Ready, set, GO!

Whew! I can now rest at just after 6:00 pm, almost entirely set to go for the trip tomorrow. All I need yet is for Justin to get home to stand on the scale with my suitcase to determine if I have indeed over packed. It would be awful to be told I am overweight! I can always pull some clothes out if it's too heavy and possibly replace them once in WI. Items needing to go, the presents and such, can stay, but if no one is concerned about me wearing the same outfits over and over, well, good!

For some reason, waking up so blame early to take Justin to work is making me tired! I don't think I sleep as well, fearing I will over sleep and cause him to be late. We had to leave earlier today as the boss asked them to begin about 15 earlier, for some reason. I dropped him off at the McDonald's as he was grabbing breakfast for Jesse and him, and his buddy would swing by with the truck to collect him there. 

When I got home again, I went right to my desk and got to work. I watched the rest of the news and was so drowsy, I wanted to put my head on the desk. What the heck? I will take a nap! My radio guy was on vacation so instead of listening to the radio, I found something to watch on TV during my rest. Imagine my joy of seeing "HOUSE" was on! I fell asleep about 30 minutes into the episode and slept through the other half and an entire next one! I was out like a light. And such dreams I had---oh my! One segment of the dream had a child getting his foot bitten by an alligator. It must be connected somehow with the HOUSE episode I slept through.

Plans had been made to meet my downstairs neighbors for lunch today at La Nopalera. Oh, it had been a long time since we ate there together and it felt so good. I enjoyed a strawberry margarita and half of my beef quesadilla. We discussed books and Tracy told some stories about a couple of her clients, young teens who made her laugh. Don't worry, she breached no confidentiality. Tracy is going to do a study on poverty, somewhat related to her class, and it sounds like it will be extremely interesting She is going to share the book with me when she is done. I had better get going on my own reading in that case. 

Tracy had to go back to work this afternoon and Cassidy was coming home to make cookies. She was making Justin's favorite, snickerdoodles, plus some others which are her dad's favorites. While I was in the restaurant, I got a phone call from a number I did not recognize so let it go to voice mail. Later when I checked it, the call was from my other neighbor who had a present for me. It seems she had been at a party with her lady friend, a chef for the Crown Plaza hotel, and won a drawing. She won a two night get-away at the C.P. hotel in Madison, WI. She has no use for such a thing but knew I was from WI, so she gave it to me! I have someone in mind for it once I get to Manitowoc. What a nice surprise it was. When I told Justin about it, he chuckled, saying it was like I live in a movie where people just come up and give me things for no reason!

I got the newsletter for church done as far as I could and e-mailed it to myself to finish when I get up north. I decided against taking my laptop along since the new battery I bought makes it quite heavy. The battery weighs as much as the laptop alone does, but holds a charge like it is supposed to do. I will have my phone to check e-mails and Facebook but will have to use Mom's computer to post my blog. My phone was not working properly so I got on-line with a technical person via a live chat. The first guy I had 'ended the chat' before we got anywhere so I tried again with a nice lady. The long and short of it was I had to shut off the phone and then she did a refresh from her end, which allowed once more for Internet connectivity. Yay! I kept chatting at her and she would send some pre-programmed answer to me. That only egged me on until she wrote her own sentences to me. Eventually I wrote, "I will shut up now so you can do your work". 


Justin was dropped off after work which freed me from running to get him. He sent me a text message saying I could take a nap before Trivia since he was getting a ride. Nice! We took 2nd place last night, but almost ended up being in 3rd. There was a new team playing across from us, a gaggle of young ladies who did not appear to be as wise as their score indicated. At one point toward the end of the game, Erica told us that one of the girls had her cell phone on under the edge of the table and was looking up answers. This happened once before where one of the teams was caught cheating so they quit coming. Anyway, this time, it turned out the guys sitting behind their booth turned them in. We moved up to 2nd place fair and square and had a ball doing it! It was nice having Erica, her friend, Chantey, and Erica's boyfriend, Justin, play with us. My Justin gave Stephanie a shopping bag full of DVDs for her to give Ed and Judy A. at church. They will then take them to the USO to be donated to the wounded warriors. A roundabout way of getting the DVDs where they need to be!

Since hearing the news about Justin's car troubles, I have gotten names and phone numbers of various places where we can take it for an estimate and possible repair. Just this evening I heard of two places including one where the cost would be less than a hundred dollars, if that is an accurate quote. Seeing is believing and we will take care of this once I am home. Thank the Lord for friends with connections and those with hope that the car is salvageable.

Tuesday was an action-packed day beginning with taking Justin to work in the wee hours of the morning. I got home again from there and worked on the newsletter until it was time for me to leave again. My first stop was the UPS store to mail my niece's camera to her in Palm Coast. She had accidentally left it at her uncle's wedding last September and the 'responsible one'---Justin---had collected all the abandoned items after the reception. Hers was the only item unclaimed and she wanted it back before CHRISTmas. Yes, I know, it was not my responsibility to get it back to her but she asked me as a favor, so I did. 

Once that was taken care of, I went toward the beauty shop for my grooming appointment. It felt so good to get this mop taken care of, I had delayed going due to being away when it's time for the next clipping. Plans had been made to meet Judy J. and Terri T. at a new place called Manny's Bistro, owned by the folks who formerly owned and ran Sarnelli's, around the corner from me. All the family was there and to a person they asked about Justin. I must take him in there some day, when I get back from WI so they can see him! We used to go there often when he was younger, and charmed the ladies. My friends treated me for my birthday and Terri gave me a lovely tea towel for my birthday. She said she looked my kitchen all over when she cleaned up after the Ladies' Group party and decided any color would work. So thoughtful! We all stunk of garlic and I tasted mine all the rest of the day!

From lunch I went to visit one of our members, Bonnie, who is undergoing chemo treatments at home. She went in to the Center for the initial treatment the day before and then has to wear a pouch of chemicals which continue to pump into her system for a couple days afterward. She looked good and was glad I came to visit as long as I did. I left her one of the books of prayers I like to use when calling on sick folks. I hope she finds some comfort in it. Only a couple months ago she lost her son and now all this...she can really use the prayers. Justin had let me know he would need a ride home from the DeBarry area but not for a while so I went back home to await his summons. As I mentioned before, he had a ride home so I could rest before Trivia. 
Once home from Trivia, we opened our gifts to each other. this was my idea because I wanted him to have his new outfits to wear to WI. A long day to be sure! No wonder I was tired last night!

We celebrated early!

 Justin 'presented' me with The Complete Trivial Pursuit book, about 1 1/2" thick, page upon page of trivia questions and answers. He snapped that up when in New York, 'totally on impulse'! He also got me a CD titled "Concerto" by Andrea Bocelli which was recorded at Central Park. He bought the CD in New York, as well, found while standing in line at the Starbucks on the corner (one on every corner!). When shopping recently with his friend, Sarah, she needed some lotion from Bath and Body Works. He went in with her, saw the bottles of hand sanitizer ("My mom loves hand sanitizer!" he told Sarah) and got me 5 little bottles for my purse, plus a larger one for the counter, in my favorite fragrance of Warm Vanilla Sugar. It not only cleans, but leaves the hands smelling nice and feeling soft!

Justin is now an official owner of the Green Bay Packers! He is holding his stock certificate with his name on it. We both got a bit teary-eyed, as expected. I loved getting it for him as much as he enjoys having it. Besides the stock, he got several new shirts, plus I am getting him new glasses, via a bargain through Groupon!

We celebrated 'early' as tomorrow we will be packing our bags for the trip north. Besides the stock certificate, I got him a mess of shirts he 'hinted' at on sale from Old Navy. He is going shopping Wednesday night so he can exchange a couple of them. I ordered as requested, but they fit a bit too snuggly and he wants them for the trip. Justin will exchange for a larger size so he can layer, which is wise. He was going shopping anyway to that same store, so it's no trouble for him to swap them out.

Sunday photos

This Sunday was dedicated to Fellowship where we, as a congregation, lend our support to two students at Luther Preparatory School. Sandwiches were made and cookies enjoyed!

 Katelyn is lighting four candles on the Advent wreath

 

 The Cookies by the Pound sale taking place. I liked to tell people this is their weight BEFORE consumption. On the right side of the photo is Amber, the shared friend of Judy C. and me, enjoying some shopping!

 This beauty is me! Justin took control of the camera to free my hands for selecting cookies. Behind me is Jayne and Brett, regretting getting in line behind me!

 One of the two bouquets in the chancel was for my birthday, which is at the end of the month. They look perfect for CHRISTmas, decorating the grave site for the holidays. My friend, Carol, had been at their son's site also and noticed there was nothing on Timmy's---we must have just missed each other! 

 Young and old gathered to prepare the church for CHRISTmas, including Darwin on the ladder, Gretchen reaching up to afix an ornament, and Teresa, in blue, supervising

Following the decorating, The Maestro played the piano while we sang carols and some secular 'holiday' songs. Carol had the idea to stand in the open doors of the church to sing out to the passersby and those coming for the chili supper. We sang two hymns and it was wonderful to do that!

A Sunday wrap up in pictures

 The chancel is decorated for CHRISTmas Eve's worship

Once the decorating was done, we enjoyed a wonderful chili supper

 The tree is dressed and ready for CHRISTmas worship!

 

 Paul, Emily and Sarah came by see the tree but didn't stay to have dinner with us. Justin and I had lunch with them at Chili's and they were still full from that! Sarah is the goddaughter of Kim and Justin, just so you know....

I am so blessed! (WARNING!)

This morning I was reading a blog posting written the father of a not-yet born baby girl, diagnosed with Trisomy 13, a chromosome problem. The parents are not sure how much 'damage' their baby will have, once born, as her mom did not miscarry which more often happens. The dad wrote about his serious breaches of faith and even considered momentarily terminating the pregnancy to avoid the 'burden' of having to care for this child possibly all the days of their lives. It was a heart-warming yet tragic read, as this man recounts his feelings through the pregnancy, mixed excitement with dread, and so on. The recurring theme, however, was how his wife and he rallied in their faith in the Lord and His providence, trusting He knew how this would work out. Toward the end of his posting he wrote how glad he is that the Lord is trusting his wife and him with this baby, knowing they will be the best parents for her. 


As often happens, my mind went to my own situation when I was expecting Timmy at the ripe old age of 39-40. Despite the concerns of the medical folks, the pregnancy was nearly flawless--no diabetes even though I was fat. There was one episode of 'morning sickness' after taking my horse-pill vitamin (I never missed a beat as it happened in the shower and I just kept washing!). From that time on I took the vitamin at dinner with food, solving the problem of taking it on an empty stomach. Never missed a day of work at Sprint, quitting just a couple weeks prior to his planned delivery. He jumped the gun by a few hours when my water broke the night before he was scheduled, which should have tipped us off to how much of a rascal he would be!


So much could have gone wrong but did not. He could have been born prematurely and suffered with deafness or respiratory problems. He could have had Down's Syndrome and been dependent on me all his life. Instead, though, he was almost perfect, could turn his bottle inside out when drinking, and he did his best snoring during church. He was alive with character, that guy!


At age 3 months he was in the office with me nearly full time, walking at the horrendous age of 9 months---yikes! "Hurricane Hank", as our purchasing agent, Jim, liked to call him. Timmy's job, once ambulatory, was to press buttons on the computers and tear open archive boxes, distributing files around Jim's office. They loved each other!


Jim, who did not work for us anymore when Timmy died, took the death very hard. His co-worker at the time, named Betty, told me about it later, how he came to her house after hearing the news, needed to be with someone to mourn. I did not know Betty and she did not know me, but we felt like we did after the conversation! He told me he nearly passed out at the funeral service, but thankfully did not.


Yesterday, I had to ask my friend, formerly of GS, whose son is a month older than Timmy would be, what grade her son is in. Tenth grade, really? A sophomore, with his learner's permit for driving. The Lord, in His mercy, took Timmy home almost 11 years ago to spare him and me all this, whatever 'this' might be. He is now enjoying the bliss of eternally being able to see the Lord's face and circle the throne. And I am left here with tears running down my face, wondering what I missed out on with him on earth...

A hot time in the kitchen

I am not crazy, though some might dispute that, about this new or different composition page for the blog. I put in a complaint on the feed back site to see if that garners an answer. If this is improvement, they need to think again.


Justin left bright and early with my car to drive to Green Cove to get his father's car. He needed the larger vehicle to move his stuff from the bungalow at the beach house, and made two trips back to this side of town with his belongings, finishing the project. Not only did he accomplish that, but was able to meet his friends for lunch (he sounds like me!). Much of his stuff he unloaded at the office in some unused space for the time being. It is funny how he asked for clothes for CHRISTmas, yet he is buried in clothing in his room now! Will the new pieces see the light of day? I do hope so.


Last night we had dinner at Koko's, making up for last week's missed lunch on Saturday when Koko's was not open. From there we stopped at Publix and he offered to just run in for the couple of items needed. The bag of coconut was used then, once home, to finish the last batch of cookies for the bake sale at church tomorrow. We are having a "Cookies by the Pound" sale and we will have four different types to donate and possibly re-buy from the sale!


Earlier in the morning I got busy in the kitchen with the baking, taking my laptop with me to hold me there. I caught up on my Internet radio programs as I stirred, rolled, and baked. For the brownies, I used muffin tins to bake them, placing a dark chocolate kiss in the middle of them. Later I thought about using the paper cups in the muffin tin and kicked myself for not thinking of it sooner, as they got a bit knicked up coming out of the pans. Next time, will use the paper liners!


Besides the brownies, I made oatmeal scotchies plus peanut butter cookies with the same kiss on top. I had mixed up the sugar cookies already and was waiting for Justin to bring me the coconut, thinking he was going to be back before noon. The break from baking was welcome, and it only took a few minutes to finish the last batch. I mixed the coconut into the sugar cookie batter, then shaped them into balls to bake. Yummy! I learned this from my friend, Julia, at Great Hang Ups. And now I have 3/4 of a bag of coconut left. Pina coladas anyone?


My upstairs neighbor, Randy, had expressed interest in the bake sale some time ago and I had planned to bring him a pound. When he saw that I was baking he asked for some pre-sale samples as well as an order from the sale. I already had him covered but told him I would bring him some samples which were edible but not presentable. When I got up to his place, he answered the door but stood behind it. He said, "You should know by now that I don't wear pants..." as he reached around the door for the plate. Now, I had already told him I would bring him a plate as he commented on FB "delivery is always good..." I had to chuckle about that. In a few minutes, he wrote that he loved the treats, especially the oatmeal scotchies. 


My other neighbor, Tracy, had left me a card with a bag of oatmeal scotchies on my window sill this past week and I went after those cookies like mad. I let Justin have a couple but the rest were mine. Hers were much more dense than my cookies turned out, almost like mine had too much butter. I followed the directions and used the entire stick. Hers were like a meal, but mine, a treat.


Judy C. told me that Betty was bringing frosted sugar cookies ("which put mine to shame" according to Judy) so I will look forward to buying those tomorrow. One lady usually makes candy but with her spouse being ill, she might not be able to do that this time. But, if she does, look out!!!


Not only do we have that sale, but we are also decorating the church and chancel for CHRISTmas and having a chili supper afterward. Our two chefs, Mike ' Mike will handle the food portion which will be wonderful. I have a container of dinner rolls in the freezer, an extra from ThanksLiving, which I will take to have with the chili. We usually carol but am not sure if that will take place or not, depending upon The Maestro's availability.


Justin and I have a disagreement. When I checked the TV listings for Sunday's football games, the Packers did not show as being the game aired. I was sad but knew I could watch upstairs at Randy's if I wanted to see it. At dinner, Justin checked the listings from his phone and it showed the game being aired on FOX at 1:00 pm. What? He said I looked too soon, too far ahead and that the network might have switched the games around. We shall see just who is right, because as I look at it now, it still does not show as being on here. Does he have an inside line on this or what? I hope he is correct though because I would not wish to go up to watch and then have to leave to go back to church for the rest of the day's events. My allegiances might be dallied with!


Judy J. is on board to take us to the airport Thursday which will save us the parking fees. She is a doll for offering and I will bring her something nice from WI. She brought me a jar of Saunders ice cream topping when she came back after ThanksLiving. MI is known for this topping as well as Vernor's Ginger Ale. We can get the soda here but not the chocolate topping. Connie, the maintenance lady, said it is cheaper to use a taxi for the airport runs than to park one's car at the airport. Of course, this would depend upon the length of the stay but she might be correct on that. Getting picked up at the curb is very nice too!


The last of my mailings went out in today's mail so I can cross that off the list. Work has begun on the church newsletter, working as far ahead as I can before going north. I can put the final touches on it at my sister's and e-mail from there. Now, to clean off the desk and get things in order before we depart...I have books stacked all over the place which not only makes me look crazy but feel crazy at the same time. Whenever you see a movie about a mad man, he is surrounded by dusty books. At least mine are not usually as dusty as they could be!

Full Friday

This morning was the Meet, Eat and Play breakfast at The Club so I was up and at ‘em earlier than normal. Justin came in to give me a hug and kiss good-bye (bet he missed that when he lived alone!) after we made the arrangements for his ride home from work. Jesse was picking him up with the landscape truck on their way to the job. I just had to get him home, at a yet undisclosed time.

We did have five show for breakfast, including a new participant, Stephanie. She is very nice lady and will be a welcome addition to the circle. Retired from the phone company and collecting some disability after a serious surgery, she now has time for enjoying the benefits of The Club. Stephanie told us about her move-up career at ATT (BellSouth) which was an inspiring story to hear but it has a tragic turn to it---when the markets collapsed a few years ago, her 401-k investments took a $300,000 hit. That sort of changes everything for her, and I’ll tell you, it made me feel a bit sick to my stomach! But, at the end of her story, not told with a sad face, she remarked, “God is good!” Yes, I think I will enjoy visiting with her some more. But no game playing as we chose to talk instead!

I had taken a couple movies along to share with Andrew, whom I met last week, but he did not come today. When I got home later, he had left me a message saying he had to ‘go to town’ for a doctor appointment, as he is recovering from a back injury. Sad we didn’t get together, and I would have loved for him to meet Mary, who treats people with his type of injury. I sent him all her contact information so perhaps they can get together. She lives and works within walking distance of The Club, more convenient than going downtown. Oh, it’s funny that the pool guys are always doing their work when I walk through for breakfast. Yesterday one of the guys asked me if I worked for The Club, and I said I live at The Palace but dine at The Club. A new wardrobe for me might be in order if I look like a staff person---hardly!

Once home again, I got busy on the church newsletter, working as far ahead as I can before leaving for WI. I will send it to myself via e-mail and put the finishing touches on it at Mom’s, and then at Jill’s house. Jill has the high-speed Internet needed to transmit the document, it chokes Mom’s dial-up service. I sent a couple e-mails to folks in search of information for the letter and managed to make forward progress. Judy C. was able to answer some questions I had in regard to upcoming events and we shared the concern of just whom was getting the tree for church. We are all set to decorate said tree, we just don’t know who is going to obtain it. More e-mails addressed that and were answered late this evening. Whew!

Justin was going to be ready for pick-up in the OP Country Club around 5:30 so I planned my trip to the store for prior to getting him. There is a Publix at the entrance to the OPCC where Robbie works where I got my supplies for making cookies, which I will do tomorrow. We are having a “Cookies by the Pound” sale at church Sunday and if I want to buy some, I should bake some! I hope someone makes frosted sugar cookies for me!

Tonight Martie and I attended the Clay County Christmas show at the Thrasher-Horne Center. It was absolutely fantastic and we enjoyed it very much. The closing act is a live nativity which featured a new shepherd this year, Robbie! Judy C. and Donna W. rounded out our group, with Debbie S. being a no-show. We had arrived early enough but the parking lots were getting full and she would have had a really long walk once parked. Debbie’s health is not wonderful, having to use a cane to walk and has problems breathing. Her mom, Arlene, is near death so we speculated if that might be why she did not come. Mike C. had visited her mom in the hospital and she was not aware of his visit this afternoon. She is 90 years old and not strong enough to endure the surgery needed for her heart. She was a charter member, or very near, of Good Shepherd, the last one still at the church.

Martie and I got back here just after 10:00 and she headed for home, having to return to the office tomorrow to finish a mailing she was working on. If I wasn’t busy in the afternoon, I would help her, having done my share of mailings in the past. In fact, I have one of my own, on a much smaller scale, to take care of tomorrow! Justin was quite chatty when I got home, offering to dish me a bowl of ice cream so he could have some. He did not want to violate the fresh container purchased earlier so waited patiently for me to get home before having some ice cream. Boy, is ice cream ever getting expensive! I bought Blue Bell Creamy Vanilla, promoted as ‘still being a half-gallon!’.

Justin asked if he could use my car on Saturday for getting more of his belongings and I said he could since I will be making cookies and staying home. It will be so nice when he is moved entirely and settled in---right now, it’s a mess in there!

p.s. My apologies for the uniform size and color of font...this blog page no longer allows me to vary it, not even by typing it first in Word and transferring it. I might have to make a change of blog pages after the New Year! I gotta have more colors!