Gearing up for the day

It is a lovely morning on the river, all sparkly and calm looking, save for a few small boats dotting the water. One is sailing and one is anchored, apparently fishing just outside the basin. Joanne and I keep watch for the manatees to reappear but ever since that "day of the great wind", no more sitings.

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Mom asked me about my teeth, I believe in an e-mail, so I should catch you up on this. At this time, the sensitivity has settled into the top left side of my mouth, possibly the back most and one a bit forward, which still have nerves in them. Every time I go to the dentist, it surprises me that I still have live teeth in my mouth! They only "bother" me when I apply cold directly to the area and hopes are that the sensitivity will subside. My regular cleaning appointment is scheduled for Tuesday so they can take another look then to see if the x-rays show any developments since last week. Like Judy R. said, we really depend upon our teeth for daily living, not the least of which is eating. The most use is smiling and talking so we must keep our teeth working with us, not against!

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So much for quiet on the water---a pair of jet skis just shot out from somewhere nearby and woke up the river! I miss jet skiing...I mentioned this Joanne a couple weeks ago and she said I should get one if I miss it so much. WHAT? Are you kidding me? The last thing I need is something else that costs money, needs attention, and requires assistance from a second or third party. If I really need to ride a jet ski so badly, I can rent one at Volano Beach, or simply reminisce about the good ole' days--when I was spry enough to get off and on without drawing a crowd! Justin would have a fit if he thought for one minute I was going to rent a jet ski---he is always so concerned about my re-injuring my goofy knee.

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Last night my plans sort of went south when my friend who had planned to come over to watch "Fireproof" with me accidentally fell asleep. Kelly had been with me at the scrapbooking event most of the day and had to leave a bit early to collect her son from school. She was going to come over about 6:30 after dropping her son at his grandparent's house, but fell asleep and missed the movie, and the appointment with grandpa! When she called me, she was driving like a nut to drop off her son but said she was just going to go back home and finish the nice nap she started. I had cooked some hot dogs for supper so went ahead and ate, and then went down to the sundeck to sit with the neighbors.

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All was not lost in having plans change, although I did miss out on going to the symphony with Rachel from Victory because of scrapbooking plans. She did manage to drag her hubby and bro/sis-in-law with her, so I don't feel as badly. My neighbors have put me in charge of setting up a social event when I get back from WI, either an "Insteda Dinner" function or even a cook-out on the sundeck. It went from a suggestion to a done deal in no time at all!!

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Afterwards, as night fell and folks went inside to have dinner, my neighbor, Nancy, asked me to come upstairs to look at her scrapbook. Nancy is a writer and is quite demure compared to me, and I am honored that she wants to spend time with me. Several months ago she needed to send some re-writes to her editor and was not sure how to do it, so she asked me to come help her with it. I impressed her with my skill at cut and paste (hold your applause, please!) and attaching to e-mail. She is in her mid-70's, a widow, and enjoys the topmost floor end unit facing the Navy base. Normally she hosts the Independence Day party with full view of the fireworks display on the river. Anyway, her scrapbook, made for her back in the 1930's by an eccentric aunt, features not family photos, but rather, magazine and catalog pages from this era. All handmade pages and covers, with vintage graphics detailing fashions, automobiles, foods of the day. What a trip that was, in more ways than one!

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One day last week, I got a phone call from a former co-worker at Sprint, whom I hear from every now and again. She invited me to have lunch with a group of "alumna" that gets together fairly regularly. Agnes told me they directed her to track me down and invite me specifically, so I had better come up with some good material to use at lunch Thursday! Whew! No pressure there....Most of these people I have not seen nor heard from since I left there in 1996 after Timmy was born. The one lady and I used to ride share when I lived in Middleburg, and I have seen her once since then, shopping with Mom and Lynn at Dillard's in Orange Park. Maybe the top I bought that day is what I will wear on Thursday so she remembers me!

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Joanne just came through and brightened my day: she told me my room is a mess and that I sound like my mother, cautioned me to watch out! What?? I guess my room in total could be neater, since I have an empty shoe box out and a laundry basket loaded with unfolded clothes. And my scrap booking box on the bed...not really that bad, not compared to other times. Once again this a.m. she said I need to get a jet ski, and I told her that I already wrote about that today, saying Justin would have a fit if he heard that. This is what prompted the remark that Justin and I are both like little old ladies, and that I sound like my mother! Well!

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My afternoon is full with celebrations including a wedding reception--Clay Hill-style. Hanna is having her party today in Lake Asbury, turning 6, I believe, as I do the math in my head. Tarren is her Godmother and I really wish she could be here for the birthday party! Yesterday during the scrap booking event, my phone rang so I stepped outside to talk, as well as warm up, since the house was quite cool. It was Jason W. calling from I-95, returning from the Keys, where Lisa and he honeymooned this week. Yes, honeymooned! Finally, an officially married Jason and Lisa, with the celebratory party today. He apologized for taking so long to call and hoped I would still be able to make it. Only family is invited, and a few of their friends, and Miss Kim! Jason did not mention Justin but I sent him a text message telling him about it. Jason and Justin used to work together at Rosewood when Justin was still in high school, with Jason as the chauffeur since Justin did not drive. Jimmie was their immediate boss, Jason's dad, who put up with nothing, especially when he showed up on the job site and caught Jason playing a video game instead of working! We laugh now, but not so much then....I know I am going to have a marvelous time with church family at the birthday party and heart family in Middleburg today, perhaps even getting to spend some time with Christine!

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Post post script: no sooner did I hit the Publish button and did Joanne spot the manatees in the basin....make a liar out of me!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

What a fun day I have had so far! Right off the bat this a.m. I was out the door to meet Martie in the parking lot to head over to scrapbook at a Creative Memory consultant's home. Kelly from church, who has cropped with me before, met us there since she lives in the same neighborhood. Lisa had all sort of activities lined up for us, make 'n takes, brief classes, and door prizes. She even had lunch for us, homemade paninis. So delicious, and fortunately, Kelly was willing to share mine with me as it made quite a large sandwich. We accomplished a lot, with me finishing my trip to Greece and Turkey from 2007. Last evening I spent much time and ink printing off photos from the next trip, which was to Alaska with the church family and blood family in 2007. I got a few of those matted and mounted, although I am not thrilled with the quality of the paper I used to print some of them. It was given to me as samples but does not seem like true photo quality paper.

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As always, we met many nice ladies who were also there to "work", some on their digital scrapbooks in one room where they had access to electric outlets for their laptops. Thus far I have not gotten into these type of scrapbooks but certainly will not totally rule out the option in the future, especially after seeing the amazing books that Lisa had already completed. She did one about her dad, for his 80th birthday, and it is a fantastic tribute to his life's accomplishments, not the least of which is his family.

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One lady there looked so familiar and when talking about church business with Kelly, the lady finally asked where we went to church. When we told her, she said she had been there in the past, when her friends, the Hoyers were there. Well, what do you know?! Now I remembered where I knew her from---cropping up at Victory a few years ago. She used to work at a spa on Fleming Island so we had a few interesting things to talk about. I recommended my fine massage therapist to this lady but she already knew Carol and her great skill. Do you not love this small world we live in?

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Backing up a bit, Wednesday, Justin took me to dinner at Koko's before I had to head to choir. We ate rather early because of my time crunch, with him waiting for me at Great Hang Ups. The ladies were delighted to see him, having not for some time. Our meal was delicious, of course, and I had to eat 'n run, with him making plans to come over Thursday to spot clean the rugs after Lynx. Choir was just a hoot, truly was, with one of our newer members joining the fun. Tina is a most welcome soprano, giving our few number a better voice balance. Kristi is a skilled and talented soprano who rejoined the choir after finishing her season with the Orange Park Chorale. So now with Tina, we have three strong higher voices to counter the altos which formerly had us outnumbered. Brian is our sole men's voice unless we get a pinch hitter, or singer, as the case might be, on Sunday mornings. Too bad our season is coming to a close soon....such great times singing the Lord's praises! Love laughing and singing with Kathy B. and Suzanne!!!!

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Justin did come on Thursday but only to hang out because the carpet cleaner was not available for him to use right now. I was not sure a home clean machine was right for the Turkish carpet anyway so I may just call the professionals I have used in the past. Instead he bagged up the retired cat box and its contents to haul down to the dumpster. That is just about the end of the cat residue from my house, at least until I get the carpets cleaned....

Whew! Takin' a break...

....after a full day! For some reason, I decided to get showered and dressed immediately when I got up, and am so glad I did. Not long after sitting down at my desk did my phone ring, Martie calling from the road. She had a follow-up mammogram right off the bat this a.m. (she would not allow me to accompany her to the appointment) and she called with good news. Merely tissue making a dark spot on the original mammogram, all clear! Whoo hoo! Off we went to celebrate at Cracker Barrel, having only met there yesterday with Chris for lunch. That was where she was close to when calling so she just pulled in and got us a table.

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Since I was going to have lunch at the Art Guild Board meeting later, I ate light, trying a restaurant version of biscuits 'n gravy. Joanne's homemade sausage gravy was far superior to this, and I only ate one half of a biscuit. Martie took the rest home for Ernie so nothing went to waste. We thanked the Lord for sparing her from the dreaded cancer or other maladies which could have caused her a problem. Such great news!

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After getting back home, I worked for a bit on the newsletter, in violation of my new discipline plan, until it was time to leave for the meeting. I had been to Carolyn's once before but was not 100% sure where the house was located. Extra driving time was allowed to locate her home and then find room to park. Carolyn lives in my old stomping ground on Fleming Island and it was sort of cool to drive past so many homes I had a hand in building. We talked a bit about the Architectural Review Board and restrictions, which many who did not live in EH found oppressive. I assured them people are well aware of what they are getting into when building in EH, that it is the deed restrictions and governance that gives this community its splendor and quality...sounds like I still work there, doesn't it??

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Because our hostess was feeding us, our meeting took a tad longer than normal. She was baking some of our menu and somehow or another the oven got turned off, which caused for some obvious delays....Well worth the wait, however, because she served a chicken fettuccine casserole, a veggie casserole which was just amazing, yes, amazing, and fruit salad made with whipped cream and peach yogurt. Oh, my! For dessert she made bread pudding which I did not have. I had a sugar cookie with my lunch so no room left for bread pudding!

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In a couple weeks Carolyn is heading to Italy with her sister to attend a cooking class in Cortona! I am so jealous! How I would like to go, too, but certainly NOT to a cooking class. Cortona is the town where Francis Mayes settled down in real life and her book and in the movie, "Under the Tuscan Sun". The area, Tuscany, is so gorgeous, I even considered moving there myself before the bottom fell out of the market. A friend of mine whose hubby is from Italy said that non-citizens are not obligated for income taxes there. They are thinking about moving there, too, dividing their time between USA and Italy, half a year each place. Not sure how that works out for their sons and school but certainly they have considered all that. I vacillated between Italy and Greece for my retirement plans, thinking Greece is my favorite but the foods not as appealing and no real access to "my" church. Italy has much better food and more possibility to be served by at least a chaplain every so often. A moot point now, of course, since it appears I am staying put for awhile. But it sure was fun talking about Amalfi again today!

Thank you, Lord, for easing my pain!

I must write in between episodes of concentration-robbing mouth discomfort. Something in my teeth is acting up again, and why not? It has been a year, well, nearly, since my last root canal! Fortunately my dentist was able to x-ray me yesterday and found nothing amiss, but as she said, it might be too soon. Anyone who knows me knows I am keenly aware of my teeth and their antics, being no stranger to the dental chair. If memory serves, and x-rays could confirm, I am at 17 root canals in my last 40 years....hence, the genuinely 'million dollar smile'!

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My friend, Julia, wrote me yesterday to report she needed to take Cipro, a powerful antibiotic, for a kidney infection and told me she got it from Publix, FREE! Well, blow me down! Sure enough, when I went to get my penicillin scrip filled, it was free. Cool! Needless to say, it would take 15 minutes for it be ready for pick-up so: "do you have some other shopping to do?"...like someone is going to say "no"? I did manage to pick up a few things to use at home, like garbage bags, which we go through like nuts in our house. That is the problem with eating at home--garbage is produced in the kitchen! To say nothing of the foam boxes from the dining places that take up space in the cans. Joanne, an aside, had trouble sleeping last night so she was cooking pasta at 3:00 a.m.!! I never heard a thing, thankfully.

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The river is gorgeous this morning, with boats dotting the water, small ones, evidently fishing as they appear to be stationary. Shore birds are strolling around on the exposed yukky-looking sandbar which appears when the water level is low, pecking at unseen insects or fish. The other night I saw a raccoon scooting forth and back on "dry land" from our dumpster area to the island. My neighbor, Pat, said our BOD was contacted by the condo building next door, cautioning against feeding these "near-rodents" because they are getting too familiar and coming up the stairs at The Capri. That would certainly be unacceptable, I would freak if I opened my door to be met by a raccoon. They may be rabid but most likely diseased or equally filthy in some way. The 'coons might be fun to watch and all that, but I really do not want to meet them up close and personal!

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In between x-rays and grocery shopping, or non-grocery shopping, I did manage to work on the newsletter for church. I am yet waiting for information from the preschool and Lutheran Pioneers. Ever the multi-tasker, I washed the blankets from the end of my bed where Lynx used to lie. Joanne put them in the dryer and this a.m. when I went to get them out, I was greeted with a giant handful of lint! Mostly cat hair! And it is not as though these blankets are not washed regularly, either. Right now my room is trashed because the bed is stripped, washer doing its thing with my sheets and pillow cases. Unfortunately, I had to unpile my bed and stack my stacks elsewhere, precariously balanced on the bench, floor, or dresser top. One false move, and whoooosh!, papers everywhere!

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This Sunday is New Member Sunday where our most recent members are officially greeted with a cake and light refreshment social after church. When we first started to do this, I had served hot dogs (prepared by Rick P.) and potato chips with the cake, then pared down to pizza and cake, and now, just cake! This quarter, we have three new adult members and one infant, but we have decided to wait until the baby's mom finishes her instruction class and welcoming them as a pair!

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Sunday is also our Mother/Daughter Spring Fling, sponsored by the Ladies' Group. As of Monday night, Janet said there were 60 people coming from our church, plus two other area Lutheran churches! Judy J. is going to serve as my mom that day. I have purchased lady fingers and other "gourmet" cookies as the committee asked for finger-style desserts so no silverware is required. There is going to be a fashion show, comical in nature, but I won't give it away for those who are not familiar. I will tell you this much---Janet had to stop after our dinner Monday night to pick up assorted food wrappers from McDonald's, to use in the fashion show! I could come dressed as a whopper...........

Man, it is windy out there again!

Not quite like it was a couple weeks ago when the winds were clocked at 71 mph...Nowhere near THAT wild but enough so that all the papers blew off the table in the river room where Joanne had been busily working last night. Once gathered, I weighted the tossed pages with the binoculars. Finally I had to go close the doors because the decorative pane hanging in this room was just going bang bang bang against the wall, something which could not be tolerated for very long.

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This morning was Bible study and then Longhorn, with a total of 10 people in attendance, so much for my wondering if we were even going to go! Gretchen had a birthday recently so the wait staff brought out a dish of ice cream with chocolate on it, sang and clapped, and she turned every shade of red. Then I led our little group with "Happy Birthday" and made her redder yet. But she also loved it! Sorry this is not more clear, but since I took it with my phone, that is the best I can do! See Darwin, Ethel, Gretchen, and Bonnie all having a good laugh over the birthday treat!

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I nursed my last can of soda during Bible study, "Come, Worship Christ". We had the real treat of seeing and hearing Pete sing on the video tape, which was moving enough, but then the choir was singing, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives"...oh, my! Our discussion took us through selected hymns which clearly detail what the Lord has done for us, spelling out His creation, the gifts He gives us, the things done for us, especially our salvation. One of the hymns he mentioned was "In Christ Alone", a newer hymn which so perfectly sums up the work of the Lord.

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We turned in the Bible to Philippians 4: 8 (Linda!!!), which is my funeral chapter, and read this Bible passage that helped me get through a lot of stuff before and after Timmy died. It served to help steer my mind away from what was happening around me, redirect toward more uplifting thoughts. Next, the lesson took us through how the melody and tone of a hymn or song move us, such as elevator music, shopping music, on-hold music, Christmas songs, etc.

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Pastor went to the boom box and asked us to listen to an unnamed hymn, and indicate how or if it moved us....Two notes and I knew what it was, to which I piped, "You're killing me here...." almost without thinking. Yes, he played "Jerusalem, the Golden"....." "forever and forever are clad in robes of white. Jesus, in mercy bring us to that dear land of rest..." I commented that we about conducted my funeral today with seeing and hearing Pete Prange, the Bible reading, "In Christ Alone" and now "Jerusalem, the Golden"! Sniffle, sniffle....

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"Jerusalem..." is playing right now as I write, because it has been rattling around in my head ever since he played the snippet during Bible study. Most of the people said they could not really understand the words but did notice the dynamics of the piece, how it begins softly and crescendos with the addition of horns and louder singing, "Forever and forever are clad in robes in white"...Pastor asked us what the hymn made us think about, and since the others had problems with the words, I offered my response (surprise surprise!) that it is a picture of heaven and what we long for. "The shout of them that triumph, the song of them that feast..." If memory serves, when Pete and Tarren played this for me the first time on his laptop, the words were not so clear, and I fear that the initial impact was lost on me. Now, of course, it's a whole 'nother story. The best story!

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My phone was active during Bible study and in the restaurant, and I caught up on the calls on the way home. My dear friend, Judy, called from MN with her excited report on the weekend WELS Women's Retreat in Stillwater. She is pumped and inspired by the wonderful messages she heard, the hymns she sang, and people she was with. She is trying to think of ways to lure me up there for a retreat, even asking me later via e-mail if I would ever consider being a speaker at one of the sessions. Certainly much much consideration would need to be given to this idea, since much expository information would need to be shared. Would I be up to it? Sure! Would I get through it? No promises there!! Makes me think I should be working on my book, getting it wrapped up, as it were, to help me get wrapped up, too!

I am nearly in violation of my discipline...

.........so have to write quickly! This a.m. is Bible study and probably lunch at Longhorn. The reason I say "probably" is because we have a Ladies' Group dinner social tonight and some people do not like to eat out more than once a day. I know, I know, people are quirky sometimes...

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Our dinner is at Up the Creek, a rustic-looking restaurant in OakLeaf, just up the road from church. This area is being developed tremendously, or at least it was before the housing slump. Or thump, as the case might be. When we were first looking for areas to build in when moving here 20 years ago, our partners' friend, Al, steered us away from Argyle, saying it was going nowhere. Well, Al??? What do you say now????

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The movie Joanne and I saw yesterday was fantastic and I really recommend it. "The Soloist" is a movie based upon a real-life situation, where a newspaper writer has a chance meeting with a schizophrenic musician, beneath a statue of Beethoven, of all things. The writer manages to get the guy's name and tracks his history backward to determine what happened that this genius musician ended up living on the streets in LA. The movie exposes or shows the underside of the way some live as street people, the ugliness and sense of hopelessness mentally ill people experience. But the beauty is weighed against the ugliness, the writer's words expressing the unheard music of his protege.

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Memorable thoughts from the movie include the musician, Nathaniel, describing the flapping wings of the pigeons as they fly off as sounding like applause. That struck me. At one point, the writer, Steve, managed to get a private seating to hear the symphony rehearse so Nathaniel and he could listen without him being freaked out. We "watch" the music through Nathaniel's eyes, the colors swinging and swooping behind closed eyes, much like the colors you see when your eyes are shut. He was obviously tranformed, and served to transform others at the safe house where his donated cello was stored. His music soothed the savage breast around the facility. Steve did not want to care about or for Nathaniel, starting out as "only a story" but then was sucked into his life and and and....I won't give the whole thing away before you all go see it!

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Afterward, we met Twila and Jean at Mojo's BBQ for a wonderful dinner. They had been at the new theater with us, only saw a different movie, "Earth". Their movie began 15 minutes after ours so the timing was just right. We liked the new theater on Fleming Island although all four of us were plenty cold. Joanne and I could not figure out how to lift the arm rests but the nice young man said they do go up if you pull really hard. Because they are new, they don't operate quite freely yet. It cost twice as much for popcorn and soda than for admission, though, and I ended up bringing 3/4 of the popcorn home with me...too expensive to waste!

The weekend went by quickly

Here it is, Sunday night already. Did I sleep it away or what? No, I was plenty occupied, the days simply went by so quickly. My previous posting elicited such a great response comment-wise and I sooooooooo greatly appreciate the outpouring of concern and condolences. Just do not make me do that too often in order to get comments! That was enough drama to last me a good while!

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Yesterday, after having Lynx put to sleep, I went on down the road to help Kris in her booth at the St. Margaret's Fair. The Art Guild also had a booth there with sufficient staffing so Kris and I held court on the opposite side of the parking lot. The weather was gorgeous all day, and I kept moving my chair further out of the tent and into the sunlight. On the way to Fleming Island I stopped to get a Route 44 from Sonic plus a plain hot dog since I had not eaten anything that a.m., with all the cat business and such. Kris walked down to get some bbq while I tended the booth. Oh, it smelled so wonderful, the smoker belching out the aroma of pork butt being roasted...mmmm......

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When she came back, I took my turn strolling the grounds, stepped into the new church to use the bathroom and then checked out a booth two down for ours. They had leather purses on display, one of which was motioning to me...purple leather! Sort of patchworky-looking but primarily purple. And one sale at that! She was having a sale, 20% off all purchases so I came away with a lovely purse, for which I was in the market, as Justin would tell you, and saved money in the process. Since I won't be going to Florence any time soon, I had to give in and buy one 'round these parts instead. A purse is a very personal purchase, it has to be just right....being purple does not hurt either!

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After a certain point, I told Kris I had to get going since I still had to clean at church that afternoon. She thanked me for keeping her company, so she didn't have to sit alone or leave her booth unattended for bathroom breaks, etc. It was my pleasure to do so, and I told her this. Kris then commented that she appreciated having me to herself for awhile, instead of having to "share" me with Dee and Julia. Sometimes people surprise me and that comment certainly did. It stinks to be me!

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After vacuum cleaning the church, I was totally kaput so I rested when getting home rather than work on the newsletter as originally planned. What I had not planned on was having to have my cat put to sleep, making all other bets off for the day. After my rest I got busy with a few things, like watching TV or something until it was time to go join the Shelf Sitters on the 2nd floor deck. The ladies were still trying to make a decision on the paint and trim colors for the building, which I politely abstained being involved in. A couple reasons for not wanting to help was #1: I like brighter colors than the ones they were leaning toward, and #2: I have done that so much in my life already, including for our new classroom building at church, that I will just pass this time. It is too big a decision to mess up with, you know?

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Joanne came home later, having already eaten dinner. She asked me if I had made something for supper and I said I had. Somehow or another, I had gotten ready for bed and left all my food out on the counter! I never do that, never make myself dinner and never leave it out! It is rare that I cook something and then to leave it out was simply senile of me. She took care of it so I didn't have to come out, but then came to tell me news which required me to stay seated: her father, an athiest, asked if he could attend church with her today!!! Joanne was right, I did need to sit down for this one! And he did join her for worship this a.m. and to that I can only say, "Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit!"