Nuts! We missed the launch!

Martie and I were outside by the pool when the shuttle went up yesterday and we didn't even notice! I knew it was launching at 5:00 p.m. but it sort of slipped my mind until I heard on the news this morning that some debris dropped off of it. My friend, Joan, who I met at Great Hang Ups Saturday morning, said she was trying to persuade Paul to go down south a ways to watch the launch but he wasn't up for it. If I wouldn't have had plans, I'd have gone with her. Paul has never seen a launch and his lived here much of his life.

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I love watching them go, probably since the Challenger blew up when we still lived in WI. A drapery installer was at my house that day and together we watched the re-play of it, dumb struck. When we first moved to Florida, our car bore the Challenger license plates. Once when Tommy and Linda came down to visit, near Easter, our van was full as we rode down to Titusville to watch the launch of Atlantis, up close and personal. Mom was there, Jenny J., their daughter, and Justin, a little boy. I remember Tommy videotaping the shuttle going up as tears ran down .......Mom still calls Atlantis "our shuttle".

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Jennifer R. wasn't able to join us for the Stampin' Up event last night so only Martie and I went. It was an Open House with many area "consultants" having displays, projects to make 'n takes, showcasing the best and newest tools of the stamping and cropping trade. Martie found something to buy but I refrained. I had taken my stuff along to work on my mother-in-laws' memory album but didn't have a chance to do it, they kept us busy jumping from table to table to make stuff.

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After a certain point, both Martie and I were yawning, seems that the fresh air and sunshine tired us out. Glad we didn't try going to the beach and then back for the event! We'd have been pooped! She really enjoyed sitting poolside and even got down into the water, without feeling panicky or hyperventilating. At first, she didn't even notice that she was okay......all of a sudden Martie said, "Hey, I'm in the water and I'm not scared!" Bravo! One step closer to crossing something off her Bucket List!

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Speaking of which, The Bucket List comes out on DVD next week Tuesday so I'll be standing at the doors waiting for the store to open to get my copy. I don't purchase many movies unless they are incredibly special to me so this one qualifies. I also own most of those listed in my Profile as being favorites.

From the movie, as the two guys are seated facing the Great Pyramids at Giza: "The ancient Egyptians had a legend....when you die, the gods will ask you two questions: "Did you have joy in your life?" and "Did you bring joy to someone else's life?" How you answer those questions determines if you get into heaven..." Cue the tears, Linda!

That reminds me---I need to buy stamps...

My computer is printing out the newsletter I send to members away from the congregation but I used my last stamps to mail a packet to Marian, my sister-in-law, in south Florida. Should have bought some before the price went up.........................

It's a glorious morning on the river, the sun sparkling like jewels, just the way I like it! As I wrote to Jill this a.m., the water is littered with boats, many stationary, probably fishing. Some pull up along the breakwater and the fishers sit on the rocks.

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Justin had a really cool experience over the past weekend. He was bobbing in the water on the jet ski (oh, how I miss the jet skis!!!) and a baby manatee poked its nose out of the water to be petted. I asked if the mama wasn't there, too, and Justin said she might have been, only didn't surface to be petted. I was telling the electrician yesterday about going on the field trip with Justin's Junior class to swim with the manatees at Crystal River. This conversation came after he told me about staying at his buddies' house just across from where the dive boat anchored. I think that is so cool, he knew just where I was talking about.

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In a little while I am off to church to vacuum and then home to sit poolside with Martie, and perhaps, my neighbor, Ellen. I invited her, if she's not otherwise occupied, to join the fun by the pool. Often they are gone on weekends but with her spouses' recovery from his hip replacement, they most likely have to stay around home a bit longer. Good! We'd talked about going to Grumpy's for breakfast someday, so maybe we'll get a chance to do that soon.

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As I write this a.m., a movie is playing called "I Am Sam", about a mentally retarded man with a small child, fighting for her custody. It's a real tear-jerker, let me tell you. Even though it's Sean Penn playing the lead, it's very, very good. The child is played by a beautiful blond girl, perfect for the role. Michelle Pfiefer plays the attorney fighting the uphill battle for this man to keep his daughter, even though Lucy is already more "intelligent" than her daddy---grade wise, that is. It really makes one think about the relationship between parent and child, what is the measuring stick used to measure the ability to parent. I do know the little girl has been baptized, because her Godmother appeared on the stand to testify as to Sam's competency.

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Sam's love is so totally unconditional and their love genuine, until she gets exposed to other children in school who very nicely point out the "problems" her father has. They took away her rose-colored glasses! No, she had NO GLASSES and the kids and society gave her some which she didn't even need.

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As happens often in these type cases, Sam and his friends have their set routines, one of which is to watch videos on Thursdays. They basically have them memorized, and one guy can spout the name of the director and the year the film was made. I know some people like that!!! Anyway, it made me chuckle thinking about how I used to get irritated with Justin being lost in fiction and not focusing on reality, everything related to Star Wars, or National Treasure or James Bond. But, hey guess what! I now compare the entire world to "Seinfeld" or "Frasier"!!! Justin might be saying, "Welcome to my world"....not!!!!!

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So, enough time spent in fiction, lets move on to real life and go clean the Lord's house. After all, tomorrow is Confirmation Day for a young lady whose family came to us through Precious Lambs Preschool. I love it when this happens! The Word of the Lord reaching out into the community:

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

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Cleaning, pool time, and then cropping with my lady friends...it's a good life, let me tell you!

You light up my life!

That's what I told the nice electrician who installed my light kit and repaired my foyer light for me.....He is a real sweetheart, worked on my projects at the lake house. I didn't catch his name but can easily find out. Felt badly that I didn't recall his name since he knows me from way back when....remembers me being on the job sites with my kids, cleaning up the houses. In all honesty, I don't know that he'd remember Timmy since at that point we had some people who came through and cleaned the sites. Unless it was at our Preserve house....Regardless, it was nice to talk with him and reminisce at bit.

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Justin and I met Jen plus a mess of other people at Longhorn for lunch to say "farewell" to our friend, Mai-ly. She is packing up her household and three kids, heading back home to Seattle. It saddens me to lose her children from my life but she has to do what she has to do. After Leone's closed, she found a job working in a private Christian school off Blanding, and her co-workers were there to say their good-byes also. Jen was the one who invited Mai-ly and me to lunch, and then it blossomed into 12 people. Justin and I were the only ones to garner a hug from her, she sort of flew out of the restaurant in order to avoid tearful good-byes. At this writing, they are two hours into GA, with a really long ride in front of them. Godspeed, Mai-ly! I hope you find what you're looking for!!

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I just came back inside from attending a wedding! Every weekend there are weddings taking place on the grounds of The Club and if timed just right, can watch as the bridesmaids, flower girls, and bride make their way to the "front" of the patio, facing the river. This evening, however, I heard the bridal march play through three times before the bride made her way out of the hall....seems the mini-brides needed to be coaxed along, a nice lady taking one by the hand, more or less, pulled her to the front. Kids! I wondered, without basis, if one or both of the girls belonged to the bride, this after seeing her march in a beige or yellowish gown instead of sparkling white. Merely an observation on my part.

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Tomorrow it's my opportunity to clean at church, which I'll get out of the way early---unless I get a call to have breakfast! All I have to do is be back home by 2:00 pm as Martie is coming over right from the office and we're going to sit poolside. We can get hamburgers or whatever in the cabana, perhaps an adult beverage. But not too much, as we are heading out at 6:00 pm for major scrap booking adventure out in Hibernia!!! Talk about excited! We'd wanted to go to the beach but knew we couldn't get down there and back in time to crop so opting for the pool instead. A whole lot less gas expense just walking out to the pool. It is starting to matter about wasted miles--for everyone.

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Oh, it's a glorious evening for a wedding, though. It was nice and warm all day, with the sun still shining at this moment. Maybe, just maybe, I'll get to see some manatees in the basin. Justin came by after work and took care of a few things for his "too short on one end" Mama. Justin tottered on the top step on my stool and still had to stretch in order to add the chain to my hanging lanterns. The ceiling in my river room is about twelve feet high, a stretch for anyone without pulling out the ladder. Justin also helped me figure out how to cut/paste some pictures from a map page on the computer to a picture file. I won't even try to explain all that but now I know how to do it in the future. One of my neighbors liked the shot I used in The Palace Press and asked me how I got that. It was fun to be able to share my new found information!

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I had some pretzels and dip ready to go out on the shelf tonight but no one came out to play. It's easy enough to check for activity, simply peer over the side for heads. If I'd have checked my e-mail, I'd have seen that we weren't meeting tonight but instead I watched a movie. My stuff will keep but tonight would have been a good one for me, no running off to play. Last night we spent some time together before I had to dash off to paint with Dee. I love my picture from last night, playing with watercolor pencils. Next time I go, Kris is going to allow me to use her "spray" paints, watercolor paint in a spray bottle. Far out, man!

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The movie I mentioned was "The Lake House" which I'd seen before, I think in the theater. Wow, it is soooo good, a romantic story with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. She has a lot of drama in her face, it speaks volumes. I also had a lake house but nothing overly romantic took place there! Of course, it wasn't made of glass like this one was....no throwing stones! As part of the movie, the couple, who live two years apart, reference a Jane Austin book, Persuasion. I'm not familiar but am interested. Not much progress is being made in "Pride and Prejudice", I have to keep starting over to keep track of who's who. Much like Lord of the Rings, only without the sword fights and battles!

Judy R. recommended watching the PBS movie first, which she found quite helpful in getting through the printed version. I can do that!

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It's nearly to the point where I have to make use of my brand-new light on the ceiling fan! Somehow or another, my desk is piled full of papers etc., and when I go somewhere and return, the mess is still there!! What gives?

What an interesting day.......

....and it's not over yet. Morning came at the usual time today, with Becker being the one to whom I awakened. I think I liked Ted Danson better as a bartender than a surly doctor. When Jerry and George were meeting with the NBC people to peddle their pilot, George kept insisting that NBC meet Ted Danson's salary for them!!! Not anymore, Ted's pretty much dropped off the TV radar!

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Usually I watch "Fox and Friends" in the a.m. but sometimes I'll just watch whatever is on after Becker. I've taken a liking to JAG, a show about military attorneys who represent service members. Today they were at NAS-JAX which I thought was really cool! They showed the gate and landing areas, just like I see whenever driving past the base.

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Friday early the electricians are coming to install a new ceiling fan light for over my desk. These are the same people who did the electric for the home building business and have done some for me my past two homes. The current fixture is a school-house style and fails to illuminate my desk area which is important for late day work at the desk. I went to Home Depot to get the light kit, plus bulbs and pulls for the fans. I have to jump to grab some of the chains so adding the extra length will be just dandy--plus they are pretty glass-style. Perfect!

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After my shopping, Justin and I met for lunch at Ruby Tuesday. I just love their triple prime burger and the mashed cauliflower. The bun goes to waste though as I leave that behind. Mom would have loved the tomatoes, as they also went to waste. Neither Justin nor I like to eat a tomato straight up! Justin liked his turkey burger, using his bun the way it should be and even ate his fries. The mashed cauliflower tastes so much better than their fries do, in my opinion.

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A dear lady at church can no longer attend due to an illness so I took a nice ride out to one of the neighborhoods where we used to live. It's the same one where we found the "snake" floating in the swimming pool way back when Justin was a baby. In case you don't remember, one of the two babies' diapers let loose their stuffings which looked like a snake to us. Anyway, it was a nice afternoon visit to Fireside, spending time this lovely lady. At one time, three of our church members lived out there but now it's down to two. It's become such a "mature" looking neighborhood, the trees all grown, and apparently the entire community is built out. After such a rocky beginning, wonderful to see how far its come!

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Last night after getting home from Bible Bites, it was still light. As I sat at the computer, I spotted a couple manatees frolicking in the basin. I wish it stayed light later so I could see more, but then night fell! It seems they must stay away when the machinery is working in the basin, but once the work stops, here come the couples!

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This evening I am meeting with Dee, Kris, and some other "artists" for an "invitation only" painting session--ahem, ahem! One of the ladies works in a school and we are using her classroom for our workshop. This is really exciting for me, to be "influenced" by these notable, genuine artists. Dee wants to be the only one I learn from, as if it is possible for me to be taught! Jill, no need to scold, I know, I know..........By the way, Jill, I am sorry that you spit your food out last night!!!!!

It's heck to get old.......

...let me tell ya'.....

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Recently I'd noticed a fluttering sensation in my eyes, mostly the left, which feels like its pulsing or moving or something. Mostly it's annoying but I'm also certain that people in cars alongside me can see it. This is not reasonable, of course, but it seems as though they might. It was time to "see" the eye doctor.

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I'd not had an eye exam since my final "tweaking" on my right eye back in 2001, so it was time I did. The assistant performed all the exams she could, me trying to read tiny writing on the wall while holding a spoon over one eye. I also had my head examined by a machine which looks inside my head (actually inside my eye ball) to see if there's anything amiss. I was clean! Finally, I was put in the actual exam chair to await the doctor.

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"Ed", for whom we'd built a home many years ago, is a nice man, who greets me with a great big hug when he sees me. He frequents the same frame shop I do---ahem, ahem....so I see his wife, Janet, and he with some regularity. One time he gave me a stern scolding for not wearing sunglasses, saying even though I've had Lasik, I should still wear them. Really, it's been such a relief to not have to wear glasses at all. On a cruise in 2000, I bought a great pair of sunglasses in the Amsterdam airport, gold glitter. I either lost or broke them, never did find a pair that compared!

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Well, those days of glory are over, my friends....my once 20/20 vision has deteriorated wwaayy down to 20/25 and 20/50. Oh, like that's so bad...really? One eye is more "correct" than the other due to the monovision correction with the Lasik, intended to stave off needing reading glasses sooner--so far, so good) What I DO require, however, is AccuVision eyewear (not called glasses anymore, did you notice?) to wear when I am driving at night. They can be worn any time I need to see something at a distance but they are intended for night driving. Just what I need as designated driver of the church ladies!

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Talk about expensive! I know that its been many years since I've had an eye exam and purchased glasses---excuse me--eyewear, but holy cow! The frames, red, of course, were certainly not the most expensive ones, although the nice lady tried to direct me toward the designer ones by Armani. Please! I am using them at night, who gives a hoot if they are designer or what? When I was in 2nd grade and got my first glasses, replacement bows cost $14.00 a piece. I know this because my parents had to make that purchase on more than one occasion in my grade school days. Now, $14.00 buys nothin', Jerry, nothin'!!!

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So, in about a week or so, I'm back to sporting glasses, after all these years glasses-free. You know, it never occurred to me to ask for contacts but I'll bet this AccuVision product line doesn't come in contact lenses. I just knew it would come to this eventually--I could stave off aging only so long before it caught up with me. At least I got a few compliments out of it: "you have beautiful eyeballs", "I like your hair", and "you have such nice skin". That's what happens when you're eye to eye with people, these things are noticed.

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On the lighter side, Ed had to use this machine with the multiple lenses in it, and told me to rest my chin on the white plastic piece and my forehead against the top. There's one not-so-small problem----there's no way I can get myself close enough to this machine to rest my chin. I can rest all sorts of things, but not the chin---at least, not without expending some effort. I was hoping to pull that machine close enough without him having to push, pull, or manipulate something.....and I did it! I grabbed hold of sides of it and held on for dear life. Hurry, hurry, I'm losing my grip.......Ed certainly couldn't say too much as his wife looks similar to me!

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The main reason I went to the eye doctor in the first place was the fluttering. Ed asked me if I had any cramps or such in my legs (good thing he didn't ask me if I had swelling in my legs!!!) (I love that joke!) and when I told him I didn't, he said not to worry about it, not a problem. I explained about other drivers staring at me--not really--and he said some folks who drink a lot of coffee have the fluttering of the eyelids.....oh, I see, again with the caffeine business! I like the idea of not worrying about it, my kinda doctor!

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On another note: Once I had a dentist named Buddy who had administered nitrous oxide to me during a treatment. As they were trying to bring me back down afterward, he had the audacity to ask me, "Do your legs feel heavy?"......................................................

If you're not already blogged out.....

Here is Lisa's site, complete with photos of the boys, and even one of her and me together!

lisamellison.blogspot.com

Have fun!

Early morning jogging...

...and if you believe that........

As I lay watching re-runs of JAG, somewhere around 7:00 a.m., I heard my doorbell ringing. What? Off went the covers (no sunshine this a.m. to warm me!!) and on goes the caftan for my dash to the door. Could it be the Fuller Brush Man? Company!!! I love that!!! Actually, it was neighbor, Hugh, asking me to move my car so the roofers can do their work. I was under the impression I wasn't going to have to relocate, but being a team player, I grabbed my keys and flew downstairs with Hugh to move my car. Several of the workers were stirring around in the parking lot including "doorman" Dave plus one of the tenants that rents on the 5th floor. Many car movers this a.m.

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For some reason, this brought to mind when Justin was a little boy, planning his career in hotel and restaurant management. He had jobs in mind for all of his family members, including Lynn. Lynn's job was to work in the kitchen for breakfast (after I had gotten up early to turn on the ovens.....) but she had to stand behind the plates, according to Justin, because "she doesn't look so good in the morning".....what? His words, his imagination. Always thinking.

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No one was missed in his planning, either. He even had a job for his Grandma K: she was going to operate the elevator, wearing safari gear! Other than my job of turning on the ovens in the morning, his father and I were to do the airport runs with a van---his dad driving, me handing out drinks and giving a talk............His partner in the restaurant business was supposed to be a classmate, Nick. The name of the place? "Justin the Nick of Time"!!! How's that for an imagination?

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This planning took place prior to his brother being born, which would have made him about 8 years old or so. Once Timmy was born, Justin added a ball pit and a slide from our 3rd floor suite (He was also prophetic!!!) for his brother to play in. The hotel could only be 3 floors high because his father's contractor license limited the height of structures he could build. Oh, yes, Justin thinks of everything, and in depth, I dare say!

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Prior to his plans for a hotel, he was determined to sell flowers along Hwy. 17 by Pace Island, like the vegetable man did at that time. He was going to sell them for $1.00 each. First, he wanted us to get him a cash register and brief case to carry the money home. He had seen them at Sam's Club. We said he might not sell many sunflowers for a dollar, that was too much money, and he said, "That's okay. I'll just bring the rest home for my mama!"

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And I thought of this just because I had to run outside in my caftan very early in the morning and give the poor working guys a fit!

p.s. Christine: if you're out there, call me, please? I miss you!!