Yes, that is me!

Can you believe your eyes??? I am eating a grilled chicken and fresh fruit salad with greens at Bahama Breeze for lunch today. I ate most of it except not all the greens and about 2/3 of the chicken. Justin finished the chicken and ate those cracker things that came with the salad. Love eating outside on days like this!

I should be getting up....

......but I am so comfortable here in my sort of new room! Sadly, the cable is messing up again and I cannot get F & F this a.m. so am listening/watching yesterday's radio show on-line. Man, I wish I had the physical stamina to endure a trip to Washington, DC on 8/28! Certainly I will be alive with regret for not going but I also know that I would have a terribly tough time with all the walking and standing. Justin said we would have about a mile walk to just get to from the hotel to the Mall and then to get to the Lincoln Memorial would be another hike. And then standing....Yes, I could take a lawn chair but would have to buy one once in DC since I cannot take my own on the plane. Ugh, I am so frustrated with myself. I have offered to pay Justin's way so he can attend with Grove and his girlfriend. Justin is all about "Restoring Honor"!

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Well, the new floor is in place and the big furniture put back in my room. I brought the round rug from my foyer and put it at the end of the bed and like the look of it there. Once the bench is in place, that might help secure it so I don't slip. Or so the rug won't slip 'n slide. I did not notice any undo echoing last night with the TV on and I did not have it on louder than before. Next time I turn it on I will pay extra attention to the volume numbers to see if I have it lower than usual since the carpet will not be there to absorb the sound. It is more than a decorating thing, it is science!

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At one point when Mike was putting in the transition boards, he had one that needed something heavy to hold it down so it would not pop up again. He asked me for something heavy to put on it for about an hour or so until the adhesive set. We decided to use books and went to my shelf to start pulling them down. I reached up and got some of my 'bigger' books, telling the guys to use these because "they are heavier reading", which Andy thought was so terribly funny. On Monday, when they were busy working, I was out in the family room listening to the radio/podcast and laughing my silly head off, as usual. At the end of the day, when they were packing up to leave, I walked them out and Andy turned to me and said, "I hope you cheer up for tomorrow!" I tried, I really did!

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Back now from Bible study and lunch with my Justin, who makes me laugh, too. We were talking at the study during a brief break and I told those gathered how I listen to the radio/podcast and just roar with laughter, all alone in my home. (That is, except when workmen are here, then not alone.) Later, at lunch, I told Justin that I had an emergency for him to take care of tomorrow when he comes over...The base from my "cut-out" of Maurice Jones-Drew that David gave me for Christmas fell off when I was doing the dusting. In order for me to try reaching it, I had to take off my steel bracelet and was fishing around behind the shelf next to my desk. Nuts! It slid under the shelf itself. All this while he is just nodding, likely thinking, "I can get it out tomorrow...." but I kept going with the story. The only thing in reach firm but narrow enough to fit under the shelf was my Greek calendar,as I demonstrated for him my attempts. But, no, that didn't work either. He was sitting across from me, chuckling. He said, "I should put a camera in your house to video tape you laughing (as he threw his back to imitate me!) and digging around, trying to get your stuff out!" Now, why was that so amusing to him??? I was being innovative in my attempts to get my little stand back, that is all. A butcher knife might work, too, and I will try that later on. I must have my MJD in a standing position, that is all there is to it!!!

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After Mike and Andy left me yesterday, having cleaned everything up inside and outside, I carried a few things back into my room. Not too much but I just wanted to sort of get things settled. The biggest job for me was making the bed again, including the mattress pad, which fought me all the way! At last the bed was made and the pillows, all 25 of them, or so it seems, placed on the bed with photos taken of the finished product. After Justin moves the computers and printers back to the room and has them hooked up again, I will be able to download my photos taken during the project and will post them. One of my friends on Facebook, someone I have never met in the flesh, asked me to take pictures so I did! Hey, it is summer and people are looking for something to do---if it is my photos, so be it!

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After resting my back a bit, I went upstairs to Jessica's to deliver the Papa Murphy's pizza I had picked up for them. She had taken Beckham over to her mom's house on Tuesday when the majority of the work was being done in order that his naps would not be interrupted and I felt badly even though I did not need to be. Anyway, she was appreciative of my offering. My downstairs neighbor, Cassidy, was coming up to watch the soccer game with Jessica but she is a vegetarian so Jessica would make the pizza later. She thought they might come over to The Club later for Happy Hour but they never made it. I did, though, and enjoyed my time very much. The appetizers were melon wrapped with prosciutto ham, a pickled veggie tray, and mussels. I like the melon and ate several of those, with some strawberries. More fruit! Penny came over as did others from The Palace and there was a nice roomful of folks. I saw a friend of mine with her office staff as guests, going into the dining room so I went in to say "hi" to Mary. It was great to see her, somewhere other than at Great Hang Ups! It was a lovely evening and I hope tonight will also be such, with the 'real' Outreach meeting going on. Most of me does not want to go, but I will anyway, so I can plead with those there to pitch in on the preschool anniversary event!!! HELP!!!!

Pictures of Alayna

This photo so perfectly sums up the joy felt that day as Alayna graduated from high school. She is so adorable and beautiful, especially when she lets herself go and kicks up her heels!!

Mom, or in this case, Grandma K, posed with Alayna following the ceremony. Mom had much to do with helping with her upbringing and they are very close. "I love you more...."

It is nearly finished!

Sitting here on the "Day" bed, not nearly as comfy as my own bed, I await the arrival of the workers. Already I have vacuumed the new floor and used my Swiffer wet mop (I love who ever came up with that idea!) until I ran out of cleaner. It looks very very nice in there! Mike and Andy are going to install the trim pieces along the floor edges and put the transitions in place in the doorways, covering my Comcast wire so I will not need to have those people come out to do anything more. That is, unless I would like to get those couple of stations in my bedroom that will not come in, such as HGTV and Lifetime. It really is not that inconvenient to go to the family room to watch "Selling New York" once a week, and Justin had at one time forbade me from watching Lifetime due to the subject matter covered there. Fine!

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Since it is water aerobics day again I am not getting dressed until I have to, because my suit is not dry from yesterday's outing. Boy, did I ache after that work out. But, I smell sooo good, because my beach cover was recently washed and the Publix-brand laundry soap just makes my stuff smell wonderful. And it lasts, even after a wearing. My pillow cases hold the scent for a good long time, reminding me of the ad on TV where women are drawn to a man, sniffing his shirt. That would be me, people chasing me down to smell my beach cover! I used to be nutso for Dynamo laundry soap but cannot find that anymore. No need, really, since this Publix-brand 'cheap' soap equals the scent of Dynamo, in my book. This is as close to wash-line fresh as I will get!

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Thinking I would head off the task, I wiggled around in the river room with my Pledge multi-surface cleaner, which I love, too, trying to clean my exposed furniture areas not often accessed when in place in my room. I discovered streaks of Diet Coke down the side of my dresser from when the soda splashed as I tossed the can into the wastebasket. Hmmm....perhaps I should re-think that habit and not throw the cans....I wonder what the wall looks like behind the wastebasket. When I was in the bedroom cleaning the new floor, I could not help but notice how dusty the book shelves and such were, being able to get up closer with no furniture or stuff in the way. Yech! In November I had Patti, our former waitress at Longhorn, come and do all the dusting of these things for me and six months later, it's like the shelves have never been touched. This dust is not in my imagination and drives me wacky!

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My sleep was not the greatest last night but but but I did manage to fall back to sleep without the TV on. When the VCR tape gets to the end, it automatically rewinds, pops out of the player, and the TV shuts off. How convenient! And somehow, I was able to go to sleep without it, but not soundly. This afternoon, when the fellas are gone and the house is my own again, with my bed in place and redressed, I can take a nap! Tonight is Happy Hour at The Club which means I have to wear my church pants since there is a rule about no denim inside The Club. I can sacrifice once or twice a week in order to be in compliance and to look decent for church. In two weeks will be the buffet dinner at Happy Hour but I believe it is something I do not eat, fish or something like that. Last month was steak, red potatoes, green beans, carrots, and yes, I even had some salad! I was with Sharon and Kathy M. from the building next to mine and we left before they came around with the pie. That was fine with me because I did so enjoy my steak and potatoes!

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Now that I have spent more time than ever in my guest room, I have the sense of urgency at getting it straightened out. Not only does my temporary stuff being in the room make it look dumpy but my art supplies and scrapbooking stuff does too. Justin had removed the closet doors when he had his TV in the closet on the open shelving but now that he is gone, the doors could really be reinstalled. That would help tremendously with the look of the room. Also a brighter ceiling light would be a blessing. I might have to hire my friend's husband, Judy C.'s son, to do some wiring for me as two of the three bedrooms have the old-fashioned pull strings for the lights! At the very least, here's another option---I could put in the ceiling fans with light kits and mount the remote control on the wall closest to the door. Not only am I cute, I am also brilliant! Like my bedroom lights! Time for water aerobics while the guys finish up....

The project update

The guys are already hard at it, tapping boards into place on my bedroom floor. Mike figures he can re-use some of the transition boards already on hand, trimming them, modifying them, and such in order for them all to match. Swell! Many photos have been taken but I must wait to post them until my other printer is hooked up again, in the finished room. Patience, all, patience!

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My sleep was great, at least until the VCR shut-off. I tried, I really tried going back to sleep without the TV on but no dice. The remote control for this TV is not to be found so I have to physically push the VHS tape into the player, built into the TV, and hit PLAY. Very primitive, but truly a blessing to my sleep. The other day I had the presence of mind to record back-to-back "House" episodes which played back to me in my sleep--twice through. I am not sure how many hours the tape holds but I am guessing about four hours, although it did play through twice, which woke me right around 7:30 or so. Oh, and here's a funny thing: I left the door open from the kitchen to the guest room overnight and sure enough, the sun shined on me way back in here!!!! Not quite so funny was my observing the horribly filthy French doors to the kitchen. Someone should do something about that, too!

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In checking my e-mail first thing this a.m. I found a sad note from my friend, Judy R., in MN. Her sister, Diane, passed away yesterday afternoon at the age of 71. She has suffered forever and ever with physical ailments and since the beginning of the year had surrendered the majority of one of her legs already. Di had circulation problems and walked with a cane. I had the pleasure of meeting her and shared a meal just more than a year ago when she came to visit her daughter, Chrissie, who lives in Mandarin, on the road to Clark's Fish Camp. Chrissie has been diagnosed and is being treated for breast cancer so has her own battle going on. She had been married in March of 2009 and diagnosed later that same year. Yikes! This is her second marriage and has three sons from her first one. Di made Chrissie's wedding dress plus did some curtains and such while staying with Chrissie. Quite the seamstress that Di! Now she will have no need for legs as she joined her husband and others gone before her into heaven and has met the Lord face to face. Please keep my friends, Judy and Chrissie, in your prayers---thanks!

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Tonight is Bible study at church and Judy J. called to ask me to dinner beforehand. Much will depend upon the progress Mike makes today since we meet for dinner prior to class instead of going after. Some folks like to eat earlier and Judy is one of them--usually. We shall see. She is taking off for Michigan this week and I will not see her for weeks and weeks. That is a long ride by herself and I give her lots of credit for doing it. Since it is such a trip, she goes up and stays for lengths of time. All her children and grands live up there as do her many of her friends from child-raising days so she has plenty to keep her busy. In her daughter's home, she even has a mom-in-law's suite at her disposal.

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It is now 2:00 pm and I have greeted my workmen, attended water aerobics at the pool, gotten dressed for the day, gone errand running and am home again. Whew! It is about 90 degrees outside but I have the A/C set for the comfort of my guys, around 75. They left a few moments ago to pick up some shoe moulding and are coming back, but I have dialed it back a few degrees until they return. My toes are numb (my slippers are not presently accessible...) from the cold, which makes me wear my sad face.

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I saw something interesting on the HTR newspaper site in Manitowoc and called Mom to talk to her about it. As we were wrapping up our conversation, I was relating to Mom a segment of "Seinfeld" where George is sort of rebuffed by his parents, who make believe their Chinese food order had come so they can get off the phone with him. Just as I was finishing the story, I heard someone knock on the door and told her I had to go. Mom thought I was kidding but it was Connie, building maintenance lady coming to check on the project! Mom sort of kept talking, thinking I was putting her on, but it was absolutely true. She actually had to 'go', too, so we hung up but it sure was a funny experience! Like Justin says, everything is "Seinfeld"!!!! Mom did not get a chance to tell me her story of a Justinism Lynn and she remembered....I hope she can the next time I call her!

I am having a plague!

Well, the guys are here and have successfully removed my carpet and pad from the bedroom floor. A nearly intact parquet floor was exposed under the pad, complete now with knife cuts from them slicing the carpet and pad. When I asked if I was making a terrible mistake, they were quick to remind me just how dated that type of floor was/is and it certainly is much darker in color than is the new flooring. I went as light as I could with the flooring in order to maintain the light in the rooms, all of them which I have replaced. Since the river room is so well lit, its dark tile, which wears a light colored area rug, does not feel dark at all. Not with 15' patio doors hauling in the sunshine---on a good day, anyway!

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My bedroom furniture is stacked in the river room which now looks pretty trashy but hey, that's what we have got to do in order to clear the room. At least there are other options for walking around my house so it is just not a problem. It is possible that I will be back in my room, sleeping, by tomorrow night, if all goes well. Mike said I will need to pick up some transition pieces for the doorways but I do not have to run right out to get that. This will be something I can do tomorrow after water aerobics, if the sun is out, and go over for the class. If the sun is not out, I can head to Floor and Decor for the pieces. They will not be overly long so will fit in my car. Comcast will also be called to see if they can do something regarding the way the wiring runs in my bedroom since right now, the carpet covered the wire from the wall to the TV. No more carpet, no more cover. Plan B!

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Saturday evening I enjoyed a lovely dinner poolside with my neighbors. My next door neighbors, Karen and Ed, came down, too, which Hugh appreciated since he was the only male, feeling outnumbered by us ladies. At one point I mentioned that I noticed teeny tiny fast-moving ants in my family room on the love seat. They were so quick, I could barely catch them running up my arms or across my laptop screen. This has only been since returning from WI and since I rarely sit in here, was just not aware of the problem at all. Until, that is, my computer equipment was moved a week ago. Well, Karen piped up that they recently had an infestation of these minuscule ants in their bathroom, climbing in the drain and scurrying on the vanity top. Finally she determined they were very much enjoying a package of some sort of candy in Ed's drawer in the vanity and when she picked it up, thousands of ants poured out of it, covering the vanity top. She has a strong SC accent which makes it all the more amusing. We deducted that perhaps the ants, which she treated with some sort spray, might have come under/through the wall from their bathroom, which backs up to my family room!!! Makes sense to me! There are none in the kitchen (yet!) and I believe the ones which I found in my room were piggy-backers in my laptop or on me when I came from the family room. They are quick little buggers, in more ways than one!

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Yesterday afternoon I was just hanging out in the house because it was so overcast and glum outside, even though I could hear the organized games going on at the pool, led by Skipper, an older gentleman who used to be the official lifeguard. Boy, I was sure wishing that the "House" marathon was on Sunday instead of Saturday! Anyway, somehow I managed to keep myself entertained but when my friend, Sharon, called, I was willing! She asked if I was doing anything special, thinking I was likely at the pool, because she was getting weary of being in the house and wanted to go out. Fantastic! She walked over from her home on the property and we got settled at a table. We had our pick since there was scarcely anyone out there. What a huge difference a week makes!!! Last week it was crowded around the pool, all the tables and chairs full, water and air warm, ahhhh. This weekend, a holiday one to boot, the weather was 'cooler', with a high of 86 yesterday with intermittent showers and overcast skies, not so much. We no sooner got settled and it began to rain! We moved into the cabana rather than wait it out, and it was a good thing we did---the heavens just opened and away it went. Rats!

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The cabana crew was already in the process of switching over from afternoon to evening set-ups, since The Club was not going to have their usual holiday buffet, diverting folks poolside instead. I was not hopeful for a big turnout and the way it looked to me, should have been cancelled altogether. We enjoyed our drinks and time together, and when the weather cleared, she went back inside, as did I. My plan was to come back out for dinner, my weekend habit, and it stayed nice enough for this to happen. A couple ladies were already there and we gathered around a table after ordering our meals. Since there were so few guests, I decided to call Sharon to come enjoy the fun. She came back out and we all sat around the table eating our bbq'd ribs and chicken, corn on the cob, cold salads, water melon, and apple pie. My guess was that about a dozen dinners were sold, due very very likely to the stinking weather. This saddens me because The Club management is trying so hard to make things fly and this yukky weather and no fireworks was not helping one bit. Even I ate the bbq'd ribs which is unusual for me since I do not care for spicy things, and they were that! The strawberry margarita helped to cool the pipes some. Boy, do I love their pasta salad!

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This coming week Sharon would like me to come up to her place and enjoy her lanai with her. I have not been there since she moved in and she raves about the manatees and moon rising and spectacular views, and wishes to share. I get that! Sharon is an aesthetician and a couple years ago, I treated Lynn for her birthday to a lovely facial at Sharon's skin care shop. Lynn is extremely ticklish so I opted to NOT treat her to a massage or pedicure. She said she really enjoyed it, had never experienced such a treatment before, and loved the way her skin felt afterward. Hmmm.....it might have worn off by now.....That reminds me of something David, my bro-in-law, said on Facebook this week: he posted an old photo of himself with the RoseRiver Band when he still had a moustache. He said it bothered him to see a picture of himself with the facial hair and was glad to have gotten rid of it. I told him that I am glad to get rid of mine, too, every now and again!

"Your feet are terrible!" Part II

If you have read this blog for a while, you might recognize the title from a previous posting when I was discussing my serious need for a pedicure with the little boys in the kindergarten. As usually happens during swimming pool time, my toe nails "look terrible", to quote Wesley, even though he had not viewed them. The polish is chipped off and edges of the nails are ragged. Recently I was in the pool with some ladies, one who accidentally located the jet which moves the water around the pool. I told her that is why I usually stand right there, to have the jet of water massage my feet as well as chip off my polish, and she immediately moved away. Good plan, Kim! I do not want any interlopers taking "my" spot where I 'beach' on the edge of the pool and puddle away. There I can peddle my bike under water, keeping those legs of mine moving and then resting them with a blast of water which removes some but not all of my polish!

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An interview is being done on F & F with a teacher in Florida who is complaining about the dumbing down of students using primarily the FCATs which help determine how much money the schools get. This standardized testing is the absolute focus, about the only thing taught in the classroom are the things which show up on the test and little else. The school then gets appropriated funds based upon the total scores of the students so games and contests take place between the grades within the same school and it gets almost nuts. Kids and teachers alike count down the days until the FCATs are over. Fortunately we avoided that since Justin attended a private school, and while he did take an SAT, overall learning and teaching was the focus and not how to pass a test. This lady being interviewed is correct, the kids might learn more when the teachers are actually allowed to grade papers using a red pen. To heck with the student's delicate sense of worth--if they are wrong, they are wrong, and make them more ready for high school and college.

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When Justin was a senior he was always murmuring about his teacher for English class, or some other name for what I remember as English class, as she enforced certain rules regarding writing term papers, etc. Oh, she was the worst, Jerry, the worst teacher and he wondered how St. Johns could ever hire her and why did she have to be so picky.....Yeah, yeah, yeah, just do the paper the way she said to and be done with it. Ugh! So, when Justin started at UNF and he was to do a paper for one of his classes, he was late, as always, in handing in his rough draft. When Justin met the professor in the hallway, he apologized to the prof for handing the paper in late. The professor told him it was okay he was late, because his rough draft was so much better than the others completed work. Justin was beside himself with glee and when he came home, he told me that the next time he saw his teacher, he was going to give her a hug. And he did!!! Justin attended a function at St. Johns with his friend and saw the teacher there, told her what had happened, and gave her one of his famous hugs! Use the red pen, teachers, use the red pen!

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I really have to get busy here but might write again later on. For now, I must be getting my bedroom ready for the workers coming at long last to move my furniture and tear out this flooring. Jeff, my downstairs neighbor, just called me to report that the trash doors have been unlocked and are ready for the disposal of my carpet and pad. My job today will be to strip this bed and get the room as bare as I physically can before they get here, removing any and all obstacles from the progress of the job. I hope I do! Mike asked me last night where they were going to put the furniture they move out, which took me by surprise because I thought we were on the same page with this----anywhere you can!!!