"Life is about the messy bits..."

This photo was taken in 2006 by Justin when we traveled to Italy, Greece, Monacco, and points in between for his graduation trip. This is a field of sunflowers outside of Florence (Livorno) on our way to buy my beautiful chandelier! I am a woman truly outstanding in my field.....
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The title line I used was from the movie I saw with Twila and Judy J. yesterday called "Letters to Juliette". Oh, my goodness, the scenery!!! It begins in New York City and I said out loud, "I love New York!" and then the action moved to Rome and again, I said out loud, "I love Rome...". And then Tuscany, with its incredible scenery and cityscapes, and all I could do then was mourn. I am glad Twila was there with me because we saw this same scenery together when we were there in 2005. All the photos you may have seen of this region, the paintings, or the movies are not exaggerations at all, it IS just that beautiful. Like the movie, "Under the Tuscan Sun" which also takes place in obviously, Tuscany, with the ancient structures and bell towers and vineyards and olive groves and sun flowers.....

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In the movie, an elderly widow, if 65 is considered elderly, let me change that to older woman, is in search of her long-lost love from 50 years ago. She had written a letter to Juliette, of Romeo fame, and it was found by an American writer on vacation in Verona, who replied to the letter. "Clare" talked her grandson into bringing her from England back to Italy to find her Lorenzo and the three of them join forces to make her heart happy. The grandson is a rather unwilling participant in all this and behaves badly at first but eventually softens with all the talk about true love and lost ones. That is where the title line comes from, the sage Clare, in setting her grandson straight regarding life and love, it is all about the 'messy bits'!

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After the movie, which had a happy ending, we all three had to use the bathroom. Twila looked in the mirror and said, "It is good to come out of a movie and not look like heck..." since we often leave in tears after such a movie. She brought up The Bucket List and yes, that was such a rough ride, we should have had bags for our heads! It did not stop us from going to dinner at TGIF after The Bucket List, though! This time, although occasionally a tear eliciter, we looked fine and went over to Mellow Mushroom to dine el fresco. With all that delicious looking food in the movie, we wanted something Italian so we shared an order of bruschetta. My meal was the half-portion BLT on French bread (we can pretend it was Italian...). I was home again just before 8:00 so joined the gang on the sundeck for a bit. Jessica, Travis, and the new baby were out there as well as others.

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Around 8:30 pm the people started going in to eat dinner so I came in to watch "Selling New York". Wouldn't you know it but the Realtors were showing New York brownstones in this segment. Justin and I had just discussed brownstones at lunch that day so I sent him a text message to tell him about the program. He asked what the sale prices were and the one brownstone, which was multi-family, was going for just over $2 million dollars. They were all about the same width of 20 feet but sure looked wider on TV, even the agent made that remark. My bedroom is 16 feet wide so four feet more....I don't know, it sure seems as though those houses were wider than that. Guess I will have to go see for myself, or ourselves!

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One of Justin's favorite topics is winning the lottery, and all the things he wants to use his winnings for. He has even calculated the taxes he would have to pay and then begins the divvying thereof. Justin said if he won he could buy me colonoscopies, and I cannot thank him enough! He knows I am upset about all that mess and wants to make it nice for me. He said he would also pay my taxes, income and real estate, which makes me smile broadly. Perhaps I should buy such a ticket, the 'tax on the poor', as Neal Boortz refers to the lottery. Justin used to want to buy Good Shepherd a pipe organ but Pete told him he would also have to find someone to play it! Not easy to do any more, could possibly be extinct ability. Justin wants to make sure his cousin, Lisa, has central air conditioning and a security system in her home so the boys and she are safe and cool/warm. Soon it will be her and the children, since we do not yet know if the next baby is a girl or boy. Yesterday he said he wants to help his alma mater, St. Johns CDS, with their building project which is a million dollars behind, even suggesting that he could buy the entire school! I suggested he establish funds at the two churches to help people with their utility bills and he said, "Well, that's a given...." I do hope he wins!

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Bible study was grand yesterday, too, discussing how our baptism clothes us in the white robe of righteousness. One recurring passage was about Christ becoming righteousness for us. What a wonderful comfort that is, our sins are cast away, washed away, and we are His! At the end of the class I told the story of when Justin's great-aunt, Dora, died many years ago. His father and I were crying and went into his bedroom to tell him the news. Justin asked us why we were crying---Dora was wearing a beautiful white robe in heaven! From the mouths of babes! At Victory this Sunday two more kids are being baptized, coming as a result of their preschool program, one a 5 year-old and her 13 year-old stepsister. Let the heavens rejoice! Get those white robes ready!

Let's take Lori and David viral!

This article was written about my sister and brother-in-law in Holmen, WI. Celebs!!!

Holmen concert series brings music out of bars, into garage

By: briana.rupel@secondsupper.com

People who call the Coulee Region home are no strangers to live music. In fact, throw a dart at a map of local bars on any given day of the week, and it's a near-guarantee that you'll find something aurally pleasing: a groovy blues show at Nighthawk's, a foot-stompin' jam session at The Popcorn, or a smooth jazz set at Bodega. Since January 2009, a new venue has been added to this proverbial map; a charming house snuggled up against the bluffs in northern Holmen, where Dave Schipper and his wife, Lori, invite nationally touring musicians to play a handful of house concerts a year, right in their living room. Pull into the driveway, and you're likely to find Dave kicked back on his porch, strumming on an acoustic guitar and occasionally taking a sip out of a glass of wine. A longtime music-lover (the guy has over 3,000 albums on vinyl) and musician himself, Dave stumbled into the house concert scene almost unintentionally through social networking sites. "I got on MySpace mainly to connect with other musicians because my hope and desire was to someday be covered as a songwriter," he explains. Meanwhile, a folk-singing friend of the Schippers was trying to raise money for a church trip to South America. When asked if they would be up for hosting a concert at their house as a fundraiser, the couple was enthusiastic to help. "I've always loved music," Dave states, reminiscing about discovering hidden gems at the music store while growing up in Manitowoc and religiously attending countless blues and folk festivals throughout the years. "So," he continues, "it was just kind of in my background. We said, 'Oh yeah, we could do this!'" Their old two-car garage, which had been beautifully transformed into a cozy great room, was now set up for a string of concerts more intimate than you'd find at any bar. A couple of cushy couches are pushed back against a wall to make room for up to 40 chairs, which are lined up spaciously along the plush carpet. Microphones are set up in a corner for the musicians, with an expansive shelved book collection as an unintentional backdrop. Also standing tall in a couple of different corners are two large speakers and a mixer, which Dave stresses is an absolute necessity. "It doesn't make sense not to have a sound system," he explains. "Without the sound, you can't just sit back and have an experience. With the sound, the whole room is full ... you don't have to stare and say, 'What are they saying?!'." With the scene set, what followed was a string of successful bookings, including Heather Waters, a self-described indie, ambient folk singer who now resides in California. "She came here and just filled the room with this really kind of gutsy country voice," Dave gushes. "After that, [the concert series] just cascaded." Now, the Schippers host around four concerts a year. The format is so low key, almost endearingly so, in that people who wish to attend a show simply place a call to the Schippers' home to make a reservation, a necessity only due to the capacity of the room. There's often some kind of homemade cookies and snacks — if not a full-on potluck dinner — on the table, and you're free to bring a bottle of wine or a six-pack of your favorite beer. Dave is also adamant about pointing out the fact that the whole experience is essentially free, albeit a $10 suggested donation for expenses. "I don't make any money on this," he says. "I'm not gonna collect tickets, I can't sell you liquor when you come in, it's B.Y.O.B...it's just a party!" Dave's main motivation, then, is solely for a more profound musical experience: hearing artists for the first time, and sharing that excitement with the other like-minded people in an intimate audience. "What do I get out of this thing," he asks, smiling. "I import [the concert] and I have a copy of it. It's the proverbial bootleg! Live music, clean as can be, and I get a great mix." Still, one finds themselves wondering: Why a house concert? Why would I drive out to a some guy's house, sit on his couch and listen to music among strangers? "Somebody asked me once," Dave begins, chuckling, "'Why would you ever open up your house to strangers?!' You finally end up saying that they're really not strangers ultimately, because they like the same music. They wouldn't be coming if they didn't like the music." The venue the Schippers have created is, simply put, a beautiful place to listen to music. "It's probably one of the better listening rooms that you'll ever get because, number one, everyone's attentive," Dave explains. Without the background din of the bars — or even a busy cafe — the experience of a house concert promises to be deliciously different than what you're used to, aesthetically as well as musically. "Some [musicians] are gonna be bluesy, some celtic, some country or bluegrass," Dave explains. "If you're a person who goes for the eclectic, just come and listen. If not, pick a show you'd like and come find out about it!" For info about the shows check out Dave's blog: www.bluffviewconcerts.blogspot.com

It's over!

I am dog tired as this whole ritual totally wore me out! Even though I did manage to sleep during the night, I did have to get up a couple times to go potty. It was funny that I was so achy, even having foot/toe cramps last night. Likely because of the electrolytes being out of whack or something. I really was not all that hungry and so far today I had some broth and an ice cream bar. It was encouraged to not eat wildly after getting home. Later I might have some of my meat loaf leftover from Cracker Barrel.

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The worst part of this whole thing did not turn out to be the prep after all, but rather the horrible news that the stupid insurance I bought on-line will not cover my procedure. They would not begin the processing of my paperwork today until I made a deposit toward the cost of the test. Guess my new bedroom floor can wait. This news did not sit well with me, and no one would have recognized me today. Guess I can never play poker because my face evidently says it all. Besides all that drama, I was quite weak from my prepping and such and so wanted to lay down somewhere to sleep. At one point a very handsome young man in scrubs came through the lobby where Martie and I were waiting. That perked me up, and Martie said there was nothing wrong with admiring a handsome face. Well, he turned out to be my anesthesiologist and was very very kind and caring. I told them all my sad story about the insurance and the nice doctor, Michelle, said she was going to see what she could do to help me out with the insurance. And then I went into that lovely rest....

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When I 'came to' in the recovery area, I felt like I was talking out loud about Martie, but the nurses told me I was not talking out loud. It must have been a dream and I was telling them how much Martie meant to me and she is my best friend.....So, who was I talking to?? I could hear the nurses at their station talking but since my eyes were closed, I thought they were with me behind the curtain. They probably see it all, in more ways than one!! My test was all clear, except for some age-related 'pockets' in my intestines. Oh, now what??!! Nothing to be concerned about at all, according to the doctor, but she recommended introducing fiber to my diet. Nuts and twigs for me. Time to make some changes. Using sun screen, drinking water, and eating nuts 'n twigs. Again, no one would recognize me!

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Martie stayed with me a couple hours after we got home this afternoon. I was very much my old self by this time only still sleepy. While we were sitting in the family room my phone rang. A while back, this spring, I met some ladies at the cemetery, one who is married to our former superintendent, Scotty. One of the ladies, Helen, had asked for my phone number and today, she called me! She is going to come over one day next week to see my place and then we might do lunch or something. She might bring her sister with her, too. I am also getting together with a lady and her daughter whom I met on the cruise to the Mediterranean in 2007. They are coming to Florida for a vacation next week, coming from St. Louis, and we are making plans to get together for dinner or something. How exciting is that??!!

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Well, my tummy is growling good now and I hope it is from hunger and not more activity. The nurse who was discharging me said I could eat normally but should avoid fried or greasy foods. I asked, "Which is it? Eat normally or avoid the fried foods?" Like Martie and I discussed, it is time to make some changes in our lives so we don't have to go through these things any more!

Oooh, it is going to be a fun day today!

This photo was taken on the sundeck Sunday evening as we enjoyed Happy Hour. From left is Hugh, Rick, Maureen, me, and 'Max', with his wife, Michelle, being the photographer, using Rick's phone as a camera. I want a phone like this because the camera made me look taller!

The great fun this afternoon and evening will be the prep for my kaleidoscope test tomorrow, with some questions on my part remaining about the prep. My sister said she was allowed to drink cola while prepping but another person said her spouse could not have carbonation or cola. My paperwork indicates yes to coffee and tea with no milk added to it, and also says I can have 7-Up or ginger ale. Now, it would seem to me, ever looking for that loophole, that Diet Coke would be considered clear liquid. Naturally I do not want to do anything to compromise the success of my test so I am now awaiting a pre-proceedure call from the nurse and will ask her about it. Justin had originally planned to be my driver and 'care-giver' after the test but had to back out. He said he might have to do some prepping himself for beginning a build-out in the office building and asked if I could get someone else to be my driver. Dee assures me I will be just fine when I leave the test, coherent and all that, but the paperwork suggests having someone stay the rest of the day 'just in case'. So, Martie, who had offered already last Friday to help me out, has stepped up to the plate for me.

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I just had the most delightful conversation with the pre-pro nurse, Jennifer, and I was called every name in the book by her!! "Sweet Pea", "Honey girl", "Sugar"....and so on. She was not a woman of color, simply a good Southern gal. She said talking to me just made her day so we walk away unscathed. She described herself as looking somewhat like me only with bleached blonde hair, but 'not whorishly blonde', which I found most amusing. We shared several laughs, especially when I told her about wearing my swimsuit in public, making sure to get a tan, because Linda J. told me bread dough looks so much better after it's baked....She said she might request to be my nurse tomorrow but she cannot guarantee that because she works wherever they are short----and I told her that was because she WAS short. I hope I get her because I know even a colonoscopy can be a good time. Also told her how my computer spell checker does not recognize the word and wants to call it a kaleidoscope instead. She says they see all sorts of colors and shapes, but I told her in no uncertain terms that I don't want to see it, put me out and tell me later about the colors! Hopefully, God-willing, there will be nothing of note and no colors that do not belong there! The best news, however, was that I can drink my Diet Coke today but nothing after midnight, since my test is so late in the day, 1:00 pm, nothing should remain in my system and it might forestall the caffeine headache.

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At first I had thought about not going to the kindergarten today since I am on clear liquids but since I do not begin the actual prep until 2:00 pm, it would be okay. Tonight I will miss Bible study but that is okay too, I have the homework I could work on this afternoon while I am prepping. Ever the multitasker! Something funny took place on Sunday after church which I forgot to mention---the Council and Elders were asked to meet briefly to address a couple matters not covered at their recent meeting. They gathered near the mailboxes in the doorway to the breezeway (not the best idea, if you ask me) so I had to wait to put the unused church bulletins in the mailboxes of those not in worship. You know it's a bad day when the church council meets and you hear your name bandied about!!!! It was good 'name dropping' though as it turned out I was authorized to order a second set of the same banners for the preschool and anniversary as our uprights will be modified to make a V-shape for more visibility from the road.

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After the meeting as I was heading to my car, I noticed the broken curbing around the flower bed in the parking lot had been repaired, a hole in the lot filled-in with asphalt, and the giant dirt/rock pile left in the middle of the parking area was removed. I was blown away and thanked Lonnie and Renee until I was nearly in tears!!! I had told Lonnie via e-mail that he if he wanted me to, I would make phone calls to get help with those projects but his wife and he, both quite ambitious folks, just tackled it on Saturday and I rejoice!!!!! I rejoice!!!!

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Yesterday I went to Wal*Mart to get my supplies for today's activities, but did not get any popcicles. I am not sure I would even like a non-colored flavor, certainly not the banana ones. Made a bowl of lemon Jell-o although Judy J. told me last night that she often had it ready to go and never touched it. So, one box is made up...really, if I make and it do not eat it, so what? I will make another bowlful. The price of 79 cents is not so bad, and I do have some Cool-Whip to use for after the test which would dress up the blandness of the flavor, right? Judy and I went to Cracker Barrel last night for our 'last suppers' as she is having a test today. Tomorrow she is taking some of our members to the airport so she was not asked to be my driver, although she would have leapt at the opportunity. She is all about it, marks other people's appointments on her personal calendar, my little Marine is downright militant about kaleidoscopes!

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This morning I dreamed that we had manatees in our swimming pool here at The Palace and how in the world they got there, no one could figure out. Large ones, babies, and even some that looked like whales, and we were all freely swimming with them. Thankfully I do not have a black swimsuit or I would have to throw it out! Mine are as brightly colored as I can find so no one will think my dream has come true!

"Vandelay Industries...."

One of my favorite episodes of "Seinfeld" is on right now, sadly, only the first half will be shown tonight. The first time I saw it was in the living room at Prange's house in Morton Grove, the episode called "The Boyfriend". I call it "The Second Spitter" because of an event that takes place in the show. The height of humor rolled into this two-parter. "When you gonna see the baybee?" "The immutable laws of physics contradict the entire premise of your account..." Oh, man, this is so darn funny! It sounds more like the conspiracy theories around the Kennedy assassination, which is what they were 'shooting' for. "Latex. What do I say about it? I'm going to hire you as my latex salesman? I don't think so...." George tried to pass Jerry off as a latex manufacturer in order to extend his unemployment...You have to watch it!!!

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We are having yet more rain, the second storm today. Judy J. reported over 4" in her rain gauge, and when she picked me up for dinner, it was raining again! At this moment I can hear thunder but it seems as though the rain has ended. Just to be sure and safe, I am keeping the sliding door closed tonight but it is plenty cool in here right now. It is presently only 77 out there and quite gloomy looking. I wish it would hurry up and do something like really storm, or it could wait until bedtime when it's really good for sleeping. One of the ladies at lunch mentioned how she likes to sleep during a storm, finds it calming to sleep in the thunder! Me, too! It seems in our huge downpour this a.m. that no leaking took place in my unit, no water running down the walls from above my condo. Perhaps all the sealing, patching, caulking, and painting last year might have taken care of it...Oooh, just saw a flash of lightning, this could get exciting!!!

Another Justinism

As I laid here this morning, I happened to think about another funny quip uttered by Justin. Years ago, when Timmy was still a babe in arms, our yet intact family was joining Marian and Biff for a mini-vacation in the Orlando area. These were some of my in-laws from south Florida and they did not want to leave their dog at home. So, Marian took care of the reservations and found a place where we could stay and have a dog in their room. When we pulled up to the Super 8 or whatever the name of the place was and parked the car outside the door to the room, from the backseat came the question, "What? No valet???""

The end of a perfect day

Well, nearly perfect. The weather was gorgeous today and in fact, right this minute, the most lovely of all breezes is blowing through, making my wind chimes play music. They are supposedly to play Pachelbel's Canon in D but I cannot figure it out from what I am hearing. Other beautiful music heard today was "Jerusalem, the Golden" as played by Kathy B. and somehow I managed to sing much of it, periodically sobbing. Man, I just can't do it without leaking tears, those pictures the hymn writer used to describe heaven. And the sermon text about how there are no tears in heaven...powerful readings today. We also sang two hymns from the Supplement during holy communion, one especially perfect for the sermon text about the marriage feast of the Lamb.

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Gretchen and I were greeters and we had two groups of visitors from WI with us today. One group of six were from Lake Mills and another couple was from Racine, and their daughter-in-law's parents live in Manitowoc!! Gotta love the WELS! We had a prayer for Terri T.'s son, Christopher, who is graduating this week. She was a wreck from the hymns today, too, and all the other things going on in her life. After church she came up to Gretchen and me to ask us to lunch. Sure! Originally I was supposed to be taking our member, Clara, home from church but she was not there today so off I went to lunch. You will never guess what I ordered for my meal----fish! The others raved about the delicious pollack served at this place called 'Sam's', right across from Moosehaven. It really was good, with me eating nearly all of it.

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This afternoon I passed up the invitation to go to the movies with Terri and her daughter to just sit around at home. Yup, that's right! I got myself situated in the family room and watched some programs on my laptop and vegged out. At one point I used the hall bath and picked up my book about friends that Martie had given me. One little section piqued me and I will write it here: Friendship is...a welcome visit! It is making time in a busy life to show that "Yes, time with you is important to me!" The pleasure of your company is a many sided affair. It includes the pleasure of seeing you, the pleasure of hearing your voice, the drama watching your actions, your likes and dislikes and adventures, the pleasure of hunting you up in your haunts, and the delicate flattery we feel when you hunt us up in ours! Warner. "Friendship increases in visiting friends" Unknown. How appropriate since Linda J. and I were 'chatting' and planning Lynn's and her next visit down here. No weeds choking my path! Emerson

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The time spent this evening on the sun deck was also a delight. At first it was only Rick and me until Michelle and Max came out to sit. They were thinking we should sit in at Hugh's because it was so hot but we talked them all into coming outside to enjoy the breeze. It was not that hot out but Maureen seemed to think it was. She changed her mind. Rick is a commander at NAS Jax and told how he recently had to attend the funeral service of a man in his command who was killed in a car accident after the Fernandina Shrimp Festival. He told how he presented the flag to the widow and her 3 year old daughter which was just heart-wrenching to hear. I am certainly glad it was him who represented the Navy to this family. How sad for all...He asked me if I would sing if he went up stairs to get his guitar but I told him I was not confident enough to do that...What is up with men trying to get me to sing with them? Last year it was torch singing at The Club and now Rick wanting me to sing "Kumbaya" or something like that. I told him he should ask Cassidy to come and sing with him, since she plays the piano and sings beautifully. After hearing her sing, I don't want to!

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In reading through the Facebook postings, I got a shout out from Anne H. at Victory. She stated how much she loves the hymn "In Christ Alone" which they sang today and said in her posting that they missed Kim's voice today, but they managed to sing it without me. I was singing "Jerusalem, the Golden" and they were singing my other favorite hymn. It was a perfect day and my heart is full!