A sticky mess

The other day I posted on Facebook about my multi-tasking skills of being on hold with AT&T, eating a bagel, and writing at the same time. My comment included the need to clean off my keyboard which had been made sticky from the topping of my bagel. That day I chose the apple and cinnamon bagel, and it was so tasty! I am making that baker's dozen (minus the four I gave to Connie) stretch, since purchased last week. As of this a.m., there are four left. So filling!

On Sunday, Justin made a frozen treat to take along to his friend's mom's house for their dinner. Often they gather there for family dinner, and that night was featuring Justin's favorites. He made a root beer sherbet in a Carbonite form he bought on-line, using the ingredients purchased on Saturday for which he used his new Jaguar cooler. Everything went nicely when making it but he ran into trouble trying to get it into the freezer.

                  
This is the form, and the impression is that of Han Solo, from Star Wars. Anyone who is a fan of this series recognizes this as when he was caught in lava. I do not know it, so will take Justin's word for it. Glad it was root beer sherbet and not lava in my freezer!!

My freezer is a drawer-style...picture this not-yet-frozen delight being shlossed around as the drawer went shut. In hindsight, it should have been placed with a cake pan under it, but space in the freezer is limited. Well, what a grand and glorious mess this was!! This evening, Justin finally had time to pull out the bottom baskets to access the mess which was frozen to the floor of the freezer.

                 

As a team, we lifted out the baskets, and then he laid down on the floor, working around the opened drawer front and the braces to reach into the freezer. I kept the hot dish cloths coming, swapping them for his now cold and sticky cloths. For a big fellow, this was NOT an easy task and there is no way I could have cleaned this up myself. I could remember when the repair man was here, he got the whole drawer off, but I was not about to tackle that project and possibly not get it back together properly. 

                           
Because my fridge is against a wall, we can only open the door so far. Not wide enough to get at the floor of the freezer from both sides. Extra tight for an extra large mess!

After he had it all cleaned up and put back together again, he came into my room to report the smell of the sticky mess remained on his hands. Sort of a sour smell, which is odd, since it was frozen probably immediately. My suggestion of using salt to wash his hands worked and he came back to thank me. This was learned years ago when we would have the gas smell on our hands from playing at the neighbor's gas station. 

For our dinner tonight I made fried potatoes with roast beef cut up into it. Justin had made this roast last Thursday, using the three envelope method. Oh, my, it was tasty! This evening we finished it off. He offered to clear everything way from the table so I could back to my room to watch more of the Convention. What a sweetheart! 

As it turned out, the Convention was on dinner recess yet, so I was able to oversee the polishing of the kitchen. What I did notice, once the counters were wiped and the dishwasher made busy, was the way my feet stuck to the floor in front of the fridge. Even though the sticky mess in the freezer was wiped up, some remnants of this grand and glorious mess still grab my feet. Time for the Swiffer!

Oh, by the way, his Han Solo root beer float dessert was a huge hit with the folks at the dinner. At least that part went well! In the future, he will use a cake pan under the form, due to the sloshing caused by the freezer drawer closing! 

Pickin' through some thoughts...

...before I begin watching the WELS Synod Convention online. Justin accidentally flipped the switch in his room in which is plugged the gateway modem for the computers. Oh oh...He apologized immediately but it took forever (almost 20 minutes!) to get everything up and running again in my room. I operate under the direction of the booster which is on the curio cabinet in the dining room. I did not have this problem before but am trying to not be too grumpy about it. I just have to learn which buttons to press on which device and he has to learn to put tape over the switch in his room! Of course, this had to happen right when I was chatting with Linda during The Five, and only a couple minutes before he was leaving for the baseball game downtown. 

As I looked out my window a bit ago, I spotted two guys walking toward the building, along the breakwater, with a cooler floating between them. They have fishing poles with them as well. The water was only waist deep or a bit less than that, but no sign of a boat. I wonder where they left it...

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Well, I am disappointed...the Live Streaming from the convention is not working. I was so looking forward to it but the chat going on along the side of the page was amusing. Seems this problem occurs regularly, according to the posters, as few are surprised by the failure of the system. Some are more angry than they should be, while others are enjoying the conversation. According to the counter at the bottom of the screen where the picture should be, it says 117 people are viewing. We are looking but not seeing or hearing! (Later, we were directed to another site where a limited number of folks could view it---me among them!)

*

Today I stopped at the Sprint store to have my phone looked at, see if someone could shut off my notifications for me. The place was packed and I had to basically take a number. There was a mom in the store with three children, one of whom was hollering and making lots of noise. 

When I was at the counter, the mom with the disorderly children left, but I did not see her go. My lady helping me did...she said, "Her kids are nowhere near her..." I turned around to look outside, and saw the youngest one walking along the sidewalk but the mom and one kid were in the truck (Suburban). The little guy was not even up to the vehicle yet, and she opened her door to yell to him to get in. Oh my heart! He was so small and that parking lot was nuts. 

Then, after he was in, she started to back out and my lady helper gasped, "She doesn't have all her kids!" Halfway in and out of the spot, entirely blocking the pathway, she stopped and her daughter came running, having been left in the store, and had to try a couple car doors before finding one to open. She got in the backseat, and off the mom went. 

I don't know if she left the place angry or what, but my helper lady and I seemed like we were holding our breath the entire time this transpired. I can still hear the little girls' hair beads clanging together as she ran from the store. The two older ones had been playing games on the demo phones and seemed to not even notice their mom had left. I gave the helper lady a big hug. I am a nut about parking lots and now I remember why!

An action-packed night!

You would think it was football season around here with all the excitement on a Sunday night. But, nope, not watching football on TV this time. Instead, I am wading through hours and hours of a recent County Board meeting on the Internet, which lasted 7 hours in total. Some huge topics were discussed at this meeting, and my friends, Jacquie and Mark, live in the community being discussed for a re-PUD. Watching all this would be considered torture in Guantanamo Bay but it does have its interesting moments. Especially when several of the speakers who address the Board are folks I know!

One of the Board members, Diane, is a personal friend of mine, and handles some of my investments for me. She was the sole Commissioner to vote against the measure. 

The homeowners on both side of the issue spoke bravely when at the podium, all with great passion, and one could sense the high levels of frustration these folks have, facing the prospect of additional construction going on in a built-out neighborhood. When Justin came home, I sort of expected him to tease me about my exciting night but he said, "Hey, I listened to three hours of CPAC speeches from three years ago this afternoon!" Yeah, I think we're even!

The night to myself

Justin is off with his friends to have a light supper and then attending a Jacksonville Sharks (arena football) game downtown. Even though I was invited to join my friends out around the pool for the evening, I opted to stay in and just hang out by myself. Not being anti-social but just not inspired to get dressed again after coming in from the pool late afternoon. 

This morning Justin came to my room and was recapping his enjoyment of the time spent at Whitey's with his friends and me. Last night in a text message he said something about me not having folks of a certain "ilk" but rather I had folks who were "peeps". We had no sooner arrived at Whitey's than did one of my neighbors come running up to say "hello" to me. I told Justin, after I introduced him to her, that this was the lady for whom he carried a bottle of tequila down to the pool for me one recent Saturday. 

Here is that story: My friend, Lee, has a sister in the liquor business, and had given Lee some of her 'extras'. Since neither Lee nor I have use for the tequila, I offered it to Julie and Patty to use for their making of margaritas. I sent Justin a text message asking him to carry that bottle down, which he did, in a plain cloth bag! It was sort of comical, being all secretive about it like that. Anyway, that was our first sighting when arriving at Whitey's! And by a peep, not an ilk, mind you. Justinisms!

We decided it was too late to go get breakfast but if we got ready quickly enough, could do our store errands and then grab lunch. Usually I have my lunch at the pool with my friends, but it was still Justin's birthday weekend so off we went. We hit two stores including one offering Diet Coke for a good price. He needed ingredients for making a special 'sherbet' dessert. Because of buying 'cold' items, he pressed the Jaguar cooler I gave him into service!

                  

As we were driving out to the Island, I got a call from my friend, Jacquie, who was already at the pool. I assured her I would be there as soon as we were done with our errands. Justin laughed knowing I was "expected" at the pool. I sent Lee a text message telling her Jacquie was there already, before 11:00 a.m. We got our needed items and went to "Koko's" for a quick lunch. Oh yum! Happy birthday, Justin!

When we got home, he offered to run everything upstairs by himself, if I wanted to just go and sit. The sky had greyed up, looking threatening, but I opted to help carry our stuff upstairs and got changed very quickly. It was so good to have our group together again around the table, gabbing and laughing, the others enjoying their lunches. Bob, sitting nearby, referred to me as the ambassador for the pool and I am cool with that!

The skies cleared and we got into the water for a bit. Betty and Kathy came out, along with Kathy's brother, Gary, our usual later afternoon group. Some folks peeled off of the gathering as others joined. After all afternoon in the pool and around it, it feels good to stay in tonight and marinate in these very enjoyable times!!

Justin's birthdate

Something is funny with this picture---my son, the birthday boy, is already home and in bed for the night. On his birthday! At 9:30 pm he is done for after a long day at work. His boss, who joined us for the birthday celebration at Whitey's, said they cut 19 properties today. No wonder they are weary! 

He left for work about 6:30 a.m. as he stops to get a coffee at McDonald's on the way to the shop. When they mow residential lawns, 8:00 is the earliest they can begin so on Friday, they start at an area restaurant. Then, they go to mow the yard of our former neighbors, Jessica and Travis, whose two boys absolutely LOVE to watch to work going on. They refer to my boy as Mr. Justin---how about that?? Their whole family was at Whitey's tonight as well, celebrating Jess's dad's birthday! 

***

I had to take my car in for the brake and rotor job, going back to Sun Tire without getting the 2nd opinion. My appointment was for 8:00 a.m. and after about an hour, I went outside to stand in order to warm up. As I walked around, I looked into the garage and saw my front tires were off, too. Oh oh....now what? The tech told me it is customary to look at the other brakes as well as a safety aspect. Sort of like that...

When I got back home again, it seemed like I had the whole day ahead of me yet, but wanted badly to take a nap. It is newsletter time, however, so sat at my desk composing as I waited to get the last of the submissions for the newsletter, about the preschool and VBS. I could have put my head down on my desk but instead, I went outside to swim with my neighbors. 

The night before I had gotten a text message from Kathy saying I should could to her mom's unit for a pina colada around 4:00 pm. Okay! Kathy's brother, Gary, is known for his blender skills, as Betty will tell every time we get together. Kathy told me Betty was 'not having a good day' so she asked me plus Hugh and Maureen to come over to cheer up Betty. She really has the best kids, I must say. Kathy has a home on Fleming Island as does Gary, but she stays with her mom to keep her company. Gary comes every day for a visit as well. This time, the neighbors got to help keep Betty company!

Kathy, Betty, and Gary were going out to the pool and sent me a message to join them this afternoon. Just what I needed---an excuse to leave my desk! The water was, of course, a bit chilly for me, but the others all found it quite refreshing. The air temp was 90 which makes all things right! 

I saw Justin come home from work about 4:00 pm, and then leave again. Oh, oh---had I missed my opportunity to greet the birthday boy? No, he was going for a haircut before we were together celebrating his birthday. He sent me a text request to use my car, as his has no A/C at this time. 

Once he got back from the groomers, we left for Whitey's in order to get a place to park---both our car and our butts---before it got crazy down there. Half price appetizers and discounted beer is a big attraction, but only lasting until 7:00 pm. We took a table far from the musician and waited for the rest to arrive. Justin's boss, Will and his wife, were coming, as were Jesse and Michael (both those fellows former housemates of Justin's) and then Caleb, Justin's underling at work. He is 18 and a VERY ambitious young man. I am so impressed by him. He brought along his 6 year old sister so I knew everything was going to be okay for us. Later, Justin told me he was so glad I came along, and that just made my day. I was glad to be included, enjoyed the company and excellent appetizers, and celebrating my son's birth. I was home by 8:00 and he was basically right behind me, being dropped off by Michael. 

                       

Justin and I participated in his giant birthday cookie which I had gotten for him and he opened his presents from me. In conferring with Jesse, I ordered Justin a Jaguar jersey only to find out that player is no longer with the team. Explains the sale price! I can easily send it back, no worries, but he absolutely LOVES the soft-side Jaguar cooler. It is wheeled, like a suitcase, and will hold their beverages, meat, etc. when they tailgate. Also, he liked his new Packer t-shirt and Packer flip flops! 

Saturday is the big day of movie viewing and attending a Jacksonville Sharks game with his friends. Tonight was a blast, though, as I got to know his boss better and meet his co-worker. I had not seen Michael in ages, probably since we attended a Glenn Beck event at the AMC a few years ago! He was away at school and recently moved back to JAX. Jesse is working as an intern for a government construction company so is busy all day long when not in his classes. Good to catch up with the guys and even the little girl, Skylar.

Sunrise greets me

This particular morning I found myself awake before 5:00 a.m. for no particular reason other than viewing this lovely and magnificent sunrise. There is a barely perceptible line about halfway across the photo, almost like a before/after affect. Very cool!