Whew! Takin' a break...

....after a full day! For some reason, I decided to get showered and dressed immediately when I got up, and am so glad I did. Not long after sitting down at my desk did my phone ring, Martie calling from the road. She had a follow-up mammogram right off the bat this a.m. (she would not allow me to accompany her to the appointment) and she called with good news. Merely tissue making a dark spot on the original mammogram, all clear! Whoo hoo! Off we went to celebrate at Cracker Barrel, having only met there yesterday with Chris for lunch. That was where she was close to when calling so she just pulled in and got us a table.

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Since I was going to have lunch at the Art Guild Board meeting later, I ate light, trying a restaurant version of biscuits 'n gravy. Joanne's homemade sausage gravy was far superior to this, and I only ate one half of a biscuit. Martie took the rest home for Ernie so nothing went to waste. We thanked the Lord for sparing her from the dreaded cancer or other maladies which could have caused her a problem. Such great news!

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After getting back home, I worked for a bit on the newsletter, in violation of my new discipline plan, until it was time to leave for the meeting. I had been to Carolyn's once before but was not 100% sure where the house was located. Extra driving time was allowed to locate her home and then find room to park. Carolyn lives in my old stomping ground on Fleming Island and it was sort of cool to drive past so many homes I had a hand in building. We talked a bit about the Architectural Review Board and restrictions, which many who did not live in EH found oppressive. I assured them people are well aware of what they are getting into when building in EH, that it is the deed restrictions and governance that gives this community its splendor and quality...sounds like I still work there, doesn't it??

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Because our hostess was feeding us, our meeting took a tad longer than normal. She was baking some of our menu and somehow or another the oven got turned off, which caused for some obvious delays....Well worth the wait, however, because she served a chicken fettuccine casserole, a veggie casserole which was just amazing, yes, amazing, and fruit salad made with whipped cream and peach yogurt. Oh, my! For dessert she made bread pudding which I did not have. I had a sugar cookie with my lunch so no room left for bread pudding!

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In a couple weeks Carolyn is heading to Italy with her sister to attend a cooking class in Cortona! I am so jealous! How I would like to go, too, but certainly NOT to a cooking class. Cortona is the town where Francis Mayes settled down in real life and her book and in the movie, "Under the Tuscan Sun". The area, Tuscany, is so gorgeous, I even considered moving there myself before the bottom fell out of the market. A friend of mine whose hubby is from Italy said that non-citizens are not obligated for income taxes there. They are thinking about moving there, too, dividing their time between USA and Italy, half a year each place. Not sure how that works out for their sons and school but certainly they have considered all that. I vacillated between Italy and Greece for my retirement plans, thinking Greece is my favorite but the foods not as appealing and no real access to "my" church. Italy has much better food and more possibility to be served by at least a chaplain every so often. A moot point now, of course, since it appears I am staying put for awhile. But it sure was fun talking about Amalfi again today!