The Heavens

 

Sweet daughter managed to tear herself away from the tropical climes of northwestern New Jersey for a long weekend here in Florida. I’m sure it was a wrench, having to leave behind the scene of this last week’s blizzard. It’s a rare treat to have one of our kids all to ourselves, something you don’t realize how much you’ll miss it when they get married and have kids and a life of their own.

The weather’s still being a little meh – cloudy, low 70s – but still an improvement for her. So no real beach time yet, but we did pile in the car before dinner for a small drive down to the water. It was so cloudy and windy we didn’t bring chairs to sit on the beach and watch the sunset, but we did find a different event.

We heard the music before we had an actual visual – people singing, and it sounded for all the world like hymns. Yup, sure enough, by the time we hit the sand, we spotted quite a gathering of people, a small stage, and a group of singers in front of a microphone leading the audience in “Nearer My God to Thee.” Not what you’d expect on a wild Florida Friday night at the beach.

She and I continued our stroll, and then we motored to another location bordering an inlet. And there by the parking lot was a smaller gathering of people who seemed to be listening to some sort of sermon. Granted, My Guy and I are often at home on Friday nights, but apparently there are all sorts of opportunities.

 My daughter and I walked down the jetty there, taking us to the Gulf itself. Night was falling by then, with gray clouds making the dark sea and sky indistinguishable.

More than once I’ve walked into a room with no idea of the thought that took me there originally, and I spent most of last evening looking for a pair of glasses I already had.

Kinda wish I had one of these on my car.

And yet, that moment on the shore unearthed a word I’ve acquired from Elly Griffiths’ books. 

Liminal – where there’s no demarcation between earth and the heavens.

 

Sad Soles

          So as you may know, I’ve been playing pickleball quite a bit lately, sometimes three times a week. And if you’re envisioning me dashing gracefully side to side and then whizzing from the net to the back of the court – don’t.

          My game is now fairly stationary; I play close to the net as much as I can and depend on fast reflexes and a long reach. I learned the hard way that running backwards will often guarantee that you’ll land on your keister, or worse.

          Running anywhere pretty much left my life several years ago.

          And yet, I’ve still managed to come home with aching legs. Thinking it was all about arch support issues, I got orthotics, which didn’t solve things completely. I finally realized I probably just needed a new pair of sneakers, which I now need to take for a walk. Or do I?

          Do people still “break in” their shoes? I remember as a kid, a period of band-aids on my heels before that year’s school shoes softened up.

          And another thing – I also remember every September my father taking the beer can opener’s pointy end and scratching up the smooth soles of my new saddle shoes to prevent me slipping. In this world of sneakers everywhere except the shower, I guess that’s gone, too.

Quiet Weekend

          My Guy is away for the weekend, and I should be accomplishing no end of productive projects. It’s not as though I couldn’t do these things when he’s home, but something about having a silent house makes me feel both guilty and free.

          I’ve at least finished one audio book and I’m halfway throug

Mulch Madness

 

       In spite of being old enough to have a 23 year-old grandson, and having bought a condo (and paying a hefty HOA fee for the landscaping), I found myself outside spreading mulch.

Valentine Cuisine

 

Our Valentine’s Day festivities were just as dull as they usually are. And we’re just fine with that.

Fuzzy Memories

 If one purpose of a blog is to record events and memories from our lives, it occurred to me that perhaps I could list all the animals from my life.

Snippets

 

Yup, still here. And it’s not as though there’s been such a cavalcade of events that I’ve been too busy to post. Although there was that thrilling trip to Costco to re-stock our Glucosamine, and perhaps I could have written about how often I’ve been out to sweep the common hallway due to all the leaves blown in by the wind.