Good news!

Do you remember my writing about the infant who was born about a month ago and was in the hospital since? Well, last night he slept in his own home and bassinet for the first time. Thanks be to God! The mom is a God-fearing woman, an active member of the church just west of Good Shepherd. It was her faith and trust in the Lord which helped her get through this trial with her baby.

It was from her husband, Will, that I bought the pair of jet skis in 2005. Will is a fun guy, a fireman for JFRD. One of Justin's favorite stories to tell is when we went to Wal*Mart once, and before we were into the store, I had stopped to talk to several folks as they were leaving. Will was next to come in and he said to me, in his Southern drawl, "What? Are you runnin' for Mayor?" It sure looked that way! Shaking hands and kissing babies...Anyway, I am so glad that Mom and baby were able to sleep at home in their own beds. I hope they were able to get some sleep, anyway!

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On Fox and Friends this a.m. the hosts are discussing the 'problem' of texting language, concerned for what it will do to people's writing skills. I am adamant about not using abbreviations when sending text messages, other than a couple, such as 'plz', on occasion. I am a full sentence girl, which makes me a dinosaur in the texting world. 

Justin informed me the other night that it is 'against the law' to use the font "Comic Sans" for anything other than comics. I wonder who is going to come for me if I break that law...There are groups for whom this stuff is serious business, and he seems to be part of them! I think it's an agist thing---looking to find things to be mean about or to diminish others. Well, it's not going to stop me from using the font of my choice, and I will hang for it!

The other day and evening I was chatting with my sisters about our time spent babysitting 'out in the country' for our cousin's family. The creaking of the house, the unknown sources of noise, etc., the ruralness of the house. My sister, Lori, mentioned the scary basement, but I don't remember ever seeing it. The house was a huge one, a two-story duplex, in downtown Newton. We would usually spend the night because of the distance from home and the late hour they would get home.

The conversation began as part of my noting the playing of the National Anthem prior to the new days' broadcast on Fox News Channel. We remarked about hearing that played at the end of the day, when the TV actually went off the air, usually between midnight and 2:00 a.m. When babysitting and waiting for the parents to get home, this made for a long night!

                                      

It was at David and Rochelle's house where I would listen to country western music on their console TV and stereo, and discovered Buffy St. Marie. I told them how much I enjoyed listening to it, and they didn't like her album, so gave it to me! I would listen to Waylon, Merle, and Johnny, too. Old school country musicians, men and women singers, with big hair.

To tie this together with the text messaging, here is the clincher---when I babysat there, I thought my cousins were old. After all, they were in their mid-20's!!! Which is what Justin is now---kids might look at him and think how old he is. Agism against him, as he is considered by younger folks. 

I think about this as I associate with so many folks who are older than am I. Even though we are 15 to 20 years apart in age, it seems we are the same age. At some point, the numbers lose their importance. 
           
Stephanie, me, and Rita at Good Shepherd. Ed looks like he has one antler, but it's a gondola on the wall

And, when I hang out with Rita and Stephanie, I am the old lady! Rita is about 10 years younger than I, with Stephanie about 6 years younger. Oddly enough, if Timmy had not died, I would have a child younger than theirs...as Rita's older son is looking at graduate school already. Her younger one is 13, so he'd be right behind Timmy. Stephanie's daughter, Erica, is in college now. Age means less and less, it seems, the older we get.

From one meal to the next

This morning I enjoyed breakfast at The Club, joined by my friend, Pat. When I first walked in, a lady sitting at the large table called to me, and ran up to hug me. She looked so familiar but I couldn't place her, especially because she was sporting a pair of large sunglasses. She told me her name, Susan, and then I recognized her as being the former site agent for my company. Susan had come on board after I was thrown overboard, as it were, so never worked side by side with her. 

She was so excited to see me again, and it was nice to see her, too. Susan was additionally excited because today was her daughter's wedding. Many of her family members were staying at The Club, and were expected for breakfast. The reason she was wearing the sunglasses indoors was because she had no make-up on, as a professional was coming to make the ladies up later on. 

Susan introduced me to a number of her family members and then told her spouse how I live at The Palace. They are just in love with the place and its views. She told me that there had been some cancellations for the wedding reception and urged me to come join them for the party tonight. I thanked her for the invitation but declined crashing the party. Love to see The Club and the hotel bustling like this.

Pat came in sporting a big black boot on her left foot. It seems they thought at first she had a broken foot but upon further examination found a ganglion cyst. After Easter she will have surgery on her foot and hopes the healing will be complete come pool season. For now she has to wear 'das boot' and shower with a goofy cover on her bandaged foot. She said she has learned to take really fast showers to get it over with. Poor thing!

While we were eating our breakfast, I got a call from my friend, Judy, asking me to lunch. Pat had to laugh as I set up my lunch date at the breakfast table. Such is Friday for me! We agreed to meet at Pengrees, not far from home for me. The staff began to vacuum the dining room as we ladies sat and talked. We can take a hint! I had another hour and a half before getting to my lunch appointment!

As Pat and I walked out, we met our other friend, Owene, who was on her way in. Her son is getting married in a couple weeks and using the Winterborne for his rehearsal dinner. Owene had to finish up some of the arrangements for this event. She is also part of our water exercise class, new this past season, so looks forward to getting back in the water. She is a lap swimmer besides so really appreciates the pool. I know her as a former teacher at St. Johns and it was great to connect and reconnect this past summer under other circumstances.

The prep work is done for the removal of the 2nd floor sundeck. It wasn't nosy enough around The Palace.....

Just before noon I headed to Pengree's to meet Judy C. We both ordered the country fried steak which is absolutely delicious. We sat there and talked until they turned the OPEN sign around and the staff was sitting down to eat! Twice in one day, I close the place!

Cold once more

When I was driving to Bible study this a.m., I told my mom how it turned cold here again, that I was not dressed for cold weather. She reported it to be 18 above zero where she was. That did not comfort me one bit, and I reminded her that she would actually dress for that temperature, where I had failed to do so for our temps in the low 50's. It was 37 overnight, but warmed up presently to 55 above. She has to dress much more warmly for her temps than I do for mine, but I am a big wienie! I guess because I do not watch local news it is a big surprise to me when I open my door to go outside. Brrr.....Looking forward to the high 70's of next week!

I have been alone at home (except for all the workmen in the building) since yesterday morning. Justin did come in after work Wednesday but then had to leave again as he found out he was needed sooner than expected for dog sitting. Justin didn't think he had to be on dog-duty (doody---te he he!) until Thursday. Good thing he called his father or Mickey would have been quite upset! 

This weekend the guys are moving Ron into the new house and Justin will have to take Mickey with him to the house. He is thinking he will tie him in the yard but I reminded Justin that Mickey is quite the Houdini. Perhaps there is a crate Justin can use part of the time. This timing could not have been worse.

Justin has been pulling stuff into 'launch position', including some of his bookcases and plastic bins, into the foyer. I hope no one comes to the door and sees this disarray. He has to buy a box spring for his mattress as he is switching away from his platform bed. The hope was to use his father's SUV for hauling the box spring this weekend, but, alas, that is not to be since the car is gone. My sincere hope is that all of his stuff leaves here with him and that my rooms are returned to normal again. But hate the thought of him leaving. Such a conundrum!

Next week Tuesday our church is hosting a choir from Martin Luther Prep. Folks have been asked to sign-up for hosting students overnight before they head up to GA. We will provide them a place to sleep and shower, breakfast, and a bag lunch for their bus ride. As of now, about half of the kids have been arranged for. If I had a larger car, I could take more, putting kids on the floor or on air mattresses, if need be. At some point phone calls are going to be made to ask folks to be hosts. One of the members who lives a distance from church has offered to put up the adults in a hotel nearby, which is most generous of him. I am eagerly looking forward to the concert and then hosting a few of the young folks. And making them breakfast!

***

This morning I had a conversation with a lady whose daughter-in-law worked as a nurse in a neo-natal care unit. She told me how the d-i-l had to cycle out of the unit after a while because it got to be too much for her. My friend told me something I cannot even fathom---more than can be imagined, parents of newborns who are in critical condition/premature, simply cannot face this baby, and abandon it. How is it I never heard about this before today? 

Here is my little nephew, Angelo, riding a bike at Wal*Mart. He spent a couple weeks in a NICU when he was born. Now he can ride a bike!

I have a friend who gave birth to her son about a month ago . She took him home and not two days later, he began having seizures, etc. He was rushed to the hospital first in OP and then to Wolfson Children's Hospital where they (mom and son) have been ever since. Thanks to Facebook folks can be kept up with the baby's progress, etc. It's impossible to imagine this couple simply abandoning their baby because they couldn't "take it". I wonder how prevalent that actually is---this abandonment thing. Perhaps it is more common among single moms who are young and have no skills in the first place. This sort of threw me for a loop when I heard about it. Tonight when I go to bed I will pray for Gage, and for all the babies in the NICU.

Good day after a grumpy one

Here I am---sitting in the sun which is even warming the keys on my keyboard for me. Nice! Early morning yesterday I was awakened by rain on my windows, and it rather continued much of the day. Not always raining but misting, grey and dreary. 

This suited my mood because of my dread of an endodental appointment I had. When I went for the check-up the other day, the dentist, Peggy, was not happy with the swelling on the gum above the area where my last two root canals took place last year. I have a brand-new crown and gold post in place (I have pictures of the post if you wish to see it...) which added to the price of my million dollar smile. Now, I have to have more work done in the same area. Rats!

Dr. Smith, whose office is in my former building and suite, said he has to perform a root amputation. This is an involved procedure so we agreed to not begin the process until after Easter so that I can sing. I had a prescription for antibiotics to have filled, which I dropped off at Publix. They offer free ones, so I accept! It was going to take 45 minutes to fill so I left and went to see Julia at the shop. I was not going to wander that store for 45 minutes and fill my cart with things I didn't need.

I did forget to buy milk, the only thing Justin had on his list for me to pick up. I don't know how that happened except that I was so sad about having to have this procedure done. I was already in the car when I remembered so I drove thru at McDonald's and got him a milk, and me, a Diet Coke!

At Publix I did think to buy my petite red potatoes for taking along to a St. Patrick's Day party Saturday night. The guests are asked to bring their favorite potato dish and MUST wear green, or will have green applied to them. I will comply, as I have two garments which meet the criteria. 

If I were a T-shirt wearer I could sport one of Justin's kelly green shirts that I got him for his birthday last year. He loves them for their softness. Shrewdly, I bought them before knowing his boss was going to supply them with shirts! Mine are softer  cotton so he wears them around the house.

Today I was supposed to go to Lake Asbury for Bible history class but Amber had a doctor appointment. She needs to keep those, as she has found a doctor who will see her at a discount rate and write her scrips to keep her alive. She is also quite thankful to know that her one expensive heart pill is now available in a generic form. Small blessings add up! And I am upset about a tooth procedure????

               This is my photo, taken in 2006, looking down from Santorini

Justin has been pestering me to go to Carrabba's which has rebuilt a restaurant near the freeway exit. Not very handy, in my opinion, but good visibility for travelers. I was not in the mood last night but did agree to take him to The Greek Village on S. Blanding. His first visit, and he loved it. Said it felt like eating in a restaurant in New York, an off-the-beaten-path looking place. I love the murals and posters of Greece, as they transport me. We both brought home containers of unfinished meals which will provide more meals for us this week. 

                                                

Yesterday morning my friend, Emily, posted a photo of Boots Day, our former pet, who was feeling poorly. She said he might have eaten something outside that didn't agree with him. He didn't even come to her when she put food in his dish. Oh my! Just the night before, I was  telling Linda how old Mickey the Stupid Dog is now, going on 14 years. Boots is younger than Mickey. I hope Boots springs back to being 'the perfect pet' for their family!

Long distance friendships

The other day my friend, Rosalie, had called to chat but I was not available at the moment. I sent her a text message making an appointment to call her back last night, which ended up being early evening, my time. She is on central time but she'd already had her dinner and was busy on the computer. Rosalie is extremely active in her church and has a full plate at all times. She amazes me, and makes me feel lazy! Oh, yes, she is also more than 20 years older than I am!

             Rosalie and Hal with Justin 'n me, Jan. 2011

She was telling me about an interesting devotion she is reading, composed from the writings of Martin Luther. She is thrilled with it so I might send for it as well. We also discussed the Meditations our Synod puts out, though she has me at a disadvantage there. I told her one of the fondest memories I had of her visit the last time was when Hal read the devotion to us ladies in my river room. ****sigh****

Rosalie told me she is going to start taking organ lessons again which is thrilling to hear. She can't read music but can play chords. As a non-musician, I don't understand the difference, but she does, which is what matters.
                               
This morning my friend, Tina, let me know Gracie and she would not be coming to breakfast at The Club on Friday. Nuts! But she did send me the photos taken the morning when Linda and I were there. The sun was shining so nicely on Linda's face....

My other friend, Randy, who used to live upstairs from me, keeps in touch via Facebook. He sent me a message the other day to report he got me some replacement flowers for the glass ones which I broke. Today he posted a picture of them which I am sharing here:

I believe he is coming this direction next month to gather his belongings left in storage when he moved last year. He has gotten what is described by him as being his "dream job" for the DOD, and I hope he gets to keep it now with all the cuts. Guess he will be okay as long as he is not conducting tours of the White House or working as a park ranger! Neither job would be a good match for this retired Marine....who buys his friends glass flowers!

Best intentions

Yesterday I took my tax packet to the car in order to make sure I stopped at the CPA's office either on my way to or from Bible study today. When gathering my purse and soda bottle upon arriving home after lunch, I spotted the packet. Shoot! So much for THAT idea! Instead of starting the car and heading over there, I decided I would take it another time, hopefully before the Ides of March. That is the latest date they like tax packets dropped off in order to ensure enough time to complete them. I MUST remember to do so!

Before I left this morning, slightly delaying my departure, I got a call from Frank, my financial guy. He has moved his offices to the area just west of church. For the life of him, he could not picture a church other than the community one further up the road. This is a problem, as I can personally attest, when the pizza delivery guys, without fail, cannot find our church. If they can't find it, how can visitors or guests see us? It didn't matter if the pizza was ordered in the light of day or for evening delivery, we are somehow unseen or unnoticed on this busy road. I should have described us being just to the east of the speed trap set up a block from us!

Mom was telling me not long ago about the goofy mail she gets from the doctor's offices or insurance companies, sort of a statement but is marked "This is not a bill". "Then why send it?", she wants to know. Today I checked the mail on the way up to my home, and found a statement from my now closed Verizon account. Three pages, one of which is advertising, came in the envelope plus a Courtesty Bill with a zero balance. It, too, is marked "DO NOT PAY". I was all set to write them a check for zero dollars...This is a ludicrous waste of money and someone's time. A couple weeks ago I got a refund check from them to make up for the troubles I'd had with their service when in WI (blue screen of death!) so I was surprised to find something from them today. It seems as though no one is watching this type of expenditure.

                   

    Two Rivers fish boil on Travel Network Monday night

Yesterday I mentioned at the lunch table that I did not have the History Channel at my house, which Justin immediately contradicted. It seems I, in fact, DO have that channel, as he happened upon when searching for the channel to watch the filibuster on Wednesday night. He was using the arrows on the remote control and came upon the History Channel. If I typed the channel number in, it would not take...but using the arrows to find it would lock it in. I now can press in the numbers for the channel and was able to watch "The Bible" from home last night. This method, however, did not work for watching The Travel Channel which features an episode of Bizarre Foods recorded in Two Rivers, WI. Evidently fish boils are bizarre. I guess they would be to a fish!

Having rod and cones troubles here

On Facebook tonight I mentioned feeling like my rods and cones were all messed up, as it was time to eat dinner when the sun was still out. That is just plain goofy! I did go ahead and enjoyed my meal of twice baked potatoes with Sloppy Joe meat on the side. Marlena stopped by today to return a borrowed movie and left a to-go box with several of the potato wedges packed into it, from The Club. Sweet!

This morning's Bible study was about the TV series showing now on the History Channel, "The Bible". We were asked to note how often the Gospel shows through in the movie, and offers prompts to help see it, hear it, in the fast paced movie. "Fast paced" might not be the right description but it takes some jumps in the time line in order to cover lots of ground before Easter. There are a few blanks to fill in, some of which we covered in class. 

Twila is one who is quite literal in these things so it rather blows her away to see Sumo wrestler angels appearing to Lot. I missed that part so was not able to help her out. We "imagine" these heavenly beings to look like white Anglos when they are probably shapeless, featureless spirits, as we covered in our Monday morning class. It's not good to miss either class, it seems.

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Last night I placed a phone call to the manager at Chili's, where our group goes every Sunday (nearly) after church. The last two weeks we experienced extremely slow service and it was being considered to eat elsewhere unless things changed. Hence, my chat with the manager. She assured me they were working out the bugs of new staff members and the dishwasher was repaired, etc. She said to talk to the daytime manager and tell him the same things I told her. So, I did!

                                          

He remembered us from last week and assured me of good customer service this week. In fact, he actually took our orders, and hovered around the table like a mother hen, making sure we were being served properly. Guess it pays to say something, as I explained to him that I didn't want to go somewhere else to eat. Especially since Justin is the Mayor of Chili's, according to signing in with Four Square on his cell phone. No one messes with the Mayor, or his mama!

Terri T. and her sister, Gayle, had flowers on the altar in memory of their mom, Gloria, who passed away 7 years ago today. It was a gorgeous bouquet which the two ladies were taking to the cemetery where their grandparents were buried. It was nice having Gayle in worship with us, and at lunch with us. More than nice, it was great! She remarked how much she enjoyed reading the Scripture passages I post each a.m., saying it's my 'good morning' to her. She feels connected even though we don't see each other in the flesh as often as we'd like.

                                 

Early this a.m. I got a message from another of our members, Jason, serving in Japan. He thanked me for the newsletter and said how much he appreciates reading the Scripture passages every day. So glad to be able to do that! 

About the time change business---only one of our ushers should up dressed for duty, as Frank forgot he was on. The third fellow didn't show up until the sermon was nearly wrapped up. Oops! Kurt was not aware of the time change and was so surprised to walk into church to find it nearly over. That poor guy! He was quite embarrassed....Good thing it only happens twice a year, as our systems (body and electronic ones) get all messed up!