Meant to do this sooner...

....but I got distracted! My long, lost friend, Cindy and her husband, Paul, dropped by with oodles and oodles of scrapbooking supplies. At Cindy's estimate, there is about 1000 pieces of paper, which means I really have to get going with my projects! She even brought me a bolt of fabric, green gingham, which I will offer to some quilters that I know. Ribbon, glues, fabric paints, and that is without my digging into the bags or boxes very deeply. Wow! She used to be a consultant for "Close To My Heart" scrapbooking supplies but now has to make room for her parents for whom she cares in her home. Her spouse said she had to limit her storage space to one side of the room so ta da!, she called me.

We had lots of catching up to do but little time in which to do it as they had to get back to their home and tend to her parents. New ceramic tile is being put down tomorrow hence the reason for getting the stuff gone. Next week Martie and I are getting together for dinner but perhaps she would rather come up here and go through the stuff. Also my upstairs neighbor who has a one year old and another baby on the way might like to poke through the stuff for her own projects. Great fun coming our way!

This afternoon Judy C. and I went to the local hospital to visit our friend, Sue. She was a bit uncomfortable with no way to lay that did not hurt, even the pain medication did little to relieve her sore shoulder and neck. She had taken a tumble at home and likely jarred herself or hit something on the way down. Before we left we had asked the nurse to bring her a heat pad or similar to help soothe the achiness. Sue was able to chat and all that, just not get comfortable in any position. Hopefully the nurse got her something warm to help with the soreness, after we left.

I was a lazy bones in the first part of the day, reading on-line while watching the news. Later I moved to the big computer to start working on photos. I have a project in mind, this was before getting the scrapbook supplies, and spent the rest of my day locating, sorting, and renaming photo files in order to get them ready to go. Man, I wish I was better about this when I moved them from computer to computer. Many files are clumped together under one title and I have to double sort in order to find the ones I need. There has got to be a better way! Oh, by the way, the manatees spent the better part of the day swimming about in the basin. They made a liar out of me because I told Pastor K. last week that they would not be around for another month or so. Wow!

I can sing "O Sole Mia" today

The sun is back and no rain today! What a difference it makes in one's spirit when the sun comes out and stays there. I had to make some Prayer Chain calls this a.m., including one to Carol, who is home recovering from knee replacement surgery. She told me her older son has obvious reactions to the sun not being out and I told her I am like a satellite dish that can't get my signal during a storm---too much interference! She said that was a pretty good description! One of our elderly members once more took a tumble at home and banged up her ribs, broke no bones, thankfully. The details of the fall were not shared with me but the request included patience on her behalf in regard to her limitations. This, to me, equaled someone was climbing on a ladder or step-stool again!!! That rascal! She is reknowned for her climbing skills, or lack thereof, but somehow finds a way to do it.

Judy C. and I had sort of planned to attend the Orange Park Chorale presentation tonight but when I called her, she declined due to having company from out of town. She did not know what they were going to want to do but this concert would not be it. My phone had shown she had called me but it must have been her son, Mike, calling to let me know another of the members had gone to the hospital. Sue has had repeated health problems and because she cannot drive right now, Mike has been driving her to work and back for several months now. Her daughter cannot do it as she works opposite shifts than her mom. So Mike does it every day. He tried again to reach me when I was at La Nopalera with my neighbors but it was not the right place for a conversation. Twila, whom I visited after lunch, told me that Mike had been to see her and give her Holy Communion, explaining that Pastor was at the hospital with Sue. Yikes!

Twila looked great, what a difference a week makes! In fact, she was thinking that she may get to go home within the next few days, having passed all the 'tests' they have for her. She can shower and dress herself, walk the halls, does her breathing exercises, and really enjoyed the "Steak 'n Shake" lunch her sis-in-law, Jean, brought her. They were just finishing up when I arrived, which made me happy to see Twila eating real food again. Soon she can be free to go and play, which I have missed terribly.

Once home again after lunch and my visit, the first order of business was to charge my phone. Justin had sent me a text message and I could not reply due to low battery time. His question for me was: "Where are you going for lunch?" and I replied, "What makes you think I am going somewhere?" He wrote back, "I know you go on days that end in 'y' ", which made me chuckle. He then used one of our favorite Daphne Moon quotes: "I am little bit psychic..." Justin did not tell me where he was working but I am guessing is still cleaning windows and such at the house at the beach. Or, he could have been on Fleming Island getting ready for the yard sale...I did not ask and he did not report.

At lunch, Cassidy had asked me if I wanted tickets to attend an opera she was playing for (cello) at UNF but since I was going to the OP Chorale event, declined the offer. Would have been nice but she did warn me that it was a depressing opera, a modern one written by Minotti, "The Consul". Her mom, Tracy, did not want to go, having been warned of its tragic details. That's out as far as she's concerned. Tracy says she likes rainbows and butterflies, so the Requiem being sung by the OP Chorale would not cut it either.

What a lovely concert it was! The Chorale presented several a capella numbers to open the concert and then added the pipe organ and tympani for John Rutter's "Requiem". Before the music began, I was sitting in a row where some folks decided to move closer to the front. The man apologized for having to climb over me, and I joked, "Nice of you to drop in!" and we chuckled a bit. I thought I knew him and his wife from somewhere....the gears were going, trying to place them...Meanwhile, at the end of the row appeared a former member of GS, Nancy, who asked if she could sit with me. Sure!!!! Her mom-in-law and her spouse were at home, not being fans of this type of thing. This family used to worship with us but have been attending the Anglican church on Fleming Island, closer to their home. Another family from GS recently left to attend this same church, where my friend, Dee, attends.

After the concert, Nancy and I parted company, but I stuck around, just having to ask this couple if they are in the home building business. Sure enough, they were, with 'were' being the working word. Probably about my age or older, he told me his 'business went bad', his words, and now he is doing his first love of being a CPA. Good for him, having a second line of defense! This fellow and his wife, plus the man with them had formerly sung with the Chorale, which I found quite interesting. They did not know Kristi, my friend who used to sing with the Chorale. What a great night it was! And, I was home by nine o'clock!

“Here comes the rain again, falling on my head like a memory…”

We are on our second day of rain and gloom, punctuated later in the day yesterday with tornado warnings and all that. During my rest time when I normally do not fall asleep, evidently I did on Wednesday! I missed one phone call from Suzanne but it did stir me enough to awaken when Judy J. called me a couple minutes later. Judy wanted to know if we were still on for dinner, and I thought for a second, “Oh, no! I slept through dinner!!” But actually it was just after 4:00 pm so I was fine time-wise. She was wondering because of the ‘nasty weather’. Still a bit groggy from falling so soundly asleep, I asked, “What nasty weather?”, not realizing we were under a tornado warning! Judy said it was all over the TV channels and such but I actually had the Internet playing my radio show so was unaware of what was happening locally. Sure enough, it was raining and quite dark, and yes, there was a tornado warning for our county and those surrounding. It is just like she said, older folks love the Weather Channel and the mail!

In the meanwhile, Suzanne sent me a text message asking if I wanted to meet her for dinner at Panera at 6:00. Rats! I answered her with three separate answers, leading to my ‘no, thanks’, before I remembered that she is charged for each text message! Yikes! She started it!!! And knows that I cannot do anything 25 words or less, including explaining I already had plans with Judy. She was coming to Good Shepherd for worship since the kids were with Judy C. at her house after school. Judy’s other daughter and family came to town from Charleston but did not come to church last night.

Judy J. and I enjoyed very much our dinners at Pasta Market, which opened where the ‘old’ La Nopalera used to be. The décor is less basic than it was in the Mexican restaurant, more dressy and even a bit formal without over-doing it. The food was good, portions ample, and, of course, boxes to-go!

Wow, it is sooooo windy right now that my chimes hanging in the window next to my desk are moving. No tornado watches or warnings right now (yes, I turned on the Weather Channel!) but there was just a brilliant flash of lightning that made me flinch! Wonder if I should shut off my big computer…Nah, it will pass. I hope the weather clears a little before Miss Daisy and I have to drive across the Buckmann for her appointment this early afternoon. Just call me “Hoke”!

Mike C. led our worship last night where we had a better than average attendance ---in spite of the weather! Of course, having Suzanne and her kids there plus a visiting relative of Julaine’s added to our worshipers. The choir rehearsal was just that, Robbie making sure we know our parts, working and reworking, to get it just right. There are only five or six of us, varying at times, and we somehow make it sound like more. There is one piece where the choir sings a capella, and that is what we drilled on. At one point in the anthem I had the timing wrong so threw in an “aw, shoot!” in the midst of the phrase. When he stopped us later, I apologized for the ‘aw, shoot!” and Robbie chuckled, remember in his chorale days of having to raise his hand when he made a goof. He couldn’t hold his music because he would have both arms in the air all the time. That made me laugh, and feel better about my goof up!

Right now the storm is quieted but after just now hanging up with Justin, he reports this is the calm before the storm. He said he heard on the radio when going to lunch that it is supposed to really let loose again at rush hour. Great! That will likely be when Brenda and I are heading back after the doctor appointment. We will simply find a restaurant to hole up in while the storm passes over, and wait it out!

I will sign off for now to get myself out the door to pick up Miss Daisy…bye now!

No "O Sole Mia" for me today!

Judy J. sent me a youtube video to watch on Tuesday of three young Italian men singing "O Sole Mia" performed for a talent show in Italy. The singers were 13 and 14 years old with powerful voices, it was grand to hear! It is overcast and gloomy here, and will be the rest of the week, I believe. My older friends know more about the weather than do I!

As I write, the news is playing in the background, showing the rioting in Syria. It seems the revelers were more or less 'dancing' for the cameras. Makes me wonder if the cameras and reporters add fuel for the unrest. Pastor Hoyer mentioned last week that the Internet more than anything else might be what is stimulating those folks to action, as they can see what other countries have and experience (liberty and comfort), and they want a piece of that. Their governments might be able to limit the TV and movies shown, but since they are primarily users of cell phones, which can access the Internet, get the exposure to what others have----and they do not have!

After our trip overseas in 2000, I made the astute observation that if these folks, who spend a good deal of time at bistro tables drinking espresso, would simply switch to decaffeinated coffee, the world over there would settle down!

Last night on the ride to Trivia, I called Mom to get the low-down on the weekend's major event of celebrating 55 years of Manitowoc Lutheran High School. She told me 'the girls' got around to see alot of people and hug them, but Mom pretty much held her seat except to get her meal. The people sharing the table with my family are old friends from FG days and Ruthie can hold her own conversation-wise, and chatted with Mom. She said it was a lovely evening and event, and topped it off with a sacred concert the next day. The choral group sang "In Christ Alone" although Mom thinks the FG choir does a better job with the dynamics, being a bit biased, of course. The closing anthem was "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" which was glorious!

We took third place at Trivia, our team of 6 will have to split the $10 gift certificate next week. The final question was a listing of four golf tournaments and we were to put them in order of when they are played. We stunk on ice, but if we had bet one point instead of zero, would have tied for second place. And then done a toss up question. It was fun because it seems we all bring something to the table, our little expertise in a category. One question that we lost on was to name the two state capitals that end with the letter "Y", not the word 'City'. Immediately we got Albany but struggled for the 2nd one. I will let you ruminate on this until the end of the posting. Of course, when we heard the answer, we all went "oooohhhhhhh" because we should have known it.

My sandwich last night was delicious, the special, and on the first bite of this 5" tall sandwich, dripped juice on my sweater. Eventually I removed the onion rings from the stack and scraped the meat and cheese onto the plate. Justin ate the Texas toast which I had put to the side. All the way home I could smell the sandwich due to the drippings on my sweater!

Rita asked me last night about when I go to sleep and when I wake up because it seemed to her that I never sleep. But I do! and have those wild dreams, in my approx. 6-7 hours of dozing. I assured her that I take my afternoon rest, not necessarily sleeping, but often closing my eyes to comfort them after viewing the monitors all day long. Sadly, I do not wear them out reading my paper books but I am reading other things, and writing, as well! My sleep was earlier than the night before and I did not wake the last time until about 7:00 a.m. today!

Tonight I am meeting Judy J. for dinner at a new pasta place that moved in where La Nopalera used to be on Kingsley Ave. before going to church. I think I will stop in to see Twila prior to meeting Judy. Hopefully her progress is such so that she can soon be going home to finish her rehab. I am sure it will cheer her spirit to be in her own house again since this all happened rather suddenly for Twila. I am so glad she has Twila Squared to hold things together until Grandma gets out of the rehab and back running things!

The other city, in case you didn't know it, was Montgomery. Ugh!

Some musings for the day

Timmy at the Eagle Harbor pool, taken when John and Mona came down for a visit in 1999 (click picture to enlarge)

Yesterday afternoon, Justin called me as he drove home, safely, as he has a hands-free gizmo attached to his iPhone for just such an occasion. He was letting me know he could not stop by for the frozen foods as the next stop being made was a job site at the Beaches. Justin has been ‘hired’ by his father to clean the house and get it ready for inspection/move-in including washing windows, cleaning tile and bathrooms, etc. Not his favorite thing to do but he will be paid generously, he was told. The good news was that none of the windows are the majestic height like in previous houses he has cleaned so won’t have to climb ladders. Justin has an aversion to heights. And yet, he is tall!

I like it when he calls me from the road because he then has time to talk and is usually alone and undistracted. The same is true when he calls from work, when he is prepping things for the ‘yard sale’ for the business. As he prices ring binders and staplers (when I write ‘stapler’, I cannot help but picture Paul L. doing his imitation of the guy from “Office Space” !), Justin can talk to his mama.

Yesterday he was describing the psychology/cultural ‘conversation’ going on regarding Apple products versus PC’s. He pays far more attention to commercials than do I, it seems, and reminded me of the ads for Mac over PC. The Mac guy is ‘hip’ looking, cool with a hoodie and sneakers as compared to the straight-laced guy in the beige suit and black-framed glasses, an ‘older look’. Justin said that Mac appeals to people who think, believe, they are getting something better than with a PC, which is what advertising is all about. Our friends at Great Hang Ups rave about their Macs, which is used for the photo retouching and its graphics abilities. Justin, who does his homework, so to speak, on these rather geeky things, said there is little difference in quality or mechanicals between the two products.

He was wishing, however, to find a cheap, used Mac to use for uploading his iPad which is an Apple product---not sure why that makes a difference though. Apple/Mac does the research and trail-blazing, charging more for their products, and then the others grab the technology and sell it cheaper. So the PR folks have to make it appear ‘cooler’ to stay with Mac, and part with more of your money than to appear ‘boring’ with a PC. I found that conversation quite interesting, making me go “hmmmm…..” as Judy R. would say.

That is one musing I have in my mind, wondering how many other products and services we choose, based on similar marketing skills.

Here are a few of my Morning Musings:

When making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, it would be ideal to use the jelly first to avoid leaving dots of peanut butter in the jelly jar. It’s okay to leave a dot of jelly in the peanut butter jar, in my opinion, but not the other way around…

I know it is time to run the dishwasher, or empty it, when the silverware drawer has no more teaspoons.

How come I run out of spoons before any other utensils?

There is a dark, ugly ring inside my washing machine that won’t wipe off. What was laundered, leaving such a stain in my relatively young machine? Why does not the agitation remove the ring, as it ‘cleans’ my clothes?

I am upset because “Atlas Shrugged” is not scheduled to be shown in this area. The closest theater is in South Florida, which I find odd. The city in the south that has the most people demanding to have it shown is Atlanta, and they are not on the list either! BUT, two cities in CA are, including San Francisco, which is extremely odd!

How upsetting to hear that non-words are being added to the dictionaries, to the American lexicon, some not even actual words, but symbols! Like the ‘artist formerly known as Prince’ went to a symbol and then back again, perhaps these non-words will go away some day. HOWEVER, if they come in handy when playing Scrabble, all bets are off! LOL!

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!