At long last!

Justin and I went to dinner tonight at Koko's (Saigon Tokyo), my first time since getting back from WI. Oh, how I missed their fried rice and teriyaki chicken!  It was like a hero's welcome when we showed up there, warmly greeted and well-fed, with leftovers for a couple more meals. 

Today in my hometown it was graduation day at the government high school. My two nieces graduated from this school one year apart and both times we witnessed the ceremony from indoors their gymnasium due to rain. Today, however, the pageantry of the event was able to take place. Back in 1941 my mom served as one of those 'flower girls' seen in the photo with the baskets in front of them. In 1942 my mom was one of those graduates descending the stairways into the bowl in front of Lincoln High School. While the graduation services at our Lutheran High School are lovely in their way, this public school one is quite dramatic in its own rite. 

A grumpy old lady!

Yes, that was me! Today I confessed to my pool friends that I felt like such a Grumpy Gus yesterday, a day which should have been the most delightful one, being back at the pool with my friends. Upon reflection, though, last night, it occurred to me just how I felt and must have sounded. Did you ever have such a day when nothing was right? Well, welcome to our pool!

Here is what was bothering me: while I was in WI, I was contacted by my friend, Jacquie, on Memorial Day weekend, the official opening of the pool. She was dismayed because the cabana renovations were yet incomplete. Neither she nor I could believe it. How could this happen on what normally proves to be one of the biggest of the summer season??  Was winter too short for getting this project completed? EVERYTHING the management and their staff did to update this cabana took far too long, or was begun too late to accommodate the schedule. Timing is absolutely everything on projects like this and cutting corners by using in-house workers rather than hiring professionals has shown once again how foolhardy an effort this is. 

I do understand that some of the work was done by pros and yes, there are inspections which need to take place and must be passed. I get that, very well do I get that. But once the members quit using the pool around October, that would have been the right time to tackle these projects. The new kool decking looks marvelous and the blue painting inside the big pool makes it looks nice 'n fresh. This painting was done by the gardener, more or less free-hand so the lines are a bit wiggly. I know I am particular about things like this. At the member's meeting earlier this year we were told that the broken tiles would be replaced but that did not happen. I wondered why the pool was being painted prior to the tile work being done. Now I know!

The steps leading down in the water are slick and several people have slipped and fallen when getting into the water, including Nancy W. early in April when we were out there. That is not good! I was told that last weekend a paper sign was posted on the handrail warning folks that the steps were slippery. This sign was posted by the management which means it now becomes even more of a liability for them should someone fall and get hurt. The solution for this is being discussed with some thought being the pool will need to be closed for a period of time to allow for this correction to take place. Others don't really think so, that it shouldn't take the whole pool being emptied to access the steps nor should it take a week to take care of. 

Believe me, I am not the only one frustrated by all these delays. Those who were making use of the pool in my absences have gotten it out of their systems a bit by now, but it was fresh for me yet. The new lifeguard, a seemingly unpleasant young lady, didn't spend much time at the kids' pool while I was out there, but was seated in the cabana much of the time. There were at least a dozen kids on the other end and she was no where near where they were. I was puzzled by that, thinking she was on a really long break. In the past the teens would sit on the elevated seat on that end of the pools with the flotation device on their laps or in arm's reach. Must be a training issue.

Food could be ordered, still be served from the kitchen inside the main building which was fine with us. Pizzas were added by the chef thinking that the kids would love them. They do, as do some of the grown ups! When the cabana is ready and they can cook for us again, the pizzas will disappear as they have no way to make them in there. People will be disappointed about that, I fear. My meal was good, I like the pasta salad with the hot dog served with sour cream 'n onion chips. Not a bad price either. We expected higher prices due to the renovations. I'm okay if they don't jack them up.

When the kool decking was done, all the steps and flat areas, and round areas, were painted in the same color. Now as people approach the steps down to the pool from the parking lot, they can't see the steps as clearly since they match right in. I watched a couple people carrying pool paraphenalia nearly take a header by not seeing the steps in front of them. Not good! By the baby pool there are mounded areas, not sure what they are for, that people are catching their feet on. Those are now beautifully marked with silver duct tape, which didn't quite do the trick. My suggestion is a brighter color paint for the humps, a reflective paint for the stairs and along the edge of the raised area so no one falls over the edge. That's where attention to detail to comes in. I used to be pretty good at that back in the day!

My neighbor sent me this photo he took of the lovely new ducting for the cabana which covers the metal scroll work of the doors. This cabana was part of the original property and it's a dirty shame that 'they' had to install this expensive system just to make our hamburgers and hot dogs. I think something else could have been done, but was not consulted on this. Sad looking, is it not?

Anyway, once I was inside and cleaned up after being out at the pool, grumbling, I felt badly about it. Normally I am the cheerleader in the group but Saturday I didn't do too much of that. I just had some catching up to do as the others got it out of their systems (well, some of them did, anyway) the previous weeks. Today, I tried to be more positive and encouraging, hopeful that all things would be made right, perhaps even before the Independence Day celebrations!

A fantastic day at the pool

Ellen, my neighbor, shared this photo she took just prior to sunrise this a.m. It was a fantastic sky and her morning photo turned out better than did mine, hers being unobstructed. She is up one floor and on the end so no palm trees interfere with her shots. I just love this, it sucks me right in...

The rest of my day, which began with such promise as this lovely sky showed, was spent in and at the pool. Oh, it feels wonderful to be floating about and riding my invisible bicycle under the water, round and around I go. Not many people are out yet so often the pool is mine to enjoy alone until after lunch. I can get my lunch out there, still coming from the kitchen inside The Club but I sure don't care where it comes from. Marlena takes good care of us pool diners. We are disappointed that things are not yet up and running in the cabana after the whole winter to take care of business. Patience, my dear, patience...

                                   

My friend from church, Jean N., retired from her job and when cleaning out her desk, came upon this can cozy. She knew that I would appreciate such a garish thing, and boy, do I ever! So many people comment on it, I could go into business and make my own to sell!

Justin went with his boss, his wife, and buddies to have appetizers at Whitey's for dinner so I stayed home and dined on dry bread and water, my go-to guilt answer to Justin. No worries, I have plenty to sustain me, I shall not fade away. Looking forward to the weekend with my friends, catching up on all the news and such since we've seen each other. I love summer!

Alligator wrestling

The manatees are active in the river outside the building. Connie called me to come down 'and bring your camera!' to see them swimming and eating along the bulkhead behind The Capri building. My other neighbors came out also with their grandbabies to see them, but I am not sure the little ones knew what we were looking at. I took some video for my sister, Kerry, but I cannot share such in the blog. Here are two sunbathers, fairly close to the bulkhead:

I can handle looking at the manatees up close and personal, but I have less bravery when it comes to a lizard, especially in the house. I faced such a beast this morning, in my bedroom. As I was lying on my bed watching the news, I heard this sound, like something hitting the floor. Not like a book dropping but softer, with a click sound to it. I got up and came around my bed to spot a small lizard on the floor between my desk and the bed. Oh oh!

Not wanting that beast under my bed, I tossed a towel which was handy to cover the lizard. Nuts, it crawled out from under it and into the corner away from the bed. Now what? Hating to leave the room to get a broom or something and loose sight of it, I instead reached into my desk cupboard for my compressed air can. Yup, that did the trick! I scooted him along the wall, under the desk and out the other side toward the river room. Not only did I scoot the gila monster along but also a bunch of bunnies. Now I'll have to vacuum them up! 

I opened the sliding glass door and got the baby dragon into the track of the door. The next thing I saw was this prehistoric beast climbing on the screen as I closed the door again. Mission accomplished and no shots were fired!  My guess is that he came into the house last night as Justin and I had the doors opened to look out at something. This means the beast was in my house overnight, though, and I am not sure I can wrap my head around that idea. 

When we first moved to FL, we lived in an apartment off of Wells Road, not really a 'bad' part of town those 27 years ago. Justin and I were home alone one day when I noticed a lizard running along the wall behind our sofa. Justin's play pen was right there and I freaked out, having such a creature loose in my house. Bravely, I opened the door to the patio on the front of the house and spotted a guy going past on a bicycle. I flagged him and asked him for help. He came into my house and searched for the lizard, unable to find it. 

After assuring me they were harmless (they ALL say that!), he left with my thanks for his coming to help me. I watched like a hawk for that sneaking creature to show itself but I never did see it again. It likely dried up behind or under something, never to be seen again. Good! Serves him right for invading my space and threatening my baby. People were horrified to hear how I flagged down a strange man to help me but I had no fear in those days of such things, only the snake-looking things!

Back to Bible Study

Thursdays are my favorite day of the week, Bible study at Victory day. I just love this class, regardless of the planned topic. We have the liberty and opportunity to discuss things other than Isaiah, our current study, and eventually find the connections between what Israel was facing, or going to face, and what we are up against in 2015 in America. A couple ladies in particular are well-read and aware, as is Pastor, and I so appreciate having these discussions with them. 

Before I left for WI, I was figuring out the schedule for the class and determined I would be gone when we covered Isaiah 53, one of the 'good' chapters. I was looking forward to the worksheet and discussion as well as pondering the lessons in this chapter, which, alas, I would miss. However, last night, I contacted Rita to find out which chapter we were on and she told me it was Isaiah 53. What??  Yes, it seems Pastor missed a week or two while his daughter and grandbaby were in town so our schedule got thrown off. Yay for me, then, because I still got to go over this with the class. Love when this stuff happens!

Justin and I are planning to have dinner out tonight, depending upon how he feels when he gets home from work. Often he is totally wiped as the heat and long days wear him out, but the thoughts of Koko's or 4Rivers might be enough to sustain him. We shall see. Otherwise we can order pizza or have some Chinese food delivered, we are flexible like that!

My poor nerves!

Today I am doing something which I normally don't do for a week or so after a trip---emptying my suitcase. Oh, I did immediately take out the food items needing to be refrigerated. Also, I grabbed my toiletry bag to get what I needed for bedtime. The rest could wait, at least, until today. 

I pulled out the items to be laundered, not necessarily dirty but needing to be freshened up after a couple of days crumpled in the luggage. I sure did not perspire at all when in WI to get them funky smelling. Anyway, I put in the first load and added the soap, pressed the appropriate buttons on the washer and started it. 

While I was minding my own business at the desk, the machine taking care of its business, I heard this terrible bang sound. Frantically I raced to the laundry room in the hallway where I certainly expected to see the machine on its side or something. Nothing was amiss---apparently it was simply changing cycles. With such a big bang? Not a continuous one like an unbalanced load or anything, just one big bang. Yikes, my poor heart and nerves cannot take any drama from the laundry room, or anything with water running to it. In the year that I have had this new machine, you'd think I would become accustomed to the noises it makes, but I have not. Might need a nap after this!

"Make new friends...."

"but keep the old..." We sang this little ditty when I was itty bitty. Well, at least when I was substantially younger, with my sisters and friends. We would sing this playground song in a round-style: "Make new friends, but keep the old; some are silver and others gold." Yesterday, I made a new friend who will probably become gold. How could she not? Her name is Kim!

This a.m. I went out for the first aquarobics class of the season for me. It was great to see my friends again and meet some new people. I only screamed a little bit as I lowered myself in to still too cool water but the heat from the sun felt divine, and made up for it. We had a good workout, most of the routines the same as last year. Our dear friend, Randy, in his late 70's, seems to have forgotten what to do having missed last season due some injuries. I am sure it will all come back to him with practice. Nancy W was not there for class and I am uncertain she will join us at all. Morning is not her favorite time of day, having interrupted sleep most nights.

Kim is a woman younger than me by some years but has multiple aches 'n pains primarily from the waist down. Two years ago she was hit by truck while riding her motorcycle and sustained many life-threatening injuries, breaking many bones in many places as well as having internal injuries. She was 'out of it' for two weeks at least before she was brought around to consciousness following the accident, and has no recollection of the accident. I told her God did that for her, spared her that horrific memory. She still experiences pain and discomfort from the pins, screws, plates, etc. which hold her together and yet, she is vital and delightful. She has great upper body strength and raise herself out of the pool using her arms. I have all I can do to climb out using the steps.

Kim the Second (Kim II) is a retired writer, having worked for newspapers and other publications in the area prior to retiring. It will be interesting getting to know her better as the summer goes on. She drives in from Fleming Island where she lives with her husband in a rural setting. She enjoys gardening and is into all things natural. We are just two peas in a pod---NOT! But, she does enjoy beer, and not necessarily Natural Light!

While it's in the high 80's here, my poor nephew is sunbathing Sheboygan-style back in WI. My sister, Lynn, sent this picture via text message to show me what I left behind. I do not miss those chilly temps up there one little bit!

This evening I was privileged to attend the graduation service and ceremony for the preschool at our church. Judy and Betty took care of the refreshments so all I did was meet 'n greet the parents, grands, and other family. And helped take some group pictures as requested. The kids did a good job demonstrating for the gathering the things they learned in preschool, especially their Bible lessons and songs. If they learned nothing else, at least they know Jesus and that He loves them!

Here they are singing one of their little Bible songs, using the hand gestures which help them to remember the words. One little guy was not quite into it. There were four more kids on the other side, not in the photo.