Ready for my 'big nap'!

Why in the world am I so sleepy tonight? No naps in the afternoon might be part of it but somehow or another I am sleeping later in the mornings than normally I do. Hopefully I can sleep okay when I decide to go to sleep!

Linda went to bed already, too, but Lynn is up and watching TV in the living room. She did not wish to select our evening’s viewing so I chose, of course, “Frasier” for our listening and dancing pleasure. Love to laugh at that program, but can do that in here so she can watch what she enjoys. My tummy is happy from dining on Papa Murphy’s pizza, a treat by Linda, which we picked up while waiting for Lynn to get her facial. My friend, Sharon, has her own shop from where she performs this service, and has given Lynn a facial treatment in the past. Lynn’s skin is now nice and smooth, so freshly plucked and treated, I barely recognized her when I picked her up afterward! Happy birthday, Lynn!

This morning we went to Bible study where we are studying the book of Ezra, where he tells about the Israelites returning to the Promised Land from Babylon after their captivity ended. Quite interesting to learn about the history and such of this area. After the class a bunch of us went to Longhorn for lunch, and were joined there by Twila, who came from her cardiac rehab appointment. The ladies got to say ‘good-bye’ to Lynn and Linda and sent hugs home for Mom, too.

When we got back home after lunch, we had time before Lynn’s appointment to enjoy some pool time. It was lovely this afternoon, not too cold in the water and not too hot, for some of us, outside of the water. Poor Linda does not like the heat very much, but the cool pool water makes things much more tolerable. We are going to attend aqua aerobics in the morning and then we are planning to have lunch at Koko’s and visit my other lady friends at Great Hang Ups. Lynn and Linda will have their bags packed and loaded in the car so we can go straight to the airport after lunch to save time. I am going to hate that….was sort of hoping their flight was delayed and they could stay one more day----or two!

Justin came by after work tonight and had dinner with us, our home-baked pizza. He is so entertaining and the ladies loved his being here. We were together yesterday for lunch, too, and then again this evening. It will be sad to have the house to myself again but the fun holiday weekend might take care of the empty spot in my life. Can’t believe it’s the end of the pool season already…where did that summer go????

More photos!

Linda was suffering something fierce from the heat but did not wish to go inside by herself. The rest of us endured the heat for the pleasure of dining alfresco. Justin had jumbayla which was spicy while Lynn and Linda had shrimp entrees. Mine was simpler than theirs: cheesy potatoes and an order of onion strings. We three ladies had adult beverages but Justin had Diet Coke. Poor Linda.....so hot!

Lynn enjoying her coconut shrimp and sweating as she goes! She loved her margarita so much, she wished for another but thought better of it. Instead, a nice square of Key Lime Pie was presented, but her eyes were bigger than her tummy, so she brought it home to eat later on when she was less full.

At church today, the Sunday school teachers were installed in their roles.

The kitchen crew making our delicious Mexican Fiesta dinner at church last night. Oh my, what a feast!

The chef team of Mike 'n Mike posed nicely for a photo, something rarely done. Thanks, guys, for taking such good care of my special needs (i.e. seafood-free cream cheese wontons!)

Days Two and Three combined!

Wrapping up another day of enjoyment with Lynn and Linda, with an edge-of-our-seat football game! Not playing football, but watching it on TV. Last night the Packers won in a nail-biter in the last seconds of the game and the Jaguars lost tonight in overtime, the tie-breaker being a field goal by the Bills. Rats! It was a good, fun game to watch, that’s for sure!

Our dinner was at church, Mexican Fiesta fare, prepared by our congregation’s resident chefs, Mike ‘n Mike. While normally I do not eat much from the menu, I did try a few things and came away full. Starting with the nacho chips, which were good, and others ate with corn salsa, and finishing with Snickers Pie! No, you are right, that pie is not Mexican at all but truly was delicious.

The appetizer was a cream cheese, shrimp, and crabmeat wonton, with Mexican seasoning. I was going to give Lynn mine since I don’t eat shrimp, but Judy C. served me wontons made especially for me, with no seafood in them! In fact, I got three when the others got only two! Yes, I am spoiled, make no mistake about that! The rest of the entrees were dirty rice (delicious!), burritos, refried beans, and empanadas. I tried all the items as coaxed by Lynn, and even liked the beans. All the rice was eaten by me, some of the beans, and a bit of the burrito. One of the empanadas was enough for me, but not because it tasted badly, but because I was stuffed!

We had several guests from Christ, Keystone Heights, but none from Victory because Pastor H. told me he dropped the ball on posting the notice or including it in the service folder. They were in the process of losing their Staff Minister/Secretary and this notice fell through the cracks. We had seats for them, in case they came! Even the children had a special meal just for them, with cheese quesadillas and apple-filled empanadas. I would have loved to see all the seats filled but loved to see the folks we did have!

The first part of the day was spent watching the news, tracking Hurricane Irene’s movement and the preparations being made for her arrival. I am so thankful to the Lord for sparing us in Florida and pray that those up north remain safe as well. For about five hours, we ladies enjoyed outdoor time, in the pool or around it. Linda, who is an avid reader, read much of the time, and I stayed much of the time in the water, although I do find the water quite chilly for my taste. The air temp was around 100 degrees above zero so I kept my body as exposed to the warm air as I could.

Usually I paddle around the circumference of the pool with my arms and shoulders above water but yesterday I rested on the edge of the pool with my legs and back catching rays as well. We had our lunch alfresco with Sylvia working alone in the cabana. She handled the situation well, no big rushes, but nice steady business most of the time we were out there.

Friday, as I mentioned, we watched the Packer game on TV but earlier, as the photos attest, was the picnic dinner. Earlier in the afternoon, Judy C. joined us ladies at the theater to watch “The Help”. I was in tears during the previews already so it was that kind of day for me! What a good movie it is! Might consider going again, as this was Judy’s second viewing of it. Linda pushed and pushed to finish the book before we left for the movies, and she did it! I will continue reading it as well, since they say much is omitted from the movie version. So sad that people were treated that way during my lifetime, but I guess it’s true in every lifetime. There was none of that in my hometown, to my knowledge, other than the ‘differences’ between the northsiders and southsiders! Martie tells me about the people from the other side of the tracks where she grew up…same race, but different economic background. From what she reported to me, she was the one from the other side! Interesting!

Photos from the picnic

We had a lovely gathering for the picnic, held indoors but yet, a picnic! Closest to the camera is Linda J., then Judy C. (wiping her mouth), Suzanne, and Twila

Judy J. is serving the wonderful smoked Boston butt for those at the table, as Lynn is dishing herself some delicious cucumber salad, and on the far end of the table is Jean.

Justin stuck around long enough to get and give hugs from his biggest fans, including Auntie Brenda N.

Justin posed with the ladies, this one being his "Aunt" Jean

He was thrilled to see his Grandma Twila again and gave her a big squeeze. Judy C. and Suzanne off to the side. Justin did not stay to dine with us but at least he got a taste of seeing his church family and his godmother, Lynn, and our dear friend, Linda J. We will meet again for lunch on Sunday after church---at Joe's!!

Day One in the bag

Before I go to sleep, I must write about our day. Lynn and Linda arrived on Wednesday night, with us getting home from the airport right around 10:00 pm. Because they had eaten last in Milwaukee before leaving for Jacksonville, they needed a bite to eat upon arriving home. The ladies made sandwiches for themselves as I mixed us a drink. The recipe for the drink was one served at the cabana on the 4^th of July , so “we” refer to it as the Firecracker or “4^th of July Special”. Well, the ladies loved it and personally, I slept like a rock! Or like a boulder!

Both of the ladies are normally early risers, I figured it would not be problem for us to be ready to leave around 9:10 a.m. for Bible study. They were up and dressed, but it was me who came flying out of my room, yelling to the ladies, “Get your bras on!!!”, as I overslept by a couple hours, getting up at 9:05 am. The bra reference came from the time Tommy, Linda, Justin, and I overslept before going on a deep sea fishing expedition with the church group. Tommy ran through my lake house like a fireman, yelling for everyone to get up. He saw me in my swimsuit and then ran back upstairs, where Linda was dressing, “You don’t need a bra on. Kim isn’t wearing one and I know that for a fact!” That never gets old!

In record time we hustled over toward Victory and would have been on time, if it had not been for a terrible terrible accident on 9A, which had two lanes blocked, and delayed us nearly 45 minutes. As we passed the site and saw the damaged vehicles involved, it was so horrific that Lynn began to cry. Perhaps Linda was too but I could not see her from my front seat position. I held Lynn’s hand and she said, “Thank you for oversleeping this morning…”, as we might have been right on time to be involved in the wreck, or witness it. I had let Pastor Hoyer know we would be late due to the stopping on the freeway. We still had about 30-40 minutes of class, and it was comforting to be in the Word instead of dwelling upon what we saw.

For lunch we came back to Orange Park and ate at La Nopalera on Fleming Island as I had a coupon to use there. No strawberry margarita for me as they were out of it (what??). Lynn and Linda had the regular kind while I had a mango one. Not the same as strawberry at all. Lynn brought a good deal of her meal home with her, and Linda, a portion of hers. From the restaurant we went to Publix to get the last few items needed for our picnic dinner for Friday night and what I needed to make our dinner tonight. I made us bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches, and in fact, shed some blood in the process, as I poked myself with the knife tip when cutting the tomato. I have a special knife for tomatoes, a Pampered Chef tool, and it is still quite sharp! Yikes!

We only watched some TV after eating, instead of putting in a movie as was originally planned. I guess we were tired from our day, and from swimming in the afternoon. The two ladies were busy in the kitchen doing the preliminary work for their salads for the picnic, so that is out of the way. Even though I overslept, and slept so hard, I must have still been tired because I could not stay up very late. Should have made us another cocktail for our bedtime to sureness of sleeping!

I love science!

Regular readers know that periodically I like to go off on the tricks and maneuvers the 'powers that be' like to play on us hapless citizens. Sometimes it is the annoying public service announcements which crowd the Internet radio broadcasts, telling us the obvious or not so obvious things of going through life. Other times it is about the latest and greatest news regarding medications, pros and cons, or which diet is the best to follow. Yesterday I heard on the national news about a ‘study’ which showed people who use salt regularly in their diets do NOT have a higher risk of elevated blood pressure or other maladies than those who do not use salt. I knew it! I just knew it!

A few years ago it was eat fat versus not eating fat, bacon vs. no bacon, even coffee vs. no coffee. One of the anchors on the program I was watching announced she was going right out after the show to get a bag of real potato chips. Her co-worker wished her well on that, since the mayor of New York has made it his personal mission to eradicate salt from restaurants and schools. Another study showed, surprise surprise, that fat people are no more or less healthy than skinny people. If stranded in a car on the side of the road in a snowstorm, a heavier person would likely live three days longer than someone with little weight on their bones. I think I have written about this in the past, wondering who in the world determined that being ‘obese’ is a crisis. A few years ago it was mental illness being all the rage, and now, it’s food! Reportedly millions were spent to remove salt and transfats from restaurants----gotta love the government being involved in every aspect of people’s lives!

It would seem that north Florida, according to the same scientists who discuss salt and obesity, might be skipped over by the hurricane. Mixed feelings erupt in my heart and head, relief over likely being spared but sorrow for those who will be clobbered. Yesterday I promised Connie, the maintenance lady, I would let everyone in the building know to secure their outdoor decorations and such in the event the storm winds come this way. Now I feel as though that might be overkill but I will still send out the notice. Better secured than sorry, I guess.

I was wishing that I had sheets of plastic on hand to put over the windows, but the Bible study ladies thought that would be ineffective. Hardly. I would be most happy to have something to put over the openings where my windows used to be to protect what remained of my home, right? Someone else suggested hurricane shutters which are wildly expensive, and only one unit in my building has them installed. It will be crowded in there if we all seek shelter with Hugh and Maureen! They use their shutters regularly, though, to keep the morning sun out (i.e. heat) and then in the winter, to help keep the cold at bay. They are not as crazy about the heat as I am!

Such a racket out there tonight!

It sounds as though there is a fleet of helicopters out over the river tonight….makes me wonder if they are moving some in case the hurricane comes this way. I read on-line that Mayport Naval Base was bracing for the potential storm which might mean that NAS JAX would do the same. Last night about this time I noticed a light flashing at my windows, very unusual for light to be seen at night, but it was a boat on the river, apparently a fisherman looking for his crab traps. I waved anyway, just in case!

Things are really rockin’ and rollin’ in our nation, earthquakes east and west, a hurricane off shore, yet, and even tornadoes in the upper Midwest. When the quake happened on the east coast, I was listening to a radio show airing from New York City, and the guest host, from Milwaukee, remarked how he suddenly had felt woozy, lightheaded, and shaky. He attributed it at first to nerves but found out later, it was an earthquake moving the building from which he was broadcasting. Mom told me on the phone this evening that she never heard about quakes on the east coast and I reminded her of the minor quake a few years ago that happened in Indiana and was felt as far north as Two Rivers! Neither she nor I felt it, at 4:30 a.m. but others reportedly did. Weird!

Oh my goodness----did our trivia team stink tonight! Nothing Tips Like a Cow failed miserably, due in part to our not getting the ‘free’ answer correct, good for 6 points. The question was about the ‘African American’ character in the Peanuts comic….who was it? Not one of our 6 players had any idea, nor did we think of the free answer, Franklin, as being the right one for this question. Rats! Naturally we anticipated the question associated with the ‘free’ answer would be about our founding fathers and not comic books. Ugh! Funny, but it seems that no matter how many correct answers we have, it’s the wrong ones that kill us!

When I came home, I carried up the rest of the stuff from last night’s shopping trip, except for the water case. Tomorrow I must go to Winn Dixie for soda plus Mike C. recommended a mustard-based sauce from WD, for the Boston butt he cooked for me today. Mmmmm….I so look forward to having a taste of it. He did not want me to come over to get it, saying he will send it with his mom on Friday night. After I was thinking about it today, and talking with Mom, I might change our schedule for seeing the movie until Saturday, which is likely the day it will be raining. Friday might be our best pool day, depending upon the passing storm. I will make that executive decision tomorrow, after watching the weather some more. I told someone the other day that I feel like an old person, checking the weather every little while. Judy J. told me that’s what she does, now that she is an old person, watching the weather channel and waiting for the mail. She makes me laugh sometimes!

Today I met a new lady at the pool, Tina, who normally has her two little ones in tow. Marlena teased her that she could hang out at the grown-up pool, since her kids are in school. What a nice lady she is! Another lady whose name I do not know brought me a lovely cobalt blue insulated tumbler. I had admired hers on the weekend and she told me she would bring me one. I never expected that, just being complimentary about her lovely colored cup, but she works for the water management company that gives them away. She brought me a bunch of printed materials besides the cup, and offered to come give a talk to our condo association about water conservation, etc. I told her I would let them know, and I will, via the newsletter! And I got a lovely insulated tumbler out of it!