High anxiety days

This buying a new, or different, vehicle business is quite stressful...awash in indecision and second-guessing ourselves. Justin chose a 'new' truck last week Sunday but it was not yet ready to come home. In fact, it had not even been 'processed' for sale by the dealership. The salesman figured it would be ready for him on Monday some time. They had to perform a safety check on the truck, making sure it's road-worthy and so on. 

In the meantime, though, Justin's boss began searching for a suitable vehicle to buy, other than the one previously selected. That really stirred things up! Not the help wasn't appreciated, because it certainly was, but it made us concerned we'd goofed on our original choice. Justin was torn between the truck being processed and anything his boss found. 

The salesman contacted Justin to let him know that they had to order parts for the truck so it wouldn't be ready until Tuesday. With all the vacilating, I had my neighbor look at the paperwork with her "lawyer-eyes" and she figured that we could back out if we wanted to since money had not exchanged hands. Justin had a particularly exhaustin week at work, long days in the heat, and so on, so he was willing to put off going to get the truck until he was ready. We'll see how that goes...

Today was Bible study at Victory. We were a sparce group with some folks traveling in MI and others simply absent. Those of us there enjoyed the class greatly, beginning the class with prayer for those suffering or facing loss. One woman had lost her younger brother that week, and her husband and she were flying out the next day for IL. Another couple from the congregation had to put their son, in his 20's, under Hospice care, due to untreatable organ failure. Needless to say, there was a pall over the room, despite the uplifting promises in Isaiah 27. "and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem."  And we worry about our choice of a used truck???

Senior Moments

Justin is gone tonight with his friend, Jesse, to watch the NFL Draft proceedings on the big screens at Everbank Stadium downtown. He was glad to get done working at a reasonable hour today, had enough time to clean himself up, and then go to help one of our neighbors with her printer problems. Then he was meeting up with Jesse to go downtown. Before he departed, Justin asked me if I was going to be okay food-wise with him being gone. Of course I will be fine---we have plenty of dry bread and water to sustain me!

The other day at lunch one of our group was sharing photos of her grandson taken at prom. He was 'asked' by an older girl to be her escort and it was not an ideal situation. Even the girl's father said he felt sorry for Jacob! He was basically just along for the ride, but Jacob rolled with the punches and had a good time dancing with the others there. 

It reminded me of when Justin was a junior in high school and had no intention of going to the prom. His friend, Mark, however, had other ideas, needing another couple to help defray the cost of the limo. Not that I didn't want him to go or anything, but it was sort of disconcerting for him to go with a group, matched up with a girl he only knew in passing. Just to cover the cost of the limo...

I remember that Tom and Linda were here visiting and at the last minute (it seemed) I had to go to the florist to buy a corsage for him to give the girl. There might have been a tuxedo rental too but I am not sure of that right now. It was so much more than just the ride, you know? If memory serves, I had to drop him off somewhere, and then they were posing for pictures. BUT, I was not invited to participate in the photo taking, and, in fact, he asked me not to come. Why? "Because you cry too much..." How much is too much? It is a problem because it's catchy, that's why.

When he was a Senior in high school, his friend, Olivia, and he were going with a group to the prom, this time the fee for the limo being substantially more. Like in the hundreds for our (his) share alone. The girls organizing the event for the event (ahem, ahem) wanted a Hummer limo. I had shopped a bit online and found a regular limo for about $40 a person but, nope, it was going to be a Hummer. 

And then there is the tuxedo rental, the dinner before, and then the prom fee. I sure would not deny him the privilege of going to the prom but even he had to see how this stuff was a bit over the top. I'm not sure how many troops, oops, I meant prom-goers, fit in this Hummer limo (isn't that a bit of an oxymoron?) but even so, they might as well have rented a bus. No mention made this time of pictures being taken and I don't know that I have even seen any from that night. Jacob managed to have a good time under less than ideal circumstances and I am sure Justin had fun at his Senior prom as well. Sadly, my memory of that is limited to the Hummer! 

Another sad thing about this is after having done all the big stuff for prom, far more expensive than it has to be, every year or for every event, the bar is being raised for the next occasion. I see those types of weddings almost every weekend from my balcony!

It is sad that I don't remember more about these big days for him. I do have a photo of him posing with the young lady in Twila's yard, with the lake behind them. To him, it was not a big deal, not really his thing, so I guess it wasn't all that to me either. When I was in high school, we had banquets instead, with entertainment rather than a dance. Much less pomp and circumstance than is expected for students now. I still have two of the dresses my mom or sister made for me to wear to the banquet. I believe I went three times, twice with my now former spouse and once with a boyfriend named Gary. I might have to pull out those photos from the archives and scan them in. Those I have--- but not of Justin, though!

Everyday is Mother's Day

Last evening I was sitting on the sundeck with the neighbors, the result of some sort of mix-up in communications with our 'social directors'. Instead of going over to The Club as usual on Wednesday nights, Kathy got a call from our 'organizer' saying we were meeting tonight on our newly completed sundeck. Great! Like Kathy said, "It's cheaper this way..."  

Justin had come home from work and met our neighbor, Patti, with her wheel-chaired husband heading to The Club. He told her of the plans' change and then came in the house to get cleaned up. Patti ordered food to-go, then, from The Club and picked it up later. Justin chose to stay in the house and make our dinner rather than loll about after a long day at work. A small group of us sat out there and enjoyed an absolutely lovely evening, but without our 'organizers'. It is a mystery where they were and poor Betty just couldn't get over it. Patti said no one was in the garden room so they weren't over there. Anyway, when people asked me about Justin, I told them he was inside making dinner. That just blows folks away how he likes to cook!

This picture is of a smothered steak Justin made a week or two ago. I had gotten two packs of steaks, BO/GO from Winn Dixie. This is the second pack of steaks, two in each package, for which he made carmelized onion pedals. Oh my....so delicious! With the beef we had mashed potatoes (from a container) plus the corn on the cob. We microwave our corn with the husks on after cutting off the stalk end. Once cooked, the husks and hair just slide right off the cob. It's amazing and most tasty!

At lunch the other day Jacquie and I were talking about her plans to update the kitchen with a new range, complete with 5-burner top with a griddle to fit over two of the burners. Once her hubby saw that griddle, he was in! I was telling her how blasé I am about such things except for having a working microwave oven and a fridge to keep my soda cans cold. 

Here is Judy, sitting in her dinette 

Also I told her how my friend, Judy R., had asked me about my lack of interest in meal preparation, forcing me to give it deep consideration. My answer was that standing in the kitchen and stirring a pot of something did nothing for me, whereas that is exactly Judy's happy place. (Keep in mind this is everyday meal prep, not when I make a feast for something---then I like to do it!) I wonder if Judy would enjoy it as much if she had just herself in the house for whom to cook. My guess is she still would!

Because Justin does so much of that type of thing around here, I am free to do whatever it is I do. Sometimes it's serving on a calling team, setting up appointments for our church members to attend special sessions the Elders and Pastor are conducting. I have about 1/3 of the members to contact, and made great strides in that task today. Someone asked me once if I remembered how to dial the phone because I like to use text messaging and e-mail. And, the answer is a resounding "YES", proved by the number of phone calls I made today!

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!