My last blog ended with me going out to The Local to take advantage of the double bogo. I dropped into the Cornerstone for a couple before visiting the local where a friend bought me a double G&T then I did the same with my double BOGO and then returned with friends to the Cornerstone. Thankfully one of the friends offered me a lift home!

In the last blog I also mentioned having acquired (for free) a 2-drawer filing cabinet. The saga continues because I heard that the parish school was disposing of various items including a 5-drawer lateral filing cabinet. Such items cost more that $1000 so it hurt that the school had considered dumping it. I put my name on it and returned to the office to consider what would have to go. I chose a shelving unit which although of good quality was not really serving my purposes. As I trundled out into the corridor it struck me that the closest place to repatriate it would be the staff kitchen. Having removed an old piece of junk furniture there was room there. Then the Kitchen Action Group of Audrey and myself swung into action. 3 hours later we had transformed the kitchen and there were three boxes of useless pot lids etc destined for the charity shops. A few days later I bought a set of dinner plates (from Goodwill) for the staff kitchen.

In the last blog I also mentioned how I often found all manner of alternative activity rather than tidy the office in my house. Well, I have just installed some signal boosters and am now able to get on the internet with greater ease. Previously the signal was being blocked by 2 air conditioning units! Tidying the office will be the next step after completing this edition of the blog!

Yesterday at Goodwill I found a carton with a self-assembly shelving unit. I bought it and spent an hour putting it together. This was not as easy as it could have been since the only thing missing from the box was the instruction booklet. A quick phone call to the manufacturer had them sent to my email. Now I have somewhere to showcase my cookbooks and my electric martini maker.

About two weeks ago I got an insect bit on my right knee cap. These things normally disappear but it didn’t and I was getting some stiffening of the leg muscles. This morning I visited the doctor who diagnosed it by sight as a fungal infection. I felt a bit of a wimp but he assured me I had done the right thing. Florida is almost tropical and hosts any number of dodgy critters. I should know in 3 weeks if his diagnosis and remedy were correct.

Since I had to collect the medicine from the pharmacy I also agreed to have a flu jab while I was there. My insurance would cover this and for the trouble the pharmacy gave me a $10 voucher which I then spent on a BOGO bacon pack. While we are on the subject of jabs, about 5 months ago I got immunised for shingles. I suffered a terrible reaction the following day which was a Sunday. I didn’t even make it through the first Mass before I went home to bed. The shingles treatment is in two stages and I have booked stage 2 for tomorrow Saturday. We will see if I get the same reaction.

During the last week I had two major church events. The first was the patronal feast of St Lawrence. I had already written a hymn to open all the English speaking Masses and translated it for use at the Spanish Mass. Then I published an article in our bulletin and replicated it on the parish website along with the music and a recording. I was very pleased to discover that so many had listened to it prior to the Mass. The 11am Mass was a bilingual one and was followed by a parish barbecue for over 1000 people! I didn’t get to it until after the next Mass and the food had cooled down somewhat. I also prepared an updated version of the psalm for St Lawrence feast day in both bilingual and English editions.

This weekend had a moment of sadness as one of my most dedicated Cantors sang with us for the last time. He had chosen to explore life with the Franciscans and to see whether there was a future for him as a lay brother.

A few days later we had the second major event: the Assumption with another bilingual Mass and the creation of another bilingual psalm as well as a Grail text edition of the English psalm.

I found myself remembering my dad this week as I combed my hair one morning. He always used brylcream to keep everything in place and a well-meaning fellow drinker had offered me advice to try something similar. So now each morning I apply a bit of gel and think of my dad. This morning I ventured into a different hairdressers. The owner, also a fellow drinker at the Cornerstone pub nextdoor, greeted me at the door and immediately set about doing what hairdressers do best. 15 minutes later I was out and feeling much neater.

Have a great weekend. It’s the double BOGO challenge at The Local again tonight so I know where I’ll be. Now I have a few hours to tidy my office!