Saturday, they could have gotten sun and accomplished the yard work at the same time. It's all about management, guys! So, anyway, once my floors were cleaned, I told Justin I would sleep better at night....

It was a great great day!

My little nieces

Here are two of my nieces, posing at Allie's graduation party. Alayna, from the Lahaie side of the family, is friends with Allie, although she graduated last year. Allie is from the in-law side of the family. Alayna just finished her summer course from UW-Eau Claire, as she prepares for her 2nd year, and Allie plays to attend UW-Manitowoc for her first couple years. Love it that they are friends!

What? Again?????

This photo was snitched from my friend, Loretta, taken from the 33rd floor of the Modis Building in downtown Jacksonville this a.m.

Smoke, smoke, everywhere---again! Around 9:00 a.m. Maggie O. sent me a message wondering if it was smoky here or not. My reply was that it was hazy but the sun was out and I could see across the river. That did not remain true. As we did our water workout, the smoke was just rolling in, and now, I cannot see beyond the trees in the basin area. Barely can I see the navigation markers in the river. It’s bright out yet, but I still feel like it is gloomy in here. My eyes are tired feeling, likely from the smoke effects.

Justin informed me that we will have four in our group tonight for Trivia and there will be five in the other group, so I am not sure how that will work as far as making one team out of so many. Justin does not like having so many people, harder to come to a consensus for the answer, and we have to sit in the back where the A/C unit roars like a wild beast. It is difficult for him to hear anyway, and add to that all the answers being whispered so no one else can hear our answers….well, it’s just hard!

At the pool this a.m., I was talking with one of the ladies who daily swims laps. Deb was telling me about the yellow algae in the pool, making the steps on the south end more slippery because they are often shaded. I did notice the yellow edging along the tiles but did not realize it was a problem until she mentioned being itchy. YES!!! I was blaming the sunscreen which I promised the doctor I would use, but the irritated skin might be from the algae. The Club needs a different pool cleaner, that is obvious. Guess I will need to write a letter to the leadership and voice my concerns.

Tomorrow a nice man is coming to repair my window next to the desk. At least, I hope he can fix it. Cob webs form there and I am sure the opening allows for spiders to make their way in as well. The other night when the smell of smoke was strong in my house and I was checking the doors, it occurs to me now that it might have been coming through the loose-fitting window. Steve told me he had two other calls in the morning, in areas quite far from OP, but asked if I would be around at 10:00 a.m. I said, “Wow, you guys start early in the day!” and I will certainly make myself available when they can come. All the stuff will need to be moved from the ledge and the guy will have to help me carry the shelf/storage thing away from the window so he can work. It’s a two-person job to move it.

Yesterday afternoon, after a couple hours poolside, I tried once more to reach my insurance man. Instead of calling my agent, I called the fellow who handled my claim last September. A message was left but it did not take long for Greg to call me back. He is so kind, both in person and over the phone, and soothed my concerns regarding the insurance request from my neighbor’s agent. Greg has already addressed it, answered their request before the 30 days were up, and will keep me posted on what is transpiring with this situation. He basically assured me they would handle it, and told me I should find something else to concern myself with. Very funny, Greg! I have every confidence in him and hope he can make this situation just go away!

Pastor sent an e-mail yesterday about upcoming Bible studies, even though the Monday morning ones are on recess for July. At the church meeting Sunday he mentioned a Bible Information Class being held on Tuesdays so I asked him about that. It seems he has a married couple enrolled but they are having problems keeping the appointments so no class today or perhaps next week either. Fortunately he is using the “People Close to God” curriculum this time rather than the DVD one we used last time. It was a bit, um, too lighthearted, for my tastes. So now I will await word of when the class resumes so I can get some Bible study in when we are ‘down’ for the summer. Tomorrow night the two Judy’s and I are attending a Bible study at church, with Judy J. and I having dinner at Panera first. She is hungry for her summer salad from there, with the raspberry poppyseed dressing she loves so much. Not sure what I will have but imagine it will be the mac ‘n cheese!