It's wedding day!

Today at church was the Mother/Daughter Event with the theme of weddings. People brought in their gowns, dresses, and memorabilia for display, with many dresses were modeled. I don't have photos of the modeled dresses because I was taking those pictures with Laurie's camera. Some very gorgeous gowns were modeled and even a toddler was wearing a flower girl dress. Hopeful to have those photos soon!

These lovely ladies were my tablemates: Gayle, who is Terri T.'s sister, her granddaughter, Emily, and their friend, OJ, who stood up for Terri's wedding. Emily modeled Terri's gown later on. We were later joined by Laurie and Carol, whose china was the black rimmed pieces, plus Terri, when she could eventually sit down!

I got a couple ladies to smile as I photographed the tables and the guests. From the left are LuAnn and Fran, Gretchen, Judy C., and Betty.  The tables are plated with wedding china the committee members had brought. For some, it was the first time the china was being used! 

 The albums and other memorabilia were displayed on tables. On the far right, in the white frame is my 25th wedding anniversary before and during picture.  

 As of last week, we had found a young lady to wear my dress, with enough pins in it to hold up the top. When I arrived today, I told Janet I had the pins for my dress and she said, "Oh, no, honey, Tam is wearing your dress. We got her into it!" Terri took this picture of Tamara in my dress, and I am standing against the wall smiling to beat the band. She even wore flowers in her hair!!! In the background you can see some of the models in their dresses, including Carol wearing her daughter's dress!

 Here is the lovely wedding cake made by Betty Starkweather. It was absolutely delicious, nice and moist, better tasting than some wedding cakes I've had!

Car troubles

On Wednesday late afternoon, Justin called me from the road to report: #1---he was okay, #2----his car was not. As he had accelerated to get onto Hwy. 17 on his way taking Ray home, something under the hood began clanking around and making a big racket. No dash lights came on and he was able to keep going, checking under the hood once he got to Ray's house. It was after that drop off and inspection that he called me, quite upset. This upsets me as well because I know what it's like to not be able to trust a car. I get concerned about mine, too, every creak and groan...yikes!

Because he was upset, I stayed home from Happy Hour so he could talk to me, weighing the options for how to proceed. It's my opinion that he have someone take a look at it to determine what came loose and how easy it would be to fix it. His boss is relatively handy when it comes to basic mechanics, having to maintain his yard work equipment and all that. I hope that it is just an easy fix and he can get it up and running again. He is not happy with that car, uses mine most of the time if he can. He is intent upon getting a different vehicle and I am intent upon seeing what's going on with this one first. We'll see how this shakes out. In the meanwhile, my friend, Kathy, was not happy with me missing HH, but she did feel badly for Justin's troubles. 

This a.m. I had breakfast with Nancy at The Club, missing Pat and O. Before we had finished our eating and chatting, the rain was pouring down. I had looked forward to the 'soft opening' of the cabana this afternoon but the rain washed out those plans. Marlena is breaking in new staff for the summer and Chef is going to train Sean on the grille, etc. I would have been glad to be a taste tester otherwise. Nuts! Justin got home from work before noon, losing several hours of work due to rain. Not good!

Tomorrow is the big event at church, the Ladies' Group Mother/Daughter Tea with the wedding theme. The committee was busy working on getting things set up tonight. I am so looking forward to seeing all the ladies (some from Victory are coming!) and possibly a mom or two from the preschool. The dresses displayed or modeled, the beautiful tables, the kids escorting the brides...will be a fun event. I leaped from my bed here once already to look for the safety pins needed for my dress to make sure it's not too big for Alicea who is modeling it. 

Tonight Justin went to the store for me and got the cut fruit needed for my skewers. It took me over an hour to work on that project, mixing up the fruit, cutting some of the chunks, and feeding four pieces onto skewers, even taking one for the team by poking it under my finger nail. Yikes! The tray I started with quickly became full too quickly so I asked Justin to find my larger stainless one to accomodate all those fruit sticks. He is going to eat the remaining fruit, except for the grapes, which I will take with me to church tomorrow in case they are needed. They sure are pretty!

May Day!

To celebrate the 1st of May, or 'just because', Justin and I joined his boss and his wife for a bite at Whitey's tonight. Justin worked all day, a non-raining day for a change, but was still up for going to dinner. I was all set to fend for myself, especially since I have leftovers from Bono's, but Justin asked me along. Nice!  

We got there first and in order to take advantage of the Happy Hour prices, we had to sit on the outdoor patio. I have no problem with that but I do have a problem getting up into the booth! The benches are about waist-high for me, so it was not a pretty sight getting me up into my position. Justin was a good helper but there was little he could really do to help. At least he was assured I wouldn't be getting out to say 'hi!' to people this way. I did see some people I know but left it up to waving instead of running around the deck.

When it was time to leave, after our lovely time with Will and Beth, the challenge was to get me down again. It was almost as bad as extricating me from the booth at Beerntsen's in March. With no 'step' to rest my foot on, I had to basically leap to the deck. My feet were about 18" from the floor as I sat side-saddle going down. Next time I am bringing a little stool with me---yeah, no one will be embarrassed by that!

The early part of the day was spent attending Bible study at Victory. We are fewer in number now that our snow bird couple has returned to MA plus Harold and Lucy were gone to a funeral in MI. We still manage to have wonderful give and take in this class. Today we prayed for the son of a couple who used to be at GS whose son is suffering with organ failure. He is around Justin's age and attended Sunday school with him, but was confirmed at Victory. 

The adult son of another couple has been placed at the top of the list for a heart/lung transplant at a hospital in Pittsburg. Audrey and Rich are up there now, helping to take care of the little ones, and be with their son. While he is there, he is preaching the Good News of salvation with Word and action. Not long ago Andrew was able to offer comfort and support to high school kids who were in the waiting area after a student went after fellow students with a knife. Some time, when looking back and wondering what this was all this 'wait and see' was about, the time spent counseling and comforting the young people will answer the question.

After Bible study, Judy A. sent home four baggies of homemade chocolate chip cookies with me. She had made them for a cookie sale which somehow had not happened so they needed to be eaten up. I can handle a few baggies full! As I got out of my car, Rita presented me with a gift bag of cobalt and clear glass orbs. There were a dozen of them individually wrapped in the bag, something she had seen when out shopping and determined, "These are SO Kim!" Now I will just have to find a way to display them properly.

Been to the 'burg!

At the food event at The Club the other night I was given discount cards for Bono's BBQ---one for a free appetizer and one for money off a certain dollar amount spent. I got a set for my friend, Jacquie, too, since she has a brand new Bono's in her community, Middleburg. And, I had to deliver them to her, right? Off I went to have lunch with Jacquie on Turkey Tuesday at Bono's! We could only use one coupon per table so it was free corn nuggets for us, and that's it. I'll have to use the other coupon another time. 

We had a great visit over our lunches, and beyond! I had a ton of leftovers to bring home, too, including mac 'n cheese and green beans. We can talk for hours, something we both enjoy. I was a tad late arriving because I was waiting for the dryer to get done in order to rescue a couple of Justin's shirts. Wanted to get them on the hanger before they wrinkled. I had spent the evening before folding several baskets of his clothes for him and putting stuff on hangers but these shirts needed a do-over, which I gave them in the morning. One came out just as bad as it went in, and Justin said that he doesn't even remember the last time he wore the shirt so it's not like he will miss it. Might have to put it in the clothes donation stack...This subject made for some interesting conversations at the table at Bono's in the 'burg!!

I failed to mention my delightful evening at Erica's graduation party on Friday night. I had a white knuckle ride over the Buckmann at rush hour but really didn't have a reason to be as apprehensive as I felt. The bulk of the traffic is going the other way but it seemed like the right thing to do---hang on for dear life! I wanted to make sure I got there early enough to get a good place to park since they live in a cul de sac with few spaces. I did it!

Stephanie, Erica, and Jean, her grandma, at my house for dinner

It was so nice to meet, at last, Erica's boyfriend, Brett, as well as her aunties, Stephanie's sisters. Stacy lives here in FL and her other sister, Sherry, flew down with her mom, Jean, from Janesville, for the big event. One of the girls had made frosted sugar cookies so I was in my happy place for sure. It was great to be in the midst of my Victory friends again besides celebrating Erica's college graduation. Now she will be looking for work in her field of marketing or public relations. I wish her all the best! 

Jean, her grandma, used to work for Parker Pens and gave me a lovely pen when she was here at Christmas. This time she brought a pen for Justin. It is a fine pen in every sense of the world, vanishing into his giant hand like a tooth pick. I told him to put it someplace safe because that was a really nice writing instrument and a thoughtful gift she gave him. She thinks the world of him, was telling her daughters how smart he is. Justin has a fan club!

Good grief

Monday's Bible study of helping people (and ourselves) deal with death and dying has wrapped up. I enjoyed this, my type of topic, and would probably have gotten more from it had been not so start/stop. Early on in the study, an assignment was to write what we would say to 'Eunice' at this certain point in her life, as she was facing her illness. We were invited, then, to share what we wrote. The following Sunday, dear Fran came up to me saying she liked so much what I wrote in class that if that ever happened to her, she wanted me to read this to her at the bedside. This was so touching to me and I assured her I would be there if she needed me. 

At the end of the class, we sat around talking a little bit. I had made a short list of things to bring up regarding grief and loss. In discussing the use of cremation increasing in popularity, I mentioned how Pastor H. laments the replacement of a 'good, Lutheran funeral' with memorial services at the funeral home or even less when a loved one dies. I shared how my brother-in-law, Harvey, remarked, upon getting home from Timmy's visitation, how Pastor Prange had made him feel almost 'happy' with his closing devotion done there. Harvey had never experienced this before. The receiving line for the visitation was extremely long, and we went about an hour and a half over the scheduled time. Donna reminded that the cortege to the cemetery was just as long! 

Kristi mentioned her favorite memory of Timmy is him wearing a birthday hat to church. She said she smiles every time she thinks of it. This would have been after my birthday, just a few weeks before he died. Oh, how I enjoy these stories! 

Another story I told was how Cindy, his former Sunday school teacher and preschool teacher, would call me and say, "I need a pity party". We would go to the cemetery with a picnic lunch and just do what friends do---eat, laugh, and cry. The reason I brought this up was to point out how the tears are often for ourselves, not for the one enjoying the bliss of heaven. That is where the "loss" comes in with dealing with grief and loss. Tears are not to be avoided, they are as natural a response, built into us by the Creator, as is laughter. 

Before the class wrapped up Judy's phone went off. The A/C man was on the way to her house and she had to go meet him. A group of us, 7 ladies, went to eat at Longhorn for lunch. The chicken tenders were wonderful and Betty so nicely ate my salad as her meal. We have a good arrangement between us, my designated salad eater! It felt so good to get outside again to warm up...this place is always cold, and yet, we keep going back!

Soon our class will be over for the summer and we won't have these opportunities to hang out together on Mondays, unless we make it happen. The next study we are beginning is about The Heart of Jesus, from the book of Luke, looking at the women who were His followers. A good way to wrap up before summer comes...

Going to Texas more often!

Backtracking just a bit---last Tuesday I attended the event at The Club, a fundraiser sponsored by the Rotary Club where area restaurants and vendors shared their goods with us. Not normally a rib eater, I had trouble passing up the grilled (yes, made on site!) ribs provided by Texas Roadhouse. Oh my! Talk about 'fall off the bone' good! As I sat on the sundeck with my neighbors on Saturday night, I told them how I wanted to go there to eat after having had those ribs, and all agreed how delicious they were. For some reason, that restaurant is not on our list of places to go. Well, Justin and I headed off to Texas Roadhouse that night!

We had a short wait, arriving at 7:30, but it was worth the wait. I told the hostess how I had enjoyed some ribs at the event on Tuesday and that was why we came in tonight. Pretty soon the manager of the place stopped at the table, having been told that I was at the function Tuesday night. He said he was there doing the cooking but he didn't remember me, his excuse being there were 100's of people. Okay, I'll give him that. 

Justin and I enjoyed our meals, shared a 'cactus blossom', half of it, for our appetizer. I brought home 3/4 of my half rack of ribs, all my sweet potato and all my corn. Justin had half his steak left, enough for another meal plus a sandwich from the leftovers!  I recommend this place...and I must not be the only one who loves it because people were still coming in the door, even with kids, at 9:00 pm when we left!

Gretchen's special day

Justin and I rode to church together again, with him dropping me off for Bible study, and then going for coffee and a bite. We are soon wrapping up the Bible study based on the movie "Come Follow Me" which is put out by our Synod. Everyone in the congregation got a copy of the movie, but, since I didn't know that, I had already bought my own. Good things come to those who wait...

Today for worship, Janet played the organ for the hymns. Oh, how nice that is! We are going to get so spoiled between her playing and Kathy R.'s playing for us. Janet added some 'dynamics' to the hymns, not as dramatically as can be done on the pipe organ at FG, but she found a way. I am so thankful for this! 

One of our members serves at the submarine base in GA, while his wife and daughters live in New Ulm, MN. Periodically Ann comes down for a visit, and when not in school, the girls can join them. Corey goes out on deployment for periods at a time so it made sense for the family to stay behind and finish school. Anyway, Ann has a wonderful voice and sings harmony on the hymns, which adds much to my personal appreciation of them. She is a 2nd cousin to my young friend, Naomi, a student in New Ulm. Small world!

Gretchen and Terri T.

After church, a whole gang of us went to lunch at Sam's St. Johns Seafood where Gretchen likes to go. She doesn't like to go to Chili's so when she joins us, she gets to pick! Two days ago Gretchen celebrated her 88th birthday. She likes to mention how the Queen of England and she are just days apart in their birthday. She tears me up! Terri T. had called her to do something that day but Gretchen's niece and nephew beat her to the punch. So we celebrated today with the church bunch. 

From left is Mike S., Betty, me, Justin, Kristin, then Sue, Judy C., Gretchen, Terri T., Michael, and Jacob. We have all age groups represented for Miss Gretchen!

Before we'd headed to eat, though, Meghan and I went to the classroom building to have her try on the wedding dress. It was huge on her---not around the middle but up top. Oh oh...Bonnie's granddaughter, Alicea, tried on my dress and we figured with some pins, she's a go. I feel so badly for Meghan, though, because she would have loved to wear a gown. She wondered aloud if she could wear her mom's dress and we all said, "Yes!, if it fits you!" We mentioned it to her dad, waiting outside, and he was doubtful about that, but will ask Michele when she gets home from work. 

As we pulled onto the property after lunch, I spotted my friends sitting at the pool. Justin knew I would go flying out there to join them, but not in my swimsuit. Quickly I changed my clothes and grabbed a partial 12 pack of Diet Coke to share, since the cabana is not open yet. The water is too cold yet for me but Mo was in the water and Bill had dived in a couple of times. The sun feels awesome and the company is great. Mo had her computer along to do some work while seated poolside...As a teacher, her work is never done. I think three of her kids were with her, one of whom did a food run to Wendy's for the family. Mo has 8 kids, and my utmost admiration! Lee moved away last fall, and today her absence was felt profoundly by me, as the pool season gets underway. She really liked the cooler water and cooler temps. Mo and I might go to eat once more at Santioni's before summer is in full bloom, and drink a toast to Lee, our absent friend.