Not an April Fool's Joke

We were visited in the basin by about a dozen manatees of varying shapes and sizes today. Connie was quite excited about seeing them back so soon. It is kind of early to have them show up.

I thought of a few things from my trip to WI, things I've pondered in my heart. Since I returned from Manty, it's been announced that Pastor Schaefer has returned the Call and will be staying at First German. Whew! He is a blessing to the congregation and a good partner to the other pastor who serves there. Waiting now to hear if the two teachers they Called will accept and come to FG. 

On my last Sunday at FG, instead of Bible study, we were able to hear the grace-filled story of a member's double lung transplant. Ginger and her husband, Chuck, were classmates of my sister, Lori at FG and MLHS. Ginger spoke about the Lord being evident and involved in her diagnosis, preparations, and the eventual transplant/recovery. 

Chuck took his turn to speak about the value of having faith in the Lord as he stood by his wife, how they stayed away from home for long periods of time awaiting the donation, and how they were served by an area church and its pastor, near the Mayo Clinic. It was a riveting presentation, to say the least, and quite beneficial to hear their testimonies of faith in the Lord through this rather testing time. 

That same afternoon my mom and sister attended a meeting at church which began before noon and ended around 2:00 pm. There were important church 'family' issues to discuss, some of them quite painful ones. While they were gone, I went to lunch with my sister, Lori, and husband, David, before they headed back to Holmen. At first we tried 8th and York Restaurant but they were not open for lunch, so we went to Harborside instead. It was fun to have all five of Mom's girls around for the weekend and I was sad when it ended. It might happen again in July when I come back!!

Looks like spring!

As the sun was coming up, this was the sky I saw

It grew into this dramatic sky

 Here are Jacquie and I at the table at the Republican Women's fashion show. We look so springy!

Jacquie and I almost blend together in our outfits! We were glad to have our coats along that day, as we sat out by the pool for an hour after the luncheon, in the sun, but still cool out side

Quiet days

My boy has gone to Orlando for the weekend with a group of friends, celebrating the birthday of "Kim", at Disney. Her husband, a classmate of the guys from St. Johns, and she were married a couple years ago at Disney so she is a huge fan of the parks. Their park of choice was Epcot for Saturday, and Animal Kingdom on Sunday. I don't know how affected their group was by the torrential rains much of the state had earlier in the day Saturday, including us here in N. FL.

We had Bible study this a.m. followed by worship, a special day today because of it being the 5th Sunday in the month. Even though I wasn't here to request any, it was Favorite Hymn day. Kathy R. was at the organ, playing the first 5 hymns of the day, all in a row, including one of 'our' favorites, "Be Still My Soul". She told me that every time she hears or plays it, she thinks of me. I told her that when I hear or sing it, I think of her! Love how that works!

We also sang the first two stanzas of "In Christ Alone", among some other favorites. During the actual service another favorite was sung, "Blest Be The Ties That Bind" which has the line in it about shedding the sympathizing tear. Good! I needed that as our closing hymn was "Go, My Children". Judy had walked out with Amber (Amber's blood sugar dropped, so they went out to get her something sweet to eat). As they came back in, Judy touched my shoulder during the closing hymn. Mike S. had looked over at me as the intro was playing, and I glanced at Kathy, who was back in the pew, and she nodded at me. Yes, they know and perhaps remember...

We had a "cookies by the pound" bake sale after church, a fund raiser in support of our Mother/Daughter event in May. Many wonderful donations of baked treats were brought in. Prior to worship, however, a newer member, Carolynn, was going around with handouts reporting that ladies have made baked goods and we should be sure to sample their treats. This was for the coming weeks' baked goods, not the bake sale, so to avoid more confusion, Pastor made an announcement saying that today's bakery was for sale, not free. Yikes!

Years ago we had every Sunday refreshments but that eventually died off. Now a group of ladies wishes to do it again and have sign-up sheets where folks can take their turn bringing stuff. Normally Judy C. takes care of cleaning up after worship, puts the coffee stuff away and washes the pots, etc. Now, she might not be the designated person to do so since we don't generally stick around after church, choosing to go to lunch instead. We'll see how this pans out. 

These same ladies are starting a food pantry for our members and 'friends of members'. This congregation used to have that, as well, and it faded away, probably about the time the preschool started. It's not a good idea to have people, non-members, roaming around the property when the kids are there. When the pantry was discontinued, our members were encouraged to donate to the Clothes Closet in OP, where clothing and food are distributed to Clay County needy folks. A good solution. The congregation has a fund to help those of our members in need, and, as one member declared, we want to know about someone needing something so we can pitch in directly. That's what family does!

Before church began, Kristi summoned me over to announce that she is putting together a 'little choir' for Easter. Kathy has agreed to play for us, just like old times! There might be only a handful of us, as usual, and the anthem is simple enough, requiring only a couple rehearsals. I can make this committment! And to edify our worship on Easter, I am in!

Routine plus aches 'n pains

It's always something! Ugh! On Tuesday morning, my first day back from WI, I woke up and enjoyed (NOT!) cramps in my left leg. More than once! I did everything I knew how to do including leaning against the vanity and flexing my feet as best I could. Wow, that was exciting---jumping madly about, saying, "I'm home!!!" to my downstairs neighbors in such a fashion. 

My Facebook friends advised every sort of treatment including taking magnesium supplements which was not new to me since Linda and Tommy use them for cramps. My hope was this was an aftereffect of the traveling and airport strolling, and that would be it. While out on errands, I did buy a bottle of magnesium for 'just in case' plus picked up some milk to have at bedtime too. My former spouse either had ice cream or milk before bed to help his restless legs. Fortunately, I did not have the cramps again that day nor the next morning so it was 'one of those things' after all.

I went to the bank that morning plus stopped at Publix. That was where I got the magnesium tablets. Seems I might have told this story already so I will jump ahead. That night, I went to bed and fell asleep just fine. At about 11:45 I woke up to a back ache. Oh, for heaven's sake! I tried lying on my left side, my right side, my front side, and eventually, by back side, NOT my first choice, in order to get comfortable. After a little while I gave up, and decided to get up. Walking and unpacking my suitcase did not aggravate my back one bit so that normally ignored job was done! I took some Aleve and got the heat pad out, eventually falling asleep when on my back. 

In the morning I made myself get up and go to Bible study, though I was wishing for more sleep. I was glad to be in the class though and see my friends again, though Rita and Marilyn were absent. Pastor H. had told me not to worry about catching up the homework so I didn't. Next week I will be where I need to be. 

On Thursday, Judy, Justin, and I went to the movies. We were going to Koko's for dinner, and Michael met us there after we got out of the movie. It's a good movie, by the way, for its genre. Justin likened it to a Hallmark movie because of the relationships in it (they figure into the story) and it reminded me of Kirk Cameron's caliber of movie, complete with decision theology. Otherwise, it was good, with the case for God being made. No spoilers from me!

The back-ache returned at bedtime so I took an extra strength pain killer, half of one, and managed to find a comfortable position to have a decent night's sleep. That felt so good! 

Friday morning was Breakfast Club with the ladies. I took cheese curds along for my friend, O, and she loved them. I thought about a bag for Nancy but didn't take her one. Good thing, too, because she doesn't care for them! Who doesn't like fresh curds??? She did agree they would be a delight melted in a bowl of chili or tomato soup, just didn't like them 'raw'. I think I need to make some chili!

That night I again took a half of a pain killer and had a decent night's sleep and spent a good deal of time with the heat pad today. Perhaps too much 'down time' was had. I should have used the ice pack too since 'ice is my friend' supposedly but the heat was so comforting. We had serious thunderstorms and rain showers this morning which makes it seem colder out than it is. Another excuse to use the heat pad!

Such a good day!

As I mentioned yesterday, Jacquie and I were joining our group for a luncheon and fashion show fund raiser at The Club. We did get our pictures taken but so far no one has posted. Jacquie took a 'selfie' of us (I think it's my first one, though she did the photography) but was not happy with the results. So, we will have to wait until the official shots are posted online.  

We had the best seats in the house to view the 'models', many of the ladies being elected officials from the county or officers in the FRWC group. Not all of the models were svelte, either, which was fantastic. The clothes came from a boutique on Southside and we really liked the fashions. Everything that was in style years ago is coming back including crocheted over tunics, palazzo pants, and fruit colors. Many of the items were perfect for packing in luggage, mix 'n match pieces for ease of packing, and all cute cute cute!

After the show and luncheon, Jacquie and I went outside to sit by the pool on the filthy patio. Thanks to the winds the day before, the water and entire area was littered with tree residue and yes, pollen. No matter, we sat at a table and soaked up the sun, talking for an hour or so. It will be nice when we can do this in swimsuits instead of coats and long pants!

That night was church where Pastor Hoyer was guest preacher. All went well, once they got the computer to work which runs the MIDI. That was a close one! 

Terri T. had wanted us to go eat before church but that would have been too rushed for Justin, just getting home from work and such. Justin suggested we go to Panda Express after church so we did. I was ahead of him in line (he is ever the gentleman!). When I ordered the bowl of orange chicken and fried rice, he made the server stop dishing it up, thinking I knew not what I was doing. He forgot that this is what I order there and feared I would not like the spicy chicken. He had the really hot stuff, the type that makes him sweat like George Costanza. Ha, always with the "Seinfeld"!

All dressed up!

When Justin picked me up from the airport Monday night, I noticed he had not taken the car to the car wash as I had requested him to do. He assured me he would pay for the car wash and even had a coupon to use for it, good for a dollar off! Plus, he has a plastic crate to give me for putting my Bible study stuff in to keep it organized in the backseat and not flying all over when we drive. 

Meanwhile, my car looks cruddy inside and out, covered with yellow pollen and bird poop. Inside is lots of grass clippings as he used my car while I was gone to WI, transporting his co-worker, Raymond, and himself in their work clothes. 

I noticed my passenger seat in back was tipped down and he said, "We picked up something along the road..." I guess Raymond spotted it and they loaded it in. Well, as I was setting the seat back up again, I found two small tears in the leather on the back of the seat's headrest.  Nuts! Whatever they picked up punctured the leather. Justin is going to look into getting it repaired somehow or another. I wonder if Superglue would do the trick...

Today I am going to a fashion show fundraiser at The Club, for the Republican Women's group. My friend, Jacquie, is going with me, as she's been a long-time member and is actually on the Board as an at-large representative. 

While she has gotten a new top to wear for the event, gotten her hair and nails done, I am pulling a garment from the back of the closet to wear. As I was talking to Linda about it, I told her it was the same top I wore for Justin's graduation in 2006. She couldn't remember it---imagine that!!! Going on 8 years and she's already forgotten! Ha! I owned this flowered jacket prior to graduation and since I couldn't find something else I liked when shopping, defaulted to that particular top. And, now it comes out once again. Thankfully, it still fits!

Back to business!

After experiencing a few terrible leg cramps yesterday morning, I got up and readied myself for the day. On the advice of several friends, I decided to buy some magnesium tablets to have on hand in case the leg cramps returned. A trip to Publix was expected that day!

My first order of business, however, before going on errands, was to start the washer. I had brought some pieces back which needed laundering plus I wanted to wash my sheets (should have done that BEFORE I left!) so had enough to make a full load. Once they were done, I could run my errands. 

There was a welcoming committee downstairs in the elevator lobby, quite by accident. It was funny! I had dropped off some cheese curds at my neighbor, Hugh's, place on the way downstairs and had some to share with Connie, our maintenance lady. She was glad to have them. 

I went to the bank and then to Publix for a few things. Got most of my stuff carried up by myself, leaving only a couple bags for later. In the afternoon, my friend, Judy C., came over to register for the Worship Conference which is in July. Just home from one trip and making plans for the next one! 

We had to register together in order to be roommates and had to decide which seminars to attend in order to sign up for them. One of the speakers, which I had heard from my young friend, David P., is the man who wrote a book I enjoyed a few years ago, "Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns". Looking forward to those two sessions!

Fortunately, Justin had a short day and was home before Judy left. We had made plans to see a movie together on Thursday, and then go to Koko's. Judy is going to join us, seeing "God's NOT Dead". For dinner that night I made a chicken dish which I had intended to make for my mom before I left Manty but didn't because she wasn't feeling well. It was good, but I think I will take the foil off about half through its baking in order to brown the chicken. The green beans were so delicious that we ate them up, and Justin finished off the chicken. Only baby reds left, which will not go to waste, I can assure you. We both went to bed early, and thankfully, no leg cramps. Must have just been one of those things!