Week of 20260726 - Migraine; Missed Church; Nephew to Navy; Carpet Zumba; Helped Empty House; HP Blamed Us; Club Officer Training; Medical Appointments; Coneheads; Visit with Missionaries; Laid Off?
= Sunday, a migraine caused us to miss services, but we arrived in time after church to participate in the going-away for Isaac Garner, who leaves for the Navy tomorrow.
= In the evening, we participated in a Zoom call with the Young Single Adult (YSA) Conference Committee council and in the Agent Stake President for the event. Conference registration will remain open until the event. It is uncertain how long the hotel will hold the rooms that have to be paid for under the contract.
= Monday, I ran weekly reports, then continued to work on matching WebPT output with Therabill input. Steph is keeping up with a tracker on paper to manage actions in support of therapist credentialing.
= We did Zumba on carpet, a bit unsafe but better than not doing it at all. Home, Steph worked on procedures to help organize this podcast season.
= Tuesday, we enjoyed Toastmasters, then went to a friend's house and loaded the minivan with items to bring to Goodwill; her house has been sold.
= Wednesday, the Finance head at work broke the news that they're letting me go in order to maximize the money available to hire full-time staff. I told him that would mean Steph would leave as well. [We eventually remained in a different capacity; stay tuned.]
= We dropped off yesterday’s items at Goodwill, went back to our friend's house, and brought items that we'll keep to our house. After a visit to our house from Cook's Pest Control, we went back to our friends and picked up one more load for Goodwill.
= Thursday, we slept in. HP sent an email saying that my laptop isn't covered due to "customer damage". How I'm supposed to have damaged an internal chip is beyond me. I finally concluded that the laptop - I bought it through Amazon - was probably fitted with a cheap memory chip by the firm that resold it through Amazon after it held it for eighteen months, eating up most of its warranty before I received it as "new".
= In the evening, we attended club officer training via Zoom, a requirement to help our club earn a point toward a "distinguished" rating.
= Friday, the cardiologist scheduled Steph for a stress test next week. Then Steph submitted to a mammogram. We ate on the go and worked for the balance of our workday (ending at 2 PM). We dropped off the remaining items at Goodwill. Then for date night, we went to Coneheads: a new ice cream place that features oat-based dessert (that we skipped) and Blue Bell ice cream (that we ate).
= We had planned to paint a nativity set, but Steph fell asleep instead after a full day. When she awoke, we watched movies on the TV until 0330.
= Saturday after eating at Waffle House and then starting our fast, we met missionaries at a friend's house; jointly, we encouraged her to get a Patriarchal Blessing. I wish I had gotten that blessing, my personal blueprint of possibilities, 20 years earlier than I did.
= Steph worked in the studio doing a pre-interview and then setting up to record a podcast. I worked to post her photos and my photos of our recent trip to the blog.
They're ready to set him down..
And would actually have set him on his feet..
But Nita wanted a photo first.
James Garner, explaining that the chairs surround the room to let us interact rather than sit and eat.
Zumba in the carpeted hallway; air conditioning was out on this side of the building
We're at the back of the group.
(I'm dancing while taking these shots.)
They could have fit that inside a minivan. [grin]
There's no lack of heavy equipment in Montgomery. This is on the Northern Bypass.
Industry on the north side of Montgomery
Which borders the river. Searches for these objects claim they are dock bumper systems.
Covered and uncovered platforms parallel rail lines.
No trains intervened; we made it to Toastmasters.
Steph was grammarian and tried to show usage of the word of the day on her iPad. Tammy was Toastmaster of the Day and kept things moving.
Kenny gave an extended-length speech as part of his path to speak professionally.
(just a reminder that he was working with an online audience, visible to him on the laptop below the lectern, as well as with the people in the room.)
..
Tammy, handing the meeting to today's Topics Master
Sassy, while she hears the topic to respond to
Meredith (online) is the timer; Scott is providing backup.
Handing the meeting back to Tammy
I evaluated Kenny's project.
Steph as Grammarian; Beau calling for reports
Meredith reporting as Timer
Beau, giving an evaluation of the overall meeting
And Tammy handed the meeting to Steph.
Filling roles for next week, closing remarks
Hotter than Cape Coast, Ghana
Steph works in multiple modes. Notice that she's comfortable typing on the screen even though there's a separate keyboard to her left.
One cannot have too much hair.
Some tomatoes that probably won't ripen
Supper: hot dogs and salad at 9 PM
Steph, trying to interest Elsa in the electronic mouse (lit red in this photo)
Improvised cooling rack for cookies
Chappy's Deli occasionally makes this magnetic message available.
When we had a brief Internet outage, AT&T showed us its range via phone.
Cleared long before this estimate
PaqueterÃa Encomiendas {Parcel delivery}
Mexico and Central America
In the Northeast where I grew up, French was the additional language. Here (and in most of the U.S. now), it's Spanish.
The real surprise: the Area Code is for part of South Carolina.
Window shopping, but not satisfied with the choices
Attending club officer training so our club can be eligible for recognition
Toastmasters is a game you can play all your life.
And at a backwards meeting, the speakers have to try to make the mistakes that were identified before they stepped to the lectern.
..
A club provides leadership practice, not just speaking practice.
Fresh veggies are rinsed and dried before we store them.
Suing the Boy Scouts of America was lucrative for lawyers. Scouting outside the U.S. survived. Scouting in the U.S. now has an expensive infrastructure to maintain with fewer participants.
Gathering notes in case we need this service.
Waiting for the doctor, perhaps gathering a list of meds
I printed and posted flyers for the YSA conference. That's our vehicle in the reflection.
Most activities have a short lead time and are announced from the pulpit and in bulletins a week or maybe two before they occur. But this conference initially required registration almost a month in advance, hence my push to get flyers posted.
Not often viewed from this angle
"My Doctor's Office". That's the name of it.
We looked at the ellianos menu; no normal beverages
Like a bowl of blossoms floating in the air; these are folded paper
Meal suggestions from a magazine: "Bringing Alabama to Life"
I'm told that the meaning is in the delivery.
Formerly a Subway location
[Lane Bryant has also gone in that direction.]
We ate in the parking lot. The ice cream was OK, but if we want Blue Bell, we can buy Blue Bell from a supermarket. We didn't try the oat-based dessert.
Sad that there's no legal place to use this speed (assuming that this isn't just a wannabe).
Leaving Coneheads, we turned right, up Lagoon Park Drive. This is Pecan Grove Park, on our left.
Its back side is accessible from a nest of roads off of Plantation Way.
We took the road to Pete Petersen Lodge..
passing this blocked cut-through
Stopping for a closer look
Even with a map, we couldn't figure out where this blocked road went (relative to the trails on the map and our present location).
I was invited to an event at the lodge (smaller than it looks) shortly after I retired, but I no longer "fit".
But at the pavilion past this point, Andrea let us visit during her extended family reunion, and that was nice (more than a decade ago, now).
Someone has mowed and cleared the way to the graves uphill from Old Elam Church.
Grandma Lucille (Michelle's husband's grandmother) is buried here.
We took the right onto Congressman Dickenson Drive and headed home.
Waiting for use to paint. [Not as much fun, now that we know there's no place to display them this year.]
The front porch floods. A table for packages and double mats in case they miss are for more than decoration.
Ready to microwave, under parchment paper to catch splatters
Different show.. A machine is about to operate on him.
He doesn't initially remember that he was drugged and shipped aboard, because his expertise was needed to save Earth. And now he's the only living person aboard this vessel.
And that's where this craft is going, on a one-way trip, to send the answer back to Earth.
Another group had the same idea, and the same result thus far.
Breakfast at Waffle House before our fast
Peach milkshakes used to be the seasonal draw.
Ditto, especially now that we've driven in that direction. (Indiana is easy compared with reaching the Northeast from here.)
{Lovely} or {Lively}, probably the former
Kenny Rogers' Roasters, a few businesses ago
"Christopher Washington, 21, and two other people, were shot Sept. 28 [2005] in the 2400 block of East South Boulevard. Washington died from his injuries at the hospital." - WSFA
Trying to get a grip on the photos taken in Washington DC
S
