A private concert

Today was a day with nothing special on the schedule and it ended being full of special! Mom had Ladies' Aid on her calendar, an afternoon outing. A friend from church picks her up for this and I didn't really feel like going along. I have gone in the past and it's okay, but not all that interesting. 

In the morning, I got a message via Facebook, from Naomi's gentleman friend, David, who was in town for a visit on their spring break. Naomi was shadowing at Immanuel Lutheran but David was available to play the organ at First German. He offered to pick me up and take me along to FG, so I went out to stand on the street  corner for him to more easily find me. I was getting a personal concert!

We had only 30 minutes before the children's choir was coming to rehearse so we made good use of it. At first I asked David to play some of his favorites, which were also mine. Then, I went through my list of favorites, including some from my funeral list. David is a skilled organist, gifted, I would say, and played that old pipe organ beautifully. I asked him if it did any harm to crank it up, so to speak, and he assured me that the most harm to this organ is it NOT being played!

While we were yet in the balcony, we heard young voices approaching. As I had told David, I had not met my Facebook friend, Natosha, but was going to this morning! Sure enough, before I could get to her, she grabbed me for our introductory hug. She is teaching music and the 7-8 grade, temporary call. She was training her junior choir in antiphonal singing so David and I went downstairs to give them space.

We sat in the church office for a bit, while Linda finished up her volunteer work (now officially retired, she still has work to do for FG). Linda and I were going to have lunch so David was free to go, as he had plans to visit Naomi's mom who had recently had surgery. I had a chance to speak to the two pastors as well, and offer my encouragement to Pastor Schaefer as he considers his recent Call. I told him I could not leave without putting in my two cents' worth, and he appreciated what I offered him.

Linda and I went to Harborside for lunch and they were so kind to make us perch sandwiches, even though they were not on the menu. LOVE these hometown restaurants! For fun we went across the street to say 'hello' to the ladies at Rose Colored Glasses, which was a hoot. So very nice to see them all again.

She dropped me off at Mom's just as her ride was coming to take her to Ladies' Aid. My job that afternoon was to prepare the pork roast which Jill provided. I used the slow cooker and added onion soup mix plus Golden Mushroom Soup. Added some baby carrots to it plus Mom made some instant potatoes to have with our meal. Jill brought leftover sweet potatoes to share. What a wonderful meal it was!

We have a full day tomorrow so I had better rest up! Good night everyone!

Love hearing the organ!

Mom and I just came home from church and the supper afterward. It was a marvelous late afternoon and evening. Lynn took us to church but Jill came back to pick us up since Lynn had to stay for choir rehearsal. We could have stayed and waited for Lynn to be done but then we'd have missed seeing the reigning champ on Jeopardy! be bested by a female. Thanks for the lift, Jill!

Lenten worship was very nice, with the former principal, Kevin, playing the organ for the service. Linda sat with our family since Tommy wasn't there. The hymns were beautiful as well, and the organ such a welcome sound, particularly the offeratory which included the chimes on "Just as I Am", Mom's favorite.

It was great to talk to the church folks again and to get a warm hug from Pastor Schaefer, who was working in the kitchen, serving the food. Don't worry, he had his gloves on! I met the new pastor serving at the high school, and his wife and kids. They are making FG their church home. I saw their newborn being passed around, already at home!

Mom, Lynn, and I decided to not go for pedicures on this particularly cold day, not a good day for flip flop wearing. Instead we went to lunch at The Charcoal Grille where I had the wonderful rib eye steak sandwich---oh yum! From there we went over to Festival Foods where I stocked up on Diet Coke and got my delicious caramel corn. And my first hot cross buns of the season, as well. Frankly, the Publix ones are better, but these will do in a pinch!

Getting settled in

My lunch yesterday at Perkins was the full portion of potato pancakes, when I usually order the 'senior' serving. Wow, what a plateful it was! My first to-go box came home to Mom's with me. Last night for dinner, Lynn, Jill, Danny, and I went to The Green Street for dinner. There, I had my favorite perch plate, leaving the broasted potatoes and the balance of the cheese curds to come home with me in a foam box. Yes, less than one day and already two foam boxes in Mom's frig!

Linda picked me up late morning as we were having lunch before attending Bible study. She let me pick the place, with me at first suggesting The Charcoal Grille, which is always delicious. But then, I saw an ad for The Courthouse Pub and made that suggestion. Linda was all about it and the choice was a good one. I had a very tasty steak sandwich there, not as good as those at Charcoal Grille, but good nonetheless.

It was wonderful to be together with Linda again. Though we talk with other almost every day in one form or another, face to face is always best. People ask me what we do when I am in WI and my answer is "church and perch". We did that today! Ladies Bible class was held in FG's Heritage Hall, with our subject matter being II Samuel. It is an extremely thorough look at the book, beginning with the death of King Saul. Looking forward to next week's class already! 

I have Internet!

Your brief break from me is over! Thanks to Justin's idea, I was able to tap into my sister, Jill's, Uverse from her apartment to my mom's. Imagine that! Justin and I can't do that even laterally in our concrete block constructed condo but in this frame structure, no problem! Thanks, Jill! This changes everything! No need now to go to church to work on the newsletter and send it off, can do that right from this kitchen table. I haven't tried the connection yet from the bedroom...

I arrived with no complications into MKE, landing right about 10:30 and collected by my mom and sister, Lynn. We stopped to have an early lunch/late breakfast at Perkins, very near the airport. Gave the two ladies a chance to stretch their legs and use the restroom, as well having our meals. I was hungry since Justin had taken me to the airport at 5:30 in the morning! Only a package of cookies on the plane to hold me over!

As we flew between Chicago and MKE, I took this photo from my plane window. It was a sight like I've never seen before and found it amazing. I even stirred the man next to me (I'm sure he appreciated that!) to look at this amazing view. On the local news tonight I heard a report that 93% of the lake had been iced over which is not typical, but in some areas the ships are at last finally to get back out on the water and working. What a winter! And what a blessing the weather was when I got here, highs in the 40's...you're welcome, Manitowoc!

I'll be baaacckk!

My end of week was just a mess time-wise and I lost one entire day (Saturday) with the LWMS Rally and then not feeling well in the afternoon and upon getting home. To head off the struggles of the time change, at least I think I can, I went to bed extremely early last night. 

When getting home from the Rally, I went to sleep for about an hour and then woke up for a bit when Justin came home from work. He worked almost 11 hours to make up for the rained out Thursday. He left to go play board games with his friends, though he was quite worn from the long day's work, and I got myself ready for bed. First, I reset the clocks in the kitchen to make sure they were ready for the lost hour.

We had Bible study and worship this a.m., Justin riding with me and going for coffee while I was in Bible class. After church was a quarterly voters/congregational meeting which went a bit long, looking at the proposal from the vision task force. We got to Chili's late, only 5 of us today due to the meeting. Guess Justin will enjoy my leftovers...

Tonight, Justin made a little dinner for us, not wanting our last meal together for a few weeks to be leftovers. I would not have minded but it meant something to him, and who am I to disagree? We watched the 2nd half of a documentary together as we ate, which made me sad to watch. 

I will be less able to update the blog being in WI unless I get access to my sister's WiFi from her apartment in Mom's building. Otherwise, it's a bit of a challenge for me to post. You might remember from my Christmas visit that I would write the blog on Word, e-mail it to myself and then post it from the e-mail to the blog on my cell phone. It's doable, just not a simple process. Hope I can do it, though, otherwise, look for me on Facebook!  I will be at a hotel in Oshkosh for the retreat with Linda which might have Internet available so I can post from there possibly, or from Linda's house. See you around, y'all!

I can swallow again!

The new dryer is in place, taking care of a load of clothes for Justin, clanging the zippers and other attachments on his garments as it rolls around. A whole week we were without a working dryer and it now has some catching up to do. My laundry can wait, but Justin's cannot as he needs them for work, and they NEED washing. I was given the time frame of delivery of Wednesday between the hours of 4 and 8 pm. Nuts! It's Ash Wednesday and I never miss church that night...except this year. I had to be here for it, though, as I would never be able to calmly be away from home when my washer was involved. 

As it turned out, Justin was home and cleaned up before the truck ever pulled in, the driver needing those pesky added directions that the GPS never shows to find The Palace. Justin had thought that once the washer was pulled out, the guys could hook up the dryer while he changed the hoses on the washer. BUT, the guys could not loosen the hose from the faucet on the hot water side, nor would the faucet turn. Oh, that's not good....

Justin shut off the water supply using our 2010 valve which had been replaced the day of the Great Flood. Yikes! He could replace one of the hoses, though the installer found that they were still in very good condition.  He did say the stainless steel ones are more sure to last, so I have at least one with staying power. The hot water one will have to stay and since we don't use the hot, we will simply hope nothing happens with it EVER!

All the while they were working on the installation and shuffling the machinery around, my mouth was so dry I couldn't even swallow. Justin kept himself busy sweeping up the mess under the machines while also staying out of their way. The guy, Nick, was amused at how Justin could go in one door and come out another. Every room in our house allows that except for the back bedroom. Nick also opted to not switch out the vent, finding it also in excellent condition. I was told I had to replace it to validate the warranty but Nick, a GE installer, said that was not true. He used my dusting wand to clean out the vent and we were good to go.

I gave them each a tip, which was warmly accepted, since they had to mess around extra with my machines, moving them in, out, and around. Nick said that rarely happened and then asked me if we, by chance, had anything cold to drink. I had 30 cases of soda!  I told him I was going to offer them a drink, telling Nick that this was a "Seinfeld" episode---always offer the delivery men a drink! I know I needed one! They left my house about 7:30 pm, with one more stop yet before their night was over. That's a long day for them, and I was glad it was over for me!

People pictures

 These are the pictures taken after the concert, before the kids were sent home with their assigned families.

When I walked into the narthex and Naomi spotted me coming, she ran up to hug me, saying, "I just knew you'd wear red!"

 David and I posed together. At first he had his robe off but put it back on for the photo, saying, "You'd probably like that...." Already he knows me so well! Love chatting with him via Facebook. He played the organ at First German a couple week ago and I understand that he blew the dust out of the pipes!

 This young lady, Kimberly, with Naomi, is the daughter of a classmate of mine, Greg, who had come down here several years ago to help us determine our readiness to open a grade school. I am also friends with her auntie, who is a travel agent in Manitowoc. Love the small world of the WELS!

 David, Kim, and Naomi at Christ the King, Palm Coast

These two lovely lovely young ladies, Megan and Anna, are sisters (no kidding!!!) who are also daughters of FG (as is Naomi). Both their parents work as teachers at MLHS. These girls are the oldest of the 6 children in the family, quite the musical folks. Joel and Carrie can be so proud at the fine example these two girls are, representing their college so favorably, and their other alma maters as well.