The end of the day at the beginning of the week

I am home from the Condo Owners meeting which was held at The Club. Arriving a bit early, not like me at all, I allowed extra time for travel as I walked over and back! A party was going on in the new room but the rest of the place was totally dark. I wondered if there was a mistake about the date or time but eventually more folks started to show up. A man from the hotel portion of The Club checked on the room for us and didn't find any arrangements being made. Oops! It seems the lady who made the plans wasn't even going to be there for the meeting but the fellow went ahead and gave us the dining room area with no problem. Although all the Owners were invited, we still had a small gathering, only about 10 people plus the Board members. It had the potential to be contentious but Tracy did a good job of keeping things reigned in. "Rainbows and butterflies" is her mantra......

*

The first part of the day began with the Fox News Channel before heading over to church for Bible study. And what a class it was! Our topic from the "Prepared to Answer" book, today's subject being "there are too many hypocrites in the church". This stirred much conversation and discussion, sometimes straying off the subject (not me this time....) and then getting back to what constitutes a hypocrite. Very interesting and time well spent.

*

We went to our usual place for lunch, only 4 of us today, and had a great meal once again. The Manager came over and chatted with us today, telling about the great week they had last week 'sales'-wise, beating even Fleming Island's store. He always gives us 10% off our meals to show his appreciation for our patronage.

*

I had to get gas right after lunch as my gas light dinged just as I pulled up to the restaurant. It's so nice to pay "only" $3.75 a gallon, less than $40 for a fill-up. Cool beans! I headed out to Comcast on College Drive to turn in my machinery for the Internet and DVR/HD. My water aerobics instructor was there and held the DVR for me as my arms were full and the lines lengthy. We had time for a long chat because of the waiting, and I made a man laugh when I told him the DVR can take over his life! He said he already three in his house and needed one more! My point was made! Here is Bryson, my youngest great-nephew, enjoying his birthday cake on Saturday. It seems it was just to his liking! I can't get over how much he looks like his daddy!

Can't you just grab those cheeks and squeeze 'em? He's enjoying playing with his balloon, likes it more than his actual gifts.

What a glorious day today!

So far, anyway. I am watching the Packers make mince meat out of the Colts, at least in the 3rd quarter they are! Anything can happen yet, to be sure. The Jags are on a 'bye week' so what a blessing to be able to watch the Packers instead. The temps here today are screaming "football" because it's windy and chilly, only 69 above zero when I came home from Green Cove Springs this afternoon.

*

Last night at bedtime I decided to take a pain pill leftover from abscessed tooth days to help my aching bones, hoping it would bring instant sleep....wrong! Although I didn't ache or anything, I simply didn't drop immediately off to sleep. It was at least midnight or after before dropping off. This morning it was not easy to wake up but somehow I managed, thanks in part to the rising of the sun, to get up and out the door by 8:40 a.m. Without stopping for soda at Sonic on the way, I pulled into the parking lot right on time for Bible study.

*

Once more we spent time visiting the Supplement for the hymnal, reviewing the liturgies, meditations, the new psalm tones, and Pastor even tried his hand at the organ since Robbie wasn't there to help us out. To sing the hymns, we used the CD which came with the CWS and sounded so good singing with the professionals on the "tape". We could hear the addition of finger cymbals and even clarinet in the accompaniment. Boy, I wish we had an orchestra like FG does. Mr. Menk does such a wonderful job with those kids, getting them to play and sound so good, offering much edification to the worship! Somebody up there tell him I say "thanks!", please!?! I can just hear what lovely additions the hand bells/tone chimes at Victory will make to their worship.

*

With the Douglas/Langleys and Chappells gone on vacation plus our back row folks being out, we had an empty church today! I don't think any babies or little ones had to go into the nursery, either. Pastor offered a special prayer on behalf of my father-in-law, giving thanks for his successful surgery and for strength to recover quickly. A dear member and friend, Ethel, is having heart surgery tomorrow, hopefully not too invasive or grueling for her. She is such a vital cog in our church machinery and a sweetheart to boot, so we pray that she'll come through with flying colors and get back to us quickly.

*

As I was greeting at the door after church, someone brought to my attention a "stranger" coming toward me from the parking lot....JUSTIN! Sporting his Packer T-shirt and short hair, he drew quite a crowd, folks were so happy to see him, and told him so. He was a bit confused, again, about our dinner plans so came to church to meet me. It surprised me so that I got tears in my eyes---really? I was ripe for tears anyway, as I was 'greeting' Ethel and wishing her well tomorrow. After the crowds thinned, we compared notes and he figured out that I was spending time with Julia both days, which is what messed him up. He asked, "Is this going to interfere with your time for Julia now?" and I told him it would be okay for me to have lunch with him first since he came all this way over here to do so. He should have known Carrabba's isn't open at lunch time and admits he goofed----just as I did on Thursday when I stood him up at Panera Bread! He chose Clark's for lunch so off we went.

*

No wait for an outdoor table today, although it was too chilly to be eating out there. It might have been okay in the sun but we weren't in the sun and got hit by the 'cold' wind, even Justin said it was cold. Our pickles were perfection, the best I ever had there, almost as crisp as potato chips! We ate only half the basketful because I didn't want to totally ruin my lunch. Always having the fish fingers, formerly known as grouper fingers, I managed to eat all of them, 5 or 6, and shared my fries with the fish and turtles. Neither of us eat the hush puppies so tossed them into the water, too. As we came along the path from the parking lot, where I had 'rock star' parking today, we saw two baby alligators sunning themselves in the weeds. Justin took a picture using his phone so we'll see if it shows up. Cool! Justin's meal was Minorcan pasta with crab meat and shrimp, and he licked up every bit of it.

*

Oh, oh, what happened to the Packer game? CBS just switched to another football game before the Packer game was completed!!! I don't want to hear the ruckus in other people's family rooms right now.....I can't believe they'd do this, is it because the Packers were so far ahead??? It's a Jets game featuring some guy named Favre....sorry, Dolly, I had to say it!

*

So, back to the afternoon's events: leaving Clark's and heading for Green Cove Springs, I called Mom to gloat about eating there and to find out about Bryson's birthday party yesterday. They had a good time and met some nice people from Hannah's side of the family. Due to Alayna's work schedule she wasn't able to join in the fun, sadly. It's three hours each way so the family spent many hours on the road Saturday. I stopped at Sonic and got my Happy Hour diet Coke for taking to the gallery with me. There were several trucks and cars parked at Donna's when I arrived so had to park a bit down the street. I was glad to see that folks had showed up and even more glad to hear Julia had sold a couple pieces before I arrived!

*

Donna is going to offer classes in her studio so I signed up to give it a try. Maybe, just maybe, Martie will take a class or two, although she's been awfully hard to pin down these days. We'd planned to take classes with one of her former teachers starting in October but it fell through the cracks, for a number of reasons. I wasn't overly excited to drive to Mandarin on Mondays for the classes since I already have pretty full days on Monday already. Maybe Donna's classes will work out better. Donna has been briefed by my dear friends, Julia and Dee, about my inimitable style (ahem, ahem) of painting and she thinks she can work with it! More power to her! I simply cannot allow the teachers to rob me of my fun, or my joy! It was so much more fun to paint before I knew what I was doing!!!

*

When I got home again, and started to watch the football game, I made the finishing touches, I hope, on a document needed for the Owners' meeting tomorrow night at The Club. Tracy asked me to take a document used for the Board and re-write it for the Owners. I did it, managed to get it down to three pages, hopefully without losing her sentiment and message. Justin teased me, saying "you are just so busy" between the recent church stuff, Art Guild, and now the Board of Directors stuff. He said, "You got off of one Board and onto another!" I don't mind doing the word jobs, especially the newsletters.

Talk about exhausted!

Wow, what a day! Starting at 6:30 a.m. I was hauling the priced items for the church yard sale out into the parking lot and set it on tables. It was as dark as pitch out there, and often, I had no idea what was in the boxes and baskets I carried out. At first I tried keeping my car lights on so we could see what we were doing but evidently I have a safety feature which shuts them off automatically after a certain length of time. At one point we had the moon shining in the west as the sun was coming up in the east---far out!

*

Eventually we had enough light to see what we were doing and workers were busily setting stuff out on the tables. We had a great turnout for setting up and for staffing, but poor Twila was in some kinda pain with her sore shoulder and hips. I suggested she stay out side and put stuff on the tables rather than running forth and back with boxes and such. One of the younger ladies was telling how she got such wonderful relief from the overly advertised "Activon", describing it as "the bomb". Twila was going to stop and get some on her way home, since her Aleve wasn't doing the trick.

*

It was so funny when I arrived at church and started hauling stuff out--Ethel met me at the door and was sooo surprised to see me there. She said, "Kim! You're here!" When another lady saw me, Fran, she, too, was surprised and exclaimed, "You're here!" I asked her if they were taking bets on whether I'd be there this morning and she said, "Yes!" They thought that since I was there on Friday for marking items, that they'd not see me today. Well, fooled them, didn't I? They knew I had a full day today, so they were not being cruel about it, but appreciated the fact other things were going on in my life today, besides the yard sale. Most of the ladies also know I am not a fan of the sale.

*

After setting up, I met with some of the guys from the Building Committee in the back of the church where we discussed some of the financing options we have. The chairman, Mike, told me the "new" carpet and tile samples were in the kitchen so I went to check them out. One of our members' spouse is a tile installer and Cliff called to thank me for suggesting we use him, since he is giving us a fabulous price! I went in to look them over, chose the tile and then the carpet, marked them with a "dot", and that's done, ready to roll. No need to discuss with anyone, since I went with the basic color pattern I'd originally selected.

*

Some of the guys were getting busy with painting in the new classroom building so I trust they accomplished a great deal today, hopefully at least one coat applied. Shoppers were already arriving and we'd not even officially opened, with some folks attempting to block the driveway with their cars. One of the guys came to the rescue and got the cars out of the way so I could leave. When I arrived home, I saw my neighbors beginning their day, one out for his morning walk and another lady walking her dog, wearing her night gown over her slacks. I was the early bird today! My shirt was soaking wet from perspiration and it wasn't even that hot today, just from all the toting and hauling and running.....When I got upstairs I immediately laid down on my bed to rest. I didn't have to be at the Fall Festival right away so it felt good to rest for a bit before jumping in the shower.

*

Martie called me as I walking the four miles from where I had to park for the Festival and we made arrangements to get together Tuesday. We've not been able to get together between her working and being busy with other things going on, including her breaking a tooth, right in the front! Not too willing to go out and about looking like that! It was a very long walk to the booth I was tending, much more walking than I'd normally have done, especially since I was already exhausted! Arriving a bit early for my appointed time, I snooped around until I found Travis' booth and got my campaign sticker. As he pressed it onto my shoulder for me, I asked him if that's what "pressing the flesh" has come to mean!

*

Upon finding my booth, the Guild president gave me orientation so I knew how to handle the purchasing of raffle tickets, ornaments, and greeting cards, and so on. My partner was a lady named Barbara who'd I never met before but with whom I truly enjoyed spending time. And, I was firmly ensconced in my element! Just like in Home Show days, meeting and greeting people as they passed our booth, old home week! Saw some former members of my church, current ones, even Tarren's grandpa, working at the booth across from Art Guild, in the "Fair Tax" tent. It was great, great, great! Until it started to drizzle.....we had contingency plans in place for just this event, and Art Guild people came to the rescue, covering our table with plastic, moving art work under the tent, protecting anything that needed covering. Nuts! It was not a drenching shower but naturally even a little bit of rain can harm a picture or frame. Since so many folks were there and my time nearly up, I left the Art Guild booth and went to Travis' to do some time as I promised I would. Well, the rain had let up for the most part but his booth was packed with ladies. The Republican Women's group had ascended on his booth since theirs had no tent, so they were busily "manning" his booth for him. My help not being required, I got myself a funnel cake and headed back the four miles to my car.

*

Oh, it felt so delicious to be reclined on the bed, lying back to enjoy my now cold funnel cake and mess up my shirt! I watched a couple episodes of "Seinfeld" before getting ready to go help Julia. In the meantime, Justin sent me a text message telling me that if I wanted to make other plans for dinner, it would be okay with him.....What? It seems he was helping his roomie work on the structure he's going to move into and time got away. That's very nice of him to give me permission to make other plans, but the thing is, our plans were for tomorrow night, NOT Saturday. Okay, never mind! We're good for Sunday dinner as planned.

*

No football tomorrow as it's a bye week for the Jags so right from church I'll be heading back to Green Cove for Julia's show. We had dinner together tonight after hauling (more hauling!!!) the display pieces and about half her ceramics to the studio. Once more I was able to dine at Mojo's and I think Julia loved it too. She is in charge of bringing the wine for tomorrow and I reminded her that she had to get it tonight because tomorrow she wouldn't be able to buy any until after 2:00 pm. She was glad I told her, as she'd have been so embarrassed to not have any with her when she arrived. The show opens at 1:00 pm so ooops!

*

I saw one of the guys from the cemetery at Mojo's as we were leaving so I stopped to say "hi" to him as Julia went on to run some errands for tomorrow. Which brings me to now, listening to the washer run and feeling my muscles relaxing as I write. I remember something I forgot to mention Thursday: my friend, Dolly, called with a question regarding how to go about renting a car. Her daughter, born one day before Justin, is going to visit family in Phoenix and didn't know how to go about securing a rental car. I walked her through the process on Orbitz, but I think, but don't know for sure, she's not old enough to rent a car on her own yet. I haven't heard how it went since I had company coming and couldn't stay on the phone too long. It was fun guiding Kristin through the process, just another service I offer!

I can't wait for bedtime!

I can take my pulse by the veins or arteries or whatever, throbbing in the backs of my legs. Although I didn't do all that much hard work at the pricing of the Yard Sale, I still feel as if I did a marathon. Tomorrow will be no better with getting things set up before sunrise, working in the booth at the Orange Park Fall Festival and possibly doing some time in Travis' campaign booth....After that I am going to help Julia transport her ceramic pieces for an art show in Green Cove Springs. The show is actually on Sunday but we must get all set up beforehand, obviously. After the show on Sunday I am going to meet Justin for dinner as he has a gift card burning a hole in his pocket.

*

Twila and I went to dinner tonight, trying out a newer restaurant on Fleming Island called "Mojo's BBQ" . One of the ladies at my Southern Living party mentioned how wonderful the food was so we tried it out. Yesterday was the anniversary of her hubbies' death and I know the significance and blessing of having people around through these days, so off we went. Oh, and did we love it! Good ole' comfort foods in a richer environment than at a Cracker Barrel. The music and art work are sort of jazzy, perhaps bluesy better describes the atmosphere. She had the pulled pork entree and I had the chicken fried steak with real mashed potatoes and smoked corn, cut from the cob. Man, was that delicious. The onion rings were enormous but I could only eat one of them as I found the rings to have wwaayy too much pepper on them. Twila ate a few and took the rest home for her son to try. I told the waitress when she came by that I didn't like them and why, and she said that was the common remark. Some like it, some don't. Now I know not to order them again. As Twila said, this place is definitely a must-do place for us, perhaps even on Monday after Bible study, if we can get Gretchen to come this far away from Argyle!

*

Justin was here this afternoon to unhook my DVR and HD thingy for me, so Monday, I'll make my way to the Comcast place to turn them in. It will be a savings money-wise and time-wise, as I won't waste so much time in front of the box watching the recorded programs. I'm better off staying in my room and continuing to "work" at the computer and "listen" to the programs as they play through my computer. Thanks to the boxed set of "Seinfeld" I treated myself to, which comes complete with a Coffee Table Book, I will now be more productive-----I hope! Justin added a feature using my keyboard which allows me to jump forth and back to things on my monitor, so, if I need to actually see a facial expression or other scene, a mere click takes me there. There was substantial savings from Barnes and Noble using a discount coupon Justin sent me plus some "earnings" on my membership card from B & N. Reading through the Coffee Table Book allows me to 'cram' for when Paul and Emily come to challenge me in the "Seinfeld" Trivia Game!

The Palace Game Night fun

Here, in the dark, is a picture of some of the Game Night attendees at my house on Thursday evening. One of my neighbors, Hugh, took some of these photos. From his vantage point the lights reflected in the sliding glass doors so we killed them, making these shots a tad dark. From left to right are Michelle, Mustafa, me, Jessica, Ed, and Maureen. Some had left already so didn't make the photo. Jessica brought a CD with her photos from her wedding on it and we showed it on my laptop. What a glorious setting for their wedding to take place: at the Florida Yacht Club with the Jacksonville skyline in the background.

Here are Jeff and Tracy, Mustafa, and Jessica enjoying their refreshments. Some of the shots actually show games on the table besides the wine glasses and snacks!

Again, in the dark, is Jeff, Tracy, Michelle, Mustaffa, me, Jessica and Ed

Thought I'd better check in quickly.....

....before I head out for the day. It's Friday and is supposed to be glorious, temperature and weather-wise, with a high predicted of 87 degrees above zero and sunshine. What could be more perfect, in my opinion?!?!

*

Yesterday was spent on the other side of the river, supposedly beginning with breakfast at Panera with Justin. However, one of us missed our cue and got involved listening to the pundits about the debate, lost track of time, and when I went to feed the kitty...I saw the clock and said, out loud, "Oh, no! I'm supposed to be at Panera right now!" Quickly I called Justin and he was disappointed but turned around and went back home, after we agreed to meet at Victory. I hurriedly got myself ready to go and headed toward his side of town. I called Justin to see if he wanted something from McDonald's since I got over there so early and felt badly about ditching him for breakfast. He got a yogurt and I got us drinks. Justin called back to say the drive-way was blocked with heavy equipment and dirt piles and asked me to call Bonnie at church to make sure they were still having class. I called him back and said they were, we can get through, and he was right behind me! We met in his school parking lot then, and he jumped into my car, eating his yogurt on the way to church (only blocks away).

*

Once again, our Bible study was extremely interesting, tear-jerking, this time about Joseph's passing. We discussed how often there are family members who don't speak to each other for decades, often not even attending the funerals of parents for this reason, etc.

*

Pastor told a story from his own family and even he had tears in his eyes. He kept his in better than I did, mine show up brightly on my shirt! One couple had recently lost the wife's brother, whom she'd cared for in his declining days, so was touched by the lesson, too. We talked about how often, when we lose a loved one, other memories or hurts from the past are brought to mind, and sometimes people mend the rifts when faced with another person's mortality. Joseph's treatment of his brothers after their father died was a faith example we should all follow in our living, sincere forgiveness and utmost kindness. A tall order!

*

After our class, I dropped Justin off at school and then headed to the Mall again to bide my time until he was out of class. At first my thought was to go to Joe's Crab Shack but decided the Mall was more sensible to sit and read my book. I had an outdoor table seating at the Cheesecake Factory and got settled in with my book. NOT the best idea to try to eat and read, and then to be reading the portion of the book which elicited tears! I wonder what that poor waiter was thinking, since everytime he came to check on me and my food, I was wiping my eyes!

*

Oh, Judy! Wow! For those who've read The Shack, I was reading the chapter where Mack has gone through the waterfall into the hidden door and is talking with "Sophia". He hears the children laughing, turns, and sees them playing with Jesus in the lovely meadow, and here come the tears again...........He got to see his little girl again and she was in glory. You were right, Judy, I did have to hang on for dear, dear life! After I ate some of my lunch, (those who've dined with me know I never eat the whole thing), he boxed up my leftovers and I went to sit outside at Barnes and Noble. I could hardly stand it, not having a highlighter, so went inside the store to see if they had one for me to buy. Oh, yes, they did, novelty ones, about two inches tall, and were fruit scented, six flavors. I chose the grape one and started marking away in my book for whatever reason.

*

In no time I had to pack up and go pick up Justin from class. We were going to Melrose to sign up for a new place to live. He's able to move in the middle of November which entitled us to a rebate on half the rent as a "signing bonus". His present lease expires at the end of November so we'll make up the loss of two weeks time at Il Villagio with the rebate from Melrose. I'll get my "Turkish friends" lined up to move Justin from his present home into the quad he'll be sharing with three other guys. It's set up with four bedrooms with private bathrooms, common area and kitchen, and tons of amenities available. He's looking forward to it, and the cost should be about the same as what I pay now for his rent and electricity, plus he's only blocks from church!

Two of our worker bees at church, The Kelley's, ever faithful, no matter the job!

I am back home again after the pricing of items at Good Shepherd. The older ladies run circles around me and thankfully we had able bodied men to tote the boxes and such into church so we can access it quickly in the morning when we set up. Much of my time was spent on the phone with my sisters-in-law who were taking turns calling me with updates on Arno's surgery. He had the operation this a.m., using local anesthesia vs. a general which will aid in his recovery following having some length of colon removed. I told him he'll never miss it! I got to speak to him a bit before the surgery because Nancy's phone was stuck on speaker and he couldn't help but hear me! If I'd thought faster, I could have sung a hymn for him but I missed my opportunity. Caught me off-guard---nuts!

Here are more hard workers who run circles 'round me: Ethel, Ellen, Bonnie, and part of Jackie.

*We did this pricing in the new classroom building which is due to be painted tomorrow during the yard sale. Fausto, the master gardener who tended to Timmy's lemon tree, was sadly cutting down the Mexican sunflowers he'd planted along the face of the church. Someone had commented that they were too tall and wouldn't allow natural light in so chop, chop, chop. He was not happy about this, saying they'd have flowered in the next week or so and now, they are in the dumpster. Having them gone makes the church and walkway less jungle-looking but I also feel sad that Fausto feels sad.

Oh, that Kramer!

Now he's reproduced the set from the old Merv Griffin Show, rescued from a dumpster, in his apartment! Everyone who comes to his apartment now finds themselves as a "guest" on Kramer's show, complete with a co-host, orchestra music, applause and note cards.......No one can talk amongst themselves, they all have to turn and face Kramer because he's the host! I've seen outtakes from this one, but not the entire segment. Funny stuff! I am not even watching watching but merely listening as I write....

*

Earlier this a.m. I had a visitor--Christopher ran up the stairs to retrieve a Southern Living at Home catalog so Sandy and Jennifer, his mom, can look it over today. I had to get up and be bright as a penny by 7:30 pm, just to send the catalog with Jen. A bit later I had a dental appointment (I am not an anti-dentite!!) for a cleaning/check-up, which I passed with flying colors, I'll have you know! Two root canals in one year, so far, is enough for me, thank you very much. I do need all the deductions I can get but really don't want any more root canals or replace any teeth!

*

Immediately from the dentist I dashed to church for a meeting, arriving about 15 minutes early. I was certain the time was 12:15 but I guess they told me that time so I wouldn't be late! This meeting is for the feasibility study we are doing which determines if our congregation can support a grade school. We had to divide the chores to gather the info for the study, with the fellas from Synod coming back in February to assess all the information we gather. For one of the categories, person-to-person contact is required and Mike C. said, "We need someone who doesn't know a stranger" so they gave me the job. Great! Of course, I'll have helpers but I love the compliment!

*

My sister-in-law called with an update on Arno. He is going to have the surgery done sometime this week, the exact date will be determined by his medical advocate, Harv. I guess Harv was going up to the hospital this afternoon to talk with the physician, while in the meantime, Arno is living on Jello and broth. He hasn't had a decent meal since at least Saturday before he went to the ER. Poor guy! Mona and I talked for at least an hour about anything under the sun, even about Grandpa!

*

Justin is coming over to remove my DVR/HD gizmo from the family room so I can return it to Comcast, along with the computer modem. My regular cable TV is included with my condo fee so I will be Comcast-free by tomorrow! When I talked to Harv about getting rid of it, he said I'd never be able to live without it, so I am about to prove him incorrect. I hope I have time tomorrow to do that as I'll be on his side of the bridge almost all day. We start with breakfast, Bible study and then I'll take him over to UNF, leaving him at the parent pick-up line (he hates that!!!). When he is done with class, I am meeting him to look at an apartment. While he's in class, I am going to keep myself busy elsewhere, perhaps at the Town Center Mall or at Joe's on the deck, since it's supposed to be almost record breaking hot on Thursday.......Sorry for those of you who are freezing today!