Life returns somewhat to normal

Oh, how I hesitate to make that statement! Not superstitious ordinarily, but I simply hate to let my guard down. Right now I am torturing myself by running the dishwasher which, this soon after a leak, will give me pause every time it changes cycles. Much like the washing machine did to me yesterday!

I got freaked out when Jeff, my downstairs neighbor, called me on Tuesday. He said the midst of all the other confusion we had on Monday with the leaks and such, he had a sewer back-up in the shower and a toilet. Oh no! This has to be storm related, right? But then, why so selective? Rose, on the 4th floor further toward the north, reported the same issue so thought since I am on 3rd floor, in between, I might have troubles, too. I was running bathroom to bathroom, checking the situation. Oh, believe me, I would have called if I did!!!!  

He said he heard a glug glug sound and then swoosh, down it went. Just to be sure, though, he called the Roto-Rooter people to come clean out the P-traps on the exterior of the building, on each end of The Palace. On Monday I had made the comment about what Jeff's wife says when we have leaks here, "at least it's clean water..." but now, that might no longer be true. Jeff told me he took an hour to clean their shower after the back-up. Good thing he was home when that happened, since he is a pilot for Fed Ex.

Connie had told me some of the bulkhead had broken loose so I tried to see it from my patio doors. While I could not see down there, I did see next door to me that they must not have been home for the storm. The patio, an exposed one, was a huge mess---broken flower pots, tattered grille cover, tipped over chairs. I only hope nothing glass was broken on the house, like their doors! I should let Connie know what I saw, in case someone needs to go in there and check for damage. These folks, Ed and Karen, also have a home in Charleston, and are likely up there at the time. What a welcome home they will have!

Justin's workweek, besides being a holiday one, is messed up from the storm. He worked part of the day on Tuesday and part of the day on Wednesday this week. The ground is soaked, the mowers sink in and the grooming parts of the job---edging and hedging, can wait until things dry up. Sure will help with growing though, all the rain we had!

Tuesday, after he cleaned up and got dry again (worked in the pouring rain!), Justin and I went to lunch and then to Publix to restock the larder. He ate everything from my fridge and cupboards except the dishes. Well, that's not accurate, he did eat a couple dishes...No, he did leave some stuff behind because of having no eggs or meat, or other ingredients to make a meal from it. He said he would just come home after work, get cleaned up, and collapse, having no desire to go back out to the store. Justin did confess to ordering from Ming Moon at least once!

Since he got home early yesterday, which I did not expect, I pressed him into service. My bedclothes were being washed and I wanted his help with turning my mattress. Because I spend so much time lying on my bed with the laptop, my butt leaves indentations in the pillow top (NO! Really???). I like to rotate the mattress periodically to  spread the destruction around some. All he told me to was "Don't let it fall on you!" as we worked it around, avoiding the fan, and got it re-positioned. We did have to fix the dust ruffle under the mattress which was tricky but got everything put back into place. He also helped me dress the bed again, and then he laid down on it!

Before he got too comfortable, I asked him to please get my iTunes back on my computer which was lost when in the shop before my trip. Also, he got the Avast! security started up again, which had a cramp in it since coming home from the shop. I did not allow him to get cross with me, I simply stepped away from the machinery!

Another thing I was working on before he came home was trying to research my data usage on AT&T because I am exceeding my limits almost every month. Several times now I have gotten 'warnings' that I have exceeded them, and after a certain point, I will be charged $10 for 50 GB extra a month. Justin has offered to pay the extra, which we figure is because of his usage with movie and game downloads, etc. 

Finding the information about my account was like digging in quick sand, though, NOT a user-friendly site at all! Eventually, between us, we found a chart which showed the history of the account and when the usage increased off the charts, as it were. It does coincide with his moving back in, however, it also coincides with my obtaining the Roku device. Hmmmm....We won't know for sure until he moves out again, but he is fairly confident my package will be sufficient when he is not using it. 

                                  

Even with the larder restocked, the temptation to go out to eat dinner was great but instead, we ate at home. Rather than have leftovers, I made Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper and added cheese curds for interest. Oh, man, that was good! Justin said he loved the 'surprise' of biting into a squishy curd as he ate. Tuesday night I made us ribs with sliced potatoes plus whole kernel corn. Two nights in a row eating at home. No, make that three, since Monday night we had Ming Moon delivered!!!

Some special times

When I was in WI, visiting my family in Manitowoc, I also spent time with some friends. One night Rick and Laura took me to Time Out for dinner, where I had those marvelous beer-battered perch. When together, I returned a nightshirt Laura left behind when they had visited me in April. We went over to their house after dinner and I got the 25 cent tour of their home and property. My family remembers having been there years ago for a cosmetic party but I do not. It was a nice evening!

Taken on a previous visit, so you can get the idea (Marilyn is the second lady on the left with Mom in the foreground on the right)

Linda and I spent time together throughout the visit, but our best day was Thursday, before I left. First, Mom, Lynn, and I went to church to help assemble the newsletter. A group gathers and makes quick work of the project. One lady is a very dear friend of Judy J., who lives now in FL but was formerly church friends with Marilyn in MI. Marilyn lives now in Manty in the neighborhood where we built homes years ago. One time, several years ago, Marilyn called Judy to ask if she knew us, since we had signed the guest book and she noticed the Orange Park and Good Shepherd listed as our church. Well, of course, Judy knew us! How fun is that??? Judy told Marilyn how we went to church together, how she was my sponsor for working at Sprint, and how she helped us find a home to rent in Peters Creek, where she resides. Gotta love the WELS!

After we were done with the newsletter, I said 'good-bye' to the two pastors, and wished Pastor Rosenow well in his pending retirement. We ladies---Lynn, Linda, Mom and I---ate at the new restaurant opened only the day before, called "8th and York". 

After lunch, Linda and I went to her house for our action-packed afternoon of retreat. Yes, she and I watched a recorded woman's retreat lecture given by Prof. Daniel Deutschlander on "The Theology of the Cross". The session was two hours long and his first time presenting to women, most of which were lay people. Linda had already seen the first hour but was ready to see/hear it again. 

Talk about riveting! Wow! Linda often watches movies and TV shows, and women's retreat lectures with her eyes closed. She gets up at 4:30 a.m. so I would guess by afternoon, her eyes get heavy. Since he had no illustrations or visuals to show, it doesn't matter if your eyes are closed---just keep the ears open. 

What was so funny was the camera recording this lecture was in proximity to a table where some ladies were seated, and we would have sworn it was Linda and me. At the same times we 'reacted' to something the Prof. said, those ladies did too. Those little throat sounds of agreement, or the verbalized ones, softly agreeing or acknowledging his point. At first I thought it WAS Linda but then realized it was coming from the computer we were watching on! Love to know THEY were getting it, too!!!

                           

Linda made dinner for us, with Tommy cooking the brats on the grille set up on the front porch while the back porch is being redone. How delicious is a freshly grilled brat! We had cole slaw and baked beans, and yes, onions on our brats. I took seconds on the slaw, that's how good it was! Linda and I both had onions so we had to breathe on each other at Bible study that evening.

We were in downtown Shoto on Thursday night, attending a women's Bible study at the home of Kathy Wendland, who also conducts the Tuesday class at FG. Different topics at each study, and different ladies, too.  I got to see several I had not seen the rest of the visit which was awesome. The class was also awesome! We told Kathy about watching the lecture, and reported seeing/hearing her stand up during the Q & A session to thank him for giving the women 'the meat' they are so hungry for. Well said, Kathy, well said!

And that is how we roll!!!

Now...where was I???

Just before leaving my mom's house, I was cleaning out the file cabinet known as my purse, to make it lighter for the trip back home. In sorting through the numerous receipts and church papers, I decided to keep many of these items for reference in order to recreate my time spent away from home. Oh, the places we go! On Facebook one day my status update was in regard to what I do when in Manty: eat perch and go to church!

One of my young nephews had a birthday not celebrated yet with the family so we did that on Friday before I came back to FL. From Wal*Mart I bought him an Avenger mask, Captain America, I believe, plus an Avenger gun which dispenses foam darts. Boys love stuff like that. I also found a very nice pack of notecards for me, simple ones with a gold cross on the front. They have to be pliable enough to feed through my printer, I have a paper weakness....

That shopping trip to Wal*Mart also yielded a new swimsuit which I did not wear at all when there, although I could have gone to the Wellness Center with Lynn if I wanted to. Lori did go and enjoyed the workout. She was annoyed by a pre-existing itchiness on her neck and shoulders which she guesses came from sample shampoos she used, possibly aggravated by the chlorine. Lynn took her to Walgreens to get some Benedryl spray and some lotion to apply which knocked it down nicely.

One afternoon, Mom treated us, except Jill because she had to work, to pedicures for Lynn, Lori and herself, and a manicure for me. That was so nice of her! I had the cat bird seat, sitting at their feet, so to speak, getting my hands tended to while they were pampered on their toes. Since Linda was treating me to a pedicure, I opted for the manicure instead. Thanks, Mom!!!! 

Mom also had some returns to make at various stores so we went one day to Shopko, a smaller version of a Wal*Mart. I found several tops which I liked, and had them in Mom's cart. In wandering the aisles, I encountered one of my Facebook friends, Judy, and chatted with her for a while. (We had met in person last Christmas at the Lutheran High concert at the Capital Civic Center...she recognized me from my photographs. That's what I love about Facebook!) Mom and Lynn got into the checkout line, so I hustled their direction. Just as I got there, Mom was in the process of buying two of the tops I'd picked out. That rascal! Thanks, Mom!!!

Another night I had the privilege of dining with my family and the church family at The Charcoal Grille. The best steak sandwich and wonderful onion straws there, and Kerry even came along! The young woman who organized the outing was alone, as her hubby was called to Green Bay to be with his father who was recently diagnosed with cancer. The next morning, there was a prayer in church for this man's family, as the dad passed away before midnight. Wow, that was fast! Good for the dad, not so easy on the family, however.

One Wednesday, Bulletin Day, I went to church to help with the bulletins and the place was an absolute beehive of activity. The other office helper, Darlene, was there. Thankfully the church has a folding machine which was clanking away at folding the bulletins, service folders, and other church related materials. The building and grounds chairman, Larry, is a wonderful guy and is almost always at church. That day he was there working on setting up the softball schedule for the youth team for summer. I have known him seemingly all my life, as his sister was friends with, and a roommate to, my sister, Lori, as well as fellow church members. Larry is an uncle to my friend, Rick, who visited me here in April. 

We had extra bulletins for Ascension services on Thursday, plus did the ones for the church picnic coming up in June, which will also be their senior pastor's going-away party. His request was to use the picnic as his venue to say 'farewell'. He is retiring and moving across the state to live in his parent's basement. I wonder if he will become a blogger.....Haha! His parents need some attention, so his wife and he will move into their exposed basement to be on-site for care giving. 

Linda, Letty, and I went back to The Grille again for lunch after Bulletin Day, and once more, I enjoyed the steak sandwich. Linda had a massage appointment that afternoon so I went back to Mom's after our lunch. It was nice to dine with these church ladies. Letty is a pastor's wife, he now a retirement pastor, and she works at the high school in the library. Things were coming to a close at school as graduation loomed, and the end of the year. Let's eat out!!!

Twice an assortment of our group ate at Pizza Hut, just blocks from my mom's apartment building. We just love those personal pizzas! Twice I ate at Fork and Knife, a locally owned restaurant, and three times at Perkin's where I get the delicious potato pancakes. Mom treated one day---Thanks, Mom! Friday, the last time I was there, was with John and Mona, and after the first hour, John left, after paying for our breakfasts. We had words leftover!!! It's always fun to spend time with Mona and get caught up. She is a voracious reader but not the same type of reading I do. 

No trip is complete without perch being had at The Green Street, as well as at The Tower Tavern, The Four Seasons, Time Out Bar and Grille, and the Lighthouse Inn. Somehow we missed going to Late's but did get to have wonderful ice cream treats at Cedar Crest where my sister, Jill, is the bar tender. Do ice cream parlors have an equivalent to a barista? On one visit, Lynn had a marvelous banana split made with three different types of ice cream plus the banana, pineapple, and cherries, with whipped cream and nuts. It became her evening meal as well. Thanks, Mom!

Justin thinks this trip was a bit too long---it must be different for him when he lives in the same place I do. Otherwise, I don't think it would have affected him as much. I love it that he missed me!

Saying 'good-bye' to TS Beryl!

On Sunday after church, Justin and I got ready for the pending storm by pulling the TV away from the wall, rolled the carpet back, and got the electonics/electrical stuff off the floor in this vulnerable area of the house. We left the glass on the shelf in the windows in certain hope that nothing would happen. Yesterday morning, my neighbor, Jeff, observed that one of the windows had in fact broken one of its clips which holds it in place. I have a phone number for the man who repairs this brand of window, the company no longer being in business. Fortunately, the window was secured on the other corner and did not come out! Yikes!

Monday morning, the roar of the wind woke me just before 4:00 a.m. I had been awake yet at midnight so this was a short night for me. I listened to the wind and rain, wishing I could see outside to see what was happening, at the same being glad I could not. Before 6:00 a.m., as I lay on my bed with the laptop in front of me and the TV on, I heard it----drip, drip, drip. NO!!! It was coming from the wall behind my head, with no obvious water coming through. I got my phone list of my neighbors and started calling. Patti, next door, could barely hear it, and not as regularly dripping as what I heard. 

I called Misty upstairs and at first, she said no, nothing was amiss. Two seconds later she called back, frantically reporting wet ceilings in her m. bedroom and water leaking on the beds in the back bedroom. Oh, great! I called Herve, who lives above her, and he shut off his water, which was the default reaction to such a call. 

I called Jeff, my downstairs neighbor who is in charge of building maintenance plus my go-to guy for things like this. They would also be on the receiving end of water leaks, as we well know, so he said he would come up later to check it out. Tommy, the Condo president, did come up to press his ear to my wall to hear the dripping, and actually did hear what I heard. Yay!! I told him about Misty's leaks and what Herve had done to address it. But the dripping continued long after he would have shut it off. Hmmmm....Just as I called Jeff once more, the dripping stopped, almost abruptly, so I told him this good news. But wait, there's more....

                                                         

I heard it yet again---drip- drip, drip. Okay, where was THAT coming from? It was the living room this time, dripping from the ceiling and the doorframe to the river room, the French doors. Rats! We had not pulled the carpet back far enough, not anticipating the doors dripping, as they are somewhat down the wall from the corner. The two coffee table books propped against a vase were wet, splashed from the drips on the floor, the rug was damp, and the floor quite wet. I called Jeff and he said he was coming up, and Herve came with his wet vacuum and buckets. I told them I had plenty of towels to mop up. Herve helped me move the furniture some more, pull the rug away, and start laying the towels. The wet vac was not needed but we did use buckets to catch the drips from above. Rats!

                                      

The ceiling is wet and stained, the wall paint bubbled from the water running between the paint and drywall, and the picture hanging there was wet on its back. Should be okay, though, no damage to the photograph. As you may recall, this is the same area which has leaked in the past, most recently last summer when the power strip shorted out and singed the floor. The water here comes from the river room upstairs, which is glassed in like mine is, but the water comes from above their unit. Somewhere somehow there is a breech that allows the water access to the fourth floor ceiling and then, down to mine. Last summer it got as far as the 2nd floor but I caught it soon enough this time to prevent that. 

                         

Right in the center of this photo is the door frame with drips hanging down from it. Jeff is concerned about what is behind the drywall in the living room and I think I might have this corner's drywall be replaced with the type of green board used in showers! The ceiling can be repaired as well and already I dread the mess involved with this project. 

                                  

In this photo, the towels are all taken up already but the pails remain to catch the residual drips. Misty refused the offer of help and the use of the wet vac, having several able-bodied young people with her who can help mop up the floor in her river room, which will stop or slow the flow of water into my home. Water wants to find a way down, and does not care who is in the way on its mission! Even if it gets soaked into the floor boards on my living room floor!

After the chaos was over, all this excitement before 8:00 a.m., I calmed down and collected myself at my desk, printing off newsletters for my favorites at church who have no computers, plus other busy work. By later morning, the skies were beginning to change some so I took these photos, all at the same time, looking from north to south. This one is looking north....

                              

                            

                           

The center shot is straight out toward the east, and then this one looking south....


What an amazing contrast from dark to light there was! It did not last but at some points during the day, blue sky would be visible here, while raining torrentially just up the river or on the Westside. The forecasters did not have an easy job keeping up with the changing status of the storm, tracking the locations of the downpours and such. The flooding in regions was obvious to report on, but where the showers were, not so much!  

                                       

This shot was taken today, Tuesday, after lunch as Justin and I came out of Mojo's BBQ. There was a peek of sun making its way through the ominous clouds overhead. A welcome sight!! I am so thankful to have my helpful neighbors come to the rescue (Justin was gone to his friend's house overnight. When I told him what was going on, he offered to come home but there was no way he should be driving across the Buckmann Bridge!!). Randy even called me yesterday and again today to see what was going on. 

Joanne called me a couple times, having driven back from Atlanta in that wretchedness yesterday. She called again this a.m., being concerned about mold in my living room, but I explained my plans to have Mike K. come to check it out for me. She feels like there is a curse on her or something, since the two homes she has helped me buy had water problems! One was the lake, and this time, it's either rain or plumbing!!!

Wrapping up the visit north

As I sit here and wait for the printer to catch up with me (sometimes it has to think really hard before spitting out the pages), I will fill in some blanks. Since I was only able to post a couple times, forgive me if I repeat any events enjoyed. It seems I work better in reverse so will work backward in my recounting the good times.


The previously posted photos help to explain a few of things enjoyed, including the time with Dolly and her mom, plus having the two older boys to share fun with on Friday night before I left. Mom treated us all to Pizza Hut where we each had the personal sized portions. So delicious! I would be in big trouble if they could deliver these tasty morsels to my door. (Please do not tell me that they do!)


The first week, most of it, was spent with the Manitowoc family which included my sister, Lori, who traveled over from the LaCrosse area on Mother's Day, with her hubby. He drove back on Monday after seeing his mom, with plans for Lori to rent a car for the trip back home. Instead of taking two cars, this just worked out better for them. 


We had a good time, dining out, part of the time shopping for flowers for Mom's pots, and for Lynn's herb garden. One night I made dinner, using a large package of ribs which Jill had picked up at Festival. We had baked potatoes with the ribs and an ice cream pie for dessert. Love having a sister in the ice cream business!


A couple times I messed with everybody's heads by wishing to watch a TV program. Former presidential press secretary, Dana Perino, now on The Five, was supposed to be a contestant on the Power Players Edition of Jeopardy!, and I wanted to see her play. Instead of being on Monday, she was actually on Tuesday, so I had to watch again that night. Mom is a huge fan of this show anyway but it is not my character to insist on seeing a program. Mom's VCR quit working so we could not record it. 


Another night was the series finale of HOUSE, a two-hour program, one portion a behind-the-scenes episode showing the making of the program. The second hour was the actual finale. I could have waited to see it on hulu.com after I got home, but Kerry and Lori were going to be watching it too, and we could share our thoughts then. Like when we watch the Packer game together 1200 miles apart!


One day we ladies met Linda at the Courthouse Pub for lunch, which was a delight. Another day I met Lynn and Linda at Culver's for lunch and ran into my cousin, Jimmy. His mom is my Auntie Marie, the maker of the rhubarb pie. Mom, Lori, Lynn, and I went to see Auntie as she was getting pie out of the oven. She is 91 and still makin' pies!

Love the marble-look paint job they used to make this look even more ornate!

Another day we ladies---Lynn, Linda, Mom, and I enjoyed dining at Manitowoc's newest eatery, located in a former national bank. We were there on the 2nd day they were open and all enjoyed their meals. The chef formerly had a restaurant just down the street but it didn't work out. We are glad he is back at it again in someone else's kitchen! The place is called "8th and York" which is also its location! Love how that works out!

Photos from the Manitowoc visit

In no particular chronological order, here are some photos taken while in WI. The star of the show is always the youngest, Angelo. He got himself up on Mom's foot stool but seems a bit tentative about being on it. He is about 17 months now....

                              

On Mother's Day, the gang gathered at Mom's before heading to Luigi's for dinner. Manny is waiting patiently to depart.

 Mom, Lisa, Gabe, Angelo, Lori, and David's knees

 Lori is snuggling with Angelo who wants more than anything to get down and run!

I accompanied my bro-in-law, Harvey and his wife, Barb, plus my sister-in-law, Sharon, to the gravesite of my parents'-in-law located on the church property. They planted some hostas near the marker to dress it up a bit. 

 Harv, all done pumping the water---yes, he had to actually pump the water, for the hostas

 My friend, Dolly, and I were joined for lunch at The Lighthouse Inn in Two Rivers by our moms. Dolly and I became friends when she started school at FG in the fourth grade, and we managed to graduate from high school together. Our favorite song, back in the day, which includes today, is "Angel of the Morning"! 

 Mom bought some petunias to plant in her pots and window box, as well as a tomato plant for her porch. I hope she gets some bounty from her 'garden'!

 My sister, Lori, gave Mom this lovely pot of flowers. Not visible is the additional pot my sister, Kerry, gave her for Mother's Day. Her porch was abloom when I left there!

More pictures from the visit

  Mom and Lynn signed up to bring refreshments for the Sunday morning Bible study so she mixed up a batch of peanut butter cookies. Oh my, were they delicious!! 

The Friday night before I left to come home, some of us gathered for a birthday party for Manny, who turned 7 on April 30th. Lynn baked his cake for this event. Earlier, Jill, Danny, Mom, Lynn, the boys, and I dined at Pizza Hut for dinner. We all had personal pizzas and we all ate every bit of it!

 Mom's porch, photo taken from the ground below her unit. You cannot see the tomato plant but it's there!

 Dolly's mom, Joann, with my mom, Kathy, at The Lighthouse Inn at Two Rivers. These ladies know each other for years 'n years 

This is a scene from the dining room windows at The Lighthouse Inn