A clean desk is the sign of a messy mind

I have heard it said that a messy desk is the sign of a messy mind but now, even after my desk is cleaned off, I still have a messy mind. Lots of stuff swirling about in the folds of my brain. Do not mistake swirling for confusion, however; simply much to consider.

Today, in the wee hours, 3:50 a.m. to be exact, I found myself awake, needing to take a walk. “Redeye” was on TV and it was fun to see Greg Gutfeld at this hour, his normal hours, as well as on The Five at 5:00 pm. I like him very much on The Five, bringing some humor to sometimes tense conversations. It didn’t take long to fall back to sleep.

The soreness is still in my throat and now have added a little cough for good measure. Not like I had last Christmas, at least, not so far. Terri T. told me she has a sinus infection and since I was with her on Sunday….No, I won’t let her take the ‘blame’ for this as my sinuses are fine.

On the news this a.m. there was footage of huge riots and protests, and I had trouble figuring out if it was Greece or the USA. The particular scene I glanced up at was actually Greece but sadly, it could have been Wall Street. When one reads the placards and signs being waved in NYC, they are primarily concerned with money and who has it. I have not seen one sign or protester complaining about the basketball players or other athletes bargaining for millions of dollars.

The other day there was a music mogul with the protestors, Russell somebody, who first gave a speech, the one I mentioned when the kids chanted back to him everything he said, including, "Thank you all for coming out today!" He then sat and meditated with some of the Buddhists and yoga people. His net worth is $350 million dollars---I wonder if his fellow people on the line knew this. Or cared. After all, he looked like he was their ‘class’.

If he had walked around and handed out $100 bills to everyone there, would they accept it or refuse the money? After all, are they not opposed to people having money? Isn’t $100 money? Or would they hand the money to the person next to them, since they are all about sharing the wealth? If he is opposed to wealth, why does he charge people for music? Why don’t the musicians work for free?

There was a chart I saw on-line that showed what people who live at the poverty level, as determined by the government, have as far as assets. Yes, the very poor have assets. According to the 2005 census, one of the figures which caught my eye was the high percentage (well over half) of those in poverty with more than one TV. Almost all have at least one car, have A/C in the home, and yes, those with boys also are likely to have a game system.

If you look at the protestors on Wall Street, many are recording the goings on with their Apple iPhones and their iPads, or other electronic devices in near proximity to their person. They won’t lay their phone down and walk away from it, leaving it for someone else, because it is ‘theirs’. Sharing the wealth ends with the cell phone or laptops.

On another note: the other night at Ladies’ Group, we ladies and the pastor sat around the table, waiting to see who else was coming. One lady announced, “Amanda is on her way home…” Who? Amanda who? Someone from church? No, she was referring to Amanda Knox, the young woman who had just won her appeal in Italian courts regarding her murder conviction. Interesting...

I see a submarine!

Click the photo to make it larger

It might not be a real one, but it sure looks like a submarine. It must be a barge without a tug boat in charge. Since I began writing and took the photo, it looks like it made a left turn and is now headed toward Julington Creek. The other river traffic today was helicopters and lots of them. I wonder if the pilots can see me when I wave at them.

Oh my goodness, what is going to happen? The news is on and it seems Bernanke is getting scared now, too. What should I do? Should I call my advisors and discuss this? What is anyone else doing? Tell me, please!!! And I wish that spokespeople and those being interviewed would quit using the word ‘notion’---I am sick of it! Yes, my throat still hurts and might be making me cranky…

Given my tender throat situation, I am staying home from Trivia tonight, leaving “Nothing Tips Like a Cow” in the hands of others. And my dinner would have been free tonight, too. No worries, it will be free next when I go. With rehearsal Wednesday evening, I am nursing it today and tomorrow in hopes of being able to hit the high notes at choir.

This morning Judy J. called to let me know she plans to join the fun for dinner at Whitey’s next week. That makes a group of 12 going and I hope it’s nice enough to sit outside. Nice enough for me, that is! I can wear my fuzzy slippers and layers to keep warm, if need be. We have a number of our members in the hospital and Judy was going to visit Bonnie today, and had seen Fausto yesterday. June, Martie’s sister, is ill in PA, having a heart procedure done. Martie will be with her on Saturday when she flies north. Terri T’s sister-in-law is on a ventilator to help her breathe and today was reported to be doing better. That is good news as Terri recently lost her father-in-law.

My friend across the river that some of you remembered in prayer has had a double mastectomy performed as well as her gall bladder removed. A port was again put in place to administer her chemotherapy. She is now home and recovering before beginning her cancer treatment. In 2009, not long after getting married, she battled breast cancer and it was such a terrible shock to hear it came back again in the other breast. She wanted the doctors to remove any other organs that might be affected sometime down the road, hence, the gall bladder came out. She must be doing all right since she posted her update on Facebook about being home.

I did a load of wash today, and had two shirts which needed to be dried out of the dryer. Since the breeze was so delicious, the shirts were draped on chairs in the river room, almost like hanging them on the drying string! Quickly they were dry and ready to be hung in the closet. Still waiting for someone to come do that!

When I was talking with Judy J. this morning, my upstairs neighbor called with another computer problem. I called her back and said I needed to shower and dress before coming up. Thankfully I was able to help Nancy with one of her questions but I could not figure out how to open files not opened since 1980. They came up as little boxes and figures instead of words, not good since Nancy is a writer! 

I came back home and sent an e-mail to my other neighbor, Randy, to ask him how to convert them. He told me how to do it, and when I went back upstairs again, I did it! Yay! Randy and I are heroes! Nancy was embarrassed by not being able to figure it out herself but I reminded her that at the age of 80, she was doing just fine. I am not 80 and did not know how to do it, either, without asking Randy for help. Teamwork!

“I have ashes in my throat”

My niece, Lisa, used to say this when she was a little girl, when her throat hurt. I am saying it today. It could be ashes or it could be crushed glass, by the way it feels, with a slight cough accompanying. As I sat in church Sunday, it was like the coughing never was quiet, not mine, but others. Something must be going around, and it’s my turn. Perhaps the germs mixed with the weather change caused the problem, or influenced it, anyway. The low humidity takes some getting used to!

Most of us wore long pants due to the cooler temperatures, and were glad to have them for dining at Longhorn. Brrrr…..Bible study was not that chilly, I think he only had the fan running to move the air around. I did not need moving air but I am sure the others liked it. Only six of us in the class this week, but am glad to have Kristi join in now that she is retired. She does not join us for lunch though and I told her she spoiled us by coming once. We studied the prayer of Ezra which was really quite interesting. The conversation then went to mixed marriages and their challenges and sometimes, blessings. Good class.

Last week I remarked to the manager of Longhorn about how cold it was in the restaurant, we could nearly see our breath! He was telling how the temperatures are controlled by a central office (which the previous manager had also told us) and I find this to be so incredibly ridiculous. He can change it, adjust it, but after 90 minutes the temp resets itself. 90 minutes is enough for us. Fred, the manager who took care of us this week, told us he had to climb on a chair to reach one of the thermostats which was on the ceiling (that would never work in a house, especially since warm air rises!) when he came to work. He said he did adjust a different one when we came in, Judy saw him do it, but we did not feel much warmer. Next week we should take blankets in with us, or eat outside!

Did anyone notice the markets falling again? This has been a long time coming and now it’s here. I told Diane, my friend and finance counselor, I was going to buy a wheel barrow to put my money in when I walked to Winn Dixie to buy a loaf of bread…She laughed but agreed that those days are not far off unless things get under control. Don’t mock my food storage, pitiful as it might be!

Proud to be an American

My nephew, serving in Afghanistan, holding the star portion of the flag on this mountainside. They did not exactly retake this hill, but did climb up as part of training they were doing with some of the locals. JR graduated from West Point in 2009 and I could not be more proud of him!

Not so fast, people!

In watching the news this weekend, and even some before, there is again a huge push (no pun intended) to get Chris Christie into the race for the presidency for 2012. I am a fan of his on some issues, but Chris is totally off the mark on others. One of the radio shows I watch/listen to plays some sensual music when they talk about Chris Christie and his fiscal policies, but when he goes off on the goofy stuff like ‘global warming’, illegal aliens not being illegal, and tightening gun laws, the music stops. He would be a one-hit wonder, I am afraid, and not a worthy enough opponent. Might even be a ‘frying pan into the fire’-type of situation. I am thinking that perhaps political insiders are pushing this as a ‘bait and switch’ maneuver. Never mind his weight, which I think is a non-issue. Does Taft come to mind?? It was not a problem, as far as I am aware, in those days, but then they didn’t have instant publicity and live footage of events. Our society pays far more attention to symbolism (or appearance) over substance. (“It’s society, isn’t it, Jerry? Oooh, I hate society!” George to Jerry, on “Seinfeld”).

My blankets felt nice and snuggly warm this morning as the low temps were in the 50’s last night, and I kept my patio doors opened while I slept. That might account for my sore throat, now that I think about it…Not only is my throat raw but I am nursing a tired back. I think I must be getting old, although these two maladies are not necessarily age related, or age exclusive. I know kids with sore throats! The other night I swept the floor in the kitchen which seems to have been too much for my back…can that be true??? Come on…really? Most of the afternoon I rested it and hope I can return to normal activity soon.

Monday is a busy one for me with Bible study, lunch, and then Ladies’ Group in the evening. We are having a used book sale at church and Judy reported that it seemed like the proceeds have been good after the first day. We are asking 25 cents for soft covered books, and fifty cents for hard covers, with the proceeds going to the “Friends of C****” program. I only took two soft covers over and, of course, did not buy anything from the stacks. Last year after the Great Flood, I went through many of the books, the kids’ books and such, too, and sent them to the yard sale at Christ Lutheran. Kids’ books are quite popular at these sales and I saw many going out the door of the Fellowship Hall before and after worship at GS. My books which were cast offs I gave to Mary Lew and she told me a week ago that she has read every one of them!

Recent sunrises have been so spectacular and I have to wonder if it is because the humidity is lower. The colors are sharp and, if they had an odor, would be pungent. Many folks are just loving the cooler weather but as you know, I am a huge fan of hotter weather.

I am not sure how I feel about the publicity being shown to the protestors at Wall Street. If no one is looking, perhaps it will go away. On the other hand, the nation needs to see what our ‘future’ looks like in action. The millionaire actors and activists are going down to the site to urge the crowd on, who are supposedly protesting corporate greed. They likely have no clue what they are opposing, and not one of those actors appear in movies for free! When asked what they are marching against, the kids often say, “I don’t know…I was just invited to come down to protest…” It’s cool to do this, “second generation protestors”, I have heard them described. IF the Unions (who actually organized these protests: Stephen Lerner, of SEIU fame, planned this current protest) are so opposed to greed, why do they keep making demands for more for their members? When is greed not greed? It makes me think about how estranged couples kill the one that is dumping them. “If I can’t have her, no one can!” This comes down to a 10^th Commandment issue, I believe.

Lunch was so delicious after church, with one of Judy’s granddaughters joining us. Morgan was a little sweetheart, getting her uncle Mike to play tic/tac/toe with her while we waited for our meals. Terri T. was with us as well. Chili’s offers a trio appetizer that I like for my meal, choosing the mini-burgers, chicken tenders, and potato skins. Half came home plus some of Terri’s extra onion strings. I didn’t want to eat them for lunch because I had to help my upstairs neighbor, Nancy, with saving some files on her computer and did not wish to breath onions on her! The Jags lost, sadly again, but the Packers won. Makes for a good day over all!

New In Town

Earlier today I avoided watching the movie called “Pay It Forward” because I just was not in the proper state of mind. Instead, I opted to watch “Law and Order” reruns while I worked on the Palace Press. The movie is such a good one but the ending is quite painful so I watched something ‘lighter’, like cops ‘n robbers!

Tonight, now that I am done watching the national news, switched on “New In Town”, a movie supposedly taking place in New Ulm, MN. Linda and I went to see this movie when she was here a couple years ago and oh, how we laughed! We were in this movie!!! Part of the premise is that the ladies are scrapbookers and that is exactly what we two ladies were doing before we went to the movies! 

We had met Kelly T. at Scrap ‘n Stuff to work on our stuff. “Are you a scrapper?” Ha! While the movie is funny, it also is an over-caricaturizing of the homes and people of “up north”. Just like the movie “Fargo” did many years ago…I used to have salesmen and vendors come into the office to tell me how that lady talked just like me, or the other way around. Thanks! At Sprint, some suggested I sounded like the mom on “That 70’s Show” which I had never seen. Or Bobby’s mom on some cartoon. I am the caricature! Now that I see it again, well….It was funnier watching it with Linda, in the moment!

Doors are open front and back all day today with the temperatures reaching only the high 70’s today. When I went out to the pool to meet Marlena for a while, I noticed most of my neighbors also had their doors open for ventilation. It felt so good at the pool, not in the pool, of course, but in the chairs around the table. Marlena had a card for me to sign for Mary Lew who is getting a new knee installed. I wrote that I might not recognize her with a new knee….I hope she gets the joke. Marlena also gifted me with a coffee table book about the Muslim terror attacks on 9/11. She had extra copies and one day when we were talking about it, heard me express a desire for such a book. I did not know she had these and was so glad when she offered one to me. I have a couple DVDs of the events of those days but the book will be great.

After I got the newsletter done, I went around to deliver to the ones who do not have internet or cannot open the file, and found my downstairs neighbor had come back from rehab. My goodness, he was gone a long time! He had dropped his keys at the mailbox and could not reach from the wheelchair so I got them for him, and gave him a welcome home smooch and hug. His daughter had wondered if he would ever be able to come home and sure enough, there he was!

Since it was cooler outside, I decided to warm my house by making some ribs in the oven plus baked potatoes for my dinner. Martie had left some wine here the last time she was over so I poured some in with the meat. Love that smell! It’s like bread baking or similar---yum! Yes, I ate at home today.

Last night Judy J. and I went to Janet’s house for an Oktoberfest party. We had good food, including home-baked apple strudel made by Lonnie, from church. Lots of the people were Navy folks, friends of Lonnie and Renee’s who have welcomed my friends into their fold. Oh my… Another couple from church were there too, from Mandarin/Julington area, a long ride for them! One nice couple Judy and I were friendly with are teachers from Orlando, the man formerly being Janet’s principal when she still taught in MI. She said when he walked into the classroom, she thought he was her student, not her boss! Nice people! Judy and I took leave after a reasonable amount of time and when our tummies were nicely filled.

We got ourselves back to Fleming Island without hitting any deer, each of us with our plates of goodies to eat later. She was going to have hers today but I had a piece of spice cake and a slice of strudel before going to sleep! The giant pretzel made for a salty breakfast, as the chunks of salt soaked into the bread. It was good, make no mistake, and less messy than the one I ate last night. Someone supposedly made them, which I never knew you could do at home. I need to get out more!

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!