I think it's time for lunch!

It just occurred to me how hungry I am, after getting in from the pool almost an hour ago. Marlena gave Randy and I a bag of Lay's potato chips which really did hold me over until now. Randy enjoyed a glass of Cabernet after class and I had brought down several sodas in case Maggie O. showed up. She did not make it so I drank them all myself!! The day was so glorious again with cloudless skies, cerulean blue, as I learned in water color class. When Randy took his first sip of wine, he let loose with an "Ahhhh....." and then said he could have easily just slugged it down without taking a breath, that's how refreshing it was! That is a feeling I have at times with an icy cold Diet Coke!

*

My fridge is getting cleaned out of its 'to-go' boxes and the shelves are bare, ready for washing. Kerry sent me an e-mail this early morning telling me of her 'needs' for when she is here. Like me, she is not necessarily a breakfast eater but wouldn't mind some plain dough-nut holes or an egg, if pressed. I plan at this point at least one breakfast out at The Club, as they began serving to the membership last week. Marlena said she talked to 'Chef' about continuing the breakfast next month because Miss Kim has company coming. He was not sure who Miss Kim was until Marlena said, "the hot dog lady"---then he knew! I had talked to him about the yukky hot dogs at the cabana so they changed brands and now all is well! So, I am now the 'hot dog lady'! You are what you eat! Anyway, he suggested I call a day ahead of our pending breakfast, and they will prepare a made-to-order feast for us. The privileges of membership! In contrast, we are also going to have breakfast one morning at Grumpy's and Kerry is going to wear her Grumpy's T-shirt that day!

*

As of this writing, I believe my precious record albums are on their way to WI with the Kuske's. If they could not fit them in, he was going to call me, and thus far, I have not heard a peep. Since I could not, or would not, lift it, and Justin was across the river at work, I got my downstairs neighbor's son to come get them. It meant so much to me and I gave David a $5, which he at first refused, but then took at my insistence. It was so nice of him to do that for this old lady....Whew! Mike C. carried them into the Fellowship Hall last night before Bible study and had a good time looking at the 'old records'. Some of them are! I told the story of how I always thought they would be the first thing I would grab if the house was on fire. My former spouse (before we had kids) said, "You'd leave the office files behind to grab your records?" Oops! My priorities have since been adjusted, as the precious memories are on their way north.

*

In the meantime, however, my bed is now littered with memorabilia from the bin, and now, where do I go with it??? I found the tickets from the Inaugural Jaguar game, the placard Justin and his father had to hold up at the appointed time as part of the half-time events, the day's Play Book, all that neat, historic paraphernalia from the game. Another special item is the newspaper front page, center, with a Jaguar player named Don Davey, wearing #92, roaring in victory! He lived next door to us in Manitowoc on Manistee Court. Very cool! Perhaps having Dee mount and frame the items would be a way to preserve them but would also make them less accessible for viewing. Hmmmm....will have to think about this a bit....

*

Since I have had several sodas already I am drinking my water like a good girl. Later in the day, time will be spent at The Club, inside, for Happy Hour which tonight features Scotch tasting. Yech! There is also going to be a dinner tonight, a rather nice event with crab dishes, shrimp beignets, scallops plus filet mignon crostini and mini-pizzas for us non-fish eaters. Ellen made reservations for us already and I am looking forward to it for sure! As I look over my shoulder, manatees are frolicking in the basin, which delights me because Kerry is so looking forward to seeing them when she is here. Hopefully they will stick around through the middle of September while my company is here!!!!

Letting Go of History

It's too early for a nap right now but my eyes are weary. I think this is because of the brightness of the sun today, not a cloud to be seen when we did our water aerobics. Awesomeness! Boy, will I ever miss that class when it's too cold to be in the pool....This a.m. I was sort of sleeping until 8:30 or so, waking up earlier, then drifting in and out for a while. Even had one of those goofy dreams, this time about going to the funeral home to have a medical check-up. I guess that is in case the news is not good! Who knows with dreams??

Mary Lew, my book and movie lender, celebrated her birthday today poolside, complete with a muffin 'cake' and candle!

*

Here is Mary Lew listening to us sing for her before blowing the candle out. She did not want us to sing the entire song, but we did anyway!

*

As pictured above, Mary Lew, one of my older friends at The Club, informed us it was her birthday today so we stayed to have lunch and even sang a song for her. Randy could not stay as he has a piano lesson on Tuesdays but three of us plus the lifeguard enjoyed her special day after water exercises were over. Both the other ladies are workers for The Club on occasion and so interesting to talk with. I should have some paper and a pen with me when they begin telling their stories!

*

Mary Lew gave me "I Feel Bad About My Neck" written by Nora Ephron, the well-known screenwriter and author, which I finished late evening. Yay! I have read another book to the end this year, making eight thus far! As I closed it, I thought "Hmmm....that was good!!" particularly her closing chapter where she wrote about how much she misses her lady friend. Though having been married a number of times, and is at present, it is her best friend that she mourns for, thinks about five times a day, keeps her memorabilia handy. Yes, I get that, and I got all choked up thinking about it, how it will be for me when my dearest ones 'go home'. Knowing that my dearest ones are known to the Lord and know Him, too, makes the thought a bit easier to consider, but I really have the 'pity party' down to a science. It really is all about me! I am sure they would feel the same way, would miss me and all that, but the tears and sorrow will not, should not, be for me, but because their hearts hurt. Read this book, ladies!

*

On that same topic, Nora tells about how she wore her friend's scarf or shawl all the time and even slept with it for a while after the death. She thinks about how on such and such a date they would be doing fall shopping in Paris, or see the opening of a show, or meet for lunch at Tavern on the Green. Those really would, will, be the type of things I would remember, too. Hmmmm.....You guys know who you are, I hope. I would like to rejoice over the times we did have, instead of the times we won't any more.

*

This afternoon I had to stand on my head in the front hall closet to pull out my plastic bin full of albums. Pastor Kuske is taking his daughter to Watertown, WI for high school and offered to take my records that far for me. My niece will pick them up from Kuske's on Saturday and hold them for me until such time as the Schipper's come that direction and can get them. I transferred them into a wire basket, open-topped, to compact them, but it is wwaayy too heavy for me to lift. I have sent Justin a text message to see if he can take the bin to my car for me. If he cannot, I will have to ask one of my neighbors to do the heavy lifting for me. The bin is about 13 x 13" square, packed tightly from end to end with parts of my history. At first I was going to pick through them and keep some back because of the sentimental value but resisted that desire. Oh my goodness, this is really tougher for me than I thought it would be!!!!

Assembling some thoughts

I just came back from starting a load of laundry, tossing in a pair of white pants that I wore to church yesterday. When I got home after having lunch with Judy C. and Michael at Sam's St. Johns Seafood, across from Moosehaven, I changed clothes immediately to get ready for the pool. Every second counts on these summer afternoons since the storms move in and out so quickly. I was going to put my white pants back on the hanger for wearing to The Club on Wednesday night (no denim rule) and what did I see? A big blotch of red on the back of my pants! Oh my goodness! That would give anyone a start but particularly an older female who is well passed that happening. It turned out to be ketchup. Now how did THAT happen? It seems that I had my purse sitting on the floor at my feet in the restaurant and then put my purse on the driver's seat as I went through the political paperwork I had picked up Thursday night to share with Michael. Evidently the ketchup was on the bottom of my purse, and then on my car seat and then on my pants! Yikes! My sister gave me a decorative hook to use for hanging my purse off the table's edge but I never think to use it. I should from now on!

*

My friend, Maggie O., recently appeared in a play in a cameo role at "Players by the Sea" at the Beaches. She played the comedic relief as a maid and was nominated for an award for her efforts. The ceremony, The Pelicans, was held this weekend and Ellen was there to applaud for Maggie, who won in her catagory. Congratulations to Maggie O. for being a came-o! She is a retired drama teacher from Ed White High School and might even have 'worked' with some of her former students in this production!

*

As I was doing the laundry, it occurred to me that I should get some more soap one of these days so I have plenty when Kerry is here. I had to chuckle to myself, remembering those couple of summers that Alayna spent here in Florida, how Kerry was worried about her getting the proper foods. One time she asked Alayna, "Are you eating something other than French fries?" In that same conversation I heard Alayna tell her mom, "All the fruit Kim has here is either wood or plastic....", so when she was off the phone, we got in the car and went to the store for fruit. I gave her a plastic basket and told her to pick out whatever she wanted to eat, in order to be in compliance with her mom's requirements. Alayna does like fruit, in fact, we bought fruit when she was here at Christmas this past year, too. I ended up eating the last two of the apples but gave the extra oranges to Lori and David for their drive home.

*

Kerry is even a more picky eater than I am, with even odder choices than mine. Over the years when we lived in Manitowoc yet, Kerry lived with us. She would buy fish, chubs I believe (no relation) and would eat them, complete with eyes! It would freak me out to open the fridge and have something looking back at me. But when I would make a batch of chocolate chip cookies, I had make a few for her without chocolate chips! She could eat smoked chubs with eyeballs but not chocolate chips!! She likes really spicy food and I do not. She watches blood 'n guts TV programs and I do not. No worries, though, we will work it out! I am going to take her to the fish camps where she can dine on strange fish and I can have fried dill pickles! Kerry also likes to cook but then we miss the social opportunities by eating in, unless I would invite folks to come here. Since I am having a dinner when Lynn and Linda arrive, I likely won't have one when Kerry is here. I want to show her the town!

*

Last week I attempted to watch the VHS movie loaned to me by Randy's wife, Carol, called "Tea with Mussolini" which is filmed primarily in Florence, Italy. She knew I would like to see the familiar sights and such, so I put the movie into my player, which is part of the TV. It kept popping right back out again, sounded like rewinding going on, and out it popped. Finally I got up to see what was happening and pulled the tape out of the player. Ooops!, the tape was caught inside and was now dangling from the case. Not good! It's worse that I borrowed it from someone else and now have to replace an obsolete recording of this movie. Thanks to Amazon.com, mission accomplished! Woo hoo! I have tried putting one of my own videos in for play back and all the machine did was whine, so my guess is, I no longer have a VHS player in my bedroom. The only working one, then, is in the guest room, so if I want to watch the movie, will have to lie on the daybed to do so. That's fine, but not as pleasant, I guess.

*

Regarding the movie, "Eat, Pray, Love", let me answer the question most often asked, "How was it?" I know I can be a pain in the butt about stuff like this but let me say, the Eastern religion stuff was over-the-top for me. Others likely have no problem with it. This movie is based on a true story and if this was her journey, great! Liz, played by Julia Roberts, was a writer in search of herself, and supposedly God. At one point she actually did get down on her knees and attempted to pray to Him, awkwardly. No wonder her life was such a mess, she did not have a good leader! Anyway, in the movie, a 'voice' tells her to go back to bed. She does so, telling her hubby she does not want to be married any more. He ends up broken-hearted and she basically goes on a walk-about for a year, to achieve balance in her life. Of course, starting in Rome is a terrific way to go, as she begins a "carbohydrate conflagration", enjoying the great food, meeting people, learning the language as well as learning to 'let go' and have fun!

*

From Italy she was off to India and then Bali, living in a ashram and scrubbing floors to learn humbleness and such, chanting and meditating, and meeting other non-Indians who are there for the same reason as she. One man, a Texan, was particularly gruff with her, telling her the way it was, and coaching her to forgive herself and forget it, that type of thing. In Bali she meets a few wonderful folks, including a divorced mom with a young daughter for whom Liz raises money so they can have their own home. Liz also meets, by accident, a man who becomes her lover. I liked him myself, as he was openly affectionate with his twenty-something son, crying as he sent his son off to college. Makes points with me! (Here is a secret---in the next book, she is married to Philippe...shhhh!) Oh, I guess it is not a secret, her website shows the follow-up book already. Anyway, the scenery and such is fantastic, especially Italy, but I am prejudiced. Go ahead and see it, and just bear with the chanting and mantras...

*

Well, I guess I had better get moving around here and take care of a few thing neglected over the busy past couple of days. Of course, being away tends to keep things a bit tidier but my dishwasher needs to be run because it smells sour from sitting in this heat with dirty dishes. When the washer or dryer are going, and the dishwasher running, I feel extremely productive! Or, I could get my swimsuit on and go for a dip....It's not raining yet, but it likely will. I have the entire day off so can do whatever I wish. Like always!

Busy last couple of days!

Incredibly so! A mere mortal would not be able to do it, and I, being a mere mortal, am bushed! It feels divine perched on my bed, feet up, with laptop in front of me, watching and enjoying a "House" marathon....ahhhh! Oh, my goodness, what a wild ride it's been!

*

Let's revisit that schedule, in case anything was missed in previous postings: Starting with Thursday, I did my usual ride to the southside for Bible study and lunch with Justin. After being home a while in the afternoon, Martie came over and we went downtown to a political hobnob and then had dinner. Some of my neighbors and I had made plans to watch some planets align, and meteor shower which we thought would take place around 10:00 pm but later we found out it would not be visible here until the wee hours of the morning. My understanding is the cloud cover prevented seeing it, as Ellen stood watch and could not see anything. Fortunately, it was too overcast to see the meteor shower which I likely would have slept through.

*

Friday was the Chamber event at the Carmike theater which Brenda and I attended. Lunch was provided by Carrabba's and there were numerous vendors and displays set up around the lobby to catch our interest. Oh, and ice cream samples from Peterbrooke!!! Brenda and I enjoyed the movie, "Eat, Pray, Love", once I got passed the Eastern religion stuff, and just watched. When that was over, I took Brenda home and then went to my house to pack for my overnight trip to St. Augustine. Suzanne played with the Chamber Orchestra at Trinity Episcopal Church Friday night, and did very well. The place was full, and the audience even joined in singing "Happy Birthday" to both Suzanne and the trumpet players 88 year-old mom!

*

From the concert I drove on down the road to Palm Coast and found my motel easily. After adjusting to the racket of staying at a discount place, I managed to get a few hour's rest before meeting Marian and Biff for breakfast at Perkin's. That is a treat for me, usually enjoyed only when I go to Manitowoc. From the restaurant and a quick stop at Publix, Marian, Biff, and I went to their daughter's home. Christina is not feeling well but managed to serve as an excellent hostess. Maya liked her birthday presents and we spent some time in their brand, new pool before heading for home again.

*

Suzanne's birthday party (party, party, party!) was that late afternoon and evening, with a low-country boil and Boston butt. Talk about yum!!! The Hoyer's were at Suzanne's and we had to laugh when Anne expressed her amazement at the very long hike it was to get there! Probably at least an hour from their house to Suzanne's at Lake Asbury! Jim B. came over, as he lives in the same neighborhood, Jayne and David, and the Pate's, plus others of their family and neighbors. It was a great time! Suzanne walked me to my car and we talked for a bit longer before I said good-bye. The last thing she said was to watch out for deer-----sure enough, if I did not have to stand up on my brakes, sending everything from the back of my car flying, to avoid a deer standing in the road! I am so glad she warned me because I might not have been attentive and seen the deer standing there! I called to tell her about the close call, unreal!

*

After a wonderful night's sleep in my own bed, I was up early running posters and invitations for an event coming up next month. Judy C. wanted 'save the date' notices put up for a Mystery Dinner taking place when Lynn and Linda are here next month. Done! Plus one for the congregation in Keystone Heights. Off to Bible study and worship, with several folks noticeably absent. Judy said that she is telling John and Suzanne no more parties on Saturday nights!!!

*

Emily and I had communion set-up this weekend and she took care of that on Saturday. It was my job to clean everything up afterward so I got busy washing things in the kitchen. Emily helped put away the stuff in the church and came into the kitchen where little Sarah was helping wash the individual glasses by dropping them into the soapy water. Such a help!!! I excused Emily since she'd done much already, as I was prepared to do the clean-up. Judy came in and asked me to lunch, but I refused due to my kitchen duties. She said they would wait and even grabbed a towel to pitch in! Great! We went to Sam's St. Johns Seafood again, as we did last week. Believe it or not, I just love their fried pollack. It was nice of Judy to help out and to be willing to wait for me in the first place.

*

After lunch, I came home and got immediately ready for the pool. It was over cast but plenty warm outside so I knew I would be okay out there. Oh, I forgot to mention that during church, I got a text message from Maggie reporting that it was a bright, beautiful day but no one was at the pool yet, and it appeared the cabana wasn't open. "What gives?", she wanted to know. Obviously I did not answer her and turned the phone off to avoid any more 'message' announcements. Oops! So, I paddled around in the water and ta da!, the sun came out! So did Maggie and later, Gus, who bought a round for the house, or for the pool, as the case might be. He brought down a mess of CDs for Danny to play while we splashed around. Later Ellen came out and Penny walked over from her townhouse and we had ourselves a wonderful, restful time. Until it started to thunder!!

*

The thunder was all talk but was enough to make us come out of the water, not big risk takers we. Just before Danny closed the cabana, he made my dinner for me to take upstairs. When I got back to my condo, I called Sharon S., (she'd left me a message earlier) to let her know I was in from the pool, so I could come over. We had been trying to get together for some time and the 'stars aligned' properly this afternoon to make that happen. She has some difficulties in her life so it was good for us to talk. She has a lovely view of the river from her place, just a bit south of my building, but yet on the property. Her patio is open so the breezes were delightful, with the rain holding off until just moments before I was leaving. Sharon's place is on the second floor so I did some stairs after doing my pool laps! Wow! That's alot of stuff for a weekend, wouldn't you say?

"Are you leaving yet?"

I guess I wore out my welcome, as far as Maya was concerned anyway. Her question made me roar with laughter, perhaps not her mom who was appalled by the question, but the other adults found it amusing. Before I got to my niece, Tina's, house this a.m. after having breakfast with Marian and Biff, Maya was making those on the home front nutso with her regular questioning about when was I getting there and was I going to go swimming with her, and so on. Now that I was there, she changed her tune! She is such a bright little girl and wanted to be the center of attention, not having her mom converse with Marian, me, or her mom-in-law, Joan. I had to laugh, though, and say that this type of thing happens often to me, people asking me 'are you leaving yet"???

*

Little Rayna is just adorable and napped part of the time I was there visiting. She is a bit slow with her speech development but folks come to the girl's day care to work with her, to help her catch up. Rayna, who was two on New Year's Eve, suffered with ear troubles until this past spring when she had tubes put in to remove the excess fluid from her ears, so soon talking should get underway. One must be careful what they wish for....But she is so pretty and has a wonderful smile complete with twinkly eyes. Tomorrow is Maya's actual 4th birthday and the rest of the party will take place but I was glad to be able to spend this time today and get to see Marian and Biff for awhile. Marian and Biff were both lying down when I finally DID leave but I got say 'good-bye' to Marian. While she is now able to walk without benefit of her cane, she still has back and hip troubles which prevent her from enjoying much activity. Not even the pool was fun for her because she was afraid of getting in too deep, despite having hold of flotation devices and getting dizzy if the water moved too much. Joan, the other grandma, is 76 and enjoyed the pool, aside from needing assistance getting in and out of the pool, which had no railing. She still works 5 days a week in a school library and I give her lots of credit for doing that!

*

Maya enjoyed her birthday presents which consisted of butterfly wings to wear on her back, plus fancy ballet slippers complete with matching bracelet. The slippers were a bit large right now, did not come according to sizes, but the wings and bracelet were perfect. She was unsure about the Play Doh thing which was actually an extruder but once someone can sit down and show her how it works, she will have a blast! I hope....Gabe and Manny sure entertain themselves well with Play Doh and I am sure Maya will, too!

*

Last night I stayed in a motel in Palm Coast after Suzanne's concert in St. Augustine. Being more accustomed to staying in a hotel vs. motel, it was tough getting used to commotion going on outside, car doors and room doors banging, people laughing and getting settled in for the night, etc. Eventually I did fall asleep in the very comfy bed and woke up around 7:15 or so, before my alarm went off. Without the sun beaming through the windows, it was hard to tell what time it was!

A photo taken with my phone at the concert last night

*

Suzanne's concert was fabulous, very well done and very well attended. The audience even sang happy birthday to her, accompanied by the 25 piece orchestra. Her children were extremely well behaved in spite of the hour and the venue, and likely slept all the way home! Besides John, Judy, and her kids, the only other person who came besides me was Rachel, from Victory. That was so nice of her, and I thanked her for making the effort. She went up front following the concert to check out the pipe organ which serves Trinity Episcopal. Awesome! Today is Suzanne's birthday party so in an hour or so, I will be heading to Lake Asbury to join the fun at her low country boil and bbq! Whoo hoo!!!

Getting up early

I was soooo tired when I got home last night, although still somewhat early, that I immediately got ready for bed. Two nights in a row! Wheeee, I know I have an exciting life!

*

Because I went to bed and went to sleep so much earlier than usual, I was awake a bit earlier than usual. I switched the station over to Fox News to see what was going on in the world just in time to catch Brian interviewing the Commandant of West Point, as this year's freshman class was showing up for duty. It was a fascinating interview, showing much of the campus and sights, talked about the links of chain remaining from when this gigantic chain was manufactured to stretch across the Hudson to keep the British from advancing during the Revolutionary War. Now I kick myself, as does Justin kick himself, that we did not go sooner to visit JR when he was a student there and get the full tour. Mona did say that even if we had gone we likely would have little time to spend with JR so I guess that is part of the reason we did not go. Even with their son being there, John and Mona would get little face time with JR when they would visit, due to their training. They would occasionally go to see him compete in powerlifting events which was great. The best powerlifter West Point ever had--it's true! I read it in their publications! The entire interview and glances in the 'guest book' signed by dignitaries all the way back to the early 1800's can be found at http://video.foxnews.com/v/4309704/web-exclusive-from-west-point

*

Thursday began the start of a very full next few days. In the morning I drove to Victory where I met Justin for Bible study and then went to lunch. He requested Applebee's because his friend, Jay, was working that day, so I finally got to meet him. Jay is moving back home to Cincinnati soon and is giving himself a going-away party tonight. He is quite the cook so they guys will eat good. After dropping Justin off at church again to fetch his car, I headed back home to work on the computer before Martie got here. I needed mapquest directions to the church in St. Augustine (although not really because I know where it is) and then made a reservation at a hotel in Palm Coast. From the hotel I got directions to Perkin's Restaurant in PC, and then from there to Tina's house. Saturday morning I am planning to meet Marian and Biff, my in-laws from South Florida, for breakfast. They are coming up for little Maya's birthday party which is on Sunday and having them meet me for breakfast Saturday will give Tina a little break, too. I decided rather than run up and down I-95 all weekend long, I would simply stay (found a three-star hotel for less than $60 a night!) and save the wear/tear on myself and my car.

*

Okay, that taken care of, when Martie arrived here after work, we headed downtown for a political hobnob where candidates from dog catcher to Senator were represented. Local and state level, and many from Duval County which interested Martie. Her hubby wanted to do the early voting which began on Monday, I think, but she wanted to wait until after this hobnob to get a better feel for things. Well, I certainly know the way downtown but somehow I ended up going a different way. It had been on the news and on-line about the lane shifts at the interchange of I-10 and I-95 but I goofed anyway. Yikes! We went across the Fuller Warren bridge, then, exited on San Marco and then headed back across the river on the Main Street Bridge, coming out right where we needed to be. On the way home, the roads were still in 'construction' mode so I knew exactly where to go! I didn't think the notices and reminders about lane shifts applied to me!

*

My mom likes to remember the time we left the concert hall after hearing the symphony and I accidentally took I-95 south instead of going to I-10 west. I had parked in the handicap spaces that night instead of in the garage where I normally parked and got into the wrong lane....We added many miles to our trip home with me calling Martie's son, the policeman, for directions, but before he could answer me, I saw a sign for Sunbeam Road and knew exactly where I was! Whew! So, ever since then, Mom thinks I am always lost. When I bought my new car in 2006 (it's a 2007), a JEEP Compass, I was so surprised that it did not come with a compass. I even went back to the dealership and had the salesman look it all over to find out where the compass was! No dice, no compass!

*

Oh, there is Tiger Woods playing golf in Sheboygan! Actually it is in Kohler, WI, but near enough to Sheboygan. This is big times for the counties around Whistling Straits, even bringing business to Jill's ice cream parlor, Cedar Crest, with the giant cow standing out front. Folks do not soon forget that! Dee's husband, Blair, informed us that Whistling Straits looks like Scotland but plays like America, something he heard a golf expert declare. Since the weather has been unusually warm up there, I wonder how they will fare this season, although Mom reported that the start of play was delayed yesterday due to dense fog!

*

Okay, back to my early night....Because we had done lots of walking and standing as part of the political event last night, I was kaput when I got home, even my arms were tired for some reason. Plans had been made Wednesday night during the Happy Hour to watch the meteor shower Thursday from the roof of Ellen's unit, accessed by climbing over a short wall from Nancy's terrace. We were going to bring blankets and lie on our backs to watch the planets align and then the meteor shower. Well, Nancy called me about 9:30 with news that the meteor shower would be visible to us in the wee hours of the morning, around 2:30 a.m. or so. Donna, one of our other neighbors, was planning to make a night of it and stay up for the show, and offered to call us all when it was going on. I declined, nicely, the offer and breathed a sigh of relief that at 10:00 I would find myself in my bed instead of lying on the roof at Ellen's waiting for the star show! I would like to have been star-struck, but not at that hour of the morning...yawn!

*

Yesterday much of the news was about the housing disaster in Atlanta, East Point to be precise, where mobs of people showed up at the Housing Authority to get put on a wait-list for Section 8 housing. The authorities 'expected' about 10,000 people but got three times that many which resulted in an angry mob, fighting, folks passing out from the heat, kids going to the bathroom where they stood so no one would lose their place in line, putrid mess left behind. TV footage taken from the air gave a better look, or worse look, with hoards of folks trying to get an application for gov't. assisted housing, just to be put on the waiting list! One of our members at church was looking for this type of housing and claimed the closest place she could find was in Middleburg. We Bible study ladies were astounded when she told us this because it seems there are several 'areas' in Orange Park and the Westside but then we found out it was because of her dog that she was having troubles. Yikes!

*

Well, today is the movie premier event and Chamber of Commerce fund raiser at Carmike to which I am taking Brenda. "Eat, Pray, Love" is the movie, and I cannot wait to see Italy again. Dee thinks the 'pray' part might have to do with Eastern religions because the heroine, Julia Roberts, visits Bali and India as well, but I am going to see Italy and eat some Carrabba's, and probably do a little crying! After that, I will come home to pack for my overnight trip to St. Augustine and Palm Coast. This is the link for the concert where Suzanne is debuting---http://www.firstcoastnews.com/life/community/news-article.aspx?storyid=162871&catid=54

*

Today is Suzanne's 40th birthday, celebrating on Friday the 13th with this concert appearance 'on the road' and culminating tomorrow with a parasail ride to celebrate. But wait---there's more----Sunday she is having a low country boil and Boston butt roast party at her home at Lake Asbury. Sooo looking forward to that, too, but this full, full weekend leaves me little time at my pool. I can enjoy the pool at Tina's tomorrow so I won't be totally without, but I am substituting other social time for my pool time. My knees might thank me, or not. It could go either way! Time for me to go "Eat, Pray, Love", or at least, the Eat and Love parts!

Recent photos

This is part of the pie I made from the remnants of the freezer and fridge. It scored an 8 on the ugly scale but a 12 on the tasty scale! Who says pie has to be eaten in wedges???

This is the underside of my river room chair, losing its lining likely due to heat and wind. If I tried to grab the 'fabric' to pull it off, the material dissolved in my hands, like grabbing bubbles!

Yesterday I looked up from my desk to see this lovely vessel moving past the building on the river. It put me in mind of a paddle-wheeler or river boat. There was just something majestic about it as it made its way toward Green Cove Springs....