Who has better friends than do I?

Let me get a drink first….ah…there, I am good to go now.

It is a gorgeous day out there, with the blue sky dotted with puffy clouds. A snowy egret is perched on the breakwater and earlier, about half-dozen manatees were also enjoying the day. Not quite 90 degrees yet but I guess this is as good as it gets.

My timing is a bit off, though, as I slept later than usual this morning. I missed most of the morning news program I enjoy, but during the night, I remember seeing the news break that the Muslim terrorist was killed in Yemen. I wonder which card he was in the Most Wanted deck…

As I was lying in my bed last evening, watching TV and listening to my radio program, I heard something else. Yes, the familiar sound of water, the moving kind and not from outside. I went in search of the sound, and heard it best in the guest bathroom as well as in the kitchen. From above…I sent both Travis and Jessica a text message asking them if they had water running or could hear it. Travis got back to me to say he could hear it, thought it was coming from above. Again, the empty unit! Ah! He was going to check the baby’s room after Fletcher woke up, where, I, of course, would have torn wildly into the room to find the source.

Sometime later, as I paced mentally and sometimes physically, Jessica sent me text message asking what I wanted earlier. I filled her in on my concern and she investigated, finding that the chain inside the toilet was tangled, and hence, the water sound. I am like a dog with this hearing water thing! Travis had trouble determining the problem but she pitched in to get it resolved. Now, I can sleep, at nearly 2:00 a.m.. So sleeping later this morning was not unexpected.

After Bible study yesterday, where we celebrated my friend, Ed’s, birthday with cherry turnovers (yes, Mom, your favorite!), I headed to Palm Coast for Marian’s memorial service. I wanted to make sure I arrived in plenty of time, allowing for a nice visit with Bonnie F., my friend formerly at Victory. She is the secretary at Christ the King now, totally running the show, as I knew she would. The last time I saw her was at the Worship Conference and we did not get to say good-bye when we left. We made up for it on Thursday.

I did get to spend time with the pastor, too, such a nice guy. He went in and played the piano while waiting for folks to arrive, thinking it would be any minute. Well, that didn’t happen, as I got a message from Justin telling me they were running late. He was a passenger so it was out of his control. He also asked me if Bonnie would be there so he could hug on her. She loved that!

When they did eventually arrive, he immediately hugged Bonnie, and then me! Some of the folks got lost coming from Orange Park, since they were not familiar. I went to sit in the church, sanctuary, waiting to begin, while everyone else mingled in the narthex. Justin came in where I was and I showed him around. He couldn’t figure out why the baptismal font is basically in the rear of the sanctuary, wondering if they dragged it forward when there was a baptism. I had watched one of the video-casts when a baptism took place and the congregation stood and turned toward the ‘baptistery’. Sharon was placed in the church to sit down as her knees were hurting so I sat with her and read her the Bible passages from the service folder while we waited.

Tina was late in arriving, bearing the urn/box of her mother’s ashes and a photograph for display. Pastor got out some nice wood columns for them to be placed next to the Paschal candle. He asked her if we were waiting for anyone else and she said, “No” at first, forgetting her husband and mother-in-law were still coming. About 20 minutes or so late, we began the service, which included no music or singing. This made me sad, but as Pastor assured me, he was able to make the service quite meaningful for all in attendance. And he did. We had 18 people, one of whom was a friend of Christina’s. I was able to listen once more to the service as it was posted on the church’s website last night already. This link was forwarded to some folks ‘back home’ whom I knew would like to hear it.

The rest of the family went over to Tina’s house for a luncheon and gathering, I believe the first time that Harv, Barb, John, and Mona would have been there. Not sure about Nancy or Sharon, though, but it might have been their first visit as well. I went home, after chatting some more with pastor, Bonnie, and meeting the new father, Vicar Hoff. He has a newborn at home, and his baptism is this Sunday. I will get to watch, from my home! As Bonnie and I enthusiastically discussed our time at the Worship Conference, Pastor teased to the vicar, saying, “Listen to these worship gurus…!” I told him about the danger of having a little bit of knowledge, and I am quite dangerous!!!!

My dear friend, Judy R., and I have been planning to call each other, but didn’t get to it, as we need time set aside for calls such as these. Since I had an hour car ride home, I called her, but had to leave a message on the machine. Rats! Later, when I was at home, my phone rang, showing me Judy was calling. It turned out that she had some time and decided to call me, and when she went to get the phone, saw that I had called her. Cool beans!

She was excited about attending a seminar for church librarians and got to hear Prof. Daniel Deutschlander speak. She asked if I heard him yet and I told her how I was going to pick him up from the airport for the pastor’s conference a year ago, but my car was acting up. Didn’t want to strand the keynote speaker on the side of the road, right? I told her I have the book, The Theology of the Cross, and she said that was what he used for his lecture. She bought the book and is braced to get into it. He admits the first couple chapters are slow going, and that’s as far as I have gotten. Guess I have to pull it out and get going again. I will be a Deutschlander guru, too!

Before we hung up, she told me how glad she was to see that the publishing house brought back her ‘absolutely most favorite of all’ book of prayers, for those dealing with stress. She used to have several copies and has given them to folks who had a need of them. Now she can restock her supply. Like the dear, dear friend she is, as I drove to meet Martie for dinner, Judy read me several of her favorite prayers, including one which brought me to her mind, dealing with grief. I have just the best friends, that’s all there is to it!

It was that type of day...

"Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;

shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.

Heavens' morning breaks and earths vain shadows flee;

in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me."

This is nuts!

In catching up with the radio programs today, it is ridiculous to hear the reports and clips of the people being lead in chanting, protesting something about which they have no clue. One group of repeaters even chanted back ‘thank you all for coming out today…” not even realizing the ‘indoctrination portion of the meeting had ended. The protestors at Wall Street, when asked, according to some, knew they were there to protest something but were not clear exactly what. One pathetic graduate student played for the cameras, simulated sobbing over Chase Bank taking back his parent’s house, stopping mid-sob to properly spell his name for the reporters, and then crying again. Upon further investigation, it turned out his parents, both with extended degrees and employed, actually are selling their home in a short-sale. Street theater at its finest, or at its worst, as the case might be.

*****

Well, sadly, Justin was unable to join us for Trivia last night as he was kept longer helping his father get some things ready for visiting houseguests from WI. The origin plan was that he would have been done in time, come over here to take a shower and change clothes before going to Trivia. He expressed some concern about getting everything done today, besides working with the lawn guy, and I hope he did without getting an ulcer. Justin called me Tuesday while driving back from a jobsite to tell me about a lovely neighborhood with condos and townhouses. He is always thinking of me in that regard, but he agreed the neighborhood is too far off the beaten path for me. Cannot cramp my style by isolating myself, but it’s cool, anyway.

At first, when he gave me a quick call to tell me he couldn’t make it, I thought I might stay home, too, but changed my mind. Last week I was not able to visit with Stephanie or the others because of having two teams so I decided I would go to chat with my friends. What fun we had! Somehow or another we squeaked out a nice 2^nd place victory. On the one hand, there were fewer teams playing, and on the other hand, we had less competition. Nice!

Every one of us brought something to the game last night, and the host told us, to comfort us, that no one got the final question correct. Not even the sports DJs we were up against got the sports question right----whew! I do know this---if Justin had been there, he would have known the answer to the Greek mythology question. Oh well….He won’t be there next week either because he has to babysit for his soon-to-be stepsister. My frequent diner’s card from Johnny Angels is full so my meal next week is on them!

Today I got a delayed phone message from my friend, Cindy, who called me as I drove home from Trivia. Since I was talking with Mom, her call must have gone to the machine, and got lost in outer space until today. Anyway, she was right behind on I-295, and said I was her guiding light on her way home. That was so nice! She also thanked me again for directing a family from church to buy her daughter’s car. So glad it worked out for them all.

Another call, or rather, message came later than it was left, and this was after I had reset my phone because it was acting strangely. Apparently it was choking on phone messages!

We are expecting a cooling trend this weekend, but Friday is still looking to be in the low 90’s. I wish the weather would stay nice while the in-laws are in town, although they will likely think that 79 IS nice weather. For me, an extra blanket might be needed---well, not quite but it will certainly feel quite different. The biggest difference we Floridians will notice is the decreased humidity which has been extraordinarily high in these recent weeks. Perhaps then I will be able to close the door to my laundry room---the door is so swollen that it is now too large to fit the opening!

Today I had lunch with my friend, Brenda N., at Steak ‘n Shake, next door to her work. She teased me for ordering the single slider burger instead of the larger one that comes with the special. She usually orders a turkey club sandwich which is quite a good-sized serving, made on Texas toast. I do like the fries there and ate every bit of my meal. She recently lost a dear friend to a traffic accident in the Bahamas and she filled me in on the details, etc. Annie’s car was hit two blocks from home, broadsided by a police car which was going ‘at a high rate of speed’. That’s how quickly things can change. Her friend was active in her church at Freeport, an Episcopal one, and will be truly missed there, and by Brenda, here.

After lunch, I took my car in for an oil change and asked the man if there was a way they can check the power in my battery. Some times when I start my car, it acts as though it has to think about it first, and then decides to start it. This concerned me, as I remember how Justin's car just quit running that night on the way home from Trivia and had to be towed off JTB. Scary! And I don't want that happening to me. Therefore, besides fresh oil and other fluids, I have a new battery to power me down the road, with some confidence. The technician promised me the car would pop right off with every start, and it did just that when I started it tonight. Yay!

Flowers!

My friend, Diane, who also invests for me, came over last night and brought me a wonderful bouquet of flowers. She is just a dream of a friend and we always have so much to talk about when together, not the least of which is my finances. Two hours flew by far too quickly and I hated to say good-bye when the time came. Enjoy my flowers with me!

A Tuesday recap

Tuesday was an amazing day, starting early with a quick shower before I had to disembowel the lower cabinets where plumbing is located as the pest control man was coming. We had a ball-park estimate of his arrival on the property of 9 am to 1:00 pm, and I wanted to be ready. Since the cabinets were empty, I swept away the cruddlies which had made these dark recesses their home, and happily found no bug carcasses. Evidently whatever was sprayed last year has done the trick. Besides not being any bugs, this gives a person a chance to clean things out at least once a year!

Monday evening at the Board of Directors meeting, it was mentioned some of the units had leaks which became apparent during the recent rains. At some point the discussion determined that Jeff, my downstairs neighbor, who would be accompanying the pest control man to the units, would check the leak. When they came to my door, I directed Jeff’s attention to the window with the leak. He pointed out there was corrosion along the top of the window which has certainly developed over time. I stressed once more that the leak was originating above Jessica’s unit, with NO open porch or exposed areas. We realize that our river rooms were once exposed and not originally intended to be indoor space, but I AM concerned for the vacant unit above us which might be the source for the leaking. Yikes! He was going up there to check it out after he left my place, and I am interested to hear what he discovered.

So, back to the bug man---he went about his business, as busy as a bee!, spraying around the windows, doors, under the sinks, and so on. Once Jeff left, I redirected the bug man to my bedroom windows for an extra shot to address the jumping spiders that frequent there (Lynn would hate that!) and then pointed out that I had ants visiting my night stand and areas in my kitchen. He saw my bait things and agreed with me that terro is the BEST weapon against these ‘sweet ants’ (which must be different than sugar ants). He did not explain why---he is only the technician, after all. I will make a trip over to Winn Dixie to get terro, which is where I got it last time I had troubles, since the Hot Shots I am using now seem ineffective.

The fellow came up to me when he was done and asked if I still used my die-cuts and such, which he observed in the guest room. I said that I don’t use those tools as much as I did at first, and asked him why he wanted to know. It seems his wife does card making now more than scrapbooking, and he was going to offer me her die-cut tools. Now, isn’t that nice? Instead, I offered him my long-neglected rubber stamps which he was glad to take along. As I bagged them up, it occurred to me that I would have this empty stamp case, designed for holding stamps, lying around, so gave him the whole shooting match to take to his wife. He was so thankful. Earlier he told me that he would buy every new die-cut or supply, and even put himself on wait-lists for new products, to please his wife. Wow! I nearly gave him a smooch…but settled for sending the stamps along with him. Lots of money went out that door with him, but they were doing me no good drying up in the closet and will give her some joy, and he as well!

I did not immediately restock the cabinets, leaving them open to breathe a bit before I would put it all away again. The rest of the morning was spent putting the finishing touches on the newsletter for church and printed one off to mail to Gretchen. I like for her to have one done in color, but now that her sister and cousin have both passed away, she won’t have anyone to mail it to. That is what she did with her copy, mailed it off to share it.

For lunch I was attending a real live tea party at a shop down the street called “Basketique”. It is a gift shop and tea room rolled into one, and wow, what a marvelous shop it is! My eyes came out of my head as I browsed the shelves before the rest of the ladies arrived. This gathering was our water aerobics class, celebrating a wonderful season of water fun.

Since I do not drink tea, I asked Marlena if I could bring my own soda and she said I could, so had one in my purse. Fortunately, our hostess provided me with two tiny cans of Diet Coke which tided me over, but I did have to agree to at least try the tea. And I did!

What a feast we had!!! I can only begin to report what we had because it was not my usual fare of Spam on toast---more like heart-shaped bread, miniatures, with a special ham salad and goat cheese, and a heart-shaped pickled beet on top. I ate it and I loved it! There were other delicacies such as unusually flavored crackers (to me, anyway) with salmon spread and such, similar to what to was served at the “royal wedding”. There was pumpernickel bread cut into flower shapes and some sort of green stuff, and a cucumber slice. This was only the beginning! We had strawberry soup, more like pudding, with cocoa-flavored granola to sprinkle on top; cheese twists that tasted sort of like pie crust that was served with two different types of salsa, one of which was peach. I did not try the salsas, but was not crazy about the cheese sticks. Numerous types of teenie sandwiches came out, plus an olive/carrot/other veggie chopped up-type of mixture in olive oil, served with sour dough crackers, cheese cubes and salami. Oh my goodness!!!!

Pat, the hostess of the shop and tea room, told us everything we were served is also sold in the shop. I even ate some sort of potato chip that had a chili flavor to it, and liked it! Totally out of my spectrum of ‘likes’. I am already planning to bring the church ladies here perhaps in spring on a Saturday but we must make our plans quickly as her slots are filling in quickly for the coming months. The best kept secret in Orange Park, right under our noses! I want a jar of that olive stuff, which Pat said can be eaten directly from the jar if we want to, but she was out of stock on it. Believe me, I will check back in periodically to see if it has come in…yes, it was THAT delicious! For dessert she served cut up scones with two different dipping items but I could not eat anything more. Our final treat was a tea cup shaped cookie with a marshmallow topping, chocolate drizzle, and a raspberry on top. We also had fresh fruit on the table, served with cottage cheese which I ate, giant-sized berries at that. Such a delightful feast!

Facing a blackout next week

The Jacksonville Jaguars, of whom I am a fan, had a very rough day on the field in Charlotte, NC yesterday. Just before half time, the heavens opened and an enormous downpour took place. It was difficult to see sometimes as the camera lenses were covered with rain drops. Water accumulated quickly on the field, and the guys would slide and splash as they tried to catch the ball. It was almost as though it was icy, as the quarterbacks and kickers had troubles hanging onto the ball. The cameramen were showing the waterfalls coming out of the stands and the pools forming in the end zones and sidelines. All the electrical cords and such draping around the players’ benches…yikes! The Jags ended up losing by one touchdown, and could have pulled it out if not for the errors on the field. One of the national announcers remarked that this is the team’s 3^rd quarterback this season, although technically David Garrard was off the roster before the first game was played. I fear that next week’s game a home will be blacked out due to low ticket sales and therefore, I will have to listen on the radio. Rats!

On the bright side, the Packers won!!! Unfortunately, I could not watch the game as Atlanta/Tampa Bay were aired here, but guess I could have gone to a sports bar or restaurant to watch it. My downstairs neighbors had suggested we all meet at the cabana for happy hour at 6:00, weather permitting, but weather did not permit. At about 5:00 it was thundering, and then the lightning and rain came for a couple hours. I really like the window-rattling crashing of thunder, even my lanterns were rattling!

Our Bible study yesterday was a continuation of the stewardship series, this week covering leadership. Again with the breakout sessions, our ‘table’ had to pick a person from the Scriptures who showed strong leadership and then explain why. There were only four at my table, with Judy C., Mike S., and an elderly man, Bill. He suggested John as a strong leader and I asked him, “Which John?”. It was John the Baptist and we had our work in front of us, given 4 minutes to make a case for him being a strong leader. By jingles, we did it, too.

When I went into the church after class, there was a member in the pew I had not seen in a while. She lives most of the year in West Virginia and helps her son raise greyhounds for racing. She will be in town for a couple months so we will see each other more often. Garnett thanked me for the newsletters I send her, and I was so glad to get some feedback from a recipient. I was also greeted by my friend, Gretchen, who reported that her dear cousin, Pat, for whom we have been praying, had died the day before. Poor Gretchen! Recently she lost her sister and now one of her favorite cousins. It is so cool to me how close that family is with their extended relatives and how they keep in touch after all these years. She said they all grew up together and such in Tampa, traveled together and such, so it is natural for them to stay in touch. It breaks my heart for her to lose yet another person close in hers…

Robbie was our pianist yesterday and during the offertory, he sang two stanzas of "Abide with Me", acapella. Later, Terri T. told him how much she enjoyed hearing that, and he said it was for those who recently suffered losses in their lives. She and I agreed that it is good to hear this even after the years have passed. Since it was Fellowship Sunday, we had refreshments after worship. At the table, I was singing “We give thee but thine own….” which we had sung in worship. Mike K. said, “Now that’s the Lutheran church I know!” This hymn was sung every week at their church in IL following the offering. That stuff sticks with you, you know?

The congregational/voters’ meeting went smoothly and quickly, so I did not miss much of the football game. The pregame show was on the radio as I drove home, but when I was coming toward the condo, I passed a car with my friend at the wheel. She backed up and I pulled back up the hill so we could talk. Lee apologized for missing the opening of Dee’s show and we made plans to get together to see it. She thought it was a one-time thing but I explained it’s there until December so we have plenty of time. She can’t attend the tea party with us on Tuesday as her son is coming to town so we will try to another time.

Okay, so make a liar out of me…Or at least, premature in my prediction about the black out. According to the radio just now, ‘only’ three thousand tickets remain to be sold by 1:00 pm on Thursday. There yet might be hope!!!

Photos of the quilt show, etc.

Remember that you can click the photo to enlarge it...

This was painted by the Lord on Saturday morning

This is a quilt Rita and I saw at the show on Thursday, a 25th anniversary commemorative quilt. She asked me to take a picture of it for her...this one caught her eye!

Our friend, Dawn, created this quilt with an Asian theme. There is a dragon making its way diagonally down the pattern

Dawn had about a half dozen entries at this event and I was looking for them as we walked the aisles. I came around the end and did a double-take on this one, for the obvious reasons, and discovered it was Dawn's!!!

This is the prize winner, created by Dawn, for this contest using the theme "Sky is the Limit". The entrants were given the fabric and the theme, and away they went. Dawn created this masterpiece which commemorates each site where planes flown by Muslim terrorists into our buildings or into the ground, as happened in PA. She then stitched 3500 glistening beads to this piece in remembrance of the souls lost in those days. Definitely worthy of the blue ribbon. Well done, Dawn, well done!