"As morning breaks...

...I look to you to be my strength today" Psalm 63

This is Sunrise, April 21st. I happened to catch the little boat in the reflection, as the men gather in their crab pots from overnight. This almost prompts me to get the paints out again!

My house stinks!

At least, once I leave my bedroom doorway and enter the halfway, it stinks. More than 'smelling like boy', it is the smell of skunky laundry, and more specifically, skunky shoes. Justin inadvertently left his load of laundered clothes in the washing machine from Tuesday night until Thursday late afternoon when he got home from working for his father. Talk about stink! There is little that smells as awful as wet clothes, and in this case, shoes. He rewashed the load, after I convinced him simply doing a rinse was not enough. He got his work clothes into the dryer before going to bed and pulled out what he needed in the morning. Justin put his canvas shoes on top of the dryer to air dry rather than have them bang around inside it. The smell of those shoes was offensive to the nose.


When he came home from work yesterday, he immediately showered, changed his clothes, and took a rest. I don't blame him for that at all. He claims it was 88 above zero when he drove home, which might be true on his car thermometer but in real life, I doubt it. It might have been in the lower 80's but he was flushed and had a pounding headache, so I have to believe him. 


Anyway, when he tippy-toed in here later, always liking to startle me as I am engrossed in my Internet programs, I told him the smell of his shoes was making me sick. Immediately he said he knew that and was planning to rewash the entire load, as he could smell it on himself all day long at work! I suggested he put some vinegar in the water with the soap, but he used the fabric softener I had bought in error, thinking it was soap, to soak his clothes. But the shoes still stink, and he thinks he will throw them out instead of try to save them. For $10, he will get a new pair and be done with it. Not a moment too soon, as I can smell them from here!! 
                                        
I am listening to and watching an Internet show via my ROKU at the moment, with the Editor of The Blaze reporting about a man's obituary which has gone 'viral'. For those who do not know, this means that people have viewed the obituary by the thousands on the Internet. Not sure where it's posted besides The Blaze, but the point was how many people wished to read about this man's 'unrepentant' life. I suppose they feel they lived vicariously through his wild ways, or something like that. The editor, Scott, remarked that you can define a man by what his friends say about him at his funeral. Oh oh.....I better be nicer to my friends!! Another man has said, "As go your friends, so go you", or was it someone's mom who said that?


Justin is always weary at the end of his day, whether he is doing landscape work for 6 hours, all day, or driving his father around creation. He has homes or projects going on scattered sites right now, and Thursday, Justin visited four counties as designated driver for his father. This works great, multi-tasking from the mobile office and Justin does not mind being in the air conditioned car. I suggested he think about a career as a limo driver! He is a big fan of tuxedos and he would most assuredly get his share of them driving teenagers to their proms!


Wednesday night Justin made dinner for us, having almost completed the preparations before I got home from choir. He made spaghetti with meat sauce, adding fresh ground (is that the word??) parmesan cheese using my Pampered Chef tool specifically designed for this. Randy had given us the cheese and Justin put it to use, and wow, was it ever delicious!


As we ate, I told him about a segment on Fox and Friends that morning with Dr. Keith Ablow, a psychiatrist. Viewers had written in with questions for the segment titled "Normal or Nutty?" and Keith makes the determination if their behavior is okay or not. One question that morning regarded a man's desire to eat nothing other than hot dogs and hamburgers---ever. A grown man! And the doctor declared him to be nutty. Huh...Justin has a friend who has very limited foods on his list, and what he does eat, is quite bland. For some reason this really annoys Justin and he tries valiantly to get him to change it up a little. 


Dr. Ablow (Keith) said it is ALWAYS deeper than eating only burgers and dogs, there is something else at work here, controlling the only things in your life that you can, etc. Interesting stuff. Justin was upset with what his friend chose to 'give up' for Lent, other than drinking. He gave up something he would never really miss, so instead of doing it to reflect on Christ's sacrifice, as is considered the reason for Lenten 'fasting', he gave up something symbolic instead. Justin tried to 'influence' his friend to do something more meaningful but the guy's fiance declared that one person cannot choose another person's sacrifice. Justin is sure his friend is doing it wrong!


Justin does not participate in this fasting, except last year, he made an exception. In order to save money, Jesse and he decided to give up meat. This was their attempt to stop going to fast food restaurants, since their choices would be extremely limited. It had nothing to do with religion and was all about the wallet, and waistlines! They did fairly well, too, with their commitment, having meat only once a week so planned accordingly. 


My boy is the social coordinator for his group, but that only works when everyone is on board. He just had a disappointment, though, when Jesse, the only other one in his group who could do it, backed out of a movie marathon coming up. On May 3rd, there is a Marvel comics movie marathon at the local theater, showing 5 or 6 reruns of super hero movies (I know, right???) culminating with the showing of the new Avenger movie at the end of the day. 
                                          
When he was in high school, I gave him permission to attend an all-day event showing The Lord of the Rings movies, missing school to do so. What a mom I was!!! He loved that, attending with his friend, Mark N., and still has the lanyard with the souvenier card hanging from it. He wanted to do it again with the comic book characters. Yes, this makes me put my hands to my face and sigh...but, it's a guy thing, I guess. 
                                    
Justin did all the math---how much for the marathon, using Jesse's Stubs Card from AMC to get the tickets, discounted sodas with free refills, and a five dollar credit earned by using the card. He can certainly do his 'ciphering when it comes to things like this! But, Jesse was not as excited about spending the $40 as Justin was, so now he is disappointed. Instead, though, they are going to have their own marathon, rent the movies on NetFlix and then eventually see the new movie at the theater. No lanyards though, this time....sigh.....

It's quiet here today

Except for my noise, it's so very quiet today. My downstairs neighbors are gone on a cruise, the upstairs people are either gone for the day or simply not directly overhead, and no machinery running outside. The river has been busy but not so many helicopters today as others. The boats are the floating type, not the roaring jet engines some of them have. Not sure how long that will last, but for now, it's kind of okay. I make my own racket with listening to my shows on the computer, and roaring with laughter!

Half of my Friday morning Breakfast Club are away on a transoceanic cruise so I decided not to go over to The Club this morning. I am getting quite hungry for the baby red breakfast potatoes so hopefully Randy and Carol get back soon. Mary and I could just go but I had not gotten in touch with her about it ahead of time and didn't wish to chance it. Not that I mind dining alone, but if I don't have to get up, I won't!

                         

My friend, Annette, sent me this photo, taken by her friend. She knew I would like it, even shows the F-18 that accompanied the Shuttle from the Cape. Annette and I used to work together at Shady Lane Home, starting in 1976. Although I am several years older than she, we became fast friends, losing touch after we left SLH. One night when I was in Manty, dining at the Green Street, I looked up and there she was, visiting from Las Vegas!!! Facebook keeps us in touch now almost daily...just like when we worked together!

Justin left early this morning, with Fridays being one of their fuller days in the field. The kitchen counter reports that he made a sandwich to take along with him. Monday we bought several boxes of "Hop"Tarts (as Timmy used to call them) from the BO/GO bins for him to take along in the truck to help sustain himself until meal time. The guys usually grab lunch at Taco Bell or somewhere else cheap, where they can go in, use the bathroom, and cool off before finishing the day. 

Today they used a coupon at Gibb's Sandwich Shoppe. He said the theme of the small shop was New York City and he likely drove Jesse nuts with his excitement over the posters and such. He told me Jesse doesn't share his love for NYC, excusing him because he has only been there once...I told Justin he and I are simply cliches and that's it!

There is a "Seinfeld" episode where George was asked to watch a stranger's suitcase on the street, but the guy didn't come right back. George put the guy's clothes on and had a map in his hand when a woman from the Chamber of Commerce sort of adopted him. He behaved like a tourist then and even moved his stuff out of his apartment in order to make it look like he was going to move in. The lady told him he shouldn't move to NYC as the city would "eat him alive"...And his apartment, not knowing it already belonged to him, she said smelled like monkeys lived there before, and was terribly over-priced. 

Jerry teased him about carrying out this ruse, and having this woman show him the town. "Are you gonna take a show while you're in town?"  So funny! How it works out is the man whose suitcase George was supposed to watch found him in a bathroom somewhere, took his clothing back and left George on a pay phone, calling Jerry to bring him something to wear. The woman finds him, in his underwear, and says, "I told you this city would eat you alive!"

                                          

This episode is about George taking over Jerry's kitchen and starting a new business of harvesting the 'crust' off the top of pudding. He has some in plastic wrap, showing it to Jerry at Monk's, their diner of choice.

Wednesday when Justin bagged up my clothes from my cleaning spurt, he also brought my file baskets out of the closet for me. I stored them in there since Linda's visit to make room for the wingback chair. The clean look appealed to me and I will have him wheel the cart back into the closet again once I am done filing. I hope that is soon! Now that the taxes are done, there is no really valid excuse for not cleaning off the desk. I should make sure that's all done before I head to WI in May. This will be my goal!

My arm has returned to what has been normal, no longer aching like it was on Wednesday. In that posting, I used a graphic of racks of shirts. My friend, Joanie, asked me on Facebook if that was actually my closet. She hoped it was so she could show her husband that it's really okay to have so many items in one's closet! Broke my heart to tell it was not really mine, but it was my mistake for not taking a BEFORE picture of the closet!

Two in one day

I have two baby showers coming up, not two in one day, though. That title references my Bible studies on Thursdays. But the showers are this Sunday afternoon and then one next Wednesday evening, as part of the Happy Hour event at The Club. In order for me to participate, I will have be there at 6:00 pm and leave promptly at 6:30 to allow travel time to choir rehearsal. 


The bar manager, Jacob, and his wife, are expecting their first child and the 'regulars' are holding the shower for them. Jacob is the nicest, most polite young man I have met in a long time. Because he is so sweet, I allow him to address me as Miss Day, even though I have asked repeatedly for him to at least say Miss Kim. Nope, no can do! And Lahaie Day is too much to remember on the fly...


Sunday's shower is for Lisa W., the daughter-in-law of my friends, Jimmie and Brenda. I will make the journey to Clay Hill to help them celebrate the pending birth of their first grandson. Jimmie and Brenda have two granddaughters, Faith and Hope, by their son JD, but now, a grandson is on the way! Lisa is the young lady who does my toes for me so I will have to wear closed-toed shoes that day!


Justin told me about a baby bib he saw in a parking lot where he was working (landscaping) which he thought quite clever. Paper on one side, with a plastic backing, with ties at the neck. A little pocket at the bottom to catch the drips, and then, throw it away! Or, leave it in the parking lot for someone else to pick up. I think I will look for some of those to give as gifts to the new parents, as well as some wipes and disposal bags, always good things to have!
                                   
His describing the bib reminded me of the time I sent extra napkins along to school, when he was in pre-k, to protect his uniform shirt from the spaghetti sauce they had on Mondays. When he came home, his shirt still had sauce stains on it, despite his extra napkin/bib. I asked him about it and he said, "Well, one side got dirty, so I turned it around..." That is sooo Justin!!


Today I had the distinct privilege of attending a pair of Bible studies, one at Victory. What a great give 'n take we had this a.m., and eventually we even finished the lesson. Pastor shared some sad news affecting members, two separate instances of suicide. One family had their parent, recently left a widower, take his life. Another couple had their dinner interrupted as a bullet shattered a framed picture on their living room wall. What? 


It seems their next door neighbor put one in his head while sitting in the backyard. It exited out the other side of his head, through the wall of their home, and shattered the picture. Much much more was shattered that evening than the picture on the wall. 


It is so tragic, the lack of hope these poor folks had. Neither men were practicing Christians, but even we believers feel pressed down on occasion. Prayers for all those affected, those left with questions...


Our small in number group discussed several issues relating to these events and what the Bible says about them. One man who is known for speaking when he should not said some rather...um....less- than-sensitive things, which the rest of us resisted. (How diplomatic was that????) Unless someone has lived with or around a person with mental illness, you cannot speak to it. There!! Even though the actual topic on the pages of the study booklet escape me, the memory of the conversations do not.


Sadly, Rita was absent yesterday as were Marilyn and Judy A. I missed them in the class, my only chance to see them once a week. Oh well, next week, then!
                           
About 5:30 pm Judy C. called to ask if I had plans for dinner. I did not so off we went to meet 'n eat at Steak and Shake, for which she had coupons again. She got home from babysitting early which freed her for dinner before BIC.  
                     
When I order my single burger, I get only pickles on it and use the ketchup at the table to add to the burger. The sandwich comes with shoestring fries and my soda was free with the coupon. Less than $5 and I couldn't finish the fries!


Our friend, Amber, was planning to be at class, and she made it. Whew! Sunday she was absent from church and missed class last week with company in town, which made Judy and me nervous. 


We were discussing baptism tonight and at one point, Amber whispered to me, "That's my problem---I never got baptized!" We were talking about being sinful from birth and having evil inclinations, rebellious toward God, and such. I whispered back to her, "It's not too late..." and she had written on her blank page in bold letters "Not baptized". I think now is good to have a baptism! 


Sometimes I wonder how much is being absorbed due to her concentration problems and such since her stroke but I think she gets it. Knows what is missing in her life, a life in faith! As we parted company, she told Judy and me that she is going to talk to Pastor about being baptized next week. Yes, and I will say prayers of thanksgiving for that day....


" I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Oh, my aching arms!

Something prompted me to get busy in my closet today, perhaps due to the conversation I had on the phone with my mom this a.m. who also was going through closets. It has been on the unwritten list of things to do, since at least The Great Flood era when Martie and I were going to tackle the job, but never did. Now, it's done and my arms ache because of it. Or rather, my arm, singular. Last January, a couple weeks after getting back from WI, I noticed my 'pitching arm' having an ache in it, which I attributed to carrying heavy bags of groceries from the car. But, it didn't go away and would vary in achiness day by day. Sometimes I don't notice it one little bit and on days when I reach a foot over my head, it bothers me more!


When Mike K. installed my new closet racks and shelves, I assured him that putting this particular rod up so high was fine, as this space would be more for storing clothes than for daily access. I was right, but he was also right about it being hard for me to reach. Perhaps that's why I seldom wore the garments hung on that side of the closet!
                
My friend, Mary, has a practice doing reflexology and pressure point therapy (I always want to call it Power Point!), myofascial therapy. She figures that I have carpel tunnel syndrome and can help me with that without having surgery to release it. Nice! It has been fine for a few weeks and hopefully I have not aggravated it too badly. Right now, my arm is complaining. By the way, she attributes this problem on being on the computer so much. Therefore, no relief in sight!


Yesterday I went around with my can of Pledge and a dusting cloth to remove the dust and soot from the surfaces in the formal rooms. After the fires and the usual dust, everything had a film on it. Someone, I am not sure who told me, had said she was told not to use the vacuum cleaner when the smoke was so bad because of stirring up the particulates in the air. I could see how that might be so outside, but inside?? Anyway, when Justin came up the stairs after work, he said he could smell the lemon Pledge outside. Wow, powerful stuff!


Connie is coming around today with the hose to wash down the building, to remove the ash and residue from the exterior walls, sills, and doors. Such a mess those fires make! She asked me to send out a notice to the residents to make sure everyone has their windows closed and put towels at their doors in case water seeps in. My front doors have enough of a threshold to prevent this but not my kitchen door, so our towel is in place!


Justin, being off work today, bagged up the castoff clothing for me. When he did so, he counted the pieces in order for me to have an approximate value for tax purposes. There are 25 items in one garbage bag and 23 in the other, tops and some slacks. Now, I just need the nice people from Quigley House to come pick them up, and we'll be good! My friend, Penny, is no longer working for them, but when she did, Penny would take the items directly to the House for the ladies to pick through before being donated to the resale store. I would prefer that happening with these bags of goodies.
                      
When I was chatting with Linda the other day, I mentioned to her that I thought I would hire someone to wash my windows. I can barely stand to look at them, and can barely see out of them! Maybe we need a good, pounding rain against the glass, but I am not sure this would do the trick. It's been a year since they were washed, at least, and look a fright. In the webs are bird feathers and bugs, the feathers from the crazy little birds which eat berries in the palm trees. They seem to stop by later in the afternoon, for a couple minutes, and then leave. The wild birds, more than a dozen at a time, act as though they are in contest or something, zooming between the two trees. Sometimes they throw themselves against the glass and try to freak me out---and usually succeed!


About my goofy arm---I was chatting with my sister, Jill, the other morning via Facebook. Not sure how it came up but we got on the topic of our aging, and not liking it. I remembered many years ago my sister-in-law, Marian, told me how she hated the way her hands were beginning to look. Of all the horrible health problems Marian had, it was the appearance of her hands which bothered her. I told Jill how the skin on my arms looks and feels so scaly these days. She was glad to not be the only one having that happen. Whew! In my case, getting sun tanned likely does not help with its condition but Jill does not sun tan so she has no excuse. I told her how when I watch "Everybody Loves Raymond", Debra is always applying lotion to her arms and hands before going to bed and I found that odd for such a young lady. Now I know why people do that---so they don't look like an alligator when they are no longer young!


A few Fridays ago I met my friend, Belinda, for lunch, at Longhorn. I knew she sold Mary Kay products, mostly for her own consumption and purposes, and looked great. She asked me the other day if I would be interested in helping her take part in a contest MK was having, which was doing make-overs. With no obligation on my part, she would do before and after pictures, enter them in a contest, and might win $2500. Sure, why not? She said she could do just me, or, if I wanted to, ask some friends to come for a make-over too. Judy C. and Donna from church said they would like to come, so we are set up for May 1st to be in the contest!


Joanne and I have had troubles catching up with each other, and we finally had a chat on the phone tonight. She was unable to make it to The Club to celebrate Easter with Justin and me because she didn't feel well. Now she thinks it was because of the smoke in the air, she might have had an allergic reaction to it. Her sister, at this advanced age (60's), has suddenly developed an allergy to shell fish. After eating shrimp and lobster all her life, now she cannot tolerate it. Weird! 


Maybe I can no longer tolerate cleaning out my closet!

It's taxing day!

This morning I had such a horrible dream that I could scarcely wait to wake up. On TV there is a commercial for a Land Rover where this couple takes arm loads or bag of clothing to be laundered, obviously after some amazing adventure. After their 3rd visit, the proprietor of the cleaners gazes out the window at them getting back into their Land Rover, likely off on another adventure...as a giant, hairy spider climbs out from under the pile of clothing on his counter. I believe this ad influenced my dream!


In my dream, a bunch of my in-laws and my yet intact family were staying at what appears to be a cut-rate hotel or perhaps rental condos away from home. The details are now faded from my memory but the image of black, bulging spiders remain in my mind's eye, seeing them crawling around our rented space. Changing units made no difference as the units were in disrepair or were under renovation, even though we were staying in them. Maybe I am thinking about the units on our property which are being renovated and readied for occupancy. Who knows with dreams, right? Regardless, it left me feeling all creepy crawly this morning!                                
                         

The thing which dreams are made of.....

On Facebook this a.m. I noted my regret for missing the Space Shuttle Discovery flying away from Cape Kennedy on its way to its permanent home at the Smithsonian Institute. I had hopes that someone along the way would snap a photo of it flying over, piggy-back riding on a 747 jumbo jet. I won't worry about over packing again, if a plane can handle a load such as that! Anyway, my former scrapbooking friend, Kimberly, snapped a shot with her cell phone as it flew over her home in VA.                              
           
Sort of hard to pick it out, but there goes Discovery on its way to Washington, DC for safe keeping


Last night a well-known commentator, co-host on The Five (the token non-Conservative), Bob Beckel, was a guest on Sean Hannity's show, which airs here at 9:00 pm. He has worked in the White House and on presidential campaigns besides being a columnist and commentator. The radio host I listen to in the mornings, Neal Boortz, was also a guest on the show. Thinking they were still in commercial, Bob continued an animated discussion he was having with Neal and a female on the panel, and he let loose with a filthy, inappropriate word, even after the show came back. 


He was roundly scolded, asked to apologize and refused, so Sean apologized on his behalf. Bob refused also to believe it was aired and even after he was told he was on the air, would not apologize. Sadly, later, the other two guys indicated that if Bob was fired by Fox News for his antics and bad behavior, they would defend him. What????


This is greatly disappointing to me, that these fellows would defend Bob, which basically gives him permission to conduct himself in such a fashion again. On The Five, the producers and his fellow panel members are always after him to guard his tongue, watch his language, and not be insulting. They jokingly made up a giant jar, like from pickles, with a label stating "Bob's Swear Jar" on it. He has to put pennies in the jar every time he uses bad language.This sort of makes light of it, and besides that,  he fancies himself as a Christian. I want proof that he knows how to conduct himself not only in public, but on the air!! This annoys me! 


First of all, he is not usually swearing or cursing---he is using filthy or vulgar language. Swearing or cursing is actually taking the Lord's name in vain, or calling down God's damnation on people. Using the language of the streets, inappropriate words, is dirty talk and has no place in the presence of decent people. Many times, and, in this case, on Sean's program, his usage of the word made absolutely no sense at all in the sentence. Pig! 


It would seem that if a person can control their tongue and measure their words when the camera is on (or when decent people are around), they should be able to control it otherwise. All it takes is restraint, and practice. Erase those words from your vocabulary and you won't have an "accident" when the cameras are rolling and the mic is live! 


If a person has a paper dictionary in their bookshelves, or on the kitchen table, like my mom does, they can see the likely hundreds of other word choices available to use to express one's displeasure over another person's opinion or belief. Here's a challenge, folks---find another word!!!!! And, behave yourselves!!!

Day is done!

In more ways than one, these Days are done! Justin and I went grocery shopping after he got home from work. First he needed to shower to wash the labors of the Day away. Normally he likes to go to lie down for several hours but instead, once The Five (Justin teases me that The Five are my family, as his Grandma says the NCIS people on TV are her family!) was over, away we went to Publix. I had a $5 off coupon to use, if we purchased at least $30 worth of stuff. And we certainly did!


He is obsessed with finding the perfect floor appliance for my rooms as he is not a fan of my vacuum cleaner. However, I am a fan of my Sears canister machine, called Dummy, which is a name acquired back in the mid-70's when 'we' had our first Sears canister vacuum. Our next door neighbor, Jim, with whom we shared a driveway, would take his dog out for a walk and call to him, "Come on, Dummy, come on", attempting to sort of harshly whisper to BeBe, to hurry the him along. So, as my sister, Kerry, who lived with us, and I would use the canister vacuum, pulling it behind us, we'd say, "Come on, Dummy, come on!" My former spouse would also use that expression when vacuuming, even when we had the central vacuum system, pulling the hose around behind us. 


So, where was I going with that? Oh, yes, Justin wants to get a cordless device to use for the quick touching up or for the dusty/hairy floors in my bedroom and bathroom. The other rooms are likely dusty, too, but this is the room I live in and it annoys me. He did find one, a vacuum with a Swiffer as part of it, but it was over $30 at the grocery store. You know it's cheaper at Home Depot or Wal*Mart. I passed on his suggestion, but he can get one for himself for Mother's Day!
                                     
Justin and I stocked up on a few things we needed and somethings we didn't. We enjoy the BO/GO bins and deals, but I refuse to buy things I won't eat or use just because of the deal. Last year I bought two bags of Dove Dark Chocolates from these bins, and I still have two pieces left from the bag I kept. The other bag went to Gretchen for her birthday, and it's nearly birthday time again! 


He got some bread to make sandwiches with, taking peanut butter and jelly ones for his lunches or breakfast when he's working. Bread is getting expensive, too, but it was BO/GO, so why not? We bought other items to use with some of the groceries Randy left for us, so we will be enjoying a nice batch of Velveeta Cheese with Ro-Tel Tomato dip for our BO/GO Frito Dippers. We will party hearty! I guess Randy made his own mac 'n cheese using the Velveeta cheese food, buying his stuff at the big box stores. Such a big block of cheese we have---maybe we should try making our own mac 'n cheese!


During the Day, I printed off postcard invitations for the Mother's Day weekend breakfast for the Ladies' Group. I will miss out on this outing at Honey B's, owned by relatives of the Sister's Tea Room ladies. Janet will have to be the leader in my absence and won't mind one bit! She is going to use a devotion based on "Life as a Cupcake" so she asked me to incorporate a cupcake into the invitations. No worries, I love playing with my Google images!
                                    
Michael lead our Bible study this morning, a new topic which escapes my memory at the moment. Oh, I remember: "Bear Each Others Burdens", which is a topic I find interesting. He will be the leader until May, and then, mid-month, his Call expires. Rats! I guess that would not prevent him from leading Bible study because we had lay people as leaders in the past.  


Only five of us went to Longhorn where I ordered the steak and baked potato. Makes such great leftovers when I use the oven to reheat it...oh my! One unfortunate thing happened today, though, with our waiter of choice, Jason. When he was bringing our tickets to us, for payment, he whispered in my ear that he is getting ready to move and having trouble getting his security deposit together, so 'anything extra you can give me will be greatly appreciated...'. Oh yes, he did! He wanted to me to tell the other ladies (I must be the boss of the group!), so I did. This bugged me, though, and I gave my standard tip. Not sure what the other ladies did, but I found this off-putting. As boss of  the group, I think I will recommend we not ask for his area any longer because of his request. Tipping for service is one thing, tipping for a security deposit is quite another!