All dressed up...

...and at Basketique Tea Room and Gift Shoppe for our season-end party for aquarobics on Monday. 

This is a partial group shot of the ladies and gentleman. Next to me is Nancy W., soon to be living on the compound with us at The Club.

Judee and Annette enjoying their strawberry soup

Annette and I are sporting our matching white picture hats

Nancy and Lynn sitting across from me. Lynn is the lady who insisted I take her phone number the day I had my dental work done, in case I needed a ride home...

Randy, who could not participate in the classes this year due to a surgery, agreed to model the 'tea party hat' for us

Marlena at the head of the table, with Jean and Pat

Here is my friend, Pat, with whom I have breakfast on Fridays at The Club in the 'off-season'

Debbie made my day!

Saturday night, before we went to dinner, Justin and I were invited upstairs to Dick and Debbie's house to look at the new rugs. They picked them up the night before at a store which was going out of business at the Town Center Mall. They got a good deal on them, and fit their decor very nicely. Before Justin got up there, though, Debbie and I were talking and she asked me, "Do have a problem with dust in your place?" WOW!!! So it's not only me!!! 

                         

I hugged and thanked her for asking me such a question, explaining it's the bane of my existence (that, and filing papers!!). Oh my...I told her how earlier in the afternoon Justin had been in my room and ran his finger across the top of my TV stand, removing dust which had settled there. I keep the Swiffer handy as I regularly wipe off my monitors and TV, and the equipment which attracts dust. Even as I sit on my bed and the sun beams across the room, I can see the dust in the air. Where does it come from??? I told her how I had my A/C vents cleaned a few years ago in an attempt to reduce the dust and hoped that having no carpeting in the house would also have the same result. All it does is free up more space for dust to show, instead of disguising it in the fibers. So, yes, Debbie, I  DO have trouble with dust in my place!!!

The smell of sauce in the air

Justin is busily cooking spaghetti sauce in the kitchen, having gone to the store for ingredients earlier today. He no sooner began than did the aroma of garlic find its way to my room. What an awesome smell! He is like a mad scientist in the kitchen, adding a little of this and a little of that to make his sauce extra special good, including some corn! I'll take it!

We are having a marvelous day weather-wise. I was able to find a couple of my friends poolside this afternoon. I took my new card folder outside with me so I could write down the address info and such for the upcoming 'going away' party for Lee. Cynthis put me in charge of invitations so I did that this afternoon----at least four of them! The water is, of course, cold but Bill, who is more hardy than some of us, dived in a couple times. Shiver!!

About late afternoon, my upstairs neighbor sent me a text message asking if we had dinner plans. Oh oh...now what??? At first I invited them to come down to join us for spaghetti but Debbie had troubles reaching Dick to get confirmation on that. 

                          

In the meanwhile, Justin thought the sauce would be just as good tomorrow while Koko's would be good tonight. That's what we settled on---dinner with our neighbors at Koko's!! Justin ate there on Wednesday night with Michael G. and was still craving sushi so off we went. "If someone calls to go to dinner, turn off the stove and go!"---one of our house rules. Nothing goes to waste, only eaten on a different day. That works for me! So thankful for my good neighbors...

A Friday Fish Fry

Oh, how my mouth waters thinking about the delicious fried perch people are enjoying in WI and other lake regions on any given day, but especially on Fridays. Yum! A week or so ago a lady with whom I used to worship at GS, sent me a message from her home in WI, asking for good places to eat in my hometown. Her hubby and she were going to Manty for a long weekend and wanted to go to the places she has seen me write about. I sent Dawn to The Green Street Tavern among other places. I envy her, but in a good way! 

This is my plate from The Green Street Tavern: perch sandwich and cheese curds!

It was a glorious day today with temps in the low 80's. I kept looking outside to see if anyone was sitting out there but saw no one. Instead of going out, I stayed inside and went through things on my desk and in my files. A never ending project, so it seems. I also paced myself on soda consumption as Justin had counted the remaining cans for me the night before, to make sure I'd have enough before he went to the store again. I did good!

Justin had talked to me about going to have appetizers with his boss and his wife after work but he hated to 'ditch' me again. I somehow manage, you know? But he is so sweet...Anyway, just as The Five was coming on, Judy C. called. She said she knew The Five was on but wanted to ask me if I had plans for dinner. Michael and she were going to Sam's St. John Seafood and asked me along. Sure!!! I was all set...

We agreed to meet at 6:30, giving me enough time to watch/chat with Linda, fix myself a bit and drive those couple of blocks to the restaurant. I like their fried pollack, which is what Judy had, as well. Michael had the shrimp, and he took our cheese grits home with him. In WI a perch plate comes with rye bread, but here, a pollack plate comes with grits!

When I got home, I had time to watch part of Jeopardy! and then go outside on the north end to watch an expected fireworks show, hosted by a wedding party. It was to take place at 8:45 but I sat with a couple of my neighbors waiting for half an hour after it was due. Seemed to be a dud. Oh well...

When I got back upstairs, Justin was suprised he didn't hear anything. I told him it was a dud, but then we heard the booming. There wasn't enough time to get back down to the north end so we hung out the patio doors and saw what we could over the neighbor's canopy. It was very nice and had the most amazing echo on this very still night. The moon, a hunter's moon, I am told, was full and brilliant in the water and in the sky. Picture perfect!

                              

When I posted this photo on Facebook, one of my friends wrote that they were just waiting to see what I would post regarding the moon. She liked what she saw!

What a marvelous day!

My day began with an easy ride to Victory with my mom riding shotgun (inside my phone!) with little or no traffic with which to contend. So refreshing! Mom told me about an interesting LWMS Rally she attended on Tuesday evening, hearing a speaker address missions to the Amish. This was not something I was at all familiar with, nor had Pastor Hoyer heard about it. 

Our group was fewer in number today because of the Southern Women's Show taking some of the ladies downtown. Lucy was back from her trip to MI, attending the wedding of her nephew, and seeing her son. She brought a small box of Dunkin Donuts, while Rita brought in a dozen delicious doughnuts from Cinatti's Bakery. I had one from each box! 

                                

Pastor had a box of a strange fruit donated by one of the preschool parents. It is from Guatamala, a pretty colored prickly looking thing called rambutan. This box came from Gautamala, but the child who arrives at preschool everyday with one in hand is from Thailand. It seems this breed made its way to the Far East. The fruit, once peeled, has a taste and texture like a large grape. Fran took a couple along at Pastor's urging, to show her grandson, Michael.

From Bible study I drove toward Orange Park to meet my lady friends for meatloaf at The Club. The lunch buffet featured my favorite, as this was pointed out to me by Jacquie, so plans were made. Lee has her house on the market, and within less than a week of being listed, had two offers on the table. She filled us in on the drama of trying to get the appraisals and inspections and such in order. She needed some time away to collect herself, and that's where we come in!

As we were finishing up, our other pool friend, Cynthia, came in. We asked her to join our group and the ladies had dessert while Cynthia ate her lunch. I so very much enjoyed that---much like what happens at the pool!!! Cynthia appointed me to be the official inviter for Lee's going-away party since I have contact with everyone (just about...). 

When we got outside, Jacquie and I had words left over so we went over to my house to talk for a bit longer. Like for several hours! It was great! We visited here until Justin came home from work, and realized what time it was. At nearly 5:00 pm we parted company and I went to my room to log-on for my chat with Linda while watching The Five.  

When Justin came in, he made Jacquie and me laugh. Under his breath he was muttering, "jack booted thugs..." as he presented me with a sizable stack of catalogs which had come in the mail. Unfortunately, there were none from Pottery Barn, which is where this "Seinfeld" quote had come from. It's the catalog time of the year, that's for sure!

Off to Publix I go!

Justin had a dish of cut-up chicken in the fridge, looking somewhat gross, if you ask me. He was planning to make a chicken dish in the slow cooker for our dinner. He asked me if I would mind going to the store to get an onion and a container of mushrooms. Of course I would do that, going all the way to Publix (make it sound like a journey!) rather than across the street and down a couple blocks to Winn-Dixie. I chose Publix because Justin told me exactly where the mushrooms were located, exactly which ones to buy, so I wouldn't mess up the recipe.

                       

Upon getting home from the store, I sent Justin a text message to ask him what was to happen now. He told me to cut up the onion, put the chicken in the slow cooker ("set it on warm, not cook!") with a 1/4 stick of butter, and layer it with the mushrooms. Now, doing the math, it seemed to me this recipe would NOT be done cooking in time for dinner. These type of recipes generally cook for 6-8 hours and it was already 3:00 pm. Regardless, I plugged the machine in and let it do its thing.

About an hour later, Justin sent me a text message asking me if it was okay for him to meet his friend, Michael, for dinner. Of course it is! He and I sort of live by that guideline--if the phone rings, turn off the stove and go! Since I anticipated the chicken would not be quite ready to go by 7:30 pm, it mattered not to me!

I could have gone to Happy Hour due to our plan change, but opted to stay in to eat dry bread and water. Or, leftover bratwurst and pasta salad. My friend, Kathy, was looking for me at HH, but I excused myself, leaving her the option to come up here if she needed to talk. She often does come by for a visit but did not come tonight. Justin said I should erect a booth like Lucy has on the Peanuts cartoons, and charge 25 cents for a visit!

The TV news has me riveted, watching as the GOP caves yet again and agrees to the debt ceiling increase, etc. Ugh! Stephanie, my friend at Victory, didn't know yet at this hour if she was going to work in the morning or if she was going to the Southern Women's Show Thursday morning. She had anticipated the shut-down and planned for it financially, was ready to ride it out for the long haul. Around midnight or sooner, she might know what her day holds for tomorrow.

A going-away day!

Quite a different one than yesterday, it started out on-the-go early. I had to go see my friend, Peggy, have her take a look at my temporary bridge and x-ray the site where the tooth was extracted. She said it appeared to be filling in, which is good. It would be another four weeks before more work could go on for the permanent bridge. We decided to wait until after Christmas for doing this, postponing the expense until the next tax year.

Yay! From the dentist office I wandered over to Wal*Mart to pick up a scrip and a few other things. My bottle of Obsession is getting empty, not quite but getting there, so I thought I would pick up a new one while I was at it. It's gone up in price since the last I bought it (I think...), now at $15 for a half ounce. The smaller bottles are better for traveling which is why I get them, plus it's less of a hit a half ounce at a time! 

Brenda and I had made plans to meet for lunch, though I was going to be there a bit early since my dental appointment was brief. Oh well...I took my Isaiah book and worksheet into the restaurant with me so I could do my homework while waiting. The waitress kept my soda glass filled as I waited for Brenda. 

When she came we compared coupons, as is our custom, and ordered exactly as we do each time we meet. Let me rephrase that---I tried a different relish this time which made my steak sandwich taste like it had spikes sticking out of it. Much more potent than their crazy green relish I usually order. I asked Brenda to remind me the next time to not order the mustard relish! Drank a whole lotta soda at lunch! Brenda treated us to shakes (using the coupons again, bo/go) and parted company. That hour goes by so quickly!

                        

Once home, I carried my purchases upstairs, welcomed by the racket of jack-hammers again. This time the work was going on is between the 2nd floor and garage, removing some stucco or something. Not sure what that is all about but I did my job of asking the residents to remove their vehicles from the area so the work could go on. 

                            

The rest of the day was spent piddling away at the desk. This evening, I was all set to go to a building committee meeting, leaving Justin at home to fend for himself. As I sat in the parking lot at church, finishing my homework, it seemed odd that no one else was arriving. I thought I had better check my e-mail from Mike K. to verify the date, and sure enough---I was a whole week early! I had so wanted to just stay home tonight because of the dreary weather, but went to the meeting, which was not!

I surprised my boy by coming home so soon. Justin had ordered a pizza for dinner but I didn't care for any of it. Instead I had some of the pasta salad from the night before and watched Jeopardy! in my room. Justin's season tickets allow him certain benefits which includes discounts or special deals on things, such as Papa John's Pizza, the official pizza of the Jaguars. Whatever he doesn't eat for dinner he has for breakfast or mid-day snack at work, so it all works out. This time he also got the chocolate chip cookie which has been advertised. Surprisingly, it is quite a lot smaller than the pizza! Sort of made us laugh...