Rain at last

One day I was telling Mom how badly rain was needed around these parts due to the high burn danger. She reminded me that I had written about being tired of the rain but actually much time had passed between the days of rain and days of no rain. There has been little precipitation of consequence since mid-February and wild fires are being fought in this area. Smoke has filled the area down the river, coming from GA as has happened in the past. When I drove to Palm Coast last week I saw lots of places along the highway where the woods have been burned. It does look so sad to see the stubble remaining....

I just came back from the kitchen and heard rain on the walkway so it is doing what was predicted but not nearly as torrential as expected. That's a good thing! Who wants hail anyway? Today there were plumbers on the property with the water shut off for the entire compound to repair a slow leak near The Club. The water was to have been shut off around 9:00 a.m. but was still on when I left for Bible study. It came back on around 4:00 pm because I could hear it filling my toilet. Immediately I went to flush the potty and then went to the kitchen to wash my wastebasket. Just then Connie called me, instructing me to run cold water in the kitchen sink and then flush my toilet. Oh oh.....too late! And I had done that in reverse order! Now what? She assured me it was not a problem, but the water in the toilet would run brown for a while, which is why it was suggested to run the kitchen faucet first, to get the sediment out. From previous experience, I know that the brown water can really stain the bowls. I went around and flushed them all, and then poured bleach into each one for overnight. They need it anyway, from sitting unused so long, at least the other two back bathrooms are unused.

There is a 'new' local TV station showing reruns of older shows such as "Seinfeld" and "Frasier", which is a nice thing. The not-so-nice thing is that they also show back-to-back public service announcements which annoy me terribly. The price for being able see "The Wallet" episode, where Kramer has to pretend to be Elaine's boyfriend. Frasier just made a funny, saying about Daphne's cooking, "Even Hannibal Lecter couldn't keep that woman's food down!" Now, Martin is presenting Frasier with a painting he had admired in a restaurant...only Frasier did not really like it, just trying to get a table! Oops!

Our Bible study today was fine, but with fewer folks around the table. Twila is still in rehab and Ethel was traveling to one of her grandson's swim meets. We believe Gretchen stayed home because of the rain in the forecast, although it held off until later in the afternoon. We went to lunch at Longhorn and yes, those who ordered from the kids' menu got the sippy cups again. Mike C. and I ordered from the regular menu so had real glasses for our sodas.

The table conversation was interesting, and it never ceases to amaze how 'diverse' the take can be on the same news stories! Some are appalled that Duval county might have to close some of their schools due to low scores and reduced funding. A few in the group see the reason in eliminating the schools and/or the programs in order to meet budgets, but then others are horrified at the thought of it. Art, music, and sports are all available outside of the school system, but folks are so accustomed to having it as part of the curriculum. I heard a businessman interviewed a while ago on a TV news show. He is an American who works and lives in China, declaring that the reason American kids cannot compete with Asian kids is because American kids are "taught self-esteem instead of academics!" Mike offers an interesting perspective, having taught in Lutheran (private) schools as well as inner-city government schools in Jacksonville. Clay County is experiencing the same situations of budget cuts due to decreased revenues, since so many homes are in foreclosure, hence, less real estate taxes coming in. I sure hope the teachers don't riot because of it...

After lunch I stopped at Winn Dixie to take advantage of the specials seen in their flyer this week. Got the toilet paper which was buy one/get one, plus the 'shopping like a rock star' deal: Buy 2 Digornio pizzas and get free pizza rolls, free chicken wing appetizers, a bottle of Diet 7-Up, and two free Breyer ice cream! All for $14.98!! Can't be beat! Justin will relieve me of one of the pizzas, the wings, pizza rolls, and perhaps one of the ice creams. I will keep one of the pizzas and one of the ice creams for sure...maybe both!

On this same subject, Jackie told us today about a report she'd heard that Christians are more likely to be overweight than non-Christians. WHAT? That is ridiculous....Talk about profiling! So, therefore, anyone who is not overweight must be an unbeliever. Sure would make outreach a whole lot easier---all you would have to do is 'size' a person up to see if they know about their Savior. Everyone at the China Buffet must be believers, too, so I guess one would have to go to the gym and fitness centers to seek those who have 'fallen away'. There can be a study about anything these days!

Beckham in his car

Jessica described him as sitting 'all pimped out' in his little car!

An evening on the sundeck

It seemed like old times be outside, enjoying the evening with my neighbors again! Even little Beckham came by for a minute or so on his way back upstairs. His stroller looks like a car and he was darling in it. On my way outside, I met Travis as he was coming down the stairs, carrying a bottle of Diet Coke, a 2-liter sized one, which they had gotten at Winn Dixie when buying a rotisserie chicken. They don't like to have soda in the house, to 'discourage it' (ahem, ahem) and the check-out told them to take it home and just give it to someone else. My name came up! Yay for me!

Maggie was outside, carrying the trash downstairs, and she asked me if I knew her mom was home. I did know Ellen was back from Massachusetts where she was with her friend who recently lost her husband. Maggie said her mom had been at the store and was coming home with fresh strawberries. She asked if I wanted a strawberry daiquiri and of course, I did! So Ellen came out to sit with us and we two ladies enjoyed our adult beverages, mixed up by Maggie, and powerfully so---whew! Yummy, but powerful. Oh, it was grand to have her back to talk to! One of the older ladies who rents on the 2nd floor likes to introduce her daugher every single time we meet. Tonight she asked if Ellen was my daughter. Wow, thanks alot! Either Ellen looks incredibly young or I look incredibly old! She is only a few years younger than I am---oh, that Betty!

Ellen and I talked about some of the old songs from the late 60's that we both knew, including some by Joni Mitchell and Judy Collins. "That's when songs meant something...." as Ellen stated. I sang a couple lines from a few songs and even surprised myself at how I remembered them. Ellen mentioned how the crocuses had been breaking through the ground in MA when she was up there and then they got snowed on. Crocuses made me think of a song titled "Little Green" by Joni where she describes this flower in the spring time. As we parted company in the elevator, I sang a few lines of a Buffy St. Marie song and she said, "That's a name from the past....." Oh, yes, very long ago. I got my first Buffy album from my cousin, David, and his wife, Rochelle, who died about a year ago at this time. This album was in their collection of albums and I was the only one who liked it! So they gave it to me...and I still like it, only on iTunes now.

From my neighbors I got the name of their window washing company and I do hope they don't mind adding me to their list of customers. Several of us need this done so perhaps the company can take care of us all at once. I am sure the washers would appreciate this coordinated effort on our part. We are all being pestered by the pesky 'no-see-'em' flying bugs, crowding onto our screens and windows---ew! Such a mess they make! Some come into the house, and, in the morning, the floors and flat areas are littered with the dead bodies of those that don't live through the night. I almost wonder if I should wait until the bug season is over, this type of bug. At least the love bugs don't make a mess on the windows and in the house!

"Blue songs are like tattoos, you know I've been to sea before. Crown and anchor me, or let me sail away...." Joni Mitchell, from when songs used to mean something....but what? I don't know for sure, but do love singing them!

"Laughing and crying, you know, they're the same release"

That title is a line from a song by Joni Mitchell and it is so true! There is a thin line, sometimes, between happy and less than happy. Today was such a day! After waking and watching the news, I switched over to movie viewing when I saw that "Mr. Holland's Opus" was on. I have a love/hate for this movie, it moves me every time I see it. Mr. Holland seems so self-pitying and just plain selfish toward his family but is giving to his students, it angers me. As he ages, you can see where he begins to change his focus, or widen it. Robbie, The Maestro, is 'inspired' by this movie so I sent him a note letting him know I was thinking of him.

After that movie came "Jersey Girl" which I thought might be like a gangster-type flick, but it was quite the opposite. A young couple, both in high-powered jobs in New York City, fall in love and get married. They are excited about having a baby but the husband has troubles pulling back from his work to become a family man. During childbirth, the mom, whose name is Gertrude, suffers an aneurysm and dies, leaving the grieving husband to care for the infant. I was just boo-hooing all morning long. The story goes on how the successful man's very working class father takes care of the baby its first month of life until the daddy is 'forced' to do it himself, when they all moved in together in New Jersey. Hence, Jersey Girl. The dad, played by Ben Affleck, gets advice from Will Smith, whom Ben had dissed during an interview and lost his job. Will, not knowing this was the publicist that had said such terrible things about him, told Ben in a waiting area, that he would rather be home, playing in the dirt with his kids than waiting to see a publicist. That did it! Ben's character made it back home to New Jersey to be in a play with his daughter. Formulaic, but a very nice happy/sad movie. Oh, the little girl's name is Gertie, after her mother. What a handle!

It was just a good crying day although the weather was sunny and bright. As Judy J. said today, for older folks, "It's all about the Weather Channel and the mail." I told her, "Just wait 'til you throw the obituaries into the mix!" and she said she wasn't there yet. I told her that was a good thing!!!! But both said today in separate conversation streams, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come quickly!" But back to that in a second....

A third movie came on, "Must Love Dogs" which is about a recently divorced woman, played by lovely Diane Lane, being thrown out to date again by her family. The joke is basically about Internet dating sites and at one point, when answering someone's ad, ends up meeting her father for a date! He was a widower, played by Christopher Plummer, and lied about his age and interests. It was ironic that in this close-knit family that she would choose a date with her own dad. She knew this would be fodder for their Thanksgiving get-togethers for many years to come! The heroine's character was reluctant to date again but her sister was relentless. The other love interest, a man, played by John Cusack, is being pushed by his buddy to get back out there. Again formulaic, they meet and fall in love, after many mishaps and stumblings' about. I had seen this movie years ago in the theater with my friend, Jen, and we, at that time, had as much fun laughing at the 'older' woman who were having wwaayy more fun than we were, laughing about the movie. It must have hit a nerve with them or something, but they were whooping it up!

Before that movie ended (good thing I knew what happens!) I had to get myself ready for attending Jayne's birthday party. At Great Hang Ups, I had gotten Jayne a hand-painted silk scarf made by my friend, Sonja. She offers classes in making them but I do not want to add another hobby to my house at this time. Anyway, Jayne was sufficiently surprised, had a separate party on her actual day and thought she got away without much notice. Not so much! Her husband's sons plus Jayne's son worked with Granny and Fausto in putting the party together while Dave and Jayne went thrift store shopping, her favorite thing to do. Julaine had invited many many folks but only a few of us came, or even RSVP'd. It is Spring Break so many folks are away enjoying the time off. Those of us who did come had a wonderful time and I was glad to be included!

It was good to see Judy again, after her month of being away. We had much to talk about but she is still quite emotional talking about her brother and such. Judy and I are going to get together this week sometime over dinner and hash it all over. So we talked about current events instead which can evoke the same type of sentiments!! All in all, it was a wonderful mix of emotions, and Julaine made my day by telling me, when I thanked her for inviting me, "It wouldn't be a party without you!" The icing on the cake of the tearful day!

"We are all stories, not just biology"

What an incredible, insightful day I have had today! This early morning, I woke from a dream steeped in frustration (like THAT ever happens!). In the dream, I am attempting to travel overseas, am already at the airport when I realize I have forgotten my passport and phone charger. Both of those are deal-breakers. Fumbling with my phone, I was attempting to reach my spouse who was at home, but having every sort of problem getting my message through. I even had snowballs being thrown at me from a railing above the waiting area where I was struggling with the phone. It was as though everything was working against me getting to my destination!!! It was an absolute relief to wake up just before 6:00 a.m.! Fortunately I was able to go back to sleep after a quick walk and had a more restful snooze for another 45 minutes….

Once I was awake for real, I had my laptop fired up and began to watch more segments I had started the night before. A psychiatrist who wrote a book with a host I watch has some ‘patients’ who are using this how-to book to repair problems in their lives, publicly. Wow, is it ever interesting!! Watching the folks make progress week from week is quite exciting and satisfying. One man had lost his wife who left him after he gave up his job, then got them deeply into debt. He was going to take his own life but then decided to read the book and get help. Another story is a dad of a drug addicted son who wrote a letter after reading the book, seeking help for his son. The son, Ron, makes progress right along, too, and is free of drugs for nearly 6 weeks and gainfully employed. Another woman was in an abusive marriage and took to alcohol to ease her misery. She is making progress as well, all of them digging deeply into their pasts to see where the ruinous patterns developed. Sometimes painful to watch, but very hard to look away….

I had to quit to take my shower and prepare for the day. Justin called me in the a.m., but I cannot remember right now what he wanted…Oh, yes! He wants to go to Epcot before the Flower Show is over and he had checked the ending date of the exhibits. We have until May 15^thto get there. I asked him if he would be patient with me as walked through the park and his answer was, “I am always patient with you, especially at Epcot…” This is true but it has been years since we walked the grounds together and I am certainly MUCH slower than I used to be. Well, I told him we could certainly look into it, perhaps after Easter. He also mentioned that we saw a portion of “The Lion King” at Animal Kingdom but we are not 100% sure that his grandma was with us. We know my sister, Lori, and her family were there, as was Timmy so it pre-dates January of 2001. Hmmmm…

Today I was able to join my neighbors at La Nopalera for lunch, after a couple weeks of missing out. Before they arrived, I read some of my book while sipping on my strawberry margarita. What a wonderful, helpful book it is! “Why Johnny Can’t Sing Hymns” is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. I had it along at Whitey’s the other day since I arrived before Jessica did but she was not interested in borrowing it when I am done. She reads fiction and is never interested in my subject matter. She is reading a book by the same author that wrote the book, “Water for Elephants”, which many of my reading friends raved about. So, back to my book, man, it is good. The author is a media ecologist, which I had never heard of before, but sounds fascinating.

This tied in with our lunch conversation as MamMa told me about her siblings, eight of them, with interesting given names and nicknames. Love when the conversation goes to birth order and how that plays out, especially in her upbringing. One of the ladies on the program I watched on the Internet this a.m. was the oldest of six girls (sounds familiar!) and considered herself to be the ‘plow’ in the family, she had to plow a path for the rest of the kids to follow. Tracy, who is a licensed counselor, found that fascinating as well, and told me about writing a paper once for school. She chose the subject of “What is Normal?”. This truly intrigues me, the entire subject, and we laughed when she reported that after 30 pages, the answer to the question was “we don’t know”!! I told her ‘normal’ is just a setting on the dryer!

Once home after our lovely lunch and conversation, I sat at my desk for a bit to open some mail. There was an e-mail from the CPA’s office with some questions and such regarding Justin’s tax return and such. We got that all straightened out. Judy J. is back from her long time away in Detroit and she called to let me know her status. She is emotionally wrought and weary, while being so very glad to be home. She appreciated coming home to a stuffy, hot house!!! She kept apologizing to her poor car for putting it through such cold, nasty weather. Poor ‘Betsy’ was shivering the entire time they were in MI! The two of us are going to a birthday party tomorrow in Mandarin and I thought I would be her driver for a change. But the hostess for the party wanted Judy to come about 4 hours ahead of time to decorate and help set up so Judy will drive herself. One of our members just turned 50, so Julaine is helping to host a surprise party for her former daughter-in-law. They remain close, fortunately and blessedly. Should be great fun to surprise the birthday girl!

In checking my e-mails, I had a note from a Facebook friend, whom I had 'met' via my friend, Jami's, blog. Darla had been diagnosed with cancer a few months ago and was undergoing treatment. She had reached out to me with her news privately and I was able to offer her some comfort and assurances from the Word, etc. She sent me a note today thanking me for my help and prayers, that she was now cancer-free. She said I was a good teacher. Such great news, thanks be to God!

I was not home for very long before it was time to head downstairs again to meet Brenda N. as I was driving Miss Daisy across the bridge to her real estate closing. We drove right up to the door of the title company and Brenda was quite impressed with my abilities. Well, we did have a little help from the navigation system. While Brenda was in the closing, I read some more of my book, and at one point, I had a tear running down my face. The author wrote about his infant daughter being diagnosed with leukemia and not given long to live. His wife and he stayed at the hospital with their daughter, and he would hold the baby in one arm and his hymnal in the other. One day he chose the hymn, “Abide With Me”, which moves many folks to tears without a dying daughter in their arms. Strangely enough, this a.m., I nearly posted on Facebook that I was having a “Hold thou thy cross…”-day, but did not. I regret not posting it, though, because this man wrote how he managed to get through the verses of the hymn okay, until he got to that stanza, "singing the comforting words as much for me, as for her…”

“Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadows flee; in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me”

Another glorious start to the day

The washer is humming away, my 'cheap' washer by compare to the souped-up model that my friend, Suzanne, just got. Hers is a front loading, high-efficiency style machine. She has to put the laundry in first, and somehow a computer calculates how dirty it is, how much the load weighs, and lets her know the settings and the amount of detergent to put in. She even needs special HE soap, and when she first wrote this to me, I had no clue what HE soap was. Different than SHE soap? It stands for high-efficiency, so it might be low sudsing or something like that, due to the front loading of the washer. Now, me? I just bundle the dirty wash into a pile, toss it in, add a cap full of the liquid detergent which smells so awesome, and away it goes. No discussion! Love that about my 'cheap' washer.

See? It does look nicer in the light of day!

My nails look terrible and really need attention, might take care of that this afternoon when I get home after lunch. I had sort of thought of doing that after church last night, getting home right around 9:00 pm since we have church first and then choir rehearsal. So enjoy the rehearsal because "The Maestro" really puts us through our paces, going over and over difficult parts until we get it right, or the dynamics emphasized, etc. We have two pieces we are practicing, one for Maundy Thursday and one for Easter. We will also be singing a hymn with the Sunday school kids on Palm Sunday, standing up front and wearing our robes! Debbie, one of the altos, said she will wear her robe if it's not too hot, otherwise she won't, but the others chimed in that she can wear her robe for that little while as we sing right at the beginning of the service. I like the robes for a number of reasons, not the least being it covers a multitude of sins!

Back again! Justin and I met for Bible study, a very interesting continuation regarding our dual natures as saints and sinners, as the battle between the Old Man and New Man is waged. The second lesson we read through was about how the television made its way into our households, how it was invited in and have even made special rooms just to house it! The television and what it represents does not necessarily have to be evil but it certainly allows for it! Next week we have no class as the Hoyers are heading to MN for their daughter’s wedding.

Not having the class next week will certainly help me out because my friend, Brenda N., is in need of my services. She is having some with medical problems which make her hesitant to drive across the Buckmann Bridge so she has asked me to drive “Miss Daisy” on Friday of this week as well as Thursday next week. She hated to ask me but it is my true privilege to be able to do this for her, and she would do the same for me if I needed her help. Thankfully I have that spiffy new telephone with the GPS built into it to prevent our getting deeply lost.

Yesterday I used that same GPS to get me to see Marian and Biff in Palm Coast. I made a call to Biff in the morning and asked him if he would mind coming to Marian’s place so I could see both of them at once, so he did! First he went to a doctor appointment, then went to Wal*Mart for some new shoes for Marian. He got her men’s shoes with Velcro closures for her ease of operation and to reduce the squeezing of her feet from her regular shoes.

When I arrived at Marian’s nursing home, she was yet in the dining Room, but there was a place at the table where I could sit to wait for her to finish her meal. As we sat there and chatted, I looked up and saw Biff at the door, but almost did not recognize him! He looked old, plain and simple, wearing his oxygen equipment, sporting a head of grey hair and a matching beard, walking with a cane, and wearing suspenders to keep his pants up. No more Marboro Man-look for him! Wow! And he seemed to have put on some weight while he was at it, which is in contrast to how Justin described him when last seeing Biff. He is finally getting some meat on his bones, after all these years.

Earlier in the day, Christina had been there with her mom, wanting to speak with the foot doctor who was coming to look at Marian’s sore feet (the above mentioned shoes, etc.) but the line was too long. Tina had some errands to run so she left her mom in the line and went about her business. I am sorry to have missed her. The three of us, though, had a nice visit in Marian’s room. The regular doctor was going to be there in the building so Marian got her name added to the list for a chat with him. He had not come yet when I left but hopefully Biff and she did get a chance to talk with him. Marian is doing well with her rehab work and is hopefull of being able to move out of the nursing home and into a facility where they can live together. Marian still needs medical monitoring, but not necessarily ‘round-the-clock care. What a blessing this news was to hear! Last August she was given 48-hours to live with the family rushing to her bedside, but pulled through. And now she is hoping to be able to live her husband again some day soon!

The weather has been lovely here recently, with the temperature soaring toward 86 above zero. In a totally unrelated story, my home church in Manitowoc did not have Lenten services last night due to the snowstorm! Sorry, had to bring it up….

My punishment for bringing up the snowstorm is that my formatting went haywire...serves me right!

A picture of a picture

I took this picture using my cell phone of my framed piece picked up the other day from Great Hang Ups. I will take another picture using the 'real' camera in the light of day but for now, let this one hold you over. On the right, you can better see how the green framing pulls out the green in this watercolor spray painting. What a blast it was to do these pieces!