One of my favorite subjects

Please do not make me choose a favorite thing to talk about because I would have a tough time. But, for today, it is friendship, and another word I do not like to use, relationships. Let me change that to 'connections' for my comfort and purposes.

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At this time of the morning I would normally be off the bed, showered, and dressed but instead, decided to do this. The skies are overcast but the sun is breaking through the clouds and sparkling on the water. The weatherman said it might be over 90 today which really makes me question my plans for the day. If I go to lunch, I might miss the better part of the day poolside....I must be on the Southside, meeting Justin in the parking lot at Victory at 6:30 so we can drive together to UNF for the "Stand Up for America" event. We are quite excited about this gathering and imagine we will come out all pumped up!

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Yesterday I spent some forth and back time with a former classmate, a year ahead of me at MLHS, who expressed on FB the need for a friend. She posted it in the form of a Wanted Ad with the stipulation that the applicants be under the age of 70. Some of the ladies I do fun things with are near or beyond that age so I would not limit myself but J. has her reasons, I am sure. It has been years and years since I have seen her, and she found me on Facebook. Her brother used to live in the same house as my sister, Lynn, a few years ago. So, anyway, I told J. that if I lived closer to her, I would go to lunch with her! You know I would!

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With what I remember from high school, which I realize was a LONG time ago, she was the last one who would be without a friend. She said all she has in her life now is work and home (computer), and although she is married, is not the same as having a 'girlfriend'. I get that, I really do. This just breaks my heart and I know I should realize that not everyone wants or even needs friends 'on the outside'. I say again, I realize it but certainly do not understand it!

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A couple Fridays ago I mentioned the craft night at Victory and how our devotion was about friends and what makes them. If memory serves me, Linda J. and I were talking about this on the phone, you can correct me if I am mistaken, Linda said, "You have to be a friend to make one". In other words, when you are good and decent to others, and open, you are more apt to make a friend. That might be a keyword, not wanting to be "open" to letting others into your life, or feeling the need, as it were. However, if that is the case, no crying about not having any friends, okay? Now, I am not saying this is the case with J. in T'Rivers, not at all, but I am thinking about a lady whose entire relationship with her friend hinged on whether or not she got a Christmas card after she moved. No! In my opinion, it would be what goes out from you (me) than what comes in to you (me).

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J. said she had taken many, oh what was her word?, bullets, in her life after high school. Her best and dearest friends had moved away, leaving her alone with computer friends. I am one of those now and am not offended, I am privileged, that she can 'talk' about this with me, us. I jumped on that, 'suggesting' she get out there and make some new friends, telling her to start at church. Immediately she replied that the congregation she belongs to, an 'old' one, already has their circle of friends in place and there is no room for her. This may be true in part, but I encouraged her to get in there and stir things up a bit, muscle her way into the holy huddle. Hey, she asked for it, and now she is going to get it from me! I answered the ad.....

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Our shared friend, Dolly, whose name I invoked during this afternoon-long "conversation", chimed in later, reminding J. about a Bible study they were in together years ago and even recalled a musical group I do not remember that these ladies played in. There are some gaps in my friendship with Dolly, which might have been when she was a rock star with J.! Now we are getting somewhere!

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Dolly stepped up and answered the ad, too, and since she actually lives 'up there' and attends the same church, she is inspired to go to lunch with J.! She even suggested going to a Bible study again with J. which really warms my heart. I absolutely MUST be sure to get in touch with J. when I am home in June to see how she is doing with her friend harvesting. Frankly, I do not know, I do not know, where I would be without the Christian friends in my life. They are the icing on the cake, whether they are sitting across the table from me in the Cracker Barrel or 1200 miles away in the snowy north. Go out there, folks, and be a friend, so that you foster some friendships! DO NOT MAKE ME COME UP THERE!

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When Justin and I were driving back to Victory for his car after lunch yesterday, we were talking about that poor guy who had been burned in the accident, needing help with his JEA bill. I said to Justin that I wish I knew who this guy was, because my heart was breaking for him, to see if I could help him out, my words trailing off.......Justin looked over at me and said, "Your Wilson's Disease again!" We both laughed and then I told him I actually heard about this disease again on "House" a couple weeks ago when the Team's patient was a man who was just too nice. I thought the first time I heard them say that they were teasing Dr. Wilson who is also very nice, but it was an actual disease! It is not reasonable to try to help everyone, but even just a little bit of assistance would be good, right? I do have to be careful about what I say in front of Justin because sometimes I actually tell him 'no', so how would that be to help the stranger and not help Justin get a new pair of plaid shorts for volleyball....?

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Speaking of friends, one of the very nice young ladies from my last big cruise to the Mediterranean region in 2007 contacted me about finding each other either in WI in June or here in Florida in July. She is coming down here to the Orlando area and south of there and hopes we can get together for at least a few hours. I might have better 'luck' finding her in Rhinelander or points in between her place and Manty in June! Those are the kind of friendships I like, we can just pick up the fun where we left off! She also asked me to join some of the same group who are going to NYC soon, and man, I wish I were going with them! Her dad and mom were the ones who picked up Lynn, Nancy M., and me at the airport in Seattle and took us to dinner and to the hotel before our Alaska cruise. Love it!

What a great day today!

And it is only half over! Justin and I attended Bible study at Victory this morning, with fewer of us there than usual for some reason . No matter, the subject carried us along as we discussed decision theology vs. what the Bible says regarding God adopting us. Not the other way around, it does not work that way. One of Pastor's favorite things to remind us of is that there are only two religions on earth: "Do" and "Done". We are the Done people as we recognize that our salvation is a gift to us and there is nothing else we must do to earn more salvation. Others are "Do" people who are always looking for how to earn their salvation. Always a good class with ample give 'n take time. Justin and I used his coupon at the Italian place, finding one of this chain's stores much much closer to 'home', Hodges Blvd., rather than going to Fruit Cove. It was lovely and the bill came to just less than $2.00 for the two of us. Quite the discount for our calzones!

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Back to Bible study: Pastor shared a story about a poor man who came to the church doors yesterday with his utility bill in hand, asking for assistance with paying it. He had been in a terrible fiery car accident which caused the skin on face, ears, and hands to basically melt, leaving only stubs for fingers. He was a black man, an immigrant from Africa two years ago, sponsored by Lutheran Social Services. Well, sadly, Pastor had to tell him that this church was not in a position right now to help anyone out, that it has been a rough year financially for everyone, etc. but felt just terrible having to turn the man away. Pastor did refer him to LSS again for help and found out later that there is a Catholic agency who is helping people with their JEA bills. We can designate $5 additional each month to go into this pot. He did not get the man's information to call and let him know this, but has to hope that LSS was able to guide him. Man, that is rough! It was obvious that Pastor felt badly about having to send him along.

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Something similar happened to me on Tuesday afternoon, after being in the kindergarten. I stopped at the bank and was driving through the parking lot of Target to get back onto Wells at a traffic light. A young woman was sort of pacing around and as I stopped at the sign she sort of gestured to me, so I put my window down. She wanted to ask me a question, and hopefully it was one I could answer. In her hand was a cell phone with a stack of bills clutched to it, and in the other hand, a cigarette. Ugh! She told me her car, gestured over her shoulder, needed a new belt and she called around to find the cheapest one, but was $5 short. I encouraged her to check at the CarMatics nearby to see if they could help her out. If she did not have the cigarette in her hand, I would have helped her, but.....

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As I drove off, feeling badly, I looked back and saw her heading west on Wells in the direction of the store where she got the best price on the belt. Rats! I thought, 'What if that was my sister or my niece and she needed some help???" so I turned around and headed back to find her. Well, I just could not see her, wondering where she got to in such a short time. I went to the car parts store and waited to see if she would show up but nope, no sign of her. Now I felt even worse for not helping in the first place. After a little wait, I decided to give up and go home, but had a sick feeling in my heart, again, picturing one of my family members being in a pinch and no one helping. I was prejudiced by the smoking and let an opportunity to help slip away.....I could have handed her an Outreach flier with the $5, right?

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This is the part of the month I wait for, when I am expecting a check, so go to the mailbox with a bit more frequency. Today I got a lovely note card from Jackie at church. Hmmm....was she thanking me for something or what? No, a little news clipping dropped out as I opened it, a job opening she thought I would like. Now, isn't that sweet? She said she saw it in the Clay Today and thought of me, an Activity Director at a senior center near the Beaches area. The job description is what she wanted me to see: stimulate residents with fun and creative activities; excite the residents with programs that promote well-being physically, mentally, and socially (she underlined that word!). Since I do not have a bachelor's degree (I guess I would be a bachelorette!!!) I do not qualify but I do have a background in working with seniors, after 10 years at Shady Lane Home! She just got a kick out of this ad, thinking of me, and made me have a happy heart by her sending it to me.

Another hazy start to the day

Manatees frolicking in the basin yesterday morning. What a good life on the river!

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The air is hazy and I am hazy plus a bit lazy this a.m. It is still early in the a.m. and since I have no one to boss me or answer to, who is to say, besides me, that I am lazy? I can be most productive without even putting my feet on the floor! Thanks to this wonderful technology, I can communicate with my family members and friends in all parts of the world, from my bed, even as far away as Africa! One of my 'friends' is serving in the Central African Medical Mission field, due to come back to north Florida in June. She is now busily tying up lose ends and such before turning over the reins to another team.

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This morning I am a bit hungry probably because Judy J. and I ate dinner quite early last night, throwing off my schedule!, before going to Bible study. I was hungry for the meatloaf from Cracker Barrel which I enjoyed with baby red potatoes instead of my usual mashed, plus green beans. Yum! Judy had some sort of spinach salad with chicken cut up over it, and ate every bit of it! Oh, those salad eaters! To counter the salad, though, Judy talked me into sharing a strawberry shortcake dessert but I was already so full from my dinner that I only had a few nibbles of it. Maybe if I ate more of the dessert, I would not be hungry this a.m.....nah!

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Bible study was well attended with 10 of us total, including two prospects who will use this class as their Bible Information Class. It is a DVD series called Communicating Christ, portions which we used in a previous Sunday morning class. It will go on for 15 weeks and already Judy and I know we will miss some of them due to our travels. June will find me back in WI for Alayna's graduation and Judy is going to MI in July for a few weeks. I think we can catch up or at least be up to speed in no time when we return from our trips. Hopefully those who were there last night will continue to come every week, it was quite satisfying to see as many come that did, even in the pouring rain! By the way, there was no problem with the A/C since Sunday's event, as it was plenty cool in the fellowship hall for our Bible studies!

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Yesterday was my time in the kindergarten and all six kids were there for a change. Laurie asked me if I could bring her some lunch so I stopped at McDonald's and got her a McDouble and some fries from the dollar menu and myself, a chicken sandwich which I sometimes find too peppery. None of the kids reported ever finding it too peppery but it is so funny what they pick up on and run with. Even the bologna in the little girl's Lunchable was too peppery! Really? One of Laurie's sons has a loose tooth and needs to have his apple sliced up in order to eat it. Well, we had no knife to cut the apple so I told him to put the apple aside and eat something else from his lunch instead. All through the meal he sat with the apple in his hand or in front of him, still asking for a knife. He just could not grasp the fact that he was not going to eat the apple unless he bit it off, see? Her sons cannot go outside to recess until they have finished their tiny bottle of water and often we will sit there, waiting for them to finish it, while the others are chomping at the bit to go outside. It gets comical sometimes, and inevitably one of them ends up spilling theirs, and yesterday, it went down one's back! Don't ask me how that happened!?!

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More and more work is being done trying to figure out our new banners for the preschool and to promote the big anniversary we are celebrating in July. We are on our third draft, trying to perfect and get the most bang for the buck. Finally Kelly from the banner place sent me a message saying, "We have to talk!! Call me!!" I called her in the afternoon and we hashed things over, as she explained that the most recent request was 'extreme overkill' and would cost a small fortune. They know church money is tight and wants to make sure we are well served by the banners and the cost. I sent another in a series of e-mails to those who are 'in the loop' on this explaining what Kelly told me, and perhaps we will soon have a decision regarding these banners. We will have two posted at once, a permanent one promoting the preschool and a smaller, changeable one at the top of the supports for the special events, in this case, the anniversary. Whew! We just need a decision please!

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I had left my tools at church for hanging a shelf which I could not locate when I was ready. My tack hammer and nails were left by the sink in the fellowship hall and then vanished. Sunday I searched in the cabinets and cupboards, the obvious places where they could have been tucked away. Not finding the tools, I did find the missing shelf. Yesterday I climbed into the utility closet off the hallway and pulled down a sort of tool basket, and there they were! My little hammer and my nails were safe in the closet in the tool basket. Now I can put up the shelf as well as the framed piece I picked up from Great Hang Ups last week. Hopefully I can get into the classroom building this evening before choir and get it hung in place. Can't be nailing things during the day when classes are going on, right?

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On Facebook yesterday I posted that I had finished my third book for the year over the weekend, staying up late on Saturday night to do so. This would be my third book completed since New Year with my goal being a book a month. I am missing that goal but way ahead of last year!

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That night was also the night of the big fight at the wedding reception taking place at The Club. My stomach still feels funny when I think about it. It was so lovely a night on Saturday that after sitting outside with the neighbors, I kept my doors open for ventilation as I sat in the family room. About 9:30 or so, I heard this ruckus coming across the property and thought they must be doing the bouquet or garter toss, as various times a roar would come up. But, it sounded more rough than that, with the roaring and foul language making its way into my house. I could hear this over the music being played for the wedding so I went to take a look. Sure enough, there were fisticuffs going on and nasty words flying as well. I saw the bride outside walking forth and back on the patio, and some of the staff around them. I hoped that no one from the wedding had struck one of the staff or something as it seemed all of the men outside had white shirts and dark pants, like the staff wears. Since it was dark, it was hard to see but with my binoculars, I was able to see someone being attended on a bench and another group off to the side with the police officers. Oh, oh!

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The next night, the owner of The Club was on our sundeck with us and I just had to ask what in the world was going on over there the night before. Karrie said there was fight (really???) between one of the guests and the groom. Oh no!! How horrible is that?? Maureen asked who called the police and Karrie said the staff has instructions to do so whenever it looks like trouble is brewing. The wedding was closed down about two hours earlier than planned, with the blessing of the bride's mother, and I will bet much much regret will follow this wedding. Hopefully not so for the marriage. No one in our group knew who was involved in the fight with the groom but let's hope it was not one of his new in-laws! This was quite unacceptable and I told Karrie that, too, even though there is little she can do about that.

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Yesterday I had the distinct treat of seeing manatees frolicking in the basin, right up close to the building. At first I had gone downstairs to take my photos but went back upstairs where the vantage point was better. We are so glad here in our building that they came back because many manatees, turtles, and fish died during our very cold winter, even though the manatee go to the warmer waters in the fall. It was just plain too cold for too long for them to survive. Not man's fault at all this time, it just happened.

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Ooooh, I am getting so warm here in my bed as the sun is pouring in on me. Even though it is hazy, the sun is hot! This comforter, new in the spring, is quite warm and a blessing to me. The temps dropped here last evening by nearly 20 degrees when the rains began, showing 69 degrees as Judy drove me home from Bible study. It had been 87 when I left the kindergarten early afternoon. At least we did not have the tornado warnings like my family and friends in WI experienced last night. Praise be to God for Kerry's cortisone shot working so far in relieving most if not all of her pain in the back and legs!!!! The shot about killed her but the relief today, so far, is remarkable. She is giving it a day or so before trying going back to work after being off on disability for a couple weeks. She has been suffering with this since Easter and that is just way too long. I am so thankful she has relief from this and pray it will not come back again ever!!!!

Photos from the Mother/Daughter Spring Fling

Click the photos to enlarge them, if you dare! Then arrow back to return to the posting....

Tamara, Carol, and Sue are in line to have some delicious finger foods before getting ready for the fashion show. The two ladies at the end of the line are guests of Janet's from the school where Janet teaches. The table was laden with wonderful treats, nothing too heavy for mid-afternoon!

This is the part of the show where Janet was introducing the models and telling the guests about how she had to keep encouraging the ladies to think "outside the box" when selecting their outfits to model-----"except for Kimmer who is already outside the box".....Hence, the place went wild! Personally, I find this outfit to be a bit tame...

Lynn and Anna Kuske modeled as a mother/daughter team, both of them slim and tall. I really wanted Anna to have that top for keeps but she said her mom told her 'no' to buying anything. Nuts!, because it really looked so wonderful on her!

Terri T. was the designated photographer as I was busy getting my clothes changed and such so she took some random shots of the crowd, as Janet kept everyone entertained between models. Judy J. is shown here next to Tina and behind Judy is Sandy, Julaine, Jen P. and her mom, Rose.

Another mother/daughter team were Jordyn and Tamara, Janet's daughter. Jordyn is an absolute natural at this modeling thing, complete with spins and holding her head to the side.

This photo was taken AFTER the show as I came back from the staging area. Terri snapped me strutting my stuff in my own clothes, that rascal! Whew, we were some hot mama's with the out-of-control A/C problem and the rapid wardrobe changes!

Here is my BFF, Judy C., with her granddaughter, Hanna, modeling their 'dressy' outfits. Judy is really outside the box in her floral sun dress and she said today that if she did not have to pay for a root canal, she'd have bought the dress!!! She's killin' me, what can I say???

This trio is Godmother Kim, Goddaughter Sarah, and her mom, Emily. I really liked these pants, gauchos, and Sarah liked the beaded medallion on my wrap top. Janet was correct, though, this outfit is really something I would buy and wear. Emily, too, as far as that goes, was quite comfortable with her wardrobe choices.

Oh, that LuAnn! Somehow we both ended up with the same top to model, and leave it to Suzanne to call out, "Hey, isn't that Kim's top?" This was outside LuAnn's normal attire but she reported tonight that she actually bought the capris because they fit so well and were stylish. Her mom-in-law, Fran, bought her outfit as well which at first she thought was too 'fancy'. It pays for Bealls to do these shows!

Here is a group shot of some of our guests, over fifty ladies were in attendance, including some from Victory Lutheran and Christ, Keystone. In the center of this photo is my friend, Stephanie, with the dark hair. She just blew me away yesterday by surprising me with a wind chime to replace the one that is crashing to the floor every now and again as the sun decays the strings holding the glass icicles. What a gem of a friend!!

Squinting against the sun

I hope you all liked the brief posting yesterday, I found it spoke volumes! As I am lying back on the bed with my balanced but bouncing laptop, the sun is reflecting off the water, making me squint. The good news is that it is also sort of hazy which serves to lessen the effect. The radio is talking to me this early a.m. while once more the TV is off the air as Comcast is working out the bugs of this conversion process. My guess is that no one in management took into consideration how my sleep would be disrupted by this change over!

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So far Mom was the only one to share a Justinism and when I spoke with her on the phone, she said she has sent me other comments that have not made it to 'press', as it were. I would certainly publish her comments so my guess is either she is not doing something right every time or it is just not getting to me. If you are sending comments and I am not getting them, please let me know, okay? Mom told me the other day that she bought Manny, the birthday boy, a large bottle of bubbles as the boys just love blowing bubbles. I reminded her of the time Justin got a huge bottle of bubbles for his birthday one year, when we lived on Kel Lane. He also have a little kids' pool in the backyard which ended being the recipient of the contents of that bottle!! What a slippery, slimy mess that was to clean up! Who would think that soap would make such a terrible situation????

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Another story from when we lived on Kel Lane, when Justin was 5 years old. We had sold our home in Villages of Fireside and had no standing homes to move into so we ended up renting back a home we had built in a partnership with the Sarnelli's. It was a corner lot with the backyard having many trees left standing. My former spouse cleaned out the 'woods' making it almost parklike. One day we took a family outing to St. Augustine and toured the Huegenot Cemetery which Justin found immensely fascinating. On the ride home, Justin suggested that we cut down all the trees in our backyard and 'put in a cemetery'!! His father thought that Mr. Sarnelli might not like that idea very much......I promise you, he would not! Today, Tony's own son lives there with his family, which I think is sort of cool.

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The weather for tomorrow does not sound good, heavy rains and 'threatening' weather heading our way from Atlanta. Yikes! What will we do for recess at the kindergarten then? Perhaps I should take along a video for them to watch...oh, wait, I gave away most of the kids' themed video, VHS tapes...Maybe I can get the kids to take a nap! They like to remind me that they are too old to take a nap, add a chuckle to that statement. Then I tell the kids that I am 54 and am NOT too old to take a nap! No chuckle added there...At least the threatening weather is lowering the temps a few degrees, only going to be around 88 this week. Yesterday was 93 and the A/C at church had a hard time keeping up.

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Sunday afternoon was our Spring Fling with a great group showing up to spend this time with our sisters in Christ. It was a mother/daughter themed-event and when Janet asked me to lead the prayer, I incorporated this into the prayer. We are all daughters of the Lord, so even if I have no mom or daughter to take with me, I have my Sisters to share this special time. There were several ladies who came without 'adopting' a mom or daughter which is wonderful, plus we had guests from our 'sister' congregations, Victory and Christ Lutheran, at our tables. The A/C was not up-to-snuff in the Fellowship Hall, having had to reset the breaker at one point during the setting up process. I blamed the little tea candles for the heat but no one else seemed to go along with that thinking. Having to dress and undress for the fashion show had me sweating, too, so in the photos, which will be posted later, you will notice I have a glow about me! My guess is that the A/C will be blowing out plenty of cool air today for Bible study with fewer bodies in the room and lower outside temperatures.

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Since it was such a lovely day yesterday, the evening was quite pleasant as well. My neighbors and I spent several hours on the sundeck enjoying our social time, with even Ellen and her daughter, Maggie, coming down to join the fellowship. Ellen has had some back troubles again so it was nice she was able to venture out for some air. It was 9:30 before folks went inside. Hopefully no one missed dinner last night! I had a slice of pizza about 5:00 pm, taking it out of the 'wave just as my friend, Jen, called. Instead of calling to have dinner, though, she was calling with other news, so I went ahead and ate my slice. You know my rule: if someone calls to have dinner, turn off the stove, put on the shoes and out the door you go! It was okay, though, to eat at home because I was weary after my full day at church and since I did not eat much at the Fling, was hungry at 5:00 pm. For my real dinner then, I decided to just have some leftover crackers and pretzel chips from my finger food dish I took to church, served with chicken salad.

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When I was ready to leave for church in the morning, where I got to hear our former pastor singing on the video again, it took both hands and a foot to open my kitchen door! Since it was so humid inside and out, the door swelled and would not open at first. Of course, I could have used the front doors but I persisted and got the kitchen door opened. When I got home from church, it took my thundering hip to push the door open, which made me decide to turn on the A/C to get the humidity down. By the time I came back in the evening from the Fling, the door opened without resistance and the A/C turned off again. Mission accomplished!

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I nearly forgot to mention something: last week I had a number of people's friends from Facebook reach out to me and ask me to "Friend" them. I cannot tell you how much I love that. One girl wrote that she liked the things I posted when writing to our shared friend, Hope in NYC, found them uplifting, so asked if she could be my friend, too. Nice! We can be someone's friend without ever meeting them in the flesh and have a beneficial effect on others without sometimes knowing it. Keep that in mind, my friends, when you post something on Facebook.....keep it positive and 'Hope'ful!

A wake-up gem to start your Sunday!

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 139:7-10

This is so cool!

As I write, I am seeing the end of an afternoon movie on TBS called "My Prince and Me", a silly little flick that takes place mainly in WI. A spoiled heir to the Denmark throne sneaked to college in the USA to try to be 'normal' and expected to see more wild college life as is shown on 'late night channels'. He did not expect to meet a decent girl on track for med school and fall in love, her not being aware he was royalty. At one point her roommate encouraged Paige to invite "Eddie" to her home for Thanksgiving, in Manitowoc!!!! Get out!!! I wonder if there are actually dairy farmers in my hometown named Morgan...hmmm? Paige ended up following him to Denmark after he was called home to take his father's throne. They were engaged but then she decided that being a queen might not be for her, since she wanted to be doctor and not conform to the life of royalty. She went back to WI to graduate and is busily having her photos taken with her roommates and fellow graduates (say 'cheese curds!'), when she hears her former fiance quoting from Macbeth. He came to her graduation!!! He declared he would wait until she finished medical school and said together they can change the way the monarchy is treated and acts. Now, whether that happens or not, is left for a sequel, but I was just blown away by having the queen of Denmark (not the one in WI) come from my hometown. Something else to brag on in Manty!

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My thermostat in the hallway reports it is 81 in my house today and I am lovin' it! The doors are all open but there is little breeze right now. Somehow the boats are managing to catch the wind as the river is dotted both directions with lovely sails. There might just be a regatta going on today and it is a glorious one for it. Suzanne was in Fernandina yesterday setting up the booth for the TV station, getting ready for the Shrimp Festival. My family used to go there years ago and see the reenactment of the pirate battles, hear the cannons blasting, eat good food and enjoy the art fair, etc. It is a good weekend for such an event. Now there are about two dozen boats sailing passed my windows. Fantastic!

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I heard wedding music earlier and I knew there was going to be a 'big' wedding this weekend, as one of the Club owners was on the sundeck last night. We were all hoping the rain would come last night and spare the families of having to resort to Plan B----and it did! We had a nice thunderstorm, no hail or damage here but further west the counties were under tornado warnings or watches. It lost its steam by the time it got this far east, I guess. It made for good sleeping though, falling asleep to rain.

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I did have to rely on my phone alarm to wake me this a.m. and am thankful that I thought to set it last night. Otherwise I might have slept through my breakfast with Terri T.! Some mornings this past week I was up before 6:00 a.m. but today I felt like I wanted another hour or so. What is up with that??? Anyway, we met at Grumpy's at just after 8:00 and sat there, talking, 'til nearly 10:30! Nice long breakfast, we were almost hungry for lunch when we left. Thankfully I was full enough to not buy foolishly at Publix, my next stop before going home. The frivolous purchase was ice cream bars, but it was a planned purchase and not impulsive. The soda was on special today, buy two 12-packs and get the third one free so that is why the 2nd trip to the store this week. Also, I needed to get a few items to serve at the ladies' group Spring Fling on Sunday, where I will be modeling the outfits from Bealls. Must remember to take a pair of my new shoes along to pull the 'get-ups' together!

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My friend, Betty, and I were planning to have dinner together at Koko's but her grandkids decided to come over for a visit, so I yielded to them. No worries, I will not be hungry because last night I was lured to Papa Murphy's where I bought a Chicago-style pizza for me, and a gourmet garlic chicken pizza for Jessica. She never tried a Murphy's so this was a real treat for her, and for me. Last night was the final opportunity to get the sale price on the chicken pizza and she loved it. Whether Travis had any I do not know because she sent me a text message after 9:30 to say she loved it. Not sure if he was home yet at that hour or not. Mine is larger, being thicker so will take me days to eat it. I hope it reheats well and won't get too tough.

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Before we ate, a large group of our Owners came and went from the sundeck for several hours. Including the baby! Jessica was trying to keep Beckham awake and Maureen, the official grandma in the bunch, kept him occupied. At a certain point, Jessica took him inside to swaddle him which is really calming for him. It just blows people away, especially the mama's, to see a baby all wrapped up like that but, as I told the gang, it worked for baby Jesus!

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The night before, our newest Owners, one a re-owner, came to see my house. They live in an end unit on the south and have a different view than does mine. Bob and Rosemary immediately fell in love with the place, loved the decor and the scenery. Bob, who lived in this building before, was part of the reason I bought here in the first place, as I remembered his home years ago. Even though he lives here again, he was awed by the views, front and back, looking out over the pools. Last night his wife, Rosemarie, told me again how beautiful my home is and again I thanked her for her compliment. They said it was charming and homey--nice!

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While movie watching today, I also managed to prepare an Outreach mailing complete with hand-addressing, my personal touch. Yesterday I printed off several copies of the church newsletter because it seems having too many photos in this edition prevented it from going out (hotmail accounts mainly) or taking a long time to download. I will have to keep that in mind for next month! The church office photocopies the newsletter for those without Internet but black and white does the photos little justice. I will hand-deliver the color copies to a select few tomorrow morning, and for anyone else who wants one!