In the wee hours...

....I find myself awake. Thanks to the sound of rain against my windows, startling me awake, I found myself unable to fall back to sleep. At least right now I am awake. I heard the weather man report fog would be around in the morning, but for right now, I can still see the lights across the river.

For Christmas and my birthday I  had received money gifts and wanted to make sure they were put to good use. On Saturday I placed an order through Amazon for a new set of sheets, a memory card reader, plus Leman's birth order book. The sheets were an amazing deal, costing me around $25 for 1200 thread count. According to Amazon, I saved about 80% on them. I am the shrewd shopper! Justin had free shipping for me to use which is a huge blessing as well.

                                                 

The order arrived on Tuesday and on Wednesday, I slept on new sheets! They were washed first and came out of the dryer as soft as a baby's bottom. Too bad the rain woke me up and wouldn't let me enjoy more sleep. I can, however, enjoy them in a seated position with this laptop, as well.

Last night I went over to The Club for Happy Hour and saw many of my neighbors and friends, some for the first time since getting back from WI. I was surprised to hear how many had been sick when I was away, with one lady, Betty, still having a very sharp cough. I hate that for her! There has been a tapas menu change since I was there last, but a quick note sent off to Chef should hopefully take care of that!

When I first got back, I mentioned the nice young man I had sat with on the plane to JAX. My regret was not getting his information, quite unlike me. Well, Monday evening as I headed to Panera to meet Terri T., I drove past the IWS buildings where this young man is a theology student. Sure enough, there he was, walking up and down on the property, using his phone. I honked my horn and waved madly, and then did a u-turn to go back to see him. He was talking to his wife, but took a moment to be properly introduced to me and to give me his card, welcoming my reaching out to him. Love it!!

After that cool experience of talking with him on the plane, having the interesting conversations in regard to the church year, etc., it seemed sad, then, to meet a woman who had no clue. Sunday, Epiphany, I was talking with a lady at the King's Cake party at her next door neighbor's house. Leslie said she was not familiar with the story of the Magi or the gifts they brought the Christ child. 

In a round about way I asked Leslie if she knew certain stories from the Bible and she told me she did not. Right in our building was a mission field!!  I think 'we' simply assume that everyone knows about the Savior and I am quite surprised when that is not the case. 

Speaking of Bible stories, my friend, Amber, had to go to the hospital Friday night. I found this out via Facebook with no details other than she was hungry, had to wait a long time for a room, and wanted some decent food. I told Judy C. about it when we met for breakfast on Saturday morning. She was surprised that Amber had access to Facebook since she has no phone, but my guess is she borrowed from her granddaughter or something. It stinks to not have a phone or a way to contact her other than Facebook! I have not heard if she is released or what the deal is. Hopefully Amber is okay and we can begin the Bible history classes again soon. 

Well, perhaps I can get a little rest now so I won't fall asleep in Bible study at Victory later on. Justin will be going with me, and he is quite excited about that. Loves those classes and the way they are taught. I look forward to seeing everyone again---haven't seen them since last year!

More photos from the box

More fun stuff from Mom's house. Most of these photos were found mixed in the travel brochures I went through on my last day in town. I am sure I have copies of many of these pictures in my own collection somewhere. But this was a fun trip down memory lane!

This is Mom and me sitting on a bench in St. Augustine. For years my mom wintered with us and when time permitted, we'd go off and do some touristy stuff. On our shirts you can see the little stickers for riding the tram around town.

We are all dressed up! In 1995 our business participated in "The Street of Dreams" event in Eagle Harbor where a set number of builders were selected to build and decorate a home in a competition. Those viewing the homes did the voting based on decorating, layout, landscaping, and so on. At the banquet, the winners were announced. We took 1st place in every category except the best of show. I guess the expression "you can't win 'em all" applies!

                              

This picture is of my grandma, Lily Sickles, taken outside the old folks home where I used to work, and where she lived for about 17 years. She died in 1986 at the age of 99 3/4 years old. Almost broke 100! She is trying to hide her identity, it seems, wearing the dark glasses.

This picture, plus the one that follows, was taken at my home in The Village of Fireside, probably in 1991, when I threw a surprise birthday party for my mom. Pictured above is me, my neighbor, Barb, whom Mom got to know when out walking with Justin, and Joan Carr, a church member.

Same party, different guests: Shirley Z., Mary H., and a lady who is now my bff, Judy C. Judy made and decorated the birthday cake for my mom's party. She can no longer do that type of thing, hasn't for years, as the tube squeezing thing got too hard on her hands. 

Here is a mess of my sisters, plus my niece, Lisa in San Fran jacket. From left is Lisa, Lori, Lynn, Kerry, and me. Justin is being cuddled by Kerry. We are missing Jill and my older sister, Carol, from this shot.

I think my mom took this photo of Justin because many of her pictures have a sort of reddish tinge to them. She told me she used the disposable-type of cameras. Justin is standing in front of the fireplace by his rocking horse, taken the last day of pre-k at St. Johns. 

This home was rented, in Peter's Creek, not far from the local government school. We decided to send him there for kindergarten and it didn't take long for us to realize we'd make a terrible mistake. The next year we got him back into St. Johns and with great effort, he managed to get caught up to his classmates after losing much ground at Patterson. Whew! 

Back to Justin's photo, though, look at that mop of hair! He always has great hair!

From the past

When at my mom's house in December, she was in search of a certain photograph from her past, taken with a lady who is now one of her neighbors. The box was gotten down from the shelf and we girls were in that box up to our elbows, looking for Mom's photo and finding others. Sadly, we never did locate the one Mom was looking for.

This is me standing at the top of the "hill" at my childhood home, holding the skis. It would seem the skis are nearly twice my height! Behind me is the workshop where I liked to hang out with my dad and sweep up saw dust. At least, that's what my memory tells me I did....

Here I am again, perched on a snowball in the back of the house. Above me, cropped from the photo is laundry hanging on the lines. Years later, the house had olive green siding put on over the stucco. 

The actual photo better defines my face, but this is me standing next to a doll bed. It would seem to be Christmas, in 1958. I wore saddle shoes, and later, my boy wore saddle shoes! Love that!!!

Shopping is exhausting!

Several times when in Manitowoc, I would get worn out shopping, which I blamed on my shoes, of course. I usually wore my 'sedan' shoes (better for walking in snow and on ice) instead of my usual 'convertibles', the lightweight slip-ons most often worn by me. Today, I was wearing my canvas slip-ons and still got tired out. 

Justin and I were at the grocery store, restocking the larder after my time away. I think we should be okay for a while except, as Justin pointed out, we did not buy enough soda on this outing. Good thing he can stop again tomorrow or the next day to get more for us. We need a good deal somewhere, like we had before Christmas!

He needed the rest of the ingredients the recipe called for, to make his kettle of chicken and corn chowder. He had to chuckle at himself for forgetting the corn on Sunday when he went shopping. How can one make corn chowder without corn? 

                                        

We also stocked up on various cuts of meat including a very good buy on chicken breasts, pointed out to us by the manager of the meat department. He told us these  chicken breasts are on sale at this price only a couple times a year, so he instilled in us a sense of urgency to buy a couple packs of it. If I lived by myself, a pack of three breasts would feed me for well over a week. Now that I think of it, I should have cut them in half and divided them into separate packets before freezing them...oh well....

After having that delicious sauerkraut and pork meal at Lynn's a week or so ago, I am hungry for some more. I bought a bag of kraut and a Boston butt roast to have with it. Justin is not a fan and doesn't care for the smell either. I am not sure how to deal with that issue as there's no way to remove the aroma from sauerkraut. He will simply have to tough it out, I guess.

                                

We got the refrigerated stuff carried upstairs and Justin is going out later to get some more. He bought several boxes of cereal simply because of the free movie tickets that come with it. At least he won't go hungry once he moves away, with so much cereal to hold him over. 

He is also making us some dinner rolls using pizza dough, which will be great dunked in our soup. One of my friends wonders what I will do when he is moved out, and I wonder the same thing. Somehow, I know I will manage, and learn to live without home-baked dinner rolls and such every week!

In my comfort zone

The first week of the month used to be the busiest of all weeks with church activities, starting with Ladies' Group on the first Monday evening. This month is different, though, since I won't be having BIC at Victory on Tuesday this week. Stephanie left me a phone message telling me about the delay in the resuming of class. Oh man!

Wednesday night will be Happy Hour at The Club, as it reopens after being closed for maintenance since the New Year. Yay! Thursday morning, Justin and I will be attending Bible study at Victory together and then having lunch, like old times! Friday, unless we have Breakfast Club, is wide open, and Saturday is Packer football. Oh, how I dread the end of the season...it's so long until it starts up again!

Today was a full day, making up for the missed class of Tuesday night. This a.m. I went to Bible study, "Angels and Demons", led by Michael C. He might be doing it again next week as well. Mike says he has led this study in the past and I know we have covered this a few years ago. It's an interesting class, and so much more interactive than some.

After class we ladies and two small kids ventured over to Longhorn where we were greeted warmly on our return, after being away for nearly a month. Part of the dining room was set up for a large, large group who was expected to have arrived already. Fred, the manager, came over to us, shook my hand in welcoming us back, and said he hoped they were coming as they had extra staff and had prepped for the group.

A little bit later, the staff was picking up the menus and began pushing the tables apart again. Oh, oh! Our waitress came over to serve us and in answer to our question reported the reservation is actually tomorrow! The other manager messed up on the date. Oops!

After lunch, we ladies and the two small children went back up to church to take down the decorations, now that Epiphany was celebrated. In an amazing time, the Chrismons were taken from the tree, the lights removed, tree skirt taken up, and packed away. In that same time period, two others tackled the job of putting away the ceramic nativity set which now included the wise men. 

                             

I had gotten out the boxes for the ornaments, and for the nativity, using a long wooden dowel to pull the empty boxes down from atop the cabinet. Just like at home! Then I handed the empty boxes off to the ladies to use for the nativity. It's a project to open the styrofoam containers for the pieces, to get them placed back in proper niches carved into the foam. They are well marked but still, there is some 'fear' of breaking off a hand or a staff. We made such good time with the take-down that I could have kept my hair appointment without having to change it. Nuts!

I went home for a bit between events, with Justin greeting me at the door. He wondered if we sat at the table talking all this while, not realizing we had a project to take care of after church. He was very busy in his room, making tremendous progress in finding the floor. I had been helping him by folding basket upon basket of laundry, which are yet at the end of the hallway. He has a bounty of clothing!

My rescheduled groomer appointment was set for 3:15 which gave me a 30 minute window to rest my eyes. Justin set the timer on the microwave so I wouldn't over-rest. It seemed like I no sooner got home and I was driving away again! 

By 4:00 pm I was back, with just over an hour to be at home before leaving again to meet Terri T. for a meeting and dinner. She is taking over the mantle of power from me as Ladies' Group president and wanted to go over the agenda and such beforehand. We met at Panera Bread, close to church with room to spread out our folders, etc. Judy C. joined us, as she is the Treasurer for Life of the Ladies' Group. She has been for years and years, and no one else wants the job.

The actual meeting went nicely and we were done by 8:30. I had hoped to touch base with Linda J. once more before the evening was over, as our time was cut short during The Five because I had to leave. She had a lengthy church meeting as well and I did not see her online. I will have to make up for the lost time tomorrow. Whew! 

                        

Justin is making a kettle of chicken and corn chowder for dinner tomorrow night and we will be able to eat following our normal 'routine' instead of waiting to eat after BIC which is around 9:30. We will watch Jeopardy! and enjoy our chowder!

Oh, yes I did!

When I got this Packer helmet and the Fanz Fingerz gloves in the Chinese Fire Drill family gift exchange, I told my family I was going to wear them to church. I think some of them suspected I would do it, but others hoped I would not!

Well, here I am at church Sunday morning, before Bible study, sporting my sporting attire! Judy C. used my camera to capture the moment. I got out of my car with the stuff on and had a tough time using my hands with these gloves on!! I walked in with Ellen C. and she asked me if I was a Packer fan. I could deny it, but eventually did 'fess up to being a fan....Wonder what gave me away????

Here is my front porch, decorated with my Packer flag, celebrating the victory from Saturday night. This photo was actually taken a couple years ago, prior to the new finish being applied to the exterior of the building. It was then I had to take down my wall hanging stuff so the contractors could seal every opening. Glad to have the building sealed up but miss my pretties!

Is that water I hear?

Oh, yes, it is! Fortunately it was going down the drain and not out of my light fixtures or air ducts this time. My new neighbors above me, the Mueller's, whom I met this evening, are not moved in yet but Dick was up there showing some friends around and draining his water heater. I apologized to him for my concern but he was most kind about it, assuring me that "anytime at all" I am welcome to pester them about the water. Good! And I certainly will!

          Tropical Storm Beryl leaks in the living room

I know I have mentioned in the past how good my neighbors are to me. Today, I have more evidence of such. Herve, the man from the 5th floor whose sliding glass door was causing part of the leaking, came to my door today. He reminded me of his offer to pay for my repairs and asked me if I was ready to go ahead. 

Herve said he realized that some of the damage was probably from the leaking floor on the porch of the 4th floor unit above mine, but he wasn't going to renege or bicker on his offer. What a champ he is! I told him I wondered if I should wait to see if the leaks were entirely corrected. Won't know that until the tropical season comes again, I guess. Yikes! But, yes, let's go ahead and make the repairs, the bare minimum of repairs for now.

                                 

Herve also asked me if I was coming to his place tomorrow. I looked puzzled, as I had not seen the notice posted near the mailboxes inviting The Palace occupants to their "King's Party" on Epiphany. Of course, I accepted the offer and will be there. Last year I went also but didn't get a Baby Jesus token in my piece of the cake. Herve is an excellent baker, always wows us with his creations. No Packer game to mess with the party like there was last year!