Getting a new outlook yet again

Today I got an e-mail reporting that the window cleaners will be back again this week to wash my windows on the outside. Last week the boss came over to survey the situation, since the guys had not brought the 40 ladder the week prior to do them. They have determined it's too risky to lift the heavy ladder over the railing on the porches below mine to get into position. In other words, no, they won't do it by ladder again. He did think the hose/brush system on a very long pole will the best they can do. It's better than nothing, so I am in!

Justin still does not have possession of his 'new to him' truck, as the dealership had to order parts for it. They had not yet gotten it ready for sale when we saw it so had to undergo its inspections and detailing before we could get it. We plan to pick up tomorrow night instead. Right now he is car pooling with his underling and using my car on days when I am not busy. Truthfully, I cannot wait until this is over and he's all set.

Today I met my friend, Jacquie, at Great Hang Ups. She had a piece needing framing and I wanted to check on my special project as well. She won a watercolor at our Fashion Show event and chose a lovely frame and mat to compliment it. As we were wrapping up, I asked Julia how my other piece was coming along and she looked at me quizzically. There was nothing in her computer, no work order, for the framing of Timmy's original art piece. It was in limbo! I had paid for it but the copy of the check was in another register so I couldn't give the amount or anything. Jacquie remembered that I wrote about it in the blog so I pulled it up on my phone and sure enough, it was April 1st! That information did not help Julia find it in the computer though. 

Dee scrambled around in the backroom, calling out that she was bending over, and then came out with the frame that we had chosen. And, she came out with the original piece which at first was not located. I was sweatin' it! Once we saw the frame sample, it all came back to me, and then Julia recalled choosing a brown mat which she found again and we were good to go. She will get it done in time...yikes!

Jacquie and I went over to Koko's for lunch with me planning to go back to the shop afterward. I was going to pay Julia for the print-to-canvas piece she is doing for the school donation but she didn't have the info yet. Jacquie and I were alone at our table, cooked for us by Jimmy. She gave me half her rice and I gave her all my zucchini and mushrooms. Jimmy asked the waiter to get some extra onion for me, since I had not asked for it. Sweetheart! My container was filled to almost overflowing, and I took my untouched salad to Julia to have for lunch! 

After we parted company, I stopped at Publix for soda and a few other things. I made a mistake in reading the ad for this week and so I ended up paying more for the soda than I expected to, but it was still on special. We got spoiled by the 'good' price that time at Target so now it's hard to get used to again.  A nice lady helped me get my stuff out to the car after she had to run get me one more case of soda. So helpful! Plus she got a coupon for me to use for the toilet paper! I love Publix!

When I got home I started to look for my receipt and the duplicate check from when I paid for the framing. I found it right away and called Julia to let her know the amount (she was very close in her second opportunity to price it!) and the check number. It seems I paid from the quote page rather than from the work order, and the quote was not saved in her system. All fixed now and I think we are square! Just so the framing is done on time and we are good to go for the 16th!  

Spring has arrived!

Today, I saw my first love bugs, so now I know for sure that spring has arrived. The heavy layers of pollen were not sufficient proof, I guess. A FB friend who lives down state part of the year reported seeing love bugs at the end of April so either I am not attentive or it took this long for them to get up here. They don't hurt anyone but do make a mess on the cars (damaging to paint, I understand) and are just pesky.

As I sat at my desk this afternoon, I noticed little black bugs crawling around on my papers. They are so tiny and slow moving it almost made me think they are not ants but I believe they are. I put some ant bait out plus squished as many as I saw. Just the other day I had told Linda that my goal is to clean off my desk before she gets here and that might have to happen sooner rather than later! 

This morning began with a new Bible study called "The Heart of Jesus", about the women who were Jesus' followers. Judy C. was absent this a.m., and I figured it was her cold keeping her away. She had quite a cough on Sunday but was determined to go to Ocala anyway, with Gretchen as passenger. I called her when I left Bible study to see if she was okay and she sounded rough. Had to go and put her grandchildren on the bus and made arrangements for her grandson to go to the neighbor's house after school so she could go home to rest. She got the cold from the kids in the first place, she said. 

After the class, 5 of us went to have lunch at the new Wendy's which was opened in the plaza where JoAnn's, Publix, and Michaels is located, near Longhorn. It was Jackie's idea to go there but I had understood they were not happy the first time they went after Bible study. Jackie was 'surprised' by the prices of the burgers, too. Prices are rising, that's for sure. It's not the same as eating at Longhorn where are waited on at the table instead of standing at the counter. It really doesn't matter to me as I enjoy the company and opportunity. I had eaten with two of the ladies only the day before but we rarely run out of topics to discuss!

When I got home, I fought with the ants for a while, and then put my swimsuit on to visit the pool. At least, the side of the pool! I put some lotion sunscreen on, not able to locate my spray on stuff. Guess I need to get some more. At first I was alone out there which was perfect for me to call my mom. Poor Mom is still cold in WI, only the low 40's. My sister had taken her grocery shopping that morning and Mom said it felt like the middle of winter yet to her. I hated to tell her it was 91 here, but did so anyway.

Fran and me in the pool on warmer days

After some time I went to step down into the water and found it far too bracing to get in deeper. Nope, not for me. But, some older folks came out and got into the water, swimming laps. One lady said it was great once she got moving, which is likely true for lap swimmers. Puddlers, like me, would freeze our toes off! 

I went back up to my place in time to watch The Five with Linda, wishing I didn't have to get dressed again for Ladies' Group. We had a good meeting though and I was home by 9:00 pm after stopping for BO/GO Big Macs on the ride home. Once again a lady working there complimented me on my hair, twice in a week's time, so that seals it---at least this week I will not remove my silver!

A stressful day

The other night Justin's car started to make a terrible noise, as its been reported to me, and he is bascially done with that car. His father had gotten him the car so he could drive back and forth to UNF, and I was so glad to not have to do that drive any longer. At first he had a 'no eating' policy, allowing only tea to be drunk in his vehicle. Then, when he worked for his father and had to use this same car basically as a truck, he fell out of love with it. Hauling yard equipment from site to site and other dirty stuff around took the charm out of the car. Then, there was the moving of the office back and forth from building to building, suite to suite more than once that year which took its toll on the car, causing the latch on the hatch to fail. Not handy!

When hauling some wood in the car, the windshield got a crack which has never been repaired, though its covered by insurance. All it takes is a phone call and appointment, you know? Well, he's not trusted it for some time now, uses my car whenever possible. After Wednesday and the mystery rattle under the hood, he was in search of a vehicle to replace it. Justin wants to get a truck, preferably a small one, but must fit certain criteria such as age, miles, and price. 

On the Internet he found a pick-up at Coggin on Phillips Hwy. I had made plans to go with Judy C. to a retirement/anniversary celebration for a local pastor but instead went with Justin to look at the truck. First we had lunch with our friends, some of them, and then headed to the Southside to see the truck. When we pulled up, the car lot was nearly empty. What the heck? There was a young guy walking around with a big drink so we engaged him. He told us they were in the process of moving all the cars to their new lot just down the street. Whew!, I felt better then.

Another guy showed up, Mark, who had worked there longer and could better answer the questions. The guys had us follow them to the new store, brand new, and they would help us locate that truck. Because it was so newly traded in, it hadn't make it to the lot yet plus they couldn't readily locate the keys for it. Before long, Mark came back with the key and we were off to see it, this time at a property on the opposite side of the road from the first place we were at. Justin and I chose to take our own car, giving me the feeling of being able to just drive off if we didn't like it. Not beholding to them to take us back to the new building, or try to sell us something else. 

Well, it was really tucked behind, almost hidden, on this property. The previous owner's junk was still in the truck, scraps of paper, empty Scoals can, that type of mess. It started right up, the A/C worked, and away three of us went for a test drive. It did everything it was supposed to do, though Justin thought the brakes shuddered a bit. 

The dealership will perform a 150 point safety inspection first, clean it up, and have it ready to go for us on Tuesday night. There is a good deal of paperwork to handle despite him not financing the vehicle. We had to stress to the sales people and to the 'finance guy' over and over that nothing happens on our part until that safety inspection has taken place and it passes. The fees are nuts, non-specific, and the salesmen didn't even know what they were for. What made this stressful for me was that of the three guys we worked with, all of them were new here. Not one of them had a business card to give us. The primary sales guy we worked with, Mark, wrote his name and number on the back of the envelope holding the paperwork Justin signed so we can call him. I said to them, "You know everything about us (after filling out the paperwork) and we know nothing about you!" Bet they were glad to see us go!

Justin was relieved when we left, but there are still many unknowns yet with this vehicle. He is having his boss or another friend look it over once he buys it though we have little recourse once it leaves their lot. The safety inspection, etc. will take place on Monday, they said, but we can't be there to pick it up until Tuesday after Justin is done working. Then, he has to get his car checked over, fix the windshield, repair the hatch, and clean it out to sell it. He needs the money from that to pay his 'loan' on the truck. Plus, insuring two vehicles is an added expense. Another glitch is parking, as we are limited on parking spaces here so that is further incentive to get that car taken care of. 

We were taxed when we got home, this stressful afternoon wearing on us. He is relieved to have found this truck, that's for sure. Justin said he needed a shower after that afternoon which helped him to relax. For dinner we had leftovers and watched a couple episodes of "Parks and Recreation" which he is trying to get me to love. So far..it's okay but it's just not "Seinfeld"- or "Last Man Standing"-funny. Quirky is more like it, but it may take a while to grow on me. Speaking of "Seinfeld", I wanted Justin to see part of a segment of "The Car Dealer" episode where Puddy became a car salesman and wanted to high-five Jerry over and over. Justin was made to high-five the first guy we met at the car dealership because they both have Dodge Calibers. Everything is "Seinfeld"!!! 

It's wedding day!

Today at church was the Mother/Daughter Event with the theme of weddings. People brought in their gowns, dresses, and memorabilia for display, with many dresses were modeled. I don't have photos of the modeled dresses because I was taking those pictures with Laurie's camera. Some very gorgeous gowns were modeled and even a toddler was wearing a flower girl dress. Hopeful to have those photos soon!

These lovely ladies were my tablemates: Gayle, who is Terri T.'s sister, her granddaughter, Emily, and their friend, OJ, who stood up for Terri's wedding. Emily modeled Terri's gown later on. We were later joined by Laurie and Carol, whose china was the black rimmed pieces, plus Terri, when she could eventually sit down!

I got a couple ladies to smile as I photographed the tables and the guests. From the left are LuAnn and Fran, Gretchen, Judy C., and Betty.  The tables are plated with wedding china the committee members had brought. For some, it was the first time the china was being used! 

 The albums and other memorabilia were displayed on tables. On the far right, in the white frame is my 25th wedding anniversary before and during picture.  

 As of last week, we had found a young lady to wear my dress, with enough pins in it to hold up the top. When I arrived today, I told Janet I had the pins for my dress and she said, "Oh, no, honey, Tam is wearing your dress. We got her into it!" Terri took this picture of Tamara in my dress, and I am standing against the wall smiling to beat the band. She even wore flowers in her hair!!! In the background you can see some of the models in their dresses, including Carol wearing her daughter's dress!

 Here is the lovely wedding cake made by Betty Starkweather. It was absolutely delicious, nice and moist, better tasting than some wedding cakes I've had!

Car troubles

On Wednesday late afternoon, Justin called me from the road to report: #1---he was okay, #2----his car was not. As he had accelerated to get onto Hwy. 17 on his way taking Ray home, something under the hood began clanking around and making a big racket. No dash lights came on and he was able to keep going, checking under the hood once he got to Ray's house. It was after that drop off and inspection that he called me, quite upset. This upsets me as well because I know what it's like to not be able to trust a car. I get concerned about mine, too, every creak and groan...yikes!

Because he was upset, I stayed home from Happy Hour so he could talk to me, weighing the options for how to proceed. It's my opinion that he have someone take a look at it to determine what came loose and how easy it would be to fix it. His boss is relatively handy when it comes to basic mechanics, having to maintain his yard work equipment and all that. I hope that it is just an easy fix and he can get it up and running again. He is not happy with that car, uses mine most of the time if he can. He is intent upon getting a different vehicle and I am intent upon seeing what's going on with this one first. We'll see how this shakes out. In the meanwhile, my friend, Kathy, was not happy with me missing HH, but she did feel badly for Justin's troubles. 

This a.m. I had breakfast with Nancy at The Club, missing Pat and O. Before we had finished our eating and chatting, the rain was pouring down. I had looked forward to the 'soft opening' of the cabana this afternoon but the rain washed out those plans. Marlena is breaking in new staff for the summer and Chef is going to train Sean on the grille, etc. I would have been glad to be a taste tester otherwise. Nuts! Justin got home from work before noon, losing several hours of work due to rain. Not good!

Tomorrow is the big event at church, the Ladies' Group Mother/Daughter Tea with the wedding theme. The committee was busy working on getting things set up tonight. I am so looking forward to seeing all the ladies (some from Victory are coming!) and possibly a mom or two from the preschool. The dresses displayed or modeled, the beautiful tables, the kids escorting the brides...will be a fun event. I leaped from my bed here once already to look for the safety pins needed for my dress to make sure it's not too big for Alicea who is modeling it. 

Tonight Justin went to the store for me and got the cut fruit needed for my skewers. It took me over an hour to work on that project, mixing up the fruit, cutting some of the chunks, and feeding four pieces onto skewers, even taking one for the team by poking it under my finger nail. Yikes! The tray I started with quickly became full too quickly so I asked Justin to find my larger stainless one to accomodate all those fruit sticks. He is going to eat the remaining fruit, except for the grapes, which I will take with me to church tomorrow in case they are needed. They sure are pretty!

May Day!

To celebrate the 1st of May, or 'just because', Justin and I joined his boss and his wife for a bite at Whitey's tonight. Justin worked all day, a non-raining day for a change, but was still up for going to dinner. I was all set to fend for myself, especially since I have leftovers from Bono's, but Justin asked me along. Nice!  

We got there first and in order to take advantage of the Happy Hour prices, we had to sit on the outdoor patio. I have no problem with that but I do have a problem getting up into the booth! The benches are about waist-high for me, so it was not a pretty sight getting me up into my position. Justin was a good helper but there was little he could really do to help. At least he was assured I wouldn't be getting out to say 'hi!' to people this way. I did see some people I know but left it up to waving instead of running around the deck.

When it was time to leave, after our lovely time with Will and Beth, the challenge was to get me down again. It was almost as bad as extricating me from the booth at Beerntsen's in March. With no 'step' to rest my foot on, I had to basically leap to the deck. My feet were about 18" from the floor as I sat side-saddle going down. Next time I am bringing a little stool with me---yeah, no one will be embarrassed by that!

The early part of the day was spent attending Bible study at Victory. We are fewer in number now that our snow bird couple has returned to MA plus Harold and Lucy were gone to a funeral in MI. We still manage to have wonderful give and take in this class. Today we prayed for the son of a couple who used to be at GS whose son is suffering with organ failure. He is around Justin's age and attended Sunday school with him, but was confirmed at Victory. 

The adult son of another couple has been placed at the top of the list for a heart/lung transplant at a hospital in Pittsburg. Audrey and Rich are up there now, helping to take care of the little ones, and be with their son. While he is there, he is preaching the Good News of salvation with Word and action. Not long ago Andrew was able to offer comfort and support to high school kids who were in the waiting area after a student went after fellow students with a knife. Some time, when looking back and wondering what this was all this 'wait and see' was about, the time spent counseling and comforting the young people will answer the question.

After Bible study, Judy A. sent home four baggies of homemade chocolate chip cookies with me. She had made them for a cookie sale which somehow had not happened so they needed to be eaten up. I can handle a few baggies full! As I got out of my car, Rita presented me with a gift bag of cobalt and clear glass orbs. There were a dozen of them individually wrapped in the bag, something she had seen when out shopping and determined, "These are SO Kim!" Now I will just have to find a way to display them properly.

Been to the 'burg!

At the food event at The Club the other night I was given discount cards for Bono's BBQ---one for a free appetizer and one for money off a certain dollar amount spent. I got a set for my friend, Jacquie, too, since she has a brand new Bono's in her community, Middleburg. And, I had to deliver them to her, right? Off I went to have lunch with Jacquie on Turkey Tuesday at Bono's! We could only use one coupon per table so it was free corn nuggets for us, and that's it. I'll have to use the other coupon another time. 

We had a great visit over our lunches, and beyond! I had a ton of leftovers to bring home, too, including mac 'n cheese and green beans. We can talk for hours, something we both enjoy. I was a tad late arriving because I was waiting for the dryer to get done in order to rescue a couple of Justin's shirts. Wanted to get them on the hanger before they wrinkled. I had spent the evening before folding several baskets of his clothes for him and putting stuff on hangers but these shirts needed a do-over, which I gave them in the morning. One came out just as bad as it went in, and Justin said that he doesn't even remember the last time he wore the shirt so it's not like he will miss it. Might have to put it in the clothes donation stack...This subject made for some interesting conversations at the table at Bono's in the 'burg!!

I failed to mention my delightful evening at Erica's graduation party on Friday night. I had a white knuckle ride over the Buckmann at rush hour but really didn't have a reason to be as apprehensive as I felt. The bulk of the traffic is going the other way but it seemed like the right thing to do---hang on for dear life! I wanted to make sure I got there early enough to get a good place to park since they live in a cul de sac with few spaces. I did it!

Stephanie, Erica, and Jean, her grandma, at my house for dinner

It was so nice to meet, at last, Erica's boyfriend, Brett, as well as her aunties, Stephanie's sisters. Stacy lives here in FL and her other sister, Sherry, flew down with her mom, Jean, from Janesville, for the big event. One of the girls had made frosted sugar cookies so I was in my happy place for sure. It was great to be in the midst of my Victory friends again besides celebrating Erica's college graduation. Now she will be looking for work in her field of marketing or public relations. I wish her all the best! 

Jean, her grandma, used to work for Parker Pens and gave me a lovely pen when she was here at Christmas. This time she brought a pen for Justin. It is a fine pen in every sense of the world, vanishing into his giant hand like a tooth pick. I told him to put it someplace safe because that was a really nice writing instrument and a thoughtful gift she gave him. She thinks the world of him, was telling her daughters how smart he is. Justin has a fan club!