I have to tell you something so amazing, I’m not sure where to start.

I have told you about our sewer problems before. Here and here and here. They have been an ongoing concern.

At our last meeting with the city people, the inspector, the engineer, and various other men that attended, all agreed that they were not at fault. Well, the sewer line guy didn’t say that, because he couldn’t. Someone from his department did not do their job, and even though he did not say anything, we knew.

We left that meeting with an understanding that they would do their own research as to how we could fix our problem, the problem most certainly not of their making.  Even though they were not admitting responsibility, they wanted to be certain to get all up in our business to make sure that things would not be fixed incorrectly. That would just be wrong.

That was in October. You can imagine getting all those schedules coordinated takes some time. They finally called back and wanted to set up the meeting the week that we were in Florida. We said that was not going to work for us, and rescheduled for yesterday morning, the 19th of November. Two months and a day from when we found out that there were serious, problematic, expensive defects in our line. Before that, we were blissfully ignorant, and thought things could simply be fixed.

Honey and I have talked about this, on and off, for years, and more extensively, for months. Even before we knew the extent of the problem, we knew we would have to do something. We put things off until after the family reunion we had here in July, because nothing says PARTY like an exposed sewer line.

I think we have been concerned, but not consumed with this problem. We asked God to intervene on our behalf. We asked for the city to show us  favor. To treat us like people that they knew and cared about. To be fair and helpful. We asked that the city would hear us.

Honey and I, and many of you, have been praying for a solution ever since. The plumbers solution was to reroute our entire sewer line, wrecking our entire basement in the process, adding a holding tank under the floor of our basement.. That option was the one that would cost more than our first house. We didn’t really like that option for many, many reasons. Plus, our city informed us, they didn’t like that option either. They wanted the tank on the outside of the house.

The city guys knew we needed a solution, and they knew they that whatever it was, they were going to have to approve it. They put their thinking caps on. Like Tom Terrific. The two solutions they came up with were complete destruction of the basement, as well as our bank account, with gravity feeds and tanks of sewage and pumps that always need to be fixed. This, and only this, was the focus. No other solution was available, we were back to the rock and a  hard place.

It seemed like all was lost. The talking had stopped.  Honey gave one final plea. He said that when we built our house 10 years ago, we paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a builder, we paid almost $8,000 to the city to check the builders work. All we know is we did what we were supposed to do, and now it is all our responsibility, with no one accountable for the problem they caused. He didn’t loose his temper, he wasn’t accusing, he just spoke the truth. All were quiet.

And then, in a no win situation, God gave Roy, the guy who doesnt even do the sewer work for the city, an idea. Roy said, “Why can’t we just do this?” Honey said everyone started talking at once!

It was a GREAT idea! It would fix our problem, the city would approve it, it could be done! We would be able to sell our house when we were ready to leave it! It was amazing!  It is still costly, but the basement and house will be intact!!!

And, it was a total God thing. All 8 of those men were professionals at what they do. They have to deal with these kinds of problems every day. They didn’t have an answer. They couldn’t solve the problem, they had looked into it for 2 months.

Our BSF lesson this week was John 6 with bits of Mark . The one where Jesus put the disciples into the boat and then He went to pray. A storm blew up and the waters grew rough. When he saw them struggling, He walked out on the water to them, and while at first they were afraid, they took him on board.

One of our questions asked if the disciples  were in difficulty because they had sinned in some way, or because they had obeyed the Lord’s command.

Jesus put  them into that boat. He knew the storm was coming, that was no surprise to Him. They were right where they were supposed to be. They obeyed and were still in rough waters.

We sang a song this week at BSF and the line that kept repeating over and over in my mind was “Trust Him when to simply trust Him seems the hardest thing of all”. We know that God hears our prayers, but we are more than aware that the answers are not  always what we want to hear. We have no doubt that God can solve our problems, but the solution could be unsatisfying, or hard to get to, or painful. Or expensive, like this one.

Sometimes I feel like we are problem magnets. We have unusual  things happen to us, sometimes in rapid succession. I have wondered if people think we are the most disobedient Christians around. Or just plain dense. Why else would we be tested over and over again?

That’s why I really liked this lesson. We can be right smack dab in the middle of God’s plan, and still be tossed around in the rough seas of life. God is never going to be finished refining us this side of heaven. We might as well get used to it. Because of the storms of life, we learn to trust Him more. And one thing we have learned over the years? God makes a way for us to navigate every storm. It hasn’t always been easy, but He has never left us hanging.

We are so thankful  for this answered prayer! We are so thankful that some of you interceeded for us as well. You have no idea how that comforted us.

And Roy, bless his heart, was a kiss on the cheek, straight from God.

After our bad weather in The Keys, it was nice to go back to Fort Meyers and sunshine! We hung out at the pool and soaked up the sun.

On our last day, we drove down to the marina where Capri Patt picked us up and took us to her island. Finally a perfect, sunny day! I was excited to finally visit. They live there six months out of the year, and I can’t picture them living there, because I have never seen it or any pictures of it. I loved their home!

She and her husband Jim gave us a tour on their golf carts. There are no cars on their island. It was beautimous!

Most loverly of all was their yard. One of the few that had grass and landscaping. This guy had a crazy hairdo!

Their purty yard. Her yard in Michigan is loverly as well. She knows the name of all of these plants too.

This picture is taken from the crows nest. That is the Gulf out there. Now I can picture where Patt is when she calls on her cell phone. She says this is where she has the best reception.

Now I can picture where she cooks! Her house was beautiful, but that is no surprise. Her house here is beautiful too. And she helped make our house a sparkling beauty as well.

When we were sitting out on the deck, this turtle just walked by. She wanted me to pick it up. I knocked on its shell. That was the best I could do. He was big. And a little kweepy. I am a big weenie.

She showed us this turtle shell she had found, it’s owner had vacated the premises. She wants to do something with it because it is very cool. Look how brave I am when it’s an empty shell.

Honey looked like a professional islander.

Capri Patt and her honey, Jim. They are professional islanders.

Patt says her dogs love living there. That’s Splash. She is very photogenic. She is normally very shy, and I have barely ever touched her before. We became friends that day, must be the relaxed island lifestyle.

Splashie and her brother Jack. He has always been my friend. Island or Mitten.

Thanks Capri Patt and Jim , for showing us your own personal paradise!

It was very strange to be on Captiva on Saturday and back in The Mitten on Sunday afternoon.

We had a great trip, and the Kids did fine without us. Honey said that was good to know. And when did I want to go again?

Honey is going to our second meeting with the city about our sewer line this morning at 9. We would SO appreciate your prayers. Thank you.

The second part of our trip was driving waaaaaay down to Key West. We had been down as far as Islamorada once when Abby was a baby, but they were in the middle of a tropical depression, so we just turned around and left. I wouldn’t want to be around for an actual hurricane. A tropical depression was blustery enough.

This time, we drove down with the tail of Hurricane Ida thrashing us. No rain, but high winds. Boats were warned not to go out.

It was a long drive. It seemed to take longer to go through the Keys than it did to go from Ft. Meyers to Miami.

What comes to mind when you think of Miami? Cuban refugees? Elian Gonzeles?  Crockett and Tubbs from Miami Vice? Extremely wealthy people living in huge estates? Gloria Estefan and The Miami Sound Machine? Horatio Caine and the CSI Miami crime unit?

I think of Jackie Gleason and the opening of his TV show. Remember the palm trees? Oh, I liked Jackie Gleason.

This was the hotel pool, the prettiest of the three that we stayed at. The day we arrived was probably the sunniest. It was all downhill, weather wise, from there.

We drove around a lot. This is the sort of thing that Honey enjoys. Like visiting The Biggest Ball of Twine. He can now say that he has stood further south in in the entire USA, than anyone else in our family.

This was my favorite part of Key West.

Key Lime pie. YEAH, Baby!!!! The first time we had it was at Outback Steakhouse. We ate there twice, because it was SO good!

These are called banyan trees, and they were very cool.

We walked around downtown, where everything is very touristy and close together. We saw interesting people. Some were sleeping on the beach with all their belongings. Some were being arrested.

 They were having speed boat races down at the pier. You can all imagine how much I enjoyed that, but Honey liked it a lot. I made friends with a dog nearby. His name was Chipper. There were a lot of dogs around. We saw one cat, sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk. It did not look well to me, so I didn’t touch it. But I wanted to.

There were also a lot of chickens wandering around all over the place. We never did get the story on that. They were really pretty roosters. A blond rooster and a red headed rooster. The Mrs. Schmenkman Roosters! As you can see, my rooster is in a flap about something.

There is much ado about Ernest Hemingway in The Keys. I have not read any of his writing, because I have no culture. My knowledge of him is limited to his granddaughters, Mariel and Margaux, and the fact that he killed himself. None of that made me want to learn more about him. I did read some of the information about him and concluded that we didn’t really need to pay $12 apiece to visit his home. One little fact did give me pause though. Or should I say, paws. People talked about his pet cats that had 7 toes or something, and how some of the descendants of those cats still live in his house. They mingle freely with the visitors. I really did want to go and see the 7 toed cats and try to get some kitty snuggles. But we didn’t.

We are not night life sort of folks, the weather was not good, there was not much for us to do and the hotel computer was supernaturally slow.

On the bright side, our hotel was really pretty, we loved the pool area, we met a very nice and interesting couple from Denmark or Norway or somewhere, that we had a long conversation with, enjoyed 2 yummy steak dinners at Outback, I bought a really cute pair of Privo shoes at the Ross Dress For Less, and we discovered Key Lime pie, that  alone was priceless!

We can now add another place to our list of locations we have been, and don’t ever need to visit again.

On Thursday, we conclude our trip back on Fort Meyers beach and a trip to see Capri Patt!

I have a confession to make. The reason that I had a lot going on last week and didn’t really do much blobbing? It was because Honey and I were in Florida.

ALONE!!!!!

Oh yes we were, and it was wonderful! We have not been away together since The Ab-Cat was 2 and The Boy was 5 months old. So, basically,  almost decades. As they are now 20 and 18.

I decided not to mention it until we got back, because it didn’t seem like the best thing to broadcast on the worldwide web that our kids were home alone for the first time ever. The very last day of the trip, I found out that Abby had  posted it on her Facebook. So much for my secret squirrel plan.

We had so much fun! We decided to go for 9 days, as opposed to 2 weeks, because we had never left them before. We weren’t sure how everyone would do. It was as much for us, as it was for them. Everyone did fine.

Except the cats. I have a feeling they were neglected in the lovin’ department. I plan to remedy that ASAP. They are already swarming me. They love the Mama, and Mama loves her kitty-witty boolie-woolies.

Here we are at the start of the trip, at Detroit Metro Airport. Or, as Mrs. Schmenkman calls it, The Armpit of The World. Because we flew Spirit, we were in the old, smaller terminal. Which was quite awesome. It’s the newer, ginormous, Northwest  terminal that you have to walk to China in. That is The Armpit.

We made both The Ab-Cat AND The Boy take us to the airport, because The Boy would be picking us up from the airport alone, and we thought it would be helpful for him to have one trip under his belt. Also, we had  to be fair. Because if one had to get up at at 5:00, and the other one didn’t, the whining would have been catastrophic.

It was a good thing they were together, because as I understand it, they took the scenic route home. Through some interesting neighborhoods. It took the two of them to rectify the situation. Ab said The Boy got SO excited when he finally recognized where they were! I was ever so glad  they were together because if you recall, Miss Ab-ra Cat-dabra cannot navigate her way out of a paper bag without explicit directions. They worked it out!

I need to explain a couple of things about traveling with Honey. He always has an agenda. Always.

He likes to be early. I don’t like to be any earlier than necessary. Honey would say that I cut things way too close. But, I must say, we were there an hour and twenty minutes before our flight.

Before we left, The Boy asked him if those were his “traveling clothes”? Now that he mentioned it, Honey does always travel in this outfit. He has his necessary traveling companions. His coffee and his paper.

And this. His itinerary folder. I told him this was going on the blob. Because I don’t want you to think I make this stuff up. He is all about the papers on vacation. Newspapers, all those flyers in the boxes lined up on the side of the road, real estate brochures, anything that will help him learn more about his new environment. He likes to be informed. He doesn’t want to miss anything. He likes to explore his new surroundings. We call him Clark W. Griswold, from National Lampoon’s Vacation. He likes to go see The Biggest Ball of Twine.

And one last thing, and it is the best thing. Because of his relentless exploring, he knows where everything is. He knows where the ice machine is. He knows where the pool is, where you can get the complimentary bottles of water, where breakfast is served and what time. And he remembers all the roads. This amazes me. I can go to the same places year after year, and have a vague idea of where I am, but Honey remembers the entire map, and everywhere we have ever been. He is just as amazed with me. Amazed that I don’t remember ever being somewhere, that I have evidently been before.

We were rather perky for having gotten up at 4 a.m.

We flew into the Fort Meyers airport by 11. Honey and I just marvelled at that! We have driven to Florida at least 15 times, and it takes forever. We may never want to drive again!

We collected our bags and went to get our rental car. Honey upgraded to an Edge, because the rental guy said it was a better deal. We wouldn’t have to pay any tolls, and some other junk that I can’t remember. That guy stretched the truth about a few other things, and every time we went through the sunpass lane without paying the toll, we wondered if we were going to have  about $800 in tickets waiting for us when we got home!

The next day we took a trolley down to the beach to see a sand sculpting contest. It was the second of three days, so nothing was finished. It was interesting to watch them work, they all had their own ways and tools.

This one took first place. Of course, it was finished then.

This was our favorite. It was called “Food Fight”. The dolphins were tossing around puffer fish. He was an especially personable man and seemed to enjoy interacting with the people. He didn’t win the contest, but we found out later that he won the people’s choice award.

The next day we went to Sanibel Island. We had gone there once with my Grandma Georgia when Abby was 9 months old. We shelled a little and watched a whole bunch of guys surf with kites. Sometimes they came right up out of the water! It was a perfect day for it, nice and windy.

We then went over to another beach further down the island. There was no one in the water. Imagine that.

Honey had the trip broken up into three parts. This was the shopping part, because our location was in a shopping rich area. I had no problems with that! We didn’t buy too much. I did score a bottle of chai!

We were in Fort Meyers for three days, and tomorrow I will tell you about the second part of the trip.

I got a present!!!

From my Capri’s!

Capri’s Lis and Patt gave me the “Life is Good” shirt, and Capri Deb made it all personal and such!

I shall wear it with pride, as it is true.

Thank you my Friends, I wuve it!

The AquaMouse had her swim meet on Saturday. She swam in the medley, did her usual butterfly. Her split time was 29, a personal best  for her.

Then she waited for her next event, the 100 butterfly. Then she found out she was disqualified! Because she did not swim the 50 free, that she did not know she was supposed to swim!

They even got rid of her time in the medley, she said the next best time was 31.

Honey and I have one question. Why do they have to disqualify a swimmer for ALL of their events if they miss one?

We feel very sad for her. All along we have been telling her, go as far as she can go, ride it as long as she can, beat your own times. And she would have. She said they had “fast” water. She might have shaved seconds off her best Fly time.

She would not have advanced to states though. Her previous best Fly time was 1.08, and she said there were girls who were 58, 59. She would not have shaved that many seconds off. But still

Oh well. That’s it for this year, and she says she is not swimming next year. Not because she got DQ’d, she has been saying it all along. She says it is too much work, and she has no life. It IS a lot of work, and her social life IS severely curtailed. But she is an asset to her team. They are a better team for her participation, even if she is not their best swimmer.

But, I am going to work on her for the rest of the year. She still doesn’t know how far she can go. She still hasn’t ridden it as far as she can. We still don’t have those end of year final times. The ones in the “fast” water.

No matter what, we are so proud of that little Pool Rat.

When a mother saw a thunderstorm forming in mid-afternoon, she worried about her seven-year-old daughter who would be walking the three blocks from school to home. Deciding to meet her, the mother saw her walking nonchalantly along, stopping to smile whenever lightning flashed. Seeing her mother, the little girl ran to her, explaining happily, “All the way home, God’s been taking my picture!” Fear is often caused by our perspective.

Anonymous

I told you about my dream yesterday.

Today, I’ll tell you about Honey’s dream.

He is dreaming of  a pasta maker.

He keeps telling me that that he wants to get ME one for my birthday, or Chistmas,ect.

This is how he justifies getting something into our house that is a total want, as opposed to a need.

Now, you all know I don’t want a pasta maker. For any kind of holiday. For any kind of reason.

Maybe Santa will bring him a pasta maker for Christmas. And bring me something else. Something that I would like to have.

Now that the calendar has flipped over to November, my thoughts, as well as all retail decorations, have turned to Christmas. My thoughts are of one thing. The Christmas Picture.

At the beginning of the year, I was all cocky. Oh, I have all year to get that. Our cousin Lindsay married her honey, Robbie,  in March, and we seriously tried to get a good one. During the summer, it crossed my mind several times, and I tried to get one at a family function where everyone is usually dressed fairly decent.

And now, here it is the beginning of November, and I have no presentable picture for our Christmas card.

There’s still Thanksgiving.

We have a lot going on for the next week, so posting could be spotty.  Have a fun Friday!

Remember on Tuesday, when I told you all about how we were going to spend Mousey’s 1/2 day off from school?

We were going to take her glasses to the mall to get them fixed, and have lunch at Sonic, then head over to Value World?

Well, two out of three ain’t bad. At least, that’s what Meatloaf says.

We looked high and low, over hill and dale, in every place we could possibly think of, but we could not find her broken glasses. Now, where could a pair of broken glasses get to? Hopefully they will turn up. Because I am NOT buying another pair right now. She has only had these since June, for goodness sake!  They have to be in our house. Somewhere.

Scratch number one.

Because we did not go to the mall to fix the glasses, we were not by the Sonic. So we still have not had the pleasure of the full Sonic Experience. Perhaps another day.

Scratch number two.

We did eat though. At Panera’s. Where my dining experience was NOT complete, because I did not have a bearclaw. Yes, a bearclaw is all I need to get by. You may be wondering why I did not have a bearclaw. I really don’t know why. Perhaps I was trying to give the false impression that I was adhering to my professed low carb lifestyle. No, that can’t be it, I did eat my bread. Can I just leave it at “I don’t know”?

On a bright note, we did make it to the Value World. Mousey found a whole cart full of stuff. I found 3 books; The Stand by Stephen King for $1.91, The Prophet by Frank Peretti for .80,  and I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron for $1.87, which I must say, looks hilarious. I am gathering that it is about the problems that occur in upper middle age women. I also bought a Willi Smith sweater and another sweater by FieldGear.  For $2.80 and $3.70. I find the Willi clothing is flattering for me. I don’t know what that says about Willi though.

What I really want to understand is the pricing. How do they decide their odd pricing? Is it totally random?

We had a very nice time, even though nothing turned out as we planned. And that, my Friends, is the story of our life.