It's so quiet here!

As much as I enjoy my time with family and friends in Manitowoc, it feels good to wake up in my own bed. And it's so quiet here compared to my mom's house. It is not the neighbors being noisy as her apartment is on the top floor, but the traffic from the street and other sounds seemed to be more pronounced, especially in the wee hours of the morning or later at night. Fortunately I only lost sleep one night but that was primarily due to a storm making racket. No, it is not “Chicago-style” traffic but Mom's building is between two of the main east/west corridors for the town, and it seems, in the middle of the train tracks! Depending upon the heaviness of the air, the train whistle sounds was as though the tracks came through Mom's parking lot. And the birds! Yikes, can they ever sing outside my mom's house and they get up so early!

Of course, we can hear sirens and train noises here, too, but my sleeping and working room is on the river side of the house, away from the sounds of the streets. When the front doors are opened, however, I can hear the children playing at the pool, and they sound as though they are on the porch! The streets here in OP are incredibly active and noisy, plus I am located only two blocks from the police station and fire department. Fortunately only the occasional helicopter draws my attention instead train whistles or sirens. Whirly bird vs. singing birds....hmmmm.....I used to say that in my next life I wanted to come back as a fire engine dog but in my old age, my enthusiasm for that is waning!

When Justin picked me up from the airport last night, after my problem-free return flights, we were listening to the debate from New Hampshire which he had on podcast from CNN---gulp! We normally do not watch/listen to that network but the local stations are Fox so that was the only option. When I called Mom from the car to report my safe arrival, he reached over to turn it down and lost the station. He was not too upset as he was taping it at his home. Justin suggested if I were not too tired that I could watch the replay of the entire debate at 1:00 a.m. I was asleep just after 11:00 pm eastern time so that was a no-go for me. Most of the highlights will be re-aired on the radio shows today or I can look it up on-line.

Justin loved his piece of rhubarb/raspberry pie that I brought back for him from Manitowoc and I ate one of my smiley faced sugar cookies from Johnston's Bakery in Sheboygan. They survived the trip, arriving intact. There was room for 5 more pounds of stuff in my luggage so I could have brought home my new candle holder purchased at the garden shop. But it will be there when I return to Manitowoc next month!

When Linda J., Mom, and Lynnie dropped me off at the airport, it was a tearful farewell on my part, with a stray tear easing its way down my cheek as I stopped at the kiosk outside to check my bag through and get my ticket. The nice young man came around to get my suitcase and I apologized for the tear, asking him if he was coming for a hug, too. He said, "I'll take a hug if you want to..." so we hugged each other. I told him it was hard to say good-bye at the airport and he agreed, having just returned from a trip himself. What a nice guy! He handled my transaction and such outside the airport rather than my having to deal with that nonsense indoors, and I was on my way!

My escorts were going to the Synod publishing house on their way home but due to the great deal of construction around the airport and roads leading to it, they missed their turn-off, so skipped their visit to NPH. It was too hectic for them to try to circle back. We enjoyed a breakfast/lunch at Perkin's near the airport before they dropped me off, which worked well for my staving off hunger on my trip back to Florida. At the airport in ATL, I did find the Annie's Pretzels shop and got an order of cinnamon sticks there, which I had also enjoyed while being hustled from gate to gate to gate on the ride up to WI. A special treat!

Strangely enough, I am drowsy here this morning. Perhaps after my haircut, my stop at Great Hang Ups, and then Publix, I will have time for a rest this afternoon before heading to Trivia. Already I have been to the mammogram center, Office Max for a card reader, and even grabbed a breakfast sandwich to have at my desk. MUST get some food from Publix as my larder is empty…or at least my fridge is!

I should be sleeping...

...but I am not! The two boys, Gabe and Manny, are bedded down in the living room and I am hoping are asleep, but I hesitate going to check on them in case they are yet awake. I will give them a few more minutes and then take a peek. Mom was afraid if they slept in my room that I would trample them in the night so they are safely out of my trampling space in the other room!

They had a bath before getting ready for bed, although they did not sweat today, since it was barely in the 50's here. Yikes! It's been a long time since I attempted kneeling alongside a bathtub to scrub a boy, much less two at once, but they talked me through it. Both smell better and even feel better after their quick baths and a chocolate chip cookie snack before bedtime. I bought bakery twice today---once at the bakery in Sheboygan and again at the garden show across the street from Mom's house. Even a pie to take to the church picnic tomorrow. I hope it warms up some for our outdoor service and picnic. Really? Coats and even gloves (for Mom) today, unacceptable! Thankfully Kerry had a pair of purple, fur lined mittens in her car to let Mom wear as it was bitter cold in the park. At least the food was good and the flowers, gorgeous!

Yesterday morning, Mom and I went to Copp's for a few things, and I saw my friend, Susie, there. She was busy working but had a few minutes to chat with us. We saw her again at the park today, which was nice. Anyway, my phone rang, with Allie calling me. She asked me if I would like a ticket for seating at the graduation that afternoon, which I was most thankful to have. Allie had me speak with Mona about getting the ticket and I thanked her for the seat. She said, "You have to thank Allie, I let her decide who to invite..." Nice! I am honored to be among the chosen few (5 of us) who could witness the ceremony. Usually the event takes place outdoors but the cold, rainy weather moved it indoors. We had a good view of her and the ceremony was very nice, although we got 'bench butt' after about 2 hours of sitting there!

After the graduation, I drove up to the ice cream parlor to see my sister, Jill, and to use their bathroom, while the huge traffic jam after the graduation cleared out. After she served me, it began to get busy as others had the same idea I did, so I headed to their house for the party. Got "rock star parking" and was able to help with some of the setting up and such beforehand. Allie liked the painting I gave her and John pounded in a nail from which to hang the art piece in the garage, where the party was held. I hope eventually she will take it into the house with her!

My niece, Alayna, came to the party for a bit before she had to head to work at the ice cream parlor. Allie and Alayna are friends, one from each side of the family (I love it!). It was terribly cold for this girl from Florida and when my feet began cramping, I decided to go back to Mom's. I had hugged everyone ahead of time in anticipation of my hasty retreat, but stayed long enough to visit with Harv, Barb, Kevin, and my other nephew, Uriah before I headed out. Before 7:00 pm I was back here, and defrosting.

Kerry had come to town and gone shopping with Jill to Festival Foods. They came back with some supplies including Diet Coke, as Kerry loves it as much as I do.

It was great to have Kerry back here again, spending last evening and all of today with her. She had to get back to Oshkosh to help someone move tomorrow or she would have stayed for the church picnic and to help with the boys. No worries, though, Mom and I handled things nicely. Lynn has Angelo at her house, and he was a bit cranky when they left Mom's house after dinner. I hope he is okay for her tonight.

Tomorrow is my last day in Manitowoc and then I head back to Florida. I cannot wait to see my Justin again, and I think he misses me, too. He only called me twice yesterday, having a tough time trying to manage the jobs while his father is up here in WI. It's no fun to try keeping all the balls in the air, especially if you really don't want to play!

I have a bit of catching up to do!

Again, working backwards is my best way to go, as my most recent memories are freshest. For our light supper tonight, Mom and I ate in, enjoying summer sausage sandwiches and later, we will have some ice cream to cool us before going to bed. Neither of us had a good night’s rest due to the heat in the house and outside, coupled with a storm brewing, making the blinds clang and the doors rattle. Hopefully this night’s sleep will be problem free!

This afternoon I took my nephew, Danny, shopping at Hobby Lobby to get some art supplies and scrap booking materials. Hopefully he will press his purchases into service and paint some lovely pictures and archive his high school memories. Beats playing video games and watching TV….he can even multi-task by cropping and viewing at the same time perhaps. Danny had an amount of cash along with him from his graduation money but I needed to help him out when we got to the register. I had offered to buy his easel and some scrap booking stuff, and did that. He claims he is good for the rest of it. I expect to see some paintings next time I come visit.

For breakfast I met my friend, Dolly, and her daughter, Kristin, at Fork and Knife. Oh my, how wonderful to see them again! Dolly and I have been friends since grade school and today we reminisced about our good times growing up, sharing this with Kristin. Another Facebook friend was in the restaurant as well, a sister-in-law to my sister, Jill, named Colleen. She was there with her parents, whom Dolly knew as well, and were celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary. Colleen’s mom still works somewhere, I think a convenience store, which is quite remarkable! We could have talked longer but the two ladies were heading to Green Bay in search of a GPS for Dolly’s car, her decision to get one. They are attending a wedding in Milwaukee and would like to know where they are going and how to get home again to Two Rivers. Her niece is marrying one of the members of the WELS musical group “Koine”, which is kinda cool.

After our breakfast, I dropped off two bags of my mom’s discards at the WELS resale store, the proceeds of which are donated to the Lutheran High School. She is getting so small that her clothes do not fit properly any longer and as hard as it was to get rid of her favorite things, off they went to the resale store. I stopped at Burger King to pick up a diet Coke and headed over to church to help Linda and Lettie with the service folder. I had not had a chance to visit with Lettie so this was my chance. I literally blew in the door as the winds were quite wicked, and sure enough, the storm sirens were sounding as we sat around the table. Pastor R. came in to tell us, because Linda’s A/C unit was too loud to allow our hearing it. Mom assured me she was fine, had been at the park when the winds picked up, and headed home when the siren sounded. She could have been swept away! She told me to stay put until the storm passed so I sought refuge in the church building with my friends. Pastor Schaefer came in, his shirt dotted with rain drops, and he greeted me, assuring me of “safe refuge, my sister”. He had taken his car home quickly when there were reports of hail stones, putting it safely in the garage.

When the storm passed, the two ladies went to lunch, which I declined, so I went home to Mom’s before Danny and I left for the shopping outing. I gave her my leftover pancakes and sausages to enjoy for lunch but they are yet in the fridge. Pigs in a Blanket, they are called, but are quite large blankets!

As I mentioned, we had a tough time sleeping last night, but earlier we entertained Lynn, Jill, and Danny for dinner, as Mom made luscious Swiss steak in her slow cooker. She made mashed potatoes in the ‘wave plus veggies and all was quite yummy. Danny, Lynn, and I got busy changing a light bulb in the fixture in Mom’s guest room, his first time ever attempting such a thing. I was too short to reach from the chair (plus Justin does not like me climbing), and it’s hard for Lynn to put her head back due to vertigo. He got the cover off, Mom washed it, and he managed to change one bulb as Lynn held his legs for him. I held the bolt and the bulbs, and offered advice (bossed!). The second bulb was quite tight so Lynn climbed up and did manage to loosen it, but we decided to leave only bulbs lit in this room. Danny climbed up to replace the fixture but he had trouble keeping the glass balanced while turning the bolt on, so Lynn finished the job. Then he got busy with an Allen wrench, and after Lynn demonstrated for him, he secured Mom’s kitchen chairs. His first ever attempts at household duties and he did well.

Prior to dinner, he showed us his collection of art projects done in school and I was quite impressed with his work. He had collages, watercolors, and other types of work, and we were able to discuss his methods and mediums. Jill said she had not looked through the artwork herself yet and was also impressed. After that discussion, we decided to get the supplies we shopped for today. Tomorrow he and I must go to MLHS to collect a chair he painted for art class. We could have gone today but the school is vacant after 1:00 pm. Must go in the morning hours then!

In the afternoon, following our lunch at Culver’s, Mom, Lynn, Linda, and I went shopping at Younkers, in order to get Mom some clothes that fit properly. All her church clothes are too baggy on her and she likes to look nice for church events. And what a time we had there!!! Mom got many pieces, all on sale, and I even got her a couple items, also on sale. She fought me on that, but it’s the least I can do for her, right? It’s for my own benefit that she looks nice, since I have to look at her! Linda got a couple things as did Lynn, finding a pair of blue dress slacks. We had a nice time and saved hundreds of dollars. Mom wants to go back again and save some more money!

Lynn took half days of vacation on Monday and Tuesday, so we took advantage and enjoyed lunch both days. Monday we went to the Charcoal Grille where Mom treated and we shared a wonderful, wonderful rib eye steak sandwich with onion straws. Oh, my goodness, was that delicious! Linda, Lynn, and I enjoyed an adult beverage with our meal and Mom had coffee. In the afternoon, I went over to Linda’s for a bit to schnudder and enjoy her patio. She was making dinner, too, preparing a chicken for roasting on the grille. Tommy and she were going shrub shopping after dinner so I did not accept her offer to stay. While there, Justin called to report the news about Anthony Weiner confessing, as he excitedly told us the story. Linda turned on the news and sure enough, the story was all over the place! As he drove home, he exclaimed that he came upon a car which had flipped over on the ramp to I-295 and it seemed the woman was able to extricate herself from the car. He said the EMT appeared to be about 20 years old, and said he saluted the woman as she got out of the car. The EMT saluted, not Justin.

He is suffering from a sunburn earned over the weekend at the beach and at his home so was keeping himself lubed up with aloe lotion. Carrying heavy ladders and wood trim on his shoulders did not help one bit with the soothing, as you might imagine. I told him where he could find more lotion at my house if he needed it but he said he had plenty on hand, so to speak. Justin had applied sun screen but missed a few places, including the tender ‘white’ skin on the underside of his arms. That hopefully won’t happen again!

I have started get more regular requests for when to expect me home again, including a phone call today from my pool friend, Mary Lew. They had the first water aerobics class today and she missed me. Marlena told her mistakenly that I was injured or something but I assured her that I am fine, only very far away! A couple other folks reached out via Facebook, which is nice. Our Trivia team played last night without Justin and me, and took fourth place. No prize but at least a good exercise for when we get back at it. Stephanie sent me a message asking one of the questions: Which city in the USA is the most populous one without a professional sports team? The right answer is Austin, TX but it took a while to come up with it. They did not win, but I appreciated the opportunity to play from afar….

Listening to the singing

Not my usual source of musical entertainment, but, instead, WI song birds are warbling outside in the trees of Mom’s building. They sure do put on a concert! Sometimes I wake in FL to the ducks or geese making their racket but for some reason these little, attractive-looking birds make much greater noise than the larger water birds manage. Lynn reported that they wake her up in the mornings with their songs and chirping, and she starts pretty early in the day!

We have had some fairly high winds, one day this week having gusts of over 40 miles an hour! So glad I was not wearing a dress when I went to lunch with my classmate, Dean, on Wednesday. We met at Applebee’s and never ran out of things to talk about, even though, as he said, we were not that friendly in high school. Not that we were not friends, but simply were in different circles, even in our small school.

Somehow or another our conversation wound around to church, imagine that! Dean’s wife is a Lutheran school teacher in an area school attached to their church, which he reported as being in ‘healing’ right now. They had a particularly rough run with a “progressive” pastor which took their small church for a wild ride. Now they have a solidly confessional man leading the flock, and, as he said, healing.

Speaking of healing, Dean had to give up his job of driving bus for a tour company when he was diagnosed with Kennedy’s Disease, in the family of ALS. My friend, Martie’s, brother and two nephews have this same disease so I was familiar with it. Dean says he regrets nothing in his life, has driven through or visited the 48 contiguous states and not even the disease does he look upon as a set-back. As you might guess, we had quite wonderful conversations, and don’t mind wiping an eye or two. Thank heaven for Facebook helping to bring us together after all these years! Dean told the waitress we were just talking after she cleared our dishes away, saying we had 25 years worth of catching up to do. A man sitting at the bar, eating, appeared to be a man passing through on business turned around and said to me, “Your dentist must love you! You have the most beautiful smile!” Yes, I do believe my dentists love me, I have put additions on their homes and bought them horses over the years!

Friday I had breakfast with another friend with whom I connected on Facebook, who needed a comforting word and listening ear. And a good breakfast! It was difficult for her to reach out, as normally she would be the one responding to a call, and I was glad to be able to meet with her and listen a bit. Oh, I did my share of talking, have no fear! The potato pancakes I ate at “Fork and Knife” were not the best, leave that to Perkins! I drove to the restaurant in the rain and wind, but came out to only cold wind. Tuesday we had temps in the 80’s and it was bliss, but since then we had wind and cooler temps, with peeks of sunshine. But no snow!

This weekend is an air show at the small regional airport so there is increased air traffic around here. It sounds like home to me but draws the attention of this small town. Last night I heard jets going over and some of my mom’s neighbors were on their balconies, looking for them. Hopefully the wind stays quiet enough for the show as it features wing walkers, hot air balloons, and helicopter rides, besides a visit by a stealth fighter plane. Some of the planes have to land in Green Bay as the landing strip in Manty is not quite long enough.

I have gotten a bit of shopping done, finding not denim capris, as my search was for, but rather some olive green capris, plus a couple tops which were found at Shopko. Yesterday, Linda went shopping with Lynn, Mom, and I and we caused quite a commotion at Shopko, thanks to Lynn and Linda. Mom went her own way in search of a top for an outfit while we three ladies went to the women’s sizes to shop. On the clearance rack, I pulled out this very interesting black and white top with a garish amulet gathering the front of outfit. When I remarked that I liked it, both ladies dissolved in laughter, resulting in glasses steaming up, tears running, and legs being crossed. Mom stood in the aisle and looked with dismay at the hysterical ladies. It seems that Lynn had pulled that same “ugly” top off the rack and Linda had remarked at how hideous it was…and then I came along and admired it! Other ladies around us seemed to enjoy our fun and were laughing, too, but did not know why! Linda laughed so hard, her necklace popped off! Gotta love shopping!

Working backwards

Tuesday in Manty was a lovely day, with high temps in the 80’s, windy and even a crash of thunder to startle us at one point. Lynn did not hang her wash out today as it was predicted to be a stormy one but that really did not materialize. In fact, her wash would have been dried in no time at all in the wonderful breezes. Oh well….instead, we went to have breakfast at Warren’s Restaurant, although one of us actually had breakfast!

From there we went to Hartmann’s Garden Center where Mom found some flowers to plant in her window box and I found a lovely glass candle holder on sale in the gift shop. And made a friend, who enjoyed looking at the pretties as much as I did! We also made a trip to Wal*Mart to get a few things but we were warned of a pending storm complete with hail so hurried through the store to avoid being pelted. That never did happen so we rushed for no reason. After dropping off Lynn at her home again, Mom and I came back and wrestled our purchases up to her apartment. Whew! Who knew “Bonanza” was such a fun show to watch in the middle of the day?

Since I had trouble going to sleep last night, it felt good to take a short nap before having dinner at The Green Street with Lynn, Jill, and Danny. Perch! At long last, I had my perch, and no bones caught in my throat, either. Oh, so good! Mom was tired so opted to stay home but I brought her a piece of poppyseed torte and a perch filet to enjoy at home.

Earlier at Wal*Mart, I got a bottle of Tylenol PM to take for sleeping, normally breaking one in half at bedtime. That might have been my problem last night, as I had not brought any along for this trip. Tonight will certainly be a good sleep!

Monday morning some of us met for coffee at Manitowoc Coffee before heading out to the curb to watch the Memorial Day parade. What a delight it was to see the patriotic parade, soldiers and sailors and even Civil War re-enactors march along ‘main street’. (I took many photos but have not a way to unload them here, will have to wait until I am at home or perhaps on Jill’s computer, if she has a place to insert my photo card in her printer. That would be awesome!) Lisa and her family joined Mom, Lynn, and me to wave and put our hands on our hearts when the flag came by. At one point, when packing up, I realized my purse was not with me, and I rushed back into the coffee shop building to see if it was in there. Sure enough, one of the shop owners had just discovered it hanging on a chair and asked me, “Are you looking for this?” I hugged and kissed her and wished her God’s blessings for saving me losing my purse. Love love love this small town culture!!!

In the afternoon, Alayna and I attended a graduation party at church while the rest of the family went to Lisa’s house in Sheboygan for a cook-out. Naomi’s party was a true delight and I enjoyed chatting with some ladies there, some of whom are life-long acquaintances and one, a Facebook friend! We stayed about an hour or so and then headed to Lisa’s, arriving in time to eat again. They had a bonfire going in the backyard which was most welcome as it was NOT in the 80’s for Memorial Day! Lisa made apple and cherry ‘pies’ on her bonfire using a camping tool called Camp Chef, with simple slices of bread and pie filling. Yummy! Angelo, was, of course, adorable as all get out, laughing at himself in the mirror on his bouncing seat. Love it!

When we got back to the apartment, I watched a couple episodes of “House” before Mom and I watched the reunion show of M*A*S*H last night before going to bed, and, as mentioned, I had troubles going to sleep.

Sunday was graduation in the afternoon at MLHS and I got to see so many people that I knew. Family members and extended family from the in-law side of the family, folks I knew from FG days, and met Lisa’s pastor from where the boys attend school. She introduced me as the “auntie who writes the thank you notes” for the tuition help her family got for the boys’ education. I began to thank him some more and got choked up, explaining, “I cry easily…” and he said, “It must run in the family!” which made us laugh! She is just like me in that respect. His wife will be the boys’ teacher this next semester, both in the same classroom for 2011-12.

It was a quiet evening on Sunday, as we were tired from our full day of worship, fellowship, and then more fellowship around a large table at “Fork and Knife” restaurant with the family and Tom and Linda. The waitress did a fine job taking care of all of us, with Lori and David leaving right from there for home. Lisa and family were there, too, as they stayed overnight at the hotel where Lori was, enjoying the pool in the evening after Danny’s party, which was on Saturday. A nice weekend all in all for them.

As I mentioned, I have tons of photos to share but they will have to wait until I can unload them somewhere. We were in the news paper, my family was, either at MLHS graduation or at the parade. Celebs all!

A Memorial of my own!

I made it! I am here! Against the odds, I eventually arrived in WI later Friday evening than my itinerary indicated I would. Justin came to my house on Friday morning, telling me that he would come not long after he woke up that a.m., as he told me on Thursday, “I don’t want you to have any stress…” Somehow, that did not work out once I left Jacksonville. After my tearful farewell to him at the airport, I navigated without incident through security, going through the “put your arms over your head and make moose ears” screening device, which was more of a test of following simple directions than anything else. I did not mind being called “young lady” one little bit.

The flight to Atlanta was swift and without incident, and I made my way to the next gate with time to spare, allowing for a Chik Fil A sandwich and even some Aunt Annie’s cinnamon pretzel sticks. We boarded our flight to MKE, I was on track to have Lori and David collect me there on their way to Manitowoc. All seated, buckled in, and then the announcement came: “This is your Captain. When we landed we had one of the three generators not operating, which is fine, but now that the tail generator was disconnected, we see that we lost a 2nd generator. Who is optimistic with me that the mechanics can repair it in 20 minutes like they think?” I did not offer my support on this. Glad I didn’t because the repair they attempted failed and I had not charged my phone in the airport as I should have, leaving me with limited battery power. I borrowed a phone from the young lady next to me (we eventually because quite familiar as you will hear) and called Mom to let her know, asking her to call Lori and let them know.

Well, we had to get off the plane again and were told to wait in the gate area for further information, except those who had to make connections. They were sent down the hall to rebook. Immediately I located an outlet and charged my phone, sending text messages to Lori about the situation. The pilot stayed with us the entire ordeal, herding us from gate to gate before we found a plane that could leave once it landed. Three times we changed gates, and three times we boarded the planes, en masse. I felt most badly for the service people trying to get home to see their families on leave, and others on the plane had tickets for the Brewers’ game that night. Instead of arriving in MKE at 4:00 pm as planned, my plane landed around 7:45. And my heroes, Lori and David, found stuff to do instead of ditching me in MKE! My family and I were planning a dinner at Charcoal Grille that night but cancelled that as well. It was so wonderful to get upstairs to Mom’s and situated. For my inconvenience, I was given a $100 travel voucher from Delta…We’ll see if that is all I get, once I pursue this a bit further.

Saturday morning a group of my family went to have coffee (soda) at Manitowoc Coffee downtown where I saw some people I knew from the old days. Former neighbors and fellow builders who were host parents for one of the foreign exchange students graduating from Lutheran High Sunday. Nice! In the building where the coffee shop was housed were also a couple gift shops where Lori bought a purse. The man running the shop, I discovered, was a former classmate of mine, actually a year older than me, had a crush on me 100 years ago, as was indicated in my yearbook. (Proof!!!) He did not recognize me but I knew him. Lori got the MLHS alumni discount when buying a purse from his shop!

Kerry, Lori, and I went to run some errands for the graduation party to be held that afternoon for my nephew, Danny, and found a stand selling brats. Oh my! And do I love Festival Foods grocery store, too! The brat was delicious, would have to hold me over until I get my first perch sandwich, which was to have been Friday night!!!!!

More later, time for the Memorial Day Parade downtown! Thank you, service members, active and retired, for your service, and thanks to those whom we are remembering today!

The clock is ticking....

Here it is, 5:30 pm, and I still have not packed for my trip. I wish I had a midsized piece of luggage to use rather than my giant-sized suitcase but oh, well. Even though it is cold up there, by compare to FL, I am not taking my big, fluffy sweaters along, leaving more room for packing. It would stink to pack in too small a piece and then have to struggle in getting stuff home again. Sometimes it happens that items come home with me, but am not sure if much shopping will take place or if it’s needed. Shopping can be just plain fun too!

Right now the sliding doors are open as are the exterior doors. When I left for Bible study this a.m., I turned on the A/C to run until I returned in order for me to open the kitchen door. Justin was warned about this in case he comes over when I am away, although the humidity might be lower with the doors closed. He suggested over lunch that the door could be sanded down or adjusted in some way to prevent that from happening. We shall see about that…

Mmmm….somebody’s grille smells good! Not sure where it is coming from but it sure smells awesome. Hopefully the weather will improve enough in WI for us to have at least one fry-out at Mom’s. At least the church picnic will provide such burgers and brats, and the home-baked pies and cakes and bars! Starting right away tomorrow night, there are plans at some point in the day, except for Wednesday. Thursday Lynn, Linda and I are having lunch at Harborside before Linda and I get our nails done across the street. Wish I had not hacked away at my toes but certainly the professionals can repair the damage. Hope they don’t call me a ‘butcher’ like happened to me once with Cindy Sholes!! “You, butcha, you”, “you come back, every two week…” from the nice Asian woman.

Sunday night I saw Butch, the repairman, at the house concert. One of my former customers was there, too, and she was asking me about my house, if things were all put back together and such. Another lady standing nearby asked what happened, and Butch told her the whole long story. Later I apologized to him for having to repeat our sad lament but he said it was fine. He sort of likes to tell the story, a very animated little guy. We can look each other directly in the eye, that is how short he is! Now, it seems, he will have to talk to me some more as the insurance company for the folks below me wish to discuss my policies and such. That will need to wait until I am back home in FL, but I have forwarded the information to my insurer. Certainly they have the ‘power’ to address these issues, likely being no stranger to subrogation, the legal term for this action. In answer to Merry’s question, yes, I love my house! Especially when it’s not leaking on me, or me on anyone else!

Remember, folks, that Mom is on dial-up service in Manty so my blog posting might be less than daily. Perhaps you need a break from me anyway. See you when I get to Manty!