Lunch With Jim

Cheryl picked me up and we went to T.O.P.S.; results below.  Leader Lennie (Lenore) announced that Trinity Lutheran will no longer allow us to  meet outside there. After discussion, I offered to have to group here--not inside, of course, but outside in the nicely-appointed middle of the complex. So next Friday, I won't have to go far.
Washed, trimmed, and chunked the cauliflower I had bought the other day and put in the smaller slow cooker with Italian seasoning. Betty called to say her knees were bothering her; she took Tylenol, but they're still a little sore. Carolyn had taken her for a checkup a few days ago, and the doctor has her massaging them. I'll call her today to see how she's doing.
I made my turkey sandwich and packed it, my beer and a stein in my insulated carrier and went outside to meet Jim at 1:00. We sat at a table with a big umbrella and good shade and proceeded to eat, talk and talk, then talk some more.
Jim didn't leave until 5:30 and boy, did we range over a plethora of topics: academia, of course, including his on-going experiences at Ventura College and my past ones at Rider University. I told  him about Westminster Choir College and Rider's acquisition thereof. Being an opera buff, Jim was very interested. We also ranged over a variety of other items: death, for one. (Jim is a philosophy teacher--that'll tell you something--but he has more questions than I do.)
I jokingly call Jersey "God's country" and was surprised when Jim said he thought he had been there; he and his mother were on a bus trip and and went Mother Cabrini's shrine. He's about as religious as I am, although raised in the usual Irish Catholic way. But it seems he was on a bus trip with his mother when he was a child and that's where they went. (I looked it up later and found that the shrine is actually in New York.) We also talked about childhood, always a good source of gripes and recriminations, especially as, unless you're with siblings, nobody can dispute them. 
After Jim left, I went over to Von's for a few things. Popped a chicken quarter in the oven for dinner, which is all I ate. As I was going to take the trash out, Suzanne came up and we sat out front for almost an hour chatting.
Send Jim Internet info on both the Cabrini shrine and Westminster.

Weight Report

Home, clothed:  130.2   last week, 131.4, so a loss of 1.2 lbs.

T.O.P.S.:             131.7  last week, 132.5, so a loss of 0.8 lbs.

Yes, the scales weigh differently. Also, I decided to skip the unclothed weigh-in, so will just go with the other two.