I got my wish!

At the end of summer, I lamented not being able to enjoy time with my friends around the pool. Today, I got my wish and sat outside with three of my friends for an hour or so. It was 84 above zero and just a lovely day. Meanwhile our families and friends were suffering in unseasonably (or unreasonably!) cold weather in the upper Midwest as we appreciated our unseasonably warm, even record setting, temperatures here in N. FL. 

This is the bird's eye view of my friends seated at the pool waiting for me to get home from my morning/afternoon outings today. Bob is in the shade, while Nancy and Bill get some sun. As Debbie and I walked up the building and noticed them out there, I told her I doubted anyone would get in the water....

....but I was wrong! In fact, Bill had gotten in several times before I got down there and several more after I arrived. The teen's pool is 'warmer' because it is more shallow but it is certainly NOT warm enough to swim in. Not too cold for this brave North Dakotan, though. Such a guy!

Emotional day today

Sunday I have planned for Justin and I to decorate our rooms for Christmas. I am more excited about than is he, of course, as he hates to do the tree. I will be glad to do the tree, but I can't put it up myself (I tell him...) and cannot reach the top, etc. It is a two-person job. He doesn't like the pulling apart of the branches part of the decorating, so that will be my job. One good thing about our tree location is that it is not the center of attention in the room, but nicely set in a corner, offering ambient light and decor. I don't do much 'for a grade' any more, less performance pressure the last decade or so. Wow, it's almost a decade already!

Since I am talking about history here, I have more to add. This a.m. I had The Breakfast Club with some ladies, Ollovan and Pat. Pat used to be a volunteer fire fighter which is how she met her husband, David. They both served at the station which which responded to our emergency back in 2001, but neither of them were among the responders. I told her about the letter one of the EMTs had written to me after Mom, Justin, and I dropped off Honey Baked Hams at the two stations. Pat wondered if she knew the lady who wrote the letter, so I am making it my mission to locate that letter in my archives. Wow!

This has been an eye-reddening day, and an eye-opening mission for me to be on. Long and short, I did locate the letter and realize I must re-type it before it is no longer legible, as it has faded a great deal. It was hand-written on a paper with clouds on it, and the writing is hard to make out. I can staple it to the original but I want to make sure I can read it in another 10 years, if I need to. I gave Pat bad info, however, as the lady was at the other station and not hers, as I had originally 'remembered'. 

As I read through many of the multiples of a hundred cards and notes from people, it saddened me to realize I didn't recall who some of these people were. Their notes were so touching and intimate, yet their name rang no bell for me. And I thought "I'd never, ever forget these people" and the events. I am sure this part of God's healing for us, to put these memories aside so we don't dwell, but I feel badly about not storing these names and faces in my heart and memory. One lady stuck in my mind as I struggled to remember who she was...and all of sudden, later, it came back to me that she was our neighbor on the street we lived on where Timmy was born. 

There was a lovely poem which was not signed but I attributed to my niece at first. But that didn't ring true either as another card revealed a girl named Becky had written us a poem. Okay, so who is this Becky? Searching and searching my memory banks----ah, yes! She worked in Peggy's dental office and would often babysit for us. That was why she remembered tucking him into bed, reading stories to him and his curly hair and his laugh...

When Justin came home from work I sort of put the stuff to the side because he used to not like it when I did stuff like this. When I wrote a piece for my high school's alumni newsletter many years back, he asked me how long I would be yet in getting it done. At that time my office was just off the family room at our lake house and he could see/hear me at work. I sort of learned a lesson from that...which is why I likely put the 'book' aside as long as he was around. 

Speaking of the book, after reading through the lovely notes people wrote to us upon Timmy's death and the weeks afterward, I am rethinking the format of the book. The messages in the book can tell the story for me, if I let them.

Linda touched base with me throughout the day as she vacationed in the winter wonderland of MN at our friend's home. She knew of my project and sent me encouragement and comfort as I went through the basket. 

Tomorrow I have a seminar at my financial planner's office about Medicare. I know, I know, not old enough yet but it never hurts to get the scoop well in advance, plus have a lovely 'brunch' with the other folks. Plans are being made to lunch with my neighbor, Debbie, Saturday as well, depending upon how long the seminar lasts. I'd like to dine alfresco if possible and make the most of our sunshining days. In the low 80's again today---yay!

It's a hot day!

We reached 82 above zero today in North Florida and for this, I apologize to those of you who read this blog and are suffering from the terrible cold temps elsewhere. More than terrible, potentially life-threatening if much time is spent out in it without adequate clothing. Now, if it was a football game, folks can do it, but then again, they are usually wearing layer upon layer of clothing---or, a bikini, as I saw at a recent Packer game! Brrr!  It's so nice out that Justin and I enjoyed lunch on the patio at Bahama Breeze today after Bible study.

As I write, I see a very colorful barge moving up the river. When they travel at night, the barge and the tugboat are covered in lights which make them look like they are decorated for Christmas. So friendly looking, and very hard to miss.

I don't think I mentioned my quick trip to the dentist on Monday afternoon. My temporary bridge is holding up nicely and I thought I was keeping the area nice and clean. Well, Sunday morning when I brushed my teeth, I hurt myself, thinking I nicked the area where the extraction was and caused it to bleed. I thought at first I had another abscess and was fearing having some other procedure done to this area. Like it's never going to end, you know?

I called the dentist Monday morning and the young lady got me an appointment for that afternoon, well before I had to be ready for the Ladies' Group party. (Thinking ahead, I had stopped at Publix and got my food for taking to the party, plus my gift was already wrapped. I was so ahead of the game this time!) Heidi took me back to the suite and got me situated in the chair while I waited for Peggy. Heidi gave it a quick look-see and determined, indeed, I did have a boo boo. I knew it!

                         

Well, Peggy looked it over, and then tried pushing some tracer stuff into the owie to see how far into my head it would go. Once packed in there, she x-rayed it and found the wound was mostly a surface injury. She used an antibiotic to rinse the area and sure enough, she flushed out a 'foreign object'. That is enough detail, but will say I was VERY greatly relieved to know my bone is healing nicely after the extraction (yay!) and no further procedures were needed. 

I have to be extra careful when eating green food apparently, or any type of food, it seems. She gave me the remainder of the bottle of antiseptic stuff to take home with me, plus a syringe thing, to rinse the area at bedtime, making sure no 'foreign objects' cause me a problem. I was so so glad. I get my permanent bridge installed in January after I get home from WI. A nice, early start to my tax deductions!

Mission Accomplished!

It's been a long time coming but there it is----the top of my desk! I worked several hours on this project, tearing open envelopes, filing papers, shredding some stuff, and in general, going through the accumulation of debris stacked on my desk. And here is the result---a cleaned off desk. All that remains is a napkin for my soda can, and a case from a CD (music from Greece). Otherwise, all the stuff is handled as is appropriate and the slate is clean. Now, to the mailbox to see what more I can bring up to sort, file, or shred!

I never thought I'd say this...

...but I am getting tired of leftovers. Not just any leftovers, however, but the ones from the ThanksLiving feast. I have one serving of mashed potatoes left (I am NOT tired of them, ever!), and there are containers on the refrigerator shelves with gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and carrots remaining. Justin polished off the combined orange Jell-O salads and I had the last of the cranberries. The green bean casserole went fast, and in fact, yesterday, I bought ingredients to make another batch for us. I do have leftovers from Koko's to eat but don't feel like I should eat that before the other foods. Justin did not share my thinking on this matter and ate his, plus my leftovers from Sunday's Chili's lunch!

Another time our family got 'tired' of leftovers and eating at home was after Timmy died. We had enormous amounts of food which had been provided us, and continued coming after our relatives had gone home again. Justin even made the remark that he never thought he would get tired of ham, but he did then!  We just had to go out and get some other types of food, just for a change of scenery and pace.

****

The other night Justin and I were sitting around talking and he made the declaration, "You know, we are the 'goingist to church' religion there is, besides Catholic." Well! Where did that come from? Evidently his boss said something about going to worship, or not going, for ThanksLiving Day, at his non-denom church. 

He began telling me about talking with his boss regarding church/religion stuff, which I find interesting. Now, my boy is fast talker, so I have to run to keep up sometimes. He said he couldn't remember something from confirmation class, and by the way, why do we have confirmation in the first place? Where does it say that in the Bible? And how come you have to be confirmed to take the Lord's Supper? And how many times a month? Wow! That must have been some conversation!

I explained to him the differences between doctrine and practice, hopefully in a way he can relate to his boss, then located Bible passages to reinforce our church's practice of being fully prepared to partake in the Lord's body and blood. I also told him that frequency of communing varies from congregation to congregation, a 'practice' established by their history or agreement in the leadership. Also, I reminded him how Victory does not have worship on Christmas Day, as is their choice. I can't imagine not having worship that day, as the services I attend at FG when I am there are so wonderful and edifying. 

I remember having the Lord's Supper served once a month at FG, and those not partaking were dismissed before the communion portion of the service continued. That was when I was a young girl and when the new pastor came, the man who confirmed and married me, it was changed to twice a month without dismissing anyone. But it was the history and practice of this congregation to do things differently, not as a Biblical mandate.

                             

I sure do enjoy these types of things, being asked the what and why, and have the opportunity to look up what needs to be substantiated with Bible passages or other resources. I think Justin enjoys the challenge as well. More than once he has referenced what his confirmation pastor told them in class...hey, they really were listening and learning!

The Ladies' Group Christmas Party

Sue B. and Kristin carry in their treats for the table, with Judy C. looking on

 There was punch plus plenty of Diet Coke to wash down our desserts

Look at this sumptuous spread!

Terri T. had us playing Christmas carol Pictionary. This is Terri H. doing the drawing her team

 Here are a few shots of the ladies at the tables: Betty (standing) Jean, Donna, Becky, Renee, and Janet

From the left is LuAnn, Gretchen, Judy, Jayne, Fran, and Ethel (behind her)

Donna is opening a gift she chose from under the tree, since someone took her first choice. From left is Jean (a friend of Betty's who has joined our Monday Bible study), Donna, and her daughter, Becky 

 Terri T. looks on as Jean unwraps a lovely Bible cover, which oddly enough, was NOT stolen from her! (not shown is Twila, who out of the shot)

 Lynn is about to steal a gift from Terri H. but feels so badly about doing so that she turned red in the face. We have Janet, Sue, Terri, Lynn, Sue K., and Kristin (her daughter)

Fran, Ethel, Jean, and Betty are laughing as Lynn steals the gift from Terri 

...and here is what I ended up with, the only gift 'retired' from being stolen. It is a glass candle holder with a battery-operated scented candle inside, so perfect for me! Next to it is the lovely bookmark Terri bestowed on us all at the party. 'Twas a great night!

I can get used to this!

The Jaguars won again! That's three so far this season, two in a row, and away games. I don't know how they are doing it, but I say, "Keep it up!" I like feeling good after watching a game for a change.  The Packers lost their last game on ThanksLiving Day, breaking a stretch where the Lions were ALWAYS the designated losing team. Nope...not this year! The previous Sunday's score ended in a tie---oh, they need Aaron Rodgers up and throwing again.

The acolyte lighting the first candle on the Advent ring. The "Sheldon" in me doesn't like the candle leaning like this but for some reason, there is no straightening it.

Today is New Year's Day, at least it is so according to the litergical church year. The first day of Advent was celebrated in our worship, with the theme of "Watching". This Wednesday will be our first midweek service which I look forward to attending. I like how we recognize Advent before getting all feverish with Christmas "stuff".

Judy J. came outside to find me, to get me to take a photo of the cake before Betty cut into it. Good thing my cell phone has a camera as part of its functions!

We had a new member accepted today during our service by affirmation of faith. There was cake served afterward to welcome her to our midst. Betty was asked, on the way out of worship, if she would serve the cake, so she did not join us for lunch. She just couldn't say no. 

The rest of us went to Chili's for lunch, with Mike S. joining us just as we were ordering. He had to stick around afterward to supervise stuffing of outreach materials which will be delivered next weekend, promoting our Christmas services. Justin left our table to join his friend, Jesse, at another table at the Ale House where they watched the Jaguar game together. I am glad they are still hanging out together at least once a week. 

This week the Jags play on national TV on Thursday night and I only hope they makes us proud, maybe a victory, but hopefully NOT a shut-out. Looking forward to a night of football cheering!