Full Friday

This morning was the Meet, Eat and Play breakfast at The Club so I was up and at ‘em earlier than normal. Justin came in to give me a hug and kiss good-bye (bet he missed that when he lived alone!) after we made the arrangements for his ride home from work. Jesse was picking him up with the landscape truck on their way to the job. I just had to get him home, at a yet undisclosed time.

We did have five show for breakfast, including a new participant, Stephanie. She is very nice lady and will be a welcome addition to the circle. Retired from the phone company and collecting some disability after a serious surgery, she now has time for enjoying the benefits of The Club. Stephanie told us about her move-up career at ATT (BellSouth) which was an inspiring story to hear but it has a tragic turn to it---when the markets collapsed a few years ago, her 401-k investments took a $300,000 hit. That sort of changes everything for her, and I’ll tell you, it made me feel a bit sick to my stomach! But, at the end of her story, not told with a sad face, she remarked, “God is good!” Yes, I think I will enjoy visiting with her some more. But no game playing as we chose to talk instead!

I had taken a couple movies along to share with Andrew, whom I met last week, but he did not come today. When I got home later, he had left me a message saying he had to ‘go to town’ for a doctor appointment, as he is recovering from a back injury. Sad we didn’t get together, and I would have loved for him to meet Mary, who treats people with his type of injury. I sent him all her contact information so perhaps they can get together. She lives and works within walking distance of The Club, more convenient than going downtown. Oh, it’s funny that the pool guys are always doing their work when I walk through for breakfast. Yesterday one of the guys asked me if I worked for The Club, and I said I live at The Palace but dine at The Club. A new wardrobe for me might be in order if I look like a staff person---hardly!

Once home again, I got busy on the church newsletter, working as far ahead as I can before leaving for WI. I will send it to myself via e-mail and put the finishing touches on it at Mom’s, and then at Jill’s house. Jill has the high-speed Internet needed to transmit the document, it chokes Mom’s dial-up service. I sent a couple e-mails to folks in search of information for the letter and managed to make forward progress. Judy C. was able to answer some questions I had in regard to upcoming events and we shared the concern of just whom was getting the tree for church. We are all set to decorate said tree, we just don’t know who is going to obtain it. More e-mails addressed that and were answered late this evening. Whew!

Justin was going to be ready for pick-up in the OP Country Club around 5:30 so I planned my trip to the store for prior to getting him. There is a Publix at the entrance to the OPCC where Robbie works where I got my supplies for making cookies, which I will do tomorrow. We are having a “Cookies by the Pound” sale at church Sunday and if I want to buy some, I should bake some! I hope someone makes frosted sugar cookies for me!

Tonight Martie and I attended the Clay County Christmas show at the Thrasher-Horne Center. It was absolutely fantastic and we enjoyed it very much. The closing act is a live nativity which featured a new shepherd this year, Robbie! Judy C. and Donna W. rounded out our group, with Debbie S. being a no-show. We had arrived early enough but the parking lots were getting full and she would have had a really long walk once parked. Debbie’s health is not wonderful, having to use a cane to walk and has problems breathing. Her mom, Arlene, is near death so we speculated if that might be why she did not come. Mike C. had visited her mom in the hospital and she was not aware of his visit this afternoon. She is 90 years old and not strong enough to endure the surgery needed for her heart. She was a charter member, or very near, of Good Shepherd, the last one still at the church.

Martie and I got back here just after 10:00 and she headed for home, having to return to the office tomorrow to finish a mailing she was working on. If I wasn’t busy in the afternoon, I would help her, having done my share of mailings in the past. In fact, I have one of my own, on a much smaller scale, to take care of tomorrow! Justin was quite chatty when I got home, offering to dish me a bowl of ice cream so he could have some. He did not want to violate the fresh container purchased earlier so waited patiently for me to get home before having some ice cream. Boy, is ice cream ever getting expensive! I bought Blue Bell Creamy Vanilla, promoted as ‘still being a half-gallon!’.

Justin asked if he could use my car on Saturday for getting more of his belongings and I said he could since I will be making cookies and staying home. It will be so nice when he is moved entirely and settled in---right now, it’s a mess in there!

p.s. My apologies for the uniform size and color of font...this blog page no longer allows me to vary it, not even by typing it first in Word and transferring it. I might have to make a change of blog pages after the New Year! I gotta have more colors!

A great evening tonight!

Justin and I were treated to dinner by my dear friend, Joanne, at Carrabba’s. Not only did we dine together, but I will continue to enjoy the deliciousness at a later time since I brought home the ever-present to-go box. Justin had wisely asked for more bread which we also put in the box to come home. Yum! It has been a long time since we’ve seen each other, likely about six months ago. We talk to each other on the phone or via Internet but sometimes, no, often, we need to speak face-to-face and let the electronics rest. I will make sure to get in touch with her as soon as I get back from WI, entice her with some cheese curds! She is going to Atlanta for some CHRISTmas time with her two sisters, but coming back on the 25th to spend time with her dad, in the Memory Care Center. A sad situation for them both. * Justin had originally planned on using his father’s car to move more of his stuff but I guess they did that together earlier today when checking on a house being built out toward Justin’s place. His bed has now made it as far as the office and hopefully this weekend he will get his bed home and set up. First he will have to move the day bed to the other spare room in order to clear floor space for his double-sized bed. He is sort of tall for the daybed so have been using the trundle where he can hang over the ends! I never had that problem. I have let my downstairs neighbor know about the moving in racket, in case they wonder what the commotion might be. MamMa’s room is directly below Justin’s and she would be accustomed to no noise at all from that part of the house. He told me that last night he dropped a coin on the floor and it sounded like a gunshot in his room. He hoped it didn’t startle the grandma downstairs. I wonder if we should get an area rug to soften some of the sounds… * Besides our wonderful dinner, Justin and I sat in the family room to watch the Jaguar game. We were torn between the Jags and the debates, flipping between the two until I figured out to stream on my laptop and watch the game on the TV. The football game was going horribly and Justin said he was sick of the game, as we switched to the TV for the debates only. At halftime, the score was 27-0 in the favor of the Falcons. Bad news! Around the same time the 3rd quarter began for the football game, the debates took a break, and Justin went to bed. He has a long day doing yard work, from just after daybreak to just as it gets dark. I will have to pick him up after work before I go to the Thrasher-Horne Center for the Clay County Christmas. The Maestro, Robbie, informed me he is taking part in the live nativity that concludes the program. I am very much looking forward to my evening tomorrow night! Breakfast and game playing tomorrow morning at The Club, which Marlena believes will have six joining the fun. I am just delighted about that, looking forward to more visiting and taxing my brain.

Let’s hear it for the sun!

Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! As I drove home from Trivia last night, the moon was beaming brightly off to my left, showing me the way. Nancy told us at Trivia that Thursday was when the sun last made a showing. Cary said he did not see the sun when he was golfing but Ed, near Mayport, rode his bike in the sun. That is how weird the weather can be. I reported that only once this cycle did I see the moon growing full. And now again, last night! For sure I know it’s haircut time! I have that internal clock like Kramer has, but, like him, I sometimes hit the snooze!

Yesterday I heard some heavy-duty helicopters going up and down the river, not my usual traffic. Ed reported that the Marines were doing some maneuvers out of Mayport and this might be their equipment. They sure looked like Marines---the choppers, not the crew members! Usually I can doze right through the helicopters coming and going, but these demanded all my attention!

Justin rode with me to Trivia, after I collected him from the office. He brought me a treat of a caramel apple coated with mini-chocolate chips. Oh, yummy! The last time I had such a thing was when Billy Powell, my neighbor, brought some to me as a special treat. Talk about sweet---in more ways than one! The box it came in shows a pattern for cutting it into segments, not really meant to be eaten in one sitting by one person. Before we left for Trivia, he helped me make my bed again, making sure everything was nice and even, smooth, and no sheet edges exposed. Fussy, fussy, fussy!

Jesse was able to join us for Trivia since he is done with his classes at UNF for the semester. Rita was not able to make it so we still had six players, with Nancy, Cary, and Stephanie rounding out the team. We stunk on ice! Sometimes everything just falls into place and sometimes it doesn’t. Last night was a “doesn’t night”! But we certainly do have a good time, good food, and a good workout on our memories.

Justin rode to the Beach with Jesse after Trivia, in his mother’s Suburban, borrowed so that Justin could load it up with more of his belongings. Jesse, then, dropped him and the stuff off at home this a.m., on his way to work. They are not doing yard work until a full day on Friday so Justin is working at the office in hopes of using his father’s car to move the bulk of his belongings. He needs to move his dresser, bed, night stand, etc. which is more than will fit in his car, or mine. I wish we knew someone with a pick-up truck to help him but neither of us are friendly enough with anyone to ask for such a favor. It is really up to Justin to work this out but I cannot help but wish I could help more. I have offered repeatedly to help him organize the room but until he gets his stuff over here, well, it is of little point.

Today he got brave and started his car, venturing out to Fleming Island to the RPM shop for his repairs. GULP! He was a nervous wreck, fearing the very worst and having to face the ‘bad news’ of what is actually wrong with his car. He did not want or need me to go with him, but asked me to have my shoes ready in case the car died on the way to the shop. Twice he came back for hugs and kisses before he left, and then sent me a text message informing me it was running fine. Whew! Since then he reported that he dropped it off and was walking to the office. Now, we wait….

Justin told me he would stay here with me until such time that he’s paid off the debt he will owe for the repairs. As much as I like the prospect of having him here, I will also need to have the other guest room ready for more friends coming from Rocky Mountain Lutheran High School in July, to help with VBS. Last summer, the teacher had trouble getting names for doing this, and brought all three of those who applied. After the kids got back and talked about their great experience (ahem, ahem), Kerri now has ten students vying for an opportunity to come help out. Wow! The kids who came last summer are not eligible to return, sophomores only. I will take as many as I can house, as requested, but might have troubles taking them all if Justin is still here. I guess I don’t have to be a hog and host all the students but I think their friends really talked up the place here!

A couple weeks ago Judy C. did the great favor of shortening the sleeves on one of my fleece tops. I have had it for a couple years and wore it with large cuffs, as the sleeves are terribly long on me. She cut off 4” and then hemmed it by sewing machine another inch or so. The sleeves are now the perfect length, coming just passed the wrist and will work nicely with layering a T-neck under it. Last night I did the same type of thing with a cotton top, putting up the length by approx. 4”. When I finished it, my thoughts were, “Mom would have a fit!” because any sewer worth her salt would have cut off the extra length and put a decent hem. I am still proud of my stitching ability after all these years, not using ‘horse stitches’ as Mom used to call them. Now, two more items need my needle and thread, both being sweaters. One has a fraying edge (not really a repair that should be made with thread, but oh well…) and the other needs a button sewed back on. Then, I will ready to set up the card table to start packing for my trip to WI!!!

It stopped raining!

Yesterday was a soaker with nearly constant precipitation, varying degrees from a heavy downpour to mist in the air. The wind is quiet too but yet no sunshine. I will wait!

During the night I remember being warm, sticking my foot out to cool off. This morning, I am chilly again, even under the covers. I think I will wash my sheets today as Justin will be home this late afternoon to help me throw the bed together again. It all depends upon how my back feels—it gets angry on sheet-changing day sometimes. There is hardly anything as nice as sleeping on freshly laundered bedding. Life’s simple pleasures…

Justin was dropped off at the office in Fleming Island yesterday, back in our original building next to the daycare center. I took him up there and then went to Bible study. He asked me to please be careful when driving to church because of the crazy rain and puddles on the road. When I got to church, I sent him a text message reporting my safe arrival. Worry wart!

He would go home from work with his father, then, and make CHRISTmas cookies. Since he is working again today, he simply stayed overnight and will ride with his father. Tomorrow, we plan to take his car in to the shop to find out what is going with it. The car makes a rattling noise which might be a simple fix, like a badly needed oil change or an adjustment, or………………$$$ worth of repairs!

I think I might need to go to Sears to get vacuum cleaner bags for my canister vac. The last time Justin cleaned, it didn’t seem to get all the dust..hmmm. If the bag is full, the suction would be affected, or perhaps the floor brush is too worn to handle the dust. After I showed him the residual dust, which he sometimes finds a bit too fussy on my part, he had to agree that it wasn’t doing the trick. The sun is not kind when it pours across the floors and shows dust where one thinks there is none.

My chandelier, on the display at the Murano Glass Shop in Florence, Italy 2006

The other day Connie came in to see my tree and decorations, after the Ladies’ Group party. We were looking at my chandelier, which she just adores, when I noticed a cookie or something on the Turkish rug. I bent over to pick it up, but only part came with it. The rest, caramel, stayed on the carpet. Yikes! Thankfully no one had walked it into the rug but I keep forgetting to try getting it cleaned up. This might be a good project for Justin to work on. I believe that ice will work for making the caramel less sticky so it should be, should be, a simple matter---right? Where are those ants when I need them?

The needed supplies for preparing the First Time Visitor bags for church have been obtained, so there is nothing stopping me from getting them done. Then, why aren’t they done yet? Probably for the same reason the Inreach letters have not been mailed or my CHRISTmas cards not finished up….distractions!!! Or procrastination? I am also working on the little tags to attach to the candy canes for the kid’s bags for church. Also, we are including a card with “Stille Nacht” printed on it, if not for the kids, then for their parents, to enjoy. “An old-fashioned Christmas”, according to Cindy. Guess I could walk away from the keyboard for a bit, right?

p.s. In checking the vacuum cleaner situation, the bag is, indeed, ready to burst open! And the good news is that I have bags on hand, no need to go to Sears!

Where were you when the lights went out?

Oh, the excitement of being able to watch two football games on Sunday afternoon, back-to-back viewing of the two teams I support. What could be better? Well, for starters, having them both win! For another, having electricity at all times to allow the TV to air the game. Oh, is that asking too much? It seems it is!

I got home from lunch with Judy and Terri T. in time for the end of the second quarter, where the Jags were up 28-14. This cannot be, but it was true! No nap for me during halftime or third quarter as my eyes were glued to the set. The Jags did a very nice job of defeating the Buccaneers, a team which was less than challenging, according to Justin. But, for a short-sighted girl like me, it was fantastic! Backing up a little bit, when I got home, immediately I turned the TV to CBS to watch the game but it was not there…hmmmm…..where could it be? I found it on FOX instead, strangely enough. Okay, that’s fine.

Next it was time for the Packer game to begin, and instead of being shown on FOX, it was on CBS. The world really is upside down! I settled in to watch, and about 10 minutes in, got a phone call from Patti, my next door neighbor. She wanted to know if I had electricity in all my rooms, as it seemed she lost power in some of hers. That’s odd…She was going to call the others in her tower and I gave her my best wishes for solving the problem. About 5 minutes later, poof, mine was gone. Okay, now it really mattered to me!

Within seconds of this happening, my phone was going off, with Randy calling to see my electricity had gone off too. He wondered if there was a main circuit anywhere to check and I told him it was in Connie’s maintenance office. Hopefully someone had keys to get in there to check it but then he said, “I hear voices outside…” so he was going to check. I called JEA, after getting the number from Patti and went through the touchpad of commands in order to report an outage. It seemed to be aware of the problem, but I also pressed the ZERO to speak to a lady. She was very nice and told me 225 homes were affected by the outage, caused by a transformer fire (it was quite windy out there). While I talked with her, Randy came to the door to find out what I knew. She nicely told me it might be 6:00 pm before it’s fixed and I whimpered that the Packer game might be done by then. She apologized for the inconvenience and I asked her if I could go out there to cheer the workers on. I was told I could do whatever I wanted to do…

When I hung up with her, Randy asked, “Wanna go find a sports bar?” and I said, “YES!” He asked what I needed to do to be out the door and I said I’d put on shoes and grab my purse, as I was still in my church clothes. He told me to do that and he’d pull the car out of the garage. I dreaded having to do the steps, but I got ready like a fireman, and as I locked my door, Randy yelled over the railing not to be in rush, he’d been upstairs to lock up. As he got to the 4^th floor, we heard shouts from the neighbors that the power was back on, so he headed for the elevator and me back up the steps. Before he got in, he said, “Hey, if something happens, I’m in the elevator…” He told me he had his cell phone with him but there are also emergency buttons and a phone in there. No problem, he got back to his place to watch the Packers win, and I got back to my room to watch the same thing. We missed about 20 minutes of greatness but I will simply rejoice having the power back on, especially for my heater!

Once more, angry seas!

It sounds downright wicked out there, as another nor’easter makes its way through. Some of my Victory friends, some formerly from GS, were camping this weekend at a park in our county. My friend’s pop-up camper is on the fritz, won’t pop-up!, so they opted to tent camp. Not the best weekend for sleeping out in the elements, as it were. According to the reports on Facebook, all had a marvelous time, the weather was favorable, and best of all, the kids had a great time. Little Daniel is celebrating his birthday with a camp-out plus later this week, a dinner at Golden Coral. That reminds me so much of Timmy, he just loved to eat at “Golden ‘Ral”. Happy birthday, Daniel, my dear!

Tonight, though, the wind is whipping wildly and it was misting most of the afternoon. Likely it felt cooler than it actually was, with the temps in the 50’s. Only once did Justin and I see the moon of the river this cycle which makes me wonder if it really is time for my haircut or not….It is, actually, but I am holding off as long as I can so it’s nice for CHRISTmas.

This morning I had a nice chat via Facebook with Linda J. who had a better nights’ rest than the one before. She is recuperating from knee replacement surgery at home and sometimes experience leg cramps after her therapy. The doctor said it’s not unexpected but it is quite unpleasant.

Linda told me she went to sleep thinking about my friend, Amber, who was coming to church today. Amber is a friend of Judy C.’s, a former co-worker, and what a surprise it was years ago to hear that they knew each other!!! I had not seen her in ages but Judy kept me up-to-speed on what was going on. Amber’s spouse, now separated, used to work for us with Michael, whom my auntie referred to as the house boy. Frank was the one who would ask Timmy, who was a free spirited child, “Dress yourself today, Tim?”

Amber recently experienced serious health problems and out-of-the-blue asked Judy about being baptized. Holy cow, so to speak! I wept when Judy told me, since we could count on one hand the number of times she’d been to church in her whole life. In fact, while she carefully tended the kitchen and helped out with Justin right after Timmy died, she was unable to attend the service. She stayed behind to keep an eye on the house so no one robbed us. Today, she came to church, with Judy!

Last night Judy called to say Amber was coming but was concerned her clothes were not good enough for church. Judy told her not to worry about it, but told me not be surprised if Amber came in jeans. I said, “I can wear jeans tomorrow…” and after a brief pause, Judy said, “So can I!” And we did, with Justin teasing me a little bit this a.m., as he also tickled Amber was going to church. Sure enough, when Judy and she walked in, Amber was in slacks! Judy and I in jeans and Amber, dressed for church! Oh well, we were prepared for 'just in case'…After taking attendance, I had sat down in the pew behind them, but after the sermon, Amber patted the seat next to her, that I should come up there to sit. I did! She told me she was so nervous, like everyone was looking at her. I told her they were looking at me, so not to worry.

Judy came back to church for the Annual Meeting after taking Amber home, reporting she wants to come back again next week. Baby steps to having her baptized, let the Holy Spirit do His work on and in her heart. Amber did not realize I lived so close to where she works so she said we should get together some time. Certainly! No problem!!!!

A fantastic day

It’s been dark for an hour and yet, no full moon visible on the river. Rats! Last night afforded no moon view either as the clouds took precedence. This was unfortunate since Judy J. was here last night and so enjoys seeing the reflection on the water. We had dinner together before watching “Sarah’s Key”.

What a wild ride that movie turned out to be. Some of my friends in book clubs had read it already, as had Judy J., but Judy C. and I had not. Avoiding giving away the story, we ladies agreed that we had not ever heard about this going on in France during the war. OR, it has been blocked from our brains, but I do suspect we were never taught. This story seemed almost too outrageous to be true, which means it likely was. In one scene in the movie, when the magazine staff was sitting around a table discussing what took place, a writer expressed her dismay that no one did anything to help the 1942 Jews. The main character asked her co-workers, in 2009, “What would you have done?”…very similar to what is taking place now in regard the Jewish people.

We so enjoyed, besides the movie, delicious lasagna and garlic bread. Justin was going to be in for the night so he shared dinner with us and took care of the clean up thereafter. He busied himself in his room, supposedly getting things straightened away. It seems he is making some forward progress but also some not forward at all. Before we went to bed last night he put some stuff in the washer on the rinse cycle and was then drying them in order to avoid ironing. It works better when they are pulled out immediately rather than the next day.

Tuesday, Justin went shopping with his friend, Sarah, and bought my CHRISTmas present. He is chomping at the bit to give it to me but I think we have to wait. He goes through this all the time, he just cannot wait! But he must. What he did give me was a wonderfully thoughtful present of hand sanitizer from Bath and Body Works, in my favorite scent of Warm Vanilla Sugar. Oh yum! Not only does it sanitize, but instead of drying my hands the way regular stuff does, it leaves my hands nicely softened and great smelling. What a sweetheart he is!

Today, Justin was my driver, making sure I got to Great Hang Ups in time for the Open House. Julia was still busily making things ready so we pitched in to help get the shop situated. He used wires to attach the ceramic mugs to the lattice wall while I smoothed wrapping paper and cut up the entry forms for people to use for the door prize drawing. Also I helped Julia price a few things and dressed a table which the jewelry designer would use when demo-ing her jewel creations. Janet wraps gems and cameos in wire and then attaches them to necklaces or chains. They are amazingly gorgeous pieces and it is quite something to watch her work. In a couple hours’ time, she has a piece ready for sale. While the doors were not banged down, or pulled open, as the case might be, the Open House did generate some sales and framing orders, which is good!

Justin used my car to run errands and I gave him my debit card in order to fill the gas tank for me. At noon he was coming back to have lunch with me at Koko’s but we forgot they are not open on Saturday’s for lunch. When he came for me, we had to decide where to go instead. I suggested Mojo’s for some brisket and he said he knew that was where he thought I would want to go. We ordered onion rings for an appetizer and shared the lunch size brisket meal. It was perfect for us, no leftovers!

When he took me back to the shop, I reminded him to please get gas but that stinker went all the way back home and then gassed up on his way to collect me again. Ugh! He claims I still had two gallons to spare but my poor nerves cannot tolerate having that little light come on…which he knows well. Such a provocateur he is!

Once back home, he hooked up the Roku which was delivered via USPS and then got ready for a CHRISTmas party he is attending at Jesse’s mom’s house. He rattled off to me what his schedule is going to be for the next couple days, including getting up early in the morning tomorrow to sauté onions for their tailgate adventure before the football game. He has burgers, brats, tomato, onions, cole slaw, and buns ready to go, plus picked up his grille. He will miss church for the game and will miss again Wednesday evening as he uses his father’s car to finish his moving from the beach house. Time is of the essence now, it seems. He expects to be here with me until April sometime so I had better get used to it!

Justin has offered to repair or replace my switches and outlets for me as some are unsightly or won’t hold onto a plug. I am not sure I trust his skills in this regard as electricity is nothing to mess with, but would not mind some fresh switch covers or clean ones, at least. He wants other projects to tackle as well, and I can certainly come up a sizable list for him. I may as well make things better for myself as long as I am likely staying here for a while.

Today I talked with a lady who lives in one of my former neighborhoods in EH. She told about homes in one of the nicer areas of EH that formerly sold in the 700’s now going for about half that amount. Folks get a lot of house for much less money with the neighborhoods looking weary because of it. This is certainly nothing new but interesting to hear about my old stomping grounds. And sad to hear, as well.

On another note, Wednesday night, Justin joined me for church. Before we left though, we had to stop up at Nancy’s condo on the 5^th floor where she was hosting a party. I had let her know I could not participate in the party due to church and choir but could chip in for the charity collection. Most of my neighbors were there and it was nice to see them again, as well as my friend, Penny, whom I’ve not seen for months. Oh how I wish I could have stayed and enjoyed the fun. Oh well! Miss Chardonnay said she was planning to have a party at her house on a night different than Wednesday so that I can come. This would be the opposite of discrimination and I like it!

Justin was quite warmly welcomed both at the party and at church, with some of the ladies hugging him. It must have been Easter when he was there the last time and he was not home during the Ladies’ Group party, so they didn’t see him then. That must have made him feel quite good, at least, I hope it did. I was outside on the sidewalk waiting for him to come out behind me, but Julaine informed me he was inside ‘still hugging people’!