It’s almost two weeks since my last posting and I can barely remember what happened each day so this will be something of a stream of consciousness posting.

The most annoying thing in this period happened on Sunday 8 May. I left my car at a local beauty spot and went to idle a few hours. On my return I discovered that the car had been keyed down one side and quite deliberately. There was nothing I could do but get it repaired. I checked with a parishioner who worked for Toyota so on Tuesday I took it into Nissan for an estimate which came to $2500! The insurance assessor reported the damage to cost $800. There was such a disparity between the two estimates that I’ve asked for a review. In the meantime I have a rental car, a 2016 Nissan Altima. It’s a lovely car but I cant put my kayak on it!

My last kayak trip was to Fort Desoto which has become my favourite spot. It was only a few days ago but I miss it.

The great family news is that my youngest brother who lost his job over 3 months ago now has found the job of his dreams. He gets married in August so this is fortuitous indeed.

I was a bit niggled a few days ago. A young couple asked me to play for their wedding a year ago. At the time I must have suggested that I could produce an Order of service for them. Since that time they have decided on using musician friends who cost nothing but still want me to produce the Order. I spent 2 hours with her on Wednesday night and a further two on Thursday morning. She’s quite pushy and spends more time issuing demands than thanks … I suppose its her youth!

I’ve been trying to sort my US finances recently and have now decided on investing with Ameriprise. I could be here till retirement so it seems sensible.

Politically over here it is wild. Neither Trump nor Clinton are welcomed by the people I speak with yet someone is keeping their hopes alive. Unbelievably I met an early retired colonel who really supports Trump. I’m with the new Mayor of London, I’m afraid.

 

Sunday 17/4 continued with the usual run of Masses with all the musicians feeling good about themselves after such a successful confirmation Mass the previous day.

I spent Monday kayaking at Fort Desoto. Tuesday began with the weekly visit to the physio after which I dropped the kayak at my storage and went into work. I had a couple of hours before I was due to meet with my financial advisor. Here boss actually led with the meeting. At one point I stopped him in his tracks when he suggested that I would be safer in USa than UK. After pursuing this he alleged that UK was full of terrorists. I wasn’t having that and informed him that America was not a safe place with mass killings everyday, over one thousand shootings this year already in Chicago alone and that Moslems and Islam were borne of peace and that a few, who were an embarrassment to Islam, were responsible for despicable crimes. I accused him of believing what the media suggested and that this was simply untrue. He buckled somewhat!

I returned to work and prepared for the evening choir practice which went really well. The following two days I would be away from work for a medical procedure (surprise, surprise). The preparation was more unpleasant than the operation itself. After this I had the rest of the day free to rest.

On Friday I visited the beach for what turned out to be a beautiful day. Saturday found me in work later than usual since all the preparation had been done on Tuesday. The sequence of weekend Masses was as normal. The choir excelled in their performance of D’Evry’s O Sacrum.

On Monday I eventually set off to discover a new island beach which someone at Charann’s had recommended. The access from the park near Dunedin was simple enough and it was pleasant to paddle down a channel and under a bridge for a short while before hitting the open water of the bay. The recommended island was rather disappointing so I decided to try the next one but landing was not permitted there as it was a bird sanctuary. The next island was some distance across the bay but I thought I’d try it. The paddle was an endurance test as the swell and current were significant. I eventually landed and decided to look no further. From there I admired a variety of boats passing all day. I paddled back with similar difficulty reaching the car just before the heavens opened. I had received a call from my bank which had alerted me to some unusual activity on my account. It turned out to be fraudulent so I was delighted to find my wallet where I had left it in the car!

On Tuesday I was back at what I’d hoped would be my last visit to the physio. The doctor there was unhappy with my progress and prescribed further medication and another month with some additional therapeutic elements. I returned my kayak to storage and went to work. I had a meeting to discuss this year’s First Communions.

Wednesday began with school Mass and in the afternoon I had a funeral Mass with only 4 people in attendance but it was memorable for the best of reasons. There was no ‘show’ it was simply a family celebrating an intimate Mass for their dad. In the evening choir practice was tough as we tried to rehearse my Take, Lord receive and Psalm 67/68 with a choral verse 3. This was made more tiresome by the air-conditioning failing to work. Eventually we had to decamp to the church where it was a little cooler. It was great to welcome 2 new singers to the choir.

Thursday morning I visited the beach for a few hours before playing for a well-attended funeral with music in Spanish and English. One of the parish had kindly dropped off a bbq lunch for me so I felt well nourished and could get down to preparing the Cantors’ meeting later that evening.

On Friday I had an early morning visit to the retinologist who last year had diagnosed a very rare condition in my left eye. I was pleased then and now that it was not the brain tumour he had imagined. The visit meant my eyes had to be dilated which caused me some problems when I went to play for another funeral. They had requested a violinist to play alongside me so I had to hurriedly write some parts before chaperoning her from the school. After this I was free to relax at home before venturing to Charann’s bar in the evening.

Saturday began with a slight head and after some ironing and general house-tidying I went out to prepare for the weekend Masses. I did not feel very well during the second Mass so I rushed home afterwards and took to my bed early.

 

Towards the end of Thursday 7 April I found an Ocean Scupper Pro kayak for sale at only $250. I would have gone out to buy it but had the opportunity of attending a great jazz concert so this distracted me. The concert was amazing with Chris Botti and his amazing band. They played solidly for over 2 hours and introduced some brilliant singers.

So on Friday morning I went to view the kayak and it was indeed good but I walked away from it because I nowhere to store something of that 15ft length. Nor did I fancy dragging it up to my apartment. An hour later a friend messaged me to offer garage space so I went back later in the day and bought it.

On Saturday I had a ‘first penance’ Mass early in the morning, the usual vigil Masses and the Parish Gala in the evening. The Parish Gala was amazing in that it raised over $91,000! $5000 were paid (by auction) to have the two priests cook a bbq meal at the Rectory. I left at 10pm because I was tired already and had an early start.

Sunday was the usual routine of Masses with a break during the afternoon in which I returned home and then out again for the evening. The next day I ventured to Fort Desoto with my new kayak. I managed to get the thing off my roof easily enough although I realised I would have to add handles if I was to do this myself again. I had a great day out in fine weather and returned to Tampa in the early evening.

On Tuesday I was back at the physio for my weekly appointment, this time for an evaluation by the physiotherapist who recorded significant improvements despite my expressing issues relating to my back. I had got the time wrong for my appointment so had to wait an hour until 9am. After the session I dropped into Goodwill (of course) and tried out some really good shoes that had never been worn. They didn’t fit and in the process I kicked off the heel from my really good shoes. Now I needed to buy some shoes to get through the day! The day improved in that I did get my work done and was able to leave work soon after 5pm. One of my colleagues had recommended a cobblers nearby so that was my first stop. The cobbler was great. He fitted not one but both heels and only charged me $4.

Thursday started with School Mass and a liturgy committee meeting. The meeting discussed the proposal to add screens to the church and also ministries development. I left after this for a break and returned to prepare for choir practice.

Choir practice full on. In addition to rehearsing for the Sunday Mass we also had to rehearse for the Confirmations on Saturday. Our flautist would also come along to rehearse her music with us. The choir worked so hard as did I and I was really pleased with them. there was a good atmosphere all round.

Thursday began with a meeting with our facilities guy. A fault had developed with the pedals on the chapel organ. I thought it was a simple connection fault and we agreed to pursue this avenue before calling in the specialists. then I got on with preparing the instrumental parts for the weekend. I left at 2pm hoping to meet up with someone who would fix handles to my kayak. In the end this meeting did not happen and sharing my despair another friend offered to do the job himself. So on Friday morning after another funeral I met Wayne at his house and there we worked at riveting the handles into place. The weather today was so hot and overcast that I didn’t feel too good so I returned for a rest before joining friends at Charann’s.

Saturday began at 8am with an instrumental rehearsal. The choir joined us at 9.15am and the Mass of Confirmations (98) with the Bishop began at 9.30am. It was a lengthy affair but I was really pleased with the musical results. The bishop was really appreciative. Apparently in the past this had not always been the case so it was good to get affirmation from him for the second year running. I lunched at a nearby Spanish restaurant before returning to get some more forward planning done. I was hoping to take so some time out the next week and needed to get things in place to achieve that. After the two vigil Masses I was ready for home, a curried chickpea supper and sleep!

 

After the Easter festivities I was completely knackered. I took Monday off as usual but had visit the physio prior to work. The doctor reduced my treatment plan to just one visit per week which is good. After that I had to go into work to clear things for the weekend. That allowed me to take the next three days off in lieu of staff days off for Easter which I could not take at the time. I chose well as the weather was amazing for each of them and great for kayaking. On the Thursday I ventured out for the second day off. I had just got onto the Howard Franklin bridge (7 miles across the Bay) when cars started to flash me and point towards the kayak on the roof. I pulled over and saw that one of the J-supports for the kayak had slid along the crossbar of the roof rack. This meant that the kayak was skew on the roof and somewhat precarious. It was impossible to rectify this on the bridge itself as it was windy and risky. So I drove a few miles at a stupidly slow speed until I could find somewhere safe to pull over. Once rectified I was able to get on my way and enjoy the day.

Saturday’s work included a wedding, 2 vigil Masses and some preparation of music for forthcoming confirmations.

I was surprised to discover on Sunday that, in addition to the usual load of Masses there was also a Divine Mercy Holy Hour. I was only expected to ‘top and tail’ things but in the end I decided to stay and fill in improvised music when  thought necessary. The result was the ‘best Holy Hour’ they had ever had! There was no point returning home for what remained of the afternoon so I remained and worked further on Confirmation music.

Since I had a funeral on the Monday I chose to work rather than have a day off. By the afternoon I had met with the confirmations planning group and produced the final draft of the worship aid. I was much relieved to discover that the laborious task of producing 1000 copies was delegated to a colleague!

My back had been giving me what my father used to describe as ‘gip’. I’ve never known how to spell this word or indeed if it ever really existed beyond my dad! I was relieved to have some topical physio applied and felt ready for the day after that. I spent much of the day continuing to prepare instrumental, choral and guitar music for the confirmations. With 96 confirmandi there is so much music to have prepared.

Wednesday began with School Mass and then I was off to the beach for a few hours returning around 3pm to continue work on the confirmations. This was not helped by the photocopier running out of staples. I was able to get around this and we had a great choir practice using last year’s music!

Today I had a rude awakening at 5am with a tornado warning on my phone. It hit land around 7am but fortunately there was no damage to my property. It is probably not the best day to gout in a kayak however. I think I’ll stay on terra firma!

 

 

 

The last 10 days have been as tough but as rewarding as you might expect.

I began Palm Sunday weekend a little later than of late arriving at church in time for the Vigil Masses. The Sunday Masses went well also with processions at each one.

At one stage I’d planned to keep Monday as a day off but there were additional things to do  as well as a funeral so went in until soon after midday and finished the day by returning to prepare and deliver a Holy Week choir practice.

On Tuesday I had another session at the physio before driving to the cathedral for the Chrism Mass. This was a grand affair and was followed by lunch with my colleagues in the Diocese. After an afternoon relaxing by the pool I went in to do a couple of hours preparation of an article I was writing for Society of St Gregory.

Wednesday began as usual with a school Mass after which I drove to Fort Desoto for some kayaking until late.

Thursday marked the start of Triduum so I went in around 2pm to set up the keyboard for Sunday’s overflow Mass and did some admin before meeting the choir at 6pm, the Mass at 7pm and Night Prayer soon after 9pm. The choir were wonderful and many people attested to this.

The following day Good Friday began with some office time before meeting the choir prior to the Passion Service which lasted over 2 hours. I stayed to do a bit more work on trumpet parts before retiring home.

Saturday began in a relaxed way at the pool during the morning and then I went to the office around 3pm. The rehearsal was not until 7pm but I needed to sort a number of things for the forthcoming week if I was to be able to take most of it as time off.

The Vigil went extremely well despite some misunderstandings which left the clergy waiting as sang all of Hallelujah Chorus. I wasn’t too upset as it was clear from the worship aid what my intentions were but there may be some embarrassment elsewhere. The Vigil began at 8,30pm and ended at about 11.40pm I joined the reception briefly but as I had to be up early the following morning I went home. Clearly I was so wired up that I could not sleep much until about 1.30am.

My alarm awoke me very rudely at 5am and in 15 minutes I had a quick breakfast and set off for church. I had left all the sound equipment for the Sunrise Mass just inside the church the previous evening so this just had to be moved into place outside and wired up. This was not an easy task in the dark! Many people turned up for this atmospheric Mass. Towards the end of Communion I sang a song (Joncas’ ‘As Morning breaks’) relayed from inside the church. It is a beautiful song which I recall Joncas singing at one of his conference spots in UK but had never used until this moment. When I stepped back outside to continue the closing rites the sun had risen and day had come!

One of my choir was at the sunrise Mass and offered to bring me some food. I accepted the offer and after the next Mass there were various fruit concoctions waiting for me. She had clearly returned again later with more substantial food for lunch. After the 9.30am Mass our flautist brought me lasagne and some wonderful Italian savoury tart.

I was really tired after all the Masses on little sleep and hit the armchair soon after returning home at 2.30pm The foods came in very useful as I dozed and watched TV before eventually hitting the sack around 9pm.

I awoke this morning at 8am having agreed to Skype my mum. She was in fine fettle having spent a good Easter at hers with brother Richard and his fiancée Camille. I did a bit of furniture re-arranging in the apartment and sat down to watch another film when I heard water dripping. The toilet cistern had flooded and there was water all over the bathroom floor. I called on the engineers and they were round with vacuum’s and know-how very soon after.

Now it is 4pm and having been off the booze for much of Lent I will drop in on friends at Charann’s Bar. Signing off!

I did produce a blog last week but it failed to upload to facebook so if you want to read it you’d better go straight to wordpress! I hope I am luckier with this one.

The week before Holy Week is always a bit of a heavy one and this was no exception. It became clear that the powers that be requested a more bilingual feel to the Holy Week liturgies and that in place of only 3 Old Testament readings they wished for all seven. I was delighted by the decision though dismayed by the late timing of it. I had already planned the music and orders of service so these needed to be adapted a little as the week went on

The weekend was full of Masses as it usually is but in addition there was a morning rehearsal for the Chrism Mass at the cathedral and a wedding in the evening.

The wedding was interesting in that the church was turned into a florist’s shop as the altar and other artefacts disappeared under a sea of floribunda.

I spent much of Monday at the beach. It was a lovely day and  knew this might be my last real day off for a while.

On Tuesday after the physio visit I had a meeting about forthcoming confirmations in mid-April. The rest of the day was spent close to the photocopier producing what the Americans call ‘worship aids’. The first, Palm Sunday, was easy but the later Triduum celebrations were substantial booklets. Unfortunately our photocopier would pause after 26 booklets so that you could empty the tray before starting on the next batch. Fortunately my office is closer to the machine and I could hear it stop and dash out to do the necessary. It did mean that all other work was somewhat sporadic or disjointed.

Tuesday was an 11 hour day and Wednesday was 14 hours. By the end of Wednesday I had completed Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Choir practice was a lot of fun and very productive. I had also been able to produce a revised music copy for Easter Vigil so we looked at that once we had completed the tasks relating to the weekend.

On Thursday I started work on Easter Vigil booklets and managed to get 400 done by lunchtime. In the meantime I had also met with the Pastor and discussed my proposals for music for the whole Easter season.

The week would not be complete without an appointment with a doctor so I had one  to discuss some preventative measures recommended by the health insurance company. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the pool and then in the evening joined friends to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

Friday began with a headache and a visit to the physio before returning to the office to complete the last batch of worship aids. At midday I had a funeral which was attended by hundreds of folk.

A couple of hours were spent by the pool and then I completed this blog and prepared a meal and set about a basketful of ironing!

 

Another long gap since the last post. I have been busy!

On Wednesday 2 March I began with School Mass and then dashed off for a session of physio returning to work after that and remaining until choir practice later that evening.

I had Thursday off having already completed my hours and went to the beach. The following day I would return to Fort Desoto. I had taken my Scottish friends there for a  kayaking experience in my new car but as I reported earlier I decided that I needed to do something radical about the Heath-Robinson kayak rack. I went to a hardware store on Thursday and bought some straps, convinced that the ratchet straps were too effective and were adding too much torque to the roof bars and creating too much noise in transit!

The result was a great improvement as I ventured out on Friday after more physio and an assessment with Dr Shepherd. I returned to Fort Desoto as I knew I had a music publishers showcase at the nearby cathedral that evening. I was still not entirely confident but I had seen an advert on Craigslist for a kayak rack and decided to pursue it.

The event at the cathedral began with a welcome fish’n’chips supper which was free and nicely prepared my stomach for the event. It was not quite what I had imagined but was worthwhile. There was some material which was dodgy theologically but most was OK. My predecessor at St Lawrence was there so I ventured a chat with him and was able to break the ice. It is always difficult when you, as successor, have played no part in decisions directly affecting one’s predecessor.

On Saturday I went into work quite early and then broke off to meet the vendor of a kayak rack at Starbucks. The vendor was a lovely chap and full of useful advice.

I returned to work for the evening Masses. After the second I asked a young parishioner to help me fit the racks. Unfortunately he completely undid one assembly and I couldn’t get it sorted again. This would have to wait until daylight!

Sunday followed the usual pattern except that I went to the beach during what was a beautiful afternoon.

At work we have a new system for recording our hours. I clock in and out on my mobile phone. Or rather I should do. I keep forgetting to do it and end up having to go cap in hand to our administrator. She assures me that I am not alone in this but I’m not sure!

On the Monday I took my day off with my kayak. I managed to get it fixed onto the roof easily enough but it took me longer to get the kayak loaded because I didn’t read the instructions carefully enough and had to start over again! I had a great day out at the sandbar and even managed to see an amazing sunset there. Then I headed for Bill Jackson’s Adventure Shop where I had been told, I would find anything for the kayak enthusiast. I found a lockable steel impregnated strap to secure the kayak to the roofbars. This means that it is now safe for me to leave the kayak locked to the car without fear of it being easily stolen. Kayak theft is big business here.

On Tuesday I was back at the physio and then work for only 6 hours. I had a doctor’s appointment and would probably return after that. as it turned out I again waited over 2 hours to be seen so I made sure to mention as many things as possible. I got the results of my blood tests which determined that my chorestemol was high enough (and unaffected by the last month’s diet) to warrant medication. So he prescribed a mild statin to start with. In the same visit he also burned off two skin warts which I was relieved were not cancerous. Before I left for my appointment I had been leading a singing rehearsal with the school which was hampered by what appeared to b a migraine attack. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and I don’t suppose this helped but the doctor chose to prescribe again tablets which I would take in the event of an attack. It was 6.30pm when I left the surgery so I did not go back to work and went home instead.

On Wednesday I began with the usual school mass and then had a Triduum meeting with Deacon Cris. We were later joined by the assistant priest and we lost focus somewhat. After lunch I set about amending the worship aids I had prepared and did some work on the choir practice. Unfortunately the printer could not cope with my demands and our earlier meeting reconvened in the early evening. It was then that I was informed that there was a desire for a bilingual Easter Vigil in part. All this just 2 weeks from the event!

Choir practice was great and we did some more work on the Hallelujah chorus and Stainer’s God so loved the world.

Thursday began with a visit to the dentist for a filling and to take possession of a gum shield so that my new array of crowns do not damage the lower teeth while I sleep. After this I returned home for a meeting with a tax assessor whom someone in a local bar had recommended. He was a good guy and took papers away and would get back to me shortly.

I was in work by 1030 and had plenty to do. By the end of the day I had managed to sort Easter Vigil draft 1! I stopped at Goodwill and bought a signed R.E. Renmark!

Today began with more physio. My lower back was suffering more than my neck this morning so I was grateful that it was also the day for an assessment. By noon I was back at Fort Desoto where the water was a bit choppy initially but a lovely day followed. It was very calm when I left at sunset. I decided not to go out and enjoyed a film, some home-made fish and chips and catching up with the log.

My back still hurts but it has been a good day. Thank you, God!

 

It has been exactly two weeks since my last blog. I’ve been fine but once you have an auto injury over here, as I did after my second ‘rear-ending’, you get embroiled in a series of meetings with insurance, lawyers, and medical assessments. these lead you to consider whether it is worth all the hassle but then again you also have to consider the very high medical costs here. Yes, I have car insurance which pays 80% of your costs but that still leaves a further 20% which you seek to claim from the other party’s insurance. this can run into thousands!

Since my last blog I met a woman at the apartment pool who was a financial adviser. \she invited me to a pre-retirement presentation and so on Friday 19th  ventured along. It was at a rather nice Italian restaurant and drinks and food were all paid for. The presentation occurred while we ate so it was OK really.

Immediately after the Sunday evening Mass on 21 February I drove to Davenport near Orlando where Ross and his cousin Scott had taken a holiday place for two weeks. I had met them last year so it was good to renew friendship with these friends from Scotland. On the Monday we went shopping for BBQ food and then lounged and drank around the pool before consuming our meal. The next day R & S were going off to an amusement park but I remained at the pool until it started to rain and then I drove to Kissimmee to discover another Thrift Store. I returned empty-handed! I left later that evening reaching Tampa by 9pm after a great couple of days away.

My working week began to be punctuated by a programme of visits to the physiotherapist in between my working hours.

On Friday 26 the last stage of a dental programme, initiated over a year ago and involving the preparation and insertion of a dental implant a few months ago, was completed with the fitting of 5 crowns. I’d had the work done in UK fairly recently but the work was poor and decay had not been dealt with so I had to go through it here to greater expense! So far I am happy with the results.

On Sunday evening after my final Mass I met up with Ross and Scott who had decided to trip down to Tampa. We visited Charann’s bar where we over-indulged to the extent that Scott became quite ill. Ross and I continued at a more sedate pace and ate some wonderful cheese.

On the Monday we awoke feeling somewhat jaded but eager to enjoy the day. we had decided to go kayaking so we drove to Fort Desoto having strapped my kayak to the roof of my new car. When we got there I was astonished to discover that one of the roof bar bolts had come loose but was sitting on the roof. I refitted it and prayed for the best. We spent about two hours out on the fjords and then headed for the beach. I still had my kayak so I headed off to my favourite sandbar and found no one there at all. Later I joined them again and we eventually returned to Tampa. I had been given some vouchers for Outback steak restaurant so we decided to dine there. I had a dispute with the waiter over the size of the beers and since I one the next beer was on the house. There was a breakdown in communication at their end and we actually got another two rounds free. The starter, blooming onion, was free on Mondays so we tried that. it came as an enormous plate of strips of onion coated in batter and fried. It was quite sickly! The main meals were steak. I had a wonderful fillet steak and had no complaints. They brought a dessert for us to share and that too was free. The bill came to just under $100 for three of us which is not bad at all. Scott had been driving so he returned me to my apartment and we said our farewells.

Yesterday I was back at work having attending a physio appointment and evaluation. The MRI had shown no further injury so it seems as though I have just aggravated previous injuries again. I spent a while being manipulated by the specialist before some traction. Back at work I had a funeral with much of the music in Spanish and then had some office time preparing for the Confirmations in mid-April.

Last night, after enjoying some cheese and biscuits I went to bed early. It has been a tiring time keeping late hours with my Scottish friends!

I met my lawyer this morning and he was wonderful. he told me quite honestly that it was unlikely that this second accident would achieve such positive financial results as the previous one that he should not take on the case and then accept 33% fee. Instead he offered me advice there and then and said if I needed it in the future I should just ring. this is a welcome response from someone who is clearly not part of the litigation culture.

I then worked for a few hours, lunched with a music colleague, rehearsed the school for tomorrow’s Mass and then kept an appointment with Bay Area Injury Rehab to assess my condition. They found muscle spasm as expected and sent me to get an MRI.

I had choir practice in the evening and we did some great work on Stainer’s God so loved the world.

After the school Mass on Wednesday I did a bit of work and then met with a young violinist to rehearse for a wedding on Saturday. After this I returned home and spent some time at the pool. there I met a delightful woman who had transferred her career aspirations from medical to financial. She invited me to an event her company was managing the following day. At 4pm I had an MRI done on my neck and then returned to work for the Lent Gathering.

Thursday started with a visit to the physio followed by time in the office. My meeting with the Pastor got cancelled so I did a bit of admin and then retired to the beach. In the evening I attended the financial event arising from my encounter at the pool. The event took place at a good Italian grill restaurant at the International Plaza. I was greeted by an invitation for a drink so I waived my Lent practice temporarily and agreed to a craft beer. A two course meal followed during which some one from a financial institution spoke to us. the food was great and the talk was intriguing. Having broken Lent  dropped into Charann’s and had some trappiste beers. There was one moment when one of my friends rose to the bait of another … this happens all too frequently here …but it dissipated eventually and then I left for home and to type  this log!

 

 

 

Last Friday was a day off so I eventually made my way to the beach. It was not the warmest of days at first but it was certainly quite sunny. I had a hire car so I did not feel able to tie my kayak onto it for fear of marking it in some way.

In the evening I dropped into Charann’s where I experimented with alcohol free drinks. I found one that was not too bad. The looks I had from bar staff were a picture … what’s wrong with you?

This weekend my brother Chris, his wife and daughter went to Iceland for a long weekend. it was their way of marking the anniversary of the death of their 21 yr old first daughter Emily. My thoughts were with them, as they often are.

On Saturday I went into work earlier than usual as I had a wedding at 1pm. I’d only been approached by the couple during the week! I was able to get quite a bit of forward planning done for Lent and the various RCIA liturgies. In the evening I did the 2 vigil Masses before retiring for a fish dinner at home.

On Sunday much was the same as ever with the notable event being a conversation with one from my choir regarding my car. I had become quite attracted to the hire car as it was so much more comfortable than the very basic car I’d bought when I arrived , not knowing how secure my job was here. Now I feel more secure and that conversation was all it took to stir my desire.

During the afternoon I was able to Skype my friend Sarah. I had missed talking with her since the new year as she and I had been rather too busy to connect.  It is always good to pick up where you left off!

On Monday morning I received a call that my car had been repaired and was ready for collection. Before that I had to go to the office to sort the choir rehearsal schedule until Easter and also play for a funeral. The deceased was a big player in the City of Tampa and over a 1000 people paid their respects and a few hundred stayed for the Mass. Today was also President’s Day for which we are awarded a day’s holiday. I lost my usual day off, or at least about 3 hours of it so this would have to be added to my rather low vacation allowance.

Following the Mass I drove to collect my car. They had done a good job and had cleaned it inside and out. It looked so good that I decide this was the time to test its trade-in value. It took 3 hours at the Nissan dealer before I drove away a new Nissan Rogue Select SUV. SUVs come in all shapes and sizes but this one appealed by being smaller than most and last year’s model which they were trying to clear. I’d gone in to buy a used car but there were so many discounts going on this vehicle that it was cheaper to buy brand new!

During the night a massive storm hit Florida and at 3am the thunder and lightning were spectacular if a little worrying. The morning would show what damage had resulted.