Getting all excited!

I am so excited that Linda is coming!!  She arrives on Wednesday afternoon, scheduled in such a way that I can still attend my Republican Women's meeting, pick her up from the airport, and get back in time to go to Happy Hour at The Club. That is the plan unless there are some flight delays or traffic interfering. Justin has gotten the guest room all straightened away while I did the bathroom polishing for her visit. We want our friend to be comfortable and cozy!

Linda likes to have breakfast so I have the coffee maker out and running through its cleaning processes.  Linda and I had to replace the previous coffee maker a few visits back. It only gets used when company is here. I run some vinegar through it the first time and then water with vanilla flavoring the second time. Oh, how pleasant the house smells after that! Always triggers the idea of company coming to me...She said to only get a few bananas for her breakfast and eggs. Linda will fry an egg to have on toast and some fruit, taking care of herself, since she gets up much earlier than do I. She sets her alarm to see the sunrises which is quite a worthwhile sacrifice of sleep to see.

I dashed about with the dusting wand to freshen things up. The last time it was done so thoroughly by the nice Haitian lady, Marys, only a month ago. Not having had the doors open reduces the amount of added dust to the surfaces so the dust wand handles it nicely. Justin has his fancy schmancy vacuum cleaner to touch up the floors, but not until the last moment so they stay nice. People at the pool are counting the days with me, knowing how excited I am for Linda to get here. I am always like this before company comes!  Ollavan is especially happy because Linda brings her cheese curds from WI!

Bad football day...

...but nice day at the gallery! Sadly, I did not win any prizes at Great Hang Ups for my entry in the photography show, "My Home Town", but it's not too late for people to vote for my piece. It is most certainly true that it's an honor to be nominated, or, juried in, as the case might be. Whew! I am presently 6 for 6, with one being shown at the Thrasher Horne Center in 2008. Not yet having a submitted piece juried out. So, I am careful what and where I enter exhibits. Keeping my head down, as it were. 

Morning Lights The Club

This photo was taken in September of 2010 before The Great Flood happened. Kerry, my sister, was here visiting from WI and was on the bulkhead fishing in the early morning hours. Usually I was yet in bed at this hour of the day and didn't see The Club in this light. Had to grab the shot and am so glad I did. She caught some fish and I caught this photograph!

While we were having the opening reception, the Jaguars were struggling to get some points on the board against the Colts. People have been clamoring for a change in quarterbacks since the preseason with the coaching staff resistant to bringing their rookie in so quickly. The Packers were having an equally hard time as well, with both teams ending up with losses when it was all over. Ugh! I did get to see the fly-over jets in formation going up the river as I drove to Great Hang Ups. Earlier in the week the Met Life blimp flew over The Club, supposedly here for the first home game of the season. 

Justin made mini-cherry pies for me to take along to the opening reception. He is a sweetie for doing this for me. This a.m. he made mini-pizza muffins to take along for tailgating with his friends, always a hit. His muffin pans get a workout around here. I did manage to secure a few of the pies to bring back home with me plus a few pieces of others' treats to enjoy when watching the end of the game. Next week will be a dandy football Sunday with two games on for us to watch---the Packers and the Jags both aired locally! We will be couch potatoes here and perhaps pizza eaters, we'll see!

Going a bit bug-eyed

As I am seated at my desk eating dinner (Justin is gone for the evening) I am also staring at a screenfull of faces looking back at me. Justin wants my computer to be backed up in such a way that if he threw it into the river, I would not be missing anything. That sounds a bit dramatic to me but I get his point. He wants to make sure I don't ever lose my photos. My computer has multiples of many of my pictures simply because when I've gone from machine to machine over the years, the photos were moved en masse with the documents being transferred. It is labor-intensive to sort through them, let me tell you.

So, my technology guy, Justin, got me set up with Picassa on my big computer, transferring or saving all my photos there. One of the blessings of Picassa is that it offers face recognition so it's my job now to assign a name to every face that shows up on my monitor. The thumbnails show up 28 at a time, and include faces in crowd photos which is quite annoying. 

The doors on the Baptistry 

Last night Justin spent some time on it and the software was even picking out faces impressed on the Baptistry doors in Florence, Italy. That's easy enough to just click the 'x' in the corner and eliminate it. He scolds me for taking so many pictures at the pool, claiming they are all the same. For all I know, they might be!

Time spent in the kitchen

My house smells so good today from the food cooking. And I did it myself this time. Brought out the slow cooker and started cutting up vegetables and dropping them into the broth. I got a recipe for pasta fagioli from Facebook, a favorite from Olive Garden. I got out my Pampered Chef blitz hacker to chop up the carrots and onions so I made quick work of that. Once all the ingredients were in the cooker, it was full to the top.

At one point my doorbell rang multiple times which tells me Connie is at the door. Yup, she had a delivery from the UPS man. She will often intercept him and bring the packages up herself if she knows we're home. What a surprise for her to find me toiling in the kitchen! The box she brought contained Justin's newest purchase, yes, something with a plug, but not a communication device. Instead, he bought a sandwich maker, used for making grilled cheese sandwiches. Oh, that guy!

Tonight he was going through my photos on the computer and telling me about a program where all the photos will be grouped together by person, by date, by location, etc. which will make it easy for him when it's time for my funeral. Yes, we are morbid like that. I told it was lame of him to have me doing the leg work on this project. Justin was telling me that when I die and he inherits this place, the first thing he is going to do is get rid of all the kitchen tools and start over new. I begged him to spare the Princess House and Pampered Chef items, and he said he would. But everything else is gone. 

He told me that the sandwich maker was coming and I said, "Oh, good! another kitchen appliance!" He knows that I have a low tolerance for things being kept on the kitchen counters and he said he was going to put it there. At that point I declared that this was a mad plot by him to hasten my demise so he can throw my stuff out. Some of the kitchen stuff is nearly antique, gifts from my shower and wedding, and until they fall apart, I am keeping them! Even if it kills me!

I wish this photo showed more of Linda---it would be perfect to see her face, too!

While playing with the pictures he found one particular shot of me taken at Alayna's graduation party. Linda's husband was playing with my camera and got Linda to do something to me. He was counting to three and then on three she was to yank down the front of my shirt. Grabbing at my top in laughter and surprise, my mouth is open. He said that this is my perfect picture for my funeral, and if Peggy, my dentist, is there she can say, "Those are MY teeth!" Oh, that guy! 

Church and football---a good day

This morning I went to church for Bible study and worship. We are studying the Ideal Church which is basically a stewardship-themed class, all the different ways we can serve our Lord and His church. Following Bible study and worship, our group went to eat at Chili's, as usual. Justin went to Jesse's house to watch the game with him, leaving right after church. 

Today the Jags were up against the Washington Redskins (yes, I said "Redskins"!) and were soundly defeated. Yes, defeated is the perfect word to describe how the Jags fans feel. Like my friend, Duane, says, "They are rebuilding" and have been for many years. One of the announcers said today that the Jags' team is made up of the youngest players in the league. Is that good or bad? Sigh...Poor Gretchen!

On the bright side, Julia from Great Hang Ups let me know yesterday that my photograph submitted for the "Home Town" has been juried into the show. Yay! and whew!  I am now 6 for 6 entries being submitted and admitted into shows. I know someday it will happen that my piece is juried out (even Dee gets juried out sometimes) but until then, I breathe a sigh of relief and thankfulness. The opening is the 21st so I will have to come up with a treat to take. Maybe Justin will make something....And I will be hostess as well so will have to rush right from church/lunch to the shop. In my case, it is truly an honor to have been nominated (juried into the show) and if I win a prize, that is icing on the cake!

What a great witness!

Today on Facebook I saw a link for a news story where a member of an anchor team on a local newscast somewhere in OH made an announcement. The show was ready to wrap, his co-host and he were sitting off to the side on chairs, knee to knee. He said that his cancer had returned and was advancing rapidly. He had only a few months, if that many, to live. His female co-host was softly weeping, which made me wonder if this was news to her as well. Anyway, Dave said he was entirely at peace with what was to happen to him, and he was prepared to meet the Lord. It such a wonderful testimony of his belief in the Lord, saying, "I am in God's hands." And then they signed off. Wow, powerful and moving! I pray he does not suffer long.

At my home church there is a young man who is suffering with an inoperable brain tumor. He has a wife and two young children he will be leaving behind. It is heart-wrenching to think of what he will have to go through and wondering how his wife will get along after he is gone. She has a strong family support system, and, of course, the congregation there for her, which helps greatly. In his case also, I pray he does not suffer long.

Justin has been working on my computer and my phone, trying to coax my phone to recognize the newly reset password for my e-mail account. We'd gotten a notice the other day to reset them to avoid being hacked, but the phone won't accept the new address. My boy is relentless in his endeavor to get me access to e-mail from my phone. It is rather important if I am not at home. He is so capable when it comes to things like this. 

Linda and I are cooking up plans for her pending visit here next week (yikes!). So far we are going swimming, to Bible study, out to eat, and even hosting a party for Oktoberfest! She loves to cook and bake so is thinking of what to make for her dish to share. I will likely make the meat dish since I don't have to transport it. Maybe a pork roast or ribs...hmmm? I better get moving on inviting folks, planning on the usual gang from the pool for this event, since Linda had such fun with them all in May when she was here. This is so exciting, I love people around the table!!  Auf weidersehen!

Enjoying the pool side

It was a grand and glorious day at the pool today, at long last. The water most assuredly could have been warmer for my tastes but thanks to the sun beating on me, I endured! It was great to see everyone again, well, at least those who are not working or otherwise involved. Bob was there doing his version of laps, swimming back and forth the width of the pool instead of the length. He said he has lost weight over summer doing this so good for him!

One friend, Janet, stopped where I was sitting to introduce me to her visiting niece. Pam had wanted to go out on the sailboat but Janet declared it was too hot to do so. Now that's a problem! It was 91 for the high and I guess just sitting out on the water with no breeze doesn't work too well for sailing. I bet her niece wondered what in the world was going on---too hot to go boating??? Yeah, I know...

Thankful that my neighbors, Hugh and Maureen, with the assistance of Connie, put the flag up in remembrance of the terror attacks on 9/11. We can see this from the pool, of course, and is admired by many.

Last weekend my friends, Bill and Nancy, went on a sailboat adventure with another couple from the pool, Charles and Kathleen. It was a beastly hot day and not windy at all, but off they went. They ended up having to use the little motor to move the boat from Point A to Point B, which was incredibly slow, and miserable, according to Nancy. I was concerned for them going out at 6 pm, fearing bad weather would come up like it usually does, but they were fine, except for the slow movement. They were telling me all about it today at the pool. 

Other friends from the pool, Tim and Stephanie, were telling their boating stories as well, only theirs were funny. At least to us, perhaps not to Tim. They took their pontoon boat out one day and ended up having the motor fall off. They had to call around for help, glad to have their cell phones along, and had service. Finally, they got hold of Charles who came with his jet ski to tow them back in. It was not a simple fix for this either, since the engine falling off pulled the fuel line out, etc. Tim tried to make the repairs himself but to no avail. His wife says he is not the handiest guy, which might explain why the engine fell off in the first place. Man, that was some funny stuff!!  A good day of laughing when at the pool, don't even mind the pesky love bugs!