The week ends

On Wednesday, Justin and I were able to join our neighbors at Trivia at The Club. He played last month when I was gone to WI, but two teams reached an impasse. This month's contest was for double or nothing, for all the marbles, as it were. That means we get double free drink tickets as our prize, or none. We got double! Not only did we win, but Hugh picked up the tab for Justin's meal and drinks. The team really thinks the world of Justin and believes we couldn't win without his help. Several people gave him their drink tickets, too, so we have a whole stack of them on the kitchen counter. 

On Thursday, Justin and his underling, Ray, found time in their schedule to stop by church and do some yard work. He reported blowing the accumulated leaves from the beds and knocking down (burning) the weeds and growth. They edged and trimmed, with Mike S. stopping by to pitch in. It now looks nicely groomed and ready for Easter!

Thursday night we went to Maundy Thursday services. While I was rehearsing with the choir, he was helping to put up the tables for the Easter breakfast. When we were both done with our 'jobs', we stopped at Panda Express to pick up our dinner. I just love their orange chicken! Justin orders the calorie-friendly fare but then was able to finish off my fried rice for me. 

This morning I went to Breakfast Club with Nancy W. only, as Pat reported being under the weather. We had to order from the menu this time since the hot buffet was not provided. I ate most of my French toast and brought my entire fried egg home with me, plus two pieces of coffee cake that Kathy insisted I take. She knows I like the strawberry icing she puts on it (this is contrary to the boss's orders...). Kathy said she also thought of little Gracie, the daughter of my friend, Tina, who used to come to Breakfast Club. Gracie is now in school so Tina doesn't come anymore either. I miss them! Soon I will see them at the pool, weather permitting!

Maundy Thursday service

When Justin was a little boy, he'd gotten a 'care package' in the mail from his grandma with home-sewn outfits and pj's in it. I remarked that the Lord had sure blessed Grandma's hands to make those things for him. He agreed, and after a few minutes, he piped up, "The Lord blessed the hands of the banner makers, too..." Who would expect a little kid to notice the banners? All these years later, I can't help but think about that exchange when I see these lovely banners, made by Twila and June.  

From the left see Terri T., Pastor removing his stole, Bonnie, Ellen, Jean, and Twila. The ladies can no longer go up and down the steps carrying the items removed from the altar so tonight Donna handed the items to the ladies for them to carry.

 From the left see Pastor, Jean, Donna, Terri H., and Twila 

This part is usually quite emotional for me to watch, as Terri H. would strip the altar and lay the items on her mom's outstretched arms. Ethel is not well so Terri T. stepped in to help, her first time. The last part of this ceremony is Pastor carrying the brass cross from the chancel, in the darkened sanctuary. Kathy R. played "What Wondrous Love Is This" on the organ while this was going on, timed perfectly with the ending of the hymn. All very well done...

I got those wedding dress blues

Actually, I have quite the contrary as Justin has dug out the bin from the "Timmy closet" which stored my wedding dress. The dress looks like brand-new yet, but is wrinkled from being in the bin so tightly layered. Justin is having a fit, seeing my 'tiny' dresses from 100 years ago (ahem, ahem), some which he has declared to be 'vintage'. 

One particular dress was a favorite of mine, made for me by my sister, Lynn, when I was in high school. It looks exactly like something I would wear now, if I could. The dress of many colors was worn with tights, depending upon the day---I wore turquoise tights, or maize or purple...Boy, I loved that dress! Justin wanted to lend it to his friend, Rose, to wear because she likes 'vintage' clothes but I said no to that.

One dress, which I called my panther dress, I used to wear with black lace up boots. I think the dress, one of the few store-bought ones I had, was purchased at Maurices' in the Mid-Cities Mall. In the bin was also a wool suit that Mom made for me to wear to my sister-in-law's wedding in 1973. The skirt is as long as it is wide, a mini-skirt, green and blue plaid. The uncontructed jacket was solid green and I wore a gold blouse with it. And the black boots!

Two of my dresses which were made by Mom or one of my sisters (I am sorry if I can't remember who made them) which I wore for our Junior/Senior banquets (1973 and 1974) are in there, too. The same pattern as my 'formal' for the '74 banquet was used for the wedding dress, which was only a few months later. 

There are two crew-neck solid colored sweaters in the bin, bought for me by my dad when he and I went shopping. Yes, my dad took me shopping, as he was teaching me how to drive. Those two sweaters were pretty tame, and I think I wore one of them for my Senior class picture. At the bottom of the bin is a cowl-necked blue marled yarn sweater which my boyfriend had gotten me in 1972. I wore it for my class picture when I was a Junior, I think. Time to get out the yearbook, it seems!  

This is NOT how I wore my hair on the actual wedding day. The circle of flowers was on top of my head, around a bun. 

A young lady from the congregation might be able to wear my wedding dress (it is not considered a gown, though Justin teases me that it's a nightie!) and she will try it on Thursday night after church. I hope she can wear it and agrees to model it. Her mom has to work that day so Meghan will be my daughter for the event. Yay!

I have 'bin' meaning to do this

Our Ladies' Group is having a Mother/Daughter event in early May using the theme of weddings. Part of the fun is going to be ladies modeling or displaying their wedding dresses, or finding someone else who can model their dresses. The search began at my house a week or so ago, with me going through bins in my closet to see if my dress was packed away in there. 

Oh, my! What great fun that was! A couple of the bins were still taped shut from my move in 2004 (I'm fairly certain) and have been secreted in my closet since the remodeling was done in 2007. If it's ten years or eight years, it has still has been a long time since I've seen these garments. Many of the pieces are still my size but seem to fit me a bit differently. Rita, my friend from Victory, and I were talking about it at Bible study, how much gravity there seems to be these days!

I found one piece that I had given up as lost---a knit poncho given me by the mother of Justin's friend, Jesse, for my birthday many years ago. Fearing I had left it lay in a restaurant or somewhere, there it was in the bin. What great fun to see these old garments again! 

I decided that since they didn't flatter me, they might serve someone else nicely. I offered them to Betty at church first. She took the bins home and picked out what she wanted. Justin put them back in the car, still full. Betty cleaned out her closet and put stuff in to go to the next person. Love this! I had thought of Amber but missed talking with her on Sunday, as I was busy after church. 

I had gotten an e-mail from a friend who lives south of me on the river. I snitch sunrise photos from her once in awhile. She is trying to find work for a Haitian family she has taken under her wing. While I don't have yard work or anything they can do right now, I do have two bins of clothes in my car to share with them. 

I dropped them off today as I ran my errands. In his broken English, Jean told me his daughter who can use the clothes is his 8th child. Oh, my! I hope his wife and daughter can make good use of the clothing and I will enjoy having more space in my closet!

I have 'Rome-ing' thoughts

Last night as I was lying in bed, waiting for sleep, I had turned on "Everybody Loves Raymond". This was NOT my first choice for laughing myself to sleep but I didn't care for the "Friends" episode showing. I am so glad I chose 'Raymond' because it was an episode I very much enjoy. The matriarch of the family takes them all on a trip to the homeland, Italy, and in particular, to the region around Rome. 

They showed a great deal of the scenery around the place where the Barone's were staying, with 'family', and also the tourist spots in Rome, except for the Vatican or St. Peter's Square. The city streets, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Coliseum, and other famous sites were shown. I can't remember now if I had been thinking about Rome/Italy prior to this or not but after I saw it, I sure was!

Taken in 2006

As I snuggled in my bed, I remembered the wonderful trips I have had to Rome and to Italy, the memories made there---wow! One of the trips made with Justin, in 2006, I was just worn out after traipsing around in the ancient ruins of Rome. When our bus took us to the next exhibit, I opted out, and some very nice ladies from our ship took custody of Justin. He went inside "St. Paul in Chains" and was absolutely blown away by it. I sat on a half-wall outside, across from our bus, and let my feet hang down. 

All of sudden, as I sat there, a huge commotion broke out, and a great celebration began. The Vespas and other vehicles were roaring up and down the street with people waving their Italian flags, horns were honking, the whole shootin' match. After a certain point, I made my way across the street to the bus, for safety and assurance, and I asked the driver what was going on. He reported that the Italians had won a major soccer event, prompting the celebration. I remember thinking, "Soccer? Really?", but it's huge in Europe. 

The parade up and down the street went on for some time and we saw more of it as we drove through the streets back to the ship. People were out on their balconies waving flags in the air and yelling with joy. Those are fans!

It was this day, also, when our bus could not make a very tight curve, under an overpass, due to a car parked where it should not be. Not only could our bus not get through, but we couldn't go backward, either, as the stream of cars was lined up behind us!!! The driver honked and honked and honked, and eventually some guys came out of a bar to see what was up. 

One passenger plus our driver got off the bus to assess the situation. Sure enough, the group of guys, ours included, picked up that offending car, and put it on the sidewalk!!!  There!!, and away we went, with that long trail of cars behind us!  Justin and I won't ever forget that, I hope, and I appreciate this TV show for prompting my memory of this wonderful trip we had!

Some passing pictures

Cliff standing on the corporate ladder at church, painting the trim along the front, as the ground under him was being pressure washed. I considered having the washing done before the yard work was completed as to washing the kitchen table when all the dishes are still on it...

My sister, Kerry, sent me this picture of herself holding a giant chunk of ice on the shore of Lake Winnebago. Ice shoves were moving onto the land around the lake, being pushed along by the wind. She said it was incredible what she saw as she drove around the lake, wondering when people decide it's time to get out of their homes....

While Kerry is hauling off giant chunks of ice, I am enjoying the view from my window of this passing ship on the river. This is far larger than most vessels I see, probably had work done in the dry-dock in Green Cove Springs. 

The evening sun was setting and beautifully highlighted the palm trees as they blew in the wind

Just another gorgeous sunrise I don't mind sharing

Love the smell of citrus

Today was a scheduled work day at church to get the yard ready for Easter. We were allowed to make contributions toward the purchase of mulch and flowers. I did that since my yard work days are behind me, in more ways than one. I was going to let my checkbook do the work for me until an e-mail arrived yesterday informing the members that it was an inside and out work day. Oh, now that's different!

Justin told me last Sunday how awful the property looks and what a big difference Raymond and he could make if they had the chance to do so. I offered to buy some of their time if they could swing by to do some work during their already packed schedule. Justin said he'd look things over and get with Will to see what could be done.

Mike is saying, "Oh, Kimmie....." In the background is Renee, spreading mulch

He got back to me a few days ago saying they could do an hour's work on Thursday as their route took them that direction. One hour and they can do a whole lot, mostly grooming things, like edging and blowing. I am getting the 'discount' rate for charity, according to his boss. Nice! Mike S. and Justin talked about all this and are going to coordinate on what and where their attention will be needed. Mike S. does this for a living as well, so those two guys are a good team!

Since this was now supposedly an 'inside' day too, I went over with my spray bottle of multi-surface citrus Pledge with the goal of wiping off the hymnals and Bibles. My personal mission is to have no sticky handmarks on the covers. When I arrived, people were quite busy with weeding and mulching. I walked around and greeted everyone. Janet looked at me with my bags of stuff, and my Diet Coke. "You look so fresh, with your bottle of soda...You know where we want to put that bottle of soda?" (She is so earthy!) I laughed and said, "In the fridge?" She mocked me, saying I was a prima donna which prompted me to sing that song from "The Phantom of the Opera". She was not amused! I told her if she wanted me, to look in the church, but I wouldn't tell her what I was doing. No one else was there for 'inside' cleaning. Guess that was misprint or something.

Mostly I was alone in the sanctuary, listening to Sarah Brightman on my iPhone as I sprayed and polished. Pastor and Nathan, his son, were working on the MIDI and speakers for next Sunday's outdoor service, so I kept the volume down. At one point, Pastor thought it was me doing the singing. Now that's a compliment! 

Here find Janet, Ellen, and Judy working on the beds along the side of the church

After Pastor went outside it was just Nathan and me. I showed him the filth I was getting off the pew books and he was surprised to see how much build-up there is. It's been a few years since I've done this the last time (I do 'my' hymnal in 'my' pew as needed). 

At one point I could hear lots of voices in the breezeway but figured folks were taking a break. Pastor poked his head in and invited busy Nathan and me to join the rabble for lunch. I sat next to Janet to eat and she sneared at me, "You're still fresh..." and I said, "Minty fresh!" Such a girl she is! 

After lunch the crew got busy again, as did I, listening to some Leonard Cohen while I worked. Carol came in to do some altar stuff so we talked for a bit, me multi-tasking. But, before I got to the end of my project, I ran out of Pledge. Nuts! I have about three rows to go plus the scattered hymnals and Bibles so will have to pick up more citrus cleaner (should be minty!) and finish the task during the week. I am such a prima donna!