A repeat of a message from my friend, Suzanne.....

I remember so much about that week in detail! I remember wiping the dining room table off, because it was covered with icing from Caitlyn's first birthday cake, and the phone rang. It was Chris Douglas telling me what had happened, and that you were all at the hospital. I remember him asking me to make calls to other families, asking them to pray for a miracle, and I remember Chris calling me again and telling me Timmy had died, and then having to share this news with the same families again.

I remember sitting in the church with Mark Vance, alone, staring at our stained glass picture of Jesus for hours, and wondering WHY babies die, and what was the purpose, but mostly I remember saying... "You made it Timmy! You get to see Jesus before me! See you when I get there!"

I remember seeing you at the funeral home, wondering how in the world you were functioning, and thinking you had amazing strength! I remember that you had just had surgery, and that you had had your eye surgery just before that as well! I remember sitting with my friends on the left side in the back row of our church, and that it was so full we didn't have enough chairs, and people were standing outside the doors! I remember seeing so many grown men, big burly contruction workers in tears! And I remember the funeral procession to Jax Memory Gardens, and thinking this was probably the longest ever seen on Blanding, and what a traffic jam! I remember standing at the cemetary seeing his little white casket, and thinking how small it seemed, and the flowers from the wreath beside it that went on top of it! I remember sending a card to you as well as one to Justin, and telling Justin I was praying for him, because I hoped that he wouldn't be forgotten in the sorrow, that it wasn't just the parents that lost a son, but he lost his little brother!

Kim, I remember so much about that week! I'm telling you all this, and I hope it doesn't upset you! I tell you this because I love you so much, and that little boy was a bookmark in my life! A bookmark in my faith, and I want you to know Timothy made a difference in my life!

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...and that, folks, is what makes a Christian friend and helps sustain us through our trials and tribulations and joys. We know Timmy is with the Lord, soaring around the throne and singing "Holy, holy, holy" in his deep voice!

Another repeat of a posting

This will I will more boldly mark this as being a re-run so as to avoid confusion:

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I did not mark this one with "Warning" because I suspect most of the readers are already braced today. What was a clear and bright sun-filled sky has become foggy and slightly overcast. I hope that does not last long. And I also hope Justin is across the bridge already and not in the fog while he is driving.

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Cindy was at church yesterday but after worship when we were hugging, I wanted to say something to her. She said, "Don't say anything!" We just smiled at each other, knowing each others minds and hearts so well, and left it unspoken. Last week she wrote such a lovely comment to a posting, telling about what the first weeks were like in her Sunday school class after Timmy died, how she let the kids ask questions and discuss what happened instead of following the curriculum. I suspect the kids learned a whole lot more those days and weeks than they will ever learn, more than they wanted to learn perhaps when their fellow member, another child, died so suddenly.

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Kathy and I had a conversation yesterday about grief and the rules thereof, and I am quick to say there are no rules, just go with it! Her daughter, now engaged to be married in April, had lost her first fiance to an accident a few years ago. Kathy was telling me how people, many of the them her daughter's friends, would tell Kelly to "get over it", and "move on". This was only months or weeks after he had died and they said "Move on." What exactly were they saying to Kelly? Were they saying those words to benefit Kelly? From my observations, not so much. In fact, people, and in her case, young people, simply are too uncomfortable, unskilled, in dealing with matters such as these. Sorrow and grief and loss truly do interfere with the "life goes on" mentality our culture has, and folks don't want to let their guard down around others, appear weak or emotional. Folks, I tell you again, there is nothing wrong with showing your feelings and expressing your grief, whether in private or in public. Many folks avoid the subject, saying they did not want to "upset" me ( or Kelly), when in fact, often, it is the speaker not wanting to be upset or show their feelings. Let's just skip along as though nothing has happened, and that is so unfair to the one experiencing the loss. I may be different than others, but I am willing to bet, not all that different. Lesson over.*

Last night at dinner with Brenda and Jimmie, we talked about a few things that made us laugh about Timmy. I recalled the time Jimmie was sitting at the conference room table, the first time Timmy had seen him without a cap on his balding head. Timmy was sitting on his dad's lap and asked him, "What happened to Jimmie's head?" It was also Jimmie's birthday that day and as we waited for the gang to assemble around the table to sing for him, I asked Timmy what song we should sing for Jimmie's birthday, assuming it would be the standard birthday song. Oh no, Timmy wanted to sing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm"! So, we did...

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Jimmie recalled that Timmy referred to Brenda as being Jimmie's mama, which, for some reason, really tickled Jimmie's funny bone! We recalled how Timmy would dress himself in outlandish, mismatched outfits, pointing to the blue stripe in his shirt and the blue square on his plaid shorts and say, "See? Blue, blue!". As far as he was concerned, he had a match! One of our guys, Frank, used to ask, "Dress yourself today, Tim?", as it was obvious I had not picked the outfit. One of our members from church also worked for us in the office before leaving to be director of the preschool. One day, Rebecca brought in a bunch of suspenders and clip-on ties for Timmy because he loved them so much. On uniform day at school, Justin got to wear a dress shirt and tie, but Timmy had to wear his school polo shirt----to which he clipped on a tie! I have that same shirt with a necktie attached in the memory box below his portrait in the hallway.

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One year for CHRISTmas we (Santa) got Timmy a bike, but it came unassembled. Another of our guys, Michael, got the dubious job of putting our childs' present together. Well, even though Timmy did not know Michaal had assembled the bike, he always asked Mike to put the chain back on or make the proper adjustment when something wasn't right.

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Another of our guys who used to work for us, Jim Hattaway, knew "Hurricane Hank" before he could even walk. In our old office, Jim would come in from the field and lift Timmy in his jump-up chair suspended in the doorway and would lift him wwaayy up with one hand, and let him drop. This brought great screams of delight from a previously bored infant. Jim only had so many of those in him though so the fun would soon stop. When Timmy learned to walk far too early, Jim's office and storage area was an easy mark for a little guy who loved to pull the covers off of boxes and strew the files around the room. That is why Jim, who never got mad, called him "Hurricane Hank". After Jim quit rather abruptly after a falling out with the boss, I didn't see or hear from him for a year. Finally he came back into my life and as I told my friends, "I can die now." I loved him and he loved me and my boys. At Timmy's funeral, Jim nearly passed out. It was hot, in January, and he had worn a white dress shirt with his suit, and the collar was so tight he could barely breathe. I told him he didn't have to wear that but he thought he should. The lady at the home inspection place where Jim then worked told me how hard Jim took the news about Timmy, and that she made dinner for him and hung out with him the first night, because he was so upset. I like knowing that about him, and about her.

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I am thankful to have a full day ahead of me, starting with Bible class and lunch with the church ladies. A good place to be. Justin is coming over here after work to do some vacuuming for us, because he works for his room and board, too, if you recall. And then we are going to have dinner at "Taste (Sweet) Tomatoes". We have to go sort of early so I am home again to attend the Board of Directors meeting this evening. We are having an attorney come to help explain the new condo laws and such, and their affect on us as an Association. I am hoping that doesn't mean more money but I am guessing it will. Ugh! Life goes on........maybe not "moving on" but going on.........

I'm feeling very WI these days!

Yesterday as I drove to church, it occurred to me that I felt it was warm outside. What??!!?? On what planet, or in what state, would 65 degrees above zero be considered warm? And it made me chuckle even thinking about it, because I just knew Linda J. and Alayna would think it perfectly warm---almost sleeveless weather! But why me? Well, because only a day or two before this, we were in the twenties, barely eeking higher than that, which made almost 60 seem warm by comparison! 

As I was standing at my podium in the back of the church, Richard B. came in, his first time back since the holidays. He drives over-the-road for an orange trucking company based in Green Bay. He told me that one day he drove all around the state of IA and it never 'warmed' above 9 degrees. And that is why, I explained to him, I was feeling quite Wisconsin-ish these days! In the summer, when we are mostly near 90's, even the 70's would send me scurrying for the afghan and hot cocoa! The dramatic drops, or relative warming, makes it seem either terribly cold or considerably warmer! So, when Judy R. tells me that 28 is their spring thaw, I will simply have to believe her! It is all relative!

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Tom Hanks was so darn cute as a younger man. I say this because the TV had two movies of his on today, "You've Got Mail" and "Sleepless in Seattle". My Internet radio refused to stream after 3:00 pm so I resorted to TV for my rest time. Not long ago I watched "Mail" but had not seen this one in a while. I had to chuckle about the 'old-fashioned' computers being used to search for the caller on the radio talk show. In 1993 the big desktops were the rage but in "You've Got Mail" Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, same team, used laptops for their communications. What a difference 5 years makes in the world of technology!

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Justin called me twice today about Glenn Beck stuff, he just gets so excited listening to the podcasts. Justin downloads the programs onto his iPhone so he can listen as he works on the houses, as he is washing windows at a house right now with all the time in the world to listen and scrub. Later he called me again to ask me about a newsletter which he gets e-mailed to him that he thinks I need to get. Justin will come here on Friday to clean before my party set for Saturday and will arrange to have the newsletter forwarded to my computer from his automatically. Again with the techno stuff! Only I cannot stand that Rosie O'Donnell in this 'Seattle' movie!

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Today I attended Bible study at church, as we begin a study loosely based on "The Theology of the Cross", a book which has gathered dust on my dresser since June. I had wanted to dive into the book and consume it but I was intimidated by it. What I really wanted was for someone to sit down and tell me what I was reading, which is hopefully the way this Bible study will work out.

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A couple of us left the class early, though, to attend the funeral service for the elderly mom of our member and friend, Cliff. Pastor sneaked out early, too, but not as early as Ethel and me. The service was very interesting and once more I got to hear Robbie singing. He also played the piano for the solos sung by his aunt and him. I did know one hymn, "Amazing Grace" but never knew it had so many stanzas. Folks were given the opportunity to give a testimony about the deceased and several spoke, including Robbie at the very end. Two men from the family row, Cliff included, had to go up on the 'stage' to assist the elderly pastor get to his feet. There was no luncheon afterward but I did join the family at the cemetery, my cemetery. I had a bouquet to leave at Timmy's site which I dropped off before the committal service. My 'boyfriend', Charles, was standing by and gave me a hug....I asked him, "Do you know what day it is tomorrow?" and he answered, "Timmy's birthday?" He knows his name! How special is that?!?

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Well, I must get ready to go and have dinner with my friend, Joanne, whom I have not seen since last year! Really-----not since December 25th when her dad and she were here for our feast. She is just so busy and finally we found a spare minute to spend with each other. A good night for it, too, since I usually went to Longhorn on Mondays!

A peaceful Sunday

When Lori and David were here over CHRISTmas, they had brought along a movie called "Life as a House" which had potential for being my kind of move except for the foul language. Lori said they used this movie as part of her training for her ministry at church, which seems odd since it has bad language! But the message, the story, has a good lesson in it. I am watching it today, on 'regular' TV so even though there are commercials, it is also edited. Glad I saw it in the directory for after the football game!

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My dear friends took me to lunch after church today. Paul, Emily, and Sarah enjoyed Aron's Pizza, although none of us had pizza! I had my usual stromboli with half of it coming home with me, of course. Sarah did not eat all her 'basketti' either so she will have that for dinner. She was proud of losing her tooth this morning and has another one nearly falling out. I took a picture with my cell phone to send to "my Justin", as she refers to him.

Here is Sarah trying to expose the space where her tooth is missing!

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Well, last night, against sentiment in my body, I got dressed and went to Linda's house at the beach for chili, games, and the bonfire. I am so delighted and glad that I did, for many reasons, the first of which is Linda is my friend! While the gathering did not work out exactly as she wished, it was nice just the same. I got to spend some time with Carol, a friend I met at Linda's a couple years ago on Dale's one year anniversary, and saw her again at the Advent Song Service. The resident 'hippie' in the condo complex who holds two advanced degrees in something, is our official bonfire maker, and takes great pride in his fires. He scavenged a wrought-iron planter up on legs which works great for bringing the heat up closer to our faces and allows the air to get underneath to burn hotter. Perhaps one of his degrees, this bearded beach bum, is in fire building! Good ole Fred, the fire starter!

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Having a smaller group gave Linda and I plenty of time just by ourselves so we could catch up decently. Usually we are in passing at the church events, and we have lots of news between us. The highlight in hers is that her daughter, Lisa, is getting married in March with plans for a wedding shower in February. Lisa is concerned about etiquette and all that, while Linda would like to wing it. Not being Lisa's first marriage, there is allowance for some variation, in our opinion. On my ride down to St. Augustine, the rain was a nuisance and the wind ferocious, making it hard to imagine that we would soon be sitting on the beach around a bonfire. At about the halfway mark, it stopped raining but the wind was still wicked, trying to move my car around on the road. Later, when I left Linda's, the wind had once more kicked up and blew spray the sprinklers onto my car and me. Not only did I smell like a bonfire, I also smelled like sulphur on top of that!

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This morning after Bible study, Brian came to me with a couple things he needs help with. I will be glad to pitch in, especially when it comes to nagging. The idea of getting unfinished projects closer to being completed is quite exciting for me, and hopefully for all of us. Especially those who are NOT being nagged by me!

Prayers are answered

Yes, even though we wake to pouring rain and fog, our prayers are answered because the temperatures are back to what we consider 'normal'. Right this minute, it is about 60 above zero and it has been a long time since that happened at this time of the day. I am supposed to be going to Linda O's condo today and am vacillating about going to St. Augustine in the rain. While I would most assuredly enjoy my time there with friends, playing games, driving in the rain and feeling the effects of a head cold.....I just don't know what to do!?!

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Some other prayers have been answered but perhaps not the answer being looked for. My friends at Hang Ups have been asking for prayer for their cousin/nephew who was reported missing in OH. He is in his young twenties, in the National Guard, and had not been heard from for several days. The police were searching for him and yesterday, it came to light that the young man had purchased a bus ticket and took a bus out of their jurisdiction. No longer considered a missing person, because of buying the ticket and boarding the bus, the prayers are now to have this young man contact his family and let them know what is going on with him. A sigh of relief that he is apparently 'alright' but still great concern for him.

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Such a terrible situation in Haiti, the horror of it all is more than I can fathom. Help from my area of the world is being sent via the Navy bases including medical supplies, helicopters, and ships to transport sick and injured. The Art Guild is helping by collecting supplies at the area farmer markets but it is my understanding that the relief organizations would prefer money instead of the supplies so they can buy and supply exactly what is needed. On F&F this a.m. they reported that $8 million has been basically pledged via the cell phone fund raisers but the money won't be released until the cell phone bills are paid in a month or two. So it is earned but not yet paid to the Red Cross or what have you. More direct methods of submitting would have immediate results, while the money from the cell phone companies will come later as this is no quick fix situation.

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This morning I will be heading to church to prepare for the Lord's Supper for Sunday. While there I must also pick up a sheet of poster board from the fellowship hall to use for tracking fund raising efforts for our new lawn mower. The yard sale last fall netted about the half the money needed for the mower so we need the balance donated. Our new maintenance guy has gotten a great price for a machine which will fit through the gate to the playground and have a zero turn radius (??). None of our mowers are operational right now so those who have been cutting, during the growing season, bring their own on trailers or in the back of the car. My creativity hat is crushed and wrinkled these days but I will come up with something to put on the poster!

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The news is sort of done, so I changed over to watch "The Soloist" on HBO. Joanne and I saw this the first time in the theater not that long ago so I was surprised to see it was on TV already. The story, a true one, is how a newspaper reporter discovers a schizophrenic man who has an incredible talent for music. The reporter, played by Robert Downey, Jr., writes about this street musician, played by Jamie Foxx, and mentors him without putting constraints on him. He prefers to live in the street but Lopez gets him a cheap apartment, under the guise of it being his rehearsal hall. There is a cot where Nathaniel can take a nap if he gets tired rehearsing....Gotta love these true stories. Later in the movie, Lopez gets him a private 'audience' to see/hear an orchestra rehearse, where Nathaniel listens with his eyes closed. Because of his mental illness, the "music" is shown on the inside of his lids in psychedelic colors. Lopez sort of whispers, "I wish I could see the music you hear...". I love that line, see the music you hear. They cannot force this man into taking medication for his illness, even though he had been a student at Julliard at one time. It is a sad, exposing view of what a psychotic life is like, but it is also joyful because of the music allows the sick man some solace, as well as solace for those who hear him play.

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Last night Twila, Elaine, and I had dinner together at my house where I served brats, sauerkraut, and baked beans. Both Elaine and Twila enjoyed two brats, which is good since they were Elaine's first brats! We played two games of Scrabble after dinner and they were nice enough to let me win. Twila had said Elaine would mop the floor with me, and she let me off with a warning! Whew! Twila had made a spice cake with a burnt sugar frosting, really quite sweet, even for me. We picked the icing off, for the most part, and enjoyed the cake portion.

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My inclination is to lie in bed most of the day and watch TV but the better thing would be to get up and dressed. Go do my prep for Holy Communion and grab the poster board to exercise my efforts at making this 'encouragement' to donate! I was thinking maybe a party store would have something to incorporate onto the 'blank canvas'.....HELP!!!! Here go the blankets and the feet hit the floor, running......

The tinkle down theory

What am I doing up so early? It was before six a.m. when I found myself awake and taking a walk to the bathroom. That water drinking is taking its toll on me! I had to laugh, though, discovering something I refer to as 'the tinkle-down theory". Even though our units are fairly isolated and insulated, there is little, almost no sound barrier between our bathrooms. Having had my bath remodeled not too long ago, I know this to be true. Well, if someone flushes their potty on the 5th floor, I can hear it in my bathroom; and then someone goes in the 4th floor bathroom, and then it's my turn, and on down to the next floor. It stops there because Gus is out of town right now! It's like a signal to us all to get up and go potty! It is not obvious in the daytime hours, but during the night, it seems to work fairly well.

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I guess the good news about the mess in Haiti is that most of the businesses and such were not busy when the earthquake hit. At least that is what I heard one man in Haiti report although some reports have schools being in session, etc. The government offices were not open for business, I guess, which is why the leaders escaped the collapse of their buildings. My sister knows a missionary who is missing at present in the capital city and they are awaiting news of his situation. The young man is in his last year of seminary and was presently training Haitians to be Bible teachers, doing the Lord's work. I hope when word comes, it is good news, that he is safe and well.

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Yesterday went well for me emotionally as it was spent with church family and Justin at Victory for Bible study. Some of the ladies asked us to join them for lunch but I declined, so Justin and I could be by ourselves. We originally were heading for Mimi's Cafe for some meatloaf but their parking lot was so full, we decided to go to Wasabi for Japanese instead. We had a good visit, no crying, just being together was a good thing. He pumped gas for me, the good boy that he is, and then I had to take him back to church to get his car so he could go to school.

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In the car on the way back to church, he told me, hesitantly, about a class he is taking, "Apocalyptic Art". It sounds fine to me but he was concerned I would be upset about them sort of dissing or discounting the validity of the Bible's account of the Apocalypse. I encouraged him to defend the Bible the best he can, but mostly he has to just pass the class. You cannot argue properly if it is not apples and apples, if the prof is not a believer, denies the inspired Word of God, it would be useless to argue. Justin knows the truth, and knows he needs the credit. I offered my photos taken at Patmos where it is thought John wrote the book of Revelation but he did not accept them. Too bad that Justin cannot attend the Bible studies going on at Victory covering Revelation but they take place on nights he has class. Oh well.....The Bible is not the sole book used for the class, and he loves the art, obviously, so just pass the class without compromising his faith. (A man on TV just described the mess in Haiti as being apocalyptic...), not art at all.

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The river is covered in haze this a.m. with pink ruffled clouds above it. From my bed I can see my poinsettia and mini-CHRISTmas tree which I collected from the cemetery, where they sit on my table in the river room. Neither look like they are near death at all so I hope they stick around a long time for me. As I told Jen R. on my Facebook page yesterday, I still have the plant Rick and she gave us the day after Timmy died, in the same container, after all these years. The plant is not what I would describe as flourishing, as it is likely root bound and such, but it still lives! I cannot say the same for Timmy's lemon tree which succumbed to some insects a year or so ago. Cindy S. tried to save the tree after it was cut back but it was too far gone. Fausto, a master gardener from church, also tried to battle the "little bastards" which infested the tree but sadly, it was just too late. All those years it was outdoors and nothing happened to it, but since I moved here to the river, not so much. Timmy's father has a seedling from a seed of this tree and I trust it is still alive. I will have to ask Justin if he has seen it and how it is doing. I have two lemons from the tree in my freezer and sometimes wonder if I should cut one open to salvage the seeds, to see if they would grow after being frozen.....I will ask Fausto if he is up to the challenge.

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Our foliage around the church which was not cold-weather hardy is all brown/black and wretched looking, begging to be cut down. Oh, how I wish it had been removed before the funeral service Tuesday but, oh well....It looks so dumpy around our property but now that we have a new maintenance guy on board who loves projects, plans are being made to refresh our appearance. The past few years the focus was primarily to finish our classroom building and now that is completed, we can move on to other needy projects. At the funeral home visitation Monday night, one of the ladies drew me into their group and asked, "Kim, do you like to pressure wash?", knowing that I do. Enthusiastically I replied that I do like to pressure wash but don't have my machine any longer. It seems a group was being assembled to do the washing at church and I said to count me in but NOT when it was cold out! All agreed it needed to be much warmer before that project was tackled!

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Last night Brenda N. and I had a nice dinner together at Chili's where we accidentally discovered it was Happy Hour. Oh my goodness! If I had known that, I would have ordered differently but oh, well, bottoms up! Since we enjoyed each other's company for over three hours, we did just fine. I had a delicious pulled pork sandwich which I actually pulled off the bun to eat and some fries, while she had quesadillas. She had called me a couple times yesterday, finally getting me as I dropped Justin off at church, as she was thinking of us on the anniversary. It is not easy to pin her down so I was glad she was able to go out. She thanked me for introducing her to the library as a source for free movies which Cary and she have been enjoying, especially since she was laid low with a sinus infection over the holidays. They watched "The Winds of War" over New Year's weekend and were blown away. She does not have cable TV and can pick up only a couple stations on my "old" TV, but they do have a VHS and DVD player to enjoy the free movies from the library. She even gets the oldies like "African Queen" and a few others I did not recognize. Her era and her great fun! Thanks, Judy R., for making me get a library card!

A repeat of January 14, 2008

I guess I must point out that this is a re-run or repeat, as the title says, of the posting from 2008. Sorry for any confusion this caused.....

Well, the big day is here---Timmy's anniversary. I've received several cards, e-cards, phone calls plus personal greetings so far today and enjoyed a lovely lunch with the Monday Bible study group. In the arms of my church family, a great place to be today and always!

Had a nice, long chat with Linda last night which was good for my soul, she is so good for my soul and my heart! We can laugh about the dumbest things. She has plans to go on a cruise in late March but that won't work with my trip to MN at the begining of April. Everything has to happen at once sometimes. I'll try to get some time later in the month to do some scrapbooking with her when I'm in Manty.

When I stopped by the cemetery today after lunch, I saw the guys closing up a grave over in the "babyland" section, which always saddens me, but moreso today. Someone else is going to feel sorrow like mine for the rest of their lives, but the good news is that the sorrow softens a bit as time goes on. We got told that often early on when Timmy died and I personally have found that to be true. What is also true is that memories fade a bit, something which no one could have ever convinced me would happen. What a learning and growing experience this has all been, going to the School of Hard Knocks, sort of. Okay, then, does that mean I've graduated or is there more "homework" required before I can be considered "honed by the fire"? Wait, wait, wait, don't answer that! I learned a valuable lesson from 2000 to 2003---don't ask questions you don't want the answer to!!!! So, no one needs to feel they should answer that question, okay?

I am also getting quite excited about the pending visit from the Prange family, coming into town next week. As Timmy would say, "I so 'cited!" Their schedule is already packed but they've invited me to share in much of it with them. Maybe I can work ahead on the newsletter and such but can't do much about the meetings and other committments that happen in the evenings. It will be cool to see what a little man Lucas has become and meet Grace for the first time. Last year she was still in utero for Brent's wedding and we didn't go up north for CHRISTmas this year, so missed meeting Baby Grace in person. I have a new nephew born last fall that I haven't met in person yet, either. I'd better get on the ball!

That Joanne! She is tooo much! She just called me from Jax Beach to tell me about this fantastic store that screamed "Kim Lahaie Day!!!" when she walked into it. She saw the most lovely dishware, some which looked like the Amalfi Coast or Greek Islands that would be perfect for me. Oh, she was so excited about her find! Jo picked up a stack of brochures to bring back for me but I'll have to wait to get them, as she's heading to Orlando for a Buffini meeting for a couple days...nuts! Nothing to stop me from taking a ride to Jax Beach myself for a first-hand look, right? Don't answer that, and besides, I am off of dish restriction for two years already. Maybe Justin would like to go with me, or would he get me into even more trouble??!!??

The sky is a lovely blue today, not so overcast as it was yesterday. We got buckets of rain during Bible study but it had cleared up by the time church got out. My car needed a washing anyway! Owen has offered to wash my car and put a nice finish coat on it for me. What a sweetheart he is.....and I knew that before he offered to wash my car! Olivia drives my big red car now and I love being able to get a ride in it every so often. Anyway, there is a white bird bobbing about on the river, certainly Joanne knows its name but I just recognize it as a white floating bird. I wonder if water fowl ever get sea sickness.........

Later today I might be going to the movies to see The Bucket List with some church ladies and perhaps my heart, Martie. We have to see how she feels after her art class gets out. On Wednesday, the 30th, I am going to the opera, Tosca, but no one else from church wants to go. I've approached Christine to see if she'd like to go, I don't spend nearly enough time with her, since she works not far from her home, not venturing into Jacksonville as much as she used to. She really needs to get out more!!!!!

This Thursday I am having lunch with Janet and her MI friend, Karen, at The Club and then coming over here to enjoy the view and spend some time together. They are going to help keep me busy so that I don't "dwell" too much, and there is no one like Janet who can keep me busy! She is a such a joy, a treasure in my life!

You have all probably gotten the e-mail thingy that circulates every so often about how people come into our lives for a Reason, A Season, or A Lifetime. I never want to let go of people, which sometimes adds to my heartache because I CAN'T or WON'T let go, but simply have to believe that people come into my life, personally, at exactly the right time, either for me, or for them! I love the power of the Lord, His mighty, guiding hands!

Speaking of hands, mine are getting cold, so will close this chapter for now. I don't know what to tell you about the "comments" problem, not sure just what has to be done to leave a comment. Linda's came through just fine last night. I'll have to ask her to walk me through it so those of you who have tried can give it a shot. Thanks for trying, though!

...serve the Lord with gladness!