Counting the days....

Justin is in the process of getting the guest room straightened away and prepped for our pending house guests. Last year he described my CO guests as 'those kids you love so much...'. Yes, I do! It was just about a year ago when he was moving from his friend's house where he had been renting for a few months. Because my extra rooms were in use, he went to stay at his father's for a week or so. I guess he thought he could settle in there but that was not to be, so as soon as those 'kids you love so much' were off to the airport, he unloaded his car into my foyer!  This time, for his move back home, we entirely emptied the bedroom of my belongings so he could get settled in. This time it was for an indeterminate length of time so we may as well get him comfortable. He is that!

Back to the present: in order to make more room for the boys in the back bedroom, I suggested to Justin that he relocate some of the stacked items to my room and closet which really did free some floor space. Some of the bins are empty ones, those he used for moving to Ron's and then back home again. They do come in handy once in a while. The other ones with stuff in contain items he has no room for in the closets or on the shelves. Or, are clothing items which no longer fit or for another season. While it makes for more room in the guest room, I will be happy to have them removed from my little corner of the house.

Today I went to Publix to pick up some of the items needed to supply my guests such as bread, sandwich meat and cheese, chips, milk, cereal, hop tarts (as Timmy would say), and other such items. Connie was so very kind to help me carry things upstairs. The other day she nicely used the hand truck to tote all my soda cases upstairs to my unit. I let Justin know via text message and wrote back suggesting we stack the soda cases in the living room to make a platform bed for the young lady. She is sleeping on an air bed in the living room, for privacy's sake. Not very private but it's away from anyone else for sleeping purposes. She will use my shower and the hall bath will be hers to ready herself. This will work!

The mess at the border

One of the sites I follow on Facebook is about my hometown of Manitowoc, WI. I learn so much about the history and the stories of the town in which I grew up. Actually we lived in 'the country' which meant outside the city limits but not by that much that we were necessarily rural, as if it matters. Some of the recent 'threads' on the site have been about the old days of the County Fair being held in town, at, of all places, the Fairgrounds!

Some of the participants on the site were telling about the terrible polio scare in the same year I was born, and that a young girl died from it. The County Fair was very poorly attended that year due to this 'scare' but those who braved it enjoyed having the place to themselves. I remember as a child standing in line at the police station in our Sunday clothes to get a sugar cube with polio medication in it. Polio and other diseases which used to take lives have been eradicated in the US thanks to the development of vaccines and other treatments, and thanks to God for allowing their development.

Now, we have the fear of those formerly eradicated childhood and adult diseases finding their way back into our lives. If you are watching the national news shows (I understand some of the broadcast networks aren't covering this as much) you know about the crisis along the Southern border with illegals being dropped off. The people being 'dumped' in the US are mainly kids, those under the age of 18, who serve as 'anchors' for their families to join them. Somehow a message went out in the countries to the south of Mexico, the central American nations, that the US had open borders. How those parents can put little kids on a bus and send them thousands of miles away by themselves is beyond me.

The facilities where the illegals are showing up and being held 'for processing' have insufficient means for caring for the kids and adults that are flowing in. How this is happening, why the buses or the modes of transport aren't being prevented to pass the checkpoints or whatever they are?? At first photos of the environment were being allowed out but now are prohibited from being shown. If there are no pictures, then it's not really happening, right? Reports are that there is a good deal of sickness being dealt with along with food shortages, lack of bathroom facilities, and yes, shower facilities. Showers might be new to many of these people, especially to the little children traveling alone who aren't even going to know how to do this. What a mess!

In the movie, "The Godfather II", in flashback-style, young Vito Andolini is shown running away from the 'mafia' in his home town in Sicily and boarding a steamer bound for the US. He was about 10 years old doing this, seemingly without a escort. In fact, when being processed at Ellis Island, it came out that his name was Vito from Corleone, and he ended up with that as his last name! The language barrier, the great numbers of emigrants, and his age allowed for this to happen. What also happened during his physical check-up was the discovery that he had small pox and had to remain on the Island for three months in a cell-like room until he was healed. He was sponsored/adopted by another Sicilian family who finished raising him.

Now, what's happening in the border towns in TX, AZ, and NM is people are being stacked almost like cord wood, mixed all together with poor sanitation facilities. Most, if any of these people, especially the children, have had no immunizations or other medical attention in the countries from which they came. Now, the medical folks tending these illegals are forbidden to discuss what they are seeing and finding for fear of arrest. This does not sound right to me, not in America (North America, I should say!). It reminds me of what happened in Northern Europe in the 1930's...

When the photos were still being allowed at the detention centers, I was struck by the little faces of those kids, my heart went out to them, as it should. This is not their fault but that of the governments involved. There is fear and concern that the kids might be used for ugly purposes so they are thought to be safer here. That may be true but this is so not the way to do it. If they weren't sick when they arrived, they will be in those traveling and living conditions. 

Their 'deportation' from their own countries was not unanticipated by ours because as early as January this year employment opportunities were posted on gov't sites looking for escorts for the underage illegal immigrants. 

While this is entirely out of order and should not be happening, I know personally one radio hosts' philanthropic arm reaching out with food, water, toiletries, and supplies for infants and little ones. This is just a big, fat mess, and not by accident, which is so disturbing. They are expecting about 100,000 such illegals arriving at our borders and the poor agents supposedly protecting the borders are busy doing diaper duty. The arrivals have a memorized or written script with 'key words' in it which would grant them 'asylum' here.

It will be interesting to see how the various Federal and State departments decide to handle this mess and get it straightened out before they have riots on their hands. The last thing our nation needs are more people being supported by programs which are already struggling to meet the truly needy. The system will be collapsed, as has been predicted or even planned to have happen. I pray this is not the case. 

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/07/02/medical-staff-warned-keep-quiet-about-illegal-immigrants-or-face-arrest/?sc=573297105347906271

A battery of problems today

Yeah, it was funnier when I said it the first time, but I used it again. The day started just fine with me taking my bag of 'goodies' along to church to leave for the VBS snacks. My donation was flat-bottomed ice cream cones and three boxes of fruit roll ups. I'll be interested to see what they use these things for in their snack/lessons. Michael was hustling to find someone to handle the snacks and getting helpers for the various positions. Hopefully people step up, especially those with kids in the classes! Years ago it was my job to do the registration and get kids signed-in but since the CO students have been coming, I'm fine with my role being only that of hostess!

Today, after church, which was Favorite Hymn Sunday, there was a potluck being held. There was no occasion for it, a 'just because' pot luck. Since my lady friends are still in Dallas for the LWMS Convention (probably on their way or home by now), we didn't go to Chili's for lunch. Justin had a couple of tech appointments right after church so he headed out right away. Mike S. had too much yard work of his own to do so passed on lunch as well. I was fine with that since I wanted to get home and into the pool, planning to eat lunch at the cabana. 

But, FIRST, I had to stop at Publix in Loch Rane for soda. The price is so good, had to stock up. Justin had gone last night and got some, too. We need to fill up our larder while the price is right. But, it ended up costing me far more than saving money on the soda. When I got back to the car, my battery was dead---as in door nail dead. Barely a click-click-click could be heard. Shoot!

I grabbed the milk and butter to take back in the store with me while I called AAA. By this time I was shaking and sweating bullets, so very upset about this turn of events. Not only was my car battery dead, my cell phone battery was nearly dead. I had to go back to the car to get my charger and fortunately, found an outlet to plug into in the front of the store where I sat and charged it. I was in queue with AAA for nearly 15 minutes before I finally got a dispatcher to speak with me. Unacceptable! 

The guy was very nice to me once we spoke, told me he was sending a battery replacement truck my way but I would have to wait my turn. That turn became almost an hour. "Ricky" was good about calling me and letting me know his status, encouraging me to remain inside until he got to the parking lot. It was over 90 today which is must easier to take in the pool! He told me he'd be in a white truck with the words AAA on this side. No kidding!!! 

He got it jump started and then we moved to an adjacent lot so he could work on replacing it for me, since he couldn't guarantee that it would start the next time. Even though I likely have some time left on the warranty of the old battery, I wanted to feel sure of my car, so had him replace it. If there was time left on the battery, I'll bring it up to Sun Tire, from whence the battery came. I paid him and sent him on his way to the next stop after giving him a nice hug. Oh, he also used his compressor to blow the leaves and debris from under the hood for me. Nice!

So, my car battery was new and fully charged, and my cell phone nearly charged as I drove home. At least it wasn't raining yet. Justin was waiting for me when I pulled, as he had been at my neighbor's house doing computer stuff. Tommy had, in fact, offered to come jump my car for me, but I assured him Justin needed him to stay there and AAA could handle me. Very nice of him to offer, though. Anyway, Justin had checked on my status a couple times and when I let him know I was coming home, he helped me to get the groceries upstairs before leaving for his next appointment. Nothing spoiled or melted, except for me!

I got out to the pool and was greeted warmly (ha ha) by those already out there. By this time I had not eaten and didn't really feel like it anymore. The rest were done so I just enjoyed their company and shared my story. Sadly, I got only an hour or so in before the rain started to come down again, so I just made my way upstairs. I'm getting good at this---running for cover from the pool! I don't want to be good at it! Justin was waiting for me in the elevator lobby, again between 'jobs' and escorted me upstairs. I was wringing went and extremely sad about my upset day. Nothing a nice caftan wouldn't take care of...that, and some toasted raisin challah bread from Publix! 

Reunited and so good!

This a.m. I dilly-dallied in my bed with the little laptop and watched the news much longer than usual. It just felt so good to not have anything on the agenda to take care of or anywhere to be. At least, I think I didn't!!! What I did do is write a note to Pastor H. expressing to him my thoughts on his two Calls and my opinion that his work here in JAX was not yet finished. For what it's worth, we'll see what happens since it's ultimately in God's hands.

I did get up long enough to capture with lovely but fleeting sunrise this morning. They are all nice but sometimes they are simply spectacular, this being one of those.

Fran took this photo from our table. I am in the pool talking with Bob and Susie.

Around lunch time, I ventured out to the pool to find my friends Rick and Fran already there. They were reclining on loungers so I sat down at the table where Bob was situated and chatted with him for a bit. Rick came over to join us and then so did Fran, eating our lunches together when Bob went home to have his lunch. He is officially boycotting eating at the pool due to the increased pricing, that curmudgeon! Talk about a Grumpy Gus (sorry to the real Gus, who is not grumpy!)! Bob likes to tell me that behaves better when I am around which I take as a compliment but he still likes to murmur about things. I'm glad he feels comfortable enough with me to talk things over. At least his daughter and grandkids cheer him up which is such a blessing.

Bill and Nancy came over after Nancy got home from work at noon but Bill wasn't able to hang around very long. He had to get back to work. Fortunately, or not!, the skies clouded up and the afternoon storm kicked up, so he didn't miss too much of the pool fun. Nancy waits all week for this break after working and then inevitably gets rained out. It's all about the timing. I waited upstairs here in my suit for a while but then decided to just put my nightie on and be done with it. We are watching a tropical disturbance in the Atlantic and hope it won't come this way. That is my sincere prayer!

A day of news

This morning was Bible study at Victory, our first class after being recessed for two weeks. Boy, I missed it, too! Oddly enough, I had to hurry last night to do my homework for today's class as it seems two weeks was not sufficient time to get it done. Just like a kid...

It almost didn't matter, however, if I had my sheet filled out or not because Pastor had other stuff for us to talk about. He has a Call to a high school in SD as Development Counselor, in addition to the one to Victory. Pastor encouraged our questions and opinions regarding this new Call, as well as discussing the present one to serve the flock at Victory. 

I sent Justin a text message with that info and he wrote back that Pastor H. has to stay since he's the elder pastor for the area. Well, almost, anyway. The retirement pastor serving in Keystone is older but Pastor H. is the Circuit Pastor, and has been here 16 years now. Of course, I'd like him to stay where he is. I told him once more how Justin has said if he could attend this Thursday Bible study every day, we would. When he was in college, he'd try to schedule his classes so he could have Thursday mornings off. That says a lot for a kid that age!

From Bible study I headed back to OP in order to meet Brenda for lunch at Steak 'n Shake. It was good to spend time with her, though we only get our visits in hour-long increments. Today was hers to treat to a milk shake which we take with us at the end of the meal. It was great to hear how her granddaughters, who are staying with her, are enjoying their summer. One recently spent time at a church camp and absolutely loved it. This was made possible by a scholarship from Brenda's church. Very nice for Olivia and a great way to spend a week of her summer.

As we ate our lunch, I got a text message from my brother-in-law in WI reporting his father-in-law had passed away that morning. Oh my! I had visited this couple when I was in Manty this winter. Harvey was in the better health, being able to stay in assisted living which was adjacent to the nursing home Clara lived in, my former place of employment. My bro-in-law, also named Harvey, told me I could call but when I did they were at the funeral home so I had to call back later to talk with them.

Apparently Harvey's fall, broken hip, and surgery were just too much for his failing heart and he passed away after the surgery. At least they got Clara to the hospital in time to hold his hand as he passed away. His family was also with him except for the grandchildren, two of whom live in Washington state and will have to travel for the funeral. 

Justin and I with Harvey and Clara at their apartment

I've know this family since the early 1970's and have spent some very good times with them in their 'younger' years. I feel badly for Clara who will miss her husband and companion of so many years. They are both right around my mom's age which is late 80's. When I talked to Barb, whose dad it is that died, she said she feared Clara would not last long now that her dad was gone. I will have to make sure to get over to Shady Lane to see her when I am 'home' in July. 

His service is on Monday, which is a conflict for my mom and sister as they already have one service to attend that day, at First German. Mom said they will get to the visitation at least to extend their sympathies to Barb and her family on this loss. I am thankful for that since I cannot be there. ...sigh....

Listening skills

This article was intriguing for me as I've been interested in this topic for some time. Observing people and their interaction, wondering what makes them 'tick' and so on is almost like a hobby. Being an artist (ahem, ahem) I find the art of conversation to be quite fascinating, either when I am giving, or receiving. 

Years ago when I first started to use e-mail, I was telling my sister, Lori, about how much I liked it. "Now I can dominate the conversation!" was my announcement. Her reply made me think: "Since when did THAT make any difference?" Yeah, she was right! Hopefully I have learned since then to refine my conversation skills and am doing better in the give 'n take parts of life. 

I see this often on Facebook when someone writes as their status update about the weather, how they are enjoying the day, buying groceries, or whatever else is going on in their lives. Inevitably someone is going to jump in with THEIR current temp or what they are experiencing. That was NOT the subject---wait to be asked about your weather or post your own updates! It's not a contest, folks---just let people tell their stories!

This came up again in my life about two weeks ago when a new lady joined our water exercise classes. One of our long-time participants had just returned from a trip to France and said, "Kim, don't get out yet, I want to tell you about my trip!" The new lady was also still in the pool near us and before long, inserted herself and HER travel experiences into Joy's story. 

Wow, it was hard for me to not say something but that would be even more rude than the new lady was being. In order to steer it back (there I go again---controlling the conversation!), I would ask Joy a question to get the story back to being hers again. How often do we do that?---hear someone else tell about something and then want to jump in with our story? Even though I've been to France, that was NOT what Joy wanted to tell me. There is a difference between hearing and listening, and between talking and saying something!

This article is directed to parents and children, but it applies to all people, I believe. Let me know what you think:

"I come from a family of talkers. Gather our crew in a room, and there’s no chance of an awkward silence falling. That’s a good thing. The bad part? We’re also a family of WORLD CLASS interrupters. If you want to finish your thought, you’d better spit it out fast and get a little loud at the end for insurance because somebody is sure to be responding before you’re even done.

That’s because we lack some serious listening skills. My people tend to listen specifically to formulate a response, rather than to understand what’s being said. And as soon as that response comes together in our brains we get so excited, we have to blurt it out. Immediately.

Kids—fairly or unfairly—often accuse their parents of simply not listening. It’s true that if you’re preparing to give the parental response the entire time your child is trying to explain her feelings, you’re going to miss some important things. So what does listening to understand your child look like?

Maintain eye contact and don’t multitask.

We parents (especially moms) are notorious multi-taskers. But when your child is trying to ask a question, or explain something to you, put down the phone or that stack of bills, look them in the eye, and focus on them alone. It communicates to your child that their thoughts and needs are important enough to merit your full attention. It also models for your child the good communication skills they need to acquire.

Wait for a pause and ask clarifying questions. One way to improve communication of any type is to clarify unclear ideas or feelings as you go. Wait for a natural pause in conversation and ask questions about details that aren’t clear. If you think you understand, bounce it back to them in the form of, “Okay, so what you’re telling me is…Am I right?”This way, misconceptions can be cleared up before they derail the conversation.

Express empathy for their concerns.

Even if you’re not able to give your child what he or she ultimately desires, expressing an understanding and an empathy for their feelings let’s them know that they have been heard. It might sound like, “I understand that it’s frustrating to you to have to babysit your younger siblings when you’d rather spend time with your friends. I remember how important time with friends was to me when I was your age. But, we all have to pitch in to make our family work and this is an important contribution we need from you right now.”

Don’t set the stage for conflict.

Even in conversations where you know you may have to enforce boundaries or impose discipline, set the tone as one of “Let’s fix what’s broken here”rather than one that feels like “Me vs. You.”And even when the basic facts are clear (for example: you know she broke the rule and that consequences are in order), let your child talk. While it won’t change the thing that needs to happen here and now, it may reveal something about why the problem occurred and enlighten you on how to parent going forward to lead her toward better choices. There’s always something to be learned on both ends."

Dana Hall McCain

Meatloaf is what's for dinner

                 

Justin is loving my meatloaf recipe with its ground beef, a half box of Stove Top stuffing mix, the savory flavor, and an egg. I thought I had a loaf pan but could not find it anywhere. Justin reminded me that the last time I used an aluminum disposable pan so this time I used the mini-loaf pans to bake them. I covered each mini-loaf with bacon and ketchup before baking them. We had corn on the cob with them and called it dinner!

Between Justin's cooking and my attempts at it, we find ourselves eating more often at home than out. Justin is usually bone-tired when he comes in after work, but finds his delight in meal planning and prep. And then, of course, its consumption. He follows websites on line for recipes and I see stuff posted by friends on Facebook that simply entice me as well. I just don't know what's going on around here. 

It occurred to me that Justin and I haven't had our upstairs neighbors, Dick and Debbie, here for dinner in a while. Perhaps, we should make that happen soon and practice a recipe on them. I can't make meatloaf for Dick, though, because he is the master of them. One time when talking, I mentioned my love of meatloaf and the next day he brought one to my door. It weighed a ton, too! I cut it in half and froze part of it. Justin can come up with something else to delight our neighbors at the table...between Pinterest and Facebook, there's likely something out there to appeal to us! Good night all!