I love science!

Regular readers know that periodically I like to go off on the tricks and maneuvers the 'powers that be' like to play on us hapless citizens. Sometimes it is the annoying public service announcements which crowd the Internet radio broadcasts, telling us the obvious or not so obvious things of going through life. Other times it is about the latest and greatest news regarding medications, pros and cons, or which diet is the best to follow. Yesterday I heard on the national news about a ‘study’ which showed people who use salt regularly in their diets do NOT have a higher risk of elevated blood pressure or other maladies than those who do not use salt. I knew it! I just knew it!

A few years ago it was eat fat versus not eating fat, bacon vs. no bacon, even coffee vs. no coffee. One of the anchors on the program I was watching announced she was going right out after the show to get a bag of real potato chips. Her co-worker wished her well on that, since the mayor of New York has made it his personal mission to eradicate salt from restaurants and schools. Another study showed, surprise surprise, that fat people are no more or less healthy than skinny people. If stranded in a car on the side of the road in a snowstorm, a heavier person would likely live three days longer than someone with little weight on their bones. I think I have written about this in the past, wondering who in the world determined that being ‘obese’ is a crisis. A few years ago it was mental illness being all the rage, and now, it’s food! Reportedly millions were spent to remove salt and transfats from restaurants----gotta love the government being involved in every aspect of people’s lives!

It would seem that north Florida, according to the same scientists who discuss salt and obesity, might be skipped over by the hurricane. Mixed feelings erupt in my heart and head, relief over likely being spared but sorrow for those who will be clobbered. Yesterday I promised Connie, the maintenance lady, I would let everyone in the building know to secure their outdoor decorations and such in the event the storm winds come this way. Now I feel as though that might be overkill but I will still send out the notice. Better secured than sorry, I guess.

I was wishing that I had sheets of plastic on hand to put over the windows, but the Bible study ladies thought that would be ineffective. Hardly. I would be most happy to have something to put over the openings where my windows used to be to protect what remained of my home, right? Someone else suggested hurricane shutters which are wildly expensive, and only one unit in my building has them installed. It will be crowded in there if we all seek shelter with Hugh and Maureen! They use their shutters regularly, though, to keep the morning sun out (i.e. heat) and then in the winter, to help keep the cold at bay. They are not as crazy about the heat as I am!

Such a racket out there tonight!

It sounds as though there is a fleet of helicopters out over the river tonight….makes me wonder if they are moving some in case the hurricane comes this way. I read on-line that Mayport Naval Base was bracing for the potential storm which might mean that NAS JAX would do the same. Last night about this time I noticed a light flashing at my windows, very unusual for light to be seen at night, but it was a boat on the river, apparently a fisherman looking for his crab traps. I waved anyway, just in case!

Things are really rockin’ and rollin’ in our nation, earthquakes east and west, a hurricane off shore, yet, and even tornadoes in the upper Midwest. When the quake happened on the east coast, I was listening to a radio show airing from New York City, and the guest host, from Milwaukee, remarked how he suddenly had felt woozy, lightheaded, and shaky. He attributed it at first to nerves but found out later, it was an earthquake moving the building from which he was broadcasting. Mom told me on the phone this evening that she never heard about quakes on the east coast and I reminded her of the minor quake a few years ago that happened in Indiana and was felt as far north as Two Rivers! Neither she nor I felt it, at 4:30 a.m. but others reportedly did. Weird!

Oh my goodness----did our trivia team stink tonight! Nothing Tips Like a Cow failed miserably, due in part to our not getting the ‘free’ answer correct, good for 6 points. The question was about the ‘African American’ character in the Peanuts comic….who was it? Not one of our 6 players had any idea, nor did we think of the free answer, Franklin, as being the right one for this question. Rats! Naturally we anticipated the question associated with the ‘free’ answer would be about our founding fathers and not comic books. Ugh! Funny, but it seems that no matter how many correct answers we have, it’s the wrong ones that kill us!

When I came home, I carried up the rest of the stuff from last night’s shopping trip, except for the water case. Tomorrow I must go to Winn Dixie for soda plus Mike C. recommended a mustard-based sauce from WD, for the Boston butt he cooked for me today. Mmmmm….I so look forward to having a taste of it. He did not want me to come over to get it, saying he will send it with his mom on Friday night. After I was thinking about it today, and talking with Mom, I might change our schedule for seeing the movie until Saturday, which is likely the day it will be raining. Friday might be our best pool day, depending upon the passing storm. I will make that executive decision tomorrow, after watching the weather some more. I told someone the other day that I feel like an old person, checking the weather every little while. Judy J. told me that’s what she does, now that she is an old person, watching the weather channel and waiting for the mail. She makes me laugh sometimes!

Today I met a new lady at the pool, Tina, who normally has her two little ones in tow. Marlena teased her that she could hang out at the grown-up pool, since her kids are in school. What a nice lady she is! Another lady whose name I do not know brought me a lovely cobalt blue insulated tumbler. I had admired hers on the weekend and she told me she would bring me one. I never expected that, just being complimentary about her lovely colored cup, but she works for the water management company that gives them away. She brought me a bunch of printed materials besides the cup, and offered to come give a talk to our condo association about water conservation, etc. I told her I would let them know, and I will, via the newsletter! And I got a lovely insulated tumbler out of it!

Running out of day here….

….but I am enraptured with a program on the Internet which has occupied my evening. Coming from Israel, very historic and I would dare say, profound. Earlier this evening I was outside by the pool with my neighbors for Happy Hour. How I looked forward to sitting with them to enjoy the dusk....One of my neighbors is fervently trying to put a team together for tennis, and was nearly relentless in her attempts to get me to say ‘yes’ to playing for the team. That is the most incredible thing I ever heard (well, nearly….) but there is simply no way I could even consider grabbing up the racket. She said all I had to do is stand near the net and I would not even have to swing at a ball unless I wanted to…Ya, ya, ya, forget it! Rosemary even suggested that the church reschedule Bible study on Thursdays to accommodate my tennis game. Isn’t ‘NO’ enough??? I think eventually she understood this was simply not going to happen, but what a funny thought it was. Imagine me out there on the court, an imposing figure in my little tennis skirt!

After he was done working, Justin came to meet me at Publix on Fleming Island for grocery shopping which does not happen all that often in the course of a year. Some of the purchases were in preparation for the possibility of the hurricane coming as well as supplies for when my guests are here, and for the picnic dinner being held here on Friday night. A few things need to wait until the ladies get here, such as produce, but I did buy a bag of apples for them to enjoy. Justin got a few things as well including a bowl of fruit which he thought he would eat on the ride home. It took both of us, arms heavy-laden, to get the stuff upstairs. A case of water remains downstairs and somehow I will have to get that up here, which I might do bottle by bottle. We will either drink the water once up here, or use it to brush our teeth if we lose electricity from the storm. Really, though, I am trying to be hugely optimistic that Irene will simply ignore Florida all together and allow us ladies to have a wonderful time, as planned!

Oh, how nice it was to get back to our Monday Bible study after being on recess all summer long!!! Kristi, recently retired, joined our class today and also came along for lunch afterward. How nice to have another face and student at the tables---those being at church and at Longhorn! Twila will be absent for a few weeks as she has cardiac rehab on Mondays. Fortunately, she gets done in time to meet for lunch so at least we get to see her part of the time.

A short while ago, Michael C. called to tell me he is making the Boston butt tomorrow which will be served at our picnic on Friday. How nice of him to offer making that for me, since I would have had to go begging at my neighbor’s house to use their grille for cooking burgers and brats. Everyone likes butt, right? I know I sure do! We are having baked beans, potato salad, cucumber salad (I think), Oriental cole slaw, and some sort of dessert. No one will be hungry, that is for sure.

On my way out this a.m., I stopped at the mailbox and found my new book and a CD I had ordered. Instead of listening to Neal on the way over to church, I put in my new “old” recording of Judy Collins’ “Wildflowers” CD. Rather than driving down Wells Road, I drove on memory lane!!! (Good one, Kim!)

Because I felt like it!

I decided to post this photo taken at my nephew's wedding, where my son, Justin, niece Alayna, and nephew, Dustin, participated in the ceremony. They posed with their grandma, my mom, Kathy, in June of 2009. Nice, yes?

Oh, marvelous!

Just as things are ramping for the pending visit of my sister, Lynn, and my lady friend, Linda J., I will also being making some plans for the arrival of Irene. Now, she is a tropical storm but there is some likelihood that she will develop into a hurricane further downstate. This might, at the very least, rain on our parade, so to speak, with some contingency plans needing to be made in case the power goes out. Lynn has been through this here with me in the past, ala Tropical Storm Faye a few years ago, and my guess is that she is not in a big hurry to repeat that experience. That time, her daughter and family were also here, so we had two little boys to keep busy when house bound, and thanks to Justin, they were troupers! He brought them Play-Doh, coloring books, and even got out old toys of Timmy’s and his for the boys to play with. We got through it, but sure would have liked better weather and steady electricity, make no mistake about that!

Speaking of Justin, he was coming over this afternoon to watch something with me on the Internet but has since changed his mind. He told me last night that he is going to work around the house instead after church, not certain if that means in his ‘bungalow’ or in the main house, or on the property. Jesse and he do the yard work at their home, as well they should, so maybe that’s what he has in mind. The other boys go to play volleyball at the beach on Sunday mornings so perhaps he is actually going over there after church. Since he is not coming today, I will go outside once I get home.

Tomorrow we are meeting when he is done working so he can help me with grocery shopping for the ladies. The help I need is actually after wards but he knows he will reap rewards himself by going with me!

My house is nice and sparkly!

The cleaners just left and I am quite pleased with their work. The floors are particularly nicely done, and I will do my best not to be too fussy about the dusting. It was a husband and wife team who came, the owners, so I got their best team! The closing act of their efforts was them using a steam cleaner on the floors as they worked their way out the door---nice touch! It smells good, smells clean and gives a sense of being ready for guests! This is a service I purchased on-line at a tremendous discount via LivingSocial.com and she gave me a code to enter when I reschedule, if I do, so I continue to get discounts. Nice again!

Now, all I need is to shop, and then pick up my sister and friend from the airport! Easy enough---as long as I don’t have a flat tire like that one time. Of all things!! In a few minutes I am going outside to enjoy the evening after having been in the house all day. The morning was spent making things ready for the cleaners and the rest of the time, listening to the roar of the vacuum cleaner.

A little frustration is being experienced by me as the radio program Justin and I ‘watch’ changed its services today and in so doing, messed up the password situation. I believe Justin was able to log on from his phone, as he listens instead of watches when at work, but I cannot from the laptop. Customer service has been contacted and I await their help.

Customer service at our Synod’s publishing house came through like gangbusters for me today, which makes me so happy. When the gas powered computer died, it took a CD that was loaded inside of it, with it. Oh oh…since the power button is broken, Justin cannot open the drawer where the disc is loaded, nor would it open with urging from a screw driver. He figures with all the moving it around and such that the disc is likely scratched or roughed up anyway. The nice lady at NPH told me she would simply send me a replacement disc…just like that! What I was asking her for was the ability to access the last four month’s worth of newsletters on the disc, if possible, but ‘Cheryl’ said she would just send me a fresh disc. She said, in her e-mail response to mine of thanksgiving, “I like to make people happy!” She knows me well, as I like to be this way!

Marian's birthday

Last week Tuesday, I drove to Palm Coast to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday with her. Marian resides in a nursing home, a lovely one at that. As I mentioned in a previous posting, Marian rather enjoys living there and participates in the activities conducted for the patients' entertainment. Most of the them are elderly, but Marian is 'only' 63. Her husband, Biff, lives in an apartment now, having recently moved from assisted living, and was there to help celebrate her birthday.

Here are Marian and I, posing for the camera, with Biff as photographer

Marian takes medications which cause her to become drowsy so Biff sat nearby during the bingo game to keep her awake and help place her tokens. I took advantage of the snoozing to keep up with my own cards, but alas, I did not win once!

Marian and Biff waiting expectantly for the games to begin!