I am showing my age!

Either that, or I live in Arizona! Is that not nuts, folks being upset about showing their ID's if they behave suspiciously? Twice in the past couple days I had to show my ID and I was not even doing anything suspicious. The other day when I was shopping on senior discount day at Bealls, I had to show my driver's license to prove I was over the age of 50. Some people will seemingly do anything to save 15%! Today, when buying compressed gas to clean up my laptop's keyboard, I had to again show my ID to prove I was older than 18. Really! It seems young folks either like to clean their keyboards or they use it for huffing purposes so now, all must show proper ID. If I am over 18, I am free to please, go ahead, and inhale the vapors! I felt compelled to tell the clerk and the lady training her my story from Bealls, and the younger lady said, "Oh, you don't look like you are older than 50...". If I could have, I would reach around and given her a hug, but I simply thanked her. I think it was when Gloria Steinam turned 50 many years ago, someone said to her, "Oh, you don't look 50..." to which she replied, "Honey, this IS what 50 looks like!" So, yes, keep asking me for ID, I am not proud or embarrassed---yet.

*

The most delightful of breezes is wafting through my doors, which I had to prop open with shoes or books to keep them from slamming closed. During the times of the full moon, we experience extremely low tides and then higher than usual tides. In between, we see yuckiness below the water, which is today wearing a coat of white sudsy looking stuff. Tracy, my neighbor, described it as the foam seen in a hot tub recently treated with chemicals. Justin looked out at it and said, "Hmmm....I have seen that somewhere before." After a moment, he said, "Oh, yeah, a root beer float!" This is the picture I have in my mind now instead of the suds from chemicals. It might be treatment for the algae blooms which caused a fish kill in late May/early June, most of which I missed. As I said to Tracy, we might simply need a good wind to come through to move things along because it has been hot so long, things are bound to develop in the still waters.

*

This noon I had a lovely lunch with Tracy, Cassidy, and Mammaw at La Napolera, with the eldest one treating us all. That was unexpected, and I am most grateful for her treat. She misses living in TX but there is just no one there to watch over anymore. Tracy asked me when I was moving my mom down here with me and I told her I would do it later this afternoon if she would agree.....Sigh. As I explained to Tracy, my other sisters and the grandkids simply have me outnumbered so even though I have the time, they have the proximity working for them. So, I will just continue to hang out up there several times a year until they all grow quite weary of me!

*

Time for me to head to Fleming Island to watch a painting duel between Dee and Donna at Great Hang Ups. Then, I will be back here for refreshments and time with my friends at the cabana. Yoohoo! Later!

Making progress

But I am not a progressive! The mound on the desk is getting lower, I can see daylight, and I have had to empty my wastebasket once already due to going through papers. Yes! Another friend of mine from Facebook reported this week that she, too, is going through boxes of papers dating back to the mid-80's so it must be catching! Thus far I remain at my desk but at some point will need to tackle boxes of 'old' papers which I know I will have trouble doing. Who gets attached to their old long distance phone bills??? The mindset I will have to use is this: "What will happen to this stuff if I would die this weekend? Would someone get stuck looking through this all (as we did my mother-in-law's stuff) or will it simply get dumped in its entirety into a dumpster??? Will any one miss it or find it valuable in any way?" Not likely!!!

At this particular moment I am listening to my podcast, eating a hamburger left over from Sunday's event, writing my posting for the day, and waiting for the moon to rise. Multi-tasking!! The sun is still shining at this point and, as I went to my car to get a 12-pack of soda, saw people yet in the pool. From our high temp of 96 earlier today to now only 92, it is still a lovely evening.No storms since last week Thursday's HUGE one.

Last week I was rejoicing because I got my statement from the hospital where my kaleidoscope was performed, and it was about half of what I expected it to be. The insurance lady there showed me another person's bill which was over $7000 out-of-pocket for the same procedure so.....whew! Of course, there will be more bills coming, likely from the doctor herself and from the handsome anesthesiologist, but the largest amount, I believe is behind me, in more ways than one. Sorry. I had to say that. Whew again! And thank you, Lord, for answering that prayer!

I missed the moon rising because as I look over my right shoulder, it is already in place in the sky to the south, looking white against the blue sky. It is still sunny outside and not quite ready for the moon to do its thing. Justin and I attended Bible study this a.m., having last week begun a study on The Kingdom of God, using again the series from "Good News". My guess is that it saves Pastor a ton of time to use this type of study and it is quite interesting. Hopefully soon we will be getting our Sunday and Monday Bible studies back in action at GS for more regular 'feedings'. Tuesday night's class is more like a Bible information class which is still good but more structured than a study would be. Especially since the class comes in the form of a DVD, less interaction with the speaker. Mike C. leads this class and we simply go through the worksheets and answer True/False questions and such. Some discussion but not like in a regular setting. Make sense?

My radio show is making me laugh and laugh, hard to concentrate on what I am writing. So much for multi-tasking! There is much helicopter traffic today, all day, which might mean a squadron has come in. Normally there are welcome home signs along Hwy. 17 but I didn't notice any when I was doing my thing after Bible study. I barely recognized my car when I went down for the soda, it is nice 'n shiny after its bath and vacuuming. When I went to the Hess station for my soda and was going to put it in the back, I noticed that it was still sandy looking so I went right back across the street, got in line again, and had the young lady vacuum it up. She acted like she could not see any sand, and when I walked back there, she was doing the little pockets on the sidewall of the 'trunk'. It seems what looks like sand is actually sand, but it was not loose enough to vacuum up. Guess I will need my handy dandy scrub brush to work it loose. She was acting like, "What sand?", as though she could not see it...ugh!

I cannot believe I am going to say this but I am feeling as though it's a bit stuffy in my house tonight. Nothing has changed, the dryer is not running nor the oven going. I am not exerting myself other than laughter which is not unusual, so I don't know. I could go and turn the thermostat lower, I suppose, just for a few minutes to move the air around. Maybe it is because the moon is getting brighter, but it is behind the palm tree right now. Hmmm....

The other night when my brain stayed up long after I went to bed and refused to surrender to sleep, I got up and decided to do some cleaning in order to put my brain into idle. Did not work, but the cleaning got done. The work I did was quiet so as not to disturb my neighbors above or below me. Earlier in the day I had bought some scrubbing bubbles which I sprayed on the frame of my bathroom mirror, where there was accumulated dust (there she goes with the dust again!!) and other grime. The mirror looks gilded, like a picture frame, with the part furthest from the faucets and counter looking nice and bright. Pampered Chef long handled brush and the bubbles made that lower edge look much much better, and I am glad I finally did it. I sprayed in my shower as well, but the smell was gagging me so I closed the door to the bathroom while it soaked overnight. The next day I did the same type of frame in the hall bathroom with less satisfactory results. Also, I went around and put bleach in the toilets which also burned my nose-hairs and made my eyes water, but there is nothing like a sparkling white toilet in the morning----it smells like victory!

During my sleeplessness, not at all connected to the cable TV, I made various checklists in my mind as well as plans and promises to myself, and God. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart"! That means I have a witness who is going to hold me to my checklists and promises---gulp! One checklist adds more 'work' to my load while another list removes a few things. Somehow, strangely enough, the one that removes things is the more bothersome checklist!! Might require some modification but not too much. Because a deal's a deal, right?

Midweek catch up here

A couple days ago I lamented the cable outage in my bedroom, which happened rather abruptly late Saturday morning. When I left home to set up at church that day, the TV was working fine, but when I got back later, it was out. Not a cloud in the sky or wind in the trees, and no storms since the window rattler on Thursday. Hmmm.....My friend, Gayle's husband got an appointment set up for me on Monday. Dick is in a management position at Comcast and has some pull evidently. Gayle called me twice that day to keep me informed as to the status of the service call and such. Wow! My scheduled time was between 2 and 5 pm which was fine with me, since it sure beats Thursday!, and in fact, I stayed home all stinkin' day long! I needed a day like this. Actually addressed some items on my desk and worked on thank you notes for the helpers at Sunday's event, etc.

*

Gayle used to work in Customer Service at Comcast and she was saying to me that she would not have stood still for an answer like "no one is available until Thursday...". Gayle told me she would have gone higher and higher in the food chain until she got results. I told her, "That's what I did, too! I called you!" which made her laugh. I am not sure what time the guys showed up but Connie called me from downstairs to report they were on the way up. As I stood in the door watching for them eagerly, the one guy, the lead tech, looked at me and then walked the other way. I yelled, "Hey!..." and he turned back this direction, saying, "Just teasing..." My kinda guy! He made a comment to me along the lines of my having some 'pull' and he described me as being a VIP. Evidently he was sent specifically to my job, personally selected by his superiors. Oh, yes, I am big crybaby VIP who can't sleep without her TV on!!!! His helper trailed behind, more like a step-n-fetch than actual tech, I believe. We had to slide my desk over so they could access the jack inside the cabinet, and I am so glad to have wood floors to make that easier.

*

The tech was getting no signal at all from the wires coming out of the cabinet which meant the problem originated outside, on the back of the building. Before they arrived, I was watching rain showers in Mandarin as they seemed to come across the river, but it was full sunshine on the pool side of the building. I was hoping they would not get rained on, too, while working down below my windows but the rain never made it all the way over here. At one point the helper came up to report that they were working on the wires downstairs, trying to sort it all out. I thought that was very nice of him. Later he came back and we had to turn on the family room TV to let the guy below know when we had signal in there and when we did not. After some time, the lead guy came upstairs again and hooked up his machinery to the cable and ta da!!!! We had a signal! He hooked up the little box on the stand where the TV is and I was back in business, including now accessing HGTV and Lifetime in my bedroom.

*

I made the remark to him that I was glad to see the green light was solid and not flashing anymore, even though I know Comcast is using that to spy on me. I told them I always change my clothes in my closet but it would serve them right if they caught me on their camera. The guys laughed and said, "No one can see you through this box..." I am not totally convinced!

*

Yesterday, which would have been my 36th wedding anniversary, began at the pool with water aerobics and then some lounging with Ellen. We made plans to go today to have lunch at the Beach Cafe which is located where Truffles used to be in Mandarin. My friend, Dena, who made my beautiful birthday cake one year, has a bakery in the same strip mall so I might pop in there to say 'hi'! After I made the plans with Ellen, Martie asked me if we could have breakfast or lunch today. Rats! Breakfast won't work with water aerobics but we certainly have room for one more at Beach Cafe! She will not come to aerobics though as she is not fond of the water, although one time she did get in and really enjoyed it! She said she misses me and I certainly do miss her. Her job, and grandkids really use her time these days, especially in the summer when they are out of school. So, I am looking very much forward to lovely repast in Mandarin with a couple of my lady friends, Maggie O. is likely coming, too, and, of course, spending some time with Martie!!!

Ellen took this photo of me Sunday with her cell phone, which is why it is sort of small. Good thing it is! The noodle makes my arms look fat, though!

*

After the pool time, I got dressed and headed to Bealls to do some birthday shopping for Justin. I have neither seen nor heard from him since last Thursday's lunch after Bible study, but still decided to buy him a present or two. There were huge banners promoting a senior discount that day, which would be great to take advantage of. Up to that moment, I was a senior discount virgin, except for one time when accidentally getting the lower priced ticket at the movies, without my asking for it. Twila and Jean got theirs at the senior rate and the cashier simply did the same for me. Nice! Even after I pointed it out, she told me to just go ahead. So, anyway, I got what I wanted, having an additional discount on all housewares, which is where I was shopping. When I got to the check-out and began the process, I asked the lady if I could have the senior discount of 15%, too. She looked up at me and said, "That's for people 50 and older..." so I had to prove my age by showing my driver's license. She made my day---minus 15%!

*

Julia did not need any lunch so I got myself a drink and stopped at Great Hang Ups for a bit. She commented that my hair was getting so light, and asked me if I dyed it that color. Nope, it must be from the sun or the pool water bleaching it out. When Dee came in, she also remarked about my hair turning lighter, both of them complimentary. Last night I got a message from my friend, Michelle, who had seen my pool photo on Facebook and told me I was so cute, especially with the red hair. Red? Okay, which is it---red or white?

Some photos from the week

Evelyn came to church for the first time in at least a year. She looked great and was so welcomed back. Even got hugs from the Langley boys which warmed my heart!

Fran is getting some dessert for herself and Andy. Isn't that cake cute? It looks like a slice of watermelon!

Come one, come all! Well, it was a great idea anyway! No one came to the event as a drive-by, but they might at least keep us in mind when they are making preschool plans or looking for a home church!

Brett with a smiling face---so very nice to see! One of our earliest students at Precious Lambs, he is seated next to two of his new brothers. Behind them are Kim and Deb, talking with Evelyn.

Judy C. was right----we needed the tablecloths on the tables! They do brighten the place up and set off the buffet table as well. Fausto and Bonnie shown filling their plates.

Three of our alumni, Phoebe and her cousins, Mika and Luis, joined us for the celebration. I can't believe how big they are getting!

Sue B. is hard at it on Saturday, mowing our lawn at church, making sure everything looked nice for Sunday.

Suzanne and Laurie have a snuggly moment before the event got totally underway

This wall in the classroom building is end to end photos of the students, staff, and leadership of Precious Lambs Preschool over the years. "Feeding the Sheep" for 10 years at Good Shepherd!

"Feeding the Sheep" for 10 Years

Yes, I feel ashamed of myself for doubting. No, more for wearing undo stress over things which are outside of my management or control. Janet B. was right to say, "STOP IT! Quit stressing!!!", in her imitable style. That was just what I needed. To sum it up, before I relate the entire day's events, there was more than enough food, more than enough help with the take-down and clean-up, and plenty of time to rest in the pool. By the way, it is NOT a good idea to report loudly that you are there to relieve yourself while in the pool. Boy, they are so quick with that yellow caution tape around the pool area.......I really did say that, but quickly corrected my choice of words!

Janet B---this photo taken in my dining room

*

Saturday's set-up went well, with two men doing the heavy lifting and two ladies doing the vacuuming and chair placement. The floor, littered after VBS with schnibbles and cruddlies, needed to cleaned up before the tables were placed. I think I covered the set-up sufficiently in my Saturday posting. On Sunday I stopped at Publix on the way to church to pick up my fruit tray which weighed 100 pounds plus a container each of potato salad and macaroni salad. Judy C., my BFF, was concerned that there would not be enough side dishes, but boy, was she wrong! I brought my cookies home, as well as most of the 2 containers. My potato chips were the only ones there so they nearly were wiped out. Glad I thought to pick those up! I was prepared to give the guys money to run to the store if we needed more meat for cooking but it turned out they did not even cook up all the purchased hot dogs or burgers.

*

With sending out all those invitations and the other promotions for the anniversary of the preschool, I fully expected to have a churchful of folks, or at least, a full fellowship hall. Not so much....My guess is that about a half dozen non-member families came, and not all of them for lunch. Disappointing? Yes! But, as my friend, Ellen, pointed out to me later at the pool, the ones who needed to be there were there! After a certain point, no, right from the beginning of the plans being made, this was not my control, but the Lord's. Those who were in attendance for the lovely worship service and fantastic meal were blessed to be there, and I am rejoicing over it!

*

Of course, being the close of VBS as well as the anniversary, the kids sang two songs, one from their VBS week and one hymn, "I Am Jesus' Little Lamb", the latter being one from Timmy's funeral. Gulp! Suzanne was their director (as well as playing viola pre-service, setting up the games, and bringing pasta salad...she was supposed to count the offering, too, but that didn't happen!). She wore her bumble bee antennas as she directed the kids. Pastor had told me that he strongly encouraged the non-member VBS children to come and sing but not one did. The alumni of the preschool were invited to come forward to sing the hymn but none of them did either. Brett L. said he would have if other kids his age went up. He was in the class after Timmy's, and none of the first class students were there. We did have some empty seats in the fellowship hall for the meal which means fewer than 100 dined with us.

*

The highlight of the service, of the day, for me was unrelated to the anniversary, however. One of our charter members, Evelyn Rubbert, came to church after being away, shut in, for nearly a year!!! And she looked like a million bucks!!! Every hair in place and dressed so nicely. I have a picture of her I will post when I unload my camera later on. She is the epitome of a come-back-kid....and it was just so wonderful to see her again. Fran Kelley made the effort to go and pick her up, while also dealing with her failing husband.

*

The closing hymn was "Go, My Children, With My Blessing", another of the funeral hymns, chosen for that very special reason. I knew it was coming and helped Evelyn find the page, keeping my hymnal in my lap. About partway through the first stanza, my friend, Carol, showed up, sitting in the pew in front of me. (Here come the tears again.....) She reached back and I squeezed her hand in acknowledgement and thanks. After church, since she was not staying for the luncheon, she gave me a hug and then said, "I couldn't leave you sitting there like that...." I know, Carol, I know....I love my friends! There is nothing like dear, Christian friends, you know? After the service, Pastor gave me a hug and said he tried not to look at me during the service because a couple times HE was getting choked up!

*

A related thought: Judy C., at my request, ordered a bouquet of flowers for this special service and after all the mess was cleaned up, I took them to the cemetery. It had been a while since I was there and the little fence had come up from around the tree which was donated by Carol and family in Timmy's memory. The fence got stuck back into the soil, and the flowers placed in the vase. I took a single flower, as is our tradition, now only my tradition, to place on the marker of Carol's son's grave nearby. For nearly ten years we have done this, imagine that....

*

We had such a great crew help with the take down, people hustling about with tables and chairs and vacuuming and hauling trash and carrying dishes....Jayne's new family has some big boys in it and they picked up the tables as though they were made of cardboard. It made me laugh to see how easily they could carry a table, could probably run a decent foot race carrying a table in each hand! Ladies were busy in the kitchen, washing the dishes left behind and such. Before the meal, a team of ladies, lead by Janet, got all the foods onto the buffet before Judy C. even was out of church! (Remind me again why I was so concerned???) By about 1:30, the whole event was over. Judy and I were in the kitchen wrapping up and I said, "Wanna come over and float around in my pool the rest of the day?" and she said, "That sounds like a great idea!", so she did! After my cemetery stop and getting my clothes changed, I headed out and was in the water right after 2:00 pm! Judy got there about 15-20 minutes after me. She met several of my friends and enjoyed 'relieving herself' in my pool. Judy did not stay out there, though, until after 6:00 pm like I did as she had things to do at home. She goes to bed early because she gets up at 5:00 a.m. to be at Suzanne's before they leave for work. It's about a 25 minute ride each way for Judy, much longer, of course, for those going to work or to their jobsite for the day. Danny, the cabana boy, served me my drinks while I was in the pool and life was good along the river for a Sunday afternoon.

*

To God be the glory, great things He hath done!

My cable's out!!! My cable's out!!!

How will I sleep tonight???? It is only on the fritz in the bedroom (why, oh why???) starting yesterday after I got back from setting up at church. No storms since Thursday afternoon's window rattler so it is not likely to be from lightning. I even swapped the boxes from room to room but to no avail. Last night I got some sleep using the "Frasier" dvds but when they stop, so does the sleep. What can I say? This is just the way it works for me. One of my Facebook friends from First German also 'needs' radio or the TV on when sleeping so I am not alone in this.

*

At the pool this afternoon I was sharing this problem about the cable with my neighbors and several had suggestions and ideas for me. I was told to get the numbers from the back of the cable equipment and call the local customer service people to see if they can reset it or whatever. Others said they are ready to throw their little cable boxes into the river so I am somewhere in between those two ideas. My downstairs neighbor, Jeff, had been trying to help his wife's grandma with her cable problem and found out it was struck by lightning. He called me to see if he could come up and help me but I explained the situation with the boxes working in one room but not the other, and he figured that was out of his league. I was grateful and thankful for his offer, though.

*

I did try calling the Help Line but the hold time was over 10 minutes so I gave up and used a different help line. My friend Gayle used to work for Comcast and her hubby still does, so I got in touch with her. She said Dick would have someone call me from dispatch in the morning and a repairman would be here tomorrow !!! I love it! Gayle is my friend, Gordy's daughter. I asked her if Dick knew me and she said, "He knows you are important to this family" which choked me up and then Gayle said, "He knows you are Timmy's mom..." Oh, boy! Gulp...I had talked with him at Gordy's visitation but am not 100% sure he knew who I was. He will after tomorrow, though, that's for sure!

*

My skin is back to normal after being quite pruny from being in the pool over four hours this afternoon. It was all I could do to drag myself out of the water and upstairs. Penny told me my nose was getting red so I decided to call it quits. As the sun was going behind the trees, it was feeling 'cooler' to me anyway. My face is a bit crisp but lotion was applied immediately to soothe it. Perhaps tomorrow I will stay in from the pool but Tuesday and Wednesday are aerobics days so out I will be! I had to laugh the other day when my sister wrote something funny about me. She read that I had yogurt for breakfast and then was going out for water aerobics. Lori wrote: "Yogurt? Water aerobics? Okay, where is my sister and what have you done with her????" I roared with laughter over that one!

This photo was taken using my cell phone while at the pool at the end of the day Sunday. Close up is Judee B., and sitting on the edge of the pool are Penny and Miss Chardonnay. My noodle is in the foreground and is the same color as my nose!

I am feeling a bit guilty!

Last night as I sat outside with my neighbors and friends, enjoying my dinner and the weather, I shared with Penny and others how I cannot wait until this weekend is over! What??? That is heresy! Who wishes a weekend away? For me, the prospect of this Sunday's celebration with so many unknowns remaining is leaving me feeling rather out of control, which is why I want it to be over before it begins. Normally an optimist, this time, I am not feeling it. Will we have enough food? How about seating? Who is going to complain about being crowded or too hot to go outside to sit? Over 200 invitations were mailed plus the banners at the street asking folks to come and yet, only about 20 people responded to the RSVP. Not 20 families, 20 total. The wall inside the door of the classroom building is decorated with photos of as many kids as they could find pictures, starting with the first class through the one that just graduated, including a photo of Timmy. I just love it, they did a great job on that display!

*

So, my guilt feelings are that I want it to be over rather than looking forward to it like I usually do. While I am sure everything will be just fine and all that, I am still apprehensive that some detail was overlooked or a question left unanswered, or the food/space fears mentioned above. It is so much better when someone else is in charge and I just do my thing. I am looking forward to our worship which is to be Christian education-centered. Pastor assured me that we will have more preschool kids in church tomorrow than ever before so I look forward to that. It is hard to remember, or keep in mind, that some of these kids are now in their young teens, like Timmy would be.

*

Well, now I am back from setting up at church and feel MUCH better, much more confident. Jennifer P. and Robbie joined Jim B. and I for the setting up with my BFF sort of directing the show. I had thought no table clothes but Judy felt that yes, we did indeed, need them. It looks amazingly festive with the tables dressed up so nice in the brightly colored table clothes. The men folk did the majority of the heavy lifting while I did a bit of vacuuming and placement of chairs around the tables. We set up space for the food to be served, dessert tables established, while Judy made tea and lemonade for tomorrow. Judy is concerned we will be short of side dishes but I am quite hopeful that folks will bring what is needed. Tomorrow I am picking up the largest fruit tray they make at Publix and might grab a few things beside that on my way through the deli. Like Judy said, it usually all works out!

*

I got extremely sweated up while working in the fellowship hall and my shirt was fairly well soaked. On my way home, I noticed Joanne's car at Re/Max so stopped in to drop off her box of addressed envelopes and unused 'holiday' cards. The envelopes were those I had worked on in February but she never did her mailing, no mailings since the beginning of the year. She was pretty faithful with her monthly newsletters and such but since the market stinks so badly and such, some of these things had to fall by the wayside. It was great to get the box off my kitchen counter, and now it is great to have the box out of my car!

*

Little by little I am getting the car cleaned out, except for the church stuff. Does any one besides me have troubles weeding through their Bible study papers and such? I am so torn with sorting and tossing, thinking that I might wish I kept that piece of paper or that folder.....but for how many years do we keep them? Longer than we keep our tax paperwork??? Time for the pool and some relaxation! Bye, y'all!