Memorial

This has been a busy week at church as I mentioned in my last post. It is also a sad time to reflect back on what happened to my husband 13 years ago. It was Friday, January 31, 1997, that Jim took his own life. I came home from school and found him and a note. Ever since that time I asked questions and tried to understand what happened. Perhaps we will never really know what was going on in his head. I miss him.

Today the snow is covering the driveway and woods. The sun is shining down making sparkles in the snow. I see the beauty of nature. A pileated woodpecker just visited my suet feeder. This is a rare sighting of such a large beautiful bird. Jim loved nature and enjoyed skiing. Winter was a fun time to enjoy the outdoors. He was always full of life, ready to go "do" something. We enjoyed walking our dog at the nearby parks. I miss all of those things that we shared in common.

Church Week

Starting last Saturday we had our church officers and committees all-day retreat We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner together, reviewed our church constitution, church profile, church survey, and ministry plan of action for the future. It was a very full day, and rather tiring. However, I felt it was very worthwhile, a good way to bond, and fun at the same time.

Sunday we had a full morning with bell choir rehearsal, chancel choir warm-up, 2 worship services, a potluck dinner, and our annual meeting. All went very well.

The COLTS won so I am happy!

Monday morning I attended our church book study. Then I went up to the church to work on the newsletter. By 4:00 we had it printed and folded, thanks to some very nice people at the food pantry. That night we had our church consistory meeting.

Tuesday was bell choir and chancel choir rehearsals.

Wednesday night was the Alpha Course.

What will I do tomorrow and Friday? ?????

Saturday is our church women's retreat with dinner out.

It has been a very good week! I enjoyed the fellowship and studies, the interaction, the discussions, and even the disagreements that arose. It is wonderful to have such a great group of people to share your thoughts, beliefs, and ideas. I would be truly lonely and lost without my church family.

Thursday

Yesterday Carane and I went to the Playhouse to see Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers." I had never heard of it before so I was quite intrigued with the pre-show discussion. This has to be one of the best plays Neil Simon ever wrote! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. The way he built up to Grandma's entrance was so great that when she finally came out you weren't disappointed. The same was true of Gert's entrance in the 2nd act. The young boys were excellent in their roles as Arty and and Jay. We are so fortunate to have this wonderful Cleveland Playhouse with such great talent and fantastic plays.

Alpha Rocks!

We had our first official session of the Alpha Course tonight. After eating pizza, cookies, & potato chips with pop we were really "rocking!" It is great to see so many new faces and have time to sit down with new people and discuss important subjects and get to know them better.

Today I worked on the computer, went to the YMCA, worked some more on the computer, went to Alpha and came home and worked on the computer. Jerry and I started putting together the church newsletter. Microsoft Publisher worked well after we used Mary's template. We just deleted the old information and inserted the new. That was easy but took time to copy and paste articles from e-mails we received. We had fun and a lot of laughs so I enjoyed it.

Tuesday

The snow is melting but rain came down and froze on top of it. Streets were slick this morning, as was my driveway. The "Mouse Man" came today and extracted 2 critters from my attic. The RV was clean. :-)

I spent some time on the computer, went with Jerry to the VA for a blood draw, read the newspaper, and watched an old western called "Comanche." Tonight our bell choir practiced for Sunday's service. We always laugh and have such a good time together. Then I stayed for chancel choir rehearsal. It was fun too.

Sunday

This morning started out very foggy and stayed gray all day. The warmer weather is definitely melting the snow. Since I love cross-country skiing I always feel sad when this happens.

Our Alpha team met after church to make plans for Wed. night. It is very exciting to see new faces at this weekly event.

The Colts won! Since I was born a Hoosier I feel some connection with them.

Henri Matisse

At the top of my blog is a picture of an old car with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side. It is an oil painting by Henri Matisse. I actually got to see it at the Cleveland Art Museum yesterday. In fact, I probably downloaded the photo from one of their brochures last fall. Cool! Its title is "The Windshield, On the Road to Villacoublay," dated 1917. Henri was riding in the backseat and decided to paint what he saw from the car.

Shot of Culture

Today was a wonderful day for culture in Cleveland. My friends and I attended the Cleveland Orchestra concert and visited the Cleveland Art Museum. WOW! The orchestra played R. Strauss' "Don Juan." Then they played the Brahms 2nd Symphony in D. Fantastic music by a world-class orchestra.

After the concert we walked back to the art museum and visited the newly opened galleries of impressionism, modern art, as well as the armor hall and some other favorites. We also visited the cafeteria for our soup and sandwich lunch.

Tuesday

Today I finally made it to the YMCA after a month's absence. In the meantime, I have been exercising with Hoby by cross-country skiing about 3 times this week.

Jerry and I have been shopping, running some errands, and keeping warm by the fire while we watch TV. I've been catching up with Facebook, Farmville, Tikki Farm, Zoo World, Happy Aquarium, e-mails, and all of the RV blogs.

Tomorrow our church is starting the Alpha Course. Jerry is helping me make mashed potatoes for 40 people! Wow, what a friend!

Saturday with Sunshine!

Today was the first day we saw the sun for a week! It is still very cold (in the teens) but the snow on the trees is so pretty. I did a load of laundry, sewed a rip in a jacket, balanced my checkbook, shredded last year's bill receipts, and did other odd jobs.

The Bengals didn't make it, I'm sorry to say. :-( They had a really good season but just couldn't get past the NY Jets.

In memory of Elvis's 75th birthday yesterday I stayed up late watching his movies. I had never seen Follow Your Dream or Clambake before. Elvis played an innocent, naive man in both. That surprised me. I was fooled by his swinging hips when he performed. I figured he would play an aggressive sex symbol type instead of the "good" guy. Both movies were very light and relaxing to watch. After visiting Graceland last May and seeing all of Elvis' cars, costumes, army history, airplanes, etc. it was especially fun to see his movies.

Cozy Home

Today was a good day to stay in and keep warm by the gas log. Jerry and I decided to wash Hoby in the bathtub. This was definitely a 2-man effort because Hoby is afraid of water. After bribing him into the tub I climbed in with him and scrubbed him up real well. I used my shower massage to rinse him while Jerry held him still. WHEW!

Next, we gave Taz her first real bath. She has had partial cleanings before but never gotten soaked before. She is really a little cat when wet. Her harness looked too big. I had worried that it was too tight and binding her but it is fine.

Panda was afraid she was missing out so she put her paw under the bathroom door. I opened it and let her in. Her fur is so much lighter and fluffier it didn't need washing. She really keeps herself clean and good-smelling.

That was all the excitement for the day.

Welcome, 2010! Welcome Snow!

We have had steady snowfall since New Year's. We have 27 inches of snow and then today ice. I took Hoby cross country skiing in Jerry's woods. It was more plodding than skiing. The crust of ice on top would break, leaving ice blocks between your feet to cut into your ankles. The snow was almost knee deep. We definitely got a good workout.