Flowers!

My friend, Diane, who also invests for me, came over last night and brought me a wonderful bouquet of flowers. She is just a dream of a friend and we always have so much to talk about when together, not the least of which is my finances. Two hours flew by far too quickly and I hated to say good-bye when the time came. Enjoy my flowers with me!

A Tuesday recap

Tuesday was an amazing day, starting early with a quick shower before I had to disembowel the lower cabinets where plumbing is located as the pest control man was coming. We had a ball-park estimate of his arrival on the property of 9 am to 1:00 pm, and I wanted to be ready. Since the cabinets were empty, I swept away the cruddlies which had made these dark recesses their home, and happily found no bug carcasses. Evidently whatever was sprayed last year has done the trick. Besides not being any bugs, this gives a person a chance to clean things out at least once a year!

Monday evening at the Board of Directors meeting, it was mentioned some of the units had leaks which became apparent during the recent rains. At some point the discussion determined that Jeff, my downstairs neighbor, who would be accompanying the pest control man to the units, would check the leak. When they came to my door, I directed Jeff’s attention to the window with the leak. He pointed out there was corrosion along the top of the window which has certainly developed over time. I stressed once more that the leak was originating above Jessica’s unit, with NO open porch or exposed areas. We realize that our river rooms were once exposed and not originally intended to be indoor space, but I AM concerned for the vacant unit above us which might be the source for the leaking. Yikes! He was going up there to check it out after he left my place, and I am interested to hear what he discovered.

So, back to the bug man---he went about his business, as busy as a bee!, spraying around the windows, doors, under the sinks, and so on. Once Jeff left, I redirected the bug man to my bedroom windows for an extra shot to address the jumping spiders that frequent there (Lynn would hate that!) and then pointed out that I had ants visiting my night stand and areas in my kitchen. He saw my bait things and agreed with me that terro is the BEST weapon against these ‘sweet ants’ (which must be different than sugar ants). He did not explain why---he is only the technician, after all. I will make a trip over to Winn Dixie to get terro, which is where I got it last time I had troubles, since the Hot Shots I am using now seem ineffective.

The fellow came up to me when he was done and asked if I still used my die-cuts and such, which he observed in the guest room. I said that I don’t use those tools as much as I did at first, and asked him why he wanted to know. It seems his wife does card making now more than scrapbooking, and he was going to offer me her die-cut tools. Now, isn’t that nice? Instead, I offered him my long-neglected rubber stamps which he was glad to take along. As I bagged them up, it occurred to me that I would have this empty stamp case, designed for holding stamps, lying around, so gave him the whole shooting match to take to his wife. He was so thankful. Earlier he told me that he would buy every new die-cut or supply, and even put himself on wait-lists for new products, to please his wife. Wow! I nearly gave him a smooch…but settled for sending the stamps along with him. Lots of money went out that door with him, but they were doing me no good drying up in the closet and will give her some joy, and he as well!

I did not immediately restock the cabinets, leaving them open to breathe a bit before I would put it all away again. The rest of the morning was spent putting the finishing touches on the newsletter for church and printed one off to mail to Gretchen. I like for her to have one done in color, but now that her sister and cousin have both passed away, she won’t have anyone to mail it to. That is what she did with her copy, mailed it off to share it.

For lunch I was attending a real live tea party at a shop down the street called “Basketique”. It is a gift shop and tea room rolled into one, and wow, what a marvelous shop it is! My eyes came out of my head as I browsed the shelves before the rest of the ladies arrived. This gathering was our water aerobics class, celebrating a wonderful season of water fun.

Since I do not drink tea, I asked Marlena if I could bring my own soda and she said I could, so had one in my purse. Fortunately, our hostess provided me with two tiny cans of Diet Coke which tided me over, but I did have to agree to at least try the tea. And I did!

What a feast we had!!! I can only begin to report what we had because it was not my usual fare of Spam on toast---more like heart-shaped bread, miniatures, with a special ham salad and goat cheese, and a heart-shaped pickled beet on top. I ate it and I loved it! There were other delicacies such as unusually flavored crackers (to me, anyway) with salmon spread and such, similar to what to was served at the “royal wedding”. There was pumpernickel bread cut into flower shapes and some sort of green stuff, and a cucumber slice. This was only the beginning! We had strawberry soup, more like pudding, with cocoa-flavored granola to sprinkle on top; cheese twists that tasted sort of like pie crust that was served with two different types of salsa, one of which was peach. I did not try the salsas, but was not crazy about the cheese sticks. Numerous types of teenie sandwiches came out, plus an olive/carrot/other veggie chopped up-type of mixture in olive oil, served with sour dough crackers, cheese cubes and salami. Oh my goodness!!!!

Pat, the hostess of the shop and tea room, told us everything we were served is also sold in the shop. I even ate some sort of potato chip that had a chili flavor to it, and liked it! Totally out of my spectrum of ‘likes’. I am already planning to bring the church ladies here perhaps in spring on a Saturday but we must make our plans quickly as her slots are filling in quickly for the coming months. The best kept secret in Orange Park, right under our noses! I want a jar of that olive stuff, which Pat said can be eaten directly from the jar if we want to, but she was out of stock on it. Believe me, I will check back in periodically to see if it has come in…yes, it was THAT delicious! For dessert she served cut up scones with two different dipping items but I could not eat anything more. Our final treat was a tea cup shaped cookie with a marshmallow topping, chocolate drizzle, and a raspberry on top. We also had fresh fruit on the table, served with cottage cheese which I ate, giant-sized berries at that. Such a delightful feast!

Facing a blackout next week

The Jacksonville Jaguars, of whom I am a fan, had a very rough day on the field in Charlotte, NC yesterday. Just before half time, the heavens opened and an enormous downpour took place. It was difficult to see sometimes as the camera lenses were covered with rain drops. Water accumulated quickly on the field, and the guys would slide and splash as they tried to catch the ball. It was almost as though it was icy, as the quarterbacks and kickers had troubles hanging onto the ball. The cameramen were showing the waterfalls coming out of the stands and the pools forming in the end zones and sidelines. All the electrical cords and such draping around the players’ benches…yikes! The Jags ended up losing by one touchdown, and could have pulled it out if not for the errors on the field. One of the national announcers remarked that this is the team’s 3^rd quarterback this season, although technically David Garrard was off the roster before the first game was played. I fear that next week’s game a home will be blacked out due to low ticket sales and therefore, I will have to listen on the radio. Rats!

On the bright side, the Packers won!!! Unfortunately, I could not watch the game as Atlanta/Tampa Bay were aired here, but guess I could have gone to a sports bar or restaurant to watch it. My downstairs neighbors had suggested we all meet at the cabana for happy hour at 6:00, weather permitting, but weather did not permit. At about 5:00 it was thundering, and then the lightning and rain came for a couple hours. I really like the window-rattling crashing of thunder, even my lanterns were rattling!

Our Bible study yesterday was a continuation of the stewardship series, this week covering leadership. Again with the breakout sessions, our ‘table’ had to pick a person from the Scriptures who showed strong leadership and then explain why. There were only four at my table, with Judy C., Mike S., and an elderly man, Bill. He suggested John as a strong leader and I asked him, “Which John?”. It was John the Baptist and we had our work in front of us, given 4 minutes to make a case for him being a strong leader. By jingles, we did it, too.

When I went into the church after class, there was a member in the pew I had not seen in a while. She lives most of the year in West Virginia and helps her son raise greyhounds for racing. She will be in town for a couple months so we will see each other more often. Garnett thanked me for the newsletters I send her, and I was so glad to get some feedback from a recipient. I was also greeted by my friend, Gretchen, who reported that her dear cousin, Pat, for whom we have been praying, had died the day before. Poor Gretchen! Recently she lost her sister and now one of her favorite cousins. It is so cool to me how close that family is with their extended relatives and how they keep in touch after all these years. She said they all grew up together and such in Tampa, traveled together and such, so it is natural for them to stay in touch. It breaks my heart for her to lose yet another person close in hers…

Robbie was our pianist yesterday and during the offertory, he sang two stanzas of "Abide with Me", acapella. Later, Terri T. told him how much she enjoyed hearing that, and he said it was for those who recently suffered losses in their lives. She and I agreed that it is good to hear this even after the years have passed. Since it was Fellowship Sunday, we had refreshments after worship. At the table, I was singing “We give thee but thine own….” which we had sung in worship. Mike K. said, “Now that’s the Lutheran church I know!” This hymn was sung every week at their church in IL following the offering. That stuff sticks with you, you know?

The congregational/voters’ meeting went smoothly and quickly, so I did not miss much of the football game. The pregame show was on the radio as I drove home, but when I was coming toward the condo, I passed a car with my friend at the wheel. She backed up and I pulled back up the hill so we could talk. Lee apologized for missing the opening of Dee’s show and we made plans to get together to see it. She thought it was a one-time thing but I explained it’s there until December so we have plenty of time. She can’t attend the tea party with us on Tuesday as her son is coming to town so we will try to another time.

Okay, so make a liar out of me…Or at least, premature in my prediction about the black out. According to the radio just now, ‘only’ three thousand tickets remain to be sold by 1:00 pm on Thursday. There yet might be hope!!!

Photos of the quilt show, etc.

Remember that you can click the photo to enlarge it...

This was painted by the Lord on Saturday morning

This is a quilt Rita and I saw at the show on Thursday, a 25th anniversary commemorative quilt. She asked me to take a picture of it for her...this one caught her eye!

Our friend, Dawn, created this quilt with an Asian theme. There is a dragon making its way diagonally down the pattern

Dawn had about a half dozen entries at this event and I was looking for them as we walked the aisles. I came around the end and did a double-take on this one, for the obvious reasons, and discovered it was Dawn's!!!

This is the prize winner, created by Dawn, for this contest using the theme "Sky is the Limit". The entrants were given the fabric and the theme, and away they went. Dawn created this masterpiece which commemorates each site where planes flown by Muslim terrorists into our buildings or into the ground, as happened in PA. She then stitched 3500 glistening beads to this piece in remembrance of the souls lost in those days. Definitely worthy of the blue ribbon. Well done, Dawn, well done!

That is what I get for vacuuming!

Before getting ready for the day, I decided to vacuum clean my bedroom, because I was getting SO upset about the dirty floor. Justin was too busy and/or not able to get here to do it for me, and since it bugs me this greatly, I did it myself! Oh, my aching back! It has since recovered, being more weary than painful, but was I ever sweating. The A/C was on and the fan running as fast as it could, but I was wringing wet when finished. The humidity is extremely high these days while the air temps are in the 80’s. Right now, it is 89 above zero, according to the Weather Channel. No wonder I broke a sweat…

As part of the cleaning, I used the floor brush and got as close to the edges and under things as I could. I did a really good job while I was at it. Later, when I sat down here to work on the computer, it appeared as though my monitor was dimly lit which made me fearful that the sun might have affected it. After about an hour, a notice popped up to inform me the battery life was at 7% and that I had better plug my computer in before it shut down. I tried all the plugs, there must be six different things plugged into and around my laptop on the desk, but nothing helped. It was then I realized it was the power strip, and it was shut off. Mystery solved, with a simple flip of a switch. Just like my broken TV that was not really broken. Anyone need an old TV?

Some good stuff, some less than good

It was one year ago today, September 23, that the Great Flood took place. I am still a nervous wreck when I hear some sound I cannot identify but I do have clean and organized rooms to accompany my frayed nerves!

In reading the news on-line this a.m., it was reported that indeed someone had been killed in that wreck yesterday on the freeway. From the article, it seems a small pick-up truck was cut off in traffic by another car, swerved to get out of the way, entered the median and then came back on the road, wildly out of control. A sedan then swerved to avoid the truck and hit the light post, killing the passenger and seriously injuring the driver. The article does not say what happened to the truck, if they collided or not, or if other injuries were sustained, but did say the police are in search of the first vehicle that caused the upset in the first place. When Justin was learning to drive, more or less against his wishes, I would remind him that people tend to think they are the most important ones on the road, and to keep that in mind when driving. Their protective shield of steel and plastic tends to make people feel invincible or powerful, and greatly self-important, and sometimes, that ends badly. As it did yesterday.

On another note, the manatees are out in the river, enjoying the last of the warm days this season. It surprised me to spot them, frolicking and splashing outside the basin area, rather than where they normally carry on. Actually they are eating the grasses along the perimeter but they make it appear like so much fun.

The other morning I got a message from my neighbor, wondering why I was not posting the Bible passages on Facebook any longer. That was odd, because I never stopped doing it. Hmmm….Later, another friend from WI contacted me via Facebook wondering if I was having so much fun that I didn’t have to mess with Facebook…okay, what? It seems my privacy settings were strangely set in such a way that nothing I posted on the Wall was showing up, but folks could see my replies to other people’s postings. More than one person wrote later to express their relief that I was back, telling me they missed my morning postings from the Scriptures. Take THAT, you Facebook shunners!

Last week, I received a very nice letter from one of my high school teachers, in response to a note I sent him earlier in the year. He apologized for typing his letter but said it was easier to type than to write these days, due to arthritis in the hands and fingers. Howard mentioned that getting a ‘thank you’ at this juncture in his life makes up for the heart-ache and struggles of those days (not because of me, of course!!!), which is the icing on the cake. My friend, Judy J., lost her brother this late winter and she remarked at how many of her brother’s former students and kids he coached had come to the hospital to express their thanks for his guiding hand and continued influence in their lives. After she told me this, I decided to write to my teachers whom I thought were especially influential to me and let them know how they helped me, or blessed me, as the case might be. Howard is the only one who replied, although I did not expect to be acknowledged. Every time my fingers hit the keyboard, I am thankful to Miss Liese for teaching me how to touch-type!

Yesterday I bought a small cylinder of candy-coated cashews from a vendor at the Quilt Show. Some I ate in the car on the way home from Rita’s, waiting to open them when her son was not with us, as he has a peanut allergy and I didn’t want to cause a problem. The rest I ate here at my desk for lunch today, and now have quite sticky fingers and keys! Must get the alcohol to clean the keys and the pressurized air to remove the nasty crumbs. Oh, they were tasty!

I am hearing the faint roll of thunder in the distance, which my niece an hour south of me reported was tormenting them right now. In regard to funeral/memorial service for Marian, her mom, who passed away on Sunday---it seems there will be such next weekend as the family is coming from WI for a wedding taking place. It makes good sense to have both events when the brothers and sisters are in town, though I might have to sit this one out, unless my niece or Justin really wants me to come. Sure don’t want to cause any trouble or make anyone uncomfortable with my showing up---you know?

Monday I have set an appointment to meet with lady friend, Diane, who also invests money for me so we can discuss what in the world is going on with these markets. She has some suggestions for shuffling things around for added protections and I would prefer to meet in person instead of over the phone for stuff like this. Either way, I often have no clue even if she looks me straight in the face. But I like spending time with her, so no matter what, it’s a win!

Martie might be coming for dinner tonight, but had to see how her sister came out of surgery. June is having a cardiac catheterization done today and Martie wanted to hear what was going to happen in case she had to rush to June’s side. June has, it seems, some congestive problems which I was not aware of, and perhaps this procedure today will relieve some of her congestion. A few days ago Martie said the doctors thought she had pneumonia but it must have been disguising the real problem. Either way, I decided to make some dinner for myself and enjoy an evening at home.

For Bible study on Thursday, I picked up a dozen doughnuts to share with the group, bringing home more than half of that number. It ended up being two boxes shared since Harold and Lucy brought some, too. It didn’t matter to me---I brought the rest home to enjoy another time. When I went to get one for my breakfast this a.m., I had to fight the ants for it!!! Yikes!!! Immediately I got a trash bag, dumped the box in, and put it outside the door for later. Connie was on the 4^th floor and heard me come out, so she offered to take it down for me. I explained I would take it later but wanted to get the ants out of the house. She reminded me that the pest people come next week and I am so ready for their visit!

It was late when I went to sleep as I watched the debate and the programs following it last night. I slept until nearly 8:00 a.m. today, waking only once in the wee hours. My morning dream involved my moving in some place, and then having to be away. When I came home, I was greeted by several friends and discovered all my decorating had been done, with Dee and Julia doing a ‘hanging’ in my absence! One wall had pictures of my sisters displayed, and other areas had decorator items placed about, making for a homey appearance. I also remember looking in my pantry or a closet and noticing how neatly I had placed all my stuff, whereas my neighbors in similar quarters had a big mess. It’s funny because I don’t even have pictures of my sisters to hang on a wall. How does Dee do it????

What a wonderful day!

Even though it was the one year anniversary (it was a Thursday) of The Great Flood, it was a good day.

As I write this posting, I am listening to the debate and have to laugh at myself because the little tone sounded when the speakers are to be done is the same sound as when I get a Google message. I keep thinking someone is instant messaging me (now a verb!) even though I know it’s on the debate. This week’s event is sponsored in part by Google, hence the tone.

This a.m. was Bible study, our topic today being one of my favorites, “….He shall wipe away all our tears…” We read several passages from the Old Testament, many from Isaiah, which talks about the end of our tears and sorrow once we are with the Lord. Pastor Hoyer gave me the assignment to research the painting which goes with today’s lesson, The Last Judgement, to see if we can find out who is pictured in the fresco, which is located on the church walls in Munich, Germany. I told him I would do it, and then he made the remark that we sure miss having Justin in the class to speak to the art questions and such. Plus, he was quick with the iPad for looking things up for us. He will be so delighted to know he is missed!

After class, Rita and I went back to her house where I parked my car and got into hers. Together we went to have lunch and then head downtown for the quilt show. Our lunch was at the newly opened Bubba Burger on Baymeadows Road, owned by the people who are renting on the 5^th floor here. It was good, the fries extraordinary! Next time, I will order the smaller burger as the regular one was too large to finish. At the quilt show, we found several quilts made and entered by our fellow Bible study friend, Dawn, including the one commemorating the Islamic terrorist attacks which won her a first prize. She has offered it to Pastor Hoyer when the show is over, and I know he will be honored to have it. Absolutely gorgeous work at the quilt show, and it reminded me of the scrapbooking conventions that I used to visit!

When we were done at the show, we drove to Rita’s sons’ school to pick him up from chess club. We encountered a detour on San Marco Blvd. and Rita felt a bit lost but by following the signs, we got there! He attends a magnet school quite a distance from his home but he is flourishing there as a ‘gifted’ student who started his education while living in China. There he attended a British-run school whose curriculum did not match up with the grades here. Jon is doing great and is absolutely loving middle school. Rita told me how excited he is at the end of the day, and today, without prompting, he expressed how much he loved school, and in particular, one math teacher. Who loves a math teacher? A gifted young man, that’s who!

One the way home from Rita’s house, I had to stop for gas, just as it began to thunder and lightning. In getting on the freeway, the radio reported a 30 to 45 minute traffic delay on I-295 due to a number of accidents which have occurred. That made my stomach come into my throat, as I recall the horrible wreck we saw when Linda and Lynn were here. The first one I came upon was a motorcyclist, fortunately standing, being strapped to the backboard. It seems he would carried or lifted over the guard rails as the rescue squad and fire truck were on the northbound side of the road. That one wasn’t too bad….for me, anyway. The next one, the radio described as ‘serious’ was just that, as the car was being loaded onto the wrecker. It was a sedan that looked like a convertible, but did not start out that way. I pray no one lost their life in that accident or suffered terrible injury. The other two accidents were fender-benders by compare, and did not hold up traffic. In fact, I was hardly delayed at all, and certainly not by a half hour. Sure glad the accidents slowed the traffic down though, as rain makes people nuts!