Accidents happen

Yesterday after Bible study,  I met my friend for an enjoyable lunch at Metro Diner. After I was home for a bit, I decided to give my mom a call. In the past I would call her on Thursdays as I drove to Victory, but ever since there was a terrible accident on the Bridge with a family killed, I have decided to not do that anymore. So now when I call her, I have no deadline to end the call like I did when going to the study. Mom was resting in her chair when I called her after she'd dusted that morning. Wears a person out! She told me about my sister, Kerry, coming for an overnight visit and all the good food Kerry brought with her. 

We talked for a bit before Mom asked if I'd heard that Lori had fallen in her bathroom. NO!, I had not and I was terribly upset to hear this. Lori had called Mom a few days ago and told her about it, the fall occurring over the weekend prior. When I was done talking with Mom I called Lori to see how she was. Lori was at work but could talk, and told me about her fall. 

Apparently she had a taken a shower and was stepping out of the tub. She is unsure exactly how it happened but didn't lift her foot high enough and down she went on the floor. She hit with a mighty thud but her hubby didn't hear it. Lori was able to get up on her own, no harm and no foul, but has now bruising from her thigh to above the ankle on one leg. It didn't stop her from going with her lady friends that evening, she is a trouper.

I just hate it when I hear that family or friends have a fall, no matter what age they are. Lori said if she was older she might have broken a bone but she IS four years older than me. She said she had some padding on her legs to buffer her but I told her she did not have much (not like mine!). My other sisters have bird legs like their grandma and mama, I don't know where mine came from! I am so glad Lori is okay, though, none the worse for the wear. Guess she can wait a while to get one of those emergency pendants, especially since David is there to help her! 

Unreasonableness

This morning I went to Bible study at Victory, good traffic and no problems. I am always so thankful when I get there, and then thankful to get back home again. I met Pastor H. as I walked up and noticed he was dressed somewhat differently than usual. He had on a plaid shirt, a sweater vest, and a blazer over the top of that, plus jeans. Hmmm...not his normal Thursday attire. After he greeted me he told me Cary would be taking the class today as he was flying to MKE for a meeting. Oh, okay...he needed the layers for the cold!

Dawn was already inside, having a quilt she is working on spread out in the space between the chancel and the first row of chairs. This is the best place for her to do this as she needs space with no foot traffic. Cary had already made the coffee when Harold and Lucy arrived. Harold scolded me for not bringing doughnuts but before I could say anything, Cary jumped in to report Rita was bringing doughnuts. In fact, her car broke down at the doughnut shop and Cary's wife was picking her up and bringing Rita and the doughnuts to class. Poor Rita but yay for Nancy going to get her!

We had full tables, including a guest from Martin Lutheran College, Kate, who is on her way to Leesburg where she'll meet up the president of the college to do a presentation to a group about MLC. It was great to have her as part of class. Every seat was taken, a good situation to have. We are studying Titus which is a great follow-up to the book of Timothy.

My friend, Kathy H., and I were finally able to get together for lunch. I got to choose where we went, picking Metro Diner. This was her first visit, strangely enough. I arrived first and signed in at the host station. Another lady came in behind me, with her daughter, and put her name on the list. She was disgruntled that the host wouldn't seat her until the rest of her group arrived. I waited to the side for Kathy to get there and was fine with it. This lady was not happy and asked to see a manager. While 'we' waited for him, I talked to her about the policy, me being jolly about it. Given the busyness of this place and the rapid turnover, certainly they don't want tables held up, in her case a 5 top, waiting for the rest of her party for 15 minutes. I felt she was being unreasonable in her upset, unhappily waiting for her group to arrive and then being seated. Try I as I might, I couldn't persuade her to be okay with it. Finally Kathy arrived and we were seated. This lady and her group, once they got there, were seated, ate, and left before Kathy and I were finished. What the heck was all the fuss about??!

Kathy enjoyed her meal, as did I, and she treated me for my birthday. Yes, I am still milking the birthday! Kathy and her mom couldn't make it to my party. She gave me a gift besides paying for my meal, and I am thankful for the Chili's gift card and picture frame. Her family is gathering for her niece's wedding for which everyone is on call to help organize. Her brother is unmarried so Kathy is helping as best she can, like a mother of the bride role, to help her brother and his daughter pull off this wedding. I wish them wonderful weather and no drama. Is that too much, is that unreasonable? 

That was a nightmare

This was the glorious sunrise we were met with this morning

Today I finally tackled the ominous task of signing up for the VyStar online checking service. Yes, I was already enrolled in this but they have instituted a new computer system and everyone has to go through this ritual. I'd heard from others how awful it was, having the system go down under the pressure of people trying to get re-enrolled, etc. Obviously I was reluctant to take care of this but it was getting time to pay some bills so I had to dive right in. It only took two phone calls to customer service to get it done. When I was done, I needed a drink! 

My drink of choice was a milk shake which Brenda N. and I enjoyed after our nice lunch at Steak 'n Shake. It is always great to see her and spend time together. She comes over on her lunch hour and we pack much into our time together. And, later, we enjoy our milk shakes which we take with us. I cannot eat the meal and have the shake at the same time---it's either one or the other!

On the way home, I stopped at Winn Dixie to get what I needed to make cookies for at church tonight. I took the easy route and bought the break apart cookies which I baked at home. Easier yet would have been buying pre-baked cookies so I am good. Technically, I took home-baked cookies tonight and am proud of it!  

For my dinner after church I made myself a nice pork sandwich using the remains of the apple-flavored loin Justin made. Oh, my! Was that delicious! Justin had eaten already when I came home, working late and too tired to do anything except go to bed. Poor guy, right back into the thick of things!

History repeats itself

I just had to laugh today, right off the bat. The Facebook Memory thing popped up with a post from last year when Justin checked in for us from Grumpy's because I'd forgotten my phone at home. He wrote: "Mom left her phone at home. People might think she didn't get to eat today if I don't check in for her." And that is why, folks, I check in on FB. People will become concerned that I am starving nearly to pieces if I do not!

The next funny thing was Terri messaged me to go meet for breakfast---yes---at Grumpy's! History is repeating itself today. And what a lovely breakfast it was, too. Sometimes I fear that the Metro Diner will hurt Grumpy's business but so far I haven't noticed much decline. Saturdays at Grumpy's are still standing room only. I know there are some who are regulars and just will not venture up the street. I am also a regular but do venture up the street!  And today, I had my phone with me to do my own check-in.

Just looking at them makes my mouth water! I needed an ice cream bar later to soothe my throat after all that garlic!

This evening Justin and I had pizza from Papa Johns. Mine was free because I had bought one on Super Bowl Sunday, plus I added those wonderful garlic knots to the order. Justin likes a thin crust bbq chicken for his pie, and I like the regular crust meat 'n cheese lovers' version. He will finish mine for me during the week, but I got my fair share of the garlic knots. 

Eating at home

My boy is a fan of the website Pinterest and other similar sites. From those he finds the most amazing recipes and tonight we will be enjoying one of them. Winn Dixie recently had pork loins on special for $2.00 a pound. The last time I went to get one they were out, promising more were coming. When I went back again, the butcher had to go to the storeroom/cooler and came out with two of them. I took only one, leaving the spare for someone else to buy. Why would they not have them out and available for the taking, though?

Today he is making the recipe which includes slicing the loin along one side and putting apple wedges into the roast. Besides some other ingredients including cinnamon, more apples were placed around the loin in the slow cooker. All day it has cooked and made our house smell wonderful. Can't wait to try it at dinner time, with spiced apples alongside. It sure does smell wonderful.

The other day a Facebook friend and I were discussing the stores in the hometown we came from, including Kresge's. It seems both our moms liked to wear a perfume "Evening in Paris" which I figured was a more 'fancy' scent than Kresge's would sell. I guess it was not! Today Lori sent me this photo she found online of a collection of "Paris" bottles. Wow, does this ever bring back memories. Already back then I liked cobalt glass, and apparently, so did my mom!  This set was available for $185, just imagine if we'd kept all those bottles from back then...

Today the Chef from The Club sent me this video taken yesterday of the St. Valentine's events including exterior shots. At the 1:13 mark he caught a lovely shot of The Palace, so I thought I'd share it here for you to see, as well: http://youtu.be/ubGGK9zQtg4. You can mute the sound to just look at the photoe. Enjoy!

St. Valentine's Day

At first my big, fat idea was to treat Nancy for her birthday on Sunday night. Thankfully, Justin had the presence of mind to consider that might be a bad idea given the fact that it would be St. Valentine's Day. Oops!  Instead, we went tonight, which also proved to be a busy, busy choice. Personally, I love it because it means the restaurant is going to make it, returning to the past glory of what Koko's used to be, and Saigon Tokyo is becoming once again. 

A funny thing happened as we entered the restaurant: a young girl called out "Miss Kim!" and grabbed me for a hug. Of course, I hugged her back and told her how nice it was to see her. She said she would tell Grams that she saw me, and she went back to her gaggle of young lady friends. As we sat at our table, it was consuming me---who was that girl????  As it turned out, this group of young ladies sat adjacent to ours so I could keep looking her over, try to connect dots, etc. to remind myself. Nothing! These giggling girls found the bus boy/waiter quite the attraction, which we, in turn, found cute. I hope they left a good tip. Trying to remember who she is and who Grams almost kept me awake all night!

After worship today, our group, sans Terri, went to eat at Chili's. We anticipated it being busy but wasn't too bad. We could use a smaller table today, not needing all that elbow room. I love this time together and appreciate the opportunity to share at least one meal with this group of folks. 

"Seinfeld" expert!

Yesterday when Justin and I were at breakfast, about 3/4 of the way through, I realized my earrings were still in my pocket. I had already been talking with the lady next to me, Cindy, and now I was embarrassed that she saw me without them. As I gasped and quickly put them in, he said, "Now I know why people were staring were at you..." Ha, ha! 

Horror of horrors---Justice Scalia has died unexpectedly. This is terrible news for the nation, and in particular for those concerned with the fading attention being paid to the Constitution. Antonin was a strict adherer to the Constitution and was well-respected in the legal world and as a Justice for it. I've had some people suggest that the party of the Presidency doesn't really matter, but when you realize that the sitting President does the nominating for the high court, it matters a good deal. We sure don't want to make a mistake made like the current Chief Justice turned out to be. 

My little nephews were in a basketball tournament today and my sister, Jill, their auntie, sent me this photo of Manny and Gabe. I can't stop chuckling at the look and posture of Manny---so reluctant to have his picture taken!  But it means much to the aunties and relatives not there to see them play!!!  

My friend, Linda M., sent me a link to take a test online regarding "Seinfeld" trivia knowledge. It was a 40 question test and I manged to get 38 correct. What about the two I got wrong? One question I answered incorrectly was asking how many Emmy's the show had won (not really Seinfeld trivia, if you ask me) and the other one, an obvious one, asked which character appeared in every episode. Yes, it was Jerry, but I was thinking of every other character on the show, not even him. Shame on me! Otherwise, I did great on the quiz!