What a way to end the day!

Listening to Sarah, and watching her as well! Judy J. called to tell me that Andrea Bocelli was on PBS, so I turned it on just in time to catch the closing song, which he sings with Sarah--Con te Partiro--A Time to Say Good-bye. A program featuring her new CD, the one I panned so nicely when I first got it, is showing from Vienna, which makes it okay...There are some tunes on the CD I love, including the one in duet with Fernando Lima, "Pasion". (I wish I could type with a Spanish accent!!)

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The day began with a therapeutic massage by Carol, who tried to help my poor back, and did the trick, I dare say. It's much better today than it was plus I have some anti-inflammatories to take, a re-fill of the ones I took for the sciatica problem last fall. I'll have a full arsenal of medication to see me through the time in NYC, where so much of our time will be spent on foot. Jennifer came to see Carol for her first time following my appointment, and loved it! Her fears were allayed, Carol didn't hurt her and Jen got relief from some of her pains. Her treatment is a bit different from mine as she has arthritis coursing through her body, even her hands felt better after treatment! Good! Originally she'd wanted me to stay with her for the massage, but decided this a.m. she'd go it alone, and did quite nicely.

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While Jen was at Salon 2000 with Carol, I went over to Wal-Mart for my scrip and then picked up a few other items, as usually happens when one enters that store. There were chocolate rabbits and other Easter candy right as I came in so grabbed a few things for Justin's basket. On the way out, I met Danny Roy on the fork lift and chatted with him briefly, before heading back to Great Hang Ups to wait for Jen.

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I took the watercolor that I painted in class on Monday to show the ladies and Julia looked at, called it "done". Dee was busy in the back at first and then a client came in so we got talking with her until lunch time. Julia came with Jen and I to Koko's which was lovely with our personal chef, Matt, preparing our meal for us, wonderfully, as usual. Something funny happened while there--the waitress was training a new waiter, and she pointed her pencil at me, telling him, "She is one of our valued customers!". Wow!!!!

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When we got back after lunch, I saw Dee had placed a white mat around my piece and propped it on the counter so we'd see it when we came in. The mat really set it off. We picked out a frame and in a couple weeks, a new piece to add to my collection of work! It was great fun painting this picture and I feel like doing some more of that one. Nothing original about me!

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Upon arriving home, Dave, the doorman, was standing at the ready to help carry my laundry basket of purchases upstairs, the gentleman he is! That saved re-aching my back, which would have been dreadful. What was dreadful were my now formless, melted chocolate purchases for Easter!!!!! I should have known better than to leave them in the car all that while, with the temps getting up there this afternoon....ooops. Dave suggested putting them in the freezer, they'll taste okay once they re-set, but won't represent anything the least bit "Easter". Good emergency chocolate to keep on hand, I guess......

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Now she's singing "Running" which is the same melody as the "Jerusalem the Golden", which tears me up. It's from the composition of The Planets, called "Jupiter". By the way, I got through the rehearsal tonight without shedding a single tear.....we shall overcome!....or, be overcome!

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When I arrived at church, I did nearly shed a tear at how nice the yard looked up front. Judy J.'s grandson, recently moving here from MI, was gracious enough to lend his back, arms and legs to getting that grass and such cleaned up for the coming holidays. That means the world to me, and since I can't do it myself and he can---well.......thanks so much, Josh!!!!!!!!

SShhh--I hear the river breathing....

...or at least it seems like I should be able to hear it rippling along, rolling easily now in the right direction.

As I am writing this afternoon, youtube is playing the anthem that we’re singing for church tomorrow evening. It’s a “spiritual”, as you’d expect any religious hymn to be---but it’s the melody that hints a folk-style flavor, called “What Wondrous Love is This?". We could probably use a few more practices on it before we’d be ready to perform but unfortunately, not many people grace the pews for the mid-week worship. Our embarrassment will be limited to only about 30 folks, or perhaps we'll simply blow them away with this offering!! We are also singing on Good Friday and Easter morning, and then I’ll be gone for awhile to WI and MN.

Last night was a bad sleep for me. When I got up yesterday morning my lower back was complaining and didn’t improve all day. After having dinner with Twila and Judy J., I came home and worked on the computer for a bit, starting to put the tax stuff together (UGH!!).

My heart wanted me to stay up for the shuttle launch but my eyes and tired back told me differently. I found myself awake very early in the a.m., still aching in the low back. Lynx and I went to the kitchen to get a soda and an ice pack, which is the absolute last thing I’d want to wear…otherwise. Trying to lie on my back and keeping the ice pack in just the right place took all my concentration but eventually I dozed off and on until getting up about 9:00 a.m. At one point I went out to get a second ice pack which really held its coldness, and later realized I’d grabbed a bag of fresh coconut instead! Did the trick, so what’s the dif??

It seems to feel a bit better but I’m determined to stick close to home and keep icing it as I need to be at the top of my game by Friday as we go to NYC. Justin made that trip once with me dragging my injured knee behind me, and certainly we don’t want to do that again. I’m getting a massage tomorrow morning which will certainly prove beneficial.

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Judy R. wrote me this morning in a quick note that she has a brand-new granddaughter, Isabel Sophie, born yesterday. All are doing fine and now little Emma has a sister....one more added to the clan of Jer and Judy! Congrats all around! Oh, and it's Barb's birthday today--Happy Birthday in Green Bay, Barb! Lord's blessings!

I may close my eyes for a little while this afternoon, but not too long so that I can sleep all night long tonight. Usually don’t have problems sleeping, and don’t think it was my tired back that woke me, perhaps the TV was on too loud…watched “Godfather” before dropping off to sleep. “Don’t ever take sides with anyone against the Family—ever!”

Cold temps, hot food, and a hero!

Boy, it sure was hard to get out of bed this morning! Mix the springing ahead with really cold temps and you've got a 'pull those blankets up and snuggle in' goin' on! Of course, by the time we got out of church, after the Congregational meeting, it had warmed up to almost 60 above zero, nearly double the low temp of earlier.

Since my usual lunch gang didn't stay for the meeting, I just came home to eat (what??) some leftovers. Oh, that concoction I made for the dinner Thursday night was just as good the second time around--cabbage, carrots, and corned beef. There was also a container from Blu Grotto's dinner last night but opted to get the kettle out of the fridge instead. Perhaps later tonight I'll have some of the tortellini alla panna, but it's hard right now to think about eating after all that cabbage! Yes, might be a good idea to just stay in tonight!

Pam, Joan and her husband, Paul, and I enjoyed dinner at the newest finer dining restaurant on Fleming Island, standing room only when we arrived. Fortunately Paul had done a "call ahead" seating for us so we didn't have to wait at all. It does my heart good to see this business really taking off like it has, as I know the owners for many years, way back to when we first moved here. We had built a couple houses in partnership with them plus had done a re-model in their family restaurant, located just around the corner from my condo. This new menu is considered to be "healthy Italian" foods, but we liked it anyway!

One of the owners, Tony (an Italian named Tony?), saw Justin when we had lunch at Blu Grotto week ago and was totally blown away with what a big boy he's become. We've eaten at the "old" family restaurant a couple times recently but he's usually in the kitchen and hadn't seen Justin in a while. It was fun to see Tony's reaction to how tall Justin's gotten!

The river has settled down since yesterday's wind-whipping. By late afternoon the winds had quieted, with the river floor left horribly exposed. If you recall, I wrote about how it didn't know which way to flow--well, it ended up moving away from the shore and leaving bare muck and yukky algae showing. I wanted to yell, "Cover yourself!" but was afraid of waking the winds again. Today the water level's back up, covering most of the yukky stuff. It really looks to me as though it could use a good raking, just to get all the junky bottles, boards, and algae out of there. Or, just wait until the water level comes back up.....

Justin returned my laptop on Friday night, having loaded the word processing programs that I'll need for when I'm on the road later this month. It's possible for me to work on the newsletter and other church stuff when I'm traveling, which is pretty cool, if you ask me. Hopefully I won't miss a beat, at least with the things that don't require face-time. I'll be available by cell phone, e-mail, and telegram, call me!

There is a slate of folks lined up to fill in for me in my absence, both at church and Art Guild. Hopefully I don't forget about something and have it fall through the cracks. I probably won't sleep tonight trying to think of all the details left open.....Need to speak to someone about Pizza/Game Night (if I write it down, it's easier to remember). Possibly Juliane and Fausto would be interested in getting things arranged for that, and then that's it, I think.

Okay, here's the thing: I am sick and tired of seeing the endless advertisements on the USA station about the male virgin movie!!!!!!!!!! Make it stop!!!!! Some of my recorded shows are on that channel plus Law and Order re-runs, and it is driving me bonkers to see that over and over and over. Ugh, enough already with the vomiting and condoms and chest hair removal! They show the whole movie in the advertisements, for Pete's sake.....There, I feel a bit better now, that I've gotten that off my 'chest'!!

On another note: Joan told a story about her son-in-law, Will, who is a fireman. I bought my jet skis from him several years ago. Those who were here for my birthday party at "Mushroom" met his wife and him, when they came to our table. So, anyway, he was driving across the bridge from Fleming Island the other morning while off-duty and saw a guy with a stalled car trying to push it over to the side. Of course, there's no room for that with the construction going on, but anyway, the car sort of got away from and rolled against the guard rail. The man was pinned between his car door and car, being squeezed by the rail. Will leaped to action, summoned men from their cars and got the car moved off the injured man. Will performed CPR as he was already bluing until rescue got there to take over. WOW! Our Will is a hero! I sure hope that if I ever need some help on the road, someone like him will not be afraid to jump from his car to lend a hand!

This photo was taken at CHRISTmas at Paul and Joan's house. Will is standing behind me, his wife is kneeling next to Joan, who is holding her dog, and Paul sports the white beard behind Joan. Pam is standing right in front of Justin. Will is the guy who liked to call me just to make my phone go off.....rascal!!

Oops, troubles with this post, will try again later.....

Having troubles with the font, so am starting over on a new one.............quitter!

Letting It All Hang Out at Blue Man Group

Hi all!

A couple people have asked about the audience participation at last night's show, wondering why Justin would feel inhibited with his mama being there with him. Fortunately, he already knew the premise of the show, having seen it before. The theme of the show is "How to be a Megastar", pretending to go through "steps" to become one. It's equal parts comedy and music-making, quite family-oriented. The 3 Blue Men are bald-headed, totally blue except for the eyes, which they use to express themselves, mostly like, "What is going on here?" expressions. As far as the band goes, they were fantastic, great percussion, my favorite!

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At points the audience is encouraged to act like we're at a rock concert (excuse me, we're already there!) and we are "taught" to clap, bob our heads, wave our arms in the air, hold our open cell phones up when prompted, and so on. The only thing I didn't do, and we are all glad about that, was the jumping up and down routine. I thought it best......

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It looked really cool when we did the cell phone thing, arms waving with the little glow of the phones---it looked like fireflies in the darkened arena. Justin participated as much as I expected he would have anyway, and I restrained myself from participating too much! (Make no mistake---it's heck to get old!!)

Again---What a Difference a Day Makes!

..."God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged.." Gen. 8:1
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God is doing it again today, a great wind is passing over the earth, at least our part of it here, and drying up the water. The river is behaving as though it doesn't know which way to flow--trying to come toward me, with the wind moving it away. On days like these, I am glad I'm not driving a semi!

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As my sister, Lynn, would say, "We got cows!" (from the movie, 'Twister'). Driving home from a meeting at church this a.m., I was dodging branches and garbage cans and plastic bags. The weather on the radio says the gusts are up to 45 mph, which, when you drive that speed, it's not so fast. But to just walk around in that high wind--well, it's hard to keep your dress from flying up over your head!!

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While writing I am enjoying some potato leek soup Jo-Ann left for me after dinner Thursday night. Oh, my, it was delicious and just as good the second time 'round. She does catering part-time and is an excellent, creative cook. Guess you can't be considered a chef unless you do it full time. Jo used to work in Pam's real estate office but now has a job downtown somewhere, which makes these monthly dinners that much more vital for keeping in touch.

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Justin and I had a marvelous time at the Blue Man Group, once we finally got there. It was dreadful driving to his place in the pouring rain, but he took the wheel for the ride downtown. He does alright, he does alright....glad he knew where he was going because I sure couldn't figure out where we were.

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We arrived at the Arena as the doors opened, so didn't have to stand in the rain. We got some sodas and went to find our seats. The Arena itself was empty!!! Where was everyone? Justin was thinking this Group would never come back to Jax again if we didn't have a better turn-out than this. Of course, at show time it was jam packed with people, so no worries about filling seats in Jacksonville.

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Our seats were four rows from the front, close to the stage but not floor level. Even though the place was nearly deserted, we still found two people in our row -----and knew them!!! Pete and Mary were there and what great fun to run into them at this social outing! Pete is a therapist who had tried to help me, but to no avail.......after one of our sessions, he said, "Why don't you come back when you need me?" He fired me!!!

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Justin and I see Mary regularly, and they've been to my home. One reason he fired me was so we could socialize freely. I also bought and subsequently killed his jet boat (actually Hurricane Jeanne killed the boat) back in 2004. You may have seen my license place which reads: N Nigma.....Pete used that word to describe me during one of our sessions way back when, and I loved it! Enigma: something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained. Pete Prange disagreed with the other Pete's assessment, however, as he was of the feeling that, with me, what you see is what you get. I'd like to think both Petes are correct---and now I'm totally confused!! Kim and the jet boat ( R. I. P. )

Mike, who was supposed to attend this concert with Justin, was actually there anyway, working his job as Security Guard at the Arena. While we were talking with them, Justin got a text message from Mike that said: "Your mom always find someone to talk to..". BIG BROTHER could see me standing there, talking to people!! Apparently he has to watch some monitors in his office in the rafters and could spot us. Busted again! Justin enjoys this couple and the catching up we all did. But, we were there for the concert, right? Not just to talk with people all the time!!

What a difference a day makes!

Wow, what a wild weather day it turned out to be. Quite the contrast from yesterday's lovely day. Areas around here experienced tornadoes, wild winds, pouring rain, lightning, the whole works going on around us. Fortunately Clay County was spared the majority of it, with Justin and I managing to get together for lunch at Koko's between rain drops.

Yes, it was supposed to be MRI day but Justin really, really felt that he'd not benefit from having the test and wants to just forget the whole thing. That test was mostly to determine that nothing else was going on inside his head which might affect his hearing, and he's thinking he doesn't want to know any more than he does right now. I have reserved the Right as Mother to reschedule this test at a later date, perhaps after seeing Dr. Green later this month. Justin wants to blow that appointment off, too, but I can't let that happen. We need to hear it from the doctors' mouth---may I re-phrase that?--I need to hear it from the doctor's mouth, what the tests show and what the options are. Yes, it would be for me, as if the ears are mine!

I'd gotten him tickets to go see the "Blue Man Group", taking his friend/roomie, Michael, but this afternoon Mike called to say he had to go to work. Justin was disappointed and tried calling some other friends to go with him. All had plans so guess what---his mama is going with him! I know it will be a wonderful show, he enjoyed it last time, but it requires some audience participation. He says he'll be inhibited with me there, which is why I hadn't planned on going anyway. Now he's stuck with me! I'll try to keep myself from participating, which would be worse than him being inhibited!

Do to this rather abrupt change in plans, I am going to drive to his place and we'll ride together from there. He thinks it will take only a few minutes to get to the Coliseum from there vs. him driving over here and then both us going in my car, all the way back here and then him driving home again....after he'd already been to this side of town for work this morning. It's 30 minutes door to door without traffic but I am planning to head over there as soon as this is complete. The good news is that I get to decide when it's complete.....bye!