Some photos from recent days

Click on photos to make them larger, if you wish!

On Thursday, Betty and Robin came over for a visit. Robin had not seen my new place, but had been at my lake house when I had the house warming in 2004. Betty has been laid off for some time, and is now attending college taking business courses. Robin, who was also laid off, had gotten a new job and when that one went away, opted to stay home, and is loving it. They looked at the Timmy memorial and then we retired to the river room where the two ladies poured over the scrapbooks. Betty chuckled, seeing Justin as a baby---so darn cute, if I do say so myself!

Friday evening I attend a bridal shower with no bride present! We brought our unwrapped gifts to the party at Victory, showed them around, and then wrapped them for Elizabeth and Nick. I believe the shower had more guests than the actual wedding will have, only family going to be invited to the ceremony and dinner, in St. Cloud, MN. Their colors are white and black so the decorations were the same colors. A great time and great fun!

My friend, Stephanie, is a crocheter extraordinaire, and her daughter, Erica, is showing the lovely afghan intended for the bridal couple.

Saturday night some of the Victory group came across the river to join the fun of our Tour of Italy dinner held at Good Shepherd. On the far end, at the beautifully decorated wall (my idea, Justin's doing) are the Victory folks with some Good Shepherd folks on the closer end.

Tamara came over to take a picture of me and some of the gang, as she said I am never in the photos. Seated is Stephanie, and behind me is Rita, and the three of us play Trivia on Tuesday nights on Southside. Across the table is Lucy H., barely visible is Jon, Rita's son, and against the wall is Ed, who is Judy's husband. She was the hostess for the wedding shower the night before. Busy church weekend, and good fellowship time!

Bravisimo!

What a wonderful dinner tonight! Mike 'n Mike 'n Lonnie prepared a lovely Italian feast complete with caprese salad, minestrone soup and brouchette. The menu was angel hair pasta with shrimp scampi (I picked out the shrimp and gave them to Lucy) and penne pasta with six cheeses and sausage. Oh, yummy! I sat with the Victory folks which included Harold and Lucy who used to be members at Good Shepherd, plus Ed and Judy, Stephanie, Rita and her son, Jon. Rita and her sister, Bonnie, were formerly members at GS but she does not remember me. It was a long time ago. Jon sat next to Ed who took great pleasure in teasing him, like a grandpa would, and Harold pitched in his two cents worth of teasing when Lucy allowed him to. The unfortunate thing was they ran out of dessert and some of our guests did not get any, even though Judy C. went to the store to get more. Just not enough. I felt badly for taking one, assuming more was coming from the kitchen...oops! Renee was also busy in the kitchen, I am sure she knows all about the Italian food since Lonnie and she lived in Italy for many years.

Justin met us at church this a.m. to help with the decorating, with his project being to put up the decorations hanging from the ceiling. We rigged up a system where we used giant paper clips to hold to the two-sided themed pieces. Judy was wishing we could put some of the decorations on the ugly blank wall where a grease board used to hang and I had the brain storm of putting some of the checkered plastic table cloths on the wall. It looked great! Judy took pictures of the room once decorated and I hope she will share her photos. I took some this evening which I will post tomorrow.

From church Justin and I went to Winn-Dixie so he could help me stock up on some stuff for posterity purposes, things with a long shelf life. When we got home with the purchases, he got busy shuffling things around in the cabinets and closets to make room. One project leads to another when we work on these things so he relocated a shelf-worth of mugs, glasses, and Christmas glasses. He straightened out the food cabinets, put things in the pantry (which he says is our next project!), and organized the kitchen food cabinet. Very nice!

I was able to sit and coach from a chair as I had to rest after all the setting up at church, for that project. When we moved to the next one of putting away the Timmy memorial, I pitched in. I remember what goes where and all that so it worked for us to do that together. When he was making room in the closet in the back closet, he pulled out a cardboard box, yes, I said cardboard, of old photographs. Yikes! At long last, my wedding album came back to me as did many other ancient photos and memories. Justin got a kick out of some of them, including one Lisa from when she was 6. Oh, my! Does she ever look like Manny...or would that be the other way around? I had him put the box aside or we'd never get anything done but not hidden away so I can look at them some more. Justin very nicely suggested putting the photos into scrapbooks, described how the pages should be set up, and such. He further suggested I work on THAT instead of newsletters. His heart is in the right place, this is for sure.

Justin had to leave for his friend Jesse's brother's Eagle Scout ceremony just down the street. Afterward he came back to get his grocery items his mother bought for him, and told me about the ceremony. It seemed a bit disorganized and Justin found it ironic that one of their pillars is to 'be prepared'. We always thought there was more pomp and circumstance to this process but apparently not. People are always mentioning how someone is an Eagle Scout so we had a preconceived notion about it.

He left and me not far behind him as I had to get over to church for the dinner. If I had left sooner, I could have stopped for gas but will do that in the morning instead. Hopefully the price won't go higher overnight. Certainly I pray the unrest in the Mid East subsides soon so that I will not have to break into my stockpile of food! I heard a guy state the other day that our currency could become toilet paper, and toilet paper become the currency.

The other day my friend Ruth V. called to uninvite me to her house for the LWMS rally. It seems she has out-of-state company coming for ten days which will overlap with the rally. She hated to do it but I assured her it is no problem at all, I will ride down there with Judy C. and whoever else goes to the rally. That would have been fun, though! Like Ruth suggested, we will do it another time!

The Ten Commandments of Life

Not the original but someone has written these beautiful words. One must read to understand the deep meanings in them. They are like the Ten Commandments to follow in life all the time.

1] Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble; it is a "steering wheel" that directs us in the right path throughout life.

2] Do you know why a car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the rear view mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, look ahead and move on.

3] Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.

4] All things in life are temporary. If going well enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong don’t worry, they can't last long either.

5] Old friends are like Gold! New friends are Diamonds! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a base of Gold!

6] Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!

7] When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.

8] A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision."

9] When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them; and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.

10] WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES; it takes away today’s PEACE.

This was sent to me by my former classmate, Linda M. and was sort in keeping with the post recently about guidelines for 2011 sent by my sister, Jill.

We have lift-off!

The space shuttle, Discovery, had a successful launch today, a few minutes later than planned, but still, away it went. I watched from my balcony with Betty and Robin C., who came over for the afternoon. Robin had not been here before and enjoyed the view, commenting on all the color in my rooms. I think we have to get together more often, we had such a great visit. And then, shared the launch, as we watched with my neighbors outdoors for the 'show'.

For a little while this evening a group of us gathered on the sundeck as some enjoyed a glass or two of wine. Me? I had Diet Coke and was freezing. It was only 69 degrees out there and many of us were chilly, only I forgot my wrap. Justin gave me a black shawl that works well for nights like this but I neglected to grab it. It felt good to get back in the warm again. We long for the hot summer nights to enjoy the deck...soon, very soon!

I just came back to my room. Over the sound of the TV, I could hear the sound of-----you guessed it----water running! From room to room to room, flipping on lights and fully expecting to encounter a puddle, I found none. But I could still hear it from over head. Jessica and Travis did not answer their phones so I decided to go upstairs and check it out myself. Jessica's dad was babysitting Beckham, who was asleep, but he went back in the bedrooms to check it out. In the meantime, I heard the sound from their powder room and sure enough, he took off the lid to find the toilet running. Not onto the floor or onto my ceiling, just water continually running through the pipes, the drains. Do not mess with me and the water! He fixed it, adjusted the innards of the toilet and the flow stopped. I now have peace restored while I wait for my pulse to return to a normal pace.

The other night at Trivia, one of the questions was a True/False one----were all three of the Godfather movies nominated for Best Picture Oscars? I thought no, the third one was not that great, sort of a flub, in my opinion, but I was wrong. All three were nominated but GFIII did not win. As I watch it now, I can see why it did not win but I still enjoy watching the saga. The actress playing Michael's daughter is so wooden in her acting, and when I looked her up in the credits, discovered she is the director's daughter. Ah...the family!

This afternoon I so very much enjoyed my lady friends' visit and before that, I worked on the newsletter for church, which is due out this weekend. I like to have it out the last Sunday of the month but I am waiting for Bible study info and such. Guess it will be next week before it is available but I can still plug away. Yesterday I printed off the mail-away newsletter I do every couple months for the shut-ins, college kids, members away, and seldom seen members. Even though I replaced the color cartridge, my photos were still not printing nicely, so I had to keep taking out the cartridge, give it a shake, and then put it back in. Instead of getting the name brand, I bought store brand cartridges, seems not the best idea.

Oh, the Bible study today was again an amazing class, still on the subject of human reason vs. baptism, reformed theology vs. the Biblical/Lutheran view. We have lots of discussion and expression of thanks for baptism in our lives, how it is our foundation to help keep us firmly planted in the Word. When trouble surrounds us, and it will, we can always reflect on our baptisms and the promises made to us there.

Tomorrow night I again return to Victory for a wedding shower for Anne and Phil's daughter...have to make sure I take wrapping paper along and get a nice card. We will show the gifts first, then wrap them. A shower in reverse, since she lives in MN and won't be there. Fun!

Justin and I went to get his car after Bible study, where I paid the bill for him. I got so many hugs as he prayed under his breath, "Please be quiet, please be quiet...." as the fella went to get the car for him. No, he did not mean that I should be quiet but he hoped his car would be. And it was! Purred like a kitten and oh, the joy on his face, and great relief. Gotta love the hugs! As I told the lady at the desk, as I signed the credit card slip, "I am going to have the cleanest house in Orange Park..." as she smiled, knowingly. Justin told me today that he wished I was moving so that he could pack me up, to show his thanks. If he threw in unpacking again, we'd have a deal!

Listening to the winds again

No wonder everything is covered in yellow pollen, the way the wind is blowing out there. All day long and even some yesterday, breezy breezy breezy. The temps on Tuesday were great, in the 80's, but today, that was not the case. All the cars outside are wearing yellow layers of pollen, as do my kitchen counters. I noticed it when I moved something sitting on the counter and saw the ring left where the pollen was not. I seemed to recall wondering last year about my butter on the counter---if everything else is covered, is not the exposed butter? It's already sort of yellow...I made the mistake of having the kitchen door open for ventilation---ooops!

Last night was Trivia over on Southside and I invited Justin and Jesse to come with us. Between the 4 1/2 of us, since Erica came late, we managed to answer most of the questions and ended up winning the first place prize!!! We all brought something to the table and I did not embarrass myself too badly with wrong answers. So, next week, we have $25 to apply toward our total bills! Justin and Jesse were able to answer some questions I would have had no clue, like something from Back to the Future and Heisman trophy winners.

When we went outside, Justin started his car and the rattling noise began. I told Stephanie about his problem with the car and that he had asked me to help him get it repaired. We parted company and I headed down the road toward home. Just before Baymeadows Road, my phone rang and a very forlorn voice said, "Mom.....my car just died...." I had to circle back toward where he was, fortunately able to get off the road, one of the busiest roads in town, JTB Expressway. His electricity was gone, completely gone, and I am so glad it happened in the right hand lane so he could move out of the lanes. He called AAA in the meantime as I made my way toward them. He had asked me where he should have it towed. I suggested the dealership for lack of any other suggestion. I goofed going to get them, having exited on Hodges instead of staying on JTB, but I was nervous, so I had to do a go around and circle back.

That poor kid was frantic, very upset, and I know if Jesse wasn't with him, he would have been crying. He transferred his tools and such to my car before the wrecker arrived. Justin had been taking Jesse to work so I asked him if he needed Justin to take him today. Jesse said he would use his motorcycle for work, other wise Justin could have used my car but would have had to take me home. Justin was such a wreck, he was not interested in driving anymore last night. He had lots to do to get ready for a rummage sale at the office but was going to call in and explain the car situation.

When the wrecker guy came, he said that the dealership is gated and locked so we decided to just have him take the car to the garage from which the wrecker is dispatched. It was not too far from Justin's area of town and fine with me. The guy, Roscoe, figured the problem was the alternator and did something to the battery to allow him to readily pull the car up onto the back of the truck. I drove the two boys home and finally met Jesse's stepmother who allowed me to use the bathroom. Nerves, you know....Justin would not let me see his messy quarters so that's why I went in the main house. He was spending today getting everything cleaned up at his place since he had no wheels. At one point I sent him a text message and he reported that he was vacuuming his baseboards. Nice!

The garage person contacted him this a.m., and Justin was able to make it a conference call so I could talk to her, too. And get the bad news. It was the alternator making the problem and also the front brake pads were nearly shot. I authorized them to go ahead with the repairs for which my son is deeply thankful. *Sigh*. I teased him that I have to buy his love which he immediately argued with me...

Tomorrow morning I am picking him up for Bible study and then after class we will go get his car, and pay the bill. Gulp! His car gets lots of wear and tear since he has to use it like a pick-up truck when working for his father. The pick-up truck gotten only days before Timmy died was totaled by Justin's coworker, no personal injuries, thankfully. The truck was never replaced. Justin hauled mowers, weed whackers, wheel barrows, all sorts of tools and equipment in the back of his, which always smelled of gas from the tools. He has twice the miles I have on mine and they are the same age.

Tonight at choir rehearsal, Robbie handed out a choral piece sung many years ago, which brought back many memories for us. The pieces had names written on them, included Gerry and Evelyn, my former spouses' name, and one marked "Shirley", which Carol used. Talk about a sentimental journey. Carol noted the pencil markings and notes on the pages, and wondered aloud where she had gotten that habit...Shirley died in 1996 so that tells how old that music is, at least how long we've had it. Funny, but there was no music with my name written on it....hmmm.....

When I came home from choir, I came into my room and turned on the lamp on my nightstand. It made a spark and a sound, and the bulb burned out. Very startling in the dark! I unplugged the lamp, and as I unscrewed the bulb, my phone vibrated and I about left my skin!!! When I was going to replace the burned out bulb, I smelled something smoky and determined I had better not put a new bulb into the socket. I might have to take it somewhere to have it replaced. The place I would take it otherwise is going out of business so I am not sure what to do. A bedside lamp is necessary and this one matches my decor so perfectly. Rats!!!

Tomorrow afternoon my friends Betty and Robin C., whom worked for my former company, are coming over for a visit. Robin had been at my lake house but never came up here. It will be so great to see them again. The last time was in the fall, in November, when we went to Koko's for lunch. I am so 'cited about their visit, and besides that, the shuttle is going up at 4:50 pm---we hope!

My neighbor's son flew in from Chicago, with his buddy, to go down to the Cape to see the launch. Denny has lots of health problems and it means alot to him to see the launch before they are done. He came last time this shuttle was to launch but it was scuttled twice, which brings him back again this time. Hopefully I will get to see Denny on his short visit, as they are also spending time at the Daytona Speedway, on my recommendation. We had gone several years ago with Harv and Barb, really enjoying it, even though not fans. I hope they like it or I will feel badly. I will feel worse if the shuttle is scuttled!!

Tragedy in this part of the world, too

The morning news brought sadness as two young people from Middleburg were killed yesterday on a boat being driven by the dad of one of the kids. They were on the bow of the boat as it struck a low hanging tree. According to the report, they were killed immediately, with the dad seriously injured.

In my hometown, another ‘water’ accident occurred last week where a snowmobiler struck a tree on the river and was killed. Up in WI, they are on the ice, here in Clay County, they are boating and soaking up the rays. So sad to lose these young people, ages 15 and 17. Last week was the hit and run death of a 21 year old woman, in Jacksonville, for which, by the way, the driver has been arrested. He is only 20 years old himself and just freaked out after hitting her. Fight or flight, and he chose flight. That makes the case against him that much worse, he may even have not been charged for the accident if he had not taken off.

Last night I mentioned the lengthy phone calls which wore down my battery. One of them involved being charged with reading our revised condo documents and checking them for, for, for something. I am sure I will know it when I find it. My niece, Allie, posted last week on Facebook that she hates politics. I am sure she is referring to the civil disorder in Madison and other areas but I assured her she has seen nothing yet. There is politics in the workplace, there is politics in the classroom (she is a senior this year), there is politics at church, there is politics in families, and yes, even in the condo association! Imagine that! And right now, I am with Allie as I struggle through these boring docs!

My other project today is to finish the spread sheet for the condo Owners to sign-in and record their acknowledgement of receiving proper notice of the meeting. And they wanted ME to be the Secretary of the Association? Way too much pressure and stuff to remember in order to be in compliance with State law. Just like in the preschool business, so much attention to be paid to requirements and such, and one false move?, a problem, either now, or in the future.

One part of the little spreadsheet project was to confirm with the County Appraiser’s office as to whom the actual Owners are since many folks have established trusts for their property. This is available on-line so no sweat in getting it. Apparently this is important for our information as well. It is a protection for assets to have them secured in a Trust. I talked to Rosemary, my neighbor, who is an attorney, asking what the advantage or disadvantage of that would be. She suggested simply putting Justin on all my accounts as a co-holder but I am not sure I am willing to do that just yet. Just some food for thought. If you readers have any input, I would love to hear it.

Since I forgot to go to Wal*Mart yesterday, I will do that this afternoon. While out, if I do not forget, Winn Dixie will be my next stop to restock my freezer with those cool microwavable bagged dinners from Swanson. The name is Voilà, and the bags are offered 2 for $5 this week. As I was telling Justin, who coaxed me into buying them the first time, I got about 5 servings from one package, serving Martie and I for dinner one night, plus she had a bit more at the table. I then ate the balance of it in two meals. The meat and everything is already in the bag, and in less than 10 minutes, Voilà!, several days’ worth of meals!

The Dow is heading south, as was anticipated, with the price of oil going up. All that unrest and upset in the Mideast is wreaking havoc on our supply which will affect the price of gas and every single item we purchase or use made with petroleum. If only the oil companies could drill off-shore as well as tap into our own resources here in the US. Sadly, when the federal government slapped a moratorium on off-shore drilling after the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico last spring, the owners leased the rigs to other countries. Some are now cranking out oil from our South American neighbors. I already refuse to buy gas from CITGO and other known Venezuelan oil companies, but our country might be getting held by the short hairs, as it were, over our fuel. I might limit my trips across the bridge if gas gets too costly, some estimating $5 or more per gallon soon. Yikes!

We have more folks signing up for the “Tour of Italy” dinner at church on the 28^th, with 7 coming from Victory. They let me know yesterday so I called Judy C. to tell her. Mike and she had gone shopping after Bible study and lunch Monday to buy the supplies for the dinner, based upon the number signed up from GS and Keystone Heights. She said, “We are going to have get more plates!” which she and I had found at the Party Store. I had ordered centerpieces for 8 tables which should be just about right but I hope we have enough Italian decorations for the room. I guess it won’t matter when we are all seated and such, the food will steal the show!

HANDBOOK 2011

My sister, Jill, sent this to me and I found it suitable for posting here. While I do not entirely agree with all of these items, many are thought-provoking in a mild way! I especially like the one about reading more books than the year before...right!

Health :
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Take time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2010
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality :
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't overdo. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you..
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree....

Society : 
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends (and family) will. Stay in touch.

Life :
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.