I am just the saddest girl

My friend has left my house and I am so sad! I miss her already as she is likely boarding her plane right this minute. Her fun continues though as she meets her hubby in Las Vegas tonight and tomorrow will celebrate their wedding anniversary. They have plans to visit the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, and possibly the Hoover Dam if time and ambition allows. Through her conversations with Tommy these past couple of days, it seems Linda had far more fun here with me than he did playing cards in LV. OF COURSE she had more fun than he did regardless of how he did at the tables!

*

We had lunch at Olive Garden and enjoyed social time at The Club Wednesday; Bible study and lunch with Justin on Thursday and then our feast for supper; Friday was Wal-Mart, Hang Ups, Koko's, Target, and the Symphony, with Justin; Saturday was the Pampered Chef party, Steinmart, and then church at Victory with Justin, followed by supper at 5 Guys; and today, Bible study, worship, lunch el fresco at Aron's with Kathy B. and later, Judy J., and then late afternoon, the airport. Full fun days, with our down time taken up with talking and movie watching. Since she got here we watched "Freedom Writers", "Grey Gardens", "My Life in Ruins", and "The Women". We do "down time" very well!!

*

I am yet waiting to see the moon rise on the river although it may be too cloudy tonight. It got quite windy later this afternoon and grey clouds moved in, which I guess may be hints of Hurricane Ida coming up from the south. At least the weather stayed decent while Linda was here and we did not need either the heat or A/C, keeping the sliding doors open for ventilation. I just love my fuzzy slippers!

*

For some reason or another I am weary tonight, all the emotion and drama of saying farewell to my friend, I guess. My supper tonight will consist of leftovers from the feast including mashed potatoes and gravy with some cranberries on the side. Mmmm! Some of Janet's wonderful apple crisp from Thursday will make the best dessert. I can barely close my freezer as Janet brought 2 containers of ice cream to go with the pie, plus the 2 I had gotten when shopping on Tuesday. Oh my! Where is Joanne when I need her?? I miss her too!

A Saturday like none other

Linda and I watched some news together this morning before starting our day. Once we were ready, we headed over to church to dress the altar for worship. The flowers had not been delivered so I was not able to put them in the vase but hopefully one of the others on my team did it or we can simply do it when we get there in the morning. From church we headed to Rachel's house for the Pampered Chef party. Justin had googled the directions for me and it was quite simple to find her home. We arrived too early but Rachel's sister-in-law encouraged us to come in to wait.

*

The party was very nice with a roomful of Victory ladies, all of whom seemed quite familiar with the products being demonstrated. Since this was a brunch-themed party, the demonstrator prepared an easy recipe of calzone. I was blown away by the prospect of getting ready-made pizza crust dough in a cardboard can, like the kind crescent rolls come in. Shut up! (By the way, I asked Justin if he knew about this pizza dough thing and he did not either!) Linda, who owns nearly every piece or tool in the catalog, assisted the demonstrator, shredding the Swiss cheese. I was so proud!

*

In response to my amazement at the pizza dough in a can concept, one of the ladies declared that they were going to make cook out of me yet, that this so-called party was indeed, an intervention!!! Oh, how I laughed about this---so funny! In reflection, I have cooked more in 2009 than I probably have the previous ones, due in part to the monthly dinners, more eating in than out with the depressed economy, and my hosting of movie night for my lady friends.....But really, there is no need for additional tools or implements to make the meals. PC does offer some nice recipe cards for single-dish meals which looked simply marvelous so I bought that collection as well as few items to be used for gift exchanges coming up. For an appetizer, Rachel served some apple and Brie tarts made in pre-formed filo bread tarts. Oh, my goodness, they were "stick to my teeth" delicious!!!! The appetizer cookbook I ordered will be a blessing if I only make these little tarts!

*

Before we headed for home, Linda had spotted a SteinMart near Rachel's so we stopped in there to check it out. The Fleming Island store is no longer in business so it was ideal for us to hit it while right there. Linda found a dressy jacket to wear for the holidays and I found a couple items to put in my closet, saving as much money as I spent. While we would have liked to shop a bit longer, Linda had to use the bathroom and, of course, they were out of order. I asked a clerk if there were other restrooms but nope, that was it! So, we went to the registers to check-out. The clerk there encouraged us to go to CVS to use their restrooms and then come back to shop some more. Thank you, no....

*

It was a "relief" to get home again and settled in the family room once more to get her feet up. We watched "My Life in Ruins" before heading back out to Victory to meet Justin for church. Saturday evenings is more like a brief devotion and hymn, and then Bible study with The Truth Project, which I studied with this group last spring. Tonight's lesson was the one that was my favorite from the class, Social Order. Wow! Talk about powerful, and moreso because my son was sitting next to me. The value of life, the roles assigned by God at creation (and who are we to try to change them?), how the concept of 'submission' became a negative one by society, and so on. Portions of it really touched my heart, in particular when the segment came on where various people give their definition of "family". The responses flow from extremely pleasing to heart-wrenching, almost tragic, ideas of what our society now considers to be 'family'. Naturally, my eyes overflowed and Justin reached over and snuggled me close to him. I was not sad by myself and that is what I love about my Justin!

*

Afterwards, we were pleased to be graced by his presence yet some more as his friends were out of town Friday night through today. He missed out on that particular "fun" because of Carmina Burana on Friday night....oh, well! Earlier I had mentioned to Linda about being hungry for some fries and we ended up going to 5 Guys for a hot dog and fries. We ate outside which was about the same temperature as inside. We enjoyed our nice meal and great conversation before Justin said his good-byes to Linda and we headed home. He will not see her again until she comes back in February because he is not going "home" for ThanksLiving, nor are we going up for CHRISTmas. The time will go by quickly, as did this visit, because tomorrow, she is leaving already! Rats!

What time is it anyway?

It is actually bedtime, just past it, but I am still too keyed up to sleep. After tip-toeing to the kitchen to get some ibuprofen and waiting for it to kick in, I decided to post. My ankle is aching me as though I twisted it or something but did not, so I do not know what is going on. My brain is not ready to sleep yet because we attended the symphony presentation of "Carmina Burana" at the Times-Union Center with Linda and Justin. The chorus and soloists were amazing, with the orchestra simply phenomenal. The text of the words was provided at each seat so we could follow along with the story but it was hard to read the words while watching the musicians and conductor. Simply put---WOW! Kathy B.'s daughter, Kelly, was there and it was great to see her again.

*

We ate at home for dinner, leftovers from our feast last night or from Koko's at lunch time. I was not really hungry since I was still full from lunch but the other two found something good to eat before we headed out. We took only one car so only had to pay for one parking space. The drive was smooth and we arrived in good time before going to our seats. We were in Box 10, comfortable chairs and good views, except for not being able to see the children's chorus.

*

Linda's and my day began with cleaning up the kitchen after the mess of the feast last night. In no time the dishwasher was busily cleaning the dishes, the counters were wiped off, food placed in the appropriate-sized storage dishes, and the tablecloth laundered for the next use.

*

We went to Wal*Mart for a few things where I ran into Charlie and LaMora, former members at my church. So nice to see them again, always when we are shopping! Linda and I were in search of the perfect receptacle for storing my DVDs. Linda uses one of her Longaburger baskets for her movies and I thought this might the solution for me. But, here is the shocking news--Wal*Mart no longer "carries" baskets! Justin needed some new under garments and socks which I picked up while there, making sure I had all items the same brand, as he declares himself "monkish" in that respect. In search of the right-sized basket, off to Target we went, via Great Hang Ups! Of course, once in the vicinity of Hang Ups, the inevitable occurred and we found ourselves around the table at Koko's with Julia joining us!

*

After our lovely lunch and lively conversation, we eventually got to Target. As I expressed to Linda, I do not know why Target is not my store of choice in the first place. I guess I use Wal*Mart because of the pharmacy in order to pay only $4 for them, on recommendation Dr. House (his real name!). Regardless, I found so many wonderful things to consider for when I make up goodie bags to give the preschool and kindergarten children after their CHRISTmas program. The bags can include tiny flower pots which contains a seedling for a CHRISTmas tree! In the dollar aisle! I had already decided to do a candy cane with the story of what they mean attached and then to have something to watch grow, hopefully, well, terrific!

*

We did find a suitable basket for much less money than a Longaburger one while Linda found some books to take home for her grandkids. When we got home, I put on a movie while we rested before getting ourselves ready for the symphony. "The Woman" proved to be a fun movie to watch and I think Linda saw the entire thing with her eyes open rather than closed! She said it always a good movie to laugh and cry at the same time. Amen to that!

The fun in full

Linda and I are sitting in the living room watching "Grey Gardens" and resting before the guests begin arriving for the dinner tonight. The turkey is roasting in the oven and the mashed potatoes are ready to go. Linda is not satisfied with the way the rolls came out which I attributed to the lower altitude but she blames the flour. Regardless, the butter will make them just fine and if there are leftovers, well, I shall simply enjoy them at my leisure! The patio doors are open which aids in the comfort of my guest and is making my wind chimes sing. While my feet are cold, my slippers are doing their best to warm them. Linda is wearing her nightie so she would not get her clothes full of flour so she is as just comfortable as can be!

*

This morning we went to Bible study at Victory where we met Justin and all the other attendees. Linda had quite a time chatting with Pastor Hoyer, comparing notes, as it were, regarding the news from First German. They shared people in common, as is normal in the WELS, and discussed the Hmong congregation active at FG. We talked about how Loren Steele started the ministry to the Hmong in our community while serving as vicar, and then carried on with it in the Twin Cities. It was just wonderful to share in the excitement, hearing the statistics and such about FG.

*

Justin, Linda and I went to the Cheesecake Factory at the Mall for lunch. We found a good place to park which did not make for a long walk for us. Justin was going to drop us off and then park the car but we were blessed to have handy parking. When we got out of the car he thought I should take my "dinner jacket" along but I was sure the sun would be sufficient to keep me warm, and it was! I was glad they had the heaters on the patio but we did not need them. In fact Linda was burning up! It was "only" in the mid-70's but the sun made it tolerable for me. Justin did not want to go to Mimi's again so picked the Cheesecake Factory---and ordered the very same thing he orders at Mimi's! Made me laugh but this was a good idea anyway to eat there. I had the mini-chicken sandwiches, eating three of the four because they were just so good! Justin took the remainder home with him. The other two ate their food but none of us ordered dessert, although this place is known for their sweet treats.

Well, the ladies are nearly coming so I am going to sign off for now. Perhaps more will follow later but then again....tomorrow?

So much to talk about today

How do I decide, since I am all over the place in my mind? Sleep was hard to come by at first last night which I attribute to the time change. A young boy at church asked his mama why we had to save time....good question, Daniel! Part of my pre-sleeping time was spent writing the Ladies' Group Minutes, which somehow my "Minutes" are anything but! Next year there is a new Secretary (yippee!) so the Minutes will be shorter. Kelly T. has agreed to take over for me and LuAnn is going to return as President, giving Twila and me a break. The Treasurer's job is too hard to switch out---first of all because no one wants it and secondly because Judy C. does such a good job with it!

*

In between the writing there were chats and other "conversations" on Facebook. One of my scrapbook mentors sent me a status update to copy and paste onto my page, which starts a thread. All that lingo! What it means is I put something on my page and then people are prompted to respond. The idea for this particular one was to have people write back about what their first memory was of the two of us---sort of like how we met or whatever. What a wild, fantastic trip THAT ended being down memory lane! One young lady remembers me chasing Justin through the playground at church calling "Lambie, wait for me...." Some were childhood remembrances, some were church, some were siblings, some were grade and high school friends, while others were from scrapbooking. Great fun!

*

Other thoughts scampering in my brain were about choices. We often do not measure how a decision made long ago affects what happens today. The question arises whether hindsight would affect foresight but I rather doubt it, since we tend to live so "in the moment". The immediate gratification we desire seems to be more powerful than common sense or a clear conscience. I LOVE it when people express how much they "deserve" something because really, if we truly got what we deserve, what a horrific shock that would be! We do not deserve the love and mercy of the Lord, but yet, we have it. Thank you, Jesus, for not giving me what I deserve. The things we thought were so vital years ago are not so important or even in the picture today when we could really use them. The shelf life was too short or our attention span was!

*

A year ago at this time Judy R. was here with me above the river, enjoying her time in the sun, as it were, reading in the river room or knitting in the family room as we watched episodes of "Seinfeld" together. We also went to see Jerry Seinfeld perform live downtown with Justin and Emily. Paul opted to let Emily go with me to see Jerry because he got to go along to the symphony for the John Williams/Star Wars-themed night. The moon was just rising over the river when we ladies headed downtown and we snapped a shot of it. Gorgeous! On our scrap booking night, we also got to watch the shuttle launch from my railing. Tonight Linda and I will enjoy the moon on the river, as she arrives around noon today. I love having my friends and family come for a visit!!!!

*

My niece just sent a text message that it was only 30 degrees above zero in the city Linda just left. Alayna is not wearing a jacket yet, but is sporting her snowman socks in my honor! That kid! The comforter is over my feet and legs and I dread having to get up, but must. After a shower, I will go down to the car for the rest of my groceries so I can fit Linda's luggage into the back. I am usually good for one trip up from the car, especially when carrying a frozen turkey AND a gallon of milk besides my other fridge or freezer foods. My arms stretched an inch each carrying those heavy bags. Again, the idea of the luggage carrier Judy C. has for the soda cases sounds better and better!

*

Justin was here on Monday after work and got lots accomplished in a short period of time. Strangely enough, he showers before he works in my home which seems like something to do after the fact. Besides the cleaning, he installed my router so now I do not have to borrow from my neighbors for Internet service on the laptop. It was a straight up exchange at Office Max, the computer bag for the router. When the building was being painted, I had to remove my courtyard art as the painters took out the nails and caulked the holes. No more hanging stuff outside, no breaking the seal of the paint finish. So, I figured out how to display some of it---a large glass plate hangs on my front door below my Greek evil eye. Justin wanted to display the two crosses somehow, working on that after I left for my meetings. When I came home I saw my kitchen light was on, and then realized he did that so I would notice the crosses he hung in my kitchen window! Very nice---at least from outside! The crosses are brightly painted Spanish-style decor on their faces, but stark white on the back, which face into my room. Maybe I will get used to it, or maybe I can paint them blue!

*

Time to throw off these covers and get showered for the day. The lady at Publix yesterday wondered about my purchases of turkey, potatoes, pumpkin pie, etc. as I told her my friend from WI was coming for a feast. I told her how excited I was about Linda's visit and as she handed me my cash, said, "I like your attitude!" What a nice thing to say...I told her that we laugh so much we need to sit on towels, and the lady in line behind me said, "I hear that...!" Great times soon to be had by all! When I go to get the rest of the groceries from the car, I must check all my tires to make sure none are flat, like happened last February when Linda came...she came "home" in a taxi, all New Yorkish!!!

Have nothing to do with them!

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." - 1 Timothy 3:1-5

*

How much more clear can it be? This morning our area again awoke to a tragedy, only two weeks since the disappearance of Somer Thompson. In an equally horrific situation, a man apparently went off the "deep end", killed his teen aged son and 11-year old daughter, and then himself, while the mom was in the shower. Hopefully the kids never knew what hit them but oh, the poor mom when she discovered what had happened. It seems they were getting a divorce but still lived under the same roof in an upscale community on Fleming Island. Coincidentally, it is the same neighborhood where my former spouse lives. Besides the horror the mom and extended families are experiencing, the detectives and sheriff's office are just about stretched to the max with all this. A few weeks ago there was a double homicide at a club on Fleming Island where two 24-year old men were stabbed, not necessarily by each other. Law enforcement is pulled every direction with these deaths in our bedroom community, and my heart hurts because of all this!

*

In order to be a suitable hostess to my friend, Linda, I went to Publix and stocked up on groceries. While waiting in line at the deli to get my Johnsonville Summer Sausage sliced, I met up with the two attorneys we had done business with for many years, our closing agents. They also rented from us. They still handle my closings although it has been nearly four years since I had one! Anyway, it was nice to see them again. John said he had seen Justin several months ago at a Taylor Swift concert and reported, without my asking, that he was "very well-behaved". What mother does not mind such a report?

*

As the young lady unloaded my purchases into the back of my car, I spotted a lady I knew from my neighborhood in Woodlake, Eagle Harbor. We greeted each other, saying how nice it was to see one another again. She asked about my family and I reported how Justin was 22 now and taking classes and working. Sheila asked me about Timmy and then suddenly remembered, but I told her not to be upset, that his situation was far superior to ours! And then, she made a comment which rocked me back on my wheels---she said it is wrong that we have to bury our children. I agreed and she told me that since Sharon died, she makes dinner every day for Jeff and the family.....wait wait wait a minute here! Sharon died???? I had no idea! She had a brain aneurysm while taking a shower and her daughter found her when she got home from school. Wow! That is what I get for not reading the paper! Sharon was only 47 and left three daughters, her youngest graduating from high school this coming spring. Jeff had given up his job, as he had been asked to take a step back in his career and used the year to pick up the pieces and grieve for his wife. Thankfully, Sharon's mom, Sheila, who lost her husband only two months to losing her daughter, lives on the Island and can step in to help like she has.

*

Our fun story about how we met Sharon began when we bought our first lot in Eagle Harbor and had our two-story home under construction. My former spouse and Justin, then about 6 or 7, had climbed up into the house and were on the second floor but Justin froze when it was time to climb back down again. What to do??? The neighbors had just moved in across the street and I spotted Sharon in her garage. She let us borrow an extension ladder and that is how Justin got down from the rafters in the house. He played with their kids as long as we lived there, since once we moved in, it sold seven weeks later. Then we had to rent over in Peters Creek, where Judy J. lives. I had seen Sharon at the airport one time when Mom was heading back to WI and we chatted a bit. She and her co-workers were traveling for business, I think, and it was just so fun to run into someone you know at the airport. I get a kick out of it anyway, and I remember Mom saying something like, "You can never go anywhere and not know somebody!" Small world and fond memories. Sheila was not aware that I was not married any longer so we each had surprises today. Some good, some not so good---life on Fleming Island!

Brrrr....it's cold out there!

This sounds like two weeks ago when I posted about the "cold" weather but today is not nearly as bitter cold as that day was. We are supposed to touch the low 70's today, much to everyone's (except me!) delight but right now it not quite there. It is obviously more chilly than it has been lately, except for the day two Mondays ago when it was 44 in the morning. Folks are glad to be able to wear sweaters for a while but that will get old, too. By the end of the week, I hope the temps prove more hospitable for my visiting friend!

*

Justin is coming today after work to do some cleaning. I want things to be nice for Linda's visit and he will do his share to make this happen. He might still be working when I leave for my meetings tonight at church but that's okay, he knows where everything is and all that. We are having a brief Outreach meeting before the Ladies' Group meeting so I have to be at church earlier than usual. Tomorrow is the day to go grocery shopping to lay in supplies for my friend's visit and for the dinner on Thursday night. I have four replies in the affirmative already which makes me quite happy.

*

Last night I cleaned out my fridge, and filled up the kitchen waste basket in no time flat. There were several containers from juice or lemonade (make a note, I need more lemonade and some Firefly for Linda's visit....) so mostly I made sure there was plenty of room for my purchases. Today Judy C. hauled in eight cases of soda into the Fellowship Hall, using her former luggage cart with bungie cords to hold them in place. Hmmm, now there is an idea! It folds up completely flat and the straps wrap around so they will not dangle....I could use that for my purchases of soda instead of bringing them up one at a time. Good idea!

*

This morning was Bible study and we had a full house around the tables. A member who has been absent for a long time with health problems was finally given the go-ahead to drive so Cindy made it to class. Our study is of the Gospel in the Psalms and is more in depth than I would have imagined. As we left, there was a great deal of discussion regarding whether or not to return to Longhorn for lunch, our usual place. Since Patty had been let go, we had other servers taking care of us, and somehow the bills for the meals were going up and up. It seems she gave us a rather sweet deal, not the reason she was let go, however, and these other people are not honoring the deals we had become accustomed to getting. Some would order from the kids menu and had their drinks included in the price. No longer---the drink is billed separately plus the tip is automatically included in the price because of the number of people in the party. A deal breaker to most of them. Next week, we are going to Steak 'n Shake where some will have the $2.89 special of steak sandwich, fries, and drink. I will have the Wisconsin Butter Burger, of course!

*

It was a good thing we decided to give Longhorn one more chance today because when we walked up to the door, there was Patty, waiting on the bench!!! She was having lunch with us! Let me back up a bit: during the conversation at church about where to go, Jackie suggested that I call Patty some day and we can invite her to lunch with us, but not at Longhorn, so she would not feel bad. I thought that was a great idea and said I would give her a call, as the Hostess had given her cell phone number to me the week before. Sure enough, there was Patty, waiting to have lunch with us, on her old turf! She is going to go with us next week, too, and I invited her to Bible study as well. Others did too so she might be there--we shall see! My guess is she was raised Roman Catholic due to her Italian heritage, but may likely not be a regular attender. Outreach at Longhorn---it's a beautiful thing!