Rochelle's funeral

On Tuesday, Lori was driving from across the state for the visitation and funeral for our cousin, Rochelle, and the plans were made for her to meet the rest of us at the church where the visitation was being held. It was the same church, St. John, Newtonburg, where my father-in-law's services took place at the end of February. Lynn, Mom, Jill and I drove out there in Lynn's car, with plans to have dinner after the viewing. The line was at the door and up the steps to get into the reception line. Mom refused at first to go up the ramp to sit in the parlor area so I went up with the coats to scope it out. My cousin, Barbie, was up there and I told her about Mom standing down stairs so she went and spirited Mom up the ramp to sit on the sofa. Mom was assured that no one would feel like she was pushing in line at a funeral visitation when the rest of the family made it to the top. Truly heartwarming was the turnout for the viewing, Rochelle was much loved and well-known in her community.

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Before long Lori arrived which made our family well-represented. Kerry was still having troubles with her sciatica and lower back giving her such fits of pain that she would be sick from it. The chiropractor was seeing her daily and recommended she take a leave from her job in order to heal. We hoped to see her on Wednesday for the funeral service itself, and she did make that after her adjustment.

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It was tough to see Rochelle's children, Larry and Cheryl Lynn, so deeply saddened, and most especially, her husband, my actual cousin, David. We Lahaie's have deep connections to this particular cousin and family since Lynn is Cheryl Lynn's baptismal sponsor, and we babysat for Cheryl Lynn from infancy at our family's home. We babysat for both kids at their homes in Newton, too, having many fond rembrances of those days. When this couple owned the Cleveland Family Restaurant, we would stop out there to eat whenever we were in town to see them and enjoy some good home-cookin'.

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Later, when David retired from truck driving, Rochelle and he customized a Peterbilt truck cab into a mini-motor home and would pull a special trailer designed for transporting collectible cars. When a buyer bought a collector car at auction or a sale, they would hire David to take the car where they needed it delivered. Often, David and Rochelle would be in our area for the car shows, in particular the Amelia Island show. They would drive over to our part of the world, park their rig behind Wal*Mart where we would pick them up for the day. They had come around this time of the year in 2001, not long after Timmy had died and spent the better part of the day with us, which was great. We had last seen and spent time with Rochelle at Arno's funeral in late February, only a week prior to her diagnosis.

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Not only could we extend our sympathies to the immediate family, but it was also a great time to reconnect with our cousins, aunts, and friends, and co-workers of Rochelle's from Hannah Home. My sis-in-law, Sharon, resides there and Rochelle worked at HH for five years before retiring in January of this year. She was still Sharon's caregiver, at least until she was diagnosed in early March. Sadly, Sharon lost her dad and her caregiver in a month's time. Sharon was unable to make it to the viewing, telling Harv and Barb, who did make it, that her knees were too bad that day.

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Larry, who in now 40 (unbelievable!!!), greeted my Mom and sisters in front of me as we went through the line, and cried when he grabbed me in his giant arms, telling me how glad he was that I could come. Truly a head and a half taller than me, it was not a small task to bend over to hug me, and Jill said Mom looked like a doll in his arms. I explained that Justin could not make it this time, having just a few weeks left of school, etc., and they were most gracious about his not being there. I assured the family we would get together when we both return to Manty in June.

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After the visitation, much time spent from the pews trying to figure out who was who (people look very different than they did years ago.....!), we all went to eat at the Green Street Tavern, Mom and her girls. Many of us had the perch plate which was divine, meaning you can go home again! As often happens, I saw someone I knew there, Ruby, who was out with her friends. She asked me if I never went home after the other funeral, since she knew I was here for Arno's. I laughed and said I had gone home and barely unpacked before coming right back. She is taking my greetings to her hubby and my friend, Curt, who works with her. Curt had been our partner when we moved to Florida but he moved back after two years, and now works with Don at a lumber company as a draftsman and purchaser.

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Wednesday morning, the funeral service was lovely. Fortunately Kerry was able to make the drive from Oshkosh to attend. Jill had to work but had enough time off for the service only and then had to get back. Lisa and her family made it just in time for the service as they got a bit turned around coming from Sheboygan, the road the church is on did not make their GPS system for some reason. I barely got to acknowledge the boys or Noah after church, as he drove them back to Sheboygan so he could go to work. Lisa stayed for the luncheon before heading back to work. It is tax season and she has tons of work to get done before Tuesday! I had wanted to have a family photo taken with all the girls and Lisa but Jill had to leave, so our photo is short a daughter. I took lots of photos of the luncheon and the folks there to share with Cheryl Lynn and Larry at a later date. David assured me that he will consider coming down yet, as they had planned together, in August for a car show, and I encouraged his younger brother, Jimmy, to come with him. Jimmy was excited about that prospect as well, and Cheryl knows this, too, so she can keep that little fire burning in her dad's head. Jimmy had been at our home in Florida already so he knows how lovely our area is, but not so sure about the August temps! Shhh!, no one tell them about the heat, okay?

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After the service and on our way to the luncheon, I stopped to say good-bye to my friends, the Harrigan's, who had handled the arrangements for Rochelle and for Arno. When I got to church on Wednesday, I saw Andy standing at the top of the ramp. As I got closer he said, "Well, here comes Smiles!" and we hugged each other. After I said farewell once more before they drove off, Lori told me, "The undertakers love you." I just looked at her and smiled, and she said, "Yeah, when you went over to get the coats, they were talking between themselves about how nice you are..." Golly, (digging my toe into the ground), that is so sweet! Thanks, Lori, for eavesdropping!

More time in the terminal (From Tuesday)

Sorry for the missed postings but with the goofed up Internet connection and the packing and the traveling, well, I simply did not have time! My sister, Lori, called me Sunday night to ask me when I was coming up to Manitowoc for the funeral of our cousin, Rochelle, who passed away rather quickly from her brain tumor. Only one month from diagnosis to heavenly bliss, thankfully for her, too fast for the rest of us. Anyway, I told Lori I did not know yet, but would make my plans as soon as I heard what the arrangements were….Lori said, “Oh, didn’t anyone call you?” Ah, no, no one called me although the obituary was in the paper already on Sunday. Oops!

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Now I had to hustle and make my plans but the Internet prevented my attempts. After meeting Kathy B. and Terri T. for breakfast at Grumpy’s on Monday a.m., I took my laptop to Panera Bread, via the cemetery where I placed the bouquet from Sunday’s altar at Timmy’s site. I kept the lily at home for fear it would blow around when I was gone. I got the plans made from my ‘strange’ location, and in my haste I goofed, booking my return flight for 5:45 a.m. rather than p.m. on Saturday! And there is no undo on that type of thing…I can sleep all Saturday afternoon, what the heck!
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My flight out of Jacksonville went well, short of course since I changed planes in Atlanta. After asking three different Delta people, I finally found my next gate which is not indicated on the ticket nor on the monitors. A mystery gate, the sole place Midwest comes and goes. Good luck if you find it! We were delayed leaving Atlanta, however, due to our plane being fogged in here in Milwaukee, making our departure about 45 minutes to an hour late. I let Lynn know so she could judge her time to leave work to pick me up, having an hour ride down and 1 ½ hours to Mom’s house. I had the row to myself on that leg of the trip and wanted to sleep, but did not.
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It was great to see Lynn at the airport and off we headed for ‘home’. Mom was waiting in her door watching for us and I was happy to arrive at long last. What a day it was! Driving, sitting in the terminal, sitting in the plane, wandering in Atlanta’s airport, then sitting LOTS more, sitting on the plane, sitting in the car, and sitting in the recliner at Mom’s…ahhhh!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!!! (Sunday's posting..)

This is truly an awesome day, but the extremely slow Internet connection I have here is driving me wild! Almost as though it cannot make a connection, the sites are searching searching searching but not locating. Ugh! But, not to let that deter me, I am writing this in my Word program and will transfer it over if and when the connectivity resumes---if it does!

*My fridge is stocked to the rim with leftovers, even though some of my guests took some home. Justin carried out a bag of ham while two more went in the freezer plus the mashed potatoes, garlic reds, and a tiny bit of mac ‘n cheese leftover. Sarah had another helping after she left the table, having had troubles staying in her seat for the meal. Might have been the Easter candy before we ate that fired her up!

*Justin had invited his friend, Ron, plus his mom and grandma to join us plus Lawcock’s and Judy J. I am so happy to have had a full table and all enjoyed their meal. Judy and Paul each brought wine; one called “Cheap Red Wine” and the other brand “Mad House Wife”. Funny stuff! Those that had wine liked the flavors, not bad for cheap wine!

*I woke up this a.m. just prior to my alarm clock on my cell phone going off and got ready for sunrise worship. It was ‘cool’ outside but I used my ‘dinner jacket’ from the car to keep comfortable while worshiping outdoors. We had birds singing, watched the sunrise as we repeated our confirmation vows as part of this service. Really nice! The cross was decorated with flowers as folks arrived, and it was so beautiful. Our choir anthems and the trumpet added to the music went very well but I will have to tell you, all the standing on Easter REALLY wears me out! And then doing more standing as I prepared for the feast once we finally got home…There was no way, absolutely no way Justin and I could have made an 11:30 reservation at The Club because even without the ‘talking’ afterward, we would have been late. In fact, I even have the floral bouquet and the lily from church to take to the cemetery tomorrow as we ran so short of time. Thankfully almost all the food was prepared the night before and just had to be reheated for serving. Four dishes in the oven and two in the wave, plus one on the stove. I was cooking with gas! Actually electricity but it fit in the story. Justin helped me get the table loaded with the hot dishes and we sat to down to enjoy our fabulous feast. And then, there are the leftovers……….

It is almost Easter!

The sun was awake already when I opened my eyes this a.m. but it seems to be a bit hazy out there at this point. Now that the temps have risen I can leave my sliding doors open in the river room all day. It was a bit crisp when walking through to get a soda a few moments ago but know it will soon be toasty warm, especially when I am getting busy in the kitchen with my preparations for tomorrow's feast. The geese were honking away, seemingly more noisy now that the doors are open. My neighbor reports that we are up to three of them at this point, and they seem content hanging out in our basin. I told Tracy about the goose that the ladies fed at our 'old' office in E.H. on the back step and what a terrible mess the goose made. Garbage in, garbage out!

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It seems I forgot to mention something really cool that happened for me this past week....In one or two of my posts I wrote about the Comcast situation we are dealing with here at The Palace. I wrote how the man, Travis, dropped off, at long last, the two cable boxes on Monday night. In the same posting, I wrote something about Publix, as Justin read me the sales flyer over the phone that morning. Well, the next day, I had a comment to my blog from a man who lives in PA now, telling me how much he misses Publix which he fell in love with it while living in Florida. He also works for Comcast in an official role and gave me contact information in case we had any more problems getting our cable up and going. Sweet!

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Wednesday, as I was leaving to have lunch with the ladies, my phone went off, showing a toll number from Ohio. Hmmm, normally I would have let the machine catch a call like that but I opted to answer. The man gave his name and told me he was from Life Line Screening. Oh, oh....one of my tests have come back with bad results or something, why else would they call me??? Nope!

He said that someone had told him how I wrote nice things about my experience on Friday, offering high praise for the more efficient technician, and so on. He thanked me for promoting LLS and said he also forwarded the posting to Tiffany, saying it is rare that they get positive feedback, or feedback of any kind, so he wanted her to know she did well. Awesome! He said it was also good that I wrote what the lady sitting with me said, how the doctors/insurers won't recommend tests like this until AFTER a heart attack or an issue similar, so we become our own insurer by having these tests. That was just so cool, two different businesses catching my mentioning their names and letting me know about it...cool!

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Again, with the doors being open all night, which accounts for the increased dust, of course, it is noisier. How can it be noisy on the river? Thursday night it sounded as though I lived next door to the freeway, but the racket was not from cars and trucks, but rather, helicopters! Oh, my, it was so noisy that it sort of made me laugh. Unless one was here to hear it, they would not believe just how busy the skies were up and down the river for a little while. It was not all night nor was it late night, just struck me as funny to have so much noise outside the door. Yesterday morning I could hear this steady roaring sound getting closer and closer, thinking it was a tug boat going through. Finally, my curiosity got the better of me and I went to see what was making that noise. It was a fan boat, like those used in the Everglades, stirring around in the basin area. I heard that thing coming and going for a long time before it got out here to my windows so I can only imagine how noisy that must be to have a fleet of them scooting around. Not a musical sound like a jet ski at all!

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Justin came Friday after work to do the cleaning, showering first because he said he smelled. Personally I would shower afterward, since I would work up a lather doing the vacuuming and such. He used the hose to clean off the exterior doors, both the wood ones and the iron ones, to get the pollen washed away. It worked! He got rid of the signs of winter in my decor and cleaned up the messy poinsettia. What he did a couple of hours would take me the whole day and he even took frequent breaks to chat with me. He nicely washed the baseboards in the bathroom and vanity areas in my closet, which looks so nice. And, to top it all off, he downloaded iTunes for me and set-up the podcast delivery for a radio show we like. He has the Insider subscription which he shares with me so he got my laptop geared up the same way he had done the desktop. I am up and running!

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Last night was Good Friday worship, conducted in a darkened sanctuary with black paraments and banners hung, and a black drape on the 'rugged' cross which also wore a crown of thorns. We had just a few less than 50 people which was about the same number as the night before. Mike C. conducted the worship as Pastor served the congregation in Keystone Heights, an hour away. We had readings about the suffering the Lord endured and at the close of the service, all the lights were extinguished (It is finished!). The choir sang, "When Jesus Died", and that was the end, as all left in silence. Very poignant.

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Twila was standing outside the church sort of waiting around and I asked her if she had eaten yet. Since she had not, we decided to go and grab a bite somewhere. Kathy B. joined us and because it was a Friday night on a holiday weekend, opted to go somewhere less busy for our supper. We chose Aron's where I had just had lunch that Monday. I love it! Just the three of us and we had a very nice meal, with Kathy eating my salad for me. That salad eater!! She had already eaten dinner but wanted to hang out and have a beer. Neither Twila nor I drink beer so we had soda. It was great, and I have half a portion of fetticini Alfredo leftovers to eat today.

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When Justin was here, he went down to the car and brought up the rest of my groceries from the day before, the heavy cans and jars that I could not handle. In one trip he carried three 12-packs of soda, the heavy bag, plus a package of toilet paper! He is a manly man! From the moment he walked in my door, though, he was telling me how much he ached and how hard he worked this past week to get his father's stuff packed up and then cleaned the house. But then he carried all those items up the stairs, not the elevator, for me. I am impressed!

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Today I am going to clean the church first, pick up my ham and then stop for the missed grocery items needed for the feast tomorrow. I guess laundry soap is not needed for the feast, but I still need it. Thankfully the stain came out of my first-time worn top which had patty melt dripped on it Wednesday! Anyway, since my table will now have no empty chairs, I think I will need just a few more things to serve, as if anyone will go away hungry! I could stop at the Publix by church, which makes more sense anyway, before getting the ham (can you hear the gears spinning in my brain???). As Justin re-assured me, I can make as much food ahead as I wish to, so that most of the prep work will be done well before so I won't have much to do after church tomorrow. He asked me ever so sweetly if I would be horribly upset if he attended Easter service at Victory, "in a bright church" instead of at GS. Of course, I wish he was with me but I am also so busy on Easter with greeting and attendance and the choir...boo hoo hoo! No, I like it that he is excited about worshiping there at "his" own church and truly understand his sentiment. Only, he will be a half hour behind me in ending worship and with the half hour drive over, we lose about an hour of together prep time for the feast. Which means I will have to be efficient in my preparations today, and we will have a good hour before our guests arrive on Sunday. No worries, really, at least he will be in worship and appreciating it, especially if they sing "In Christ Alone"!

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Time for me to get busy and out the door! I am so excited about tomorrow's worship, and must remember to buy some flowers to stick in the Easter cross in the morning. Thankfully it will be 'warmer' tomorrow morning so we won't freeze at sunrise service. My downstairs neighbor, Gus, was helping me learn some Greek the other morning: Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!

This dust is making me crazy!

A paraphrase of a "Seinfeld" bit---"these pretzels are making me thirsty", I am experiencing dust problems again, mostly on my laptop. It looks as though it has never seen a dust cloth or been cleaned while I wipe it off daily, sometimes more than once because the sun makes the dust and such show up so much more. One cool aspect of dusting it off, wiping across it, is that sometimes the text gets much larger as a result of the wiping process. Accidentally, but cool nonetheless!

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Last evening four of us ladies met at Waters Restaurant on Kingsley Ave., near the hospital to taste the northern and southern cooking. I had meatloaf, mac 'n cheese and applesauce (because they were out of baked beans!), thinking I had mashed potatoes coming with the meatloaf. Nope, my mistake. Twila and Jean had the corned beef and cabbage while Judy J. had some sort of dish called the Chuckwagon. Some of the things could have been nicer, or better, but I was pleased with my meal. Twila's corn cob still seemed frozen so she had to wait for a replacement, which the waitress declared, "He had a hard time finding one, but it's coming....", making us wonder what THAT meant. I will try it again, certainly it takes some working in for a new place. The owner was standing at the street with a sign saying "OPEN" when we left. Being near the hospital, it should do decent business and I pray that happens for them.

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Ooops, my TV station just went away. I believe Comcast is still working out the bugs in this conversion thing. When I got home from church last night I was going to watch "Selling New York" but HGTV came up with a message across the screen saying they have detected an interruption in service with a toll-free number to call. I did not do that, choosing to sulk instead. I am not sure my calling would have resolved anything because the cable is paid for by the Association and not me personally. Now all the channels have the same message on the screen, and just in time to turn off TV and switch to Neal Boortz instead! Perfect timing!

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Ah, it has been a week of tragedies in north Florida, not the least being the drowning death of a two-year old girl who sneaked out of the house during her supposed nap. Another child was shot in a car when a bank robber tried to carjack them at a Wendy's drive-through, wounding the mom in the foot and the 2 year-old critically in the face and chest. He is still alive, stable, but in critical condition. Earlier this week a mom's foot slipped while she was reaching for something and the car flew forward into a retention pond over on Youngerman Circle, not far from church. Bystanders dived into the water to help pull the mom and her 8 year-old out of the car, with the child still in critical condition. A toddler somehow crawled out of his yard and into the road and was run over by a hit/run driver in Putnam County, another child hit by a bus at Disney and killed............Oh, my heart!

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I got to be a bit uplifted yesterday in visiting my lady friends at Great Hang Ups. A client came in who was cool and charming for a 65 year-old man. He had brought some vases in for them to sell, but they were unsold, so he is going to give them to a woman he is wooing. He spoke fluent Italian, went to school in Florence and is going back to Italy next week. Involved in every aspect, it seems, of the arts including doing voice-over work in Los Angeles. Every breath of this guy was interesting, including his attire---Panama hat color coordinated to his shorts outfit, long braided hair and he wore shades. Yes, he was a man of color who spoke warmly of his grandmother, who spit in a cuspidor as she instructed him in the ways of the world. What a wild ride he was!

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Since we are soon celebrating the 10th anniversary of our preschool, I took a piece in to Hang Ups for framing. The poster-sized piece includes the handprints of the children from the first class at Precious Lambs, including one from a child gone home to heaven. These copies were originally made for me in Green Bay where I took them to a blueprint shop to be copied. I cannot remember why I took it along up there with me, but it all worked out. I wanted to make sure the parents of the students got a copy but am not sure if I did that or not. After I got the copies made, I had Hang Ups mount and shrink wrap the original art work. I have no idea what became of it, since I have not seen it posted in the classroom either before or after they moved. The copy I took in yesterday will be matted and framed in a coordinating-style frame to work well with the other art pieces hung in the hallways of the classroom building. The first director/teacher, Rebecca, and her family are planning to come down for this celebration of 10 years of feeding the lambs!

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Once I left Great Hang Ups, I headed to Publix to do my initial shopping. Julia gave me a recipe for sweet potato casserole using Peeps on top instead of mini-marshmallows. Justin's friend LOVES Peeps so I hope that works! Now I have three more guests coming so therefore I will go back and get some more casserole in a can to make a larger batch. After I got home from shopping, I realized I missed getting the mac 'n cheese Justin requested plus the laundry soap badly needed here. I can go today as nothing is pressing except for Justin coming to clean plus church later tonight. I am so happy because now the table will be full!

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Now that the mailings and such are done, my attention should be turned toward the desk and its piles of papers begging to be filed. Tuesday when I was in the church office, the preschool teacher, Deb, came in to make copies. We were talking about the mess on our desks, etc. getting ready for taxes and such. I mentioned how when the aforementioned Rebecca worked for our home building business, her favorite task was filing! No one likes that! Except Rebecca, it seems. Piles of church paperwork, unopened mail, periodicals, quarterly reports....all waiting to be put in a final, or near final, resting place. Perhaps today.

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Justin prefers to work from a list, even if the list says to vacuum the hard and carpeted floors, which stands to reason. So, therefore, I will be going to the 'other' computer to produce a detailed list of things needing his attention before Sunday. It is so past time for the snowman to come in, since we have temps in the 80's at long last, the same temperature it was in northern IL yesterday!!! My friend, Judy R., told me the snow has been gone from her home in MN for about two weeks and tulips planted in their lawn by her granddaughter are starting to push through. How pretty that will be when they make it free of the earth!

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My people in WI will have a breakfast at church at FG on Easter morning and I heard murmurings of them having a cook-out for their Easter lunch. My sister, Lori, and her family are coming over from Holmen, plus my other sister, Kerry, is planning to come from Oshkosh. The apartment building where Mom and Jill live has a picnic area complete with a grille so I can see this happening very nicely. Hopefully Lisa and family can make it, too, as surely Lisa won't have to work on Easter!

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Our worship last night for Maundy Thursday was very nice, the solemn hymns, the readings about the first Passover and the Passover meal where Jesus instituted His holy supper, the stripping of the altar, the tears. Even Fausto could be seen wiping his eyes so it is not only the women who are moved by this 'ritual'. The lights were dimmed in the sanctuary as the ladies, led by the acolyte, move into the altar area to remove the items. He carried the yet lit Christ candle down the aisle, followed then by the women carrying the candles, communion ware, as others folded and placed the linens across the arms of another. The final item removed, after Pastor took off his shawl, was for him to carry the brass cross down the aisle behind the ladies, leaving the area stark and bare. We left in silence after a moment of meditation, so moving, as Suzanne and Kathy B. played "Were You There?" softly in the background....

Maundy Thursday instead of April Fool's Day

Or, Mundy Thursday, as one of the church signs on Kingsley or Blanding read, according to one of my friends. I wonder how many denominations recognize this day and how many will attend the services being offered....My gang is going tonight but first we are meeting for dinner at a new place across from the hospital called "Waters". It used to be sushi/Japanese place but now serves 'Northern and Southern' foods. I asked Twila which country it meant and she said, "Here! America!" Get out!!! For real? This should prove interesting! I wonder if they will have perch and deep-fried cheese curds. Or, by north, do they mean New England, I wonder? I will check it out and report back!

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As part of our worship tonight, Kathy B. and Suzanne will be playing some of our more recognizable Lenten/Holy Week hymns including Suzanne's favorite "Were You There?". She plays the viola beautifully, and adds so much to the worship. At the close of the service some of the altar guild ladies will be stripping the altar area of all adornment, significant and moving, pointing to the humiliation Jesus endured at the hands of the soldiers and Jewish leadership before His crucifixion. This year I am sitting it out as I was not there Sunday to practice, so for the first time in a long time, I will not be part of the event, for lack of a different word. Carol told me on Tuesday that she has not been part of the altar stripping for five years but next year, she is putting herself back in. It is such a beautiful yet poignant demonstration, so much significance.....And then the grandeur is returned on Easter morning when the altar area is dressed in white and lilies adorn and the music is joyful...He is risen, he is risen indeed!!

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Last night I read a couple chapters from my "It Happened in Wisconsin" book. This book is one another reader would have torn through but I am reading in segments at a time. I picked it up because it has a dark green cover with yellow dust on it, and I wanted to wipe it off. Somehow I managed to read a couple chapters, including the one where Ripon is declared the birthplace of the GOP. No mention of the cookie factory, however. It was also, prior to the GOP, a hotbed of communism, strangely enough, until the commune leader moved to CA. Go figure!

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Earlier I was reheating some leftovers in the microwave oven and as I stood by the stove, waiting, I saw that it was once more coated in yellow pollen. This is unbelievable. Even my black framed metal doors are covered in yellow and while I would like them cleaned off for when company comes on Sunday, it would be fruitless to attempt at this point. A good rain (I can't believe I said that!) might help plus a windy day to move it along would be good.

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Last night Brenda came over and had a drink while we chatted in the river room, enjoying the view. Today is her birthday and she is taking the day off to celebrate with her daughter, plans unknown as of last night. Lori had repaired some antique earrings for Brenda and I gave them to her when she came. She loved seeing them refit for pierced ears and hopes her daughter will appreciate them as much as Brenda does. They belonged to her grandmother, I think, so they must be at least 70 years old at least. Brenda also tapped into my DVD collection for her weekend viewing since she has no cable TV at her house. She thanks me all the time for introducing her to the library for her DVDs so she does not have to spend money renting things to watch. At her daughter's house, when dog sitting, she gets to watch cable TV, but not at home. So, she took along several movies and I told her that this would be my insurance that I will see her again soon! One must really pin her down!

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The TV she and her housemate watch is my 'old' one, weighs about 300 pounds, which I replaced in 2006 after I moved in here. Justin wanted an HD TV and I was under the impression that the entire world was converting to digital in 2007, so wanted to beat the rush. Well, only now did I get the digital converter box on my TV, but at the time, we had a special box or two from Comcast to get the HD look and such. After Justin moved out, I turned that special equipment back in since I did not 'need' bells and whistles, especially since I watch mostly in my room anyway. So, when I got the new TV, Carey, Brenda's friend, came to get the old one, and needed a dolly to move it. Justin and Rick helped Carey load it up here but I do not know who helped him unload it once he got it home. Justin thinks that is the TV we used in the Street of Dreams house back in 1995 but is more likely to remember such details than am I.

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The Clay County Fair is going on now and my friend, Jen, said she thought they would go one day. I am not up for that, not even working in the Art Guild booth this year. Some good county fair food would be nice but we will see. A barge is making its way down the river, or rather, up the river, plus a few other vessels have passed through. The river is glistening and flat, must be no wind at all according to the palm trees outside my window. Today I will go visit my lady friends at Great Hang Ups and get over to Publix to grocery shop. Justin asked me to buy some Country Crock Mac 'n Cheese for our feast so I will comply as one of our guests is a remarkably picky eater. I wish the Hilchey's could come for dinner but they are unable to do so this time. Olivia is staying up in Knoxville for the Easter weekend, having only one day off from college so it was not worth it. She graduates in May so every moment counts now.

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Yesterday I enjoyed a marvelous lunch with a bunch of ladies from church at Pengrees. Our 'guest of honor', Lisellette, actually beat us to the punch and picked up the tab. Twila, Gretchen, Ethel, Judy J., Jackie, and me. Three of us had the patty melt, cooked to perfection and Ethel ordered a chef's salad which was served on a turkey platter!!! Talk about huge! Twice this week I ate with the salad eaters again!!! Ethel had been gone to South Dakota for over a month, helping to take care of Darwin's brother and his wife. The wife ended up in assisted-living, with Darwin and Ethel taking care of that move, plus the brother, who had a remarkable recovery after being on a ventilator, was moved to a nursing home. They had to take care of all his business, etc. and came home here to rest up! No other family was available to assist so it was all on them.

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The last of my mailings went out yesterday before I went to Pengree's so I can now breathe more easily. Whew! Of course, with Holy Week activities picking up today, it will be more busy but not requiring too much of me besides singing and greeting. Oh, and church cleaning! Somehow I landed the job of cleaning before Easter. No pressure....but I want everything to be nice for when company comes, hopefully, on Sunday! I will have to remember to pace myself when vacuuming at church, and not get crazy with the vacuum cleaner, as is my tendency. I should go and do that tomorrow morning or Saturday so it stays nice for Sunday. I am getting so excited for Easter!!!

It's coming!

The nice weather is coming! A man told me yesterday that he did not want the 80 degree temperatures, that this would be too hot. I explained that is one reason why I live in Florida, to enjoy this type of weather, with which he agreed. He works indoors, what does he care anyway? I had some DVD's copied from VHS tapes for church and some family ones made. This man has quite the business going, sure is easy is enough work, even though he has to sit through watching people's home movies....

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As I sit now in my family room I am being serenaded by my downstairs neighbor who is playing their grand piano. It takes me away, not show tunes, but classical numbers and I can just see Cassidy's fingers dancing on those keys...One time she did me the honor of playing "Be Still My Soul", or rather, its melody by Sibelius. It is also nice to be enjoying another room in my home than my bedroom now that it is warming up. The sun is pouring across the floor in many colors as it shines through the colored glass on the clear shelf. I love my home!

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Justin was here early this morning on his way to help his father. First, he had to help me! He got the cable boxes hooked up and I was able to watch Fox and Friends this a.m. for at least an hour or so. He was relieved to know that the moving and storage place his father is using also has bodies to rent, therefore making Justin's job a bit easier. The workmen know how to professionally load the SAM container which will be stored until it is needed again. Finally!, according to Justin. Friday he will be back here to clean, once the packing and moving is over.

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Yesterday was my kindergarten day and the kids, only four this time, declared they were happy I was there. One little guy said, "We were hoping you would come..." AW! I totally forgot about getting them something to play with outside as was my plan (make a note for shopping today...). Two of Laurie's boys were out sick and she was running a temp herself, but hanging in.They are off starting tomorrow so she can lie down tonight. She expressed to me her sorrow/concern about there not being a kindergarten or extra grades next year and I am at a loss as to how to help with this. While it should not, probably, it all comes down to dollars and cents. We struggle as a congregation to keep our kitchen supplied, and toilet paper in the bathrooms, so the prospect of paying another teacher even a partial salary is daunting. However, our mission, our purpose as a congregation is to teach and preach, and by golly, we should be doing that.

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I really need Easter, I really need Holy Week because I find myself feeling weary weary weary of all this 'struggling' in our lives. We must turn our eyes heavenward from where comes our help, and guidance. It does not seem that people in our area of the country or state will see jobs return any time soon which means the financial woes will remain and likely even worsen before they get better. Will they get better? I pray this is so. "Everything is economics", or the litany from the Clinton campaign, "It's the economy, stupid" anchors us in place while we wait for 'things' to turn around.

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There, I feel a bit better. My friend, Jen, called yesterday to tell me she is coming over this afternoon. I have not seen her in forever and miss hanging around with her family. They have had some terrible struggles in their lives, not all of them financial, which had them staying much closer to home. I remember one night when making plans with some other friends on where to have dinner, they asked which of the two choices was the cheapest....After considering them, I mentioned how 'funny' it was that this even came up in discussion. Not that long ago it mattered not which was cheaper or more expensive---we just went and had a good time. Now, it mattered. Anyway, Jen is coming over with my Girl Scout cookies before picking up her kids from school so that will be nice. They put in a firepit at their house which is in the country, and said they will have me out so I can practice being a pyro! Brenda N. is coming by tonight for a visit, since she missed the movie night on Monday. Too bad Betty was not able to spend a minute with the elusive Brenda but that is how it goes with her. At this moment I should be readying myself for a luncheon date with some ladies from church and a former member, Lieselette, at Pengree's. No discussion about prices this time and I look forward to seeing my lady friends again since I missed them Sunday. I can already smell the patty melt I usually order at Pengrees...yummy!