Running out of day here….

….but I am enraptured with a program on the Internet which has occupied my evening. Coming from Israel, very historic and I would dare say, profound. Earlier this evening I was outside by the pool with my neighbors for Happy Hour. How I looked forward to sitting with them to enjoy the dusk....One of my neighbors is fervently trying to put a team together for tennis, and was nearly relentless in her attempts to get me to say ‘yes’ to playing for the team. That is the most incredible thing I ever heard (well, nearly….) but there is simply no way I could even consider grabbing up the racket. She said all I had to do is stand near the net and I would not even have to swing at a ball unless I wanted to…Ya, ya, ya, forget it! Rosemary even suggested that the church reschedule Bible study on Thursdays to accommodate my tennis game. Isn’t ‘NO’ enough??? I think eventually she understood this was simply not going to happen, but what a funny thought it was. Imagine me out there on the court, an imposing figure in my little tennis skirt!

After he was done working, Justin came to meet me at Publix on Fleming Island for grocery shopping which does not happen all that often in the course of a year. Some of the purchases were in preparation for the possibility of the hurricane coming as well as supplies for when my guests are here, and for the picnic dinner being held here on Friday night. A few things need to wait until the ladies get here, such as produce, but I did buy a bag of apples for them to enjoy. Justin got a few things as well including a bowl of fruit which he thought he would eat on the ride home. It took both of us, arms heavy-laden, to get the stuff upstairs. A case of water remains downstairs and somehow I will have to get that up here, which I might do bottle by bottle. We will either drink the water once up here, or use it to brush our teeth if we lose electricity from the storm. Really, though, I am trying to be hugely optimistic that Irene will simply ignore Florida all together and allow us ladies to have a wonderful time, as planned!

Oh, how nice it was to get back to our Monday Bible study after being on recess all summer long!!! Kristi, recently retired, joined our class today and also came along for lunch afterward. How nice to have another face and student at the tables---those being at church and at Longhorn! Twila will be absent for a few weeks as she has cardiac rehab on Mondays. Fortunately, she gets done in time to meet for lunch so at least we get to see her part of the time.

A short while ago, Michael C. called to tell me he is making the Boston butt tomorrow which will be served at our picnic on Friday. How nice of him to offer making that for me, since I would have had to go begging at my neighbor’s house to use their grille for cooking burgers and brats. Everyone likes butt, right? I know I sure do! We are having baked beans, potato salad, cucumber salad (I think), Oriental cole slaw, and some sort of dessert. No one will be hungry, that is for sure.

On my way out this a.m., I stopped at the mailbox and found my new book and a CD I had ordered. Instead of listening to Neal on the way over to church, I put in my new “old” recording of Judy Collins’ “Wildflowers” CD. Rather than driving down Wells Road, I drove on memory lane!!! (Good one, Kim!)

Because I felt like it!

I decided to post this photo taken at my nephew's wedding, where my son, Justin, niece Alayna, and nephew, Dustin, participated in the ceremony. They posed with their grandma, my mom, Kathy, in June of 2009. Nice, yes?

Oh, marvelous!

Just as things are ramping for the pending visit of my sister, Lynn, and my lady friend, Linda J., I will also being making some plans for the arrival of Irene. Now, she is a tropical storm but there is some likelihood that she will develop into a hurricane further downstate. This might, at the very least, rain on our parade, so to speak, with some contingency plans needing to be made in case the power goes out. Lynn has been through this here with me in the past, ala Tropical Storm Faye a few years ago, and my guess is that she is not in a big hurry to repeat that experience. That time, her daughter and family were also here, so we had two little boys to keep busy when house bound, and thanks to Justin, they were troupers! He brought them Play-Doh, coloring books, and even got out old toys of Timmy’s and his for the boys to play with. We got through it, but sure would have liked better weather and steady electricity, make no mistake about that!

Speaking of Justin, he was coming over this afternoon to watch something with me on the Internet but has since changed his mind. He told me last night that he is going to work around the house instead after church, not certain if that means in his ‘bungalow’ or in the main house, or on the property. Jesse and he do the yard work at their home, as well they should, so maybe that’s what he has in mind. The other boys go to play volleyball at the beach on Sunday mornings so perhaps he is actually going over there after church. Since he is not coming today, I will go outside once I get home.

Tomorrow we are meeting when he is done working so he can help me with grocery shopping for the ladies. The help I need is actually after wards but he knows he will reap rewards himself by going with me!

My house is nice and sparkly!

The cleaners just left and I am quite pleased with their work. The floors are particularly nicely done, and I will do my best not to be too fussy about the dusting. It was a husband and wife team who came, the owners, so I got their best team! The closing act of their efforts was them using a steam cleaner on the floors as they worked their way out the door---nice touch! It smells good, smells clean and gives a sense of being ready for guests! This is a service I purchased on-line at a tremendous discount via LivingSocial.com and she gave me a code to enter when I reschedule, if I do, so I continue to get discounts. Nice again!

Now, all I need is to shop, and then pick up my sister and friend from the airport! Easy enough---as long as I don’t have a flat tire like that one time. Of all things!! In a few minutes I am going outside to enjoy the evening after having been in the house all day. The morning was spent making things ready for the cleaners and the rest of the time, listening to the roar of the vacuum cleaner.

A little frustration is being experienced by me as the radio program Justin and I ‘watch’ changed its services today and in so doing, messed up the password situation. I believe Justin was able to log on from his phone, as he listens instead of watches when at work, but I cannot from the laptop. Customer service has been contacted and I await their help.

Customer service at our Synod’s publishing house came through like gangbusters for me today, which makes me so happy. When the gas powered computer died, it took a CD that was loaded inside of it, with it. Oh oh…since the power button is broken, Justin cannot open the drawer where the disc is loaded, nor would it open with urging from a screw driver. He figures with all the moving it around and such that the disc is likely scratched or roughed up anyway. The nice lady at NPH told me she would simply send me a replacement disc…just like that! What I was asking her for was the ability to access the last four month’s worth of newsletters on the disc, if possible, but ‘Cheryl’ said she would just send me a fresh disc. She said, in her e-mail response to mine of thanksgiving, “I like to make people happy!” She knows me well, as I like to be this way!

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!