Ready for bed

Last night was a late one, and a disappointing one, with the Packer loss. Shoot! It's hard to win a game when the team is defeating itself. At first the teams would swap scores, tying it up four different times, but then the Packers lost their rhythm and ability to hang onto the ball.

If they were Jaguars, heads would be rolling, as happened in the past couple weeks. The General Manager was let go, and as soon as the new one came on board, away went the coach. He had been here only a year, "rebuilding", and now we will spend the next season rebuilding yet again, I imagine. 

The Packers, at least, made it to the post-season which is laudable in itself. Next year!!!!

Justin took this photo of me cheering for the Packers last night (and yet, they didn't win????)

My family!

....or some of them! 

Dad, Jill, Kim, Kerry, and Mom

Another treasure found in the box at Mom's house was this picture taken by a semi-professional photographer friend of our family. If memory serves me, this was taken New Year's Eve, in the late 1960's, at our friend's house. They were church members with us and we likely went to their house after church. 

My smile and Mom's look the same!  Plus, Jill and I have matching dresses, which we did often, though she is 16 months younger than I am. Even then she was taller! Love my cat eye glasses! I imagine my two older sisters were babysitting that night, being a big night for folks going out. 

Time spent in reflection

One of my pastor friends on Facebook posted the link to some articles in our Synod's monthly periodical regarding grief and loss. Since I no longer subscribe to the magazine I had missed reading these. The pastor who wrote the two articles I read had lost a teen-aged son to suicide. Fortunately, the boy had a chance to repent and profess his faith in the Lord before he closed his eyes for the last time. 

It is quite moving to read the words, the emotions they felt were too familiar. The second article in the series talks about how the father had changed since his son's death, changes for the good, how it became a blessing for him in helping others. Yes.

                                          

It so happens that I know this boy's mother, and his aunt, both of whom went to high school with me. In fact, the uncle of the young man sat at my table for ThanksLiving in 2011. The story was not new to me, reading it here, as I had heard about it from others. I give these parents, and the Lord, a good deal of credit for being able to carry on in the ministry like they are, and sharing "the reason for the hope that we have." 

****

Another FB Friend, a pastor's wife, shared a couple poignant articles which I read. One was about today's moms being so distracted by their hand-held communication devices, not paying full attention to their little ones. I can see that! I have thought about that when taking pictures---how one can be more about the photo being captured than about the moment itself. As my friend, Judy R. would say, "things that make you go hmmmm....".       
                                                  

Another friend linked to an article about the things a child must learn or know before they leave home. I was reduced to tears! As one reads the article, there is music playing softly in the background, which helps to stir the emotions. My son has left home more than once, so I am used to it. I am being falsely brave when saying this. It sure does help to be reading the book about the effect a mom has on her son! Wow, no pressure there!

****

Tuesday before he and I went grocery shopping, we went to Hurricane's for lunch. He had a coupon to use from his Jaguar Bucks. Justin insisted we try the garlic parmesan fries, which I hated to tell him did not blow me away. His friend's mom can eat two orders of them in a sitting. She is a butter lover, like I am. But she is thin!

                                            

I ordered the chicken sandwich for my entree which came with homemade chips, but I ate none of them. In fact, I did eat the entire sandwich, no leftovers! It was fantastic, once I removed the lettuce and tomatoes from the bun. Next time I will order it more plainly, with pickles and mayo. It might have to be soon!!!

A marvelous day!

Before New Year, I saw an idea someone proposed on Facebook, suggesting putting slips of paper in a blessings jar each day for a year. On the slips would be something for which you are thankful or whatever cool thing happened to you that day. We sometimes get bogged down on the less than cool things that happen and remember those only. This exercise allows/encourages a person to find at least one good thing in the day that is worthy of note. I sent the idea to Linda and she thought like I did--let's do it! So we are!

This is my Blessings Jar which was given me for my birthday several years ago. It is now being more than just a pretty piece!

Thursday I was having trouble deciding which was the best thing in the day. I needed more paper! First of all was a return to Victory for Bible study, with my boy along with me. He loves the class like I do. (He made me laugh, though, because a few minutes before our 'aparture', I knocked on his door. He was still in bed! Instead of throwing clothes on, he got into the shower!!! We made it on time, no problem, but I prefer to not cut it so close!) Anyway, we were continuing our study of Advent, not finished from last year when I left!

Oh, it was grand to see everyone again, the conversation during the class was insightful and helpful, and the home-baked raspberry coffee cake served, divine! Rita was able to attend, having been laid out by the flu in recent weeks. 

                                         

Justin and I went to PF Chang for lunch, had to eat inside due to a shortage of servers for the patio. It was warmer outside than in, but he went back for my dinner jacket to drape over my lap. The waiter said he could tell we knew what we wanted, and I described myself as being "Sheldon", having to order the same thing every time. He got the joke, and mentioned how one of his co-workers looks like Will Wheaton, from Star Trek:TNG. He really did look like him! Will appears in cameo roles on Sheldon's program.

With leftovers in hand, Justin and I headed for home, with plans for him to go back to Publix for some more items missed on Tuesday. I didn't realize we were out of ketchup and mustard, and I finished off my raspberry sherbet, which was in the freezer since before I left for WI. He was making sausage, peppers, and onions for our dinner so needed the ingredients for that. My, was that ever good!

When I got out of the car, Connie yelled to me that one of my lady friends had left something at my door. She also said she didn't eat any of it, which meant it was food. Justin left with the car, and I went to the mailbox on my way to the elevator. I found a greeting card in there for me, and took the mail upstairs with me. On the window sill was a box of dark chocolate covered cherries, my favorite!!!

                                                  

Connie did not know the lady who dropped them off, but said she had dark hair and came in a dark grey van. Carol??? That rascal! I will have to ask her...Who else knows that the dark chocolate are my favorites? And makes the effort to bring them to me? I love it, and love them!

The greeting card was a thank you note from my friend, Brenda, and her family. She has her adult son living her, also, and last summer they took custody of his two daughters. They now have a houseful of people and things are not easy, shall I say? It was my privilege to help them last fall, and greatly appreciated getting their card, with the kids signatures on it, too. Warmed my heart!!!

My neighbor, Patty, had offered me free symphony tickets but I respectfully declined them, feeling the need to stay in one night. I hope she found someone else to use them. She offers them to me first, which I think is so kind of her. I have the best neighbors!

Further, I am so thankful that Linda is up and around again, after having had a bout of the flu, or something. She felt well enough to attend Bible study last night, and I know how healing that can be!

As I unpacked my stuff brought back from WI, the greeting cards Mom gave me came to the top of the pile, as did the photos posted the other day. Also, Mom allowed me to take custody of the small, black hymnal given to my aunt Ruth Ann for her confirmation, which would have been in the late 1930's or early 40's. There are no musical notes on the pages, only the text. Oh, I cherish this! 

I also got the front portion of Luther's Small Catechism, no cover, as it seems to have been printed this way. The staples are a bit rusty with the book going up to the Sacrament of the Altar, and ending with the personal prayers. No Bible passages like the little tan catechism used when I was in school. There is no publishing date either, so my guess is it pre-dates the 1957 issue I used in school. I cherish this also!

What I don't necessarily cherish is starting to get tax information in the mail. Already??? Every year I plan to start recording things right away and every year I don't! We so often make our own troubles, don't we? I won't write that on a slip for my blessings jar, but could write how thankful I am to have a great CPA waiting for my tax info!!!

In the wee hours...

....I find myself awake. Thanks to the sound of rain against my windows, startling me awake, I found myself unable to fall back to sleep. At least right now I am awake. I heard the weather man report fog would be around in the morning, but for right now, I can still see the lights across the river.

For Christmas and my birthday I  had received money gifts and wanted to make sure they were put to good use. On Saturday I placed an order through Amazon for a new set of sheets, a memory card reader, plus Leman's birth order book. The sheets were an amazing deal, costing me around $25 for 1200 thread count. According to Amazon, I saved about 80% on them. I am the shrewd shopper! Justin had free shipping for me to use which is a huge blessing as well.

                                                 

The order arrived on Tuesday and on Wednesday, I slept on new sheets! They were washed first and came out of the dryer as soft as a baby's bottom. Too bad the rain woke me up and wouldn't let me enjoy more sleep. I can, however, enjoy them in a seated position with this laptop, as well.

Last night I went over to The Club for Happy Hour and saw many of my neighbors and friends, some for the first time since getting back from WI. I was surprised to hear how many had been sick when I was away, with one lady, Betty, still having a very sharp cough. I hate that for her! There has been a tapas menu change since I was there last, but a quick note sent off to Chef should hopefully take care of that!

When I first got back, I mentioned the nice young man I had sat with on the plane to JAX. My regret was not getting his information, quite unlike me. Well, Monday evening as I headed to Panera to meet Terri T., I drove past the IWS buildings where this young man is a theology student. Sure enough, there he was, walking up and down on the property, using his phone. I honked my horn and waved madly, and then did a u-turn to go back to see him. He was talking to his wife, but took a moment to be properly introduced to me and to give me his card, welcoming my reaching out to him. Love it!!

After that cool experience of talking with him on the plane, having the interesting conversations in regard to the church year, etc., it seemed sad, then, to meet a woman who had no clue. Sunday, Epiphany, I was talking with a lady at the King's Cake party at her next door neighbor's house. Leslie said she was not familiar with the story of the Magi or the gifts they brought the Christ child. 

In a round about way I asked Leslie if she knew certain stories from the Bible and she told me she did not. Right in our building was a mission field!!  I think 'we' simply assume that everyone knows about the Savior and I am quite surprised when that is not the case. 

Speaking of Bible stories, my friend, Amber, had to go to the hospital Friday night. I found this out via Facebook with no details other than she was hungry, had to wait a long time for a room, and wanted some decent food. I told Judy C. about it when we met for breakfast on Saturday morning. She was surprised that Amber had access to Facebook since she has no phone, but my guess is she borrowed from her granddaughter or something. It stinks to not have a phone or a way to contact her other than Facebook! I have not heard if she is released or what the deal is. Hopefully Amber is okay and we can begin the Bible history classes again soon. 

Well, perhaps I can get a little rest now so I won't fall asleep in Bible study at Victory later on. Justin will be going with me, and he is quite excited about that. Loves those classes and the way they are taught. I look forward to seeing everyone again---haven't seen them since last year!

More photos from the box

More fun stuff from Mom's house. Most of these photos were found mixed in the travel brochures I went through on my last day in town. I am sure I have copies of many of these pictures in my own collection somewhere. But this was a fun trip down memory lane!

This is Mom and me sitting on a bench in St. Augustine. For years my mom wintered with us and when time permitted, we'd go off and do some touristy stuff. On our shirts you can see the little stickers for riding the tram around town.

We are all dressed up! In 1995 our business participated in "The Street of Dreams" event in Eagle Harbor where a set number of builders were selected to build and decorate a home in a competition. Those viewing the homes did the voting based on decorating, layout, landscaping, and so on. At the banquet, the winners were announced. We took 1st place in every category except the best of show. I guess the expression "you can't win 'em all" applies!

                              

This picture is of my grandma, Lily Sickles, taken outside the old folks home where I used to work, and where she lived for about 17 years. She died in 1986 at the age of 99 3/4 years old. Almost broke 100! She is trying to hide her identity, it seems, wearing the dark glasses.

This picture, plus the one that follows, was taken at my home in The Village of Fireside, probably in 1991, when I threw a surprise birthday party for my mom. Pictured above is me, my neighbor, Barb, whom Mom got to know when out walking with Justin, and Joan Carr, a church member.

Same party, different guests: Shirley Z., Mary H., and a lady who is now my bff, Judy C. Judy made and decorated the birthday cake for my mom's party. She can no longer do that type of thing, hasn't for years, as the tube squeezing thing got too hard on her hands. 

Here is a mess of my sisters, plus my niece, Lisa in San Fran jacket. From left is Lisa, Lori, Lynn, Kerry, and me. Justin is being cuddled by Kerry. We are missing Jill and my older sister, Carol, from this shot.

I think my mom took this photo of Justin because many of her pictures have a sort of reddish tinge to them. She told me she used the disposable-type of cameras. Justin is standing in front of the fireplace by his rocking horse, taken the last day of pre-k at St. Johns. 

This home was rented, in Peter's Creek, not far from the local government school. We decided to send him there for kindergarten and it didn't take long for us to realize we'd make a terrible mistake. The next year we got him back into St. Johns and with great effort, he managed to get caught up to his classmates after losing much ground at Patterson. Whew! 

Back to Justin's photo, though, look at that mop of hair! He always has great hair!

From the past

When at my mom's house in December, she was in search of a certain photograph from her past, taken with a lady who is now one of her neighbors. The box was gotten down from the shelf and we girls were in that box up to our elbows, looking for Mom's photo and finding others. Sadly, we never did locate the one Mom was looking for.

This is me standing at the top of the "hill" at my childhood home, holding the skis. It would seem the skis are nearly twice my height! Behind me is the workshop where I liked to hang out with my dad and sweep up saw dust. At least, that's what my memory tells me I did....

Here I am again, perched on a snowball in the back of the house. Above me, cropped from the photo is laundry hanging on the lines. Years later, the house had olive green siding put on over the stucco. 

The actual photo better defines my face, but this is me standing next to a doll bed. It would seem to be Christmas, in 1958. I wore saddle shoes, and later, my boy wore saddle shoes! Love that!!!