More WI photos from May trip

Lori drove over to Manitowoc on Mother's Day, arriving barely in time to meet the rest of us for lunch. (Mornings are not her friend.) She brought with her a freshly baked rhubarb pie. She served it to those gathered at Mom's house that afternoon, and ran out of forks, so I got the giant serving fork to eat with! 

For the duration of our meal at Silver Valley, a buffet for Mother's Day, Mom had all her daughters together. Right after this photo was taken, Kerry had to head for home to get some sleep before going to work that night. Lori and me in the back row, up on the hearth, with Kerry, Lynn, and Jill in the next row, and Mom up front. She never wants to get her picture taken but I insisted. We have so few photos of us all together and time is running short! 

The day after Mother's Day, some of us went to eat lunch at Late's Drive In, my first time there since remodeling was completed. The food was excellent! Enjoy my perch sandwich greatly!

Linda had surgery on Monday, had to recuperate at home. Lori needed Internet so she drove us over to see Linda and to tap into her Internet. Linda's cat was guarding her so she didn't move around too much, very territorial! Lori at last got the information she needed to send off Mom's DNA sample to do her Ancestry thing. This should be fun to see how Mom's test comes back. Oddly, two sisters who did the tests did not show much German at all, even when all the family history says Germany...

Here are Lynn's three grandsons, getting so tall and handsome. Gabe is the oldest, then Manny just a little more than a year younger. Up front, that little cutie pie, is Angelo, who is going into 1st grade this next year. Love their chin dimples!

Jill and I went to eat at the newer Mexican restaurant in town while Lynn and Mom attended a piano recital in which Gabe and Manny were participating. We had a very nice evening, and saw some customers Jill had taken care of in the parlor earlier in the day, a group of fellows on a trip. That was kind of cool. They were so nice.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mom. She was laughing at something Linda said and I caught her without Mom even knowing it. Love the naturalness of it. 

On my flight back home, I had a sweet little guy sitting next to me. His mom and younger sister were across the aisle. He kept himself busy with a video game but after a while he got sleepy and took a nap. Little by little his shiny little head found my arm and then rested on it. I had my arm somewhat raised to support his head so it wouldn't hurt his neck. The mom looked over and saw this and started to say something but I motioned to her that it was fine. Little did she know how much I was loving this, and how much effort it took on my part to not stroke his hair....

Wisconsin trip in photos

From May 6 to the 20th I spent time in Manitowoc with my family and friends. Part of that time included worship, Bible study, school activities for my nephews, and yes, even dining out! 

This Sunday was Examination/Confirmation Sunday. 9 students answered questions and gave witness of their faith based on the Catechismal studies and did a fine job of it. 

Linda and I had lunch together at the Courthouse Pub on Monday. We had a great time together! She ate all her salad, but I couldn't eat all my burger and fries. I'd rather talk, anyway

I absolutely refused to take my coat to WI but fortunately Mom had one of my 'old' jackets in the closet yet. Needed it almost every day! Linda and I went shopping and such in Two Rivers and I found this 'original' bubbler in Schroeder's Dept. Store. Had to take a sip!

Linda and I also went shopping and to lunch in Green Bay one day. Oh, my!!!  Our friend, Debbie H, had told us about a big sale happening at CJ Banks and I really cleaned up. People who have to look at me will be glad to see me wearing some new tops. Once back in Manitowoc, Lynn and I went shopping at Kohl's on her day off and I got a few more tops there. Such good sales---can it really be end-of-season this early in May?? At the checkout in Kohls I was struck by this display of items from the Golden Book series. When Justin was little, he enjoyed Golden Books and one particular video, "The Great Harbor Rescue" which I could put on twice for him after we got home from work/day care. In that period of time, I somehow magically threw our dinner together. Those days are a blur but we still have our VHS tape of 'the get up and go' movie!

Jill's son, Jamie, messaged Lynn while we were at the Coffee Shop the Saturday before Mother's Day to report his boys and he were coming up for a surprise visit. We were to not say anything and they would surprise her at Grandma K's. Jill wept when she saw them in Mom's kitchen and put big hugs on them. Jamie could only stay the day but that was nice that he came. Later Lynn had her grandsons come and they went to play in the park across the street from Mom and Jill's building. It's not often the cousins get to see each other, much else play, so this was great!

Look at that shiny stove!

When I got home from WI, this is how I found my stove. Rarely do we/I see the top of it and he had it all polished up. The counter tops were equally cleaned off and polished using Clorox wipes. 

Last August I sent this photo of our stove top to Terri's sister, Gayle, after we had a discussion about this. She is quite handy in the kitchen. I explained that my stove is seldom used for cooking. Storage? Yes! Cooking? Less!

Now you can see why I was quite impressed to see my range looking so brightly polished and cleared away of boxes!

PACE clothing give away

A week ago Friday I joined my friend, Terri, and her sister, Gayle, over at church to sort and fold clothes which Terri had hauled from her office. I didn't know they were going to do this and was happy to be part of the fun. I can sort and fold clothes to beat the band and do enjoy doing it for the girls. There was much much more clothing coming from the PACE Center which Terri would get help moving on Wednesday. 

This past Thursday Terri and the gang had gotten everything hauled from the back classroom where it was stored to the Fellowship Hall at church where we began in earnest with more sorting and folding. Besides the ATT Pioneers volunteers, Gayle, plus Janet B., from our congregation, came to help. When we had the room all set up Michael came in from the classroom and took our photo. 

 On Friday morning, we were ready for the girls from PACE to come and do their 'shopping'. I was privileged to help this young lady with her selections. The number of items they get to take is based upon an earned point system in the school year. Two young ladies had acquired enough points to get 50 items! They get to choose from the hanging clothes, folded items, purses, lingerie, sleepwear, and even shoes. 

 The girls were transported by their own PACE vans from their school to our church, about 12 at a time. Terri's group is quite organized with the way things are handled for the selections and bagged up. This is important since they are under a time crunch. I thought of Supermarket Sweepstakes where folks run through the aisles of the grocery store and throw stuff into the shopping cart to beat the clock. 

 Here's some of the room all done up and ready to be dug through. In between the visits from the girls we'd have about 45 minutes during which time we'd restack the clothes which had been rummaged through, locate empty hangers in the racks (the hangers were very nicely placed in boxes for the next event) and we'd move some stuff around on the racks to make them easier to see. Some of the groups had quiet girls while others had more excitement. I'm sure it's a bit overwhelming especially for some of the girls who come from less than ideal circumstances or from poverty. At the end of the shopping, I was completely worn out and excused myself while the ladies set about packing up. Terri had to be sure the Fellowship Hall was turned around and ready for Bible study on Sunday morning. She reported to me that she had done just that. 

Thankfully they could wheel some of the racks to the back classroom where they can be gone through again before being packed up for the next time. I look forward to helping with that next week, I'm sure!

I hate the words "used to"

Hate is a strong word, I should modify it to 'dislike' that group of words. One of my friends at church, Jackie, in her 80's, told me more than once how she has come to hate those words. "I used to be able to drive at night..."; "I used to be able to shop for hours...", "I used to be able to sleep all night..." and so on. All the things we used to do, or were able to do. I used to dance like my pants were on fire. Now, they'd have to actually be on fire for me to move like that! And then I'd not be able to walk for the rest of the week. 

Several years ago my sister, Lori, was telling how her husband and she were moving furniture around in their split-level. What formerly would have been a simpler task proved to be quite taxing. In Lori's words: "My days of carrying sofas down the stairs are over..." She 'used to' be able to carry stuff easily, but now, not so much. The physical limitations are just that---limiting. 

I remember how I 'used to' do many things on the job sites including demo work, nailing drywall, stapling insulation, nailing floors, staining and varnishing trim, painting walls and ceilings, painting the exterior of our homes. I used to be able to climb ladders, once even getting onto the roof of a house, but found myself unable to address the ladder when it was time to go back down! In those days, my husband was able to swing and lower me by my hood onto the rungs of the ladder. He 'used to' be able to handle me, as it were. 

Some of the things I used to do I don't miss much but there are other things for which I do wish. One is to hear my son's voice. I can make that come true by having my video tapes converted to DVDs. Not sure what is preventing that, it's on me to make it so. I used to be able to Jazzercise, now it takes all my strength to move from chair to bed to car to place where I am going. That might be an exaggeration but not too far off. My joints complain and my back hurts. I used to be able to pack up a household in really good time, whereas now, I'd have to sit down every few minutes to accomplish the task. At least I can still tell others, the able-bodied, what to do yet!

I used to wear big, heavy glasses but after having LASIK surgery, I no longer have to wear those. However, I am at a point where glasses might now be necessary again, after 17 years. Hopefully not so heavy and I am sure so large, though that is presently the style people are wearing. We shall see (ha ha)! I never used to take afternoon naps but now I do, every time I can. I never used to procrastinate but now I do, much to my chagrin. 

I 'used to' a lot of things, some of which I miss, and others I do not. I don't hate it yet as much my older friend does, but I imagine I shall some day. 

Looking at relationships

There is a scene in one of Justin's and my favorite movies, "Julie and Julia", where Julie has a sad lunch with her friends and comes to the realization about who or what they really are---terrible people! At least, that's the way they come across in the restaurant scene, totally self-absorbed and full of themselves. Simple Julie meets another friend later on and asks her the rhetorical question, "What does it means if we don't like our friends?" Quite telling. Are they truly friends or just people we know? 

I've had some recent experiences and communications which proved troubling, leaving me feeling sad and unsettled. What's going on with people? Why so touchy? Are our relationships so valueless and unimportant that they can be disposed of without any sense of loss? I hate to even think how close I've come to figuratively giving a pop on the snoot and say, "Knock it off!" The question is for how long does a person tolerate being poorly treated or spoken to before severing ties? When it's one's own family acting poorly toward the others in the relation, that is a tough situation. From the outside, it is easy to make suggestions on how to make the repairs to the relationship. The more people involved, the more complicated it becomes. It all gives me a headache, and sometimes, a heartache. Deep and abiding sadness, messing with my joy. Hate it, just hate it, for all of us. 

Deeply sad news

Last night before I was ready to drop off to sleep, my phone went off. It was Jean from church, calling me to report some terrible news. A long time friend of the family, church and school ties, had died earlier that day. Twila's grandson, Mark, same age as Justin, had problems with drugs. At this time it is unsure what caused his death but likely it was life-style related. Jean said that Twila didn't want this news publicized yet, but felt she just had to talk, and I was glad to be here for her. 

Mark, Robbie, David, and Justin 2009

Mark went to live with his grandparents when he was about 9 years old, after his mom died. Mark's parents were divorced and the dad was not equipped to care for him so the grandparents took over. Twila talked to me about sending Mark to St. Johns, and since 3rd grade Mark and Justin were in school together, graduating in 2006. Church and school friends, and neighborhood friends as well. The boys were confirmed in faith together in 2002, with their friend, Robbie. 

After Jean called me, I went to see if Justin was still awake, but he was not. Apparently the news got out other ways because before I went to sleep, folks were reaching out to me, asking me for information, etc. I let Robbie know this a.m. on a private message, and I let Justin know last night in the same fashion, fearing he'd see it on Facebook first. So far I haven't heard from him about this, he will have all day to process it, as will I. 

I have so many memories of experiences with Mark including mischief the boys got into at our homes, shared meals when the boys were in confirmation classes,  carpooling to school, birthday parties, church events...Oh my! Twila and I were raising boys the same age, though she is about 20 years older than me. My heart is so heavy with all this, breaking for Twila. When Timmy died Twila was at my house the next morning to be with us. I wish I could do the same but she has asked for no phone calls or visits just yet. I will respect that, but only to a point. 

Jean, Twila's sister-in-law, suggested I share this news with those at Bible study this a.m. So far I have not been asked to place them on the Prayer Chain but I am ready when the family is. Such a sad ending to this young man. On the same day my son was voted onto the church Council, Twila's grandson died. It's just so hard to process. May the Lord comfort Twila on these most sad days...