Happy Birthday, America!

And what better way to start the holiday weekend than to watch "National Lampoon's Vacation" with Chevy Chase. I am busting out laughing as though I have never seen it before, even though it is an old movie. So funny to see Clark's big glasses, which I know were the style "in those days"!

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As long as we are talking about glasses, Justin called me with a very sad request yesterday afternoon---"Mom, I broke my glasses...." Okay, I figured he broke them on the job, working hard with lawn mowing and weed pulling. He said he was picking them up off the counter after showering at his dad's house, and the lens fell out. Wait! He was at his dad's house when they broke, but he called Mom for the new glasses? Why was he showering in the middle of the day? Oh, I see, first we had a nice father/son trip to buy fireworks. My eyes get tired from rolling them in disbelief so frequently, but, well, whatever, go get the glasses and I will pay for them. But cheap ones, mister!!!

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No, really, I was very nice about the whole thing, felt badly that he had super glue holding them together. Once that was arranged, I could get back to my phone conversation with Mona. As we were talking, I could hear little beeps in my ear which meant a text message was coming in. I put Mona on speaker and read the text message from Justin about where he was and so on. As I got back to Mona, I told her it sounded from his message that he was expecting me at the eye place, and here I was, on the phone and wearing a caftan, not rushing to the vision center. I told Mona I had better go and see if needs me so we hung up. Just glad I had charged my phone or our call would have been shorter yet! I use up an entire battery when Mona and I are talking!

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As I was dressing, I called Justin to see what was what, and he said he would really appreciate my "fashion advice"....of course, I will come and offer my advice. It didn't take me long to get there and he was out of the exam room already by the time I arrived. He did find a nice frame, on the sale rack, got the featherweight plastic lenses, plus a discount from his health insurance. Still, waayy too much money for glasses, if you ask me! AAA offers a 30% discount at Pearle Vision, in case you are interested.

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We came back here afterwards, Justin wearing his cool black sunglasses over his new glasses because his pupils were dilated. My stomach was growling and grinding, wanting some food but Justin claimed he did not feel well, not even having any lunch. I had some nacho chips and cheese when I came up from the pool but that was it for food since my limp Fruit Loops at 8:00 a.m. Since he did not want to go have dinner, Joanne did! We met at Carrabba's and enjoyed a lovely dinner together, which rarely do we get to do. She had spent the day in her office, cleaning, sorting, and organizing, being sooo ready to sit down and relax.

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My pool time was interrupted by thunderstorms so I had come upstairs and changed into the caftan after peeling my wet swimsuit off. Crash, bang, crash and flash, and rain. But no rain here, only on the river! Weird! While at the vision place, I kept giving Justin the business because I said he dragged me from poolside to come pick out glasses with him! By this time, the sun had come out for a bit and was taunting me, but, no, I was stuck inside with him! The lady helping us looked up, like, "Oh, oh" but saw the smiles on our faces. Whew! Justin and I chuckled and he said to her, "My mom is giving a hard time because I took her away from the pool." The lady said, "Only a mom can get away with that!" Justin had me trying on all sort of foxy frames while we waited, and then, one time he took my chin and said, "You have been smiling at the pool too much! You have sunbursts on the edge of your eyes!" Is that not the sweetest thing? No crow's feet here, I have sunbursts!!!!

Morning has broken...

...and I am all mixed up on what day it is! Normally when I wake up, I changed the station from USA to Fox without looking, to Fox and Friends. What? Isn't it Friday today? Let's see, last night was choir, so yes, this should be Friday......The weekend crew was working today which really threw me off for a second. The weekday anchors all had off so the second string team was on deck. Love that baseball lingo! Like I know what I am talking about.......

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Already mentioning choir, we are having a couple rehearsals thrown into our summer off because Pastor wants to introduce one of the new liturgies from the Supplement on the 12th. Kathy B., whose mom was gravely ill, still came to lead us in our practice, holding up nicely. She would love for her mom's suffering to end and may I be so brave when the time comes that we have to say " 'til we meet again" to my mom. Anyway, there are some complicated melodies for the liturgy so we went through them this week, and will once more next week so we are ready to go on the 12th.

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Finally I managed to get my toes done, and they look just like brats with ketchup on the tips again. Lisa trims and files them so nicely and as long as I do not chip and scrape the polish off in the pool, they should last at least 6 weeks before my next visit. Of course, I WILL chip and scrape them, particularly in water aerobics, but I cannot see wearing shoes in the pool, although I do own water shoes. Even the mesh inside the shoes is hard on my polish, and on my toes themselves. The instructor suggested wearing socks with the shoes and I draw the line right there!!!!

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We are expecting temperatures around 97 today so guess what I will be doing....poolside! I have a newsletter to finish up and print off for our members away from the congregation plus some finishing touches on The Palace Press, which gets e-mailed. I was waiting on information on our newest resident, who has moved into the apartment where the builder who killed himself used to live. This man is a doctor which is a nice addition to our building. We like to make all our Owners and tenants feel welcome, that is my job!

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Our family has great news on the home front: Mom has decided that she definitely will be moving! Lynn and she went to see a 55+ apartment building about four blocks from church and both of them fell in love with the place. Nice and neat and clean, well-maintained, and not a police car in sight! No one getting hauled out in shackles. In fact, the literature touts that the building is sound-proofed, which really was a problem in Mom's present building. She is looking at moving around Labor Day and I have already alerted the Holmen people to this so they can be there. The complication might be that it is Labor Day weekend and it might be difficult to find movers. We would need to pack her up on Friday, move on Saturday, unpack Saturday and Sunday, and then have a picnic on Monday! The place she is looking at has a picnic area with charcoal grille built in right on the property!!!

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Mom says she has time now to start going through things, deciding what needs to go to Repeat Performance and what can go in the dumpster, etc. I do not want her stressing about this stuff and overdoing it. I hope she has the gift of patience (you see this, Mom??!!) and waits for help to arrive. Send in the cavalry! When I moved into this place, this was my 27th move, so I think I have it down pat!! There is a storage room, probably, in the new apartment (she cannot quite remember all the details of the four units she looked at Wednesday) but Lynn might remember some of it. The only thing I wish was different was the shower situation, all in a bathtub vs. a walk-in shower so she will still have climb in for her showers. It surprises me that more places like this do not have the walk-in showers particularly since they are catering to the older generations.

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My Fruit Loops are all wilted, and I believe they were prior to the milk being added. It tends to be a bit humid in my house, since I do not use the A/C all day long, so much so that I have troubles shutting my kitchen door due to the swelling of the wood. My neighbors said I should call Butch, the little handyman, to come and adjust it for me, but he is so booked right now. That is good news, that he is so busy that he cannot come immediately when summoned.

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After water aerobics yesterday, I rushed upstairs, as much as I can rush, changed my clothes and trundled off to meet Janet for lunch on the Island. Kathy B. had to cancel due to her mom's situation so it was only the two of us. Just as lovely with my friend, Janet, who treated me to a junior taco salad and a strawberry margarita! I cautioned her ahead of time that I eat my salad upside down, from the bottom up, so she would not jump when I flipped it over. Some people were leaving the restaurant, and they stopped at our table, asking what it was I ordered, because it looked like a pot pie to them. They laughed when I told them what it was, just upside down! The meat and good stuff is at the bottom of those salad bowls and that is what I am after, not all that green stuff and the lettuce.....

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The painters are really going to town on the building, rolling layers of paint onto the stucco and putting primer on the railings on the 3rd floor. I bet they will get as far as my unit today. When I went down for class yesterday, I exchanged greetings with nice guys doing the work, and as we chatted, the one guy remarked that his co-worker talks too much. It was so funny because I was talking their arms off, which makes it really hard to work! We are expecting the painters on the river side of the building, too, as they raise and lower themselves in their movable scaffolding. It looks like the window washer equipment you see in New York City on the skyscrapers. The first morning Ellen was back in the building, her dogs woke her, barking in the river room, and that was when Ellen found men looking back at her!!! Surprise!!! Talk about paparazzi! After that event, she decided to buy a nightie and robe to wear for just such occasions!

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This begins a full weekend of outdoor activities around these parts, including a major celebration at The Club. The Town of Orange Park has a wonderful firework show from a barge in the river, just down from our building. Ellen is having a little get-together so I might watch from on high, or simply lean over my railing to watch. In the past, Brenda N. and her friend, Carey, would take their boat over but it is a really long ride to go right outside my house, you know? The Club is having extra food available from the cabana as well as a dinner buffet with outdoor seating on Saturday, when normally they have weddings. Fireworks would be too distracting during a wedding reception, I guess.

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Joanne has plans to move to the condo at the beaches which was offered to her, but her moving date is not yet set. She said she has to get her 'rear in gear' first. Funny girl! First order of business for her is to make sure her parents' home in MI goes to closing without any hang ups and then she can take care of her own business. She will be gone before Christmas so the Day's Inn in The Palace will have rooms when the family comes down in December!!!!

Just a few minutes at the machine

I have to run but first want to note that as I write I am watching a manatee graze just outside the basin, directly outside my window! The mullet are also jumping in the vicinity, oblivious to what is going on under the water. Every now and again a snoot pokes out to get a breath and then back under for some more salad. Really it is grass but reminds me of salad!

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Yesterday I had to abort my trip to get my toes done because I made the mistake of trying to go down Highway 220 which is in the throes of construction. We did that stop and start thing with the guys holding the sign in one hand and a cigarette in the other. As I eased on down the road, it appeared to me that I was never going to make to the shop before 3:30, as I was barely 1/4 of the way there! Lisa said it would be better for me to reschedule than to come late, as she had an appointment right after mine so that is where I am heading today. I am glad she is busy enough to not have to take walk-in clients, being booked solid through the weekend. Good for her!

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So, now I will sign off but may be back later. Our choir director wanted us to rehearse tonight but sadly her mom is very ill and she had to go to the nursing home to be with Mom. It is up in the air whether we will meet or not. Prayers for Kathy B.'s mom and for Kathy are greatly appreciated, ask the Lord to end her mom's misery, if it is His will, or extend her days in improved health. Amen, Come Lord Jesus, Come!!!

DING DING DING!

Linda J. is the winner! She hit the chapter and verse on the head with her correct answer. And guess what! She was the first one who commented, too! To the victor go the spoils!!!

Daily Splashes of Joy

Last night I watched an episode of "Seinfeld", called "The Maestro" where Kramer burned himself with hot coffee, trying to sneak it into the movies, tucked in his waistband. As part of his settlement, he won a lifetime of coffee from the chain where he purchased it in the first place. Because it was free, he was drinking cup upon cup and acting quite hyper, "getting all hopped up", as Jerry described him, as he watched Kramer go sprinting off down the street. Kramer was talking 90 miles an hour with gusts up to 150 mph, sounding almost like gibberish. That is what the TV news anchors sound like to me this a.m., as though someone is playing with the dials or they have a lifetime of free coffee!

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Many of you are aware that I am not much of a reader, at least, not the type of books which attract your eyes and hearts. But a few months ago the mailman brought me a nice book from my friend, Linda J., called "Daily Splashes of Joy" because as she read hers every morning, she was thinking about me. Now, do I not have the greatest friends, or what??? On a separate mailing, I received a lovely book from Judy R., her favorite children's' book, "Mrs. Katz and Tush". A recurring theme through the story is the phrase, "she is such a person". Judy used that to describe me and decided I needed the proper reference for the expression! All through the book were her little post-it notes with special messages for me from her. Aw! I have, in fact, read that book cover to cover!

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Linda's book is a message-a-day style and I sort of got behind in my reading during my time away. Let me back up a little bit here....yesterday was a bit of a rain-out on my pool time so I spent more than average time in the house. Having nearly finished The Palace Press newsletter, I decided I should work on something else that I had been putting off, since I have had numerous conversations around this topic lately. I spent some time working on my funeral service details! Pastor K. had asked me if I had written out my requests, I guess he was hoping he did not have to try and remember my favorite hymns or Bible verses, etc. Some of it was written down, but not collectively, so that is what I did yesterday. Here is a test: who out there knows what my favorite Bible book/chapter are for use in my funeral service? On your marks, get set, go!

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So, back to the Daily Splashes of Joy: I picked up the book from alongside me, where I have five or six different books and periodicals stacked on the passenger side of my bed, and read the page for yesterday, June 30. It was perfect, just perfect!!! Briefly it tells about an older woman who recently moved to a new city to live with her daughter but died before she got to really know anyone. The daughter's pastor did the funeral service for Mom, and remarked that although he did not get to know the mom personally, he did know the daughter. In the daughter he could see the mom and her influence, but more importantly, he could see the face of Jesus in the daughter's life, a true reflection of what Mom and daughter were made of. Very nice, and extremely valuable.

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The message goes to say that we can leave all the Trusts and treasures behind for our families, but they will be cast in piles along the narrowing pathway to heaven. The only legacy worth leaving was our footprints, and, my words here, those footprints are the ones Jesus left for us! The closing phrase is about how Christians never have to say good-bye for the last time! For some, this day's message might not seem all that joyful but for me, it was, it certainly was, particularly since I had worked on my "legacy" only the day before. I had to plan a funeral once, and thank the Lord we had the guidance of our dear pastor to help us with what turned out to be a momentous event. What a blessing it is to have that service on video tape for present and future viewing!

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Sunday I attended worship at Victory, my presence there was requested, not by Justin, but by other members there. Since my pastor was gone on vacation and there was little going on at church involving me, I decided to go. Kristin Schuppe was in town visiting, too, so I got to see her again, live instead of just on Facebook. It was so nice to see my Victory friends in person again, vs. only on Facebook, since I left on vacation. When Justin and I would go on Saturday nights, it would be different people than we would have seen on Sundays. There is no Saturday worship during summer so all are at one service. I was invited to lunch with my new friends, Judy and Ed, so off I went, after distributing all the hugs and good wishes. Justin was off to the movies with his friend, to see "Transformer" again. We went to Mimi's and I had my favorite, grilled meatloaf, and so did Judy! It's her favorite, too! I told them that next time, it is my treat.

Kristin is the youngest of the Schuppe girls, and is a teacher in Atlanta now

Saturday was supposed to be a movie date for Justin and me, as he asked me on Thursday, but then, reneged on the date! It seems he had to do some work on the boat lift at his father's house after some damage was done to it, and a real estate showing was coming up. Justin wanted to see "My Sister's Keeper" with me, as this was not a movie a guy would see with his buddies, right? But a cry-baby mama is perfect for a movie like this. I found a showtime of 4:20 which still fell into the matinee pricing but he sent me a text saying he could not make it. Instead we could meet for dinner, which works for me! I spent the day at the pool, and Kathy B. came over to join the fun. I was able to enjoy my first of the season cabana-cooked hot dog and even ate some cucumber salad (but not the onions and tomatoes, which were so red and pretty!). One of my upstairs neighbors came out and sat with us which was nice, ever widening the circle of friends. Kathy joined Justin and me for dinner and had a marvelous time with Justin, talking about the "Transformer" movie and school, etc.

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On Sunday, besides attending church, and later the movie with Jesse, Justin also had tickets to a concert, nosebleed section, for the Trace Adkins/Toby Keith show. At one point I got an urgent text message asking if I was at my computer, and of course, I was! Justin gave me a song name to type in and asked me to listen to it, he was verklept from hearing it at the concert, telling me, "I held in every tear but one". These are the type of text messages a mom likes to get from her adult son! The song is "Arlington" by Trace Adkins and when you look it up on youtube, you will see why my son was so moved. He then sent me more info for songs to listen to, as he often tells me, "I think you should listen to country music...they sing about the things you believe in, like God and family." Again, that 'footsteps legacy' we leave behind for our kids....

Oh, oh, oh, more excitement on the river!

I wish this were more clear but I did not want to mess with getting out the telephoto lens.....The red dot in the middle of this shot is a Coast Guard helicopter which was just now chasing this boat down the river, hovering in this picture right in front of the boat. As though the boater thought he could get away?? Kindly note the ugly skies---maybe the boater is getting "pulled over" for boating in ugly weather!

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Oh, and now they are going back the other way, with the red chopper circling above the boat. It does not appear to be a police or CG vessel, more like a pleasure boat. But no waterspouts in sight...yet!

The tiny chopper is right in the center of this shot, just above the trees, and behind the boat.

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Well, things have returned to what could be considered normal, except I still hear thunder in the distance. This girl does not go into the pool if the sun is not out so I guess getting dressed for the day is next on my agenda. This a.m. I was telling Joanne about my early morning dream, where I was going to a restaurant with a mixed group of people, some from church and some family members, and it was not until I got up to move to the dining room that I realized I had no shoes on! I made the remark, "It must be summer, I have no shoes on!" and everyone laughed. My kinda dream!

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The poor painters will have their work cut out for them in this weather, but there is much more to do than only applying paint on this building. One man had the job of pressure washing The Palace, using a pw mounted on a truck, not the type one uses around the house. Oh, how I would LOVE to commandeer that hose and go wash the area around the pool and cabana! The concrete railings and flower containers all badly need mildew removal, and many complain about how tired the area looks. Realizing that The Club does not have extra money right now for major improvements, at least they could hire a man with a pressure washer to clean up what we are paying for. Or let me do it!

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I just remembered something: a couple weeks ago there was a workday at church for painting the classroom building. Sadly, only about 10 people came, not all of them painters. But, one man, who has numerous little children and a full-time job as a cop showed up with his pressure washer! Brad washed down the exterior of the new building to get the dirt and residue off before Mike K. came along to paint it with his sprayer. Lots of spraying going on that day! I thanked Brad for doing that, and asked if he had a chance to clean off the formerly lighted sign at the street. He had not even noticed it but promised to bring the pw back to do that. Or, let me do it!

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That same day, a very ambitious couple had the foresight to take their trailer and pick up a half ton of ready-mixed asphalt to use for patching our earthquake-looking parking lot. A couple trenches had been dug in order to connect the electrical and plumbing to the street connections, leaving gaping, messy holes in our lot. It looked quite ghetto, if you ask me! The Building Committee, of which I am part (only three of us left!) decided to not make the repairs at this time. I was out-voted, or rather, I kept my remarks to myself. Anyway, a decision was made later to make the repairs, bucket by bucket, but Frank had the idea of getting a load of asphalt and taking care of it. They even got busy and painted lines on the parking lot so we can get more cars in, since people can actually see where they should park. I have to go now and write some "Thank You" cards, right this minute!

What a goofy day it turned out to be!

We have some steady sun shine right now but earlier it was doing a hide 'n seek thing. Being a very high maintenance girl, especially when it comes to swimming, I prefer to have sun on me when I am in the pool. The radio website shows 92 degrees right now so I think I might head down for a bit. Be right back.........

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Here I am, back upstairs and in my nightie again. I spent some time visiting at the pool while splashing about. Expecting to be poolside for at least a couple hours, I took along some greeting cards to write out as well as my memory tablet in order to take some notes as ideas come to me. I am full of 'em, and sometimes even remember a good idea, if I write it down!

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The sun did some more peekaboo games with me so I got out and sat at the table for a while. When the organized swim lessons began for the little ones, a man who frequents the pool daily during the summer came strolling to the adult side of the pool, saying he did not want to smoke around the kids. Great! He can smoke by me instead! Bill is incredibly thin and suns himself until he is toasted. Today he told me the sun helps heals his psoriasis. Huh, who knew? While we were out there, Kathy called after getting out of her training class and we made a plan to have lunch on Thursday, at the request of Janet. They will have to wait until I am done with water aerobics but Kathy said that was fine, as did Janet. As we tightened up the plans, I started getting splashed with cold water, but not from the pool. Rather, it had started to rain, big fat cold drops. Brrrrr! Since it was 94 or so outside, any rain would have felt chilly, even Bill said so!

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I gathered my stuff together and came upstairs. Having no plans for venturing out tonight, I decided to put my caftan on. The joys and privileges of being retired, answering to no one! So now I am nearly ready for bed and it is only 5:00 pm....the winds are kicking up and storm warnings are in place for some areas west of here. There is presently a man dangling from a tree along the river, trimming the branches of the palm trees. This is being done in order to clear the way for the painters as well as grooming, because branches were broken in recent wind storms and can become projectiles. Windows hate projectiles!

This view is looking south and down toward the lower level, but the man is climbing up toward about third floor height. No wonder he has a couple guys below him as spotters!