Thursday is in the bag

I just came in from a chilly sit on the sundeck on 2nd floor with many of my neighbors. It started out somewhat comfortable but by the time I came up, it had become too uncomfortable to sit outside in a short sleeved top. Should have grabbed my jacket! Maureen called to invite me down and it started out being Pat A., Hugh, Maureen, and me but later were joined by Randy, who rents a unit on the 5th floor. He is a hoot, and brought this nifty gizmo to the gathering that aerates wine. He used it only on his first glass, and when I asked him why, he said the bottle had sat, open, now long enough to breathe on its own. After sitting a few minutes with us, he got up to go get something, and came back with a glass tray with neopolitan cheese, crackers, and grapes! He said we were savages for not having food with our wine! I was excused from that comment because of drinking Diet 7-Up but he was just teasing. Betty A., who lives on 2nd and is my usual person to enjoy to Happy Hour with, came and sat for about an hour, before going inside to pack for a weekend trip with her daughter, Kathy. Later, Tracy, Jeff, and Cassidy came out to sit for a little while and eventually Maggie came down, and stayed until only she and Randy were left at the table. Jessica made a cameo appearance as did Ed, but they did not stay. Randy made the remark that this was the most people he had met since moving in!

Here is a photo of Angelo taken this afternoon after Lisa was discharged from the hospital in Sheboygan. Noah and she drove to Green Bay so Lisa could spend some time with the baby, since she had seen him for only 10 minutes or so after he was born. Look at how tiny his head looks in Noah's hand!

*

My day began early with me making sure I was up, dressed, and ready for the day when Mike and Andy arrived to work on the floor. They were busily shuttling stuff around in the rooms, 10,000 bins and such, to make room for the new floor. They were nearly to the hallway, where they stop until the drywall is replaced. Even with all the junque piled around, it still looks so nice and fresh with the 'wood' floors. Monday they will return to do the laundry room floor and I was filled with trepidation since they have to disconnect the washer in order to move it out. I told Mike I would stay home from Bible study and stand by with towels and mops but he said they would come by 9:00 a.m. and disconnect the washer before I have to leave for class. Andy made the remark that I was a bit shell-shocked and he is absolutely right! (I shared this comment with my neighbors and Pat A. said, "You are! I was like that for a long time, every time my A/C turns on and off, I jump!" because she had a hot water gusher in her unit from her A/C, caused by work done outside on the bulkhead! This was a couple years ago and she is still jumpy from it.)

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My friend, Stephanie, from Victory, has so much vacation to use up before the end of the year, just as does my sister, Lynn. Today she had an doctor appointment, and then we met for lunch at Bahama Breeze at St. John Town Center Mall. This was her first time and loved it, having the hogfish special, served with some sort of shrimp in a sauce and mashed sweet potatoes. My meal was the beef brisket served with yellow rice with black beans. I just love it, and brought half home to eat another day. I had had beef brisket the night before during the Happy Hour mini-buffet, actually ordering from the dinner menu instead of going to the buffet because it was fish. Oh, my, was it delicious!

*

On the ride home from BB, I called Mom and found her at home. She had been out walking when I called on the ride over to BB. Mom said it was cold and windy, nearly blowing her over so it was good she took only a short walk today. She loves to go walking and it is too bad when the walk is reduced by nasty weather. Mom told me about a young Marine from my home town who was killed by an IED in Afghanistan after only a few weeks into his deployment. He was 22 years old, just a year younger than my Justin, and is distantly related to some of my cousins. How very sad for the family and the community, and the nation.

*

In the afternoon, what was left of it, I worked some on the upcoming Ladies' Advent by Candlelight service planned for November 28th. Pastor is reviewing the proposed format but I still worked on it so I can be ahead of the game, as it were. Since I am 'borrowing' from other churches' programs, I have to customize the program to our venue since we do not have mini-choirs or folks to have piano solos. We will have a keyboard to use and hopefully Suzanne will be home from camping to play the viola for us. Also, one of our members used to be quite the flutist so I am not above asking Tara to break it out and tune it up for the service. Time is flying, wake awake!

My new great nephew

Yesterday afternoon my sister, Lynn, called to report that her daughter, Lisa, had given birth to her son, Angelo. He was actually planned to be delivered November 7th, I believe, but Lisa had been having contractions right along and had begun to dilate. No turning back now, she had to go ahead and have him, via C-section. Lynn was there at the hospital with her, not sure if Noah was there when she gave birth or not, because earlier in the day he had to be somewhere to take a test for work. At that point it was not clear whether they could stop the contractions or not, but Lynn was able to see the baby, Angelo, right after he was born. Her report to me was that he was nice and pink, a good color for a baby boy, and just over 6 pounds.

*

Justin had come by at the end of his work day to relocate some boxes and my art supplies which had been deposited in the kitchen by the workmen. They were preventing me from accessing the silverware drawer or opening the dishwasher. He moved them into the living room and out of my way for the time being. Justin was so happy about the baby being born.

*

I had Bible study at church that evening so I put my ham in the oven after cutting it up, to warm it through while I was away. When I got to church, I was surprised to not see any cars in the lot besides Pastor's, but one pulled in right behind mine. Oh great, only two people for the Bible study, about faithfulness. It made me feel kind of sad that he had gone through the work of planning this once a month class and had so poor a turnout. The subject matter was good, somewhat based on stewardship, being good managers of our time, talents and treasures. The kitchen smelled marvelous when I came home, the aroma of ham wafting. My dinner was a lovely hot ham sandwich with plenty left for a few more meals.

*

On the way home, though, from Bible study, I listened to a message from Lynn. I called her back and found out that Angelo had been transported via ambulance to a hospital in Green Bay which had a NICU. It seems that Angelo's lungs were not processing his CO2 properly so he needed to be with the experts for this thing. He was only 36 weeks in gestation and the doctor, according to Lynn, was confident that Angelo would be just fine, but needed the extra care right now. I felt badly that the baby was alone in Green Bay but today Noah was able to be up there with him. Lisa will be able to travel on Friday and will be with the baby all weekend long. The little boys were upset seeing their brother in his 'glass case' and cried. Imagine how scary it was for them, breaks my heart....What cheers my heart is that their pastor was able to make it to the hospital before the baby was taken to Green Bay and baptized Angelo. Let the heavens rejoice!

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Back to my ham---I could have had that for lunch except that Twila called me to meet her at Pengrees! After our nice lunch together, I called Mike C. to see if he was going to Christ, Keystone Heights today and since he was, I dropped off two more boxes of stuff for their yard sale which is this weekend. From now on, the rest of my sorted, not sordid, stuff will have to be directed toward Victory's sale which takes place in a couple weeks. Not much time left to go through things but I really cannot work in the rooms that are getting the new floors right now. The guys are making progress, though, and are nearly halfway done with the 2nd bedroom, working their way into the 'Timmy closet' now. They were able to save most of the cove moulding, but will need to pick up several transition strips for the doorways to the rooms and one of the two bathrooms. Mike and Andy will get as far as they can before having to quit at the hallway where the drywall is awaiting replacement. We have not gotten word on that yet, so the guys will wait to hear from me about finishing it up.

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Many of the Facebook friends and some that I spoke with at Happy Hour at The Club tonight are asking the Lord to watch over Angelo and all his family. I truly appreciate this, as do Lisa and Noah, and the family in WI. The staff at the hospitals are taking good care of Mama in Sheboygan and Angelo in Green Bay, of this I am confident. I am also confident that the Lord has this all under control, and I am doing my very best not to fret. It is hard to take my own advice!

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Here is an update since I posted this: Lisa said she heard from the NICU in Green Bay and Angelo's oxygen levels are where they are supposed to be, so the doctors are considering taking him off the machines to see how he does. Thanks be to God!

Skipping along nicely, thank you!

Let’s see if this works….I am writing this in Word and then going to do a copy and paste to the blog, in a different font and color. Will it copy as-is, or will it convert to the default font and color it has been posting in???? This thing is just kicking my butt! “May all your problems be little ones….”

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A few minutes ago I got back from running errands which included a lovely visit to Great Hang Ups, stopping first to get Julia some lunch. Dee is still gone on vacation leaving Julia to fend for herself when it comes to getting her meals. When two are in the shop, one of the other goes to get lunch. Sometimes Julia can just run next door to Koko’s to pick-up a Bento box or something but today she got an Apple, Walnut, and Chicken Salad from Wendy’s, new on their menu. I just got a soda, needing the caffeine. After I took a pain killer this a.m., I realized that it was likely because of not having a ‘regular’ soda at all today. There is another case of Diet Dr. Pepper in the car but I can only carry one up with me at a time. So I had Diet 7-Up and Diet Decaf Dr. Pepper, hence, the headache!

*

Yesterday when I came home from lunch and Winn Dixie, there was a gift bag hanging on the door handle with bold writing on it, telling to me to look inside. Ta da! There was a plastic jar of peanut butter pretzel nuggets from Ellen. Oh, yummy! We had had some a couple weeks ago up at Nancy’s unit after the Board meeting and they were just delicious. The best part about it is that these treats are so neat to eat, no messy fingers, like from Cheetos. Sometimes a person just wants a little salty snack with peanut butter tucked inside. Perfect! Lisa, my niece, reports that she also enjoys this treat, and gets them when she places her office supply order, pretzels and Twizzlers. That’s my girl!

*

Some of those treats are being enjoyed right now as I write, staving off any hunger I might have. The last time I ate was before noon, not long after Mike and Andy arrived to work on the floor. As they were getting started, Mike decided that we should indeed remove some shelving from one the one closet that I had nicely stacked quite full to free up floor space. Fortunately I had retained some cardboard boxes which I used to stack the shelf items as quickly as possible, and not hold up the job. I have to agree with him, it would be best to remove the shelving and put the new floor underneath the shelves. Hopefully he can get them put back together again!

*

We are trying to be quiet so as not to cause Jessica a problem with the sleeping baby above me. Usually she would take him to her mom’s house but they are also having some work done in their home, making that not an option. It is difficult to be quiet when using saws and grinders, pounding floors into place, but ‘we’ are doing our best. Andy set the saw up on the 2^nd floor sundeck instead of outside the doors here which I am not sure is quieter. It does give them more room to maneuver, that’s for certain. They will likely work here until Thursday, depending upon how far they get, before having to stop at the hallway and laundry room, waiting for the drywall there to be replaced. I have not heard a word regarding this so the rest of the job will be on hold until that drywall work is completed. I am cool with that, since the bedrooms will be back in shape in the meanwhile.

*

At Great Hang Ups, I saw the most beautiful silk scarves handpainted by one of the Art Guild members, Sonya, whose jewelry I have purchased or received as gifts. Oh my goodness, they are gorgeous! She offers classes in the making of these scarves at a competing gallery so I will have to think long and hard about doing this. With four or five friends, mine would be free, so it worth considering. The balance of my ‘vignettes’ from earlier in the summer were ready for pick-up so I brought them home, but not my dry cleaned pillows. They were supposed to available yesterday already but the man told me the actual cleaners had to re-do them because some of them did not come clean the first time. That’s fine with me, I am in no hurry but will have to make yet another trip to the Island to pick up the pillows.

*

When I came back from my errands, I carried in my art work plus a bag from Winn Dixie that I did not take up yesterday. In the parking lot I met Karrie and her friend, Mary Anne, who seemed to know me. She said she hears about me all the time, what a nice person I am, and enjoys the newsletter that Karrie shares with her. WOW!!! My spirits were lifted right up and made me feel good. What nice things to say! She asked about my son, and she knows about him from when I planned his graduation party at Winterbourne. I told her he was a big boy now, 23 years old, and she could not believe it had been that long ago that we originally met. Karrie bought a condo on the 3^rd floor that had been sold at auction so was going to show her friend. I told them it was nice to visit with them and went to my house, skipping along, like normal. That felt good! Apparently, I have a gift!

Ugh! what a game!

Another exercise in frustration, after all the excitement, a rotten football game! At first I wondered if the Blue Angels would do a fly over before the Jaguar game but then I realized there might not be a fly over at night, when no one could see them. My friend, Donna, who now lives in Savannah, commented on FB that the Coast Guard was doing the fly over, but Justin said there was none that he saw. Hmmmm.....

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Injuries and penalties are the flavor of the game, with both team's quarterbacks going out on injuries. The Jags do not have a 3rd string QB so nothing had better happen to the 2nd string guy. At first the crowd was the 12th man on the field but it did not take long for them to sit down and groan. The crowd was as injured as the players, and I wonder if Justin and his friends will stay to the end of the game or not. The weather is decent, that is one good thing about the game. After a certain point, the other team's 23rd point, I turned the game off to watch something else----so sad, because all day I was excited about watching a decent game of football and got none.

*

Earlier I was at Bible study with my friends, minus Twila and Jackie, not sure where they were. Our subject matter is "What in the World is Going On", talking about the worldviews permeating our lives. Post-modernism, deconstructionalism, and other isms, most confusing---we all know what it is, just not what it is officially called, you know? The 'intolerance' folks are often accused of is really something to be cherished, calling a spade a spade, but in a loving fashion. Not always an easy thing to do, at least not for me!

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At Bible study we said a prayer for Andy and Fran as he suffers with his Alzheimer's disease as does Fran suffer from his disease. Now, he does not recognize his wife of over 50 years and it is so hard on her, brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. Sad for both of them, for the whole family. He knows her name is Fran but thinks she is a caregiver and is 'very nice'....That is true, she is! After class, we had lunch at Longhorn, for a change, and had a grand time. Poor Gretchen was all mixed up today, arriving a few minutes late for study, thinking somehow it began at 10:30 instead of 10:00 like always. Set the tone for the rest of her day and made us laugh.

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The rest of my day, after a quick stop at Winn Dixie, was spent at home, taking care of the rest of my laundry and such. Saturday I had started the wash, doing my sheets and such, which then wrenched my back trying to get the sheets from the washer. They were so wound around the agitator and resisted my attempts to remove them to the dryer. Yikes! Justin said he would stop by after working for his father to help me make my bed, but then he worked so very late that I excused him. Maureen offered to come and help me but I declined her offer as well, and slept, covered with a blanket, on the mattress pad. Sunday after noon, having iced and heating padded my back, I was able to dress my bed in fresh sheets with little difficulty. It felt so high school to sleep on the mattress pad but it was a full night's sleep, no harm, no foul, and no added soreness to my back. Monday is a good day to finish the washing and folding and putting away. I can also go to the cleaners to pick up my pillows which were going to be ready on Monday. I will get them tomorrow so I can stop by Great Hang Ups at the same time. Is $10 each too much to pay to have feather bed pillows cleaned? I thought it sounded like a decent price to pay to have freshened pillows, two of which were Timmy's.

Short but sweet

My eyes are watering, in part from the head cold and in part from the powerful concoction that Jessica mixed up for me to knock the cold loose. It is something with lemon and whiskey, which my mom described as a hot toddy. Jessica knocked on my door and left it outside in the courtyard to avoid my germs. At church I told them I have to shout "leper!" before I walk up to anyone so they know I am germy. This hot drink is making my head spin around and my pores sweat, so it must be working on something inside my body. She told me it would make me tired so I am staying close to my bed.

*

This morning I had to place a wake-up call to Justin, at his request, and we met at church, Victory, for the 9:00 a.m. service. I was asked to sing with the choir but declined for several reasons, not the least of which is my cold. Anne's parents were there and she is always so glad to see me, and asks about my mom. Love that! There was a decent number of folks there for the early service, only about the third time they are having it, and got to see the rest when we were dismissed. Today one of the hymns was "Oh, For a Faith That Will Not Shrink", which was sung at Timmy's funeral, chosen by me. And I sang it as best I could, up to the stanza "A faith that keeps the narrow way 'til life’s last hour is fled, And with a pure and heavenly ray l

ights up a dying bed." Justin extended his elbow for me to take hold of his arm....

*

Suzanne and family were there, too, as John had to size up an electrical repair for someone in Pastor's neighborhood. That was so nice, under better circumstances than the funeral service, for sure. After the service, Justin and I headed to the Mall to have breakfast at the Original Pancake House, but when he got there ahead of me, said they were too packed. Instead we went to Panera and had lunch rather than breakfast. Chicken noodle soup in a bread bowl for me, and broccoli cheese in a bread bowl for Justin. And we dined el fresco, with him thinking ahead and bringing a jacket for me. What a good boy! We both enjoyed our soup and our conversation. We could have sat longer but I needed to be over at GS in time for a post-service meeting so we parted company. He was going home to rest as he worked almost 13 hours yesterday and extremely weary in his bones and feet.

*

When I got to church, Holy Communion was still taking place so I was able to take attendance after all. Since the greeters were not there, I stood at the door and greeted, and many were surprised to see me there. I told them I had been to church already but came back for the meeting, which ended up being three members and Pastor. Brian, Jean, me, and a visitor who had come last week on his bike, were given the orientation for next week's experimental "Liturgical Worship with Greater Variety" so I guess those who needed to be there were there. Or not. Next Sunday we will have a 9:00 a.m. service with the experimental service and then at 10:30, the regular service. Now, whether I will do one or both remains to be seen but I certainly want to be there for the 'experimental' one, to see what it is all about.

*

When we were leaving church at Victory, I asked Pastor if we were having Bible study on Thursday since it was not on the schedule. He assured me we were so Justin and I said we would see them then. Later, Judy A. called to tell me there was no class after all, but Pastor forgot about it. Two of the folks are on vacation in WI, and three of the ladies are going to the Southern Women's Show so no class. Pastor H. said, "Oh, I will have to call Kim..." but Judy offered to do it instead, whew! Justin called me after the Packer game (sadly, they lost again in overtime) and I told him about not having class. We might do something together that day, we shall see. Mike K. is coming a day later than planned to start the project here which is fine as I have Bible study tomorrow. But, for now, sleep! God night!

Well, I have done it now!

Fished the box out from under the vanity and removed the last effects of the summer sun and fun from my hair, as well as the old age which had set in. It's over, that is it. No more splashing in the pool, bobbing about like a cork in the water, basking in the sun, dining el fresco from the cabana (at least in the day time...) for 2010. Many folks liked the sunlights, the highlights, that had grown in over the summer, including Justin, but I felt as though the white in the front on one side looked a bit washed out now that the tan is faded. Fading going on all over my head! But not anymore....

*

My breakfast, nearly lunch, was a slice of pumpkin pie which I picked up at Publix yesterday when I went to buy some bread and a chicken. The original plan was to buy a chicken for making soup but then decided to buy a small ham to bake instead, trying to replicate the delicious sandwiches from the funeral luncheon. Not physically healing like chicken soup is said to be, but truly yummy, I hope. I should probably get that baking, Ed said Judy put brown sugar and something else over hers to make it so good. Fortunately there is still some Diet 7-Up to pour over it, plus some apple juice out of which to make a gravy.

*

As I was lying in bed this a.m. I was thinking about making my German potato salad for the Reformation dinner at Victory on October 31st. The recipe calls for bacon and its fat, vinegar, sugar, and a couple other things, which means I must go shopping yet again. And oh yes, potatoes would be good, too. I wonder if there will be leftovers from the funeral to be served at the dinner, like the ham???? That girl is obsessed over the ham!

*

This a.m. when I worked on my hair, I took all the usual precautions including pinning an already yukky towel around my shoulders, applied the baby oil to my face and ears, and mixed up my concoction. Once applied to my hair, the remainder was carefully placed back in the box with the latex gloves over the top so nothing would spill. I picked up the box to put in the trash and the bottom came out, landing on the tile floor. Yikes!! Quickly I grabbed it up and used the yukky towel to wipe up the floor. There I was, trying to be so careful, and the bottom came out! Why does the silver remover appear to be dark purple? What will the hair look like?? No worries, though, the mess cleaned up completely and the hair not purple at all.

*

Last night instead of going to the cabana as planned, a small group of us gathered on the smoke-free deck behind the River House. Sadly, to access the deck, one must walk through that wretched place, but believe me, I checked to see if the gate was unlocked to avoid the other walk. Nuts! One lady in the group, Sharon, the very interesting lady I mentioned from last Sunday night, came with us, saying she had not been to this place in 15 years. One of the other ladies commented that the people camped around the bar are the same ones that were there 15 years ago! Funny, yet sad at the same time.

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Sharon had thought we were meeting at the cabana so had ordered her meal already, but I did not have the foresight to do that. She took hers home as she lives right next door the River House and planned to eat it later. I was glad I took a jacket along because it was cold out there, not only was I cold, but the others as well. It was nice but somehow the smoke from the bar area made its way out to where we were seated and annoyed some of those in the group. What can you do? They were outside where they were supposed to be for smoking. Oh, they can smoke inside as well as no food is served here.

*

Penny was concerned that my cold would be aggravated by the weather out there and I cannot say if that is so or not. I believe it must run its course regardless of the weather or the chicken soup. Penny used 'my Turkish friends' to move her on Wednesday, and wants me to come over to her new place next week to see it. Maureen is expected to go over and hang her artwork for her, she is everyone's go-to girl for home decorating. Hugh and Maureen's house looks like a magazine, thanks to her skills. My place would make her head spin, being less sedate than is hers. Penny needs to come up here some time, perhaps once the cabana is closed...boo hoo hoo!

Hannah's funeral

"Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes, shine through the gloom and point me to the stars. Heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadows flee. In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me..."

*

This hymn normally blows me away, even the introductory notes will have me dissolving into a pool of tears, but yesterday at Hannah's funeral, surrounded by non-Victory attendees, I sang my heart out. It did not matter if I was sniffling because all were sniffling from crying. Unfortunately I could not lend my voice and support to the choir because I was not able to attend the rehearsal. With their small number, accompanied by Suzanne on the viola and Rachel on piano, they sang beautifully, truly heartfelt. The other congregational hymn was not familiar to me, I am thinking it came from their songbook, Worship and Praise. Since I did not know it, I did not sing out, but did manage to do so on a familiar hymn, "Abide With Me". Stephanie said she could hear me from the back of the church and I was about halfway up.

*

Ed was in charge of parking the cars, even loading up the lawn area in the rear of the property. First he beautified the property, weeded the beds, pruned the shrubs, and edged the lawns, and then parked cars on it. His wife, Judy, was inside making sure the meal preparations were arranged. When I arrived just before two p.m., I met Rita, who used be a member at G.S., in the parking lot. She was leaving and not coming back for the service, but had been busy in the kitchen with Judy and Toni. She gave me some money for Judy and told me she would know what it was for. Later I found out it was toward the purchase of a tree in Hannah's memory so I threw in for that as well.

*

Anne and I walked in together, with her ahead of me. When she was done with her expression of sorrow to the parents, she introduced me, but evidently she did not have to. At least the mom, Beth, knew who I was....Because of this cold, I warned people ahead of time about it and if they still wanted to hug, it was on them, so to speak. Most still wanted to hug, including the parents of Hannah. Later I was able to talk alone with each of them and told them about the freeze drying of the flowers if they want to do that. Also I sent the link through Anne's e-mail so they can get it from her as well. Mine means so much to me, my memory box with the flowers on the cover, and I did not want them to miss out on the opportunity to do the same. In Hannah's 'obit', it mentions how at age two she jumped into the swimming pool and had to be rescued by her uncle, which gave me chills.

*

Before the service was the visitation time with the parents and Hannah's sister greeting at the doors. Folks were ushered into the church proper then to watch a powerpoint-style presentation of Hannah's life in pictures, with music in the background. I was glad to be there early enough because of the shortage of seating and parking. Some nurses were seated next to me on the right, and on the left were teachers. Classmates with their moms were in front of me. The one lady to my left was certain she knew me from somewhere but could not figure out where, and when I told her I live in OP, she then knew she must be mistaken. At one point during the service, she asked if I wanted a tissue, because the tears were just running like a faucet (not my nose) but I assured her I had some, then dug one out for good measure. I told her I usually just let them flow, with no further explanation needed. She was very nice and I am glad she is a teacher.

*

After the service, we were ushered outside to hear the bells ring and to launch balloons, the young people did that. Hannah's dream was to ring the bells some day and Ed was quite emotional as John and he pulled the ropes. Later, when we sat down to eat, he told me that he had stayed outside the entire time. He said he was 'busy' but I am of the mind that he just needed to stay outside and mourn by himself. The ham sandwiches were absolutely delicious and makes me hungry right now for one! Hmmm...I believe I have some ham in the freezer, leftover from Easter---I should go and pull that out for later on!

*

They had a head count of 350 people yesterday, with folks standing along the sides and in the back, perhaps even in the narthex, I could not see from my seat. Pastor's sermon included some of the current news, comparing the rescue of the miners from their grave in the earth with our rescue by Jesus from our 'grave' on the earth. He mentioned the baptism of Hannah's mom with her two daughters in 2001, washed with the water and the Word in the name of the Trinity. I would like to see if he has a hard copy of that sermon I can look at again, because my ears were sort of thundering at the time, if you know what I mean. Pastor Hoyer, after the service, got busy with a bunch of guys, hustling tables and chairs around to convert the church into the fellowship hall so folks could sit down to eat. He was as bad as Ed, keeping busy and making sure everything was set up. Or as good as Ed, I should say.

*

On my way out the door, I took along an apple square on a paper plate and a can of Diet Coke, leaving the ladies with my thanks for their excellent service for this funeral. I might even ask for the recipe for the pasta salad made with spicy pepperoni that Kerri brought. Man, that was so delicious. She works at a fancy restaurant in Jax as a baker, making wonderful decedent desserts.

*

It felt good to get home, and I made a concerted effort to just rest once back here. My eyes, which still feel like pokers, were sore and felt tender from the crying and the cold, so sleep was welcome. Unfortunately, I found myself awake and quite stuffed up before 5:00 a.m., which means an afternoon rest (aw, shucks!) before meeting Penny at the cabana for dinner today. The end is near, soon the cabana will be closed for the season, and then what will poor robin do then? Penny said we have to come up with a plan and a place to meet on Fridays once they close the cabana. I would love to have folks up here, of course, but am not sure about the food portion of that event....