From the week

As I write this, moonbeams are flowing in my window from what remains of the blue moon. It is absolutely gorgeous to see it, a perfect match to the day. Once tonight I had "turned in", as Justin likes to say, but it seemed to only be a cat-nap needed. I have powered back up and am good to go for another couple of hours!

Today was a marvelous one, starting with a chat while watching Fox and Friends with Linda. In a few days, she will actually be in the same house with me, but for now, we use the Internet to speak. 

                                                

Justin came into my room with a present--he bought me (himself) a Swiffer vac. It is both a dusting device and a mini-vacuum cleaner, battery powered. Guess he grew weary of my observing the dust accumulations under my bed which he is responsible for cleaning up. He is of the opinion that I need a longer dust ruffle and that I was in need of this device for attacking the dust. Don't get me wrong---I am grateful for his present, but I expect him to use it more than will I!

Justin went to the rally downtown today to welcome the Romney/Ryan team and from there Jesse and he were heading to Tampa. They have friends there and having dinner made by a professional chef they know. I am not sure if the plans are for dinner tonight or if it's going to be tomorrow. Regardless of that, he said to me, "Before I leave, I am making you a pie." He had the ingredients to make another raspberry cream pie so away he went. 

After a certain point, I went into the kitchen to see what was happening. There was some trash to be disposed of but he'd removed the full bag from the can and not relined it. I got the fresh bag from under the sink and proceeded to grab the raspberry bag. Juice went running down the bag, onto the floor, and all over the outside of the bag. I grabbed the dish cloth but it smelled so he got me a fresh one. 

Both of us were laughing at the franticness of it all. He wanted to wipe the floor first but I was trying to clean the bag off. I said, "Justin, if I ever stab myself or anything, please do not try to stop the bleeding with a smelly dish cloth. Get a fresh one..." As he was laughing he said, "You don't see yourself, do you?" Here I had red juice down the front of my nightie, as though I HAD been stabbed! Oh my!!

                                                       

Since I was getting ready for the pool anyway, I sprayed the stains on my nightie, and stuck it in the washer. No big deal if the night gown has to go away. We sure did laugh though! Besides the pie, his plans were to take the car for some gas, since he used it last night and it needed some to get me to church Sunday. While getting gas, he would pick up soda too. Justin concerned himself with making sure I had enough provisions to get me through his absence, including reporting three slices remained of our pizza from the other night. I am all set with pizza pie and raspberry pie!

Justin also planned to vacuum all the floors but it seems he ran out of time to finish up. The vacuum cleaner is yet plugged in in the family room and there are potato chips on the carpet in the dining room yet from Mom's luncheon! Guess he will finish up on Monday when he gets home from Tampa. 

Linda J. let me know this afternoon that her hubby's business partner and friend had lost his battle with illness and died. I had sent a card to the family which they got earlier this week, and according to Linda, was appreciated. Hopefully they find comfort in the Bible verses included in that card now that he is gone. Thankfully, Tommy was with Gary and the family when their husband and father breathed his last, and was staying to help them until things were settled for the night. 

Thursday after Bible study I went to Bahama Breeze for a quick lunch before going to Jacksonville National Cemetery for a committal service. A son of our congregation died a year ago and his ashes were being taken care of at this service. When I got to the cemetery, I went in to use the restroom and then waited in my car for the rest to arrive. I knew it was going to be one of those days when the tears started to flow when the Marine Honor Guard got out of the van at the headquarters. They just look so ceremonial and serious....

                                                                            

There were about 9 of us from church there with the family of four. We were greeted by a very nice hostess who turned out to be the mom of one of our former members who now reside in NC. When she identified herself, both Carol and I leaned in to hug her. She told us her son, Ed, is coming to town this next week.

Pastor had prepared a brief service with some Bible readings, and then told us Bonnie requested we sing some hymn stanzas. Oh, here it comes....We sang three stanzas of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives". Those of us who could sang it, and I managed to conquer my fears (He lives to silence all my fears...) and sing out. Afterward a couple folks thanked me for carrying the group, including Bonnie. What else could I do, right? Besides cry....

Some of the ladies wanted me to go with to lunch but I had already eaten. That same day was the one with high winds so I am glad I got home when I did and avoided having to come so far in a storm. Hope the other ladies got home safely, as well.

Today I had a marvelous time at the pool with my friends. I heard from one or two of them before going out, making sure we were going to find each other. The day was good weather-wise and even I felt a bit crisp about the face. I had applied sun screen more than once but that blasted stuff ended up in my eyes and burned like mad.

As the fun around the pool drew to a close, Jacquie, one of my newer friends with whom I have something in common (we have both lost children), paid me a high compliment. Another couple had joined the circle, and Jacquie said to them, "This lady here has just made our summer!", gesturing at me. What a wonderful thing for her to say, and guess what---the feeling is mutual for all the friends at the pool!

Blue moons and sunrises

Here is the sunrise from Friday morning. I was chatting with Jill, my sister, and told her I had to go take a picture of the rising sun. It was so gorgeous, but sadly, sometimes the photo does not do it justice.

I was ready to capture the blue moon rising over Mandarin

There it is!!! That tiny dot is the blue moon!

The tiny dot grew into something quite spectacular. It was so lovely it might have made noise!

 

                        

This morning I was met with the sunrise shown above....

For Laura

See the red hat, down in front of the cabana? That is Laura the Life Guard, busily pressure washing the stone benches and other fixtures around the pool area. This photo was taken the same day I photographed the deeply darkened skies right above her. She was so intent in her work that she did not at first notice the storm literally rolling in, until it got really dark!

It's gone!

Sorry ladies and gentlemen, but somehow or another, my original posting from Thursday vanished! I went into the posting to edit a word which was misused and poof!, it's gone! I did not hit DELETE, I only pushed the EDIT button and away it went into the blogosphere.....If you see it, send it back to me, please.

In a brief recap, I mentioned the afternoon storms which occasionally bring high winds. Today's winds broke loose a cobweb from the corner of my window and made it flap in the breeze. INSIDE! Yikes! Guess there is nothing much I can do about that, and am thankful the glass did not break. If the worst of it is having a cobweb attached now to my sun catcher (web catcher!), I am good with that! The wind also opened one of my screens on the slider about half way. Glad it was short-lived!

Justin came in from work late and thoroughly exhausted. He had pretty much decided not to attend the football game and stay home to watch the convention, but his boss sort of made that decision for him. Having two new properties added to the end of the route certainly obliterated any plans to attend the 6:30 game.

We ordered pizza for dinner and settled in to watch TV in the family room. Both of us had our laptops in front of us, and at one point, even my phone was being used to text with Linda. The battery finally quit on that so we switched over to Facebook. 

Justin and I were anxiously awaiting the appearance of the "mystery speaker" for the night. I think expectations were quite high but he did okay anyway. Some of the references I did not care for at all, but Eastwood spoke off the cuff, and was not edited by anyone. His point was well taken, and he even made us laugh, providing some needed levity on an otherwise intense night at the convention. The highlight after the acceptance speech was watching the kids play with the balloons. I hope they all went home with the same kids they brought in!

Part of the speech really stirred me, us, when Mitt mentioned how his sons would re-enact a different world war every night, and then expressed his wife's and his desire to once more have those battles in their living room, or wake up to a pile of kids in their bedroom....That stirred in me what I have mentioned in the past, how I miss getting pegged in the back of the head with toys when driving the car! Or, just once more seeing my little guy standing alongside my bed, in his undies,  a blanket wrapped around him, sporting a ranger hat. Gulp!

                                                    

Because I still have Justin, I don't get as emotional remembering his "Justinisms" but a couple came to mind this week, hearing the stories of what it's like to start and run small businesses. I recalled for him the time I opened my eyes from a nap, to see him standing on the dining room table and swinging the light fixture back and forth. Yikes! He was supposed to nap while I did because I had to go to work in the evening at Sprint. Worked in the office during the day and then went to Sprint to rest! 

Justin as a toddler

Another time, what seems to be prophetic now, Justin woke me up to tell me he wanted to be a crash dummy when he grew up. I remember telling him I was not going to spend a lot of money on college for such a short career! Another morning he woke us up to inquire as to whether or not our minivan had air bags in it. At that time, vehicles did not come with them, and he was a bit upset about this. What goes on in that little boy's head?  Was this a reference to my driving skills or what???

These are the type of memories stirred when listening to speeches made during the convention. Justin is like me in that regard, which is why it's best he watches with me and not elsewhere. Some hit closer to home for him than for me, and visa versa. Hopefully everyone who watched and listened came away with confirmation or assurance that our country can yet head in the right direction and pull us back from the edge.

Stormy skies

Justin called me from the road, on the way to his father's house, to suggest I go up to the 5th floor to check out the sky. I am so glad he did! Wow! This particular view is from my river room, looking south down the river.

Looking south from the 5th floor courtyard

This shot is over the top of the trees and cabana 

South view from the 5th floor deck

Almost straight west from the 5th floor courtyard, seeing the edge of the storm

Was just thinkin'....

I had to laugh at myself on Sunday. After church, we had a brief meeting of the Fellowship committee to go over the plans upcoming for the congregation. One of the ladies, Renee, mentioned that her husband and she were hosting an Oktoberfest event in October (September was too busy already). This excited me as I am fan of both German food and fellowship events. 

As we sat and waited for our fearless leader to arrive, I asked Renee what I could do to help with the event, thinking along the lines of publicity or other type of organizing. She told me I should just come, that they were serving all German-style foods. I offered to make German potato salad, as I am quite proud of it. Sure!, she thought that would be great. So, that is all set, I will make the hot potato salad....

And then she said to me, "We are doing this as a fund raiser for the audio/visual stuff for the Fellowship Hall." Oops! I am not a proponent of this project and now, I am going to aid and abet, just because I like to eat and fellowship! Sometimes I raise my hand too quickly...Brats, anyone?

                                             

That night I did a load of wash using the very last of the laundry soap. Because the water going into the machine was so noisy, I did not hear Justin in the hallway. As I headed toward the kitchen with the empty jug from the soap, he leaped out of the hall bathroom, yelling, "Boo!" I shrieked like a mad woman, thrashing  him with the jug. That rascal!!!! After I recovered, he got busy with a towel, wiping up the floor. No, it was laundry soap---NOT what you were thinking!!!

On Towel Duty

Back in the Monday morning Bible study routine again! There were 13 in our class this a.m. Sunday, at church, the announced subject was "Angels and Demons" but when we sat down, it turned out Pastor realized this morning we'd covered this on Sundays a few years ago. So, on the fly, he came up with a study on selected Psalms.

                                                

After class he took a poll of those who wish to remain in Psalms or cover again the angels/demons topic. Some of those on Mondays are not there on Sundays so they would not be repeating the study. It was decided to do the Psalms study for a few weeks and then start a topical study. 

The rains had begun and were fairly steady when we got out of Bible study this forenoon. Judy C. tried to share her tiny umbrella with me but usually I don't do umbrellas. She was gracious to try, though. Our group resumed our routine of going to Longhorn for lunch, with six of us around the table. Twila was back in our midst, having completed her cardio-compression therapy. 

The service was remarkably slow, making me wonder if perhaps we ladies should rethink our lunchtime destination. We were seated before noon but our food had not yet arrived at 12:45 pm. Two of us had ordered sweet potatoes and it seemed the shipment of potatoes had only just come in, and the delay was the baking of the potatoes. What? I think the waiter, Jason, the guy who asked us for extra tips to help with his rent, should have told us and we could have ordered differently. Not that I personally had a tight schedule but some of the ladies did have appointments and such. 

Judy had a few minutes before she had to leave to be in Lake Asbury when her grands got home from school, so we had time to catch up. She had been gone to Charleston over the weekend,  attending church with her daughter's family. She told about how their church has a blank wall in the altar area where, before worship, a count-down clock appeared, showing how many minutes and seconds there were before the service began. Blast-off!!!

The rain was light for the ride home, with no wind or lightning. The good news was the rain was not wind driven but the bad news was, it came into my house. ***Sigh*** This prompted me to go upstairs to 404 to check the towel situation there. One was thoroughly soaked, and the other damp. I switched them out with dry ones and took theirs down with me to rinse/dry for next time. No water was coming down their wall, but the floor was soaked along the sliding door. 

       

The cute toes and shoes are mine, the yukky water is coming up from under the tiles.

An hour later, I went back up with the dry towels and found the ones on the floor were again soaked through. Hmmmm....How can that be with no water coming down the walls? Aha, it's coming from under the door! And under the tile. And then down my wall! I let both Travis and Jessica know about this amazing discovery, and they arranged to have Butch come over tomorrow to look at it with me. Yay! I feel a deep sense of relief as this is potentially a solution to some of my leaks!

Later, Justin and I ate dinner, with me reheating steaks leftover from Longhorn, one from today and one frozen from a couple weeks ago. We shared the sweet potato which was now thoroughly cooked. As we walked through the dining room and hall area, we both noticed a strong urine smell. What in the world??? He noticed it in the laundry room, too, and then suddenly realized it was from the towels brought down from upstairs, spun out and then dried in our dryer. They had cats!!!! 

                                                     

Justin freaked because he is already concerned about how his clothes smell so he made a clean towel wet in his bath tub and then put it in the dryer with two softener sheets to freshen it up. Plus we ran the A/C to move the air around and get the dampness out of the rooms. He plugged in the dehumidifier again and got it busy sucking moisture from the air and floors. From now on, I will actually wash with soap instead of simply spinning out the towels in case more cat smell comes down. And I had carried them against myself to get down here so I stripped my clothes off and will wash them when Justin's load is done!