Tidbits of the day

I had a few interesting things occur today which need mentioning. The morning began with water exercise class for which I went out about 30 minutes early. Before I could descend into the water our newer member of the class arrived. She asked me to please spray her back with sun screen as she couldn't reach and I accommodated her. Only now is she beginning to warm up to us and I cherished the opportunity to help her out and engage her in some chit chat. She had told me once before that she is basically wound far too tightly to enjoy relaxation. Coming to water exercise class during her 'lunch hour' is not one bit a social (yet!) event for her. 

Last week Dr. M came over to me before the others arrived and said something, in essence, how she enjoyed class with me, found me entertaining and positive. I know this took much for her to approach me so I welcome her attempts to break the ice, as it were. This morning I told her it was my job to break the ice on the pool and shared the story of Marlena calling me once at the end of the season to break the ice off the top of the pool for them. I do have rules---No swimming when the water is too cold or when the sun isn't out. I've been flexible on the cloudy skies of late, but not so much for the cold water. Dr. M found it amusing and we spent some time chatting. She shared with me how she has no friends and only three contacts in her phone, including 9-1-1. I see a project there and can certainly fix her up with some more friends and contacts for her phone!

Sadly, after class was underway, M was way out in the deep water where she usually does her exercises when she let loose with a cry. She'd been stung on her thumb by a bee and was in considerable pain. Marlena applied some medication she has on hand for bug bites. The lifeguard gave her a frozen bottle of water to hold against the sore area after the two ladies used tweezers to pull out the stinger. (I got goosebumps up my arms thinking about this just now!)  M put her cover-up on and left. I sent her an e-mail this evening asking how she was doing but haven't heard back from her. We all hated for this to happen to Dr. M.

After class was over, I dripped for a bit before changing my clothes to run errands. My first errand was to get Justin's license plates renewed for him, for his birthday. Going to the DMV is a thrill, such interesting people sitting in the seats waiting for their number to come up. The receptionist gave me my number and I asked her how long the wait would be, explaining I had an appointment elsewhere at 2:30. She thought it would be 10-15 minutes which was fine with me. I got situated in the seats, two seats over from a lady with a purse which was actually a metal lunch box with Betty Boop on it. She mentioned that she heard me say I had an appointment and offered to trade numbers with me. That was so kind of her and I accepted her offer, she having no place else to be this afternoon. As it turned out, we both got done at the same time, but still, the offer was great and quite unexpected. 

I got Justin's new tags and off I went to Fleming Island. I had to stop at the bank to pay my credit card bill, only to discover the Bank of America no longer operates its drive-through. I had to drive-through the drive-through to go around the building and come back to the front of the bank. AND get out of the car and actually go in to take care of my business.  The teller greeted me by name, which surprised me since I only go there once a month to pay the bill, and he served me through the window. Anyway, he told me that there will be ATMs installed at some point which will be able to take payments. So, his job was basically morphing, if not going away completely, with this change coming into place. I told him I like speaking to people and having the personal touch, even if it's at the drive-through. He said that will soon be a thing of the past. Sad to know this...

The rest of my day will be detailed tomorrow, because I am getting drowsy at the keyboard. Sleep well, my friends, and see you in the morning!

A Monday wrap

Rather, it was a delicious sandwich, but I will get to that. My day began with an appointment at the imaging center. As I drove along Kingsley, I discovered Nancy W. was right behind me. We texted each other once arriving at our separate appointments, planning to meet up at the newly opened Metro Diner for a late breakfast. My appointment took longer than hers did, however, so our plans for late breakfast were changed to lunch at a different restaurant. The lines are simply too long yet at Metro since it is still new. We hope eventually to time our visit right to avoid the 30 minute wait. She is dying to have the waffles and fried chicken for which Metro is known.

She chose Pompeii for our meeting place and I was glad she did. Nancy recommended the pork sandwich which we both ordered. We noticed at another table three Navy folks sitting with a couple in civilian attire. They all had beers so we presumed they were not going back to the base after lunch. One of them was black so we also determined they were likely not all related. Hmmmm....I then remembered that two ships had returned to Mayport this morning and speculated this was a welcome home for these three folks. As they passed our table on their regular trips to the patio to smoke, I asked the young lady if they were celebrating something. She said they had just gotten back from deployment and we two ladies thanked them for their service and welcomed them home. 

Her appointment was to discuss headaches with her doctor, he thinking the bulging discs at the top of her spine might be the cause. She's had them for a while, suffers from scoliosis for which swimming is a blessing. I am sure talking with a surgeon wouldn't hurt so I think she might go ahead and keep the appointment. I wish her the best with this and hope the headaches don't get too bad in the meantime. We discussed all this over our meals, each of us ladies eating half of our sandwiches. Nancy ate some of my fries for me. The waitress boxed up the remaining halves for us and Nancy paid the bill. She treated me because she said she owed me a lunch. Nice! 

It was a rainy and gloomy day so no swimming for us today. Besides, Mondays are usually my TV watching day, JAG being shown on the preview channel of Comcast. Mom watches also up in WI, which is fun to know. Today, however, there is no JAG and won't be for several weeks. What's that all about? My neighbor's brother offered me the DVD set so with them I will get by, and hope that Mom will, too. 

Justin had asked me to start cleaning out the freezer because he wanted to restock it. Jesse has membership at Sam's Club and Justin wants to buy giant packs of chicken and cylinders of hamburger, etc. I don't know why that stuff is any better than the chicken and hamburger we already have in the freezer, but I am nothing if not a good sport. I took out a pack of hamburger with which I made meatloaf for our dinner. It turned out that Linda was having the exact same meal for dinner at their house. How fun is that?! 

Justin came home from work early due to being soaking wet, getting caught in a soaker out in Oakleaf. This might end up being a long week for him if this continues. The forecast shows rain percentages high the rest of the week, and high temperatures with them. Poor guy!

Noisy clouds!

Our afternoon pool fun went uninterrupted until late afternoon. This was so nice for a change. It seems at least once each weekend we have to make a run for it, or end up sitting on the side of the pool because it thundered. Many don't care for that rule, but I realize the lifeguards have to err on the side of safety. But, today, we had several hours together with no thunder and no splash 'n dash storms breaking up our fun.

These clouds formed over the river just before dusk and what a racket they are making now! Almost endless rumbling and grumbling, but thus far, no rain. 

I was later getting to the pool today due to having Bible study and church first. And then, of course, Chili's with my church group. I just love going with them. Some of us have various social engagements in the course of the week, but others do not, so that's what makes this time special, at least it is for me, for them! 

A pool party!

I just came in from the pool, yes, at this late hour. A group of us planned to have this 'after hours' potluck poolside. You know what they say about the best laid plans? Well, that is what we had!  

My day began at the pool as usual for a Saturday, going out about noon to have my lunch and enjoy the water 'n sunshine. The same group would be gathering again about 6:30 after the cabana closed up, each of us bringing something to share. We were providing our own beverages. Marlena had come around the pool and chatted with me a bit, saying she had to leave by 5:30 to get her mom's prescription picked up which meant the cabana would be closed. At least you'd think so!

Well, when I came out with my pan of brownies Justin made for me, the cabana was still open and both Marlena and her helper were working. It seems she had the prescription transferred to a closer pharmacy which she found out saved her no time at all, other than allowing her to remain open longer. She wondered what was going on as people were arriving with their stuff and I explained that we'd planned this potluck to happen after hours which is acceptable per pool rules. Sort of....

Everyone was wondering why the heck the cabana was still open, and no other people out there than our group. She teased us about the outside food being brought in, but knew we expected her to be closed and gone. The way it turned out, Bob and she did not close finally until 8:30!!  Two and a half hours after scheduled time. Shaking my head as I write this. 

We had such good food including wings, pizza, sausage dip, Nancy W's good wrapped hot dogs, fruit plates, plus my still warm Ghiradelli brownies. They were a hit! We brought our own beverages to wash down the food, and it was a perfectly lovely evening. Some even got in the pool to cool off, or rinse off, as it was balmy out there. Nancy had left her hot dogs in the oven too long, she thought, but many folks love them burnt. Wrapped in bacon, oh, yum!  Justin said he stepped out onto the courtyard to see how much fun we were having, but refused to come out. That guy! Anyway, we had a blast and I look forward to doing this again sometime soon!

Vexing devices

It was a lovely day today, and I got to spend good time with friends poolside and in the water. Nancy M. has off on Fridays which means she can come out and enjoy the down time. People come and go all afternoon, and thankfully the rain held off until later. When I came back in and got settled, I was able to work at my computers where this a.m. they were giving me a fit. I blamed sunspots at first but then read something online about NASA and Venus, which makes me wonder if they were vexing my connections. 

This was the gorgeous sunrise this morning!

Justin went to Whitey's with his friends for the appetizers and I stayed in. I had leftovers from Koko's for my dinner, as we dined there last night. I still have enough left for another meal. I make it worse now by ordering those cheese wontons as my appetizer which Justin and I share. They have ruined me from enjoying wontons anywhere else. Ruined me! Justin says the appetizer wings at Whitey's have ruined him, no one else's wings measure up. This happens!

My church's prayer chain was activated on behalf of one our dear members who is visiting family in IL. She fell ill while up there and had to have abdominal surgery yesterday. Ours were prayers of thanks as the cancer was removed and no further treatment will be needed. Praise God for sparing Fran and for getting her safely through the procedure. Now, when can she come home??

Incommunicado

Justin and I enjoyed our dinner at Saigon Tokyo Bistro​ this evening, glad that a family of three were joining us at the table. We feel badly when the chefs have to go through the routine just for us. The mom, dad, and adult daughter sat at the end of the table opposite us, all three on their phones with games (at least two of them were looking at games) the entire time. Justin and I talked the whole while with each other, rarely a quiet moment. In fact, when he noticed what was going on across from him, he gave me the elbow, but I'd already noticed. I am glad he noticed and gave it a tiny head shake. He said, "I had my phone out on the table because it's so large in my pocket, but I put it away again when I saw that..." Proud Mama moment. And a sad one for those folks at the end of our table, missing the pleasure of their meal and its preparations, and the company of others.

We each brought home a generous portion of our meals, having shared an order of rangoons which were on special tonight. They are even better than the ones I get from Ming Moon, and cheaper when on special at Koko's. I still have one third of my meal from Tuesday night's dinner from The Olive Garden and half my meal from lunch today. That should get us through the weekend!

Today a lady came to water exercise class for the first time this season. She has the distinct characteristic of being on my short list of people for whom I have no patience. This lady has the uncanny ability to insinuate herself into other people's conversations, replacing her stories for theirs, despite what they are saying. Worse than me, I usually say!  She seems to be unaware of the rudeness exhibited. Last season a friend was trying to tell me about her recent trip overseas but this other lady gave it her best to redirect the story to her trip. I did all I could to keep the conversation my friend's and not let this other woman do an override. And I really wanted to hear about my friend's adventures. It sort of took the fun away, too.

Right after New Year I posted about my friend, Nancy's, sort of resolution, something she picked up from Willie Nelson. He quoted someone else but here goes: "Listen more with the intent to understand instead of listening to reply". I am glad this happened today as it brought this resolution back to mind. I shall make every attempt to follow this advice and do my best to not be obnoxious. 

A quiet day

The day began with water exercise class, fewer today than we have other days, for some reason. At the beginning of the season, the decision was made to not have class on Wednesdays until the numbers supported it. Once we had plenty of folks on the other two days, Wednesday was added back into the mix. It's a good time no matter how many show up. 

A couple of the ladies wanted to stay for lunch and not to be unsocialable, I stayed too, just having an order of hand-made chips for my meal. I think I was still full from my Italian food from last night. Oh, I had to laugh at my boy yesterday. He came in after work and looked in the fridge. He announced that he'd won a bet, $300. I asked with whom he bet and he said, "Myself!" He bet that he'd come home and find a to-go container in the fridge with a half cheeseburger in it, and he won! I had checked in on Facebook from Grumpy's but he claims to have not seen it. That is a pretty safe bet, I guess, that he'll find a half of a cheeseburger in the fridge. I am not sure where the $300 comes in. 

So, back to the fellowship around the pool---we enjoyed our time chit chatting until the clouds started to roll in. The ladies' all went their own way and I came back upstairs. The afternoon storms are starting earlier and earlier this summer, getting tiring. Justin has to race against the clouds, as it were, to get as much work done as possible before they get soaked and have to call it a day. Often they end up working on Saturdays to get caught up, if they can catch up.

For dinner we just enjoyed leftovers including my food from Olive Garden. There was enough for both of us including my half cheeseburger. We watched Jeopardy! and then each retired to our own rooms, my boy all worn out from his long day at work. So glad to have Law & Order reruns to lull me to sleep, that, and the falling rain. Good night!