It's a wrap!

Today our Flying Noodles group officially wrapped up the season with a tea party at Basketique. Yes, I was just there last week with Linda, Betty, Terri, and Judy but this is something our water exercise class has done now for 4 years. Can't pass it up!

The room set up for our group

Here's me and my friend, Nancy W. 

Our hostess, Pat, is talking with my neighbor, Kay, who is wearing her 'going away hat' from her wedding in the early 1960's. Fashioned after Jackie Kennedy's pill box hats. She won 2nd place in the hat contest.

A group of us posed for this photo, many wearing their hats. Some of us chose not to participate in the hat contest (Nancy and me among them) 

My friend, Gretchen, had a big day!

Photo courtesy of Rick WilsonJaguars fan Gretchen Harrington gives coach Gus Bradley a hug just before breaking the team down at the end of Thursday's practice.

This article was written about Gretchen's visit to the Jaguar practice field by ESPN (http://espn.go.com/blog/jacksonville-jaguars/post/_/id/8493/longtime-jags-fan-makes-first-visit) after calling Gretchen for an interview. The previous Thursday Gretchen along with our friends from church, Sue and her daughter, Kristin, were able to enjoy the practice session as guests of the Jaguar coach, Gus Bradley. Pretty cool!

This all started 20 years ago when Jacksonville was awarded an NFL franchise, our very own professional team!  Gretchen was on board right from the start and has been a supporter for this long. Last season, just before the team was to depart for London for their 'international series' game, Gus Bradley's father passed away. Dear Gretchen, the queen of card sending, sent him a sympathy card and included a separate note telling Coach how much she enjoyed the team and telling him he had her support. Surprisingly, and much to her delight, he wrote her a note back again, thanking her for the kindness. I know the note exists because she brought it to church for us all to see. I has a prominent place in her living room now as I understand it.

Earlier this season, our friend, Terri, got a sneak peek at the stadium with its improvements including vast screens in one end zone and swimming pools added for other attractions in the stadium. She got to speak with the Coach and asked him if he remembered the lady who wrote the note to him when his father died, and he said he did. Cool!

Then, another church friend, Sue, decided to make some phone calls and see what could be worked out for the Jaguars' #1 Fan. They worked it out, without Gretchen's knowledge, that she would get a VIP visit to the practice session, accompanied by Sue and Kristin. They were picked up at their car in the lot, driven to the practice field in a golf cart by a man who used to be a member of our congregation---Richard! How fun was that??  He deposited them on the field sideline where chairs were awaiting them. The ladies watched the practice, Kristin taking pictures, and enjoying the sights. 

Then, the Coach came over to them, gave Gretchen a big hug, and then had her join them on the field to break up the practice. All the guys formed a circle around her and Gretchen had to yell, "3-2-1 Jaguars!!", and broke up the huddle. In the article you can read all about it, but she was beyond thrilled. She told us today that she was not going to wash her arms because she had QB Blake Bortle's sweat all over them!! Oh, Gretchen!  What a marvelous adventure for her, for them. And, right after church, Kristin and Sue presented Gretchen with a Jaguar frame with her photo taken with the Coach, and a scrapbook Kristin had put together of their day on the practice field. Gretchen kept saying she didn't know why people went out of their way for her like this, but I explained it for her---she is loved. And that's it!!

An anniversary

Today is another anniversary I remember, quite different than the one on September 23, the Great Flood date. That one still sends chills down my spine and has me breaking into a sweat at the same time, remembering how people in my building were all rushing about in the three units affected by my pipe breaking. Gulp! I will never be the same, I fear, still horrified of something similar happening again. It has a couple of times to me from others units but not quite the same scale of damage. 

But, today's anniversary is different because it means nothing to so many people, except for her fans. On this date in 1970, when I was 14 and a freshman in high school, Janis Joplin died. I heard a collective "ugh!" go up from some of my readers, but those who knew me then also knew what a big deal that was for me. 

People remember where they were when they heard President Kennedy was shot, and I remember where I was when I heard that Janis had died. One of my neighbors who rode the school bus with me told me. I was sure he was wrong, or just being mean to me, or something, but nope, she had died. Little Girl Blue had died of a drug overdose, and she had just been clean. How did this happen? That still bothers me!  The bus stopped at Lincoln High School where we all got off and those of us going on to another school waited for the transfer bus. My friend, Suzy, met me there and together we mourned on the bus to MLHS, and as the day went on, though I was more of a fan than was she. That's what friends do. 

Every year thereafter I would play my Janis Joplin albums, cassettes, CDs, or iTunes during the month of October. My sister, Lori, would get a phone call from me and she'd know what day it was. I'd tell her I was wearing my black arm band and was listening to my music. In fact, back to the Great Flood remembrance, my neighbor, Ellen, in an effort to comfort me, presented me with a 3-disc collection of Janis' music!! So, there you go! 

I'd love to talk some more but I have to go listen to my bluesy jazz lady, my lonely little girl blue....

Back out to the pool

Ahhhh....it felt so good to be back out at the pool. It's been about a week since we could sit outside and soak up the rays of that thing we used to know as "the sun". Some of my friends were out there as well and it was business as usual for us. Bob was one of those with me at the pool and we recapped the fun had at our Oktoberfest gathering from last Saturday. Man, that was a blast!

My neighbor, Sharon, took this photo of our sunrise this a.m. It is full of promise!!

Because the exercise class had been rained out all week long, Marlena held a make-up class. It was my job to send out the e-mail alert to those who usually come, and she had about 6 people show up. Plus me, who didn't get into the cold water. After the class the group chatted a while with three of us staying to have lunch. Judee, Nancy W., and I enjoyed lunch in the sun. This month's Club menu has WI cheese soup offered and I had some with my ham and Swiss sandwich. Oh my, it was good! Half of the sandwich came home with me, of course. Nancy took Judee over to see her dad's house which she wants to sell to see if would suit a client Judee has in mind. I am hoping that went well. 

We were outside for a good portion of the afternoon with folks coming and going. Bill and Nancy M. came by and said they were going to look at some counter tops but if they got back in time, they'd come over to the pool. They are getting some company from MN so are in a rush to get their house ready for them. It's been a year-long project for them, renovating and fixing up, and great strides are being made.

Well, before Bill and Nancy could get out to the pool, it began to rain---SURPRISE!!! Big, fat fist-sized drops that were cold and painful when they hit. Yes, it was back into the house for me. I sent Bill and Nancy a text explaining my hasty retreat in case they came looking for me. It was fun while it lasted, though. 

I am still enjoying leftovers from Saturday, today being the last day. Such a shame, but I just couldn't eat them all! Justin was not a fan of the sauerkraut or the red cabbage. I had polished off the remainder of the Geman potato salad already. We tossed the balance of the cupcakes as well, as neither of us liked them. Such a shame as over a dozen went into the trash. Justin is at Whitey's with his boss, his wife, and Jesse having appetizers so I am on my own. Guess I'll enjoy the evening and be done with it!

In recovery mode...

Last night, rather, late afternoon, Linda and I drove to the airport in intermittent rain. It was misty if nothing else...just plain unpleasant, the way the weather was for most of Linda's visit. This is quite disappointing but entirely out of our hands. After she was deposited at the airport and I had regained control of myself, I called my mom. As I drove and talked, I was in sunshine. That is just wrong! Sunshine? Are you kidding me???  We did have a nice pseudo-sunrise yesterday morning, and below is the sky that greeted me today.

This morning I went over to Victory for Bible study, again talking with Mom on the phone. We always seem to have something to talk about. As I arrived at church and hung up with Mom, I saw a text message had arrived from my friend, Kathy H., who stays in my building. She had wanted to get together with Linda (Kathy had been out of town until last night), but I reported that Linda had already gone home. No worries, though, because we can still have lunch even if Linda has left. So, we met up at Pengrees to catch up with each other's news and just hang out. She keeps her mom company most days but Betty takes a nice rest around lunch time so Kathy is free to go! Loved seeing her again and having something to do so I wouldn't feel too sorry for myself this 'day after'...

Tonight Justin and I are having pizza from Papa Johns, the official pizza for the Jaguars. He gets coupons and special offers because of being a season ticket holder. We will be enjoying the Jaguar's pizza while watching the Packer game which comes on at 8:30. Justin already knows he won't be able to stay up to see the end of the game due to its late end time but we are excited to see as much as we can before bedtime. I am prepared for some 'smack talk' from my friends who are, sadly, MN Viking fans. I do have something good to say about that team, which annoys Mike S. when I pay the compliment: they sure do have pretty outfits!  Go Pack, Go!!!!

The fastest week ever!

Linda is gone....at this moment she is flying between Atlanta and Milwaukee, hoping to lie down in her own bed well before midnight. Justin was comforting me when he got home from work, knowing how I get after my company goes home, but I was doing much better by the time he got home. Listening to my radio programs sure helped.  I saw a sign one day with the reminder to not mourn what is gone, but rather to rejoice over what we had. I will do just that!

This morning as I was yet lying on my bed, I watched a thin red line form along the horizon, hopeful for a sunrise for Linda's last morning here. The line grew as I watched from my room, and Linda from the river room. My phone went off which was surprising at this hour---my friend, Anne H., was calling me to make sure Linda was up to see the sunrise. Anne had caught of glimpse of the colored sky in her rear view mirror as she made her way to work and thought immediately of Linda!! I just have the best friends! I flew from the bed to make sure Linda was seeing it, and she was. At last, a sky with a color other than grey! 

Linda had her bags about 90% packed for her return home before we went to Great Hang Ups so she could see the photography show in which my piece is showing. We had seen Julia briefly when we dined at Saigon Tokyo (Koko's) on Tuesday night. Julia was picking up the soup du jour for her dinner. We then promised to pop in the shop the next day, which we did. Unfortunately we missed seeing Dee as she was doing a take-in for a show elsewhere in the forenoon. Linda snooped around in the shop for a bit and we visited briefly with Julia, and then headed back home. 

Linda's lunch was her leftovers from Koko's, the shrimp and fried rice, while I had a baked potato left from last week's dinner at The Club. I don't know what makes their baked potatoes taste so good, but they do. And even a half one is a meal in itself! Justin and I will have our leftovers tonight for dinner, enough yet for each of us a full meal. That's why I don't fuss about the prices at Koko's---two meals, at least, for the price of one!

We kept busy with our machines until it was time to head to the airport. She had booked her travel according to avoiding rush hour traffic for me coming back. She did good! Or, rather, Tommy did! She got checked in at the curb and got her boarding pass, arranged for the wheelchair, with her letting me know she was positioned at her gate. It was a tearful good-bye for me, as I held them in as best I could as I drove off. 

As always, we have words leftover (a Justinism that applies to us!) and we will be meeting online perhaps tomorrow morning, or for sure tomorrow evening for The Five. In the meantime, Justin and I will get her room turned around and made ready for our next houseguests who will be here at the end of next week. I miss her already!

A full couple of days

On Monday, we fully expected to be attending Bible study but that was not to be. Pastor was offering a stewardship session for some folks who only had Mondays available. Nuts!! But, as Judy said, just because we aren't having Bible study it doesn't mean we can't have lunch. So four of us did just that.

Before Linda arrived, I had talked to Justin about where to take her this visit, which restaurants or types of foods we'd not tried. I thought about Mojo's BBQ or even Sonny's, just kicking that idea around. Sure enough, at Michael's suggestion, we went to Sonny's where they offer a Senior's Special at lunch time. I asked the waitress if she would let me order at that price and she said she would, since I am not yet 62 or older. We each got a meat, two sides, bread, and our drinks for $6.99. That can't be beat! Linda again grabbed the ticket and paid for my meal. She is the best!

We added my leftovers to the collection in the fridge, which we had for dinner that night. Justin joined us for dinner on Monday evening, again a bountiful array of leftovers to be enjoyed. I re-arranged some of the stuff into smaller dishes in order to squeeze it all into fridge. Eating it up at dinner doesn't hurt either.

Tonight we went to Koko's (Saigon Tokyo) and enjoyed a wonderful meal. They are so good to us there, can't be beat for customer service. Justin and Linda tried 'Tracy's Tuesday special' which was hot 'n sour soup. I was fine with some wontons but that means most of my dinner came home with me, of course. All three of us brought some food home and we have one more day with Linda, to eat it. 

I nearly forgot to mention that Nancy W. called to see if wanted to have breakfast at Grumpy's this a.m. Twice in a week I have felt Grumpy! We picked her up and off we went, this being her first time seeing Linda on this visit. After our nice breakfast, we stopped at Goodwill because Nancy had reported seeing rubber stamps on the shelf there. None were to be found but Linda did take some Halloween-style costumes for her granddaughters to use for dress up play when they come to her house. Such fun for them.  

Linda and I watched another movie, one I've seen before, called "Everybody's Fine". It was kind of hard to watch, though I knew what was coming in it, and it has a somewhat happy ending. I really like it, and hope Linda will too, once she's had time to soak it in. Good night all!