Feeling all snuggly on a rainy day

The other day as I delivered The Palace Press to those without computers, I met my neighbors, Hugh and Maureen. She was cradling a plaster creature in her arms, and then asked me, "Do you have a use for a lamb?" Immediately I answered, "Yes, I do!" and explained the memorial garden in the front flower bed at church. Happily she said it was now mine, and had Hugh put it in the back of my car for me. (She could carry it but thought it was too heavy for me!). The reason they were so glad it had a new home rather than going to the Salvation Army store was they had it in memory of their daughter, Molly. For some reason she was getting rid of it, perhaps moving on a bit or something, and was just so pleased her Molly Lamb has a new home at Good Shepherd in Timmy's garden!                                                                    

                                

When checking my text messages this afternoon, I found this one from Linda at the FG church picnic. She said she thought of me when she saw the little ones running around with the cotton candy---blue, my favorite!!!! She made my heart go pitter-pat by sending this to me---she enjoying lovely summer weather and me in the dark, endless rain! Ugh! Some cotton candy would have fixed me right up!

                             

Later this afternoon, I got a notice on Facebook from my young friend, Christie, who is an au pair in France. She saw this country cottage in Giverny and said it made her think of me. I asked Christie if she'd ever seen the movie "The Holiday" and she said it's one of her favorites. That movie features a country cottage set in the countryside on the outskirts of London, and resembles the setting as the one above.


At church today, we had a guest from the Synod (yes, another guest from the Synod!) who spoke briefly on planned giving. After he spoke, those staying went back to the classroom building for a Congregational/Voter's meeting. Before it got underway, I saw him standing in the doorway, as though he was looking for someone. Then, he came my direction, like he was on a mission. Sure enough, he came right up to me, extended his hand and asked, "Are you Kim Day?" Instead of correcting him with my entire name, I admitted being me. He said, "I just wanted to meet you" even though I had greeted him at the door before church. I never met him before but he seemed like he knew me. He made a concerted effort to come and re-introduce himself to me. Very nice! I hope his feelings won't be hurt if I don't make it to his presentation in two weeks, as I will be in Palm Coast!

I am having quite the day today!!! 

Rain again!!

Not rain first thing in the morning but not long afterward it rained some more. Enough already! One lady on the Southside reported on Facebook that in the past week, they had 17" of rain. If Judy J. was in town, she would keep me up to date on how much rain she's had, betting her rain gauge would be overflowing. Concerned friends have been asking how the leaks are going but since the tropical storm, the leaks have been reduced substantially.

Thursday a roofer was here to see my damage and the areas which drip. Nancy, from the Board, accompanied him, determined to get to the bottom of this problem. They also visited the unit above mine which gets wet first, and then down this way. His theory is it is not the roof causing the situation but perhaps the balcony/porch on what used to be Randy's unit two floors up. It had been worked on in the past, prior to the new roof going on but something might need attention again.

Now, that is quite the bottle of beer! It's a Sam Addam's brew, only 11 casks made annually. Brass and ceramic bottle---nice!

Justin had plans to go to the Beach for a mini-golf event put on by the same people from whom he won the valuable bottle of beer. I was hoping the rain would end long enough for him to go, and it did, but it was not a nice day out there at all. Cooler by over 10 degrees than my hometown was today!! Overcast and gloomy which really gets old. 


When I heard kids playing outside in the pool, I decided to go and check it out. I wrestled myself into my suit and trotted over. No one was at the adult end of the pools but there were two families with kids on this end. Just as I climbed the stairs, I felt sprinkles. Shoot! A man was watching his kids play and said it had been doing that off and on all afternoon but the kids didn't mind. I found it too chilly for swimming as the air temp was about 81 and the water cooled from all the rain we'd had. 


At least the cabana was open, had been for only an hour due to the weather. Two of the pool staff had been sent home but the cabana boy, Julius, who now calls me "Trouble", got to stay as he also helped for the wedding reception. He made me a lovely burger with a side-dish of red potato salad. I asked for and got a dab of it. How funny it was to have this today, as only this morning I had told Linda J. that this was the only type of cold potato salad I really liked! And there it was, on my plate!
                                            
A hotel guest came out and asked me if the water was warm. I had to tell her I had not been in. She stuck her toe in the water before ordering her meal. Instead of getting dressed and going somewhere off-property to get something to eat after checking in, she came out there! As I went upstairs again, I asked how she liked her burger and she said it was great. I agree, they are so tasty, and remind me of being on a cruise ship whenever I smell them cooking. Mine had red onions on it, plus onions in the potato salad, so again with the dog breath!!


Speaking of Linda, she had the heart-breaking task of saying 'farewell' to one of their cats today. There was little else to be done for Trudy so Tom and she were going to the vet's office to say good-bye one more time before she was put down. They had decided not to use extraordinary measures to save Trudy, since she was 10 years old already, and let her suffering end. Later on, Linda let me know they were enjoying a lovely lunch, which made me feel better for her. Those people love their cats and if she's sad, I am sad, too...

Losing track of time

Oh, what a lazy bones I was this morning! Got myself situated with a soda and then caught up on some of my radio/Internet programs. Before I knew it, because of the falling rain, I was yet in my nightie at 11:30 a.m.!! Despite having nowhere I had to be, I made myself get up and dressed for the day. My original plans had been to put on my swimsuit and enjoy the day but the weather would not allow it. 

Since there would be no cabana today due to the rain, I had to fend for myself. Even though there was leftovers from Longhorn to consume, I opted for some of last night's tater tot casserole for lunch. So delicious and so oniony! Again, a good thing for not having anywhere to be...

I checked the towels spread out to soak up the drips, finding only one soaked through and through. It was swapped out with a dry one from the living room floor, with the wet one put in the washer. Certainly Justin would have a load to wash when he got home so he could take care of it. Which he did!

Justin apologized to me for the stench left behind by his work boots. THAT'S what that smell was!! Something was funky in the house but I never thought about his boots. As soon as these rains end, this house is being opened and aired! He cannot help how his boots smell after being wet, and there is no really good place to put them to dry. Except in the river room where it's already wet!

                                             

After beginning my day, I opted to move my laptop and such to the living room rather than sit in my room. When Justin came home, he headed straight to my room and then circled around through the river room to find me. He was soaked again but not as badly as Tuesday. It was misting much of the day, more annoying almost than pouring rain, he claimed. 

                                                

Justin asked what we were having for dinner and I said, "Leftover tater tot casserole." "Oh...." I asked for ideas and he said he was hungry for sloppy joes. I could go for some too, but he had used up the tomato soup (which I did not realize) so that was out. Later, we decided to go to Koko's, which is now named Nishiki, to have some fried rice. And garlic. Lots and lots of garlic! Yikes! Talk about dog breath!

At dinner, Justin and I were talking about some of the recent events  such as graduations, confirmations, and a wedding. Somehow or another I had overlooked an entire stack of mail which included invitations and announcements! Oh, how embarrassing and how horrid I felt knowing I failed to acknowledge these events. Shoot!! When we got home, I sent apologies to those I snubbed. I feel horrible about this!

My friend, Linda J., is having a tough time facing saying 'farewell' to one of her bosses who is leaving. I so wish I was there to give her a squeeze but had to settle for virtual reassuring hugs via e-mail. I know how that feels and am sad for her, and for her boss. 

Not only that, but she has sick pets in her house which is giving Tom and her something else to deal with. They do so love their cats, Tommy even makes video tapes of them and their antics. He has a system in place for feeding one its medication, hiding the pill in a tiny piece of ham, as a disguise. On the bright side, she is making a rhubarb pie for the church picnic---the Church Lady rides again!!!

Quack quack quack

This morning we woke to rain again. When I went out to the kitchen to get a soda, Justin was still home. He said, "I didn't think you would sleep when it's raining!" knowing the concern there is for leaking. So far, so good in that regard. 

He had to go to work in the pouring rain though and did have extra clothes along for changing later on. Last week when Justin got soaked, all he had in the car were his swim trunks! Even his belt was soaked through and through. I am willing to bet he wishes he'd tried harder getting used to the contact lenses I bought him after graduation. It's hard enough to do yard work and then in the rain wearing glasses...

                         

Justin said the rain was expected to end in a couple hours, which it did. I headed to Bible study at Victory and then stopped. Along Hwy. 17 we creeped and crawled, barely moving. From the radio traffic alert I learned there were two wrecks on 295---one on the Buckmann with two lanes blocked, plus one further south. I could see the traffic basically standing still on the overpass in front of me, and I made the decision then to turn around and go home. Rats!

Instead of going straight home I went to Publix for a few things, including shampoo. A bottle lasts me so long that I was surprised when it was empty! In the BO/GO bins was bread loaves, not the same ones Justin had to cut the crusts from. I hope he likes them for his sandwiches, because they are pretty fancy flavors. Nuts 'n twigs are some of the ingredients listed...

Besides my other purchases, I had two boxes of Cheerios with me, from the bin, which Justin likes for breakfast and in-between meals. (Elevensies, as they called them in "Lord of the Rings".) The cereal boxes made it look like I had a huge load, so Gus to the rescue! Gus, my downstairs neighbor, helped me carry my purchases upstairs, grabbing the 12 pack of soda for me. He is such a good guy.

As much as I hated missing Bible study, I enjoyed being able to attend the birthday gathering at the pool for my friend, Mary. Marlena knew I was iffy about making it back in time for the lunch service but there I was! It was overcast and threatening but we managed to enjoy our lunch and visit before the rain came again. 

I had the sirloin skewer which was absolutely delicious, served with baby reds and mixed veggies. I ate the cauliflower out of the mix but left the zucchini. One of the other ladies who could not make it today had made Mary's cake, which we enjoyed. Orange flavored cake, interesting....

After lunch, I came back upstairs to work at my computer. The Outreach newsletters go out about now and for the life of me, it was hard to find them in my computer!! Since I had it in the shop last month, the files are a jumbled up mess and I have to search in the C drive to find them. This gives me such a fright, fearing the files are lost or something. I did find what I was looking for though and got them printed off.

Recently I had been getting repeated warnings that my Windows program might be counterfeit. What the heck? The other day, Sunday I think it was, the computer tried to update some files and they failed to load. I got these notices that it was configuring and returning the files back to where they were...okay. For hours!! My friend, Randy, advised me to let me it run and not shut it down, as the screen advised me also. But I was sooo tempted to shut it down to make it stop. Made no noise or anything, but I just didn't like it.

I contacted the fellow who repaired the laptop and told him what was going on. He said to bring it in and he would fix it. Later on, his son called me, the actual technician who worked on it, and said he could fix it from his office. And he did! All I had to do was read for him the product code, all 45 numbers and letters, more than once!

This code was located on the bottom of the laptop, so I had to tip it up on its side and read these teeny tiny alpha numeric digits. The second time, when the first one was not right, we realized that one digit I thought was an 8 was actually a letter B, and then, away he went! Since I had to leave to meet Judy C., he just went to work without me. A bit unsettling, knowing he has access to my machinery and files from his office...but, it got the job done. This is an example of sacrificing liberty for security! Or for convenience!

Stephen was also going to see if he could regroup my files for me, which he might have done but I have not verified. I guess it may be a situation of doing each one individually. Ugh! I should just be thankful they upgraded my program and shut up about the extra work on my part. Or, bat my eyes over the virtual network and get him to do it for me!

Originally, Justin was going to drop me off at Steak 'n Shake to meet Judy, so he could use my car. First of all, he was in a drawing to win a rare bottle of beer but had to go to a certain emporium to collect the first of the prize packages. I know, complicated, right? His group of friends would not have to pay the cover charge and would get other perks, but he could not get the gang together for it. This made Justin sad, so he made alternative plans to be on a calling tree with the Young Republicans instead.

Well, he let me know he was working late, again in the pouring rain, so I should just go ahead to Bible study. PLUS, he had locked his keys in the car back at the farm where they store the yard equipment. Yikes! I wondered if there was a spare key in his room but he could not tell me where it was. He was sure his boss and he would get them out, so I should just go on and not worry about it. How can I not?

                           

Judy and I met up and she announced that class was cancelled. We were still going to have dinner so she didn't call me. Due to the great amounts of rain we have been having, Amber's dirt road was nearly impassible, so she was not coming into town for class. Judy was prepared to take me home, our original plan, but since Justin used his own car, I was able to take myself home. 

After class on Thursdays, Judy goes to her other daughter's house. She stays the night, and then cleans for them. Not sure if that will be true when school is out since her daughter is a teacher, but Judy likes the extra money and the time with her grands. They live at the World Golf Village so it's a distance away. Judy runs circles around me, and we just celebrated her 71st birthday!

So, I was two for two as far as Bible study goes today, but not  for lack of trying. Some of my other friends were stuck in that mess on the freeway and told me I was wise to go back home. I did successfully enjoy a birthday luncheon for Mary and dinner via coupons at Steak 'n Shake with Judy. 


Oooh, while at S 'n S, I saw water dripping from a recessed light fixture over their bar, and the waitress said they had a pan catching the drips. But the light was still on! I mentioned that the bulb can burst if it gets wet, and sure enough, the manager came out and removed the bulb. You're welcome!!!!


P.S. Justin was able to get to the emporium to collect his prizes, and did actually win the unique bottle of beer! If it was me, I'd sell it and use the money to repair my car, but then again, I am not 25!

A welcome sunshine

Last night, even though Justin and I were up late watching the election returns, we were roused by my upstairs neighbor with her report of leaking. Rats! Justin had just reset the living room furniture, got the rug properly aligned (that's the "Sheldon" in me!), and vacuumed the floor in there to make it look like it did pre-tropical storm. Undone! Not all the way undone, but we did pull out the TV again, get his Xbox up off the floor and got towels laid out to catch the potential drips from above. 

Misty, the upstairs tenant, had let me know she had water coming in so Justin and I leaped into ready-mode. The only area I saw water in my house was coming down the river room wall, slowly. Fortunately, the storm did not last much longer once the towels were put in place but it does get the heart racing once more in expectation of more damage. 

Jessica, the owner of  the unit above mine, sent me a text message this a.m. to find out if we had leaks and sadly, my report was in the affirmative. She is frustrated too and I told her I was alerting the Board to this recurrence. Nancy, who is on the Board, came to look the situation over on Sunday afternoon, and was going to contact the roofing contractor with whom we have a warranty in place. Hopefully Nancy will see to it the repairs are made pronto!

                                               

Yesterday I thought the adult pool seemed a little low water-wise, even after I got in, but the rains overnight likely raised it up. And cooled it off! It is windy right now and the temperature has not yet reached 80 above zero. That means Kim will not be outside for water exercises today, but will subject myself to the jeers of those more hearty than I am. Twila called this morning to see if I want to meet for lunch at the new Greek Restaurant in Orange Park before the Ladies' Group goes there in July. I can do that, fully clothed!

Last evening I went to Bible Information Class at Victory, where we did a review of the previous week's homework. Not a review then, but a homework check. One of the ladies who came was Kristen, who had transferred to Victory from GS when they moved to that side of town. She is expecting her fourth child. It was great! I sat in BIC at GS with her husband and her when they were becoming members, and Kristen even mentioned that my mom came sometimes, too. How fun is that???

Being a newer member, she is not entirely familiar with all the Bible stories and asked questions regarding the Passover and its application to the Lord's Supper. We stopped reading in Matthew and went back to Exodus to read the story of the first Passover. After a certain point, Kristen mentioned 'this seems familiar' which is a good thing. We discussed her question as to why was "God anti-yeast", which made us chuckle. Pastor Hoyer did a great job explaining all that and it never gets old revisiting these Bible history stories.

I tested positive today

Yes, once again, I tested positive for being "Desirable" on my Life Line Screening blood work! Yay for me, and thanks be to God for His mercy on me! What made it extra nice was the fact the lady taking care of me remembered me from last time. Oh, I am sure she did!

                    

This enemy of mine is a stinking liar!!!

The nurse had to take my blood pressure measurement twice, as the first time there was beeping and a code showed up. She had to reference the book to see what the code meant and I expected the rescue squad to pull up at any second. The code indicated there was too much noise!!! I was quiet as could be and yet, somehow I made noise. Or she did!! The second time it worked and showed a very attractive bp reading although she found my heart rate to be a bit high. We chalked it up to the shock of being on the scale and coding on the bp machine!

When having the ultrasound on my carotid artery done, another lady was also doing my abdominal aneurysm check. There was a lot of that 'heart beat' sound made by their equipment. The one young lady was a bit new and sort of frightened me by having a tough time getting readings on my left side.  

When the first lady was finished with my tummy, she came over to advise the other girl. They got the reading, and then, the younger one left the room. The first one did the Doppler thing on the right side of the neck 1-2-3. I said, "That's more like it!" and she said she can do these in her sleep because of doing it so long. That's all it was---inexperience. Whew! She told me she saw no immediate causes for concern but the results will be mailed to me in less than three weeks. Whew!, and thanks be to God, again!

Good thing I had not looked at my electric bill which comes via e-mail before going to my appointment. Yikes! It must have been a walk-in freezer in here when I was gone! The kilowatts used last May as compared to this May is more than 3 times higher. This will not happen again 'cause I'm the boss around here! 

When I got back from the Screening, Justin had taken care of putting everything back in the living room, straightened the carpets out, even vacuumed them. The glass is replaced but he discovered the shelf was put back upside down, which exposed white paint from the columns on the topside of the glass. I got him a razor blade to remove the residue and then he had to polish again. It might have been easier to remove the shelf and flip it over...

His bathroom is looking much better, still some stains around the rim which might need a squirt of bleach water. The mat in the tub needs cleaning up as well, which I suggested putting in the washer. He can also spray it down with foaming bubbles and see if that helps. This must not happen again---I am the boss around here!

Looks like I tested positive for being bossy today, too!

I just came in from the pool after exercising my knees for over an hour. Perhaps the water level was too low or something but it seemed the pool skimmers were not working. Lots of debris from the trees floated on top, plus suicidal insects---yech! I mentioned it to Laura, the life guard and she said she would tell the maintenance man about it. 

                          

When I hung on the side of the pool to 'ride my bike', I took my book along to the edge to read as I peddled. A couple times I laughed right out loud and drew glances from the young couple sunning further down the pool. 


The stories about the presidents and White House staffers are often sad and even maddening, while others warm the heart. My next read for at the pool will be "Rawhide Down" which my neighbors have borrowed and now returned. A great follow-up read to this book, the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. Not much to laugh about in that book, I am sure!

A different Monday than last week!!!

What should have been a shorter meeting tonight ended up going until nearly 9:00 pm,and even after the meeting was adjourned, we ladies just sat around talking for a bit. No one really seemed in a big hurry to leave, for no apparent reason other than to visit. The agenda was short, little business to address and yet we managed. Pastor was in the Council/Elders meeting next door so was unavailable for our opening devotion or to give his report. 

It did not occur to me that he would not be there, though I should have known. On such occasions I have a devotions book designed for women to use, but did not have anything prepared. On the fly, I grabbed a flyer/handout lying on the video cart, provided by the WELS Connection which I thought I would read to the group. Instead, though, the conversation started on its own in regard to the appreciation of The Athenasian Creed we read in full Sunday as well as some of  the questions it stirred. This was not my idea, it sort of evolved. 


Judy C. sneaked into the men's meeting to nab a hymnal for us to read aloud one of the areas of the Creed in discussion. I think a Bible study or catechism visit is in order and will request such. It only just occurred to me now that not one person mentioned our former pastor being there yesterday....

Our Elder left his meeting and came into ours to present to us. Cliff brought along a proposed 'addition' between the fellowship hall and the chapel, enclosing the breezeway, enlarging the space, and so on. Very nice! So we won't have a choir loft---I can live with that, just so we can have the drywall repaired and painted, roof leaks repaired, and some landscaping done. 

A Bible study this a.m., Twila gave me a menu she found under her windshield wiper the other day for a newly opened Greek restaurant in Orange Park. The menu showed traditional Greek food items as well as American fare such as Belguim waffles and French fries! The ladies decided to hold our summer 'picnic' at this restaurant, pending my finding out if they can seat a larger group. Larger in number, I mean.

Justin worked a long day today, coming in shortly before I left for Ladies' Group. He wanted to chat but I was in the midst of an e-mail I was trying to get out before having to leave. I did remind him that his bathroom and its fixtures needed cleaning, which he acknowledged. When I came home, I could smell the cleanser and asked how it was coming (he was seated at his desk, playing video games). "Well, it's sprayed..." meaning the bathtub. He is going to finish it off tomorrow. He'd better!

                                                 

Linda J. and I had a nice phone conversation this afternoon which is always a good thing. We could have talked even longer but my phone battery was going. It's hard for me to talk when tethered as the charger is plugged in behind my nightstand. Because I neglected to charge the phone overnight, I did not have a full battery for the day. Shoot! We had words left over!

This morning was Bible study, the conclusion of "Bearing Each Others' Burdens". We will be on recess now until nearly August due to VBS and then Pastor's vacation. We will starve, in more ways than one. Sundays will have shortened Bible study due to our earlier service time. Thankfully Victory's class goes through the summer, plus the BIC on Tuesday nights  there. We are soon wrapped up at GS with BIC with only a few more lessons to go through. Amber is concerned about the confirmation process after seeing the young people's confirmation. Judy and I assured her the adult version of this is much simpler, with her answers much like her baptism. She wonders what comes after confirmation and both Judy and I said, "Bible study!"

Pastor asked me at Bible study this a.m. if I had ever lead one, as part of the lesson. He said it is not impossible for a woman to lead a ladies study, that  I could have lead many of the classes on Mondays if we knew in advance that Joseph would not be there. He has been absent much of the year, having had some health problems. Not that I would do it, but that I could, or any of the ladies could. The last part of the lesson was about Called workers and what the lay people can do to assist them or assist the congregation. 

At lunch, Judy said she would host the ladies for a Bible study if I would lead it, and many said, "Yeah, we'd come!" Oh, oh! As I said to Linda J., I would have no problem setting up the laptop and playing back the Prof. Deutschlander retreat lecture on "The Theology of the Cross". The Ladies' Bible study group that meets in Mishicot, WI is going to cover this as well, and I believe Kathy W., who leads it, said there are study guides available as well for this. Hmmmm.....