"My face hurts from smiling!"

These were Linda's words as we left the Symphony hall. It was a wonderful show, "Love, Romance, and Big Band" featuring a singer named Lynn Roberts, who performed with many of the bands back in the day. Wow!, could she ever sing!

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After watching Blazing Saddles, we had to switch gears, put on our symphony pants, and head downtown for dinner and the symphony. Our dinner at Juliette's was lovely and the service exquisite. We had some time before the concert so sat in the lobby of the Omni for a bit before heading over. Oops! I went out the wrong door and we ended up pointed in a different direction than the Times-Union Center. A nice guide on the street got us "on the right track" toward the hall, but I hated adding extra steps to Linda's poor knee. I guess we'd have had the same number of steps inside the hotel but still.......it was a pleasant evening and no rush to get there.

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From our seats in Box 2, we had a perfect view of the orchestra, conductor, and performer. It was awesome. When I'd called Linda to ask about going to the symphony, she told me it would be wonderful, especially since she was listening to Big Band music as we spoke. Again, perfect! It was a real toe-tapping show, and Linda was just blown away by the experience, telling me at intermission that she couldn't stop smiling. Now, I was the one blown away!

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In 2006, Paul and Emily used my tickets for the Oktoberfest symphony program. They so enjoyed the night out, the concert and performers. The next day at church, Paul thanked me up and down for the treat, telling me that "Emily didn't stop smiling all evening". That is a wonderful thing to hear and I got to hear it twice!!!!

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On this "note" the official Linda J. Day came to a close. We made it home before 11:00 so put our feet up and watched the end of a weird movie called "Powder". I wonder if I'd like to see the whole thing to make some sense from it, or if I've seen enough.....only I can answer that. Of course, if you read further down this blog, or up, as the case might be, you'll see that Sunday with Linda was spent at church, lunch with Judy J., home, and then off to the movies and dinner with Justin and Martie.

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To sum up the Church Secretary's Union Meeting weekend, I'll use Linda's words to me, expressed in the movie theater after seeing 'The Bucket List': (paraphrasing now) "I don't have to search for joy in my life--it's sitting right here next to me..."

We re-convene for our next event!

Saturday afternoon and evening of Linda J. Day were planned around cultural events. The First Coast Writer's group sponsored a speaker, Carol O'Dell, whom I've heard speak previously at writer's conferences. Her topic was about getting published and writing savvy---her own experience being the book she wrote: "Mothering Mother".

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I'd asked Linda if she minded spending part of her visit listening to an author speak and she was cool with it. In fact, as we went around the room introducing ourselves, Linda said she wasn't a writer but was a "reader". Carol O'Dell said, "We LOVE our readers!" Linda J. was a hit! Linda's mom has a similar illness so it will be a much appreciated read for Linda and her sister. It was a great choice to hear this speaker!

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Linda O. helped me to track down a friend hers, also named Carol, (I have Carols and Lindas coming out of my ears!!!), who I remembered was writing a book of similar subject matter. Carol W. told me afterward that prior to my contacting her, she'd put the manuscript away for awhile. Now she is renewed and has started working again, planning to use Spring Break for some serious writing time. It pays to track people down and stir them once in a while........I should take my own advice!

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I must pause here to mention that it was Linda O., with whom Justin and I had dinner after church last week, who put Carol W. and me together last spring. Linda O. had a wonderful "Beach Bash", where she thanked all the ladies who'd supported her after the sudden death of her husband, Dale. We ladies from all walks of life, of Linda's walk in life, hit it off nicely. It was a sincere privilege and pleasure to be there for Linda, both when Dale died and at the Beach Bash!

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Linda J. was thrilled with the afternoon's literary exposure, as she read excerpts from her newly autographed book. We had some marination time before the next event, so we turned on the TV, putting our feet up to take a cat nap. That didn't last, as we caught the end of "Blazing Saddles", and were laughing our fool heads off! Linda told me that Tommy and she had gone to see it at the theater and both fell asleep! What??? Now when watching it, she found the scenes most humorous and promised to rent it to watch again. I hope it's as funny for them as it was for the two of us! Somehow I doubt that!!!!

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Minutes from Linda J. Day!

I hope my readers are able to keep up with these Minutes of the Church Secretary's Union Meeting....which are being presented in reverse order! Is that parliamentary? I'd guess probably not!

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Saturday was designated by the Union members as "Linda J. Day" which began with a therapeutic massage by Carol. It was Linda's first massage and she is sold! One of the first things she's going to do when arriving back "home" is find a therapist for herself, because it was so beneficial. It didn't take away her wounded knee, and it won't for the first treatment, but overall, it's a wonderful experience and Linda loved it!

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No visit to Salon 2000 is complete without stopping at Great Hang Ups, so we popped in there following her massage. Julia did some hotel research for me on the computer using her AAA membership and found some great deals, pursuading me to join AAA. The savings on the hotel and airfare more than pay for the membership fee! Those ladies at Great Hang Ups are truly full service, don't ever doubt that!

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Justin, who had been staying at his father's with Mickey (oh, my goodness, I nearly typed "Timmy" instead of Mickey!!) joined us for lunch at Honey Bee's. While there we ran into Michael, my former co-worker. It was great to see him and we've made plans to get together later in the month. Our meals were wonderful, reminiscent of Sister's Tea Room, to whom these new owners are related. Hence, the delicious corn chowder...mmmmmm! Justin was heading to get his hair cut and an oil change, two separate appointments (ha, ha, ha) so off he went. Linda and I came back home to allow her to 'marinate', as Carol calls it, before we once again headed out the door to our next event for Linda J. Day!

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So goes the first half of the official "Linda J. Day"!

The Church Secretary's Union Meetings commence!

The ladies at church were quizzing Linda about all the fun we'd had so far during her visit. One asked if I was cooking wonderful meals for her....ha, ha, ha, very funny! At first Linda was going to say, "oh, yes..." but caught herself before falling into the trap. We did relate our schedule of activities which thoroughly exhausted them!

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Here goes----on the way home from the airport, we discussed our menu creation planned for dinner and just how long it would take for Jell-o to set, and decided we had time for lunch and a strawberry margarita at La Nopalera....after all, our theme for the dinner was "From the Heart"! Strawberries are red, the heart is red, so there!

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Upon arriving home, Linda got settled into her quarters as I mixed up the Jell-o and applesauce, a low-calorie but highly flavorful concoction for the themed dinner. We chatted until the ladies started to arrive and all enjoyed a lovely feast of heartfelt foods. We had two tablesfull of guests, including Justin and his roommates, a perfect chance for a full, hot meal for these starving boys.

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Friday morning we headed to St. Johns Town Center Mall to the Joann store to buy paper, inks, and other cropping supplies for the card making night planned at church. We needed Easter/spring colors and believe we found the right "flavors" to enhance the papers. When Justin got out of class he joined us for a lovely lunch, dining el fresco at the Cheesecake Factory. The patio had heaters which kept us thin-blooded transplants cozy as we ate. Linda and I spent some time and money in the bookstore and then went to see Justin's condo. All three boys were home so we had a nice visit before heading back over here to cut up the papers needed to make the cards for cropping.

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Linda and I got everything set up for cropping at church and at first it seemed no one was joining us, but then we ended up with a nice group. Linda got busy with the card making, saying she loved to do it, so the rest of us worked on our projects while she stamped, glued, and assembled a stack of Easter cards. Man, she's quick! Jean worked on her black velvet coloring project (she told us that's her craft and now we believe her!) and the rest worked on our albums. Great fun, good pizza, and a relatively early night--home by 10:00! Thanks, Linda, for making the cards for our members away!

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...and the morning and the evening were her second day!

Linda and Kim's Big Adventure, coming to a close...

Linda set the "Kramer" clock inside her head to wake in time for sunrise this morning, her final opportunity before heading back to WI today. The Lord painted a lovely picture for her, for us, minus the dramatic clouds which help diffuse the gorgeous colors. We both photographed the beginning of the day to help capture the memory of this wonderful long weekend together. I am a bit dehydrated as I've had nothing to drink (no Diet Coke!!!) or any food until after Justin and I get our blood work done. We were npo (a little medical lingo there) after midnight, and I do so enjoy my soda first thing in the morning, as one does coffee. Once back from the blood work Linda and I will be heading off to Bible study, as Justin heads to work. He's been staying at his father's house watching Mickey the Dog, at least letting Mickey out at night and setting him free in the morning.

Last night Justin joined Martie, Linda, and me for a movie and dinner. We saw "The Bucket List" which will probably affect us the rest of our days. Two terminally ill men meet in the hospital, make up a list of things to achieve or experience before they 'kick the bucket'. I think we'll never forget that movie or its message. Justin may not have the same appreciation for the prospect of facing ones' demise, but for us "older" women of faith, oh yeah.....we were hysterical at times, both with laughter and tears, while being filled with contemplation.

Jack Nicholson's character was a wealthy man with no room in his vast intellect or bank account for faith in the Lord, and expressed envy for those of us that do. The other man was a believer in God and an honorable family man of modest means who had to make many compromises due to his circumstances. The wealthy man helped him realize his dreams, while being influenced by the "faithfulness" of the poorer man.....I am trying not to give it away!!!

As I am writing this, a finger of the sun's reflection is stretching across the water toward me, as it were an arrow. It's lining up directly at my window, moving closer, inch by inch. Majestic! In last night's movie, one of the wishes of Morgan Freeman's character was to view something "majestic" before he died. I get to enjoy something of majesty every single day, particularly on days when the sun isn't dimmed by fog or clouds. The river is majestic on its own; therefore, I can cross 'see something majestic' from my Bucket List!!

I'll be catching you up with a moment by moment "visit with Linda" but not today. We have to capitalize on the last of our time before she heads back to WI. I pray the weather will be okay for her travels once back on the Frozen Tundra!

Filled with anticipation!

Oh, I know I shouldn't be sitting here at the keyboard when it's nearly time to pick up Linda from the airport, but felt compelled to jot a few lines this a.m. I was quite concerned that she wouldn't be able to fly out of Green Bay since the area was clobbered again with another thick blanket of snow--more like a quilt or comforter of snow. If you read my "Comments", you'll see my nephew reporting as much as 20-24" of snow clogging the roads, leaving folks stranded along the freeways. And while they are going through all that, I am enjoying an overcast sky and watching a blue heron fishing in the water below my window. What can I say? Sometimes we have hurricanes blow through here turning our worlds upside down, so it all evens out. You know it's bad when Jill looks forward to mowing the lawn!!!!

Here is a view on my building from the sky! I am on the 3rd floor, to the left of the awnings, with the palm tree in front of the windows.....if you look really close, you can see the heron in the water-----not!

What a fun day it turned out to be!

You know how much I enjoy playing with color and such, but some of my readers can more easily make out the darker lettering against the white background; hence, the less flamboyant inks...

What started out a rather subdued, ordinary day turned into quite the interesting one for me. Earlier this a.m. I couldn't see much further than the breakwater as the fog was terribly dense. By mid-morning, the fog was burned off when the sun broke through, warming my neck and shoulders. Not that I really needed it (what am I saying????) as the temperatures rose toward the low 80's today--outdoors. It wasn't all that warm indoors so my little heater kept me comfortable. It probably wasn't warmer than the low-70's in the house, which for me is just a tad chilly. Oh, just give me a break, will you?

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Much of my computer time was spent researching air fares and hotels for the trip to NYC with Justin. I found many options to choose from-- this air fare, that hotel room--but just couldn't get myself to commit to the package. Ever since I stayed at The Paramount last summer, I find myself a bit gun-shy about any hotels, sight unseen. That particular room was positively minuscule, laughably so. But, I've had quite enough laughs about NYC hotel rooms and wish to avoid a repeat of that experience!

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Enough about the surfing and research....this afternoon I got a call from a gentleman who Justin refers to as my "Turkish friend". Saban had been here last fall to move Justin's furniture (he owns a moving company, having relocated my household more than a dozen times!) and grimaced at the site of a Greek flag being displayed. He lamented there was no Turkish "Ay Yıldız" as prominently displayed in my home. I explained that I hadn't found a flag when in Turkey last summer, so Saban insisted he was going to get me one. Couldn't stand the thought of my having only "that" flag in my home! Sure enough, he called to find out if I was home so he could deliver my long awaited Turkish flag.

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We chatted a nice while as he filled me in on the travails of having a house built. Seems he has a bit of trouble with the contractor, and can't get anyone to help him handle the situation. Perhaps just talking about it helped but that would be a bit optomistic. He'd called me awhile back to come look at his property but it never worked out. So, anyway, now I have my very own, hand delivered "ay yidiz" to go with my Greek flag!

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The evening was topped off by a wonderful celebration with our "family" at the Olive Garden for Robbie's 21st birthday. It was such an honor for us to be included for his special occasion, with his siblings, aunts, uncles and grandpa. Robbie's girlfriend is a maniacal "Phantom of the Opera" fan, like someone else in this room...what fun to compare notes on the Broadway show vs. the movie, our favorite songs, our collection of memorabalia. Great fun! We had a private room in the restaurant with our own wait staff, one of whom recognized me from a different restaurant where she used to work. How funny! Twila, Jean, Judy, and I had lunch after church one day and this young lady took care of us there. How in the world did she remember me?????

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Today I was able to order the movie "Across the Universe" for my Justin. We enjoyed it at the theater, Justin twice, and both loved it, already owning the soundtrack. One of the reasons he thought I'd like this movie is because of the Janis-style character, complete with a replica of her Porsche! He cautioned me going in about a certain scene that would affect me as he admitted it had him........and he was correct. I just buried my face in his shoulder to sob and then when it was over, could watch again.

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Well, I'm tired and ready for bed so will wish all my readers a good night. I will give thanks, however, before sleep, for the blessings I have in my life, not the least of which are dear, thoughtful friends and my precious boy!

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"Good night, Seattle, we love you!" (a little Frasier-lingo....)