Man, it sure was great to see everyone again!!

Am I hungry? Can't be! Was it the meatballs with barbecue sauce? Perhaps...Cannot be from the chocolate fountain because I kept myself a safe distance from it. (Martie and I put something on our "Bucket Lists" today though----stick our faces in a chocolate fountain before we die....) I only had half a peanut butter ball and half an espresso ball for dessert, plus two Halloween Oreos. Hmmm, my tummy is rolling as though it is hungry, but really, I should not be. In fact, I am having a stare-down with chocolate frosted cupcake decorated with a giraffe pick brought home with me from the baby shower, and at this writing, think I will win this one. Will make a delightful breakfast tomorrow.

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After mentioning what I did not eat, I should report what wonderful treats I did enjoy. Homemade lumpia, hand-rolled by the ladies, and cooked today by the grandfather-to-be, Paul. His wife, Cindy, the "lola" to-be, was hostess for a baby shower for their son and daughter-in-law's coming baby. The ladies of the house made food items familiar to the Philippines, hence the lumpia and the lo mein dish plus rice and beans. Besides two lumpia, I also had an innocuous ham sandwich and three meatballs. I went a bit nutso for the fruit salad, yes, I said fruit salad, which was just delicious. I had two helpings of that which might account for the revolution taking place in my tummy. The dessert table was laden with creations from the hands of Christie, the soon-to-be 'aunt extraordinaire' to baby Noah. She is quite the baker and decorator. Christie made all the cupcakes and chocolate covered cake balls, like you see in magazines, or on her Facebook pages!!

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Martie and I left after the future mom opened our respective gifts because Martie's back was bothering her, especially after sitting so long an ottoman shared with our friend, Lauren. What was so wonderful, besides the food, was seeing some of our old scrapbooking friends from years back, and Cindy's sister, Ginger. Amber, the mom-to-be, was only about half way through the pile of presents and I can tell by the first half that this will be one well-dressed, sports minded little fella!

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On the way home, after dropping Martie off, I stopped at Publix to get potatoes because I neglected getting them yesterday at Winn-Dixie. My sister, Kerry, was talking about having baked potatoes with butter so I used the rest of mine to make baked potatoes for me! Now my supply is replenished for when the spirit again moves me to bake some. Tonight might be good because the temperature in here has gotten down to 76 degrees. Some might find that a bit warm, but I do not. Not by a longshot!

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The Packers won today, and the Jaguars won at home in overtime, yippee! I saw the F-18s circling about prior to the game for the flyover after the national anthem is sung. There were only two because one of the three had a hard-landing at the airport yesterday and broke its landing gear. They had to get by with two and I must say, I was impressed!

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Bible study and worship this a.m. was terrific, too. We sang our anthem in place of the regular psalm but I was quite concerned to be the lone soprano today. Kristi went to the football game and I was left on my own, not entirely comfortable with my part. During the run-through, I totally missed my notes and ended up singing melody with the altos, which Kathy said was alright, do what you must. But, as we gathered to sing our anthem at the appointed time, somehow I found the notes. After church some came up and said how nice we sounded with a couple mentioning being able to hear me. Whew! Not sure if they were the right notes, but they could hear whatever it was I was singing!

A little treasure found when cleaning up the computer files:

The Women In My Circle

When I was little, I used to believe in the concept of one best friend---then I started to become a woman. And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up,God would show you the best in many friends.

One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man. Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom. Another friend is needed when you're going through things with God. Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.

One friend will say, 'Let's cry together, another, 'Let's fight together, another, 'Let's walk away together; another, 'Let's pray together. One friend will meet your spiritual need, another your love for shoes, another your love for movies, another will be with you in your season of confusion, another will be your clarifier, another, the wind beneath your wings. (I miss Linda, when is she coming back????)

But whatever their assignment in your life, on whatever the occasion, on whatever the day, or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back, or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself--those are your best friends.

It may all be wrapped up in one woman, but for many, it's wrapped up in several..one from 7th grade, (or from 4th grade!), one from high school, several from the college years, a couple from old jobs, on some days your mother, on some days your neighbor, on others, your sisters, (your biological ones or your sisters in the family of God) and on some days, your daughters.

In youth we learn; in age we understand "A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17

And the best friend of all is JESUS!! He's there when no one else is.

I think this came from Dolly, my friend since 4th grade......

Brrrr.....it is cold here!

I could hear the building creaking, I think, when I went to bed last night. Something was making noise and when I turned the sound down on the TV, the noise was not audible. Finally I just chalked it up to the wind and groaning of the building cooling down from 84 degrees during the day, to 50 degrees overnight. Wow, that is dramatic by any one's standards!

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I woke up before the sun so I watched some "Roseanne" re-runs waiting for Fox and Friends. It seems I am catching up to where I watched a few months ago when Dan and Roseanne were having problems in their marriage, this time his mom going into the mental hospital. My sister told me the show had really changed over the years but this was the first time I saw Dan sobbing. Wow, I was so moved by it that I joined right in! He had come to the realization that all these years his now divorced father had covered for his mother so that Dan would not know about his mom's "problems". This made the Dad look like a jerk to Dan, until he found out the truth about the situation. Much of the discussion was how mental illness is no one's fault. Good point.

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Me thinks I am getting a cold! There has been some sneezing and my throat feels a little hairy. Maybe I should do what Suzanne did once and take an Airborne without first dissolving it in water----something made me think about that this early morning and I woke up laughing! It just never gets old, you know? She has been having a terrible time with hives, joint pain, assorted ailments from the medication she is taking. The question arose that perhaps the used car she bought to use for work might be part of the problem, an allergic reaction to something in the car. I gave her the name of my friend who does mold remediation so hopefully he can help her narrow the problem. The steriod she has to take is causing problems with her wrists and other joints, terrible with the side effects. Poor Suzanne!

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This afternoon I might wander down to Palm Coast to deliver Tina's poppyseed doughnuts to her and see the kids. Yesterday I worked on the church newsletter, getting as much filled in as I could. At the end of the month I will be busy with Joanne's mailing project, so must make hay even when the sun did not shine! In defense of the sun, it did pop out later in the day but not soon enough to warm me at the desk. The other afternoon, the computer guy came by with the repair disc for the other laptop and he got it started up, repairs made, good to go once more. That was Thursday---Friday I went to look at it, still sitting on the table where I left it, and the screen was showing its troubled face yet again. So, I guess that is it for that laptop. To replace the mother board would be $400, more than I paid for this replacement. Now, what do I do with the old one?

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Oh, the reason I mentioned watching "Roseanne" was while watching, I saw a commercial for Kohls, having a big sale this weekend. Justin loves shopping there now that he has lost weight and I like their home decor department. I do not really need anything (cannot believe I just said that!) but might take a ride over there to check it out. They showed the shoes on sale and my mind said, "51 degrees outside? Might be time to start wearing regular shoes again." My little plaid canvas shoes are not really winter styled...wonder if Wal*Mart has this style in a fall pattern....It must also be time to switch to long pants instead of capris full-time.

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Late afternoon I got a message from a friend at Victory inviting me to a spaghetti dinner but it was really too late for me to get there in time. Nuts! That would have been so delicious and fun, too. Next week we are invited to join Victory for a craft night where we are making pink bracelets for breast cancer awareness. We pay for the bead supplies and such, with a donation of $5 to the research. Plus wonderful fellowship opportunities!! In my small circle of friends, I have three experiencing breast cancer, including Judy R. who has been declared "cancer-free". Sadly, she just let me know that her niece who lives her in Jax has been diagnosed with the dreaded disease. My pastor's wife also has breast cancer and is undergoing treatment at present. Pastor Hoyer mentioned the other day that no other cancer seems to get as much attention as this one, and I told him it is because women are in charge of it!

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Lori, my sister in Holmen, called last night to invite me along on a bus trip with the church ladies. We will go to the Twin Cities to see "Mamma Mia" and stay in the lovely hotel and go shopping, like we did last year. I know there will not be filthy language in this show as last year Lynn and I were appalled by "Jersey Boys". We had no clue, not until we were handing over our tickets at the door where a sign was posted cautioning about language and (gasp!), cigarette smoking on stage. I hope Lynn goes, that was so fun! And I will get to see Judy R. again, too!

Can you stand another one from me?

Wednesday night at choir rehearsal we practiced the anthem for Sunday, "The Lord is My Shepherd" which is quite repetitive in the refrain. Kathy said that the congregation would be singing it with us but since I had typed the service folder, I did not see that. According to my instructions, I had left a copy of the folder for her as well as for the MIDI operator, which confirmed that only the choir was singing this anthem. Well, Kathy, who was under the weather, said it must be sung that way or it would not be the same, so when I got home, sent Pastor an e-mail to let him know. I offered to come in on Thursday afternoon to make the copies to insert into the already printed folders.

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In the morning there was no e-mail from Pastor so off I went to Bible study and lunch with Justin. When I came home I found an e-mail from him, saying either Lynne or he had missed that about the anthem and suggested that there was room on the service folder inside back cover to print it. Um, um, I am not sure how to do that, and told him via e-mail that I would have to think about this because I could not picture it from here. The computer repair man was coming by in the afternoon at an unspecified time and when he was done, I would come over to work on it. Well, a bit later, Pastor called me to report that he had it figured out already, took him 10 minutes, and got it done. I know I would have probably wasted a lot of paper and possibly ruined the completed stack of finished covers. I was so thankful that he took care of it!

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Kathy was feeling good enough last night to enjoy dinner with me at The Club. The special was prime rib and we both ordered it. Oh my, it was delicious with a wonderful gravy/sauce over it. Of course, most of mine came home with me for another time. My fridge is beginning to bulge with to-go containers so I might have to stay home for meals in order to get them cleaned out. For breakfast I ate leftover meatloaf and green beans from Cracker Barrel's dinner on Tuesday night with Judy J. One down, about three or four to-go (a little play on words there....)

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Before Kathy arrived I watched the poor wedding planner trying to do a run-through with a bridal party outside the dining room. Without being able to hear what was going on, it was comical to watch, as it appeared she was herding cats! At times, it looked as though all the participants were telling the others what they were supposed to do, where to stand, how to walk in, instead of listening with their mouths closed. At one point, the planner threw her arms up and basically said, "STOP!" When Kathy arrived, I told her it reminded me of choir rehearsal when everyone is trying to be the director, singing when they should be quiet, trying to count out the notes, and so on, at times. We sound like an orchestra when it is warming up!!! I am amazed and pleased at how nice we sound when it all goes together. The cats are herded!

"it is well, it is well with my soul...."

The sun is breaking through the clouds, reflecting off the water directly into my face. This is an observation, not a complaint. For some reason the river level is quite high, covering over some of the breakwater below my window. The grasses are barely showing but the tops are waving as if they can see me up here. The water color reflects the greyness of the skies which are layered flat clouds, for now. We are expecting some thunderstorms some time today as a cold front from up north works its way through. Thanks very much, you guys....ugh!

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Yesterday, after seeing on Facebook the drama unfolding in CO with the child in a balloon, I tuned in to FOX to watch the rescue people chase it around the flat lands to save the boy. Only no boy was found. This was good and bad. Either he fell off/out of the balloon and was anywhere between 50 miles of home, or it never happened. Now, the boy was found to be safe at home, hiding, and the questions are being asked about how this happened. I already had wrinkled my brow when it was reported the boys' brothers were on a roof with a video camera....sounds like a set-up to me. Today this family is all over the airwaves with interviews and vomiting, and I am sure the investigators will get figured out. I prayed that they would find the little boy unhurt and those prayers were heard and answered.

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I also saw security footage of a baby in a stroller rolling away from the mom at the train station and having it land right in front of the zooming train. According to the reports, the baby escaped with very little injury. When I saw the video the first time my hands automatically flew up to my face and I said aloud, "Oh, no!"...then I heard the baby was alright. "Somehow", according to the reporter, "the baby escaped with hardly a scratch..." I know personally who that "somehow" is!

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Even though today is Linda's birthday, I was the one who received a wonderful present! One of my friends from church, Jennifer, sent me a wonderful musical present via Facebook. If you can, visit my homepage and see if you can click on the posting she sent me. Jen had seen it on her other friend's homepage, and thought of me, so she copied it over to post on mine. It is a trio of women singing a capella in a rotunda, "When Peace Like A River". Not only is the song perfect, the sentiment that sent it to me was perfect. Thanks for making my day, Jen, and swelling my soul!

Laughing out loud!

An hour or so ago I got home from Bible study and lunch with Justin, and fired up my "big" desktop computer. In checking my e-mails, I found a couple responses to my status update on Facebook. One person reported laughing right out loud, at work! Ooops! No one laughs in the accounting department! Glad I could be of service...All I said was how happy I was to be able to check in on Facebook early in the morning without having to use the big, noisy computer on the desk. But I did have to learn how to balance the "lap" top on my bosom top! It can be done, but using a magazine as a desk works much better!

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Bible study at Victory was fabulous once more, as we continued our walk through a study of End Times. No tears today, I handled it nicely. We discussed the comparison of the present day events, the wars and rumors thereof, "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" Matt. 24: 9-13. We, humans, are often more interested in earthy matters than what is to come. Who made the snow in MN in October? Not us. Who made our usually warm days in FL? Not us. Who kept the hurricanes from our shores this season? Not us. The Creator of all is the one who has control of all things, and prophesied of what was going to happen before He comes again. Such a good study and involved class, particularly Justin with his knowledge of ancient history (the tearing down of the temple at Jerusalem in 70 AD) and knowing who the ruler in Rome was at the time. We talked about one of my favorite topics, how the people of Rome were kept busy with games and entertainment while the walls were falling down around them. Hmmm....

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We went to lunch at Maggiano's since Dee Dee brought it up yesterday and shared an order of onion strings. We scarcely made a dent in the stack of onions however; must make a mental note to have more than two people on hand to order the strings! I had half a meatball sandwich and a couple chips that came with it. Justin ordered the clams and linguini, because it reminded him of Greece! He looked around, commented that there WAS water although it was not splashing on us, dining outdoors...with the menu reading "Little Italy", just like our favorite place in Mykonos!

Here are two of my new friends from the cruise I took without Justin, retracing the Steps of St. Paul. These ladies are Ellie and Judy R. When I was sitting here in Mykonos, soaking it all up, literally and figuratively speaking, I was able to call Justin from another friends' phone. He was so surprised to hear my voice and when I had him guess where I was sitting, he guessed correctly and asked, "Are you getting splashed?" More laughing out loud followed that!

We want to go on a cruise!!!!!!

As the day winds down....

....the sun has broken free of the heavy clouds and is reflecting off the copper roof on the other side of the river. All day it was overcast, threatening to storm, but so far nothing on this side of town, anyway. The temperatures were substantially lower, and I used my seat warmer on the ride over to church this a.m. Well, it was ONLY 72 when I headed out. Excuse me, but that is chilly for us after being 20 degrees hotter last week! It got up to 82 today, which is fine with me!!

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Justin was here earlier to check out my new laptop, giving it his seal of approval. Whew, that was close! He did have a bit of trouble fitting his man-fingers on the keyboard but mine fit perfectly. Justin set up a few things for me like Google Chrome as my browser and when I close the cover, the laptop goes to sleep rather than shutting down all the way, the type of things boys like to do to their machinery. "Factory settings" are so "ordinary" it seems. I know that I will be glad to have the features he put in place and it makes him feel wise to do it for me.

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As long as he was here, I had him do some other things for me, like plug in my external DVD player for the computer, having to climb around behind and underneath and around.....good thing he knows what he is doing! My computer looks like Mission Control with the all wires and USBs and connectors running from it. He also switched the lamps between the river room and my bedroom, because my bedroom lamp, formerly a three-way light only had one, dim. I do not need much light in the river room so now I will be able to read when in bed at night. Justin also carried his "old" Medusa floor lamp down to the garbage, freeing up floor space in the river room. I never used it in there and one of the arms was no longer usable, which rather scared me, since it had an open space where a bulb would be screwed in. Just trash it and be on the safe side.

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Justin also oversaw my back-up of files from my C drive onto the external hard-drive. I will assume the files are all saved but will check later as it was going to take about 30 minutes for the entire "transfer" of data. I hate to erase anything but he assured me it was okay to let go of some of the files. Like travel arrangements from 2004---yes, I guess he is correct.....

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This morning was spent at church finishing off the service folder and making the copies for Sunday. Rachel from Victory stopped by with the Advent service music, as our church and theirs will be taking turns hosting special worship on the Sundays in Advent. We went into the church so she could play the Reformation anthem for me which is kicking my butt, and then played through each Advent piece, one of which we already know. "Awake, O Sleeper", a familiar hymn. The rest seemed simple enough but one may be a challenge. One out of six won't be too bad, especially since "Awake..." is a standard. It will be lovely, I am sure!

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Justin makes me laugh---he said, after he took his shower, that the bathroom smells like the bar on a cruise ship. I am sure it does! Actually, the scent of the body wash is a tropical one, which reminds him of the special drinks on a cruise. I get that! I wanna go on a cruise!!!!!