Marian's birthday

Last week Tuesday, I drove to Palm Coast to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday with her. Marian resides in a nursing home, a lovely one at that. As I mentioned in a previous posting, Marian rather enjoys living there and participates in the activities conducted for the patients' entertainment. Most of the them are elderly, but Marian is 'only' 63. Her husband, Biff, lives in an apartment now, having recently moved from assisted living, and was there to help celebrate her birthday.

Here are Marian and I, posing for the camera, with Biff as photographer

Marian takes medications which cause her to become drowsy so Biff sat nearby during the bingo game to keep her awake and help place her tokens. I took advantage of the snoozing to keep up with my own cards, but alas, I did not win once!

Marian and Biff waiting expectantly for the games to begin!

The remains of the day....

....or should I say, the remains of the pillow?

On Monday, I decided to wash my sheets and air my bedding to get any leftover germs or viruses out of them, including the little pillow that supports my head when I am lying down to use my laptop. The pillow prevents my head from poking through the wrought-iron spindles on my headboard. I had written in the past about how tired that pillow was getting, but I figured it could endure one more washing.....I was WRONG!

Imagine my surprise when I opened the machine and saw that mountain of 'suds' looking back at me! From outward appearance, the stuffing in the pillow was a solid piece of foam, but evidently, I was mistaken! The Publix bag was filled with foam (the pillow cover is next to it) and that was only part of what I could rescue from the washer, with hopes that the balance would accumulate in the dryer lint bin. Oh no, that was not to be! I had to shake each and every piece of laundry and cause a snow storm in order to get the rest of the foam. What a mess! At least it was a clean, white, and dry mess this time!

"What a great laugh..."

A quick recap of the week’s events---on Sunday, my first day back amongst the living, the afternoon was spent at the pool. There I conversed with one of my newer friends, Lee, who is single and not employed (i.e. ready playmate!) and is interested in art. Yay! Monday and Tuesday I enjoyed some company with Jamey who might soon be my neighbor. And today, I met and enjoyed the company of a lady named Mary, whom had already been coming to the exercise class with another lady, named Dale. We each felt like we had met before, and by figuring things out, decided it must have been at a musical soiree at the very same penthouse Jamey might move into!

Mary was discussing an interesting sounding book with Randy, our sole male exerciser, concerning the topic of stroke recovery. It is not really about that, however, but more about what the author, who experienced a stroke at the tender age of 37, learned about herself during the recuperation. It sounded right up my alley, that left brain/right brain stuff, which side controls thought, which side controls ego, and so on. The author could sense, being unable to communicate, what people were really thinking or feeling when they came to see her. Pretty revealing stuff! Yes, Amazon is bringing it to me hot off the press, even though my new ‘mother-earthy’ friend suggested I check it out at the library. She is too new a friend for me to explain my issue about used books!

After class we sat and talked for a bit, and then she said she had to go to the bathroom. As she got up, she said, “Hey, I don’t have any clients until about 3:00, wanna grab some lunch?” Of course, I declined---NOT!!!!! Madly I raced upstairs to change clothes and then we met in front of The Palace to ride in my car. I wanted her to meet and talk with Dee and Julia so we chose Koko’s for our lunch place. When we got to Hang Ups, they were just fixin’ to have their lunch, being delivered by Blair, Dee’s hubby, so we excused ourselves after a bit to have our lunch next door. But at least they met each other and Mary had a chance to look over the shop.

Our lunch and conversation were both delightful, and we made our way back to The Palace. We share having lost a loved one, hers being her husband almost a year ago, on Labor Day. They had been in business together in floor covering sales and installation, as well as her pain management practice. Her spouse of only 11 years just woke up dead one morning. That is a tough pill yet to swallow, as I am sure it is, being less than a year into her loss. Later on, as we were talking, I told her how much fun my sister, Kerry, was having on Labor Day last year, one of the finest in her life, while Mary was mourning the loss of her hubby that same day. It really makes you think….My sainted grandmother, Lily, used to caution us kids, as we laughed and laughed, that some day we might be crying. Talk about raining on our parade!

But, back to the water exercises---we had such a great time today, my two new friends and the old ones as well. As we did one of our more floaty-type of routines using the weights, Mary remarked how her butt floated up all the time. She is not heavy at all so it must be her make-up. Anyway, I told about how I had to use a concrete block on my weight belt when taking diving lessons, because I bob like a cork in the water---NOT in my make-up, but from being chubby. Mary said she always had this problem, claiming, “I was never able to pick up the penny from the bottom of the pool……” which prompted me to roar with laughter at the prospect. Mary said, “Oh, what a great laugh!” Thanks, Mary!

The conversation, all the while we are working out, turned to physiques, with one lady reporting that she has actually bought jeans with a padded seat to add more shape…Oh no she didn’t!!! I ordered her out of the pool, NOW!!!, in horror at the thought of someone having that need or desire. Like wearing a padded bra, for heaven’s sake, what?????

Later, when we came back from lunch, Mary had a few minutes before needing to get back to work, so she came up to see my place. 'Blown away' does not adequately describe her reaction, as she has seen many foreign countries and enjoyed my story about meeting Jeanne in Santorini, and re-meeting her in 2006 and 2007!!! She loved the chandelier and its story, as she tried to look at everything. (When my sister, Lori, was here a couple years ago, she said she needed time to take it all in…I love that!) Also, I told Mary about the waiter on the cruise ship who remembered me from a cruise two years before (“Oh, you wear your hair the same!), and how Justin is so thankful his rose-colored glasses mama secured a taxi and its driver to take us to Pompeii so he could find the address of a house he read about in Latin class.

It was a good day!

A great week for friends

No more Grumpy Gus for me, no siree!!!! The past few days have been phenomenal, people-wise, for me, that I can barely contain myself! Kindly forgive the overuse of the exclamation points, but I have extra excitement these days. (There is a “Seinfeld” episode regarding overusing exclamation points….of course, there is!)

At this moment, I am so tempted to open the doors and let the breezes go through but Justin is coming this afternoon after work to make some things ready for guests and he needs the A/C to be operating. Believe me, if he was not coming today, those doors would be open.

Okay, where to begin??? Let’s go back to Monday, my crotchety day, when I mentioned in my posting about the hotel guest I met at the pool who only stayed out awhile before leaving. As she was going up, I invited her to come back the next for the water exercise class on Tuesday, and sure enough, there she was yesterday morning. We properly introduced ourselves, and she to the others, and we proceeded to become fast friends. Conversation grew to include my telling her about the empty condos in my building, giving her Pat’s phone number so she could show Jamey and her husband the penthouse unit, starting out looking at mine first! My home is in serious need of dusting and vacuuming but what the heck…let ‘em come! Pat met us here and, being invited by Jamey, I joined them in looking at the available unit. And they loved the views, both mine and the one upstairs.

She is probably younger than me by a few years but that won’t matter. Like we used to do in our Eagle Harbor years, I sold them on the community first before they toured the two units. They were staying at the River Suites so knew the property already, and had dinner at a few places in the area, this being their third trip to JAX to scope things out. Jamey’s hubby is planning to retire in a couple years and wants to fish. I told her how Kerry fished right off the bulkhead in the early morning, catching something every day she tried, and about how the fishing boats love the area straight out from The Palace. Pat told them about the marina just down the road where he could dock a boat.

They loved the amount of built-ins that unit has, perfect for displaying treasures, books, fine china, and so on, plus the ‘office’ will be perfect as a workroom for Jamey’s quilting. The extended open patio, though, is a deal maker for sure, and she told me today how she found disappearing curtains perfect for outdoor use, about finding a ‘sand box’ thing for their dog to use so they don’t have to walk it outside, and furniture for the patio. I’d call it ‘done’, wouldn’t you?????

She was able to extend her check-out time today so she could join us again for water exercises. Jamey was welcomed by those who had not met her yesterday and she told them how she had fallen in love with the condo upstairs. Nice! When it was time to part, she hugged and hugged me, like long-time friends, and we had already exchanged our information for staying in touch. No matter what, we can stay in touch! One of the other ladies in the group, a newer face to me, Mary, was able to give Jamey a quick ‘release’ on a sore muscle, as she does pain management for her living. More about Mary later, though. Jamey was carrying something too heavy a few months ago, and hurt a connective tissue in her shoulder that therapy was not helping. Mary fixed her up with a few firm pressures to some points in her arm. Hope that does it for Jamey, another ‘lock’ to get them to move here!

You can tell I am feeling better…

…because I am more crotchety. Not crochet, like knitting, but like a grumpy Gus. At the moment I am doing great, make no mistake, but some things I observed made me put on my exasperated face and attitude. It began at the pool, which, I rejoice, was fully operational when I got out there. The pumps were doing their thing so I went around the edges on my ‘laps’ and pulled the pine needles and other refuse out of the drains. I could not help but notice the bathtub ring around the edges of the pool where the water had stood. If only I had a little scrub brush, I would be happy to take care of the ring around the collar!

The other lady who was at the pool was a hotel guest and did not stay long after I arrived, as it was the lunch hour. Before she went in, I invited her to join us at water exercises in the morning so perhaps she will come back out. The next lady to come was rather uncommunicative, only chatting enough to report that the water felt good after having had a head ache for two days from the heat. Her body language said she still had the head ache and I pretty much left her alone. I can take a hint!

Parents with kids were coming through fairly regularly by this time, kids skipping merrily toward their end of the pools. One little boy, whom his dad called ‘Buddy’, came strolling through on their way to the kids’ pool. As he walked by, Buddy reached down and swept some of the extracted pine needles and such away with his hand. “Thank you for cleaning up, Buddy…” said the conciliatory father. Oh please, gag with me a spoon! Instead of going all the way down to the kids' pool, Buddy stopped at the baby pool, insisting this was where he was going to swim. “If you want to swim in the baby pool, you can…” as Dad moved a chair around to sit down. “Come here so I can help you take your shoes off..” as Buddy got his own chair and proceeded to take them off himself. “Oh, you want to be a big boy and take off your own shoes, Buddy?” Um, yeah, that’s what he was doing, as he got into the baby pool.

Two seconds later, he was looking for tubes to play with. The dad said they would have to ask Laura, the lifeguard, for them, and I explained that she was not there today. The dad seemed a bit alarmed that there was no lifeguard on duty and then explained to Buddy that he could not have any tubes today because Laura was not there. Buddy was not happy with that answer, not even if Dad told him five or six times. Do kids really think that asking multiple times, the things will suddenly appear? Or is it to wear down the parents so that they steal from other kids just to shut theirs up? After the great tube debate, Buddy and his servant went down to the other pool, with the dad telling me over his shoulder, “that’s what it’s all about---pool hopping!” to which I replied, “Well, he IS the boss!” Sassy girl! Please tell me I was not like that…and if I was, please don’t tell me!

And for the first time this summer, I heard the dreaded “Marco! Polo!” game going on at the kids’ end. Hope you enjoyed that, Buddy’s dad! Thankfully, this game did not last long, and the poor lady’s head ache faded away….and mine, too!

My trip to Wal*Mart was nightmarish, to describe it accurately, as the place was mobbed with parents and kids doing their last-minute shopping for school. The first day is tomorrow and the aisles were clogged with folks pouring through the displays of supplies and such. It looked like Christmas! By this time, my arms were noticing that they were working again, and my legs were weary. Oh, oh, I was overdoing it, after I promised everyone I would not. Sadly, the Diet Coke is located in the back of the store so I had to work my way through the crowd. Finally I broke free and met Danny Roy on his way somewhere. He is always at a full trot but stops for a hug and quick catch-up. Once more he showed me pictures of his grandkids but was saved by a summons from his walkie-talkie.

In the grocery department, the aisles were clogged with mothers and kids getting lunch box items so I got out of there. On the way out, I did see one mom being a parent and correcting her children, telling them to behave like decent human beings, and be a lady and a gentleman. I felt like complimenting her but might have embarrassed her and undo her reprimand. Nearby, another mom was letting her kids, too big to be in the carts, order her to buy certain types of crackers and such. Time to head home!

I stopped at McDonald’s to get a burger (cheap on Mondays!) and apparently woke the order taker from a nap. He sounded half way asleep (perhaps he was getting over a stomach virus!) and I could scarcely understand his acceptance of my order. I drove up and handed him my money, and he said, “…right back…” and left the window. After a short while he came back with a change roll, and handed me the coins. As I pulled to the next window, the young lady handed me a bag before I rolled to a stop and said, “…nice day..” and I said, “I wish the same for you!” before I drove away.

At Sonic, the staff has rules to address the “guest” with four or more words and I really like that. Now I expect it everywhere. McDonalds used to have rather high standards for their employees, like no tattoos or facial piercings, things like that. It seems that the standard is now lower. Hopefully Publix does not follow suit as they like to hire the clean-cut looking young people and adults. At least I experienced good customer service at the credit union as I wished the lady a good day as I left the drive-through.

Normally, I am not really not so testy, but I guess today was not my best day to be out in the public. Linda J. saved my day with an interesting/sad phone call about someone she had just been talking to and wanted to bounce it off of me. Lynn and Linda’s visit cannot come soon enough for my purposes, and I promise to not be grumpy and crotchety when they are here!

Keeping watch....

My upstairs neighbor, Randy, posted this photo of an eagle perched on the roof edge not far from his porch. Someone mentioned that these birds look a bit messy before they get new feathers for the winter months. I feel sorry for this guy looking less than majestic...

I’m back, baby, I’m back!

Spoken like George Costanza, it seems my good health is returning to me, at long last. Yesterday I coaxed myself to go outside and float around in the pool since it had been a couple days since my last ‘event’ and my bones were begging to be floating. It was nearly miraculous, the curative effect of the sun and warm water, and talking to people.

One negative was that the adults’ pool was on the fritz, in fact, they all were, but the handyman was busy cleaning it up. I was glad I was not out there the day before!!! What it turned out to be was the pumps have failed so no water was being filtered. The cabana lady came out to discover the water had turned almost brown since the day before (it does happen quickly) mostly from no filtering plus being littered with leaves and residue from the two late storms Friday and Saturday. He had shocked it and was using a device to vacuum the bottom of the pool. We used the teens’ pool instead, which was fine with me.

The cabana lady, Sylvia, wondered where I had been and when I explained, and ordered a Diet Coke in decaf, she said, “Now I know you’re sick!” I assured her I was probably better but would not be dining with her today. One of my newer acquaintances at the pool, Lee, came out after not being around for over a week. She is new to the area so we had lots to talk about. Lee is in need of a handyman at her place so I gave her some names and numbers, plus told her about my wonderful massage therapist and about where to get a pedicure on Fleming Island.

She is also an artist so I am going to make plans with her to go visit Great Hang Ups some day. Lee is a single lady, just bought a home not far from The Club, but off the property. Another artist friend, Melissa, came out to the pool, too, so we three ladies talked about art a bit, which intrigued Lee. It will be nice if she becomes involved and gets to know more people around Orange Park. Her sister lives in Mandarin which is whole ‘nother world so I accept the challenge of introducing her to goods and services around here, and Fleming Island!

Eventually we were able to move to the other pool as more and more folks came out to enjoy the day. Many were commenting about how terribly hot it was but you could not prove it by me. Or even Lee, for that matter. Being in the water made any excessive heat go away. For those who sat poolside, they were miserable from the heat but I was unaware. The lady to whom I loaned the DVD a few months ago, named Kay, returned it to me, saying she had been looking for me when she came but we missed each other. Her hubby is the one who reads while standing in the pool.

Kay, Lee, and I talked about books (yes, books again!) and how we are not on board yet with the Kindle or e-readers. Kay said she really likes the smell of new books (me, too!) but her kids gave her a Kindle as a gift so she is trying to learn to like it. We three ladies preferred new books, but Kay’s spouse gets his books at the Chamblain Book Mine, the place I took Lynn and Linda last time they were here. Kay was telling Lee about donating her used books, which she does not keep, generally speaking, to the women’s shelters in the area. I can fix Lee up with Penny from Quigley House for donating her books there rather than to Goodwill. Kay said that Goodwill will often sell books by the pound to the recyclers so no one gets to read them. I have to take her word on that, since I don’t know.

I made Lee laugh by telling her how Jessica, upstairs from me, calls my books “boring”. Lee reads fiction, has read “The Help”, the book which is all the rage, and went to see the movie already that weekend. Kay wants to see the movie, having grown up in that era and in that environment. She told us about how she had a black maid all her life, the same lady, Miss Maddie, I think she called her. Every meal she ate was prepared by Miss Maddie, but while they did not eat together, the maid was allowed to use the same dishes and the same bathroom, not like it was in the book. Miss Maddie was flown by Kay’s parents from Mississippi to attend Kay’s wedding, and was flown again to stay with Kay when she had her first baby! She was like family. I had never met anyone who was raised this way and it was amazing to hear this story from Kay. Makes reading the book and seeing the movie (hurry up, Lynn and Linda!!!) all the more enticing!