Cue the song "Whatshername"

This past weekend was full of class reunion activities.

The class of 73' was having get-togethers and the Class of 75' had events planned. What about 74?????? My class never seems to get it together. We had a 10th and 15th...and nothing since then.
The Class of 75' made their party a multi-year reunion...classes of 73'-74'-75'-76'....which was nice; however I don't know if they were aware that the Class of 73' was having a "60th Birthday Party" the same weekend???? Any way, a friend of ours was in town for the 75' reunion. He lives in the Solomon Islands...so we don't see him often....last time he was here was probably 15 years ago. He was excited....and his enthusiasm was catching. John kind of knew what was planned because a friend of his(John's) kept  him in the loop.( I never saw any mention from anyone on Face Book or online...oh well...neither did any of my close friends.) 
We decided to stop by the bar downtown to see who from 73' was around. We saw some familiar faces. Not nearly as many as they had for their 40th reunion two years ago...but a pretty good turnout just the same. After an hour or two there...we headed back to the beach to see how things were going at the other event.

People watcher that I am I observed a couple of things.... surprise-surprise
One was that the group from 1973 seemed a lot "older" than the 1975 grads. I never realized how much difference 3 years makes! At the 73' reunion at least one other person besides me had had shoulder surgery in the last 3 months. A couple of people were talking about their knee problems, and one person had a walker, another was on oxygen. When we stopped by the second party...most everyone seemed to be going strong....no walkers in sight; just one person on crutches.

Everyone just seemed to have a lot more energy in the younger group. I ran into a couple of people I knew, some recognized me, others I spotted before they saw me. There were one or two that I had not seen since high school...so that was fun. And then one friend appeared out of nowhere...we lost touch a couple of years back. All of the sudden no Christmas card...and no one seemed to know where she had gone. Well...she tapped me on the shoulder and we had fun chatting for a few minutes.

John managed to snap a few kind of blurry photos for us. And then she was off. Had hoped to see her again Saturday night... but she didn't come to the event. Wonder where she'll turn up next????
During the two nights I also came to the conclusion that because we had so many kids on our street when we were growing up; I really didn't go "out" that much. We didn't need to go anywhere...there were always people around on our own street. (and none of those friends were at either one of the reunion parties) I wasn't in a lot of clubs( just one or two) or on any teams....most of what I did was within walking distance of our house. John seemed like he knew everyone...hahah he was looking through the yearbooks getting all excited...and I...just wasn't. Not that I didn't enjoy seeing people, because I did...I guess I just haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it. If I had gone with a group of my close friends I might've been more excited.
Saturday night we decided to once again go up to the venue and see who was around. Hadn't planned on going in; we didn't buy tickets. we thought there would be people at the pool bar, watching football, or other people milling around. Turns out we talked to a few people out in the hallway and the lobby....and almost decided to get a last minute ticket to go in...but we weren't drinking and we had already eaten...and I guess it wasn't worth $35.00 to me to go see who was there. That sounds cheap of me...but what can I say....hahaha

There were two people I saw on the list who had planned to attend...but they never checked in. If they had come...I might've forked out the $$ just to spend some time with them. But Diann and Dixie never showed up...so we left after a short time and watched the Gator game at a nearby bar. It was fun to see the people I saw...and definitely more exciting than my usual weekend plans, so I can't complain. Maybe one of these years my class will get it together...or I'll have my own reunion ...hahaha and will see how it goes. In the meantime it will be interesting to see how the group from 75' holds up over the next couple of years.Next time I see them we'll see how many knees, shoulders, etc are on the mend...and if anyone will be using a walker.......only time will tell......:)

If I ever do plan a reunion...this song is a must....

Nothing exciting...just me...:)

Well I'm in week 6 of my recovery form shoulder surgery and it's great to be out of the sling...but hard not to do anything with the right arm! No pushing, pulling, reaching or lifting with that arm. Trust me I know if I'm pushing it a little...that is usually enough to stop me. Actually even typing this blog will probably make my arm/shoulder tired before I'm through...but all in all it's not too bad. It's hard to convince people that "I really can't do anything"....because I look perfectly fine. Dr. put it....at this point the shoulder is like wet cement-it'll heal one way or the other but if I "step" in it it won't be 100%. I'm doing my best.
And that is how I ended up being able to sit and watch three full days worth of the Pope's visit to America last week. (plus what I saved on the DVR). I have not been watching daytime TV at all...I am not interested in  game shows,talk shows, etc. that are on...so I've been avoiding it. One day I did catch myself thinking about all the things I could do...and decided I better put the sling back on and sit down and watch one of my TV shows I have on DVD. So" Veronica Mars" came to my rescue and saved me from myself that day. haaha
I turned on the TV to see what was happening and from then on it was MSNBC and the Pope. It was nice that  Brian Williams had just recently come back to work, because I have always enjoyed him. How lucky for him to start back and get to cover such a great event.
If my mother were still alive, she would have loved watching it all; so part of me enjoyed watching for that very reason. And also...it was hard not to get caught up  all the excitement....because I can tell you from watching...wherever Pope Francis went...there was a CROWD of happy people and reporters, security, etc. But for 3 days I watched the news pretty much ALL day long and it as great to watch so many happy, smiling people for a change! As one person said when asked how long he thought the good feelings would last....he replied something like -I wish he would have stayed two months instead of two days! Then we might actually get something done!  not the exact words, but something along that line.
I've heard reporters in the past talk about having met a Pope and the affect it had on them. The charisma  of the man or appeal of being in  his presence is undeniable. And I saw that time and time again as I watched the coverage.
This Pope just seems so approachable, so humble, gentle and truly kind. Growing up Catholic I can tell you some priests were very dour and serious.....but I also liked the ones who laughed, joked and made you feel comfortable. I have never liked the "Fire and Brimstone" approach to religion. Any minister, priest, etc who starts telling me everything I'm doing wrong is going to find me heading for the exit! Encourage people to join in, don't shut them out...that just never made any sense to me.
So that is another reason why I enjoyed watching Pope Francis making his way around, D.C. and NYC and Philadelphia. He is a spiritual leader who welcomes everyone! When he asked people to pray for him at all his stops "or if you are a non-believer or you can't pray for me, please send good wishes to me" I thought FINALLY...here is a religious leader who GETS it!!! ...or maybe he just gets me. hahaha I have always thought it was strange that churches seem to want to compete with one another....and I have been to my share...
I grew up as a Catholic.....but I don't follow all the rules of the church- I did not follow the rules about birth control ; and I feel they aren't realistic for most people. Not everyone can afford a huge family. I still go to church from time to time but have never believed as one priest told me "we are the one true church".
For a time I attended a Methodist church, but when the minister was relocated I did not care for his replacement. I also went to an Episcopal church for a while, I liked it because it was similar to the Catholic mass. There was a priest there who would get on a rant about pre-marital sex...and after one too many of those I found myself thinking.."This guy is struggling..he's obviously frustrated" and then I decided I really shouldn't be thinking THAT  while I'm in church! hahahah so I quit going
there. And even though I don't go every week...I still prefer the Catholic church. There is a comfort in knowing the rituals, the prayers, the routine...I always feel at peace when I go back.Others may not approve of my attendance now and then...but I feel comfortable and I don't feel the need to apologize. I am not super religious, but I am a very spiritual person. I don't wear my heart or my faith on my sleeve...but I try to live my life by following the "Golden Rule".
I have been to services at Baptist churches, Presbyterian and Lutheran churches and spin-offs from them. When we were younger sometimes my friend Lisa would come to my Sunday School class and I would go with her to the "Young Judea" meetings. My mother thought it was important to learn about other religions and encouraged us. And I will never forget when I was getting married and a friend who attended an Evangelical Christian Church told me she was afraid (HUH???????) to attend a Catholic Mass. It completely astounded me...why would you be afraid of going to a church service ??? It's not like it was some sort of cult for goodness sake. My feeling has always been that no matter what church you attend...we are all working towards the same goal...we just might be taking different paths to get there.
When you attend a religious service, mass, Jewish service...whatever...you can feel the spirit of God in the place and it's wonderful. One of my favorite parts of the Pope's visit was the visit to the 9/11 Memorial. The Inter-Faith  prayer service with all the different religious leaders was so beautiful. To hear all the prayers spoken, sung, chanted was really wonderful. Even the prayers in other languages...the tone of voice of the speaker(s) was enough to convey the meaning. Again...it goes back to my feeling that we are all working towards the same goal. Work together, pray togetherhttps://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1110389502195831263#editor/target=post;postID=1068813128696088282;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=0;src=postname just like Cardinal Dolan put it. (He looks like quite the character...hahah my kind of priest!)
That prayer service reminded me of my Uncle Dave. He was a monsignor. He always made it a point to have contact with other religious leaders in the Springfield area, Christian and Jewish. We got to meet some of them at his funeral celebration. He also told me more than once...don't let your experience with one priest define your connection to the church. If you have trouble relating to one priest, maybe you can find another  priest/parish. Boy was that the truth. I remember more than one super serious, no nonsense priest. But on the other hand I can still hear the laughter in my memory of the parish priest at our church in Pittsburgh and other friends of our family along the way. (Father Jack playing the piano  for one...and others whose names escape me at the moment.)
I watched as the motorcade left the prayer service and rode through the streets of NYC. Crowds of people who had waited for hours...would jump up and down with joy , hugging each other, simply because the Pope looked in their direction while he passed. Maybe they got a blessing, maybe a wave...but everyone seemed happy just to be there. I know not everyone in that crowd was Catholic!
It did make me think...was it just people like me..Catholic (at least in some way) or were there also people of other faiths glued to their TVs watching his every move. (I know Rush Limbaugh who called him a Marxist and a clown) wasn't...but knowing that makes me like the Pope even more!!!!Because I can't stand Rush Limbaugh) It was interesting to hear the reporters...I could usually tell who was Catholic by the way the related was was going on...but not always. It was kind of fun to hear the pride in their voices...almost like "Hey...this is OUR guy" hahaha I also hoped that other Christians were watching to see the way he shared the message...truly humble and you felt like he was talking to everyone...not a select few.
I guess once again I was happy to have had the time off...so that I could sit and watch for hours on end. If you have to do nothing, at least that gave me something to watch and enjoy in the meantime. There have been other events on TV in the past...various inaugurations, the Royal weddings,Olympic opening and closing ceremonies... events that are just a joy to sit and watch and feel like you are watching history unfold; and it's nice not to feel guilty about sitting to watch it all. Not feeling like you should be working, or doing something else...just enjoying the festivities.

It did also make me remember WHY I don't watch daytime TV...I have seen every  prescription commercial on the air during the past few days. Good grief! We are a sick bunch! Diabetes, toenail fungus, blot clots, depression, lawsuits against the companies selling said drugs...it's never ending....I'm glad it's just my shoulder I have to worry about!!!! Now I just have 5 1/2 more weeks to go. The Pope is back in Rome, football is over for a few days......the blog is written. What am I going to do next????hahaha

Random thouhgts from someone with a lot of time on their hands...

I'm in to week 3 of being off but not being able to do anything with might right arm/shoulder. It hasn't been terrible; but it gets a little boring at times. The main thing is I don't want to do anything stupid to mess up the healing process. I am hoping this surgery will take care of the problems with my shoulder and life will return to normal. I have had a lot of time to think though....haha
1. It's hot here and  very humid. Add a sling/belt wrap to the equation...and you can imagine. The good thing is it's made me motivated to get out earlier than I normally do; but it's hot even at 7:30-8am. Oh well...it is what it is,I just have to deal with it. I do use plenty of powder and a couple of super absorbent paper towels tucked in the wrap...it helps even if I look a little goofy.
2.Watching the school kids at the bus stops. Laughed earlier this week when I first witnessed a mom with a car full of kids zipping along (a little faster than the neighborhood speed limit I'm sure). All the kids had food and/or drinks in hand ...breakfast....very relaxing...hahah. Mom looked a little harried...haha Meanwhile around the corner I watched a kid making his way to the bus stop....I don't think the kid could have moved any slower if he had tried. He must have it timed down to the second...because right as he got to the "stop" the bus pulled up. I figure a) he didn't want to have to take a chance of talking to anyone while he waited or b) he was just really tired. hahahaha It also reminded me of the many times I had to run down our street to get to the bus stop on time. :)
3. We made a trip to Lowe's for a couple of things. I found a couple of lights for our up-coming party.

The suggestions for use crack me up...because they are so random hahaha
4. It's a little sad to think that the highlight of my day yesterday was the trip to the therapy place...haha although I did stop for a muffin at the Blueberry Muffin on my way  home, so that helped hahah
5. I am so glad we have our pool! The water isn't cold...but I kind of like it that way. At least I can get in the pool to get some exercise without getting too hot.
6. When you're walking around with a sling like  mine...a lot of people notice and like to chat about their similar experience. I don't mind...I like friendly people. Most offer encouragement too...kind of nice. Makes me wonder...will I be the future grocery store person chatting about MY shoulder surgery.hahahaha
7.I know I mentioned this in my last post...but I don't think most people took me seriously when I mentioned my shoulder was bothering me. killing me...hahah Most of them were "yea, yea..._____________" But it is amusing when they say "Wow...I had no idea it was that bad" which I figure translates to..."Oh I thought you were just complaining"...HAHAHAHAH
8. I am lucky...my insurance may not be great...but I do have insurance it does help! Also very thankful for Paid Sick Leave!
9. Also thankful for plenty of books to read. "Circling the Sun" Barbarian Days""Finding Audrey" "Ladies of Managua"and "A Team of Rivals" to name a few.
10. And...as always...thankful that it's 2015! Modern medicine is amazing!
11. And on that note...glad to have lived here long enough to be friends with my Dr. and the therapist.
It's nice to feel like they have my best interest at heart.(a little more than usual I hope)One less thing to worry about.

It's Not easy to do Nothing

I had to have shoulder surgery a little over 2 weeks ago...and it turned out to be worse than we all thought it was going to be...so I am now in a sling for 6 weeks. I am not supposed to use my right arm at all. I can do a lot with my left hand; but some things are kind of tricky. Hardest so far is plucking eyebrows with my left hand. I'm making it work, but it's tough...haha.The other, more serious issue.... is getting a good night's sleep.

 The first few days I had to sleep in a recliner; trying to lie down flat felt like too much pressure on my shoulder. After about a week I found I was able to get comfortable enough to lie in bed as long as I have enough pillows propping me up and holding my right arm/shoulder in place.This past Monday I woke up feeling pretty rested...so that was good. I wasn't too concerned about being tired...since I have plenty of time to rest...:)
Other than some passive sliding exercises 3 times a day, I am not supposed to do anything with the right arm. Keeping it in the sling prevents me from automatically lifting it up. I'm doing okay so far...2 weeks and one day in, but it's kind of hard to do nothing. I can take a walk every day...just have to deal with the heat. The additional sling strapped around my waist adds another layer...just what I don't need in high 80's-90 degree heat. But I'm making it work. I can get in the pool and just immobilize my arm, to get additional exercise that at least keeps me cool. But again when you can't use your arm at all...it limits your activity, that's for sure. The last thing I wan t to do is aggravate anything....with any luck, once this heals I won't have to ever do it again. I don't play any sports regularly, but I do use the arm for lifting, pushing, etc a lot at work.
The arm had been bothering me and felt like it was getting worse over time. When it was waking me up at night it occurred to me that I might actually have hurt it somehow. I made an appt with a Dr. friend of ours. He did a basic test and asked questions about my range of motion, etc. Ordered an MRI which showed a few issues. A tear in the rotator cuff, some fluid, some bone spurs. Nothing that required immediate attention...but enough to require surgery; since all the problems would most likely worsen over time and therapy could help...but might aggravate it more. So I got on the schedule. Turned out I had a couple of tears one on the labrum, one on the bicep that he cleaned up. He got rid of a couple of small bone spurs and the main one that had caused an over 90% tear in my rotator cuff. Well I guess I wasn't over reacting to the pain I was having...and that made me glad I had gone ahead with the decision to have the surgery. It's Kind of funny after the fact...I got the impression that some people didn't really take me too seriously when I was complaining about the sore shoulder...and as it turned out it was much worse than the doctor or I expected it to be.So I feel a little better...which sounds childish...but I don't care.I'm not a wimp after all...hahaha
SO these days I've been reading a lot, watching some shows on the DVR and just hanging out. One day I made a batch of cookies....that was a 3 hour ordeal using just my left hand...haha. I went to EPCOT with Brena and Josh on Sat.

 Kept surprisingly cool all day in spite of the sling and avoided any rides that would jostle me around. Now I just have to keep myself busy for the next 4 weeks!

Lazy summer afternoons

I have the day off...and nothing that I really need to do. I am tired of reading my book....even though I have a good one. What to do? Write on the blog I guess and share some photos.
For a while now a friend and I have talked about making a trip out to the Viera Wetlands. She likes to go with her children. We were talking about it and decided we ought to go sometime; well as plans tend to go when people are busy, a year later....we finally made it!
The day we planned to go the weather did not look promising. In Florida, once we get into the pattern of afternoon rain showers....we stay in that pattern for  a long time. We had POURING rain off and on, but decided to take a ride out there anyway and make the best of it. I had no idea exactly what this trip would entail. I thought it was a walking trail; but when Heather reminded me about all the alligators...it made sense that it was more of a "driving" experience. That actually sounded even better, because then we'd stay nice and cool in the car (out of the humidity). On our way out there , which is approximately 40-45 minutes from our house, depending on traffic, it poured . Poured so hard it was hard to see the road....okayyyyyyy; wondered how this was going to go. hahahah But...it stopped and like it does...the sun came back out. It sprinkled a bit as we were driving around the place, but never heavy rain. Heather and her girls like to keep a count of how many birds, animals, etc they see on each visit. They have seen many birds (it's part of the Florida Birding Trail), turtles, otters, gators,snakes, deer, etc. Because it's been raining a lot, some of the usual inhabitants were not around but we had plenty to see. Here's some pictures we/I took along the way.

          As you can see there were still storm clouds around...but not a problem for us.

in the middle of the marsh, we spotted this bird in a tree. We think it was an eagle. Zoomed in and then zoomed again...and it's hard to say for sure...but looking at it's beak, I'm going to say it was in fact an eagle.

When we first arrived....we were the only vehicle there, which was kind of nice. No one around to hurry us or get in the way...hahaha  At the start we saw some birds andwe saw butterflies hiding in the brush...probably making sure their wings didn't get wet.
Eventually a couple more vehicles came...it was fun watching this group of three cars making their way along the path. All the kids piled into the car with the sun roof.

They were looking for alligators...they hadn't seen any when they passed us...we had seen several along the way...so we told them to keep looking. Shortly after our conversation...they stopped because there were not just one...but TWO gators.

nice zoom lens on my camera!

The three kids who were with us also enjoyed riding along with their heads out of the top...just like a safari...hahahah We didn't see any deer. The turtles weren't out sunning in their usual spot...because their log was under water. But we saw red-winged blackbirds, pelicans, cormorants, all different colors and shapes of herons, the gators and a variety of other birds and insects...so our visit was a success. I always thought an air boat ride was a perfect way to show visitors some "real" Florida...but a trip out here would work almost as well! Next time I want to go around dusk....or sunset, my favorite time of the day. Heather has gone all different times of the year/day....and each time there are different things to see and enjoy.
Speaking of boat rides.....Reid recently got new engines on the boat he and John had together. (now Reid has another partner) He wanted to take the boat out to test out the new engines and break them in...so he & John planned an evening boat ride on the river to Grills...a restaurant north of the Pineda Causeway. As usual...it had rained that afternoon and I wasn't entirely convinced that it wouldn't rain again...but we decided to bring rain gear and go for it. I had worked...and was too tired to change...so I wore the dress I had been wearing. I felt a little like Marilyn Monroe with the dress blowing around. Not the best choice for boating...but no one else was near by and I managed...hahahaha
I'll know better next time

I am glad I went in spite of thinking it might rain and yawning non-stop for the first half an hour....because my dinner was good and it was a beautiful evening.

Eau Gallie Causeway

and then the Pineda Causeway

look at that water! Like a lake.

leaving

And then we were back to the dock. It was a beautiful evening and a good dinner. I'm glad I decided it was worth the effort I didn't have to do anything...hardly an effort on my part
I took pictures the whole way back as the light kept changing. I felt a little silly...but then again who cares.
This was the best shot of the evening though...I told John to snap one on his I-phone......

*Okay...I know there's a duplicate picture of John in this post...but last time I tried to delete just that picture...it deleted the rest of the post...I re-did it once and decided I wasn't going to do it again. So enjoy it twice...hahaha

July is slipping away

Time is slipping away...and so is my motivation hahaha. Not really; just haven't spent too much time sitting at the computer lately. But here's a recap of a couple of July parties.
We went to the annual LD 4th of July party. This year it was held in Cocoa Beach at the Lori Wilson Park. It was a great spot for the party. Plenty of room for all the activities as well as a couple of covered picnic areas.

lots of festive decorations

The party is a day off for all staff and their families and friends. But, it is also a time for some friendly competition between the different  restaurants. (some AL take it more seriously than others hahah.

Al can usually found rallying his troops. Games included Cornhole, A Foam Pit, Surfboard ride/game,,
Hula Hoop and Balloon Toss.

You would get on the board and try to stay on when it started moving up, down around, etc.

spot the green balloon

                         Once the "competition" was over anyone could play....and we did.

We stayed long enough to eat lunch, play a few games and talk to some friends...then we headed home. As usual the party was really nice. Fun activities, plenty to eat and drink, lots of great things for all the kids. The guys in charge know how to do things right!
Oh  and by the way...the Champions for 2015....... INDIALANTIC!!!!!!

And as my dad would say...You know what comes after the 4th of July? The 5th of July.
And this year my husband's brother-in-law turned 80 on the 5th.
We headed down to my niece's house for a little birthday celebration with some family and friends.

Brenna and Uncle Mac

Last October we celebrated an Uncle's 80th, and Mac was there but he almost didn't join us because he was having back issues. He made it to that party and ended up having a good time....but I'm happy to say he was feeling a whole lot better at his own celebration.

Rain was threatening...but it actually ended up being kind of nice. The clouds kept things a little cooler and so we were all more comfortable and enjoyed sitting at the tables set up under the trees.

There was a LOT of food...homemade barbecue pork, all kinds of salads, fruit, chips, cookies and off course birthday cake. (decorated by one of Mac's grand-daughters).

Debbie is actually John's niece....she's the same age as me...hahah John was the youngest in his family and his sister Lucy was young when she got married...so John was an uncle when he was a baby. Debbie put together a nice celebration for her dad.

                           It was a nice party...we were happy to celebrate with Mac.

*Meanwhile the other day at work it was a slow afternoon and Sue and I were chatting with a friendly patron. She is probably about 10-15 yrs older than the two of us and mentioned she was involved with a "Seniors Helping Seniors" program in town. We were talking  about the different things that go on at Nursing Homes, Asisited Living facilities, etc. At one point she said "Hey the way things are these days, we're all living a lot longer. We're all going to be there soon enough. And I can tell you we're going to need some better TV shows! If that's what we're all going to end up doing"
Hahah hahah  Any way...I'm off the point...Happy Birthday America! Happy Birthday Mac! (and also to my sister Elizabeth-also on July 5th)......and here's hoping we all can live long enough to enjoy celebrating 80 years. after all ----our friend LJ is looking forward to our "ALL 80's 80th Birthday PARTY" -don't worry I'm not planning that one just yet. hahahah