Bracing for the cold

...yet in my house, snug and warm. Too warm for Justin, at least this was so in my room when he was here vacuuming. I have been waiting for him to come and vacuum ever since I got back from WI. Even though he is currently not working regularly, it is hard to book him! Of course, because he is not working regularly, he is not over on this side of town as often either. We attended Bible study this a.m., finishing the interesting study of trials and tribulations in the lives of believers, of all people, really. Our faith in the Lord and His promises are what help us deal with what life brings our way. The closing passage today was from Rev. 21: " 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” That one always gets me, and today was not different.

Yesterday one of my friends was talking about having bbq which made me want some, so I proposed to Justin that we have that for lunch. On the way to Fleming Island he said, "I was really hungry for some Koko's....." which also works with me, so that is where we went! The little waiter is usually working at dinner or on weekends but got called in today, and was so excited that he saw us at lunch. Wow! Who knew? He took good care of us, and told us twice how he really was not supposed to be there but was after all and was so glad he came in....I gave him a nice tip for all his fussing. Due to a time crunch, we did not go into Great Hang Ups---boo hoo hoo!

Justin was coming to do the vacuuming and other things for me but had to leave about half way through his chores to help his father with something. In the meanwhile, Connie, our maintenance lady, came up to use the bathroom and warm up at bit. I had told her that any time she wants to use my house she is free to. After she was done in the bathroom, Connie took the garbage bags down for Justin, and me. It was in the low 40's today, starting out below freezing and I wanted Connie to know she can come inside to have her lunch and go potty instead of using the bathroom at the pool. Talk about cold!

When Justin came back, it was almost getting dark and he flew through the house carrying the canister vacuum, which he prefers to do rather than pull it behind him. Earlier I asked him if he saw the dust bunnies in my room and he said he had not because he was not "anal retentive". Oh, I wonder if that's what he really wanted to say to his mama....it might have slipped out. Later, he asked me if my sweaters were making the dust bunnies because he found a big one in the guest room. Laughing, I asked the question which needed to be asked about being a.r., and said the blanket in the guest room might have made the dust bunnies in there. Cotton blankets do this, but in my room, I am not sure of the cause. The bunnies have been herded together now and vacuumed up, all clear. He had to hurry 'home' for dinner as the mistress of the house where he stays was cooking. Great excitement! I gave him my container of pasta fagioli as his contribution to the dinner, since I had leftovers from Koko's, Cracker Barrel, and Aron's in the fridge. Also he took the remainder of the vegetable soup with him, so now my refrigerator is bit emptier and recognizable as mine!

When leaving, Justin did a fancy balancing act carrying his laundry hamper, a box from his room, plus the food boxes. I talked him into using the elevator instead of the stairs so he would not take a tumble. Evidently he made it home safe and sound, because a little while ago he sent me a text message reminding me that "Selling New York"'s premier is on tonight. Yay!!! I do 'wait' for a TV show in my old age, and this is it! Justin has been hinting about going to New York to see "Spiderman" on Broadway. That would really not be my thing but he says the theaters are walking distance apart if we split up...he knew without my saying which show I would go to see----again. On the way to Koko's he told me he had an earworm of "Masquerade" running through his head since I sang it to him on Sunday. Only part of it, but enough to stick in his brain! I guess if push came to shove, I could sit through Spiderman but might be wishing I was at "The Phantom..."!

Tonight we are expecting record cold temperatures again, not seen at this time of year in over 20 years. I would likely go to the cemetery tomorrow and hope that it is not too chilly when I do. Sunday I will have flowers for the cemetery after church and the meeting. Not sure if Justin will be around much these coming days but will join me at Sweet Tomatoes for Timmy's birthday. He reminded me about spending the night at the Dohner's after we left the hospital the night Timmy died, something I had somewhat forgotten about over the years. Only recently did they reach out to me again via Facebook and I rejoice over that. In the waiting room that night, when the doctors came in to tell us Timmy was dead, Amanda D. flew into Mom's lap and just hugged and hugged her, crying her heart out. Never before and never since had Amanda demonstrated her feelings for Mom but that night, they all poured out. Amanda asked me for my mailing address because she wants to send me something and I will now watch the mailbox to see what it brings me!

Something’s rotten in Denmark

There she goes again---quoting from Shakespeare! The quote is modified from “in the state of Denmark” and I cannot say if I ever heard it said on “Seinfeld”. Ever since I have gotten home from WI and worked at this desk, I can smell something funky. Perhaps my trash can had something icky in it? Nope, changed the bag and such and I can yet smell it. My keyboard is free of trapped food items as is the sliding tray upon which it sits. Maybe my slippers need washing? Yesterday after my shower and an entirely fresh suit of clothes, I still smelled it. Under the desk is my footstool and a cloth bag and at this writing am blaming the footstool. The shawl Justin gave me for CHRISTmas is odorless, so I am accusing my footstool. Guess I will need some Febreze sprayed on the stool to see if that helps, or I could set it outside to become refreshed. It is ancient, being made my former spouse’s grandmother, using large juice cans and upholstery fabric for assembly.

Earlier today I enjoyed some of the yummy dehydrated vegetables picked up from Fresh Market by Ellen, who was shopping last night. Even though I tried to pay her for getting this for me, she would not accept my money (your money is no good here, she told me!). Ellen did not want to stand in the way of my eating vegetables, even if they are dehydrated.

When she brought them by, I gave her the candy which I had bagged up for her, the angel food and the non-pariels which I had picked up from the convenience store in Manty Rapids. Last year I had found the homemade candies there and hoped against hope they would again this season---and they did!! Ellen absolutely LOVED the angel food (fairy food or sponge candy) as it stirred memories of her youth in Boston. She said they did not sell it with chocolate on the outside, though; they bought only the sponge portion. It puzzled me how one could take hold of the candy and she admitted quickly that it was sticky. I am going to see if I can score some ‘good stuff’ from Beernsten’s in Manitowoc. It comes in a mixture of milk and dark chocolate which is grand because I like the dark and she likes milk chocolate, as a rule. This is going to be fun!

Tonight is Bible study, or rather, a class, at Good Shepherd which Judy J. and I are going to attend, after first having dinner at Cracker Barrel. Her idea, not mine, but who cares, right? I had a dinner roll with butter today, plus some of my veggies, and this late afternoon, a bowl of sherbet, to cleanse my palate for dinner! I may have had a cookie or two for breakfast, or brunch, rather, with my usually early-in-the-day vitamins and other good stuff in green bottles.

As much as I hated to do it, I ventured out to the bank to make a deposit and fortunately, did not freeze my buns off. Guess that should really be ‘unfortunately’! In fact, while in my car, I got too warm with the heated seat on so turned that off and dialed the temperature cooler. However, everywhere I went, the bushes and plants are wrapped or covered, bracing for the below freezing temperatures expected tonight. I offered to drive Judy and me tonight but she refused, even though I have heated seats! She assured me her car would be nicely warmed when she picks me up and I hope they have a log on the fire at Cracker Barrel!

Last night, in response to being summoned by my friend, Mary Lew, I attended The Club’s member’s meeting. Mary Lew is the one who loaned me books and video tapes during the summer, my 'reading mentor'. She lured with me free appetizers and wine. She could have the wine, but I liked the appetizers just fine. Plus she had a gift for me! Having never attended such a meeting, I was not sure what to expect but it was somewhat informal, with the Board asking for comments or complaints from the floor. Hugh gave his appreciation of looking out over the beautified grounds and freshly painted Club, complimenting the care given in recent years. When it seemed as though no one else was going to speak, I raised my hand and leapt to my feet. I went on and on about how much I enjoyed the cabana and pool area in the summer, the extended hours, the variety on the menu (even though I have the same thing all the time!), the special events at the pool, the water aerobics, and so on. Many folks chuckled because they know how much I enjoy that area of the property and I was thanked for my comments. Others mentioned the Happy Hour events, and tonight, though I will miss it, is a mini-buffet included in the fun. We only wish more folks would come for these events!

Mary Lew gave me my present, and I was so glad she told me she had one for me, so I had one for her as well. Thankfully I bought these lovely book marks at Great Hang Ups with jewels hanging off of them. Since she is a book reader, on the order of Linda J., she appreciated her book mark. She gave me a book, by Nora Ephron, as a follow-up to “I Feel Bad About My Neck”, called “I Remember Nothing”, also about the effects of aging gracefully. We shall see how gracefully. Linda and I had talked about this when I was in WI and now I have it!!! The book is so apropos because today when Mary Lew called me, she asked me if I was much of a reader…….oh my…..

Insert me into this music video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-Z3YrHJ1sU

For those of you able to access this video, please watch it for the scenery and disregard the people in swim wear. At first when you see it, there will be a white box over the video but it goes away. I have photos of many of these same sights, and watching this video fills me with longing to see Mykonos again, but will simply use my photos and scrapbooks for my traveling! Oh, and this video! As always, you can click on the photograph to enlarge it....

Here I am in my element, enjoying the cafe as I look out over the harbor. Off to my left is the blue domed church seen in the video, right on the shore. It is seen, somewhat small, at 3:56 on the counter of the video.

This photo speaks for itself........

This is the photo I used for my customized mouse pad and address labels. That is my house up there on the hill....see it?

Gorgeous!

Does this date mean anything to anyone?

It does to my sister-in-law, Mona, whose birthday is today: 1/11/11. For her, she is another year older on a cool line up of numbers. Her daughter, Allie, enjoyed her 18th birthday yesterday. Allie posted on Facebook that everyone should watch CNN (ew!) on Sunday because her brother, JR, who called from Afghanistan to wish her a happy birthday, reported that something BIG was happening in Afg. and he would be on TV Sunday. He could not release any information but this a.m. on Fox and Friends, I saw that Biden was in Afghanistan visiting the training centers and the troops, which is what JR does, so..............let's put the pieces of this puzzle together!

When the group was at lunch yesterday, Olive Garden, I mentioned about the preschool being closed for a few days due to the water supply line breaking. No one, except Michael, knew about the pipe problem and who came to fix it. Jackie, sitting next to me, said, "You were gone for two weeks and know more about what was going on than we do, and we were here!" When in WI, I saw a FB posting from Cindy S. that she had an extra day off during the week because of the water pipe breaking. WHAT??? I jumped all over that and when she did not immediately post back to me, I called her to find out what was going on. Broken water pipes get my attention, believe me. It turns out the break, likely from the cold, was near the street, and once determined it was not the County's responsibility, although they did shut it off, it was on the church to make the repair.

GS has a "resident plumber" normally used for repairs but he was not going to be available until Saturday....it would not work for the building, for the preschool or church office, to have no water for several days. Another plumber was called to make the repair and I understand water was back on in a day or two. How that affects the finances and such of the preschool I am not sure but it certainly caused a great inconvenience for the families who used the preschool for their holiday childcare. Yikes! As I talked to Cindy, she suddenly realized that I thought the water pipe had broken inside and that stuff was damaged, etc. Whew! She apologized for not making that immediately clear and scaring me. Can you even imagine all the stuff which could be damaged by sitting in water in that classroom? To say nothing of the church office??? Oh my!

On Monday I was grinding because I was weary of the wind whipping the trees and making white caps on the river, but today, I cannot even see the water for all the fog. As Gabe would say, "It is as thick as mushroom soup out there"! The trees are not even moving right now, so I got my wish. Justin has to go clean out a model home today, postponed from yesterday because of the terrible weather. I am not sure if the fog affects areas other than the along the water. My friend, Stephanie, has her parents here from WI, in the photo posted yesterday, and they had to delay their departure due to the terrible weather north of here. Friends in NC, TN, and GA are off because of having snow days again this week, and Kerry, in Oshkosh, reported inches of snow on her car already this a.m. I suggested that Stephanie bring her folks over here for a visit and maybe now she will have time to do just that!

Like others, I am following the shooting incident which took place in AZ on Saturday. How terrible that a crazy young man cut loose on these people, killing several including a child and a Federal Judge. The others killed, aside from the Congresswoman's aide, Gabe Zimmerman, have either not been named or the families have asked to remain anonymous. Hopefully that is the case and not that they are ignored, over shadowed by the more well-known folks. I think about that every time there are discussions about 9/11's terror attacks because not only New York was hit, so was the Pentagon in Washington, DC, plus the folks who took down the plane in PA. It is as if the other two planes and the lost lives do not matter, but they sure do to the families and friends of those who died or were seriously injured that day.

On a cruise once, I read a book from the ship's library about a woman who survived but was seriously injured when the one of the WTC towers came down, the story written by her spouse in letter form. "Love, Greg and Lauren" was the book, and I did hear later that she had been on "Oprah" some time after her recovery from the burns she suffered. Let us not forget the wounded folks, those not mentioned in the news reports from AZ, and the families of those who lost loved ones in this tragedy. It makes one wonder who among us is ready to bust, like that shooter did. Whether he used a gun or a bomb or a knife or his car, he was a young man seriously in need of some help, and it was missed or overlooked.

Last night, after changing my plans to have dinner with Martie, I was enjoying a bowl of my homemade vegetable soup with a dinner roll. The doorbell rang, and as best I could without hurting my knee, I ambulated to the kitchen to see who was there. It was Cassidy, my downstairs neighbor, standing there with a container from the Olive Garden. Her mom and she had ordered food to go from there and when they got home, found they had gotten the pasta fagioli soup rather than the vegetarian choice they preferred. So, she gave it to me! The Olive Garden gave her the correct soup, after she had to run back over to get it, but I also sent along a portion of my veggie soup for them. Now I have a partial kettle of my soup, plus a container from O.G., a few slices of Pizza Hut meat lovers, and my stromboli from Aron's, enjoyed with Jessica and Beckham. Cassidy said they had no food in their house, and it seems for a change, I do! Judy J. took home the leftover pizza that Jessica had brought by on Saturday night or I'd have more food yet. I even bagged up some cookies for Cassidy and her mom to enjoy, they being left from Judy C.'s tray of treats on Saturday. How fun to be able to reciprocate once in a while!

Which is noisier----my tummy or the wind?

Justin took this photo of me yesterday at Clark's Fish Camp where their remodeling continues. One can see the plumbing pipes in place on the right beyond the sign, which means they will likely be putting the bathrooms back where they were. But the structure is built up on legs, which will hopefully prevent water from rising into the stalls! I am sporting my fur cap and matching collar. Silly me---I wore an animal print hat and collar to Clark's so people kept coming over to our table to take my photo, like they did the rest of the animals in the restaurant!

This photo was taken Tuesday night at Johnny Angel's Trivia Game. Justin's friends came to join the fun: from left is Ron, Josh, and next to Justin is Sarah, Ron's girlfriend. Next to Josh is Anthony, a friend of Erica's, then Erica, Stephanie, plus her dad, Dale and mom Jean (who are from Janesville) and then Chantey, me and my Justin!! What a group and yet, we did not win!

Or is the thunder noisier? Earlier I posted on Facebook about the wind, rain, and thunder but now it seems to have passed. Not the wind portion, that continues, but the rain ended and I hear no more thunder. Before 6:00 a.m. I was awake for no apparent reason and have been listening to the wind whip the trees. The fourth day of such winds. I caught a glimpse of two white egrets, flying up much higher than ordinary, battling the breeze outside my windows. I should be getting up to ready for the day, but am also saving my steps for Bible study and lunch since my knee began to act up during the day on Sunday. The ice pack, ibuprofen, and caution really did the trick but I am most cautious not to mess it up again.

Oh, what a game that was! The team made me very nervous last night, sometimes had me thinking they were going to blow it. Could have happened, too, if the Eagles had gotten a TD and gone ahead by one point. Fortunately a Packer player intercepted what would have been a touch down pass, and saved the day! David, my bro-in-law, works for WinCraft in Winona, MN and David wrote: "ideally, GB/N.O. win, then GB beats ATL and CHI beats NO... the best ever NFC Championship game in the century!" There are no fans like Packer fans, I aver! Justin attended a Jaguar game when the Eagles came to play and he said they were the worst! Boorish behavior and all that….not nice!

Now, I am home again after Bible study and lunch, not at Longhorn after all. Because of the bad weather, Gretchen did not venture across the bridge so we could safely go across the parking lot to the Olive Garden instead. The world is upside down now, for sure! Most of us had the soup and salad lunch, but Michael, our Bible study leader, had a regular entrée. We all received a gift card from the manager worth $5 off two entrees so we will have to return another time, either as a group or with others.

Soup was wonderful on such a cold wet day, as we were thoroughly drenched leaving the class and going to our cars, and then from the cars to the restaurant.I should have remembered when parking my car at church that this part of the parking lot where I pulled in ALWAYS floods when it rains. The water was over the top of my shoes and dampened the bottoms of my pants legs. Brrrrr…..over 50 degrees but the wind and rain made it feel incredibly cooler.

The soup did help, though. I thought of Pete Prange as we were given our Andes Candy mints after lunch, although he has been close to my thoughts anyway, as we approach ‘the week’….When I was looking in my wallet for my library card (we were discussing them at lunch), I showed Betty S. the photo of Justin and Timmy I carry in my wallet. She admired them both and mentioned the dimples in Timmy’s cheeks. Of course, I had to tell her that he got those from me, but my pants cover mine…..She found that amusing, so I did not have to laugh alone.

My suitcase remains out, not yet entirely emptied of its contents. A few odds ‘n ends remain inside but the clothing has been removed. A blessing for me occurred when doing the wash the other day---my grape colored turtleneck had gotten a stain or two on the front but did not come out in Mom’s washer. I did not pre-treat the spots and it was dried in the dryer on top of that. Well, I figured there was nothing to lose in trying it again once home, so I sprayed the stains with Shout, let it sit overnight and rewashed the shirt. Sure enough, the spots were gone! The other option in a case such as this is to simply wear the shirt backward since it would not matter in most cases. I am just so glad the spots came out and I can wear my clothes the right way!

On the way home from church and lunch yesterday, I decided to stop at Winn-Dixie to get raspberry sherbet for consuming during the football game. I got into the habit of enjoying raspberry sherbet when at Mom’s house, originally purchased because sherbet was the only thing which felt good on my throat. At that time I had no appetite and food had no taste, but the sherbet did feel good and taste just fine. Mom also purchased mint chocolate chip ice cream but it took me until just before my departure to finish the sherbet. My mom loves her ice cream so it was no problem to leave the mint ice cream unconsumed. So, anyway, the sherbet was priced on sale at 3 for $5.00 but my better reason prevailed and I took only one container. Sadly, it was all frosty on the outside, and later, I discovered the inside of the container was also frosty. Really, I don’t like that, having had something frozen/defrosted/refrozen but the taste of the sherbet was unaffected. The texture was a bit icy, but the taste and flavor fine. But, I must say, the brand from Mom’s store, Festival Foods, was a better quality. Which might be why this was 3 for $5!

Our sleepy town of Orange Park, okay, maybe not so sleepy anymore, suffered another tragic loss. It was on the news yesterday about the accidental death of a young woman a few years behind Justin in school, who was shot. Not like what happened in AZ with the shooting rampage. It was another student from this area showing his new rifle accessories to his buddy in the parking lot. The gun discharged, apparently, with the bullet passing through his friend’s hand, and striking Ashley in the chest. Not sure about all the details of the incident, but know she and her twin sister both graduated from St. Johns, as did their sister who was with Justin’s class. Both girls attend FSU where this occurred. Apparently they had just returned to school after the ‘winter break’… now it was late at night/early morning and some questions remain, of course. But this is so terribly sad a situation, what appears to be entirely an accident, a horrible one. Since I do not normally watch local news, I got this information first via Facebook, when a friend of mine extended her sympathies to the family for their loss. From there I looked on-line and found the story.

Later last night, then, my friend, Sandy, called from Chattanooga to see if I had heard the news. She had already read about it on-line so we had nothing new to add, other than to express our sorrow over the loss to the family. Sandy also told about the inclement weather heading their way (Olivia, Grandma, and Sandy are all up there in the mountains) and school had been called off for today already. I heard from others via Facebook about school closings and snow days today. At least we do not have to shovel this rain and gloom. But I do have to dry my shoes!

Biding my time before the game

It is quite windy outside (glad it is outside, right??) and a bit grey now although the day started out with sun. Only 48 above zero, it feels very nippy so I was able to take the fur hat and collar from Justin, with my red coat, when I went to church. The hat was not applied to my head until after church so that my hair was not smooshed under it. Pastor Hoyer is timely in his sermons with incorporating current news, and today was no exception. The text was from Isaiah 42 and talked about righteousness and justice. Knowing he wrote that sermon well before the events of yesterday in AZ, he managed to bring that tragic incident in, showing how nothing's really changed since Isaiah wrote this under the Spirit's direction. We also witnessed the adult baptism of the pre-k staff member, which is so cool to see.

I was able to see Suzanne and family at church but they had gone to the first service. Even with stopping at Wal*Mart after church, they got back home before noon. That is with an almost hour long drive each direction! The unfortunate part of this is there being no Bible study on Sunday, plus the kids leave church after the readings for 'children's church' in the kitchen. That is intended to make up for no Sunday school for the kids, and, to make up for no Bible study, various groups meet during the week to go over the sermon and discuss it. At this time, I will say, that would not be for me. At this time...

Kansas City is playing the Ravens and I got to see Michael Oher, of "The Blind Side" fame. He got a penalty, which is what drew my attention to him. There are white caps on the river, which proves just how windy it is. Yesterday the wind was making whistling noises on something on our building, not sure exactly what it was. Perhaps a rain gutter or a light fixture? Anyway, it certainly seems bitter out there! On Saturday, Jessica and Travis had an open house in their unit with the Realtor reporting a couple people coming by to check it out. I wish them well in selling it, but for selfish reasons, want them to stay. Now that a second baby is on the way, more space for a yard is needed, a regular house instead of condo-living for this growing family.

Two Judys were here for "Dinner and a Movie" last night, watching "Cinderella Man" instead of "Mathilda" as originally planned. Judy C. brought a tray full of cookies, trying to get them out of her freezer, and our dinner was homemade vegetable soup by yours truly. About midway through the movie, I heard someone at the door. There stood Jessica with a Domino's pizza in her hands, for us! They had ordered from there for dinner and did the buy one/get one deal, from which we benefited. Jessica knew I had company and brought it to us for intermission. We did just that, paused the movie and each had a slice of pizza! Judy J. took the balance home with her for lunch today. I have the best neighbors!

Judy C. had never seen Cinderella Man and said she liked it. It had been years since Judy J. and I had seen this movie so it was fresh for us as well. Some of the language was a bit much, often calling on the Lord at inappropriate times and some name-calling but nothing vulgar. We were likely more aware of it due to the captioning being on, the three of us prefer the captioning, so then we not only hear the bad words but read them also. Jim Braddock did not use the bad language, his manager and the other fighters did. What a great story and so timely, with the 'great recession' presently going on and such. He showed noble character, demonstrated hard work, and that he would do anything to take care of his family. And when he made it big again, he paid back all the 'welfare' he received! To the penny!

Earlier in my day, I made the rounds to various stores from where I had made purchases to return some items. My first stop was Steinmart where I received excellent customer service (i.e. no hassle, no sass), and the same at Kohl's. However, at Catherine's in Orange Park, I experienced rudeness and behavior unacceptable from store clerks. When I go in and spend upwards of a $100, they could not be more pleasant, but when I return an inexpensive pair of slacks, poor customer service and manners abound. I was truly a delight to work with, I don't know what her problem was!!!

While out, I stopped at the cemetery to check on things but did not find Timmy's little tree. I fear the winds relocated it, possibly a couple weeks ago already. As I told Justin, I don't like the idea that my stuff is making a mess at the cemetery but there is no way to prevent it in these winds. Folks artificial flower bouquets were rolling around and there was no way I could tell whose was whose to put them back. The vases were all okay, which was my concern, nothing there for me to worry about. Next week will mark 10 years since we had to go there to buy the burial plots and make the arrangements----imagine that!

Linda O. wants to get together for lunch or dinner next week, as does Rita. Monday is Bible study at GS with lunch at Longhorn and Martie wants to meet for dinner at the same place. I might ask her to reconsider but it is not really a huge problem for me.

2011 is the Year of Debunking!

Such a funny word--debunk. There is a "Seinfeld" episode where one of the guys, likely George, kept saying "debunk" and the other guys were getting after him, telling him he only used it because he liked how it sounded. This a.m. there was a segment on 'debunking' myths regarding women and their care, such as drinking water does nothing for your skin moisture (oil, either from internal or external sources will, though), crossing your legs will not cause varicose veins, and if you have cellulite, you can thank your mom for it, not necessarily your diet or exercise. The other 'big' debunking came this week as the study done linking children's vaccinations to autism was found to be faulty. The scientist in Great Britain did not conduct his testing or run his program properly. It was again on the TV news this a.m. and on the radio programs much of the week. Emotions run high on this subject, partly due to the parents being so very frustrated and desperate to try to find an answer to this mystery. Last year the big 'debunking' was in science, with the global warming theory being exposed for showing false data. When is data not data? When it's fabricated, I guess. One of the ladies at church (GS) is totally convinced the polar bears are dying, because she saw it on PBS!

There was supposed to be a seminar at Victory today regarding finances but it was cancelled since fewer than ten people had signed up for it. It might have been the cost that prevented folks from coming, or just too close to the holidays yet, but I hope that it is offered again. I did not sign up either but was going to on Thursday. An e-mail came yesterday saying it was postponed but instead folks are invited to come and undecorate. This congregation, or some of the members, anyway, decorate for Christmas right after Thanksgiving but I am glad they leave the decorations in place until after Epiphany. The e-mail also reported the baptism tomorrow for Tori, a young lady who watches the pre-k kids in the afternoons, who was never baptized as a child. Also, six new people are being welcomed as members, all by affirmation of faith. Pastor Hoyer reported over 250 people in church for the CHRISTmas Eve children's program. Victory is growing by leaps and bounds, due in no small part to their opening the preschool.

Justin stopped in on his way to the office yesterday to drop off some of my groceries which went home with him on Thursday. He came into my room, asked me to pause my radio program, and placed his iPad in front of me. (He got this 'want' for CHRISTmas from his father...he knows it is not a 'need'). Thursday he had me listen to a tune/song and it was running through his head, couldn't figure out if it was French, or New Orleans-flavored, or what. Well, he found it on youtube.com and hit the PLAY button for me. The music video was done in Mykonos, Greece, and was just like being there!!!! My photographs seemingly came to life, and the memories of my times there flowed back, as tears ran down my face. The music and 'actor's only got in the way. The musician was Romanian, not even close to French, by the way. He could show it to me in High Definition, which was simply gorgeous, and in some of the views, cruise ships were visible in the harbor. I saw 'my' cafes, 'my' doorways, 'my' urns, 'my' white with blue or red trim structures, the blue-domed churches...Oh my! I asked Justin when he found the video and was surprised he had not sent me the link the night before when he located it. He said, "I wanted to show you in person....." That's my boy!!!! The link was then posted by me on Facebook, where I offered to take folks with me on vacation via the video! Almost like being there, except, no jet lag coming back! (Along the left column of my homepage you will see a photo or two of Mykonos).

A year or so ago, one of my friends from Victory loaned me a book about birth order but, since I stink at reading, never got around to cracking it open. Someone else was waiting to read it so I gave it back, saying I would borrow it again another time. This must be typical behavior for middle kids, or would I actually be the oldest? I can go either way, since my older sisters came from different moms or dads than did we three younger ones, of which I was first. An author is on F & F talking about his book on birth order, mentioning famous folks and their birth order, and of course, the fact that "onlies rule". (Justin would qualify in the "oldest child rules", which the author described before "only" children). Everything he said about the oldest child was true times 100 for only children. They rule! Allison was beside herself as an only, with the male host, Dave, being the baby in his family. He was 'privileged' compared to his siblings, it seems, according to the author, and would exhibit more artistic leanings. Interesting! The reason my friend had the birth order book and was sharing it was because she was taking her mom into her home, Miss Betty, and was the child who basically was NOT the favorite. But was the best choice for offering care and a home to her mom. Interesting, again. Her sisters or brothers were not the natural choice, somehow. I never did find out where in the order of birth Audrey fell, though.

There was a shocking story in the local news on-line yesterday regarding robbers taking the brass vases from the cemetery where Timmy is buried. Somehow I did not get in my car to head over there, however, but might do that today. Justin had taken the little CHRISTmas tree to the site for me, since I was so ill, and removed the tired bouquet from the vase, but am not sure if he put the vase upside down into the marker or not. Since they are made of copper, folks can sell them to be melted down. Would these be grave robbers, without taking the bodies? I have some purchases to be returned to the department stores so can make a stop at the cemetery on my way through. It was nippy out yesterday, and quite windy here although it was bright and sunshining. Jessica, my upstairs neighbor, called me to go to dinner with her last night so I eventually did go out, going to Aron's for our meal. She and her little guy, Beckham, had cheese pizza, and I had my stromboli. It was his first taste of pizza and he liked it! He also had some homemade baby food and some mango puree but liked the pizza better, it seemed. Me, too!