After the haircut

Back again from getting my hairs cut and stopping briefly at Great Hang Ups to touch base with my peeps. Dee was busily working on a large project with a fellow in the workroom, so could only briefly greet and give a farewell hug. Julia was working on invitations for her parent's 50th wedding anniversary party which is also her mom's 70th birthday.....Dee had asked me to do something with just her because the party is being held at the home of my former spouses' attorney. After what transpired in March in Court, I would certainly not feel comfortable at her home. It is a moot point since I will be in WI anyway. Dee will be gone when I get back from WI so we are planning to have girl's night out at some point when all are back in town! Some others of her friends cannot be there at the official party either so it would not just be me getting special treatment.

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The sun is still peeking out but hardly full force like it was when I woke up. The temps are near 80 which is tolerable. Hopefully I will experience the same when I am in WI!!! Justin did, but I did not, overpack for the trip, as we were limited on the size of bags that would go through security at the gates of West Point. He had his heavy backpack as well, which carried his tennis shoes and spare clothes. We bought a shirt at American Eagle in New York but it was too small right now. In a couple weeks it might fit him perfectly.

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We also went shopping our first day in "the city" to get lightweight jackets, as nearly of us had one. It was expected to rain on Sunday, so off we walked to Kohl's. Justin's phone has GPS on it and we walked directly to where it said Kohl's was, but nope, only an empty store. Across the street was Macy's so in we went. That store is so huge!!!! Unless you have been there, you have no idea. It occupies nearly an entire city block, and then straight up. We rode the escalator up 8 floors, a couple of them being wooden steps, looking original or nearly so.

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We found his jacket without much trouble, except that the cheapest one was marked $98 for a Nautica jacket, in white. Yikes! Well, there was a sale going on, and because we are from out of town (really??) we got an additional 11% discount. While his jacket, cotton and with some substance might be worth that money, with the designer name attached, mine was certainly not! After some searching, we finally located the large-sized women's department and began the search for a windbreaker or light jacket. I was about to give up but then discovered exactly what I was looking for. A designer, Michael Kors, blue windbreaker, priced at $159.00. There was absolutely nothing about that jacket other than this person's name earning the price tag, but once again, there was a sale plus the extra %%% for being out-of-towners. Mine I can roll in a ball and shove in my purse, while Justin's is more dressy looking and will inevitably end up in a ball in the back of his car, not staying white very long, I fear. Prove me wrong, Justin, prove me wrong!

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We had planned to go to the museum on Sunday, the rainy day, but because we had bought the appropriate jackets, the day was bright and sunny! We opted to do our bus ride instead and off we went to see the sites from atop the double-decker bus. Toward the end of the day, it did begin to sprinkle so we put our new jackets on, mine which included a hood rolled into the collar. It was a brief sprinkling of rain and before long it was over. We ended up having to walk some yet that day to get back to the hotel, and we bought sidewalk hot dogs and some sodas to have for dinner. This did not prove to satisfy so later we went down the little snack area at the hotel, and got some chips and other treats to have as we watched TV.

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Monday was our day to see the museum so after our breakfast, still on the house, we headed out to hail a cab. When we pulled up, we noticed one of the hot dog cart vendors had a sign about supporting the disabled veterans and had American flags on the wagon. We agreed this would be the place to get our Memorial Day hot dogs later on. We climbed the 85 steps up to the doors and went through security there, paid the suggested admission, and off we went.

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Justin was interested in seeing the Renaissance art and certain artists he recently studied, but we found that several entire areas were not open, including the ones he wanted to see. I was fine to go look at other stuff but he is more like his father when it comes to stuff like that, gets into a slight huff and then nothing else is good enough, you know? We went to see the ancient Egypt site where a portion of a temple is reconstructed plus walked through the Greek display. His feet ached, his hip was sore, he had a slight headache....and I was the one expected to be ailing! At one point he went in search of the elevator or escalator to take us down stairs but found none, so we went down another 85 stairs, to the lower level to see that floor. At some point he admitted that he had seen all he wanted to, except, of course, that which was closed, so we left.

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Before getting a cab, though, we had our roasted hot dogs from the Marine veterans, delicious!!! Not dirty water ones, truly roasted on the grille. We decided to go see a movie so once more his trusty phone found us a theater near our hotel and a time schedule. He had already seen "Angels and Demons" but did not mind seeing it again. We were on Times Square, in the heart of activity, and found the theater without problem. All ticket sales were done at kiosks and we followed signs to the escalator for our long ride up-up-up-up. So many escalators and we kept going up!!! At least 9 times and finally to the floor where our theater was located. We could see out and over the buildings with a panoramic view from the deck area. He estimated we were 20 stories high, and the vista as good as any movie! I did like the movie, although Justin had problems with them not following the book. I do myself a favor by not reading the books, I am seldom disappointed!!! He is terrible when it comes to the Harry Potter movies, does not forgive the license taken by the screen writers. He liked this one well enough to see it twice, so it cannot have been too bad!

My only day in between trips.......

.........and already watching the clock! I woke in my own bed to sunshine and I hope it stays awhile! The long-range forecast does not promise such so I will try not to get used to it. When we left New York yesterday morning, it was overcast and 60 degrees, quite a change from what we had been experiencing. Predictions showed rain most of the days in Florida, too, until some time next week. Facebook friends kept us updated on the number of inches, now measured in feet, of rain that had fallen in our area. The high temperatures are in the 80's which is good, and often the storms come at the close of the day, which is better than having rain all day long. In checking the headlines on the local radio station's website, there was a report that Clark's Fish Camp, one of our favorite eateries, was closed because of the high water in the restaurant. At some point, however, the owner of the restaurant went into the men's restroom and discovered a 4' long alligator hanging out in there. He merely dragged it by the tail and threw it back into Julington Creek. Talk about fresh catch!

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Today I have a hair cut appointment and my primary "job" is to get the big suitcase out and packed for tomorrow's adventure. When I got home last night, immediately I started a load of laundry in order get things in process. Oh, no! The soap jug was nearly empty!!! I swished water around in it and poured it into the washer, hoping that was enough. Joanne was not home yet so I called and left a message for her to pick up some soap. When she came in, she handed me two tiny boxes of Tide, purchased at her sister's hotel on Wells Road. That will get me through my wash but won't help her out any. Hopefully she is ready to go and won't need to wash anymore. She leaves tomorrow with her sister, heading for Kalamazoo to check on things at her parent's home, which is for sale. They still have numerous items to sort through and want to get going on it in the outside chance that someone will buy the home.

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I just got back from the kitchen, where I ran a small amount of hot water into the sink and put soap into it. The kitchen cloth stunk, so I gingerly carried that into the laundry room, and took a fresh one from the drawer. Phewww! With the hot soapy water all the counters, the stove top, and microwave face were wiped, making them fresh and crumb-free. As I did this, my memory brought back days of old.....I specifically recall one afternoon when I got home from work at Shady Lane, I immediately got busy with the hot sudsy water and busily wiped all the counters, the table, and anything that would not move. It wasn't until I was satisfied all was clean that I realized I still had my winter coat on with purse hanging on my shoulder! From that moment on, I always made sure to take my coat off and put my purse down BEFORE manically washing things. Thankfully, I have gotten much better about those things, now no longer living in "always for sale"-mode.

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Only 10 minutes before it is time to leave for the booty shop so must get dressed. Susan washes my hair for me after the cut because I am full of whiskers when she gets done with her clippers. I hate to leave a rain of tiny hairs everywhere I go after the booty shop. After I get back today, I will add some more updates about my trip, but, for now, have a great day all!

Pictures from JR's graduation

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was the speaker at West Point's graduation Saturday, May 23. He personally handed out the diplomas to the high honors graduates and then yielded to the officers who actually read the names, one on each side of the dais, for over 900 West Pointers.

On the right is JR, waiting on the ramp to hear his name called for the diploma. The skies were threatening and I wonder what would happen to their diplomas if it did rain. Afterward we could see it was inside a tube to protect it from the weather. John and Mona bought JR the suitable frames for hanging his diploma and also his commission. He also bought a sword which will be hung in the display as well. The sword they are wearing is more decorative than official, so had to be turned back in after the ceremony.

After JR came down the ramp upon receiving his diploma, several of their teachers were waiting at the bottom of the stairs to congratulate them, and give hugs. It was a pleasant surprise to see the normally stiff and rigid military guys grabbing the graduates and hugging them freely, and the graduates hugging back! In this photo, JR is scanning the huge crowd to see us, but I do not think he could pick us out, although he knew approximately where we would be seated.

At the conclusion of the graduation ceremony, a time-long tradition of the hat toss took place. Children in only a certain age group were gathered on the far edge of the grounds, and as soon the graduates tossed the hats in the air, the kids were set free to go and grab the hats. The hats supposedly had coins or paper money tucked in the band for the kids. Soon after the hat toss came numerous announcements about lost kids.....really?

If you will notice the different uniform, this is their new style and color this year. The Commissioning Ceremony was separate from graduation, at which his parents attached the bars to his shoulders as Allie stuck his lieutenant bars to his beret. Again, we could not be more proud of JR's accomplishments and his career choice. Doesn't Justin look handsome, too? He is losing weight and now has to have his tuxedo resized for Jamie's wedding in June. What if he loses more before then????
John, Allie, and Mona pose with JR after his commissioning ceremony, with the lovely vista as the backdrop. What an incredibly wonderful event to be part of and I cannot believe that we even considered not going. Our time in New York was all great fun but it is pretty hard to beat graduation at West Point!!!

Happy Memorial Day, all!

My mindset regarding the military and their service certainly improved after I got older, and most especially since moving to Jacksonville. Surrounded by the military and veterans has been a huge blessing as far as garnering an appreciation for the work these people have done and continue to do for us. And then to have a nephew graduate from West Point, it is just, WOW! I wish I was in Manty for the parade today.

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So, Justin and I are setting off for Memorial Day in NYC, with today's plans to visit the Met and possibly meet Hope Meyer for dinner tonight. We have some coordination to do, but 'hope'fully we can make it happen. Breakfast is still "on the house" here due to the room problem at check-in so we can advantage of that, eating hardy. Our plans also include having a sidewalk, 'dirty water' hot dog, from a vendor again, because, after all, it is the American thing to do. As Justin said, "We have to have a hot dog on Memorial Day, even if we are buying it from an Arab!"

Graduation at West Point

The first word that comes to my mind is AWESOME! I am not original and I am the first one to tell you this. But our time spent at West Point was awesome! John excitedly told Justin and me about how every time they visited the campus they learned something new, how every tradition or event has a history, the statues a story, even the cannons relate history. Justin and I, at one point, simultaneously expressed regret for not coming up there sooner for visits, with time to take the tour and see more sites. Speaking of sites, the vistas from West Point are incredible, magnificent, picturesque, without getting the Thesaurus!

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Our shared pride for JR rather goes without saying, but I said it anyway, telling him we were so honored to be there and that I was busting with pride. He thanked us for coming and I told him it was important for us to be there, for him and for ourselves. All citizens of the U.S. should make the pilgrimage to West Point or our other military academies, so see, hear, and feel the great history and strong sense of patriotism. He looked amazing in his dress uniform, grey jacket with white slacks, a maroon cummerbund tied to the side and a white belt which held his saber. And the white "covers" which they toss in the air after the ceremony and little children from the crowd are allowed to go pick up. The "cadets" place a small amount of money into the band of their hats for the kids, like a silver dollar or similar, traditionally. All is tradition!

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Robert Gates was the speaker yesterday and that was pretty spectacular, too. He gave a rousing speech, with some eyebrow raising thoughts not normally heard in a military setting, like "sometimes you will have to stand alone" and "question authority". I would like to reread the speech some time and revisit the context, but regardless, it was thrilling. The portion that received the greatest ovation was the part about taking care of our wounded warriors, which is something Justin and I have supported in the past, and will continue to do. The night before at a banquet John, Mona, and Allie attended, General Wm. Casey was the speaker and we would like to have heard that, too. We were resting in our hotel during that event, thankfully so.

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Once we arrived at our hotel from the Stewart/Newburgh Int'l. Airport, after arriving late and waiting without end for our luggage (probably offloaded by the pilots!), we checked into our room. It ended up being a smoking room, even though my paperwork indicated we wanted non-smoking. The manager took Justin to check out the room first, which was a great gesture, but we were stuck anyway. I had my little Lysol can along to spray surfaces and the manager had housekeeping bring us a bottle of Febreeze. The room was tolerable, with us catching only occasional wafts of old smoke. We were just sooo tired! Getting up at 3:30 a.m. after not sleeping the night before in anticipation of sleeping through the alarm....yeah, I was bushed!

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At one point, I got up off the bed to do something and OUCH!, my right knee locked up and I could not put any weight on it. Justin grabbed the desk chair and put it behind me so I could sit, and I was totally freaked out. Now what??? I worked the knee forth and back, rubbing on the place where a knee cap would be and eventually things seemed to settle into position again. Unbelievable! What was I going to do now, if I cannot walk? Besides the obvious complications, what about graduation? What about New York City? I could not even imagine getting in and out taxi's, could not imagine getting to the bathroom from the chair! With my mind busy making alternative plans for an injury, several ideas passed through my brain. I have one day after this trip to my next----how could I get an x-ray, injections, treatment, and cure in one day? Would not happen. Mona's sister works for an ortho doctor in Manty so that is an option, too. I am using utmost care not to over-extend the knee, which is what I think happened. Keeping in mind this is not the knee I injured in 2004, this really freaked me out. Perhaps a contact with my upstairs neighbor, Jessica, the physical therapist, might be in order....Mona has a torn meniscus and said my situation sounds like hers. She plays volleyball and other sports and told me she has braces to wear for every body part! And I get hurt getting out of bed!

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We walked miles and miles yesterday, climbed hills and steps all over the place and Justin was extremely kind and beneficial to me, lending me his arm and hand at every step. I thanked him for this at the end of the day, because he could have been so annoyed with me and was not openly so. We had a wonderful dinner with the Hackmann's all at a steak house next to their hotel, and then John and JR drove us to Beacon to catch the train. Another experience for Justin and me, to ride the train for about 1 1/2 hours to Grand Central Station. We were awed by the Station, Justin moreso, and we stood in the "center" taking it all in.

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After some nice police officers pointed out the door to the taxi stand, we purchased some sodas from a street vendor, and then hailed a cab. There was one waiting for us immediately and he took us for the wild ride (Lynn, remember the cab rides???) through the streets toward Times Square for our hotel. Only, there was a glitch----I had the wrong hotel! I thought we were at the Marriott Marquis, the Powell's favorite hotel, when, at registration, we were told we are registered at Marriott Courtyard on Times Square. As often as I looked at this paperwork, it never occurred to me it was two different places. Back to the taxi stand for another wild ride, 6 New York blocks or so to the other hotel. The lady at the first place told me they were fully booked or she would have gotten us in, very nice to me.

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The next hotel and another cab fare later, we are in our room. But, not our room for long. They are moving us today to a different room because this one was a king-sized bed for which they offered a rollaway, and they will move us today to a 2 double-bed room. I was just so weary, I did not care. For our trouble, though, they gave us complimentary breakfast all three days! Nice!

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Today our plans will include going to the Met Museum because it is supposed to be rainy. Tomorrow we will venture out on our favorite double-decker bus tour, and hopefully the weather will support our plans! Justin had only a winter weight cordoroy jacket to bring along and I told him to leave it behind, so we will look for a lightweight jacket for him while we are here. Perhaps Macy's has a sale or even Kohl's, which is just across the street from Macy's.

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Pictures will be posted as soon as I can from this weekend trip, so hang tight, and I will try to post words as often as I can. Let me just say again, we were incredibly honored to be there for JR yesterday at his graduation. Wow, he is a second lieutenant and people were saluting him!

I am astonished!

Until we started making plans to travel to New York State for JR's graduation, I will confess never hearing about the city of Newburgh before in my life! And today, it is all over the news---not because I am going there or because of the graduation at West Point Academy. No, rather, terrorists, home-grown in American prisons, were plotting to blow up a Jewish temple in New York City. AND, they were plotting to shoot surface-to-air missiles from Newburgh at the Air National Guard planes based near the Newburgh/Stewart Int'l. Airport!!!!

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Martie likes to think she is a sleeper cell, because, different tragedies have occurred, coincidentally, right around her travels including being in New Jersey the day before the terror attacks September 11, 2001. She was also with Justin and me in New York City the same day that the London trains were bombed. The police used Vesey Street, right outside our hotel, as their drill base of operations, and the three of us got to see the robots used to sniff out and disarm bombs when one of the guys opened the back of his truck. We opted to forego our subway ride to Chinatown that day, feeling totally freaked yet fully confident, after the day's events.

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It just struck me as being wild that a city or town I had never heard of before, is now "the news"!

Happy Ascension Day, everyone!

Tomorrow morning at this time Justin and I will be in Philly's airport, waiting for the next super sonic jet that will take us to Newburgh, New York. Mona has assured me that the plane is teeny tiny so my expectations are for a tight squeeze. Good thing one of us is losing weight! Justin is on a diet and reported that he will need to have his tux for Jamie's wedding re-sized. He was measured for it in April on Easter weekend and already it will be too large for him. He is still a "man of size" and I, "a woman of size" so we can plan on being wedge into this sardine can of a plane to get to see JR's graduation. We can do it!

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Mona asked us what size luggage we will have because, in order to get onto the grounds where graduation is conducted, we have to pass through two security zones. In order to avoid trouble, John is going to pick up our luggage and us, take the bags to their hotel for holding, and then off we will all go to graduation. JR seemed to think it was okay to take my telephoto lens in with me as long as I do not have too large a bag (okay, okay, hold the jokes about me being a large bag!) and I pray he is correct. Justin wondered about dress code for this event but we have not been informed on that yet. Here is the fun part: we have to be ready to go Saturday morning at 4:30 a.m. in order to get through security by 7:00 a.m. for graduation which is at 10:00 a.m.!!!! Talk about a long day!

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This morning I am off to Bible study at Victory, my final one until late in June. Pastor is going to have an abbreviated version of the class on Sundays and incorporate the Bible truths into his sermons. I really wish for Justin to hear some of these DVD's, the one about the family especially. Actually it was about social order and how this "order" is shown in the Trinity, the Church, and then the family. I only wish it were WELS material, I would feel so much better about it.

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Tonight is worship, celebrating the Ascension of our Lord. This will be the last time I see some of my church family until I get back on the 14th of June. Boo hoo! Kelly T. came over yesterday and helped me wrap my gift baskets, having all the stuff needed to make them pretty and presentable. In nothing flat we had "biddable" gift baskets! The spaghetti dinner one I put together with the money from Monday Bible study consisted of a red checked tablecloth, supporting a shiny aluminum colander which served as the basket. In the colander went a jar of meat sauce, pasta, a pasta fork for serving, a cheese grater, Italian seasoning, plus a small container of shredded Parmesan cheese (sprinkling kind). The best part, I think, was finding a tiny cardboard container of wine, with a screw cap, looking sort of like a milk carton. I thought that was the icing on the cake! As Kelly and I were wrapping them up, I suddenly remembered my disposable wine glasses and we added two of them, bases criss-crossed, in the front of the basket. Voila! I would have liked to include some Andes candy but was afraid, if the baskets were outside any length of time, that the candy would melt, so omitted it. The total for all that was just shy of $30! I hope it goes for more!

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The other basket was my donation, scrapbook supplies. I found a kit for a smaller-sized scrapbook, and added a paper cutting tool, adhesive, some sticker embellishments, an archival pen, and a pair of scissors. I had a wicker basket on hand to use so there was no cost in that. All the winning bidder needs to add are the photographs, and I could have thrown some of those in, too! Kelly and I wrapped them in no time at all, and away she went with two completed baskets in tow! We were to include a tag or sign indicating the contents of the bag so when I did mine, I embellished with an image. The Italian dinner tag shows a plate of spaghetti sitting on a red checked tablecloth, just like the one included in the basket! $5 at Wal*Mart for an oblong table cover!

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Time for me to go now so will sign off for now. My time this afternoon will be used for packing and finishing up the newsletter for church, as I will be time-crunched between the two trips! Quack, quack, quack from a very wet Orange Park!!!