Overdue farewell

No more yelling,no more crying, no more pleading.Final straw, final chance, final time.Calm, clear certitude. Sleep in your comfortable bed,one more night.Take one last,long, warm shower. Eat that fresh, hot homemade meal. Pack your clean clothes and leave.We should have said,"Goodbye" weeks ago.Hey,you're so smart, you figure it out. This insane game is finished; nobody is a winner.Some day, will you realize what you've thrown away? Goodbye ;good luck; you'll need it.

General stuff

Besides trying to write,I am preparing to teach a class on thesis writing, working at Creekview High School on the oratorical contest (which means coaching kids and assisting teachers),judging some competitions on 3/3 and 3/4,trying new recipes, reading( recommend "invention of Wings"), watching as much Olympics as possible- I even watched some curling, catching up with "True Detective" on HBO on demand( I have never liked Matthew McConaughey before, but his role is riveting), took a cruise just before VD,celebrated birthdays(Al-1/13, Gina-1/23, Adam- 2/10), playing bridge,Tuesday wine group,Monday supper club,had a spa day,practicing a little piano and cello(exasperating), doing the usual household drudgeries, longing for Spring weather,a movie outing or two,correspondence , tax prep ( hate it), dealing with Gina's antics and my cat's illness, enjoying my life and being grateful. However, I am on hiatus from church choir and that has been a needed break.FYI - This post is for all you who thought I was just obsessing about "River of Blood."

Friends from afar

I have some dear friends and family at this juncture who I haven't seen for two or more years. This saddens me because I think about the fact that if I don't make a long, out of state trip, I won't get to be with them.One dear friend has never come to Georgia to see me,and I have lived here 20 years.Yes, social media, phones, etc.are substitutes, but anyone who knows me well, knows I don't much care for phone conversations.I like a face to face( not skype) connection. I get weary sometimes trying to nurture and keep up friendships; sometimes the effort feels lopsided. Also, I sent some Christmas gifts to a couple of people, who I never even got a direct "thank you" from ( family). Uh, it is almost two months after the fact ( yes, I know for sure that they received the gifts).I may be oversensitive and over thinking this whole topic, but it is how I am feeling. Of course, I am not talking about all my friends. I guess I'm sounding a tad needy...

R of B- 1275 Sangue Riviera, part three

After six weeks of active investigation, the explosion and destruction of Sangue Riviera's building seven's top floor proved to include homicide , but the coroner had not ruled out the bomb as a suicide instead.Nobody else was killed besides Sexton, who was indeed dead based on dental records.His indictment for the immense Ponzi scheme not only showed many rich victims with motive.There was ,as well , the real possibility of the suicidal desire to avoid prison and perhaps the effort to destroy evidence.Much media speculation and coverage ensued, and many of the building's residents, who were required to leave the potentially unsafe structure,readily expressed their shock and horror concerning the disaster and their subsequent displacement for what would be an unknown period of time.The news expose concerning Sexton showed he had bilked millions from rich female clients, including some older women residents of the Sangue complex, who had all been thoroughly interviewed. Dozens of suspects were under investigation, but there seemed to be no tie made to any of the quartet.In fact, due to reconstruction of the site, three of the guards were laid off,including Sharon, conveniently.

R of B, 1275 Sangue Riviera, part two

Three months after being given their assignment, Jill's quartet has made progress with the Sexton project. Alina is a work out buddy with the young woman with MS in Apartment six.Myrtle became the new housekeeper for apartment 10; her impeccable references were the selling point. Pauline met the lesbian couple in Apartment 12 at a Pride event and will be having cocktails again with them tomorrow. Sharon applied for the opening of a security guard position, and ,through connections, has been working at Sangue for a month; she is the most vulnerable to detection so she wears a wig, glasses,work gloves, and a constant smile on her face.She determined that the security codes change every three days, and the cameras can be manipulated from the monitoring station that is housed in Buildng two.They are ready- they hope. Sexton will be off of the property for at least three hours,according to the daily schedules the head guard receives,so some " unscheduled maintenance on his roof top pool and sauna will be handled. The quartet's codes for the gate, doors and elevator match ,and all is set.Sharon takes care of the cameras.Myrtle's cleaning supplies hide the explosive device.Pauline wears the S/G uniform for maintenance access, a hat and goggles, and Alina will put the undetectable poison in Sexton's toothpaste and mouthwash - as their back up plan.The preparations are completed in 10 minutes, and once Pauline, Sharon, and Alina leave the complex, Sharon reactivates the video monitoring and goes back to her station. Sexton returns, and all seems normal.Later that afternoon, after Sexton resumes his routine, Sharon waits about another hour,then calls the team,who remotely detonate the device.In the next instant, most of the top floor of building seven disappears, and presumably their intended target as well.

R of B,1275 Sangue Riviera-part one

The fierce quartet understood this to be exponentially more difficult than the Phyrrus project had been.Now that Jillian's foursome had gotten their feet wet together, so to speak,the second task certainly will hone their teamwork skills.The upscale apartment complex has very good security systems with cameras everywhere, and entry requires advance notice and multiple security codes- which change frequently- for the gate, front doors, elevators and individual apartments. Sexton, a bit of a hermit,leases the whole top floor of building Seven and rarely agrees to visitors.Getting close enough to Sexton for the kill will be tricky and dangerous.Alina, Pauline, Sharon and Myrtle brainstorm the possibilities, and nothing seems doable, without other "collateral damage",which Jillian has expressly declared as off limits for their assigned projects." Knock out " gas is considered,but Alina suggests that they find out who the other residents of building seven are and get one to "volunteer" the codes, leaving only Sexton's apartment code to be gotten.This will take quite an investment in time and building some relationships.Each of the quartet's members will have a resident to "work on" and gain trust.Fortunately, Jill has not declared a specific termination date; they may need months.

R of B- Jillian's recuperation tea

Jill decided to have a small celebration, " shoe themed" tea for her recovery, an early birthday present to herself. Just her endearing staff, Jill thought, and asked Yung to make her to- die- for 6 layer coconut cake filled with mascarpone cream,blueberry scones and Earl Grey tea. Jill asked Evelynn to put on her favorite playlist of "shoe and toe" related songs like "Diamonds on the soles of her Shoes", "Devil Eyes", "New Shoes", " Who Wears these Shoes", " Walking in my Shoes", etc. She had Cheri get huge bouquets of gardenias to fill the sunroom, and Jill asked that the dogs be free to run around the grounds, so that ABC could all be at the fete.She even invited Anais, who truly needed to get out of her room and stop being such a sad sack; after all, the worst of her branding pain was behind her now. Jill wore her black and red silk kimono and her favorite black suede Louboutin heels.She placed an orchid in her hair ,wore her ruby earrings and painted her lips bright red. She looked stunning and glowed.When she glided into the fragrant , happy room, all of her favorite people were there, and even Yung was seated and relaxed. After tea, Jill had presents for everyone in just the right sizes- pairs of Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik shoes, Louis Vuitton handbags and Chanel suits.Everybody laughed( even Anais), and everybody danced in their exceptionally beautiful new shoes. It was a joyous moment to remember, because all Hell would be breaking loose soon.