0830 and it is eighty-two degrees with a heat index already of ninety-three and going to a heat index of one hundred and one today. I don’t care where you are —- that is hot and already miserable. I pray that people who do not have air conditioning will find a place to have shelter from this heat. In years past there have been so many cases where senior citizens have simply died from heat exhaustion while sitting in their inner-city apartments without air-conditioning and no one bothered to check on them. I don’t think I know anybody that doesn’t have A/C or I would certainly check on them. I can’t believe that my neighbor Darrell is out there with a walk-behind lawn mower in this heat,  They have a John Deere rider; I can’t imagine why he isn’t using that. Maybe he is just doing the perimeter up against the fences and stuff. But —- he has a heart condition and has already had one heart attack; —- he knows better. I may put on my ball cap and go out and mow too in a bit but it won’t be walking.

I woke up and thought I had slept in this morning but it was just after 0700. I went ahead and got up because I think I had a good REM sleep all night and feel pretty rested. And —- this way I’m up with the early birds and can see if they really do get the worm. I doubt it though; even the. Robin is eating from my feeders these days. To heck with nasty old worms. So far I haven’t had a lot of guests at the Backyard Buffet today. I’ve had a few sparrows and a cardinal and that is about it. Buttercup, the neighbor’s yellow cat came over and sat around my feeders for a bit and got bored and left.

The flowers are changing over again in the flowerbeds. The lilies are still blooming but are starting to wane. The hydrangeas have had their peak and are starting to wane also. Now the summer phloxis starting to bloom nicely and will bloom for most of the summer. We like to let the phlox grow because the hummingbirds are especially attracted to it. They will by-pass hummingbird feeders and go to phlox most of the time. In this kind of weather though, the most popular place is the bird-bath. Whether bathing or drinking from them, they are visited frequently and need to be refilled frequently. I had to pick up some more peanut butter yesterday at the grocery to put in my woodpecker feeders. It takes a half of a 32 once jar of peanut butter to do a full round of filling those and I have to do it twice a week.

Tomorrow is Sunday and it will be Communion Sunday. I always enjoy that. Next Sunday will be an outdoor service and I’m really hoping the heatwave will have broken by then. It can be so pleasant out there in the Woodland Chapel unless it is hot like it currently is. Otherwise it becomes a swelter-box.

That’s it for today. I think I’ll put on my jeans and go ride my John Deere for a bit. Have a most pleasant day. Peace.

It’s Friday —- but is it “already Friday” or is it “finally Friday”? I’m not really sure yet; it’s too early to tell. But this has been a weird week. Either the rain has kept us fairly “house-bound” or now the oppressive heat is doing the same. There are all kinds of warning for those of us who are asthmatics to stay in the house and to not be working outside. That is okay I guess for guys like me who would only be out thee to do some yard work, but what about the poor guy who has to work outside? I feel for them because we are under a heat advisory again today and it is already hot this morning.

Ms. Kate has her doctor’s appointment at 0930 this morning. I’ll take her to that and then we need to go do a little shopping and and we’ll go out for breakfast. TYhis is a fasting appointment so she will be ready for her coffee by the time her appointment is done. She adds creamer to her coffee which means she has to wait. I drink my coffee black so I can have my coffee before having blood work done. See, — I keep telling her that cream is bad for her!!.

As of tomorrow 2018 will be half over. I look back on the first six months of the year and can say it haas been a good six months. Oh, there are no earth-shattering events in my life but the time has been well used. I came back out of retirement as a pastor and accepted what is supposed to be a temporary position as the co-pastor of my home church. That is going very well and I love doing it. Unfortunately, the church is no closer to getting a permanent pastor than they were in February when I took the job. My co-pastor has now been on the job for a year and a half and they had another “interim pastor” for over a year before that. I have no idea what the hold-up or problem is with attracting candidates. As the interim’s, we are forbidden from to be involved in the process.

As for the rest of the first half of the year, Ms. Kate and I are both fairly healthy and have no new health issues. Our girls are all doing well and so are the grandkids. We don’t get to see them often enough but I know grandparents that live in the same town as their kids and grandkids and will say the same thing. So 2018 has been a good year so far.

Now, I need to get showered and moving so I can take Ms. Kate for her appointment. I hope your day is blessed and stay out of the heat if you can. Don’t ever forget that God loves you. Peace.

Welcome to a hot already Thursday morning. It isn’t 0900 yet but it is eighty-four degrees and steamy out there. We are already under a heat advisory for the day. It isn’t raining though for a change but the saturated ground from the past weeks rain has certainly raised the humidity level all the way to “yuk”.

I had a busy day yesterday, hence, no blog yesterday. Pastor Art had a special Bible discussion group he wanted to conduct yesterday so I began my day by going to that. We had a prayerful discussion on the immigration problem that is currently plaguing the country. After that we had our regular Wednesday morning staff meeting. When I got home from that, Ms. kate and I went to lunch and to Hobby Lobby for her to pick up a craft item for her card making. We just pulled back in to the driveway when our general contractor pulled in behind us to give another try at finding and fixing the micro-leak we have from our roof. (He thinks he has found the answer and fixed it. Of course we won’t know until the next time it rains.) After he left, we had an event to attend so we got ready and went to that. It was a long day. We finally got home and started supper about 2130 hours as I threw a couple of steaks on the grill. Unfortunately, I think we had had them too long in the freezer because they turned out tough; but we ate part of them and tossed the rest in the trash.

I filled a couple of the sunflower seed feeders yesterday afternoon but it appears that I should have also put out fresh peanut butter. I have several small woodpeckers out there at the Backyard Buffet this morning. I also have tree or four young wrens out there. They are just really “getting their wings” as they flit from place to place. They will be around here for a couple of more days and then they will fly off to their own new place. he cardinals are having breakfast on most of the sunflower seed feeders and the blackbirds are cleaning out the rest of the peanut butter pellets. I’ll have to refill that feeder today too. I need to go to the store and buy some more product for my critters and guests.

I think though I’ll spend most of my day in the basement in my office. I need to finish a sermon and I need to practice my trumpet. It is end of the month so I have some administrative junk to do like monthly mileage report and pastor’s report for the council meeting. It is nice and cool down there.

Tomorrow of course is the end of another work week for the Mon - Fri crew. I pray you have had a good week and I pray you will have an even better weekend. Share your love and your blessings with someone and give thanks to God for all you have received. Peace.

Weather, weather, weather; —- what’s it gonna’ do. The day has started out very nice with sunshine and singing birds and a breeze, and now I’m sitting here in the sunporch listening to the thunder, watching it rain and blow and hearing the severe storm sirens go off. Typical early summer weather for our region. Our warning goes until 1100 hours and I hope it holds true to that. I have a dental appointment in an hour and I’d prefer not to have to go through a storm to get to it. And I really don’t want the power to go off in the middle of a procedure. I’m having a filling replaced this morning. Part of it has fallen out. It will be about a forty five minute appointment but then I’ll have a numb mouth for another couple of hours. So, I’m having my coffee now so I don’t dribble it down my chin later.

My backyard buffet guests haveall left me until the storm blows over. I had several cardinals here earlier along with some finches. I have a robin that has learned that he can get fed by eating form one of my feeders. He doesn’t eat the sunflower seed but he seems to love these peanut butter pellets. All of my birds seem to love those I go through a bag about every three days. It is good that they aren’t uber-expensive and I can get them at Rural King or Meijer's. It takes one bag to fill my special feeder that I have for them. Fortunately the squirrels don’t particularly like them and can’t get to them very easily.

Ms. Kate and decided to go to the movie last night so we went to see the latest installment of the Jurassic Park movies. It was fairly routine with the appropriate too loud dinosaurs roaring and the right bad guys getting bitten in half and eaten at all of the appropriate moments. It was good mundane  entertainment and we had popcorn for supper!!! After the movie we went to McDonalds for a burger and an ice cream cone. We senior citizens get to do things like that because we’re old and no tells us “no”.

The worst of the storm seems to be over for us and I need to start thinking about heading out to the dentist. I can tell the worst of the storm is over because my backyard guests are back at the feeders. The sky looks a bit brighter through the trees off to the west. We are expecting several rounds of this stuff throughout the day and night. It will be what it will be. I just pray for no storm related deaths or injuries or homes lost due to winds etc. I hope you are safe wherever you are.

Take a moment or three and stop to give thanks for your God-provided blessing that have come your way today already. God loves hearing from you.  Peace!

Happy Monday my friends. Did you have a wonderful weekend? Ours was non-eventful; just doing the usual things. Saturday we puttzed around the house. I mowed yards, Ms. Kate worked on making cards. We have a bunch of birthdays coming up that she needs to make cards for. Everybody loves getting her cards.

Yesterday we had church and I did the sermon. We had seventy in church and that is super. We gained a new member on the roles yesterday. Actually, the lady is a returning member. She was raised in our church and moved away for awhile. Now she has moved back and has rejoined the church. We are really doing well with our attendance. We average at least twenty more people in attendance every Sunday compared to a year ago. Pastor Art is really good at evangelism and has no problem stopping in to see people and talking to them about their faith and trying to bring the to church. I'm glad he is that way because it isn't my forte'. This coming Sunday will be Art's turn to preach and it will be communion Sunday. That should be a well attended service too.

Today I have office hours until noon and it is a rainy and humid day. Once I'm done at the church I may stop by a nursing home and see Don Sander on the way home. I have a couple of other people that I need to go see too but I think I will do that on Wednesday after we finish our staff meeting. I'd like to take communion to some folks. But today, I think I'll just work on my sermon for the 8th of July. I started it a couple of days ago and only got the preface done. Now I need to marry the body with the scripture. It seems to take me a little longer some days to warp my head around what I'm trying to convey.

I need to get busy and get to work.. I apologize if this is a bit short. I can't give you much of an update on the backyard buffet. Most of my regular customers are hiding out in the trees I guess and trying to dodge the rain drop. So far I've had a couple of blackbirds and a couple of cardinals and that is about it except for one robin that is challenging the blackbird for a feeder. The blackbird will win that battle every time because they are so territorial and quick to take on a fight with those sharp beaks. Oh, and I do have one squirrel that is nosing around on the ground grabbing some sunflower seeds.

I hope your day is better than the weather and is full of sunshine; if not outside --- at least in your heart and mind. Peace my friends. God is always with you.

It’s a sunny Saturday and seventy-one degrees, with a slight breeze. I have closed the doors to the house and opened the doors to the sunporch to let the air flow through and clear out the stale winter air. I like to do that once in awhile. If Ms. Kate were out here she would be under a blanket, but then her blood thinner medicine keeps her cold all the time regardless of where we are. Bless her heart.

I have had a squirrel just sitting on a branch at about eye level to me, staring in to see what I’m doing I guess. Now it is eating sunflower seeds from the ground just outside the door. Perhaps, the area looks different to it because I have the glass doors opened and the screens in place. Who knows? They are funny creatures. Yesterday I had one on the patio nosing around the empty feeders looking for a quick bite. I have a ten gallon galvanized can with the lid solidly in place sitting out there full of  sunflower seed. The squirrel was up on the can, sniffing around the edge, probably smelling the seed that is inside of it. Them it started trying to chew on the handle of the lid, I assume to try to open it lid. He finally gave up and went over and got on a birdfeeder.

My list of guests this morning include cardinals, titmouse, goldfinch, doves, house finches, nut hatch, wrens, wood peckers, mockingbirds, and of course a couple of squirrels. II need to clean the finch feeders today. The rain has made the niger seed clump up and look nasty. The stuff that is in the tray will get moldy and that will deter the finches. I also need to fill the outlying sunflower seed feeders. It is also a good day to run the weeedeater  and mow the yards. —- Hey, a robin just joined the guests and is eating off of the suet feeder. That is unusual because they seldom eat from a feeder.

We had our “schrooms and beer” lunch yesterday with Bob and Brenda. It is always great to see them. They plan to come to my church tomorrow  since she has a day off from playing the organ at their church. It will be nice to have the opportunity to worship with them again. The are such wonderful people. They bless anyone who is around them.

My garden is growing great, what little I actually. My okra is up about two and a half feet and my tomatoes are putting on. The beets look good although I don’t know if there are beets growing under those nice looking tops. The lettuce is continuing to grow. My raspberries have come and gone. I think I am going to get rid of them. They come and go and we never actually do anything with them. So raising them is a waste of time and space. The zinnias and coleus I planted are coming up very well too.

That’s enough for today. I hope that your weekend is full of good things. Don’t forget to take time out for worship. As the scripture says; “Remember the Sabbath, and keep it holy.”  Peace.  

Thunderboomers and raindrops greet me this morning as I bring my cup of coffee out to the sunporch. It is only sixty-six degrees on this second morning of actual summer and the “real-feel” is only sixty-two. Were it not for the on and off rain, I’d open up the sunporch and let it air out. But then, if it weren’t for the rain, the. Temperature would be up to about eighty degrees already too. So, I’ll be satisfied with things the way they are and give God thanks for another morning of b;essesings received.

I did get some feeders filled yesterday and have had a few cardinals this morning as well as a few finches. About the time the birds start coming in for a buffet feast it starts raining again and they all head for shelter. Then three to five minutes later it quiets raining. But, the sky is getting a little lighter in the west so maybe these showers will be done for a while. Accuweather says this is the pattern for the day.

Today will be a “shrooms & beer” day with our friends Bob and Brenda. We’re always glad to see them and catch up on news of their families. They are really good people and care so much about others. Bob’s wife, Georgia Ann, has been dead about fourteen months now and we all miss her. Brenda and her mom were best friends. Bob has surprised me that he has adjusted to Georgia Ann’s death as well as he has. He was a “lost pup” for quite awhile. He still misses her terribly but at least he didn’t just “give up” on life like I was afraid he might.

The rain shaowerwas brief again and now the sun has popped in and out a couple of times. The cardinals are back and when the sun shines on the wet plant and tree leaves they all shine as though they have been waxed. It is a beautiful and simple sight but it doesn’t take much to impress me sometimes. I hear a squirrel “barking” up in a trees which tells me there must be a cat out there some place. More than likely it is “Toothless” the neighbor’s black cat trying to sneak through the plants to crouch under a birdfeeder. The BB gun is cocked and ready if I see him.

Ms. Kate and I took yesterday “off”. It’s silly to say you are taking a day off when you are technically retired but that’s what we did. We had a vacation and it was great but them we camehome, got busy around the house “catching up” on stuff  and then Wednesday we had the day-trip with church. We were bot a tad under the weather with different issues so yesterday we basically did nothing but laze around. We always come home from a vacation tired because we seem to think that if we go somewhere for a vacation, we have to do more than just sit in a hotel room. So we really never relax. I admit that my concept of what I would like to do while on vacation is different than what I put into practice. I tell myself how great it would be to just sit and read a book and watch the sun rise and watch the sun set. In reality, I can’t sit still for more than a half an hour and then I begin to pace. That is exactly why there are four novels sitting beside my recliner that I have not finished reading or even started reading on a couple of them. As my daughter Julie says, “Dead is a long time and I’ll rest then”.

That’s it for today. Time to watch squirrel try to climb wet slick poles. Have a fun day. Peace.

It is Thursday morning and God has been watering my garden for me. It has been just a light rain but a perfect rain for watering a garden. So, I begin the day by giving thanks to God for another day that starts with blessings. We are supposed to have a couple of rounds of rain today and this afternoon might just bring in some much heavier stuff. It looks like the front from the north and the moisture coming up from the Gulf will meet once again over the Ohio Valley and stall out for a couple of days.

Yesterday I told you that we were going to do a church “field-trip” and we did. There were eighteen of us and we drove down into the Amish area of Kentucky, about sixty miles or so down the road. It was a nice day although some of the places we wanted to se were not open. We did get to one bakery and I picked up a cream-filled coffee cake and just had a piece of it for my breakfast. It was really good. Apparently they had baked the coffee cake and then sliced it in half and put in a layer of marshmallow cream and put the two halves back together. It really almost too sweet. It would set a five year old in motion for three days. But with a little cold milk or some coffee == good stuff.

We stopped at a restaurant called The Feed Mill down in Morganfield, KY. There used to be a place by the same name and owners up here but it went out of business. The food was alright — not great, but alright. Everyone left full and satisfied.

From there we went over to Camp Breckinridge to see the WWII POW museum. I had no idea that there were German War prisoners brought to the United States during that war. I learned yesterday that actually there were only two states in this forty that did not have a POW camp in them during that war. I need to Google that and fact check it. It certainly wasn’t something I learned in History class. The museum had several murals painted on the walls that the prisoners had painted to remind them of home. It was very interesting. These prisoners were from all sorts of countries and nationalities and it appears that while they were several thousand miles from home and were in fact prisoners, hey were treated very well and even received a Ten cents an hour wage for doing work around the camp and for the local farmers. It might not seem like much but in 1942 - 1945, that was a good compensation. When the war was over, they were all sent back home even though many wanted to stay in America. So, if you are in the area of Morganfield, KY and have the time —- stop by and see that little museum.

I got started on my next sermon last night and I hope to do some work on that today. And I need to practice my trumpet for the number I’m going to play in church in August. My other job today is to get the birdfeeders filled. There is still some food out there but not much. I have been very negligent in my backyard buffet duties and must correct that.

I hope your day is full of love and happiness and gratitude for blessings received. Peace.

Wednesday morning and Ms. kate and I are up early early today. We have to be at the church by 0900 hours for our “Senior’s Road Trip”. We are heading down to Mattoon, KY to the Amish area. It is an area I am unfamiliar with so perhaps it will be interesting. Pastor Art was excited about us doing this trip. I know he was hoping to see the Amish farmers out working the land with their horse drawn machinery but I’d really be surprised if we saw that. Planting season is over and the crops are up. If we see anything, it will be horse drawn threshers because the wheat is now being harvested in this area. But, — we will stop at some Amish shops and maybe buy some peanut brittle or perhaps we’ll run across a bakery and can pick up some goodies there.

We plan to have lunch together at a restaurant called The Feedmill. We have eaten there before and were not particularly crazy about the food. Then we also plan to stop at Camp Breckinridge and tour the museum there. It was a WWII prisoner of war camp for captured German soldiers. Some of them were artists and there are supposed to be murals tha the prisoners drew on the walls while they were prisoners. Art says that many of the soldiers requested to stay in this country after the war. This is history that I have not heard before so I will be interested to see this. Why they would bring German prisoners of war all the way to America in the heart of the country is beyond me. But, it is a chance to learn something new. I’ll let you know about this tomorrow. IN the meantime, I must get showered and ready to head out. YOu have a most wonderful day. Share God’s love with someone.

Tuesday and we are home again, home again. And —- we are glad to be home. It was a good vacation and we saw some neat stuff. Sunday we arrived at the Biltmore Hose in Asheville, NC and got checked in to our room right away. I’ll admit it was more pricey than any hotel we have ever stayed in but what the heck, it was a once in a life time thing. Granted, many of the rooms we stay in when in Vegas cost the same price but Ms. Kate generally gets those comped and they cost us nothing. The Chihully Glass Art Exhibit was very interesting and we both enjoyed it. I think we maybe walked three miles looking at it which for us is unheard of.

We headed back home first thing in the morning and made really good time allowing us to get all the way back home by 1600 hrs. Gaining an hour due to time zone change helped with that too. But — by the time we got home I wwas having serious lower abdominal pains too the point that I could hardly get out of the car. I’m thinking that it was caused by the fact that I had not been hydrating at all. In the past few days I may have had justa couple of cups of coffee and nothing else. I was seriously considering going to the ER but, Ms. Kate suggested that I start drinking some fluids and waiting until morning. Then if I wasn’t better, we’d try to get me in to see Dr. Jackson. Well, once I got laid down in the bed for the night, the cleverest cramping seemed to ease off and I did get a good night’s sleep. This morning I wasn’t feeling nearly as bad as I did last night. I’ve been drinking fluids and I watch how I sit in a chair so that I don’t “crunch up”my lower abdomen and so far I’m holding my own. I think it was all aggravated by sitting in the car all day with a seatbelt up against my abdomen.

Needless to say, the bird feeders are all empty and I need to work on that. But —- it is almost 100 degrees heat index out there so that can wait. I did go out and water some plants this morning and I need to water the garden this evening when it gets a bit cooler. If I went out there now and did that, it would just boil the plants where they stand. I also have a bunch of limbs down that I need to clean up and then get on the John Deeres and mow this place before the tigers move in. Again, aneveening chore depending on how I am feeling.

Ms. Kate has lunch ready so I better get ready to eat. I’ve been gone most of the morning getting a haircut, having the car washed, and going by the optometrist and getting my sunglasses picked up.

Stay out of the heat my friends. Heat stroke are cheap in weather like this. On the other hand, Give God thanks for the heat and humidity because the corn grows like crazy in weather like this. Have a great afternoon.

Saturday morning and we are in the Nashvillle TN area. It is going to be a hot one today with ozone alerts most everywhere we want to go. Temperatures are supposd to rise to about 100 degrees today. We’ll be heading east to Pigeon Gorge TN in a couple of hours, once we are good and awake.

It has been a pretty good vacation so far. I reckon that in the minds of many people they probably wouldn’t consider this trip much of a vacation. After all, so far we haven’t been all that far from home and we aren’t going anyplace we haven’t already been. We did the Amish country of central Illinois; an are in which we lived for a couple of years, Then we spent a night in Metropolis Illinois. Heck, we run over there fo a night many times and spend a few bucks at at the Harrah’s casino. Then last night we came to Nashville, TN. The big difference here is that we went to see the Grand Ole Opry which if you like country music, is an absolute must do. Then, of course we’ll head to Pigeon Forge, TN today and that will be maybe a five hour drive. We are staying at a hotel that wwe’ve stayed at before and loved. Sunday morning we’ll head to Asheville, NC and the Biltmore House; again a place we’ve been to before but this time they have a special glass exhibit that Ms. Kate wants to see. Monday we’ll start the ten hour drive home.

The Grand Ole Opry was a nice collection of country Music stars that most people have either never heard of or have forgotten about. But the music was good and we enjoyed the show. If there was a headliner, I guess it would have been a fellow named Daryl Worley. Fourth daughter, Stephanie, says he’s a favorite of hers. The Opry publishes their schedule well in advance so it is easy to see when people you might know are going to be there. The Opry is the longest continuous running radio show in America and when you are at the Opry, you are actually part of the studio audience. For a country/western musician to play the Grand Ole Opry is the equivalent of other kinds of performers to play Carnegie Hall; so, it’s a big deal.

Today is an anniversary for Ms. Kate and me. Fifty-six years ago tonight she and I went on our first date. Wow! — A lot of water has passed under that bridge. And how appropriate that we are celebrating it in Nashville, which is where four years later, we went on our honeymoon!!

Time for me to think about getting ready for my day. I hope your weekend is a great one. Peace.

Wednesday evening and we have had a very relaxing day so this won't be too long. We are in Arcola, IL which is advertised as being in the middle of Illinois Amish country. We have been here several times over the years. There is  bed and breakfast that we stayed in one time that had the most amazing breakfast I've ever had. The room was "just a room" although it was decorated with some nice antiques. The breakfast however was outstanding. It was a seven course meal with all kinds of different dishes tat aren't usually served for breakfast. Lots of vegetables and meats and scones etc. Each course was served on a different set of beautiful  china. It was indeed a five star breakfast. Unfortunately I remembering hearing people griping about it because "it wasn't breakfast". But, we didn't stay there this time.

We've been a bit disappointed by our revisit here. Many of the businesses were closed in the downtown business section. We went to the little town of Arthur, which is nine miles west of Arcola, last night for supper at The Yoder Kitchen. As you can imagine, it was an Amish/Mennonite restaurant and the food was delicious. We were stuffed by the time we left. Today we went to Tuscola, IL to the outlet stores. Ms. Kate went to Coach and found a couple of purses that she "needed". I went to Under Armor and bought some under-drawers "that I needed". I posted about Ms. Kate going to Coach on Facebook and the next thing I know, The girls are texting Ms. Kate with a request for some items for her to look for. So, we went back to Coach and picked up the things that they were looking for. Unfortunately, I know there are at least two more Coach outlets on the way to our destinations in the next few days. I reckon we'll have to check them out too.

This evening we went to Monical's Pizza for dinner. Ten years or so ago, we were sitting at Monical's having our pizza when the manager asked who owned the convertible that was parked out this lot. I stood up and said I did; and he introduced me to four young Amish girls that were standing there looking scared to death. They told me that their horse had jerked and their buggy wheel had hit the door of my car. I went out and looked at it and it was barely noticeable. I told them "thanks for telling me" and them I wished them a blessed evening and told them not to worry about it. There were tears in their eyes and they went away.

Tomorrow we head south about 200 miles to the Hurrah's Casino in Metropolis, IL. We'll just spend one night there before we get on the road again.

I hope you have a great week.  Walk with God and share your love with someone.  Peace.

It is Tuesday morning and I’m asking myself why was I out of bed at 0630? After all, I’m on vacation and am not in a hurry to go anywhere. It is a rainy morning with storms on the way and we want to try to plan our departure to be sandwiched between the rain. We only have about four hours worth of travel today at the most so rushing out in the storms and rain doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me. But the answer to my original question is that I’m always up early on travel days. So, I guess I’l just suck it up buttercup and press on.

It is a strange morning because I don’t have any guests at the buffet this morning to speak of. There’s a couple of finches and I’ve seen one cardinal. Maybe I’m just too early for them. One squirrel has finally arrived. It’s sitting there on the feeder pole looking around, surveying the area probably making sure the neighbor’s cat isn’t in the yard. Julie’s dogs kept the squirrels occupied most of the weekend and they also kept the neighbor’s cats out of the yard. I can be happy with that.

I only have my travel bag partly packed. It doesn’t take long to throw in a few clothes when you aren’t worried about whether this thing goes with that thing. “Guy packing” means underwear, socks, jeans, shirts, and a shaving kit. How hard is that? And frankly, we are going to be close enough to home that if it was critical that we have something, we could always swing back by the house to get it. Not that I would advocate that. BUt, we need to do a little banking this morning and I have a couple of other things to take care of before we go, I almost forgot to stop the mail but remembered it late last night. Since it can be done “on-line”, it is an easy thing to do.

Well, the woodpeckers have shown up now which means tha the starlings won’t be far behind since they battle over the same feeders and food. The squirrel is still sitting there and hasn’t dropped down to the feeders yet. Maybe he is waiting on reinforcements to arrive.

I hope your day is filled with good things and if you are in the path of any of these storms, I hope you stay safe from harm. If you are reading this, then God has blessed you with another day and another chance to make a difference in someone’s life. Look around you and reach out and share your blessings. Peace.

Monday morning and it has been an eclectic morning already. I got up at 0400 because we had to get Lisa to the airport before 0500 hrs. I think her flight was supposed to board at 0530. Evansville Airport is a regional carport so there isn't a lot of traffic and especially at that time of the day. Getting through security is a 3-5 minute process. The airport is a seven minute drive from the house so we left home around 0445, dropped her off, and went back home. Ms. Kate went to her office and did some of her computer games and I sat down in my recliner and took a two hour nap; or should I say, finished my night's sleep. My nap will come later today. LOL By the time I woke up, Ms. Kate had moved into the other recliner and was also catching some "zzzzzz's.

I have office hours this morning and am caught up wit the things I have to do so I'm writing my blog here at the church. Our church treasurer is here and is counting the money from the collection yesterday and getting ready to make the deposit. He is also preparing for the church council meeting that we are having tonight. Yes, I get to come back again this evening.

We had an absolutely wonderful visit with our girls this weekend. As I told you, Lisa came in on Thursday and Julie and Jim come in on Friday. Jim left late Saturday evening because he had a bowling tournament on Sunday. Julie left Sunday afternoon and then Lisa left this morning. But, by the time they all left, Ms. Kate said; "I'm talked out! You're going to have it peaceful and quiet around here." It was great having them to be here and visit and laugh and tell stories about there families. I don't get in on a lot of the conversations because frankly, I just enjoy listening to them and I am just happy to know they are in the house. Does that make sense?  I'm the same way on the phone; once I hear their voice and know they are fine, --- that's good enough for me.

Once I get home today, Ms. Kate and I have laundry to do and then we have suitcases to pack for our vacation. We'll leave tomorrow at some point. We are expecting storms in the morning so maybe we'll wait until afternoon. We are just doing a bunch of short hops so there is no rush to anything. We're heading to Illinois Amish country tomorrow and will be there a couple of night. We been there many times so it is all a re-visit of favorite places. But we have some other exciting places along our circular route that we are looking forward to. It will be our first time to the Grand Ole Opry so we are really looking forward to that. I guess I better fill all of the feeders this afternoon too since we are going to be gone. Although, they will all be empty by the time we get back anyway.

I have my service and sermon done for the Sunday that we get back so that will be a worry off of my brain. The next service I need to work on is for the 8th of July and I need to get the bulletin to Karen by next week because she and her family are heading off on vacation.

We had a church full again yesterday and it is so very nice to see that. Attendance of course vacillates Sunday to Sunday, especially during the summer when families go on vacation. But, if we can keep a solid core of attendees that is a good thing. Next Sunday is Father's Day so that might bring a few extra people in although that applies more to Mother's Day than Father's Day. But, we also have a baptism of two children this week so that too might help. What ever get folks in the door so we can share the word of God --- we need to do it.

It is about time to wrap up the morning and head home. My writing may or may not be sporadic for the next week. It depends on how busy we get on vacation and how good the wifi is at out hotels. I pray you will have a blessed week. Peace.

Sunny Saturday and hot with a healthy dose of muggy to go with it. Jim is down for a nap, Lisa is on the couch for a nap, Ms. Kate and Julie are both on the IPads probably playing Klondike and I’m in the sun porch monitoring the back yard buffet. We are an active bunch. LOL

This morning I fixed pancakes for Lisa and I for breakfast. Ms. Kate only wanted a Toaster Struedel with no icing and Jim had nothing. The kids all went to the zoo this morning. All of my girls are zoo lovers and Evansville had a fairly good zoo as I told you yesterday. The kids picked up something on the way home for their lunch except Julie came home and fixed some kind of “healthy” shake. I think they are waiting for the Belmont Stakes to run on television before anybody gets too busy doing anything. Julie and Ms. Kate have some heavy $2.00 bets on the race. I know there is a horse named Justify that they bet on but beyond that —— meh!!!! I couldn’t care less. I’m amazed at how much money gets spent and won and lost over a race that lasts a minute and a half. I guess though that if Justify wins this race he, (or is it she)  will be a “triple-crown” winner and his life will be all about breeding and no more racing. We have gone to the local race track once every now and then, but I go for the dollar hot dogs and dollar beer. 

The sky is starting to cloud over a bit. So, I went out and brushed out part of my gutters to keep them from overflowing. Since I have a gutter guard type system up there, the leaves and stuff will just lay on top and the water will run right over the top instead of going into the gutter. Our rain is supposed to be light but we have the slight possibility of heavy storms. Better prepared than not. This front is supposed to bring rain on and off through tomorrow and I’ll be surprised if we in fact have an outdoor service like we are planning to have. It doesn’t matter to me although I do like worshipping in the outdoor chapel. There is just something about being in the open and saying prayers and singing hymns that seems extra special. It is the difference between sitting in God’s hand made sanctuary or a sanctuary built by man. The level of the Holy Spirit seems more intense out of doors. 

I’ve gone over my sermon a couple. Of time for tomorrow and I think it is ready for presentation. I’m going to talk about integrity and confession, and passing on blame to others. 

the wind has picked up significantly so I’m going to set and enjoy a good storm that is going to water my tomatoes, my flowers, my beets and my okra; than I’m going to give praise to God for blessings sent. Have a great day. 

One chicken is in the coop and another one is coming this evening. Lisa arrived right on time yesterday and we had a great visit with her during the afternoon and evening. We are up earlier than usual this morning because we knew she was up. The kids of mine that come from the eastern time zone operate on a different schedule than we do. And since they come so infrequently, we don’t want to miss any visiting time, so it is absolutely worth losing a few minutes sleep and getting up a little earlier. Julie gets out of work around 1400 hrs and will go to Indianapolis for some blood work then come down here. We expect her and Jim around 1800 hrs or so. Then the gab-fest will begin in earnest.

It is warmer this morning and the humidity is on the rise. It is supposed to go to about ninety-three today. We are hoping for a sunny weekend but it sounds like we in store for a stormy weekend instead. The sad part of that is that Julie and Lisa want to go to the zoo tomorrow. I really hope it doesn’t rain because they are zoo-people and our city does have a nice very nice and accredited zoo. It generally takes about an hour and and to two hours to do our zoo. There are enough hills to make it a healthy and challenging walk.

I think we are going to do some shopping around town this afternoon yet. We have a store here called Libs that makes some of the best chocolate candy that I’ve had. Lisa wants to pick up some to Libs to take back to the family. They will be some happy campers.

I need also to finish my sermon today. I have it about half finished and had a good train of thought going but stopped so now I’ll need to regenerate and start again. I had it half written already once but didn’t like it and deleted it. Now I’ve gone in a completely different direction and I think it will go well.

Time to quit and get on with other stuff. I pray you have a wonderful day. Peace.

A blessed Thursday morning to you! Yes, I know, I missed writing yesterday but it was an activity filled day and I just never got around to it. I normally do my blog first thing in the morning but I had a Bible study first thing yesterday, followed by dental cleanings, grocery shopping, lunch out, home to mowing the yard and hoeing the garden and then starting a complete re-write of my sermon for the Sunday after we get back from vacation.

Today though, we are counting minutes until Lisa arrives at the airport and starts a four day visit. It is neck hugging time once again. I do so enjoy it when my girls come for a visit. we are very fortunate that Julie decided to move to southern Indiana from the Boston area several years ago. We get to see her about once a month and those visits are such a blessing. It has been, I think two years, since Heather has been here. Her husband has yet to come to our house. Their work schedules have not allowed them the time since they got married a couple of years ago. Maybe now that he has retired and they only have to shuffle one work schedule they can make it. But, Ms. Kate and I know what that id like. For thirty plus years the only vacations (military leave) we took were to go home to see parents. Then it was rush, rush to see this one and that one and then drive back to wherever we were stationed. By the time we got back to our base we felt like we hadn’t had a vacationat all.

It has been health check-up month for me. I had my physical a couple of weeks ago. Then I went to the optometrist; that cost me $850.00. Yesterday was dental. So, I should be good to go for another six months until we do it all over again. I do have to go back to the dentist because I have a filling that has broken and need to be replaced; yuk!! All said though, I am extremely blessed that I have good health. People may have to put up with me for a lot more years.

Okay, just got a text that Lisa is on the plane and heading this way. I need to scurry and get my shower and get ready to go get her. Have a blessed day. I already am. Peace.

Let’s see how well this works. I’m sitting in an uncomfortable chair at the Orthopedic office as we wait for Ms. Kate to get her cortisone shot in her hand. We started here on time but arrived a few minutes late. Summertime is “orange barrel time” in our fair city; we only have two seasons, —- winter and construction. We’ve been back here in Evansville for seventeen years now and there has not been a single year that our main road, 1st Avenue, has been torn up most of the summer. So, I wonder, —- is it road construction or just job security for the construction crews. Secondly, the office we thought we were going to was not the office we needed to be at. It has moved to the other side of the Deaconess Hospital Main Campus complex with zero signage or directions. But, we made it here and now we wait. Ms. Kate is in no hurry to have that needle stuck in her hand anyway.

It is another glorious morning. I was only able to be in the sunporch briefly but the woodpeckers were busy at my peanut butter feeders. They have really adapted to me using just extra crunchy peanut butter instead of the bark butter paste that I used to use. I’m glad that I tried it since I can’t get the paste anymore without paying an arm and a leg for it and waiting for it to be shipped to me. I get two large jars of peanut butter for a fourth of the cost of a container of the bark butter. And since I have found an outlet for getting the pellets that they like —- I’m not missing Wild Birds and Things at all.

Tomorrow I will lead the morning Bible study for Pastor Art, then have a brief meeting with the secretary and head out for my dental appointment and cleaning. Ms. Kate and I are getting all of our “health stuff” taken care of now and will be good to go. For the summer. I had planned to take communion to a parishioner tomorrow but the opportunity for my dental appointment popped up so I wanted to get it out of the way.

Lisa arrives Thursday morning and Ms. Kate and I are anxiously awaiting for some neck squeezing. Julie and Jim will arrive on Friday and the jibber-jabber will commence. I do miss that sound in our home. When all of the girls get together, —- it is non-stop talk. I just sit back and listen and enjoy. Sitting there listening to them is the pure sound of family love. Ms. Kate and I are so fortunate to have the loving relationship that we do with all of our girls. We must have done something right, and we are certainly blessed by God.

Time to go. Ms. Kate is done and now we can go for breakfast. Have a wonderful day. Peace.

Where did this beautiful spring morning come from? A little over sixty degrees, sunshine, calm winds, and not a cloud in the sky. It has been two months since we had a day like this. Yesterday was the same and tomorrow is supposed to be the same. So, --- thank you Lord for these spectacular days.

We had a good attendance at church yesterday and Pastor Art brought a great message. We have entered the summer Sunday school schedule which means we had a combined class of all the adults and then a class for the youngsters. It was a fairly good class and there as a lot of participation from the members of the group. I was disappointed that the older members of my usual class did not chose to show up. Ms. Kate and I were definitely the old people of the class by probably at least twenty years. But, it is what it is.

Yesterday afternoon I did a hospital visit for one of our parishioners and took communion to her and her family. I got a text late last night that she had been released and was doing better. Today I need to go back to the same hospital and say prayer with a parishioner and family as the lady goes in for shoulder replacement. It is just the beginning of a busy week of events. I'm in the office this morning getting a little work done but mostly just "being present" in case someone needs a pastor this morning. Ya' never know, it could happen. LOL Tomorrow I take Ms. Kate to her orthopedic doctor for another cortisone shot in her wrist. She needs that done about twice a year for her arthritis. The shots hurt like the dickens when she gets them but they do so much good for her for about five or six months. Wednesday I have office hours again and I also have to cover the Bible study for Pastor Art. That means I need to take some time to catch up on where they are. He told me that last week they only got through one verse. Well, I've read that verse and I would be hard pressed to spend an hour on it which tells me they got derailed on another subject. That happens a lot in small group sessions with no particular schedule, and I think it is a wonderful thing that happens. That gets me through Wednesday. Then Thursday Lisa comes for a four day visit. Yay!!!! Julie and Jim will also be coming over so they can visit with her. It will be wonderful to have a house full of laughter and chit-chatting daughters. It happens so very infrequently.

I'm sitting here in my office at church and I have a cardinal that keeps coming back and sitting on the park bench just outside of my window. God has sent blessings to follow me to work; what a beautiful thing that is. Of course, it could have been one of my Cardinals coming to tell me that the feeder is still empty and I need to get home and fill it.

That is it for today my friends. If your weather is anything like mine today, try to get out and breathe in some of God's wonderful creation and enjoy the bounty of blessings that God has sent your way. Then take the time to be humble and give thanks for a God that loves you and will never forsake you, Give thanks for a God that loves you so much that He sent His Son to not only teach us how to live but to actually suffer and die for us to pay for the sins that we commit. Have a blessed day.

Lots of sunshine this morning and the “feels like” temperature is already eighty-eight degrees with a matching humidity level. That doesn’t fare well for the day. I expect we will have more thunder-boomers before this day is done. But, I’m hoping the grass will dry out enough that I can mow it without it clumping up and being ugly. Yesterday afternoon I went out and picked up a lot of twigs and small branches that had broken off with the wind. I had just finished when it started to rain again and now I see I get to do that all over again.

The Ladderback Woodpecker is taking on all challengers this morning at the suet pellets feeder. The starlings and the cardinals and the finches are all trying to eat from it but the Ladderback and its long sharp beak are doing a fairly good job of persuading them otherwise. That feeder along with several others is just about empty this morning which gives me another task for today.

You may recall that I said Ms. Kate and I each had optometry appointments yesterday afternoon, and I had hope that if I got out of there for less than a $1000.00 I would be lucky. Well, it cost me $850 to get out of there and I was the only that needed new glasses. Yikes!!! I bought two pair, one of them being sunglasses; and they are both “no-line” bifocals, and I got one new frame for the clear ones and am having the sunglasses put in the same frames that I already have. It will take seven to ten “business days” for them to arrive. I just don’t understand that because there are places that do your new glasses in an hour. But our doctor doesn’t have an in-store lab. There was a time when we used to go to “LensCrafters for our glasses, but I don’t know if they are even a business anymore. Anyway, I had a significant prescription change, especially n my right eye, but lens correction is better than cataract surgery. That unfortunately is in the eventual forecast for Ms. Kate and me.

Our contractor came yesterday and recalled around the vents up on the roof which is where he suspected the ceiling leak was coming from that was dripping in our bathroom. While he was here, I asked him about the possibility of putting a bathroom down in my basement. He said it is certainly possible. We’d be talking about just a toilet and a sink, and it would probably run about $5000.00 to do it. I need to “Google” it and do some reading about it, but maybe that would be a good use for my crop check this year. It could be a winter-time project for them. I have a lot of thinking to do about that first. I can make a lot of trips up the stairs for five grand.

Tomorrow is Sunday and it will be communion Sunday. I always enjoy that. I hope you take the opportunity to go to your house of worship and start your new week off properly. Give thanks for the blessings you have received this week and pray for guidance in the week to come. God always walks with you but God also likes to be acknowledged. Peace.

TGIF, Thank goodness it’s Friday. The rain and the storms are over at least for now. But, — it is going to be a hot and muggy day because the air is still saturated with moisture. I don’t know how many inches of rain we got over the week but it was maybe as much as three or four. The yard os soggy and I have a lot of little limbs down that I need to pick up before I can mow. But — I won’t be mowing today because it is simply too wet.

This morning I’m waiting on a fellow to come evaluate a roof leak problem that has developed. I suddenly have a very slow drip of water coming from the overhead light in my shower which is not where water should be coming from. My roof is less than ten years old and has a thirty year guarantee. I called the general contractor who handled our renovation after our house disaster in 2008 and he is sending his son out this morning to take a look at it. His first inclination is that there might be a leak around some flashing on the roof. Hopefully that is all is amounts to and can be fixed quickly. The problem with water leaks is that they are never where they appear to be. It might be dripping in my shower but the actual leak could be half way across the roof. And —- as I always say: water always wins. If you don’t believe it —- just look at the Grand Canyon.

I have new lights in my basement and I love them. I had ordered them from a friend at church who does electrical design and sells fixtures etc. Once they came in, I called a local top rated electrical construction company and they came out and installed them for me. I was really pleased with them. It was two young fellows, I think one was an apprentice, but they came in, worked quickly with no chit chat, were professional and polite and totally cleaned up after themselves. Any future electrical work I need done will certainly go to that company.

This afternoon Ms. Kate and I each have optometry appointments. The sad part is that I’m sure we are both hoping to need new glasses. That means four pair of glasses because we get colored glasses too. If we get out of there for less than a thousand bucks I will be very happy. I know my right eye vision has changed because I have a hard time reading the TV screen if I close my left eye. It’s just one more thing to bite at my bank account.

I can tell my neighbor is home from vacation. Their black cat was making a beeline for my flowerbed and bird feeders this morning. I haven’t seen that cat since they left for vacation. Unfortunately for it, I spotted it as it was coming in the yard and motivated it to move on.

I think I’ll quit here and go have some breakfast before the repairman comes. There is some strawberry pie still left over and I think it needs to be eaten. I hope you have a blessed day full of sunshine and love. Peace.