An empty nest again

Justin is gone for the night again, being picked up after work by Jesse and going with him to school. He said, “I will have to ‘occupy myself!’ while Jesse is in class…”, a little play on words! Earlier he sent me a text message telling me to look with the binoculars toward downtown to see if I could spot the blimp. Must still be here from Monday’s game or something. Just this moment, I heard a dull roar and rushed to the window to see if it was the blimp. Nope---it was a pair of giant helicopters making my windows rattle.

Speaking of window rattlers, my upstairs neighbors were having some demo work done in their river room. Due to the leaking which took place during the rain storm a couple weeks ago, which shorted out my TV power strip, they are having to replace their ceiling. A wood ceiling looks really nice but the wetness over a period of time caused mold to form between the wood and concrete. Out it comes! It did not bother me at all, especially since I was away until nearly 2:00 pm today. The repair team is the same ones who came to inspect my damage, wondering what I have done to repair the damage. Uh, nothing, except replace the power strip! I do not wish to tear out the entire ceiling in my family room to repair a small area.

This morning, Justin came tapping at my bedroom door to wake me up. Normally I would have been awake at that hour but instead was in the midst of a dream involving a circuit pastor’s conference and me making a fuss about something being planned. Good thing he woke me or I might have said something I should not have! The second day in a row I served as his wheel man for taking him to work before 7:00 a.m., dropping him at Blanding and Kingsley area. It’s not too early for me to be awake, but it is a bit too early for me to be out and running around. He really needs to get his car checked over and that’s it!

Today’s Bible study, minus Justin because of working, had fewer people but a very interesting subject. The topic is yet the Ministry of the Keys, which prompted some deep discussion. We heard about the days when people in the congregation would make ‘public confession of a public sin’, receive the forgiveness of their fellow members, as well as from the Lord. I wondered if society had influenced that practice fading in its use or what other reasons would there be for this not taking place any longer. Pastor had no sure answer, we just speculated on the reasons, talking about how one determines the seriousness of a sin as compared to another, and so on. Someone brought up the break-down of the family unit over the years, how little is done anymore when people live in sin or bear children out of wedlock, even senior adults who live together without marriage in order to keep their Social Security. It’s as though nothing is black or white anymore, there is ‘fine print’ or a disclaimer attached to sin.

The conversation progressed to the Biblical role of men and women. My remarks were ‘do we really want another responsibility?’ when it came to women’s role in the congregation. Pastor mentioned that often men, left to their own devices, would rather stay home and be little boys. I found that mildly but sadly amusing. His point was if women overstepped, the men would step back, which was my point exactly! It is our role as women to encourage our leaders and let them be our voices, just as takes place in the home. Not a friendly attitude or practice in the world, but I am good with it. After all, I have enough to do already, working behind the scenes, sometimes quietly….

After class I had to fly, or drive directly, to Carrabba’s on San Jose Blvd. for a luncheon hosted by my investment counselor friend, Diane. Justin was originally to be my guest but had to cancel his RSVP when he found out he needed to work today instead. He was so hoping to see Kyle Brady again, after we had shared a table with him at Koko’s a few weeks ago. Kyle is a law student besides handling investments so was in classes today. Justin was also looking forward to the wonderful Carrabba’s food and did miss his favorite chicken dish, Polo Rosa Maria. I had the sirloin marsala which is my dish of choice when we go for dinner. Some nice ladies were seated around me and I had a wonderful visit with them. Some were widows or the divorced spouse of railroad men, as the RR Credit Union was absorbed by the financial company that I work with. Just regular ladies having a regular good time at lunch---love it! Always always always I meet such nice people at Diane’s functions. She will have another one in the spring so I hope they are there for that one, too.

My thoughts and prayers are with my friend, Rita, as she makes a hasty trip to MI to her mom’s hospital bedside. This might be the final time she sees her mom alive, as her diabetes is taking her life little by little. Mom is done fighting and is ready to go home to the Lord. Poor Rita has many details to address here in regard to her son and his getting cared for, as her husband lives and works in Canada. The church family is helping her out until her spouse can get home. Tears were shed and hugs shared, and now prayers requested on her behalf…

House Concert in Holmen

My sister and brother-in-law, Lori and David, hosted a house concert this past weekend, featuring musicians who perform Celtic melodies. Their home was decorated cellar to attic (nearly!) for the weekend's Tour of Homes, so the band was bathed in CHRISTmas lights.

This shot was taken from the landing on the stairs, looking down into the family room at the performers. David posted video of the performance as well via Facebook so if you are a Friend of mine, you can listen there. This is David's element and Lori's is the decorating, a fine team!

Hey, the moon is out!

What’s going on? It’s only 4:00 pm and already the moon is out. As I glanced up, an airplane wwaayy up high crossed the face of what I can see as the moon’s. The sun is shining as well and it is quite warm for December. Even last night, for the Ladies’ Group party, I had to run the air conditioner to cool the house for the hot guests. When I was bustling about, I did, too, get a bit warm but once seated, was quite comfortable. Today was predicted to be in the mid-70’s but later in the week, we will also have lows in the 40’s. Wrap and peel weather, to be sure!

My lips are chapped and are most annoying to me. Perhaps dry is more the word, but regularly are slathered with Blistex balm to sooth them. It’s not working! Lipstick does little to solve the problem either. I am drinking more water in hopes it will touch my lips and then stay there to moisten.

The Ladies’ Group party was very nice, not quite as many guests as I would have liked, but just the perfect number for my chairs. Before the ladies came, I had pulled out four folding chairs just in case we needed them, being easier to handle, I thought, than the heavier metal ones from the river room. My back did not like wrestling them from the front hall closet, as nothing is ever as simple as it seems. The closet is spacious, only not deep, so one must pivot left or right to get things out. My back was quite pleased to lie down at the end of the night.

Martie called me from work on her way over Monday night to ask if I needed anything. Ice! She really made my day by bringing a bag of ice. I had gotten a bag from Jessica but feared it would not last through the party and now, I had enough to make it for a couple more parties. Who gets so excited about a bag of ice?? The ladies arrived in teams, as I requested they car-share to make parking more convenient.

My plans were to serve the bottle wine from Thanksgiving, brought by Larry, only it was not a screw cap. While I own a wonderful Pampered Chef wine bottle opener, I have never used it. Oh, oh! Wanting to be sure all things were ready before the guests arrived, I asked my neighbor, Randy, to open it for me. Instead of using my fancy PC tool, he came equipped with three different ones, in order to instruct me in the fine art of bottle opening. I cannot complain since I was the one asking the favor, right? At least I didn’t have to break the top off on the edge of a table like they do in the Westerns! Fortunately, the one guest knew how to use the corkscrew and opened her own bottle of Hawaiian wine, which many enjoyed.

Gretchen brought me a gift for being hostess---a lovely gift box with a roll of toilet paper in it. Oh that Gretchen!!! I just love her!!! The ladies brought refreshments, a delicious assortment of treats, some homemade and others store purchased, all perfect for the party. I got to keep some leftovers including some Renee’s husband made, called “Whoopie Pies” which resemble round Suzy Q’s, with layers of colored, flavored cream filling. One was cherry flavored and the other minty. Add a pretty do-dad in frosting to the top, and it looks like a professional treat. She left the remainder here for me! Talk about a wonderful leftover! I have been munching on my remaining meatballs which smell and taste so good.

The Jaguar game was due to begin about 8:30 but that was not the reason people started to leave. It was like all of a sudden the party was over, the moment I hate the most. Just because one or two were leaving, they all decided to leave. I was hoping some would hang around to watch the game with me, but at least Terri T. stayed and helped straighten up. Carol was so funny as she was one who actually was hustling to get home for the game. She and her dad have a ritual where she calls him before or during the game to compare notes, instead of watching in the same house. Like I do with my sisters and friends in WI when a Packer game is on! Only there are 1200 miles keeping us apart!

Terri cleared the table, rolled the table cloth up, and even carried the chairs back to the dining room. She wanted to rinse the dishes too and load the machine but I stopped her from doing that. She knew my back was tired and had mercy on me. I had told her that Justin would move the chairs but she just got busy, like a whirlwind, and took care of it. It tickled me to see her using the Windex on the glass-topped table in the family room, because she knew right where to go to find it—under the sink! It was great! Before she left, she gave me a couple pizza-sized cookies from those she brought, from Panera Bread…mmmmm!

It felt good to lie down on the bed to watch the football game but when the Jaguars were doing so poorly, going into half time, I simply rolled over and went to sleep. At some point I remember hearing the score of 34-14, not a total wipe out, but guess I didn’t miss much. Not edge-of-the-seat like the Packer game was, to be sure! Sleep restored my back and I woke to a cleaned up house. Nice!

Justin at the game

Justin was given on-field passes for the pre-game for the Packers/Giants game Sunday and posed at the goal post on the field. He is wearing layers, with his Aaron Rodgers' jersey over the top! Hope he was snug enough! If you click the photo, you can see some of the players on the field, including some Packers!

Now you're talkin'

Line 'em up for lunch at Chili's! That is one smart waitress and she was rewarded for her efforts!

A full Sunday

Last night, or rather very early this morning, Justin sent me a text message from New York. He reported he was going to be on the plaza at Fox and Friends in the morning and wanted me to watch for him. He also asked me to let ‘the up north family’ know too but the only way I could do that reasonably was to post it on Facebook and hope word spread.

Linda J. and I were in communication via text message when we finally did see him. Kerry reported going downstairs to her neighbors’ apartment to watch of their TV. She said she saw him a couple times so at least three of us spotted him, sporting his Packer hoodie and smiling just like his mama! He told me he would be there around 7:30 and I thought I did see him earlier and got all excited. There was a tall man wearing a Packer sweatshirt with a coffee cup to his face. Justin reported that was not him, he was not on the plaza yet. The next time I did see him, though, was actually him, twice!

After the early morning (post midnight) text messaging, I had a little trouble going back to sleep but eventually did, waking up again in time to watch F&F so as not to miss seeing my boy. I hesitated leaving for Bible study and missing seeing more of him, in case Rick Reichmuth spoke to anyone in the crowd, but risked it. When I arrived in the Fellowship Hall, no one was there. Spooky.....Their coffee cups and cloth bags with Bibles or hymnals were next to chairs and service folders on the tables. The Rapture???? No, everyone was in the church, which was not typical. Pastor opens Sunday school first and then comes into the Fellowship Hall for Bible study, where the majority of us are already in place. Yesterday he had everyone leave the F.H. and go into the church for a Bible history lesson, since the kids were not actually having a lesson during Advent. They are preparing for their Christmas program now, with seven or eight kids being in SS, four from one family!

The highlight of our worship is singing the Gathering Rite: “Come, Come Emmanuel” where the congregation continually sings this refrain as the cantor, Robbie, sings the stanzas underneath it. So beautiful and sets the perfect tone for Advent worship. After church was a Family Connects function complete with soup and rolls, so folks who didn’t get the memo found themselves in the middle of making ‘holiday’ ornaments for the Fellowship Hall tree. I was invited to come to eat but was going out instead. The Chappells and I went to Chili’s where I had my standard fare of appetizer as meal. The funny thing was how the waitress set me up with three mugs of Diet Coke at once!

Once home, I rested up for Ladies’ Advent Service at Victory. Janet B. was coming to pick me up, offering to be the driver, and I suggested she come over after cleaning up the mess from the Family Connects event so she could rest too. She did, but not with enough time to really rest. We saw a few minutes of the Packer game before we had to leave for Victory and oh, how I wish I could have watched that game!

The service was lovely, the music amazing, as Suzanne and Rachel accompanied the singing. I got to see Stephanie again and sat together at the same table, hosted by our young friend, Elissa. She is a high school student, perhaps a 9^th grader, not sure of that, at whose table I sat last year. And a wonderful hostess! Janet, Carol and Laurie rounded out our table, plus Stephanie, who is a neighbor to Elissa. Her mom, Emily, came when she got done working at the hospital and we squeezed her in. While we ate, I got updates on the football game, which was nearly tied up. One of the men on site to help with clean-up and all that was recording the game at home and did not want to hear what was going on. Kerry and others were filling me in via Facebook but it was my neighbor, Jessica, who let me know the outcome. I told her I was not home to watch it and she said, “No wonder it was so quiet down there!” Her remark to me was “What a great game for Justin to watch!”, which I thought was so nice of her to note.

We dropped off Kerra, the UNF student who is studying voice and sang with our choirs for Reformation, on our ride home. There are photos of her, I believe, posted on my site, singing with Robbie at the piano. She is a lovely young woman who performed for two concerts already this weekend and was exhausted by the end of the day. Janet left me at the door with her promise to see me tomorrow, as I am hosting the Ladies’ Group Christmas party. I must say it was absolutely fantastic to see my lady friends at Victory again, many of whom I did not see at Reformation, and see the gorgeously decorated tables, over-the-top beautifully done. I had opted to not have our own Ladies’ Advent Service, as I leaned over to tell Janet, “This is a tough act to follow…” I explained that I no longer had it in me to make things like this happen but she strongly disagreed! In her words, “STOP”, with palms extended. Just picture it….

Having a good “at-home” day

It has gotten dark out, the end of a day spent at home. The wind is blowing madly from the sounds of it, but it was a glorious December day out there. Very near to being 70 above zero and later this coming week, might reach 77. The bad news is the very next day, the temp will drop about twenty degrees. Wrap and peel weather, to be sure!

I was not home-bound all day, however, as my friend, Terri T., asked me to breakfast. When she saw I posted my morning Bible passage on Facebook, she knew I was at least awake, if not up and about. She sent the text at 7:30 and by 8:00 am, I was at the table in the restaurant, looking mighty smart, I should add. One of our fellow members was there with his motorcycle buddies. Bill and the others were heading to Lake City for a ride to raise money for the Toys for Tots program, I think he said. He rides with this group of fellow veterans and have flags on the back of their bikes. I asked if they would be warm enough and he assured me they were wearing layers. If the air temp was not cold enough, riding a motorcycle would make it feel that much worse.

Terri was getting to see her little grandson this afternoon, and perhaps taking him to the movies. Her step-son had to work so she was entertaining the toddler until his dad was available. How I do love getting an invitation like this and flying out the door to have breakfast at Grumpy’s! They are so nice there and when I asked the waitress to add 6 dinner rolls to my ticket, she said she already did! At least, I thought she said that---what she actually said was she put both our orders one ticket. When she walked away, both of us thought she knew what I was going to ask for. You know how I love good customer service!

On Tuesdays when we walk in at Johnny Angels Diner, the wait staff knows I want Diet Coke and Stephanie wants water with lemon. Justin messes with them, though, by ordering either soda or coffee, depending upon his day. The waitress asks me if I want my usual, and ‘usually’ I do! Justin gets the same thing every time too, which we appreciate them remembering week from week. Not only our orders, but that of our team. Nothing Tips Like a Cow took first place this past week, in case I failed to mention it in the blog….

Justin sent me a photo which I posted earlier, taken from his hotel window. Last night he posted on Facebook that he was dining at the same Irish pub/restaurant where he and I dined a couple years ago with Hope Meyer. Love that he went back with his entourage for another experience! Today he saw some of the protesters and had unkind things to say about them. Go figure! Tomorrow is the football game and I am hoping all that goes well for him.

I was trying to watch the live feed from Fox News on my computer, which was airing from the headquarters of Herman Cain this afternoon. Finally I had to look away as the camera was wiggling, making me feel motion sick, like watching my home movies! I took to my reclining position and waited to hear Herman’s announcement. Not surprising, he decided to suspend his race for President but plans to continue pressing his issues via a website. Justin and I are greatly disappointed about how Herman worked out, not limited only to his accused indiscretions. We had seen/heard him speak at Fair Tax and tea party events, listened to him on the radio for years, and all that. He seemed to really have a grip on the issues, but evidently, did not, and in particular, foreign policy. Herman, under closer scrutiny, is flawed. I hate when people, like all of us, show flaws! It’s such a human thing to have happen.

Linda sent me a text message tonight reporting she had a good deal of pain today so has to stay over one more night. She is sure the good drugs will help her have a better night and go home tomorrow, as is the plan. My upstairs neighbor, Jessica, is a physical therapist and she told me once how her patients sapped her. At the end of the day, she would have nothing left, having used up all her patience and comfort during the day as her clients were generally in all sort of pain when they see her. I never thought of it that way but I can sure see how that could happen. That was why she didn’t go back to work after having her first baby, and now with two of them, she is sapped entirely!

The outreach newsletters are ready to go and tonight I am working on my CHRISTmas cards. Feeling quite ahead of the game here!!