God's promises reminder

This late afternoon while I was watching The Five and chatting with Linda J., my next door neighbor called me from her car. Patti told me there was a gorgeous rainbow in front of her as the drove east on Kingsley and asked me to take a photo of it for her. As it turned out, the rainbow was between her location and The Palace, but not yet on the river. 

Later, I looked up and there was a rainbow! It was so boldly beautiful---it could have made noise! Unfortunately, the 'end' of the rainbow was further north than I could actually  capture well with my camera, due to the trees in the way! Later, I thought about going upstairs to my neighbors house, vacant unit, and shoot from there, but these will do, I guess. I was able to share the photos with Patti and the rest of The Palace folks via e-mail later on tonight. God's reminder of His promises to us!

A lovely day

This is how it began today, with this glorious sunrise. I also grabbed a shot of the sunset which I will post later on. Because Pastor H. is away on vacation we had no Bible study on Tuesday night or this a.m., freeing up my time today for water exercises and lunch!

Dearly would I love the water to be warmer but eventually those of us doing the hard work in the pool (ahem, ahem) get accustomed to it. The sun on us really helps to warm the skin, so much that we have to dash from the poolside chairs to the pool to cool off again! I imagine myself making a sizzling or hissing sound when the hot skin meets the cooler water.

About a half dozen of us enjoyed lunch poolside, but it took forever for our meals to come out from the dining room. There is plenty of activity going on at The Club in preparation for the big wedding this weekend, the one which takes away access to the pools for much of Saturday. Boo! Windows being washed, light fixtures cleaned inside and outside, polishing, etc. I hope The Club got a substantial deposit from the groom for all this effort!

***

Amber was able to make it for our Bible history class the other day, at long last. Her husband was recently hospitalized, diagnosed with COPD, added to all his other ailments---oh my! AND, he found out the same week that his mother had passed away and he was not notified. Another oh, my!

A couple Mondays ago we had some serious weather move through and Amber reported to me that they lost their electronics including a newer TV. Right now they are using an older model with no cable so can only watch a few channels which come in rather fuzzy. When it rains, it pours, literally and figuratively speaking.

During our discussion we talked about the 'singing church' as the Lutheran church has become known. Amber is concerned that she won't learn the hymns and other music quickly enough, not sure how to follow the notes. I showed her the melody line and how to go up and down with the notes. 

I explained to her how the hymns chosen for the given Sunday correspond with the readings appointed for the day, and retell the story of Christ and the reason that He came. I read through a few hymns to have her listen to the text, and told her how the music only serves as the backdrop to the text, the delivery system. At that point in the service, during the hymns, we are like the pastor---delivering the sermon in song! This is so much fun!

Amber was assigned two worksheets from the accompanying workbook, beginning with Creation. She is excited because she said it feels like being in school again---and it is. This will be beneficial to me as well, make no mistake about that. Much has been forgotten over the years, or details blurred, so this exercise will be a blessing for us both!

***

We have had a couple interesting meal adventures in my house this past week. On Tuesday, Justin went to the grocery store after work. He needed Doritos for a recipe he was making, plus came home with some additional food items for our consumption. Besides the Doritos which were crushed to coat chicken fingers for our dinner, he picked up some pork and a pre-made meatloaf from the meat department. My mouth waters in anticipation for these delights.

The chicken tenders were quite delicious and so moist. We had baked potatoes as our side dish. The next night he made the pork, of which he accidentally got the jerk flavor (I won't say another word about that!) It ended up being far too zesty for my tastes. As soon as he put the spoon to his lips to taste it, he said, "Oh, oh...." and had me try the sauce. That's okay---I had some of his Dijon potato salad and some macaroni salad instead. The sauce on the meat even made him choke a bit!

                                               

He and I decided to rely on the playbacks the next day of the DNC speeches, reading the transcripts easier than sitting through the blather. My friend, Kathy, again sent text messages of encouragement (ha, ha!), wondering how I was holding up. Had to tell her I was watching reruns of some other programs while listening to radio podcasts instead. I am weak!

"...and the evening and the morning were the third day..."

I love Publix!

This past week or so I have had several occasions where people offered me compliments which make me feel quite good. Some ladies at the pool today were talking about how tragic it was for my dear neighbors to have had to bury another of their children. Denny was 'only' 55, just a bit younger than I am, and had suffered for years with various illnesses. His sister, Molly, was killed 20+ years ago in a car accident in Ireland. 

One lady stated that it is unnatural for a parent to survive their children, and I agreed. Another lady said, "Your son was quite young, wasn't he?" and I told them he was 5. Another lady, Susie, said to me, "You are always so cheerful and bubbly, you handle it so well..." I thanked her for that, and was able to tell the group how I can rejoice for him, having what I long for---seeing the Lord face-to-face. Yes, I miss him, I miss what I remember of Timmy, but the tears are for me, not for him. And I told them the same was true for Denny, that I knew he was a very faithful Christian, and this gives comfort to his parents as well. 

Last weekend Jacquie told someone else at the pool that I "made their summer" by being so friendly to them, as newer folks at the pool. This is Mark's and her first summer season and how I have enjoyed getting to know them. This couple is one who also lost a son to a motorcycle accident ("the club no one wishes to join..."). That touched me because I really did nothing exceptional to make them feel welcome, just treated them like I do others. It's nice to be thought of in that regard!

After my grooming appointment late this afternoon, I stopped at Publix to take advantage of the soda special. Justin had stocked up yesterday and suggested I go back today to get some more. Buy two/get two, can't go wrong! 

As I wheeled my cart around the store, I heard a man talking behind me, who was using a blue tooth-style phone, telling someone he loved them. This fellow, an older but not elderly black man, gestured to me that he was on the phone, and I smiled at him. Later we met again in an aisle and he said something to me this time, but I didn't understand him, but I smiled again. 

                                           

In the ice cream aisle, he came up again, and then circled away from me. Then, he stopped and came back, saying, "Excuse me, I am not stalking you, but I have to ask the name of the perfume you are wearing. You smell so good." I said, "Of course you're not! It's called "Obsession"", and thanked him. He took a few steps and came back to ask the name again. I told him and he asked if I get it at Belk. He looked surprised when I told him I get mine at Wal*Mart but certainly he could look at Belk. Bet his wife is getting a bottle of perfume for her birthday!

I was in the mood for ice cream bars, similar to an Eskimo Pie but store brand or off-brand was fine with me. There were Dove bars, Nestle Crunch bars, various other types of special treats, including ice cream bars with no sugar added. But no regular ice cream bars to be had. 

I left empty handed from the ice cream aisle, and at the register, when asked, I told them I could not find the ice cream bars. After I paid and the young lady was ready to push the cart out for me, a manager asked me if I found everything alright. I told him my problem with the ice cream bars, and he was on a mission to find some!

He parked my cart to the side and off we went to find the right bars. I told him that my mother might have had something to do with there being only NO SUGAR ADDED ice cream bars in this store, which made him laugh. He dug around in the stacks in the freezer and finally, at the bottom, he found some WITH sugar added, and we rejoiced! I begged him to not tell Mom we found them...te he he! 

The young lady resumed her position of taking my cart to the car, after I paid for the ice cream bars, and off we went. When I popped the car open, we were greeted by 6 cases of soda from the day before! She had to laugh about that, but said she, too, takes advantage of every soda sale she can find. I told her some of us share our good fortune with others via Facebook.

Here come the words....

...left over from earlier!

Try as I might, it was simply not possible for me to watch all the speeches at the DNC tonight. My friend, Kathy, was text messaging me, to see how I was holding up, as I'd told her my intent. The answer was 'not good, not good at all!' The 6:00 pm news program interviewing Dick Durbin (Turban, as Rush refers to him) put Kathy away right then and there. I did not fair much better, but watching the networks with added commentary helped greatly.

Justin brought the mail up again today, which means he is waiting for something to arrive. Now that I have ordered the new airbed from Frontgate, I am back on their catalog list as well as some others who are tempting me at least twice a month to buy something. STOP! No more catalogs!!

                                                        

Justin and I must hustle about in the morning to ready things for the annual visit from the pest control people. In years past we were advised to remove the items from under the sinks and vanities but when I inquired of the person in charge of this, she said no such request was made this year. Cool with me, except that was one time a year that the area under the sinks was cleaned out completely. Guess there is nothing stopping us from doing it anyway, right? All that's missing is the desire to do so! Justin has far more work to do in his room than needs to be done in the entire household because he is less than tidy...

                                                      

Justin has purchased additional storage bins to start the packing process. He is optimistic about the closing for his friend's house happening any day now. Supposedly the negotiations are proceeding but my guess is it will be at least another month before anything happens. I will still encourage him to continue his packing up however, which allows for less on the floor. 

The vacuuming is all done in the rest of the house. He will take care of his room before he leaves for work in the morning. On Wednesdays he helps his father so does not have to leave quite as early in the a.m. I could fuss and tidy a bit more tonight but I am weary and need to rest my peepers!

Glorious sunrise

                           This morning's sunrise was so amazing!

A great day at the pool

I am still thinking about how the congregation sang two hymns, the first and the last ones, a capella on Sunday. (When I told Justin about it last night when he got home, he asked, "Did you lead it?" I told him I sang out to help others along...) It reminded me of the time I attended the funeral for the dad of my friend, Louise, married to Fred, who used to work for us. Fred was the guy who did some of the remodeling for me at the lake house, as well as repairing the A/C upstairs. Somehow, the house filled with smoke and a foul aroma just prior to the Super Bowl party! 

Back to the funeral---Louise's dad had made arrangements in advance for his service and stunned the family with the service that was held. He was a primitive Baptist, but apparently his family was not. The music, the singing, was done by about four or five men, with one humming a drone sound in the background, almost like a organ pedal being pressed. It was amazing, something I had never experienced before, or since. I wonder if they ever take turns being the drone....My hope is that we don't have to get accustomed to singing without accompaniment. 

***

I did not go out to the pool until around noon and missed some valuable time with Pat and Maggie O. For no other reason than waiting until it got warmer outside, I was inside watching the news. At least we got to eat lunch together. My lunch came from the cabana instead of the buffet, my tastes being more simple. When I went in to order it, Julius said, "It's already on the grille..." Love that! 

The two ladies had gone through some of the exercises while the pool was yet their own. Maureen and Roland were out there already, too, but did not stay much longer after I arrived. They returned the book and the DVD I loaned them last weekend, Roland getting through the book in two nights! Maureen, Pat, and Maggie are all teachers, discussing education and such prior to my getting out there. Shoot! I learn so much about the govt. schools in listening to them talk! 

Maggie and Pat left, but then Jacquie and Mark came over after having lunch at The Club buffet. Some others came out for the special events held at the pool for the holiday. At a certain point, the adults had to get out of the pool to allow its use for the kids' games. The adult pool allows for ropes to be strung, making swim lanes for the races, etc.

It was getting hot out there and the water warming back up nicely after the rains earlier last week. When I couldn't stand it any longer, I got Jacquie and went down to the teens' pool to bob around. Other adults had come down also, being too hot to just sit and wait it out. 

Much of the chit-chat today revolved around the pools being closed next Saturday between 10 and 3 for a private party. A wedding, of all things! The groom, described in decent terms as being difficult to deal with (ahem, ahem), and wanted no one else to be around during his wedding. Well! The money charged for such allowances makes it well worth The Club's interest to allow it. 

Folks are making plans to go use another pool on the property, north of where Justin's grad. party was held. Some were hoping for rain! Not me, of course, no more rain, but if the weather stinks, no harm-no foul for having the pool closed. 

                           

Others suggested a counter party be held on the sundeck at The Palace to watch the goings' on at The Club! The groom has rented every hotel room and all the facilities on the property for their exclusive use, except the River House bar, which is not owned by The Club. River House anyone????

Sunday events

Oh, boy, do we ever miss The Maestro at Good Shepherd!!! I know it feels good to be able to dedicate himself to his studies and his work now. He is attending our sister congregation as a worshiper instead of the active role of playing and planning. But we most assuredly could have used his skills during worship when the MIDI was acting up. The first and last hymns were sung acapella. We did okay, but still.....if Robbie had been there, he could have jumped on the piano and helped us out. Good thing they were familiar hymns and not too many stanzas!

Rachel was confirmed during the service, with Jackie standing with her. Rachel comes from the neighboring apartment complex and attended most of the BIC with Amber, Judy, and me. Speaking of Amber, she is going to be back on track as of Tuesday, and she says she has more questions for me!

Here is Rachel posing with her cake served for the reception following the service. Judy served it, and I helped with the clean up afterward. Judy's grandson, David, was in town, joining us at church and lunch, with our group going to La Napolera. Both Judy and I had gift cards to use, so I treated Mike S. to lunch. Now he says he owes me a lunch and I might take him up on that....like something he's barbecued??? Such an excellent cook is he!

When I got home, I tuned in for Fox News Sunday, missing the first 15 minutes. After three o'clock I decided to go out to the pool and had a grand time as long as there was sun on the water. At a certain point the entire pool was shaded and my teeth were actually chattering as I got out. Takes me a long time to warm back up again after being so cold. 

                                                    

The rest of the day was spent in my room, as I can't stand being in an undone room, where the vacuum cleaner is standing at attention, begging for use! Ugh! My helper left in too much of a hurry on Saturday, the Dawdler King, so did not finish. Justin has no problems usually with getting up on time for work in the early morning hours and likes to fly around with his yard equipment to tackle the job. It's just at home where time gets away from him. He plans to complete the task Monday afternoon when he gets home. He must do a good job, since company is coming! Linda will be here the 12th so it might even need it again before then....