I'm so happy Judy's home!!!

....and all's right with the world!

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I feel so much better now that we will be back in regular contact. Judy R. wrote to report the great fun they had on their trip to Alaska, traveling with friends--some old friends and some new. One of the new friends she mentioned turned out to be the pastor and his wife from Ocala, FL! She said he's a real hoot, and I already know that to be true. He served Judy J. and her husband when they worshipped in Ocala and became quite close friends with them. Now, two of the Judys in my life are tied together from their association with Paul and his wife, Chris. Cool beans!

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Last night I met my former classmate, Marcy, and her hubby, Mark, at Salt Water Cowboy (bet Mom's mouth is watering already!) and I knew her immediately. She closely resembles her mom, plus I saw a recent picture. She said I looked just like me! What can I say? We had a lovely dinner, played some catch-up, and talked about, what else, church! Her husband and she are quite involved with their church, which is in the CLC synod, with Mark filling in since late winter for their ailing pastor. They enjoyed their time in St. Augustine but the time got away from them. A return trip is expected in the fall when it's cooler to catch the missed places. We sort of take it for granted since we live here, but when you come in fresh, yeah, there's lots to see and do!

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Marcy, besides working as a nurse, is dabbling in some free lance writing, focusing mainly on technical manuals and such right now. Perhaps at some point she'll try her hand at writing a book but isn't sure she's up to the challenge and demands of such a task. I wish her well, and told her what I've learned at Writer's Conferences: write about what you know. Go for it! It's only paper and ink..........or, in this day and age, it's only space taken up your computer memory!

Kim and Marcy in St. Augustine

Cindy just called and told me that she was thinking about me today, knowing about the cemetery clean-up Justin and I were going to do. She always offers great comfort, often reminds me about something Timmy said or did in the preschool. She also encouraged me to bring some of those memory pieces to the church/preschool for the front flower bed. She works there every day and will get to enjoy them more frequently up there. What a great perspective that lends me! Yes, I will do just that!

At the cemetery, Justin helped me get things gathered together and secured in the plastic garbage bag to suffocate any hiding spiders----don't want to introduce any more black widow spiders into my car! He returned my giant-sized wash basket which served us well for transporting the items. I did leave the marker that indicates the tree was dedicated, etc. and we'll see if the guys allow it to stay or not. Cindy feels like going over tomorrow to snag it and return it another time when no one is looking.....I don't know 'bout that, I'm willing to take my chances on them allowing it to stay. You know, I trust everybody, my downfall!

The lady at church who orders the flowers and Carol, the Altar Guild leader, very nicely arranged with the florist to put the Sunday flowers into the type of vase which will allow me to transfer them into the grave marker vase. Usually the bouquets came in a foil "bread pan" container which I simply stood on the marker, but that's a no-no, now, too. I appreciate it greatly that the ladies made this happen for me, starting today. I really want to be in compliance and not a problem for these fellas who've been so wonderful to me all these years. Really, I could thank them for forcing me over this hump, and I know Cindy is probably grinding her teeth having me say that. As I was leaving church today, Carol called my name and then said she had no words for offer, just to tell me she would be thinking of me, and so was Cindy! And my family. Thanks, guys!

After the clean up, Justin and I came home, changed our clothes, and went out to the pool. We ordered our meals, me getting my hot dog and Justin the chicken blt. He let me taste his and wow, it was good! I don't know if I'd not order the hot dog, but if for some reason I had to, a chicken blt would work!

Soon the ladies started to come down stairs and had reserved a table for us. Justin and I moved our belonging over there and I introduced him to my lady friends. He didn't have much to offer as far as conversation but was certainly polite and spoke up when he had something to say. Of course, it began to thunder and then lightning so we excused ourselves to change our clothes. We were going to a movie, and ended up seeing "WALL-E". Well, I'm glad it was only $5.00 each for us because that movie was so not worth it. Almost immediately, before any sound or dialog was introduced, Justin remarked that they hadn't even tried to mask the political implications. Just jam it down our throats, would you!!!???!!! My downstairs neighbors, Tracy and Jeff, were also there and had the same sentiment. Tracy said she didn't think a 6 year old would even get a movie like this, so I hope Lisa doesn't waste her time and money on this one. Ugh! The popcorn and soda was good, though.......

Of course, as always happens when I'm at the movies, we could hear the thunder and heard rain pounding on the roof of the theater. It was still raining when we came out so went to Fridays to have a snack. TGIF has "lite portions" perfect for Justin while I had my sesame Jack chicken appetiser. I was only able to eat half of them, though, this time. I also ate the cheese from his caprese salad which was part of his meal.

After dinner/snack we walked four and a half miles to where he parked the car. We came upstairs for a bit afterward and talked some more before he headed for home. Oh, I just thought of something----I told him his secret about seeing WALL-E was safe with me.......he didn't want his friends to know he saw a kids movie! We should have gone to Get Smart instead, but I'd heard there was a lot of innuendo in it, so wasn't in a big hurry to see it. My skin is getting thinner and thinner......

So, here it is, late on Sunday evening and I am ready for bed. I slept very nicely last night and will again tonight, I'm sure. Jill tried to send some pictures of her grandson but I couldn't view them. I hope she will try again, I want to see how Bryson has changed since I saw him in April!

Until tomorrow..........

I can't sleep!

Too much the night before or something, I guess, but sleep eludes me right now.

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I am so anxious to hear from my friend, Judy R., who is on a trip to Alaska at this time. We are coming up on our first "anniversary" of meeting, although I do believe that we've been friends forever, but were only recently introduced, as it were, a year ago! It feels that way to me, anyway. Kindred spirits and boy, do I need her "shoulder" right about now.............

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Judy has wise things to say, like my friend, Carol, does here at church. Maybe I should go see Carol tomorrow, since Sundays are simply wwaayy too busy to have a conversation. Justin is coming to church with me this week and then we're going to the cemetery to collect all our personal items from the grave site and from under the tree. John, the man in charge, said I can leave the "Dedicated to Timmy Day" plaque under the tree but all else has to be removed. Mainly I'd like help with the bigger statue that Carol and Cliff donated and think I'll remove it to the memory garden at church. It better suits an outdoor placement and where better than at church, or the preschool where he attended!

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The boys did show up at the picnic tonight and had great fun blowing off fireworks on the deck. I was greatly concerned that the loud booms, nearly in their faces, could cause harm to Justin's good ear, but he "comforted" me by saying he turned his head. Right, good, turn your head, that makes all the difference in the world...All right, just go ahead but don't come crying to me when you can't hear from either side! Oh, what a heartless beast I am!

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Joan and Paul came to watch the fireworks, too, and it was so wonderful to see her again. She is the lady who had the blood clots in her lungs and dangerously close to her heart a few weeks ago. She got home from VA last week and is coming along nicely in her treatment and recovery. It winded her to walk all the way to the back of the house and then back out to their car, but that's bound to happen until all the clots have gone away.

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More than once in my life I've looked at people or situations and not really seen what I should have been seeing or ignoring what I am seeing....vague enough for you? Sometimes, though, decisions have to be made, lines drawn in the sand, about some things, and I guess that decision occurred to me today. One person I met at the pool, whose table I crashed so I could sit and eat my lunch, sort of set the stage, and it was downhill from there. I do not have to tolerate filthy or vulgar language (or perhaps I do when I invite myself to sit at their table....) or surround myself with those who take great pleasure in, shall we say, more "wordly" activities. I need to tippy toe around here a bit to protect the guilty, I meant innocent, but let's just say, I feel quite betrayed and not the tiniest bit foolish. When I am not so tender, I may say more about this, but for now, I'll leave it at that. What I will remind myself on a daily basis from this time forward is that my church and other Christian friends are the ones with whom I should be spending my time, in order to avoid such circumstances and revelations as today's. I am safe in my church, safe with my church family, and truly safe in the arms of the Lord!

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Lynnie, I apologize if this makes you cry, I wish you didn't have to read it at work. Thanks to all my sisters and niece who called today to find out what the poor people were doing! Jill especially had a wonderful surprise of having her son and his family show up at the door....I even got to hear Bryson coo into the telephone. Wish I was there.......

Happy Independence Day!!!!

and Merry Christmas! We truly enjoyed our themed dinner last night, having turkey and dressing, ham, sweet potato souffle, green bean casserole, mac and cheese (a Southern thing!), baby carrots, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, and cranberries. What? No Jell-o???

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The ladies are always so quick to clear away the dishes and get the dishwasher loaded and it's useless to fight against it. But getting the mess off the table makes room for the next course, the desserts! Joanne, our resident chef, had a great deal of trouble with her white caramel cheesecake so at 11:00 pm the night before decided she was going to buy a cake at Edgewood and be done with it!!! It was an absolutely decadent chocolate layer cake, plus some tarts and cannoli. Sandi brought a pumpkin pie, which reminds me.........I'll be right back!

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Yummy, pumpkin pie for breakfast! Only, it's closer to lunch than breakfast though!!! See, Pam stayed long after the others had gone home and we chatted until nearly midnight. She has lots on her plate and it was good she could discuss things with someone outside her enterprise, as her "consultant". I went to bed, taking a little bit to fall asleep, listened to "Cheers" until I dropped off.

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When I wake up enough in the morning to realize what's on TV, it's usually just before JAG comes on. The program runs back to back until 9:00 a.m. So, as I started to come to this a.m., JAG was already on, which made me think I slept later. No worries, I don't punch a clock anymore. But, when another episode started, after an ad for the JAG/NCIS Marathon today, I took another look. In clicking over to the Preview Channel, I saw it was nearly 11:00 a.m.!!!!! I have no clocks in my bedroom and grandfather clock needs to be re-wound. The sun seemed to be in the right place---I wonder what happened that I slept so long today!?!?

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Maybe I slept later because I was heartbroken yesterday.......when the writing ladies and I left to go have lunch together, a notice was posted in the lobby announcing our Poverty Party was cancelled due to the roofers!!!!!!! Apparently materials had been stacked on the roof just below Nancy's terrace, blocking the view of the harbor and making for an unappealing thing to look at while picnicking on her patio. Oh, it was like I was punched in the stomach! I feel badly for the Powell's, too, because this was going to be their first chance to attend the annual bash, since Billy is still recovering after his hip surgery and not touring. Rats!

*

In the meantime, two other offers for 4th of July celebrations came in so I decided to go to Pam's house, on the river to the south, and picnic with her. She's having a fry out and later a bonfire (that's all I had to hear!!) and then watching the fireworks from Orange Park and Green Cove Springs, a great vantage point. My boy might even be there, if he can find the time.......ahem, ahem.....

*

Nope, I guess I won't see my boy tonight. He just called and didn't know the first thing about attending the picnic tonight. Pam must be wishful thinking they'd come to home to her house after the events at the beach. He's really getting into that "scene", likes hanging out with Jesse's step-sister and her gang from the radio station, rubbing shoulders with the elite, and so on.

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I will have to go to the grocery store to buy some lettuce and extras to make the taco salad for tonight. I have the meat and taco seasoning and salad dressing on hand. I can taste it already! But sunshine is wasting so outside I must go!

*

Again, Happy Independence Day all!

A potpourri of photos....

Manny and Noah on the train at the zoo

A wall Lisa painted in the boys' room

Lisa and Gabe on the train at the zoo

A gathering of my peeps at Time Out. Sorry 'bout Gabe's face being so bright!

Gabe, Noah, Manny, Lisa, Lynn, Danny, Alayna, Justin, Kerry, Kim, Jill, and Grandma K. The blue names are sisters, only two missing......

Noah, Gabe, and Manny under a tree

Light dancing on the ceiling......

It took me a while to fall asleep last night, due in part to being involved in a Law and Order episode I'd not seen before. Morning came a bit more abruptly than the usual sunrising on my face---instead it came with a good deal of hammering and pounding on the roof. Guess I can be thankful I don't live up any higher in this building! Lynx was lying at the foot of my bed and when the pounding began, her head went up first and then she looked at me quizzically, wondering what I was doing!

*

I feel badly for the roofers as they have a sort of deadline with this job of mid-July but the rains have been keeping them off the roof so much these past few weeks. From experience we know we don't want the roof exposed when it's raining; therefore, the earlier in the day they begin, the less likely they'll get caught in the rain when it comes in the afternoon.

*

Even though I found myself awake early, I opted to not attend the breakfast meeting today. I hate to miss it because I love seeing everybody but I have to get ready for the housekeepers to come. Doesn't that sound funny? Cleaning up before the cleaners get here? What I try to do is have my end tables and such free of "stuff" so the ladies can clean freely (and not just around my stuff), I remove the stumbling blocks which might prevent them from doing a thorough job. This also means I'll have to put the A/C on when it gets closer to their being here. Martie has an abscessed tooth and I am not sure if Chris and Margaret will come today, but I hope they do! I could call Twila to see if she'd like to come but want to make sure we're not in the way of the cleaners. They clean once a month, just before my Themed Dinner.

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The worst area in the house, besides my bedroom/office, is the kitchen floor. The roofers make an awful mess up there which leaves a great deal of residue on the common areas and promenades. Sometimes their guys will come along with a broom and sweep it off, or the owners will do it. But, Dave the Doorman, makes his rounds with the leaf blower (I miss my leaf blower!!!) and gets all the mess taken care of nicely. One problem with his method however: the dirt and dust blows right in under my kitchen door! Guess this means I need a new threshold or something. Glad it's not snow coming in.....but snow would eventually melt and not hurt when walking on it!!!

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I'm thinking of Lynn today. As I lay on my bed, the sun was reflecting off the river and making dancing images on the ceilings. I refer to this as "happiness". Once, when Lynn and Lisa were visiting us at The Preserve, before Gabe was born, some troubling things took place that sort of put a damper on the festivities. Lynn hugged me one morning and said, tearfully, "I just want you to be happy." Of course, that meant everything to me, but to ease Lynn's heart, I explained my thoughts on happiness and joy. On the catwalk above our heads we could see the dancing light reflected from the pool. I said, "Up there, that's happiness. I could get a ladder, climb up to try and grab it, but there's nothing to grab. When the sun moves around, happiness is gone, it's elusive and depends on other things to make it happen. (I wax philosophical.....) On the other hand, joy is with us always, it's inside, and comes not from others or things, but from the Lord." This may not be word for word, but in essence, what I believe. So, whenever I see the light dancing on the ceiling, I think about Lynn!

Lynn and Kim--Florida style!!!!!

Hang on to your hats..................

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?' The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'.

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They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together.

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One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together", to which, his father said 'Yes'. For those who didn't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island. Father and son went on to complete the race together.

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View this: (Jami: check out what else is featured on the page...look familiar?)

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=4e7679f8a731d6cce58a

Hello, my name is Kim, and I watch reality TV.......

It must have been too early to wake my computer this a.m.! It's having an old-fashioned hissy fit or something. When I first started it up, the drawer on the DVD thing kept going in and out, like a spasm, and the words didn't keep up with my fingers. Now, I am not that fast a typer but certainly I shouldn't have to stop to wait for the words to appear. I was chatting with Justin and told him about it, and we decided the best repair might be to re-boot. That has seemed to do the trick, and we are now in perfect harmony. Om, om, om....

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Believe this if you will but I am perspiring sitting here. The sun isn't through the clouds yet but it is warming up nicely anyway. I'll give the thermostat one degree of a nudge to see it that helps. Nope, it didn't even kick in, since it's only 78 in here. I did pull the patio doors open which might invite a breeze through. Justin reported awakening to thunder this a.m. and his parking lot was nothing but puddles when they left for work.

*

The Spell Checker didn't recognize "hissy" but offered "hussy" as a substitution. I beg your pardon?!?!? I think not! Not as funny as the colonoscopy/kaleidescope substitution, though. My favorite! Sandi Hilchey called already this morning to see if I wanted to have dinner tomorrow night. Sure! No church meetings or classes, and I'm available. I offered to come their direction since they always come this way, but she suggested somewhere in San Marco. I came up with The Brick, which she thinks she's only been to once. I love it, dining outdoors, you know I do!

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Yesterday I talked to my mom for nearly an hour, getting caught up on the weekend news, now that she's back up on two legs and 4 wheels. She only uses her Hugo when going for a walk or down to church, but when she was sick, it came in handy in the house, as well. Glad that's over with, I hated it when she was feeling poorly!

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It was getting to be nearly 6:00 p.m. my time and I remarked to Mom no one had called yet for supper so was going to Plan B. My soda supply was dwindling and planned to go to Winn Dixie to re-stock. I'd intended on going earlier in the day but the thunder storms were so strong that I decided to wait until they let up before heading out. In spite of the storm, I did manage to get my Palace Press delivered door to door...neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor dark of night shall prevent me from making my appointed rounds.......

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While delivering the newsletters, Lisa tried to call me from Sheboygan, but we weren't able to make the connection. She'll often give me a buzz when she run errands for work or is on her way to collect the boys. Once the boys are in the car, however, they need to tell their mama everything about the day. I love to talk to them but have a dilly of a time understanding their words! I need to see the face, you know?

*

It finally cleared enough for me to venture out. W-D had a deal where you bought 4 cases of Coke products, I'd get a 5th one free so the young man bagging ran and got the last case I needed. I'm concerned about keeping them in my car in case they'd explode since I can't get too many upstairs at a time. Might need my trusty servant to tote those for me. Travis offers but we just don't coordinate our arrivals and departures. His fiance, Jessica, beeped at me when she got to W-D, so I waited for her to get parked. After our hugs, she told me they were going to his parent's house for dinner since it was Travis' birthday.

*

The dredger is hard it already and I hear drilling and grinding from the roof. Maureen on the 2nd floor said the roofers didn't do too much removal yesterday since the storms were coming so the crane had to reschedule for today. No one wants that mess again, like one of our 5th floor ladies is going through now, getting all but one room re-drywalled, floors done, and all that terrible mess. The roofing contractor is paying for the repairs but still.......She had valuables damaged from the rain pouring in, and being a musician, not a good thing. Donna was not at home so the leaks weren't discovered until the water came into the unit below hers! Such a mess and a terrible situation for her!

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My milk was bad when I went to prepare a bowl of "O" cereal this a.m. Fortunately I hadn't taken a big drink from the sour milk which would have caused me to throw up all over someones suede vest. Another "Seinfeld" reference.....About that: I can't believe that Jerry would even have out-of-date milk or food in his refrigerator! After all, he's slim, he's neat, and he's single----not that there's anything wrong with that.............."Can they even get vomit out of suede?"

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Okay, now I have an admission to make: as much as I like to frown on the so-called "reality" shows on television (I guess I do more of that on other people's blogsites.....) I have to confess to LOVING and recording "What Not to Wear". My heart skipped a beat (it's okay, Mom, it's okay) when I heard TLC was showing a marathon of WNTW on Independence Day! I am always looking over my shoulder for the secret camera, in case I'm being tagged for the next episode.....that will never happen. My grandma would describe my walk as "two boys fighting under a blanket"! I'd say they are teenagers now!!!!!!

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Sometimes I am appalled by the fashion choices the so-called professionals make for folks, and especially like it when the "victim" finds exactly the same style in the stores. Naturally, simply because the style is in the store does not necessarily mean it's the best choice for the person, but still....If I wore dark, drab clothes all the time, they'd send me to buy bright ones, which I already have in my closet. Or they'd tell me not to wear the twinkly postcard (or billboard as the case might be) tops and go to button up the front or something. Always the opposite of what's in the closet. It makes for a good program. I wonder what Nick could do with my hair???

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The replies for the Themed Dinner are rolling in: stuffed pork loin, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, white caramel cheesecake, and sliced carrots......mmmmm! I'm invited as Consultant to the Island Reality breakfast tomorrow and as long as the coast is clear, I will go. Gives me a good reason to be up and dressed for the day. One of the agents, Judee, who was at the pool Sunday, has invited me to join her group at Tree Steak House next week to hear a musician play Rod Stewart music. Sounds like a nice evening....think I'll accept!