My days seldom end up like I laid them out in the beginning. But that’s life from an armchair or recliner. I had planned on going out and pulling some weeds from the flowerbeds but I got a text from Julie telling me that the book I had ordered through her bookstore was in and did I want her to send it right out. Ms. Kate said “why don’t we just drive over and get it? “ So we showered and got dressed and took off for New Albany, 120 miles away, to pick up my book, drop off some tomatoes, and some clothes that Jules had left here last weekend. What can I say, it’s worth a 240 mile round trip to be able to hug one of my kids.

We basically did just a “turn-around” over there. We had talked about going on across the Ohio River to the east side of Louisville and having lunch at P.F. Chang’s, Ms. Kate’s favorite restaurant. But, we decided that by the time we got there, had lunch, and started home, we’d be in 4:00 Friday evening traffic and no way did we want to be involved in that. So, we came home, took a nap, got up and went to the grocery store. One certainly lives on the edge of excitement when you get to be our age.

It is already pretty warm outside so I’m thinking that I need to go downstairs and practice my trumpet for awhile, maybe work on a sermon for awhile, and I have to work on my pastoral prayer for tomorrow. I generally write those out. I know God doesn’t mind if I repeat myself and run on a bit, but congregations are less understanding than God. LOL. I’d hate to hear somebody start snoring in the middle of my prayer. It is interesting that these days we don’t have the congregation stand durning the Pastoral Prayer. When I was a kid, we always stood during that prayer. It seemed like the preacher prayed forever! More than once I felt the hand of my mother or father on my shoulder or head as I shuffled back and forth from foot to foot or swayed back and forth in my boredom.

Wow! I got my property tax bill from the state of Illinois yesterday. Through inheritance, we are part owners of some farm ground in southern Illinois. My cousin farms it and we just get a “cash-rent” check at the end of the season for whatever he has planted. BUt the taxes on just our portion of the property have gone up by $250.00 since 2016. Illinois has some of the highest taxes in the nation. We owned a home in Collingville, Illinois for boot four years and the taxes on that small place went up astronomically over the four years. I know that state is broke form all of the years of corruption and mis-management but —- they seem to not understand that they can’t tax their way out of debt. People are fleeing the state and moving to other states like here in Indiana.

Time to sign off for today, Have a great weekend. Peace.