Coming out of the closet

The other day I was in search for just the right shirt to wear for the day. It was neither warm nor cold outside but I definitely wanted something with long sleeves because I am easily chilled. Into the closet I went in search for the right weight fabric to suit me. Aha, I pulled out my blue cotton knit shirt with variations of butterflies on it. Perfect! 

Well, it was perfect until I put it on and noticed how the neck was getting all droopy. Sort of like my own neck...I guess an iron might have helped to firm up the neck hole but I also think this top might have just about reached its expiration date. It is several years old, bordering on 'many' years old, and is losing its freshness. I am sad about this because I have gotten many compliments on it over the years. 

Here is Dolly and me at Fork and Knife, in Manitowoc, possibly in 2009. I am wearing my butterfly shirt. The colors are bright and the neck opening taut like it should be. Presently it's rolling over and stretched out with age, not because I have a large head. Have been told more than once that I have a pointy head. Anyway, I have other clothing items in the archives, the back of the closet, which I pull out now and again. I had better be more attentive to their condition before I wear them in public. 

My mom seems to think I am shopping every day which could not be further from the truth. She believes this because I shop when I am with my family up in WI or if they come down here. And with Linda I have been known to shop. Otherwise, not so much. But, Mom witnesses me shopping in Manty and figures that is an every day occurrence. I guess someone had better come down here to visit me soon, because I need some new clothes!

All straightened up

Today Justin had the day off and decided to make good use of his time. I had signed up to bring a kettle of soup for the Souper Supper at church tomorrow night. Justin offered to make (as I fully expected he would) his recipe for beer cheese soup. As he got busy making the soup, I urged him to keep a close eye on it as our stew pot has a tendency of sticking. Because he needed to keep an eye on the kettle, he got also got busy in the kitchen while listening to his podcasts. I came home from having lunch with my friend, Nancy, to find my kitchen torn apart. Well, at least part of it was....

Justin took care of a long-needed project

Many years ago my friend, Judy Rusert, came for a visit. She likes to cook, especially making soups. During one of our long conversations she asked me why it was I didn't care for cooking. It was asked in such a way that drew deep thinking on my part. Skipping to the end of the conversation, I determined I got nothing much out of standing in the kitchen stirring a pot. That was it. Plus, what is different here than in my other recent homes is having the kitchen a separate room from the rest of the house, somewhat isolated from whatever else was going on. Anyway, it was a good talk and helpful in determining the reason I prefer to be a consumer rather than a producer in the kitchen.

Judy and me on the cruise in 2007, when we became friends...actually, kindred spirits!

Using a step stool is frowned upon by my boy so when Justin left home the first time, we moved much of the frequently used items to the lowest shelves in the cabinets so I could easily reach them. So, now the cabinets are being ordered in such a way for Justin's ease of finding and using the items stored in them. All I have to actually need ready access to is the silverware drawer and into the dishwasher! He can do the rest of the reaching and putting. 

Here is the now organized cabinet. Nothing in there with expired dates any longer. Pasta, anyone?

While he was at it, he moved over to the spice cabinet and got that straightened away. He wanted me to take these photos so we (I) could remember where everything goes once taken out. Justin also packed away my Christmas glasses, promising to retrieve them when the time comes. I shall hold him to that! Having them gone freed up shelf space which makes good sense, I guess, instead of using it for seldom used drinkware. The next project will be the hallway pantry which is getting like Fibber McGee's closet!

I am quite thankful to have this task completed as it was and to have the soup made for the Ash Wednesday souper supper, with some left for us to enjoy!

Fur, Feather, and Fin

This evening I enjoyed a lovely dinner out with Judy and Michael at 'my favorite restaurant', as Judy described it when she called. Believe me, I grabbed my purse and shoes and I was out the door! We had only a short wait at Koko's (Saigon Tokyo) and had a lovely meal. Michael usually orders the rangoons and shares, so delicious! 

Today I got some good news---my entry in the Fur, Feather, and Fin art show at Great Hang Ups has been juried into the show. Believe me, I get quite nervous fearing my entry will be rejected. Whew!, dodged that bullet once again. The theme, as you might be able to tell, is about animals of all sorts, and will serve as a fundraiser for the Safe Animal Shelter. 

This picture was taken out my window, capturing this heron watching for a fish to come by...

Dee told me I can use an existing framed piece---she will simply slide my new print over the other one. Works for me! Buying a frame every time can get expensive and Dee's suggestion of re-using one is cool with me, if it's cool with my framers! They are just so good to me, and I love them right back. I am usually out done by the other artists in the show, but hey, I'm still thrilled to be juried in!

Oldest and youngest

The other day at church we had a celebratory function, recognizing the 10 years that the pastor has served at our congregation. Ever since Advent I've been wishing to get a photo taken of our current oldest member with our youngest. We have a gentleman who is technically older but he lives now in MS so Gretchen moved into that position. I expected she, age 89, would sit in a chair to hold Eloise but instead she stood up to pose for the photos. 

Baby El is the daughter of Angel and Chad, both Navy folks. Angel is from my area in WI, and has a brother attending MLHS at present. I am particularly fond of this young couple, attended Bible Information Class with them (Chad was baptized the same day his daughter was...tears!) Sadly, they have orders to VA in June and my heart hurts already about this!

Gretchen was a bit surprised at how heavy Eloise is, and how heavy she became as I tried to get the best photograph. I think I did get a good shot, one Gretchen approved of anyway! At 7 months old, Eloise is the youngest child in our membership, with the next youngest being 7 years old. We have a gap! It's so wonderful to hear a baby cooing again and to have the changing tables in the restrooms pressed into service. 

After the meal, prepared by Chefs Mike 'n Mike, consisting of roast beef, chicken, potatoes 'n gravy, two of the young ladies got down on the floor to play with Baby El. They couldn't get enough of her. Jordyn is the next youngest girl, I think, at 9 years old. Sarah, my goddaughter, is now 10. Can't believe this, but it's true! The meal was truly a delight and I am glad to finally get this photo taken for posterity and to serve as a recognition of our oldest and youngest members. 

Party hearty

I had a fun night last night wwaayy over at Queen's Harbor near the beach. Rita was the hostess for the Pampered Chef party which was attended by all Victory people plus me, and a lady she knows from her son's school. The consultant joked about Rita's need to widen her circle of friends...I disagree! I like this circle!

Instead of me driving to Rita's, I made arrangements to go as far as Stephanie's house, which is about 25 minutes away, and share the ride to the Harbor with her mom and her. Just the week before Rita hosted a welcome back party for Wayne and Suzanne who are wintering here from WI, having moved back up there last year. I was invited to that party as well but just couldn't get myself to drive all that way by myself on a Saturday night. It's an hour away, nearly so, depending upon the traffic. Justin had other plans so wasn't able to be my driver. I guess I could have ridden with Stephanie then, too, but was also content to stay home. 

So, anyway, I drove to Stephanie's house, arriving a tad early. They are getting their house ready for having ceramic tile installed in their formal rooms. How exciting! Erica got a last minute invitation to a soccer game at Everbank Stadium so had to miss this fun. I chuckled regarding Stephanie's comments about having trouble seeing at night and fear of running into the medians in the Harbor. Yikes! We did fine, with the help of the GPS. It is quite dark in the community so it was not easy to see the signs and some of the curves in the road. 

In the foreground is a chicken salad served in pastry cups and the back tray holds the brie bites. I can't wait to make them again, so simple and quite tasty!

The party was nicely attended and instead of having a demonstration of the PC tools, etc. we gathered around Rita's island in the kitchen. There we divided into teams to work on the foods to be served. I joined two other ladies in making brie bites which were absolutely delicious. I must have had a half dozen of them! Using pre-made phyllo crust cups, we put a cube of brie and then a teaspoon of jelly on each one. Popped them in the oven a few minutes and then, deliciousness!  I ordered a couple items Justin can use, usually to my benefit. I like it!  Great time spent with friends---can't be beat.

Testing, testing 1-2-3

Yes, I've been put to the test today and I must say, so far so good on the results. I had to go the long way around to get them done, but the ride to Starke was pleasant enough. Knowing I was running low on my blood pressure medication and needed to see the doctor before she would refill them, I still dilly-dallied in making the appointment with Lifeline Screening to have my blood work done. This is the company I use for the lab work because they are cheaper than going elsewhere. Lifeline offers many more tests than only the blood work but initially I just asked for that portion of their services.

The closest I could get to home was a 45 minute ride into the next county on a Saturday morning, after an 8 hour fast. I had offered Justin the opportunity to take me but he had made plans already for the day with his friend, so I drove myself. Me, and the GPS built into my phone. I left home about an hour ahead of my appointment to allow for travel and some margin for error, my own, not the GPS's. With no problems I found the place, the Women's Club of Starke, which was on a quaint bricked street 'in town'. A nice building, too. 

I got myself situated with the paperwork to complete, where I promptly missed a page and had to go back to the desk for the clipboard again. Nuts! The receptionist up-sold me on another test or two which I did wish to get but didn't know they offered. With my blood draw they could check my kidney and liver function, which is good information to have.  As I waited my turn, it occurred to me that I was messing up by not having the complete work up done as long as I was there and had fasted. I went to the desk once again and asked her if it would be problem for me to have all the tests. Assured it would not be problem, they had only 25 patients scheduled, she told me I would simply be there longer, which was okay with me. I up-sold myself!

So, I had my barrage of tests, checking arteries all over my body for good flow, checking on the density of my bones, and the blood work. The rest of the tests I had plus the liver/kidney tests will come by mail, but the blood work printout was given to me before I left. I was a smidge high on the blood sugar test but the nurse assured me it was low compared to everyone else she'd tested that day. Good! My other readings for cholesterol and such were well within parameters (yay!). I had my printout to share with my doctor for my appointment on Monday so I was good to resume normal activity. I'd been watching my consumption more closely for the week prior, though had some wonderful beef brisket yesterday. Thankful that didn't show up on my triglyceride numbers! 

When I got to my car about two hours after arriving, I immediately popped open my Diet Coke to enjoy during my ride back to town. I will still be watching myself until my appointment on Monday is behind me. But I sure was hungry when I got home. Leftovers take care of it. Glad to have passed my tests thus far and pray for good results on the rest of them when they come. 

I'm a winner!

One of Justin's favorite things to do is speculate on what he'd do if he won the lottery. He's been doing this since he was a kid. One of his plans was to buy a pipe organ for our humble church. Our friend, then pastor, Pete, told him he'd also have to hire an organist! Can't really have one without the other. Another idea he had, once older, was to put a security system and central air/heating in his cousin's home because her husband worked nights and he feared for the safety of my niece and her boys. Always thinkin'...

Now it's my turn to play the 'what if I win the lottery?' game. Justin and I each got a ticket last week when the prize was up to $186,000,000.  We knew we didn't win the Powerball when the prize went up to over $200 million but yesterday he scanned my ticket to see if I won anything. It turned out I did!!  I won---$4!!!  I speculated I could get almost two 12-packs of Diet Coke with the winnings, or turn it around and reinvest it this week for the drawing tonight. Instead of just one ticket like last week's drawing, this time I'll have two, purchased with my winnings from last week. How exciting!

Already I am making plans for the work I will do in my condo, renovations and redecorating, including, gulp, replumbing the place. Yikes! I could do all this with some abandon due to the huge amount of the prize but can't overdo it and affect the valuation for the rest of the building. Like Justin has told me in the past, no matter how much money he could win, he still couldn't get me any more parking for my building. That is a problem here---the lack of additional parking spaces for guests, and I do enjoy entertaining. Unless he'd build a parking garage....hmmm?