It's nearly sunrise

I am up before the sun, having slept an interrupted night but still getting rest. It will be so nice when my brain can go to sleep and stay that way, if you know what I mean. The insurance companies have been notified and in conversation with each other, and as of yesterday, the insurer for our building was contacted to see if they are able to help with some of the repairs. Much of that language is legal-speak regarding the statutes for the condominium and policies, etc. Sunday night was an emergency Board of Director's meeting at Nancy's condo to discuss the situation, figure out what to do regarding the building's responsibility and to check into hiring forensic plumbers to see if a diagram could be made showing which pipes go where and what controls what. There is still a problem in Gus's unit where he had insulated his bathroom walls and ceiling to lessen the sound of water from above from the bathrooms, as the insulation got wet and now must come out. Butch is helping Gus with that situation since he put the insulation there in the first place.

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Being assured and reassured that this accident was not my fault helps but does not allay my great sorrow over what's happened to my neighbor's homes. My own home having problems is one thing, but to affect the others so much is hard on my heart. Certainly some day my bounce will come back but for right now I must accept that my light is a bit faded. Doing some of my normal things helps to distract, including doing an abnormal thing of working in the church office yesterday. There was no Bible study as pastor was gone to VA to preach at his first congregation as they celebrated 20 years of spreading the Word. My next scheduled day was Wednesday but Ellen and I are attending a fund raiser at The Club at lunch that day, so I might go in earlier in the day and then later in the day to finish up the service folder. Or, if need be, go after Bible study on Thursday.

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Sunday night was the emergency BOD meeting which was to start just as the last play of the Jaguar game was being played. Nancy came screaming to the door to let us in (Tommy and me) and made us sit to watch the game winning 59 yard field goal which won the game for the Jags. Whoo hoo!!! This was a franchise record-setting kick and just a fantastic thing to witness. Justin sent me a text message reporting that his voice was gone from yelling at the game and his head pounding. It took them an hour and a half just to get to their car because of the crowds and the shuttle buses being so full. I hope this helps with ticket sales so the next game is not blacked out. It sure would have been awful to miss seeing this fantastic kick and have to listen on the radio instead. Even my family in WI got to see it.

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After the BOD meeting Nancy asked me to stay to have a glass of wine with Ellen and her and even though I was not really in a social mood, decided it was in my best interest to mingle. Since I do not drink wine, Nancy asked me I drank hard liquor. That sounded so funny to me but before I could reply, Ellen piped up, saying, "Kim likes rum". So, Nancy mixed a rum and diet Coke for me which was enjoyed at her dining room table. We tried not to talk about the disaster but did discuss Ellen being motivated by all this to start packing up Billy's stuff for safe keeping. She had told me this on Saturday when Maggie and she came over, after reading the blog and seeing how I am busily getting my precious memories out of cardboard and into plastic. There is a silver lining! Anyway, Nancy and Ellen were discussing the upcoming holidays and she asked Ellen if she wanted to take a Christmas cruise. After some discussion, they shook hands on it---they are going on a cruise over the holidays!

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Steve on Fox and Friends just remarked that someone flipped the 'Fall switch' as the temperatures are quite chilly all over the place, including here in north Florida. Only 56 degrees, many area Facebook friends remark how much they are enjoying these cooler temps, but as I drove over to church yesterday, I had my heat on in the car!

*WARNING

Monday afternoon I got busy in the bedrooms, packing and repacking box contents into plastic bins and got things ready for Justin to haul out to the car or trash. One box I grabbed was marked "Timmy's bedding" and instead of waiting for Justin to come for this, I did it all by myself. I grabbed a clear bin, cut the box open and starting to transfer. Right on top was Timmy's little pillow from his bed, a decorative one with a little drool on it, and cat hair! Wrapping some tape around my hand, I removed the cat hair as best I could and then packed it away. The bed pillows were in there, too, which were not going to fit into the plastic bin so I pulled off the pillow cases, folded them, and put the pillows on the side for dry cleaning. This project was nearly complete as I heard Justin coming up the stairs so I grabbed a tissue and mopped up quickly. He asked me, "Are you crying or sweating?" which made me chuckle and I pointed to the bin where he could see what was in it. He knew. Over a half dozen boxes were moved into plastic yesterday with a great deal of sorting going on. The stuffed animals without an immediate attachment were put into a box for the yard sale, some that were yukky-looking went in the trash, and the keepers shrink wrapped in a storage bag inside the bin. They pack better with their air sucked out!

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I took a box with two booster seats in it to church with me last night for the Ladies' Group meeting. Thinking that perhaps Suzanne could use one or both of them for Daniel, the seats had to go to church either way for the yard sale or for Daniel. When she looked at them, at first it was a go but then upon further scrutiny, decided that the booster might not open wide enough to not squeeze his little legs. Perhaps I will see Mike on Wednesday to transfer more stuff from my car to his truck for the yard sale. It seems more efficient to handle one less time, unloading it at church and then having him load it into his truck. Also, I came upon several items that used to grace the gravesite but had to be gathered up in 2008. They were filthy so I put them twice through the dishwasher and cleaned them up good enough for the yard sale, too. You read that right---I put them in the yard sale box! When it was time to clean off the marker, it was horribly difficult but now, not so much. Time is a healer and being in this 'mode', a blessing!

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By the way, since my shredder is now stuck in the ON position, I decided to replace it. Office Max offered only the self-contained style while the one I have straddles the wastebasket, allowing for use as a wastebasket and shredder. I went on-line and found out that does this so it is on its way. When I was telling Mike K. about it the other day, he said his does the same thing so he gets his stack of paper ready to shred, plugs it in, and does his thing. Mine at least has an OFF switch but that's a pain to do that way. It already had a crack in the front of it from working so hard and now it is time for a new one, especially with all those other boxes of papers stored in the cabinets in that back bedroom!

WARNING* Some long lost photos come to the top

Talk about a mixed blessing! Having the water disaster in this household has really made it possible, forced my hand, as it were, to go through boxes and bins of papers piled in the various baskets and cardboard boxes in my spare rooms. Some, let me say, most, of the items no longer needed to be kept, in a less-sentimental moment it finds the shredder or wastebasket as its refuge. But some things draw tears and foster extremely fond memories, and some less fond ones, bittersweet at the very least. One such 'find' was a disc of photos marked "Pictures for Kim" with a little peace symbol drawn after it. Hmmmm......who would send me a CD of photos and use a peace symbol? Let's take a look....and brace yourselves...(click on photos to enlarge if you wish...)

Look at Timmy's face as that goofy Tommy models his Packer underwear. And Mom is having a good laugh at the same time!

Here is my yet intact family, minus Justin, enjoying a lovely lunch at Eagle Harbor's Club. Linda must be the photographer.

Timmy seems to be enjoying his dessert, which was strawberry shortcake, if I recall. There are photos elsewhere in my collection of both Tommy and Timmy licking their plates clean---literally, this very same meal!

Here is Timmy laughing about something in his high chair. On his cheek is the remaining blister from a sunburn he got when our family had been in Atlanta at Six Flags. Hey, we didn't notice that we were getting sunburned! Oops.....He is dirty from eating one of his all-time favorites, chocolate pudding!

A quiet moment being enjoyed by Linda and Timmy as they sit together in the family room at Misty Lake Drive. This visit was also the time Linda nearly had to call me at work to find out how to shut off his ride-on train, but at some point he rammed into something and it stopped! They put it away in the laundry room for some peace!! Whoaooo, toot, toot....

Looking a bit subdued, but likely is not, Timmy is carrying yet a different train around the patio area with him, at the Misty Lake house. Or, as he later called it---'the pink house with the red door'.

After Timmy has gone to bed, the rest of us retired to the hot tub for some relaxation. The water looks a little high! Justin is still sporting his share of the sunburn on his cheeks as is his father. It seems I am none the worse for the wear...There is never a dull moment when the Jachimstal's come for a visit!

See? I knew it!!! He was having a good time on the patio after all. He wants everyone to see his train!

Okay, let me explain this one----in 2005, Justin, Martie and I went to New York City for the Freedom Concert, a huge event hosted by Sean Hannity to support the children of the troops who lost their lives in the war. Ollie North started the charity so they work closely on it. Anyway, we found out we had to take the bus to New Jersey to get to the 6 Flags park for the concert, which was a brand, new experience for all of us. On that bus, we met some like-minded folks going the same way and the little guy in the front next to me was quite fond of me for some reason. He worked for the City of New York, the Dept. of Public Works, I think. He was married but traveling alone. There is much more to this story, but it ended up he rather pushed Martie aside so he could sit in the seat next to mine of the ride back to NYC. Justin made friends with the Korean War vet, talking about the war all the way back. What an adventure! Mark gave me his business card which I just came upon in a different box the other day so how funny to find a disc of photos from that trip as well.

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Hopefully this was an okay trip down memory lane for you, as after I stopped crying, I really enjoyed seeing them, and remembering the good times......

Someone hit the replay button

It is before 5:00 a.m. and I have been awake for a couple hours already, after being slow falling to sleep. Even my sleepy tea did not help much in easing my brain to sleep. Between the comforting words of the Bible study and the soothing massage on Thursday, I slept well that night. Friday night was a different story.

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After posting my blog yesterday morning I busied myself with more paper sorting, filing, and shredding. The previous night I had put a credit card-type card through the shredder and it sort of jammed. I hit the reverse switch and it popped back up again. Flipped the switch and put it through again just fine, but then, it would not stop running! It seems it is now jammed in the "ON" position so I must switch it off after each piece is put through. There was already a crack in its face but now this, which might require a purchase of new one, as there is a ton more paper to go through in my back bedroom.

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At 11:30 I was to meet my downstairs neighbors at La Nop, our usual Friday ritual and was surprised that Jeff came with us. We talked some about the flood damage and such, and again they, Tracy mostly, assured me that 'it's all good' and just an 'inconvenience' and an opportunity to redo some of the things she wishes they'd done differently the first time. I breathed a sigh of relief again because it seems like they are handling it okay, might even rent one of the penthouse units while Donna is on tour, so they can stay in the building.

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In the afternoon I was back at my desk and then it was rest time, even though I had done little heavy lifting. Penny called to arrange for the clothing transfer so we did that around 5:00 pm and then planned to meet again around 6:00 at the cabana. In the meantime, I saw that Gus's car was back in his stall so I took his laundered towels, the photos, and the two books to replace the wet ones down to him. I had to face the music, and perhaps the wrath of Gus. He was so nice, welcomed me, and thanked me wildly for doing that. In essence, he feels badly that it happened to me (the leak) and I feel terrible that it happened to him (the leak). Gus told Butch, "This couldn't have happened to a worse person" which took me aback because it does not sound very good. What he was saying was basically I was the last one this should have happened to, but I knew that. He was telling me his story, about the insurance adjuster being there and the after effects of the leak. Evidently there was more than we could see at first, but it appears it might be cosmetic or a bit of drywall replacement with some paint. Plus replacing his ceiling tiles and several floor tiles that popped up.

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Parting with hugs, I went out to meet Penny who was waiting alone poolside. It was a cool night, and she was loving it. I was sorry to make her wait for me but she was fine, enjoying the evening. We had our dinners, with me ordering Danny's homemade brats with saurkraut and Penny, the sliders. As we sat and recapped our weeks, she spotted Michelle on the catwalk in my building so I stood up and waved to her. She came down for a while after putting her poodle upstairs. Michelle is hosting a house concert on her 5th floor balcony on the 10th and both Penny and I are planning to attend. Later, our condo president joined us, while walking his dog, and shared some conversations and such stirring within the building and the Board regarding this current mess. Of course, the insurance companies will hopefully settle it and all will be happy, but the water issue, the 'mystery main' and all that needs to be discussed. As much as I like Tommy and all that, I wish he had not sat at our table last night. It caused my heart and brain to be troubled yet again.

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He had some sad personal news as well as his wife of three years and he are getting divorced. Tommy had been single for 53 years and says he will never say the words "I do" again as long as he lives. Prior to their marriage, his wife was well grounded in her faith and practicing thereof but as soon as they were married, she never got into. He even offered to go to church with her, even though he is Jewish, but she would not do it. "People change" was the mantra both he and Michelle used during that discussion. That is fairly dramatic, though, in so short a time. Everyone is having a battle going on around or inside themselves, it seems.

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Tommy had had his place listed for sale a while back and said he wishes it had sold then, as had Gus, who expressed the same sentiment about wishing his had sold last year when it was listed. Many of us bought there at the height of the market, paying the prices required at that time, but now when it comes to selling them, well, not so much. Michelle, who is a realtor, has hers listed for sale too and realizes she will not get the improvements made to her place back when she sells. Only a percentage of the improvements can be expected to be made back, like when folks add a pool to their property. It makes it more appealing to the buyer but adds only, I think, 15% to the value. Fortunately, I did not remove any walls or do more dramatic remodeling, mostly redecorating on my part, except for the updating of cabinets and such in the bathrooms. If I would decide to list and sell, Michelle thinks I should be able to get about what I paid for it, as one unit like mine on the 4th floor recently appraised just a bit higher than I paid.

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Well, I think I might try to rest my eyes a bit more before I get up. Judee, my first floor neighbor, may come by to look at a table I am letting go to a good home, or thrift shop, as the case might be, this a.m. If Judee does not want it then Donna wants to see it. If she does not want it either, I will have Mike and Andy haul it to the dumpster on one of their trips when the carpet gets pulled out. Martie is coming this afternoon when she is done working to help go through the art supplies and crafts in the guest room. I might work some in there before she arrives to get us started. But, first, let's try for a nap....

I have slept and now I am up!

At my desk, in the sun, just like life used to be. Sometimes I get mad at myself for being so upset by this situation, the flooding and residual damage, living so 'in the moment' as it were. Elsewhere, folks are enduring much more, losing their businesses to water rushing through the streets, sewage backing up into ice cream parlors, cars left sitting in rising waters. Wars and rumors of wars. The middle Atlantic region is being pummeled with heavy rains and flooding, last week it was the upper Midwest being flooded with filthy water and loss of livelihood. My friend, Penny, is from St. Paul, MN, and reported that her former spouse's potato farm crop was a total loss. Wiped out, washed away, just like that. I guess it is a matter of perspective and relativity.

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Overcoming my sense of foreboding, I went to Bible study with Justin at Victory. I never did connect with Penny yesterday morning so took the clothing with me in the front seat of my car. Felt like I had a passenger next to me! Justin had loaded the toys for the Victory pre-k into my car and would unload them once there. Our study continues on justification and sanctification, and how sometimes there is confusion about them. We cannot have one without the other but we cannot earn justification or live sanctified lives without justification. "Let your light so shine before men...." Listening and taking part in the class sure helped to boost my sagging spirit. A couple of times during the class, Justin would bump me with his knee, indicating, "Hey, Mom, there you go..." or "that sounds like you". And he leans his pen my direction sometimes. It is such a joy for me to attend this class and especially so with my son!

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In going through papers and boxes and such from my back bedroom, this photo plus a few others found their way to the top. Sadly, there is an ink leak from something stuck to the photo, but the essence of it remains. I remember that this photo was taken when Rosalie was visiting us, as I have another similar one in Timmy's scrapbook with her in it. How sweet the way they are sitting, arm around the shoulder and hand on the leg. Evidently the sun is in their faces as they are squinting against it, but look at Justin's smile...hmmm....looks familiar!

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Martie just gave me water eyes! Because our art and scrapbooking supplies are in the guest bedroom closet and would essentially be in the way of the floor covering men, I gave her a call: "Martie, I was wondering if you could come over tomorrow after work..." and she said, "Sure!", without me even finishing the sentence. I just lost it, blown away that she said 'sure' without even knowing what was in store for her. Cha-ching!! We will go through the art stuff and the crafting items, make some rash decisions, and get the space cleared out. Purge, purge, purge, and schnudder!

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It occurs to me that I have photos in way too many places, too many separate bins and containers. Justin made me laugh the other day by saying my old line: "Get outside the box". What I do intend to do is to locate them all and get the photos into plastic, more consolidated than spread out. At some time in my life, I want to scan them all into the computer and save them in the stratosphere where water or fire cannot get to them.

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Yesterday after the adjuster was here, a really nice man who treated me more than fairly, I kept my appointment with Carol, my massage lady. When I entered the Salon, I was greeted by a young woman who called my name, and said how glad she was to see me again! She said it has been a year since my previous massage and she even remembers what I was wearing when I came in for it. Really? She said it was turquoise with some black in it and looked so good on me. I thanked her for noting that and said I would check my closet to figure out if I still had that top! Carol took such great care of me, even keeping me beyond my one hour appointment, working out the aches and pains and creaking going on in my muscles and such. She told me not to do any more lifting and toting the rest of the day, but I did carry two art pieces from Great Hang Ups. So I am hauling stuff out, and then bringing more back in. Glad to have some of my work framed and ready for display. Off to La Nopalera with Tracy, Cassidy, and MamMa!

Awake in the wee hours

Good morning every one! Or, I should say that more softly for those yet sleeping. Somehow I found myself awake again at this hour and I am hungry. After Justin left last evening I reheated some rice from the fridge for my dinner. It was not much but I did not really feel like more at the time. For lunch I'd made a sandwich as it turned out our water aerobics luncheon was postponed to next week due to Marlena's schedule. That was fine with me since I was not really in the mood. Kerry will be glad to know that Dot asked for her Cream Cheese Torte recipe, which I had included in The Palace Press this month.

After the class was over, Mary Lew drove down here and I loaded a box of books into her car, my donation to the Book Mine. Two gardening books were pulled out and given to Connie but the rest, to Mary Lew. Later she called me to report how she'd pulled out a couple already for reading and asked if it would be okay to share them with the others from the class. Absolutely! I told Mary Lew that once they were in her car, they were hers to do with as she pleases. Eventually she can get store credit at the Book Mine to reinvest in more books!

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I had gone through church papers and such before loading up the books into the box. Since Mike C. was coming after lunch for the yard sale stuff, I went into the bedroom and started messing around with boxes and bins in there. The bin marked fall decor was still sitting there ready for Mike to pick up and I decided to grab another bin to sort through. I ended up going through the spring/Easter bin and consolidating that with the fall. With abandon, not getting rid of anything significantly 'personal' to the kids. It's getting there! When Mike arrived it was just pouring rain and thankfully his truck bed has a cover. Connie directed him to back into the garage and then had me pull my car in next to his so we could transfer the stuff from my car to his truck without being soaked. Nice!

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After Mike was gone, the rain had made me weary and my back was aching, so I decided to take a rest with my heating pad. I believe that I did fall asleep for a while and my back did feel better after I got up. After my restorative rest, I decided to get busy in the bedroom again and since the TV with VCR is in that room, watched a couple episodes of "House" while sorting through papers. The other day Justin had put a flat, wheeled bin into the family room for me to work on during the football game but I never got to it. When he came over last evening, I asked him what I was supposed to do with it so he went to get it. He told me it was empty and that he had meant to put another box out there for me to sort into the flat plastic bin. Ooops! The ones I had just gone through that afternoon, re-packed into a regular bin, were then transferred into the underbed bin, fitting nicely, and put away. That was a trip down memory lane for sure!

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In those cardboard boxes I had sorted through were the cards from Justin's baby showers, his birth cards, baptism cards and even his baptismal napkin. Plus cards made by him for his parents when he was little, my 25th anniversary stuff and photos, but not my original album (I am still wondering where that is....), high school stuff, and so on. All these various treasures were still packed in cardboard and what a terrible disaster it would have been had they gotten wet. Also, I found some poems that Lisa had typed and sent to us after we moved to Florida, and I wept as I read them. She wrote the most lovely poem to Justin, how much she missed him and such. Justin suggested I scan them and send to Lisa, which I did last night. And put the originals in to the bin, now under my bed! And talk about coughing and sneezing from the dust 'n dirt from the boxes...ew! This job needed doing.

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Justin worked on the toys, and made some sort of decision regarding their future, but I cannot remember what. He has set aside a couple bins of toys and has told me what he considers them but I am not sure. Some he means, I believe, for safe keeping while some are for kids to play with when they come over. We hardly have little boys here except when Gabe and Manny come every couple years, nor do I have little girls come for whom I would get this bin out. I think he is not quite ready to part with them either, which is fine, just so they are in plastic. He also repacked some more Christmas decorations before he carried stuff down to the car for me and left.

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At 5:45 pm I was supposed to meet Penny at the lobby with my clothing donations for Quigley House but right before that set time, the insurance adjuster finally called me and I missed her. He is coming today to look things over, as is Mike Kelley, who will measure for the laminate floors with which I plan to replace the carpeting. My prayer and hope is that the insurance man will be very gracious to me and that my neighbor's will all be fine, and Butch. Oh, I would feel so badly if something came back on Butch after all this.

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Penny and I will try to reconnect this a.m. on her way to work so I will make sure I am up and dressed early enough. I am planning to go to Bible study today but am scared out of my wits to be so far from home, as I am now quite gun-shy that something might happen. Another person I was talking to mentioned after having a similar event in her unit in The Capri that she was constantly hearing things and going, "What was that???" Like after a car wreck, your hands grip extra tightly to the wheel for a long time afterward. Hopefully I will get over it and I might once all of us are made right again. I look around my rooms and wonder what is exposed that could be ruined by water running down the walls and through the ceilings, that would be damaged. Fortunately I collect glass for the most part, but I also wonder about my kids' art in the hallway which is fortunately shrink wrapped, which would offer some protection. Timmy's portrait would be the worst loss. I wonder if I have a photo of the painting somewhere in my papers, because I did have it professionally photographed to give to his father. Someday I will look for it, or I might even come up a copy, smaller of course, when going through bins.

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Before going to bed last night, I put out an e-mail letting my neighbors know that I have a desk and the tea cart to let go to a good home. Two of them have replied, both of whom own shops. The one table/desk was given to me by one of the "scrapbooking Kelly's" years ago and weighs a ton. The other piece is the tea cart mentioned yesterday. I love it that they will go to people who will take good care of the pieces and possibly restore them to beauty!

Yet more boxes 'n bins

Yesterday Butch came to finish installing the vanity in the bathroom. It looks great, and the way he rigged the once-drawer-now-door is quite nifty, allowing ready access to the cut-off valve. He put all the accessories back and even went looking for the throw rug, which was in the dryer. I told him not to worry about the rug, I would get it once the guys moved their machine from the laundry room. Anyway, all he charged me for was materials and no labor, under the circumstances. In the meanwhile, he did extra caulking in the family room for me, fixing some areas from where water had poured in from leaks due to rain. After the painting and sealing of the building last year, and other repairs made in upper units, the leaks seem to have subsided so I felt comfortable having him caulk. It looks nicer now, little to remind me of those days!

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My house is quiet now with all the machines removed and no A/C running. My moisture levels are all within normal range so no mold would grow, and now all I need is for the adjuster to come to tell me about my coverage. My thoughts right now are to go with laminate in the hall and bedrooms, and laundry room, although I might have to add to what ever money they give me for the carpet and damage. The remediation guys said having carpet up here helped to hold some of the water back from dripping through and IF something like this would happen again....but I guess I cannot think that way. Either way, the rooms will need to be emptied of their bins and furniture.

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One more box of filing was tackled and taken care of yesterday, and another box or two gone through for the yard sale. I consolidated the Easter and fall decorations that I did not use/want any more, leaving a few personal items to keep. A box of clothes for Quigley House is ready to go as is a bag of Justin's clothes. Penny told me yesterday that they are really in need of young men's clothes so I am glad that we had these here. I have more clothes to go through yet but she can only take some at a time. Good, 'cause I am not quite done with my sorting.

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Today, I am invited to the pool with the water aerobics folks as we are having our end of season lunch. When Mary Lew called, I was not sure I wanted to go but think that I can get myself out there, might be good for me, and I sure do want to see everyone again. Some of the attendees do not participate in other Club events so I would not see them again for a long time. After lunch sometime Mike C. is coming over to pick up some of the yard sale items, if he has room for them in his truck. There are some yet up here in my house as well as my car packed full. This evening before Happy Hour Penny is coming by for the clothes donations. Purging, purging!

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With some sadness, I am afraid that I will be saying 'farewell' to my tea cart. It was a gift to me from my parents over 30 years ago and it served me well all these years. Most recently it's been relegated to the back bedroom as a nightstand but it has seen better days. When we were moving from the lake house, it took a tumble down the front porch steps and got battered up. The wheels wiggle and it's really just tough looking. Perhaps someone will buy it at the yard sale and fix it like new? I also have a pitcher and bowl set that I have had for years but it really does not go with my decor any longer.

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Yesterday I told Mike that the ladies at Keystone Heights are going to absolutely HATE me for sending all this stuff down there without being priced. That is one bug-a-boo we have with our church's yard sale every year, having to mess around with the pricing. There is absolutely no way I could take the time to mark these things, not under this type of pressure to get it out of here. He said that the 'old ladies' enjoy doing it so I hope he is right. They might give him a head smack for saying this, however, if they ever heard about it!

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Another option available to me is a yard sale at Victory in November. So, even if we do not get done with everything right now, we (Justin and me and whoever helps me) can shoot for November's sale. And, of course, the Quigley House is always ready to receive donations. I saved a box destined for the trash to use for packing up books that I am giving away. Mary Lew can take them to the Book Mine and get store credit for herself to buy more books! Yesterday morning, Connie came up to see if I had anymore trash to go out, as the dumpster was being emptied in the afternoon. I hated to have her do it but she insisted so she got her cart and together we took stuff out there. Saved Justin an extra trip to the trash. He is coming over tonight to put the box of toys for Victory's pre-k into my car and hopefully can stay to help with more boxes and bins. We found an entire huge plastic bin with toys in it yet but decided to wait with going through it. Boy, those kids had alot of toys! He knows what goes with what, who got what and from whom, the circumstances surrounding his toys (bribes or whatever). Ha, that made me think of something that transpired the other day---He found something that he got for making honor roll and reminded me that we went to Uncle Pu's every time he made honor roll. I did not really remember that and said, "I really stunk as a mother..." and he said, "Nah, you were just busy..." He gave me a pass! Whew!

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Joanne and Christine came over yesterday afternoon, the first time I had seen Christine since February, and Joanne not much more frequently. We discussed the situation and all that has happened, but both of them said this is not the time for me to be thinking of selling, as the market would not support the price. Also, it is not wise to do something like this in the heat of the moment. Travis said the same type of thing to me the night before, as we shared some pizza they treated me to. He said this is where I belong, and I cannot go through life fearing for what might happen. At some point I am sure I will relax again and become my normal complacent self. Both the ladies are struggling in real estate, and Christine said if it were not for buyers, she would be starving! Joanne asked me if they should look for something for me with waterfront and I told her I did not need water front. She said, in typical Joanne fashion, "Yes, you do!" So there! Guess I am here for a while yet....

Tuesday morning, having slept

And I am sad that that Packers lost last night. Thanks to being dead-tired and Jessica's Sleepy Tea, I fell asleep during the first quarter. At least I got to hear one touchdown for the Packers take place. And got to hear/see the very end of the game when the Bears won. Facebook reports that the Packers had an abundance of penalties and many fans are upset about that. I hope they were legitimate flags and not poor refereeing.

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Justin came after work with the intent of taking the garbage to the dumpster, which we had set aside on Saturday. Connie was going to leave the lock open for him to have access to it. He and I got busy going through the Christmas boxes and I amazed myself again with my ability to send stuff to the yard sale or even to the trash. Over the years, I have simplified my decorations, not doing every room and such as was done in the past, so many items had not been seen since 2004 or before. They might make a lot of money at the yard sale in Keystone Heights!

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Earlier in the day Butch came back to install the vanity and faucets, and I was quite nervous about it. Sure enough, we had a problem, but it was dry one. It seems the vanity I bought was not deep enough to accommodate the plumbing where it came from the wall, the side wall where the leak erupted Thursday. To cover the pipes, the cut-off valve and the drain for the sink, we needed a deeper vanity. My goof, I guess. Butch had cut it out of the box already and said he did not even think of it until he was about ready to cut the notches for the supply lines in the back of the cabinet. Oops! Fortunately, Lowe's took the other one back without its box, and he went in search of the right-sized one.

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Butch called me to report that all the vanities deep enough to conceal the pipes had drawers as a standard on the right side, never on the left. If we wanted to special order, we could get them reversed, drawers on the left. We came up with a plan, however, to remove the bottom drawer, make it a blank, basically, and we would be good to go. Butch picked up a set of hinges that will allow the fake front to be used as a mini-door allowing access to the cabinet and the cut-off valve. He is quite the guy!

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This new vanity that he brought home is taller than usual, like a shaving sink in newer homes, which means the mirror had to be moved up, too. Justin helped him put the mirror back up as it is quite large and heavy. While Justin was here we went through stuff in the guest room, which was formerly his room. He took one plastic bin to the family room for me to go through while I watched the football game but that did not happen. That is a flat, under-bed style bin with the kids' school papers inside. He thinks I should go through it and then stash it under the bed. Why not? There is stuff in boxes and bins from before I was married and have a tough time parting with it, sometimes. The stuff which induces memories for me I feel I must keep even though I never look at the items. What is the solution here???? One sure thing is that stuff is going into plastic and that's it!

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The other day, Saturday, when Stephanie arrived, my neighbor, Rosemary came to the door, asking me if I wished to stay with them, using their guest room with private bathroom. How wonderful are my neighbors? Pat A. also offered her place and Ellen would have but they have so many animals that it is not conducive to house guests. But they did the soggy towels and laundry for me instead. Tracy sent flowers, and last night, Jessica brought us a pizza from Papa Murphy's because she knew I was having a bad day. What a sweetheart! Plus the Sleepy Tea which really did help me to sleep. Must go to Winn-Dixie and get myself some of that stuff. Plus I need garbage bags as I have been going through them like nuts.

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Justin wants me to go through the clothes bins and get things ready to go to Quigley House. I can do that today, and must get hold of Penny to find out how she wants me to do this. Evidently she wants to look at everything first to take to the House directly for the women in need before it goes to the resale store, which raises funds to support the home. By the way, she is moving from The Club property, with her closing happening today, I think. She will stay a Member, so we are not rid of her yet, ha! The movers she is using are B & B Movers, my "Turkish friends" as Justin calls them. I asked her if she mentioned my name when dealing with Saban. She said, "Oh, yes, I certainly did. And he said he hasn't seen you for a while. You must have settled down..." Funny that idea should come up.....The last time he was here was after he moved Justin's stuff to the first condo rental, when he brought me my Turkish flag. He didn't like it that I had a Greek flag but no Turkish one. When he called me, he said, "I am your worst nightmare..." which made me laugh, because he is far from that. Just how settled I am here leaves some question, though...