Friday night, 2230 hours, and I’m just getting around to stopping long enough to jot a few notes.   We’ve had a busy day and tomorrow will be even busier. Tomorrow is the annual car show, or Cruse In for Christ as we call it. We were up early today so I could go out to the church and help move stuff around and set up for the prize tables and the Chinese Auction. The cars will start coming in to the church yard by 0830 in the morning so we will be up and at it early again tomorrow. After I finished up at the church, I went back home and then picked up Ms. Kate and we went out for schrooms and beer with Bob and Brenda. We always have a great visit with them.

From there we had to go out to Sam’s to pick up some stuff for Ms. Kate to make desserts for tomorrow’s bake sale.. Then, back home where we rested for a bit and then I had to go to the store to get stuff that we had neglected to pick up earlier. I came back Naomi and we made two loaves of apple bread and a Texas cake for tomorrow. They have now cooled and we just finished cutting it all into pieces and and plated and wrapped the individual pieces for sale tomorrow. So, we are a bit bushed, —— but I’m also full from “sampling” the product. Well ——- we wouldn’t want to sell bad product.

Tomorrow, when we get back home I need to go over my sermon for Sunday and I still need to put together a pastoral prayer for Sunday. This has been a very busy week and by tomorrow afternoonwe will indeed be ready for a nap. BUt, I also need to work on my end of the month report and make sure everything is in order for October 7th worship and Homecoming Sunday at the church. Pastor Art leaves on vacation Sunday so I have it all. I don’t know whay that sounds lke a big deal to me. I had it all for 12 and a half years at my last parish. So a couple of weeks is no big deal. I think I have gotten spoiled, and frankly, so has Art. We like sharing the duties.

That’s it for tonight. I may not see you until Monday. But now, I’m settleing into my recliner with my  Gaither Gospel music and letting the peace of the world flow in and prepare me for bed. Have a good night. Have a blessed weekend. Peace.

Yes, I missed another Wednesday didn’t I? But, amazingly enough, the world made it through alright without me sitting down and writing about it. Who would have thunk it??

Of course yesterday morning was an office morning. Pastor Art, and Karen and I went over the schedule of events. He is going on leave starting Sunday so we got everything coordinated and locked in. We will have a couple of days that we will both be gone but that should not be a problem as log as no one dies. And Karen is going to be gone on a Hawaiian vacation too for a couple of weeks so October will be a strange month.

After I left work I picked up Ms. kate and took her to lunch at the Gerst Haus, a really good German restaurant on the west side of town. , From there it was the grocery store to pick up some stuff. The home for a bit and then I had choir practice last night. Yes, I’ve decided to Jon the choir, as if I didn’t have enough to do. After choir I met with the chairpersons of the Board of Christian Education and Music and Worshp Committee and our organist to talk Christmas play. I think I have it under control and we are all on the same page. I came home and tailored the service for that day and will re=rite a portion of the play to accomdate the new plan. It was a busy Wednesday. Oh —- and I watched the season opener of Survivor! That’s important stuff. LOL

Today is a gloomy day and it is only fifty-nine degrees with a light rain. That’s no good. We need the rain out of here so the ground can dry out by Saturday morning and so we can park cars around the ball field for the car show. We’re expecting about 120 cars to show up and it is supposed to be a really nice day. But if the ground is soggy, it will be a mess.

I have a couple of things to get done today. I have to go get my replacement lens put in my glasses and I have to go pick up my trumpet from the music store. It has been cleaned inside and out and should be as good as new. Between that and my new mouthpiece for it, I should be able to make some good music with it again. Theoretically, it should be a little easier to play. We’ll cross our fingers and hope. And, with my new corrected lens in my glasses, I’ll be able to read thee music clearer. My other chores today are to help Ms/ Kate get the laundry done and then work on a sermon, and make the corrections to the play. But first, I need to get out of my recliner, put up my IPad, and go shower and get ready.

Treat your Thursday nicely. Do good things for people today, pray for world peace and tell someone you love them. Pay no attention to the rain, that’s just God taking care of His creation. Shalomn.

The ran continues on this Tuesday morning. It is almost 0900 and the sky is dark enough that I need to turn on a lamp if I want to read anything other than my computer screen. The light from the screen is barely adequate to afford me enough light to accurately see my keyboard. Not that it makes that much difference. I hit the same amount of wrong keys in the light as I do in the dimness. I’m not a typest. I’m still, after all of these years a “hunt and peck” kind of guy. Although I’m much better than I was at one time, I still have to go back make a lot of corrections.

When I left the office yesterday I decided to go by my eye doctor’s office and have them check out one of the lens in my glasses. I bought them in June and I never did seem to have good vision n my right eye. If I tried to watch television it was blurry somewhat. If I closed my right eye, I could se well. If I closed my left eye, everything was blurry. So, I had them check them out. The Dr checked me again and sure enough.I had a bad prescription in my right eye. So, they are ordering me a new right lens. The great thing is that they didn’t charge me anything for the re-exam nor the new lens. Maybe by next week I’ll be seeing straight.

The new television season started last night for some of the shows. There is a new show on NBC called Manifest. I’ve watched the trailers for it and it looked like a show that I might like. The prims is that a plane took off from Montgomery Bay enroute to New York and it disappeared for five years, although the passengers don’t know it nor have they aged. They arrive in New York thinking it has only been a few hours from take off. Sows, we are beginning to see that they have some strange maybe psychic ability or something. I’ll give it a few watches before I decide if I want to continue to follow the show. If it turns out to be like another show called “Lost”, I’ll drop it because none of it will make sense. Most likely the show will try to tell us that these people have all been “sent back” to accomplish something special with their life. We’ll see.

The ran has now temporarily stopped altough it comes in little waves. We’re I to turn the light back off, it would be an easy drop off to snooze-land. I have nothing on my schedule today soI think I’m going to finish a book that I am reading. It is called “Struggle to be Free” by Rev, Dr. Wayne Oates. He was a Baptist theologian and an early pioneer in the world of Clinical Pastoral Education. This particular book deals with his escape from poverty of mind and body. It is well written although a bit “wordy” for me. I think my co-pastor was a student of this man while in seminary in Louisville. This is one of his books that he loaned me.

I’m thinking it may be bagel and cream cheese time to go with my coffee. Want to join me? Shalomn!

Monday morning and it is a dreary one. It has been raining on and off since yesterday and will continue to rain until at least tomorrow afternoon. We needed the rain though and this has been a "good rain" in that for the most part it has been slow and steady as opposed to down pouring and storms. Those could still happen yet today and tomorrow.

We are hoping that the rain will all clear out of here no later than Wednesday morning and that the sun will come up and dry out the ground. Our church is sponsoring a "Cruse-in" car show on Saturday and expect about a hundred and twenty old cars to be parking out and around our ball field. The church has done these car shows for several years but Ms. Kate and I have never been to it and really don't know much about them. Lot of organizations do these shows so apparently they are pretty good money makers. We use them to raise mission money.

The rain has shown Ms. Kate and I one unfortunate thing. The $675.00 we paid to have a roof leak fixed, has not been fixed. So, I called my contractor first thing this morning and he is going to come out and get up in my attic and see if he can find it from the inside while it is raining. It has to be such a minute leak somewhere. But he should be able to track a leak back to it's source this way.  It drips out of the can light into my shower, which as I have said before is the perfect place if we have to have a leak. What is really weird is that while we were gone on vacation a couple of weeks ago, we had paper towels laying in the shower in case it rained while we were gone. That way we could tell if the leak had been fixed. We came home and there had been no water leaking at all despite the fact that the area had torrential rain for several days. And yet, this gentle rain  has apparently saturated some weak point and is coming in. Sigh!!!! Water always wins.

I'm at the office now and we have had a steady stream in and out but none of it to see me, although they do stop by and say hello and chit-chat a bit. I sat out in the sun porch for awhile this morning first thing as I had my first cup of coffee. There were no takers at the backyard buffet today, or at least not at the time of the morning. It was raining at the time and I think maybe the birds were still taking shelter in among the leaves of the trees and the squirrels were still hiding in their nests. I don't blame them, -- I wanted to turn over and crawl back under the covers myself. But -- I had to get a move on and head out to work.

It was a banner day at church yesterday as we had five new members join the church. What a wonderful thing that is.  And we had our first two people join our new Sunday school class yesterday. It was a niche that we had not filled and Pastor Art had really pushed for it. It provides a Christian Education platform for high school through college aged people.

I better stop now and maybe do a bit of work on my sermon that I started last night. I pray you will have a blessed week full of the Holy Spirit. Peace.

Saturday morning and we finally have a little rain. It isn’t a hard rain, just maybe above what one would call a sprinkle. But, it is a cold rain because the temperature is only sixty-two degrees. What a change on this first day of fall. It isn’t supposed to rain a lot according to the forecaster last night but the radar pictur I just looked at shows something a little different. I thought that maybe we might just get to have an outdoor service tomorrow but now I’m not so sure. I guess we’ll see what the rest of the day brings.

I went out before it started raining harder and filled up some feeders. The safflower feeder waas completely empty and that is a favorite of the cardinals. And —- they have been on it ever since I walked away from it. So, I guess they were waiting on me to do my job. I have a lot of birds here this morning. The hummingbirds are still here for us at least. Some folks are reporting that their hummingbirds seem to have already migrated.  Had two sunflower seed feeders that were totally empty so I’ve filled them up and yes —- the squirrels have already noticed and are on them.  It doesn’t take long around here for them to get the word out.

Well, I think that is about all I have for today. The sound of the rain on the roof of the sunporch is mesmerizing and hypnotic. Add to that the sound ofMs. Kate gently snoring over in her recliner and I think ti is tie for me to lean on back and check my eyelids for holes.

Tomorrow is the Day of the Lord. Take time to attend your house of worship and give God praise.  You have reached this exact moment in life because God has allowed it. His grace, mercy, and love have provided for your every need; so take time out and be grateful for your week of blessings. Have a blessed day.

Several years ago there was a Disney movie called “That Darn Cat”. Well, I have my own version of That Darn Cat. It isn’t mine and I don’t know to whom it belongs. But, it is the same cat that snatched one of my cardinals early this week. Today it was almost fifteen feet up the Poplar tree after a squirrel. The squirrel was staying just out of its reach and was giving it the old “nanny, nanny, boo-boo!” It finally gave up on the squirrel when a couple of my BB’s smacked it on the rump while I had it in a compromising position. That darn cat!!!

It is a hot morning already but by this afternoon we are supposed to be having a cold front moving in and push this hot summer weather away. Weather dude says it should be the last of our ninety degree days for the year. But, we also need some rain and the front is supposed to bring some of that too. I lan to do some yard work tomorrow and have alerted my young neighbor that I will need some help if he is available. He’s a good kid but he is also a high school kid and that brings a lot of homework and extra curricular activities. So, we’ll see if he will be here to help or not. Besides, we may get rained out.

I finished writing my Christmas play and worship service last night. I’m glad to havethat off of my “to do” list. I know it is many weeks out from Christmas but events and other things to do will rob you of the time to do the things that you need to do This was important because I had promised to write one and needed to fill that commitment. Why I promised is beyond do me. I guess I like to make work for myself. But, Ms. Kate and I have two vacations coming up and I didn’t want writing that play hanging over my head. So —- it ‘s done!

Today is “schrooms and beer” day with Bob and Brenda. I’ve been looking forward to it. I don’t know if Ms. Kate will go or not. She has been have a bit of a stomach issue and depending on how she feels in another hour, she may or may not go. Bob is getting older and more frail and she doesn’t want to pass on anything to him.

I got a call from H&H music store last night reference my trumpet. I had taken it to them to have it cleaned for the first time ever. They will chemically clean the inside of it, replace the felts and the pads and lube the slides That horn is sixty years old and has never been cleaned like that. Guys who play a lot have this done at least every two years. I didn’t even know they did anything like that until I saw a video in You Tube. And it will only cost me $65.00. With the horn completely serviced and the new mouthpiece I bought; —- it should play a lot easier and sound a lot better. So that put it all back on me and owner error!

Time to clean myself up and get ready for some schrooms and beer. I hope you have a most wonderful Friday and an even better weekend. Peace.

Hello Thursday morning people, it’s great to be with you. I hope your Wednesday was full of blessings. Mine certainly was, which is a bit of why I never got around to blogging yesterday.

Of course as you know by now, Wednesday is an office staff meeting day. It is generally just an hour To go over the calendar with Karen and Art to make sure we are all on the same page and have the same planned up coming events. But, more often than not, Art and I get to talking philosophy and theology and I end up being there for two or more hours. He is a very learned man and I enjoy milking his Doctoral brain with questions that I have. It is indeed a pleasure to work with him. And we are well suited for each other as co-pastors.

I came home from the office and Ms. Kate was busy peeling apples and preparing to make apple pies. So, I jumped in and helped her do that. After all I’m the one she waas making them for, I should help. She has the knowledge of how to do it, but I can peel and fetch needed items for her. We made three and they turned out beautifully. We gave one to neighbor Dan and took one to her sister Karen, and had the first couple of pieces form our for supper last night. My wife does know how to make a delicious and beautiful pie.

I’ve been working on an effort to get the church to buy a new piano keyboard. I’ve found a couple and priced them; I’ve had the organist go and try them out and select one, and I’ve taken it to the council for approval to purchase it. I had hoped to have it bought and ready for use by this coming Sunday down in our Woodland chapel. We currently have one but it is old and only has sixty-six keys and therefore has a limited capability. It also falls short on adding a sense of joy and praise to our singing. The council has voted to wait and discuss it at the next council meeting which will be on October 8th. I’m hoping the store will still have it by then and that it will still be on sale. It is really a nice one with great sound.

I’ve finally gotten started on writing my Christmas Drama. I’ve pulled out an old one that I wrote back in 2002 and am revising it. It was a good one then but I can see where it was lacking in certain areas. So, I’m doing a lot of editing and re-writing to make it better. (I hope) I’m writing in a place for a children’s “Cherub Chorus” so I can work the children’s program right into the play.

I’m not getting a lot of guests at the backyard buffet these days.  I guess they are eating from the fields since it is harvest season. That’s okay, they’ll all be back.

That’s my story for today y’all. I hope your Thursday is a happy one. Stay safe out there, pray a lot and take care of your neighbor. Peace.

Aaah Tuesday; welcome back Tuesday. Ya’ got to feel a little sorry for Tuesday. It’s just a day and bears little significance beyond somebody using it to sell tacos. It’s not a dreaded Monday nor is it a “Hump Day” Wednesday.  It is just kind of stuck there doing nothing. So, —- let’s give it up for Tuesday.

Today is the 71st birthday of the United States Air Force. I just realized that I’m three years older than the Air Force. That makes me feel old. And now the President of the United States has ordered the creation of a Space Force. The world is passing me by. I’m not sure what this new Space Force is supposed to do but in my humble opinion it changes the nature and balance of “something” simply because our space exploration, (or current lack of it) has now become militarized. I don’t know where that takes us but it is a bit scary don’t you think?

The remnants of Hurricane Florence still continues to wreak havoc. There were tornadoes in West Virginia and in North Carolina yesterday I think the death toll is now over twenty. Therivers continue to rise and neighborhoods and roads and lives are being wiped out. Rescue workers and aid workers are doing what they can but in so many regions, help simply cannot get there yet. Daughter Lisa and family are still good and are back to work but they readily admit that they are fully blessed. The affected areas will be months and maybe years recovering. Unfortunately, once the immediate crisis is over, the help will dry off. . I’ve seen that happen so often.

If I would get out of my recliner and get ready, we plan to go to the apple orchard and either pick some apples or maybe just buy some. We need to do it soon though because it is going to get hot again today; ninety-one is the prediction.  And I don’t want to be out there in that temp and humidity.

Having said that, I guess I will drop off and get myself cleaned up. Have a blessed day and know that you have been prayed for today. God always watches over you and loves you as if you were His only child. Peace.

Hello Monday Morning! Life looks a bit different today than it did last Monday to us. I don't see a Gulf of Mexico; I don't see any seagulls. no beach, and no beignets for breakfast. Sigh!!! I guess that means that our vacation really is over and it is time to get back to work.

I've been in contact with my daughter Lisa in North Carolina and they are trying to get back to normal with the remnants of Hurricane Florence still raining on them. She and Gary and Matt have gone back home and all is well with the exception of some yard debris. She went to work this morning even though she may have had to do a little route changing to get past some of the flood waters. The storm has moved on and is a "tropical depression" by now but the rain has not stopped. More and more highways are washing out and travel is dangerous. And yet --- people still drive through flood waters. It makes zero sense to me.

I'm praying for a better week for all of my girls this week. Lisa had Hurricane Florence to deal with; Julie got knocked down by a terrible cold and couldn't even talk, and Heather was rear-ended n a four car pile up. She wasn't hurt beyond being sore but the car has over $4K worth of damage to it. Hopefully everyone can be in recovery mode this week.

I had to make a trip back to Wild Birds Unlimited on Saturday. I was out of some of my special stuff so I took my hundred dollar bill out shopping and it came home terribly thin. But, the birds are happy. The leaves are really starting to fall now. My Pussy Willow tree from which I hang several of my feeders is almost totally bare. I bought another feeder while I was shopping. A couple of mine have really gotten worn out. The squirrels do a number on them sometimes and once in a while I lose one because a raccoon has carried it off. I found one the other day that I had been looking for. It was all the way around the side of the house. I've been eyeing another feeder set up I want to purchase but I need to do so re-arranging of a flower bed first. The spot I have in mind is the only spot in the back yard where the squirrels can't jump on it. Or at least that is what I'm telling myself. But, it is going to take a bunch of work t prepare the spot.

I didn't have any visitors this morning while I was in the sun porch. It was early and I guess the gang wasn't up and around just yet. We do still have a couple of hummingbird and hey are eating a lot these days in preparation for their migration. Many of the birds are in the fields now eating barbecue harvest is in full swing. Everywhere we go we are seeing combines out there either gathering soybeans or picking corn. Predictions are that Indiana should have a bumper crop again this year. I hope they do. I have a lot of farmer friends and in fact, have a few acres of corn out there myself that my cousin Allen farms for us.

That is it for today. I pray your week has started off in god stead. Pray for those still being affected by the Hurricane. Have a most blessed day.

It is Saturday afternoon so let’s catch up shall we. It has been an eventful time; —- not particularly exciting, but eventful.

Thursday morning we took off from Biloxi and our beautiful hotel room and handed north towards home. we didn’t hve any particular plans other than to head towards home. Well the travel was good and the weather was just right and we just ep on driving. Twelve hours later we were pulling into our driveway at 2100 hours. We were dead tired but we did at least unload the car. W still don’t have everything put away. Thursday evening is also when Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina. As I think you know, I have a daughter living in Goldsboro, NC with her family. They were well prepared and had hunkered down to weather the storm.

Yesterday morning I got up and went to the church to help Pastor Art out with the funeral he was doing for one f our parishioners. After that, I stayed for the meal and even packed a “doggie bag” for Ms. Kate. She had stayed home from the funeral and was doing laundry, mopping floors, emptying bags and suitcases etc. After she finished her lunch, we hit the recliners and took a nap. Nap time being over, I went to get a haircut only to find that my barbershop was closed for vacation. So, I’ve put that off until Monday or so. Ms. Kate saidI don’t yet look shaggy, although I feel like I do. I went from there to H&H music store to check on a couple of things. First of all I’m thinking I need a “cushioned rimmed” mouthpiece for my trumpet. They didn’t have any and suggested that I bring my trumpet in and try some of their “test” mouthpieces to make sure they ordered me the right size. While I was there I did a little research for purchasing a new keyboard for the chuch. We need a new one because the old one is exactly that —- old. We need a full 88 keys keyboard instead of the 66 keys one that we currently have. Our organist and piano players run out of keys to lay during a song and have to adjust. I found a couple of them and they are on sale. So, I have asked the organist to go by H&H first thing next week and look at them and try them out. If she likes what she sees, I’ll contact the council and try to get them to give us the money to buy it. I’m fairly certain they will agree.

Today we got busy and took our toxic waste product to the annual “Tox-away Day drive. From there we went to Nellies for breakfast/brunch; then to the grocery store, and now we are back home again and have hit the recliners again. I still have to fill bird feeders yet today as they are all empty. And, I need to re-read my sermon for tomorrow so I can get in my mind how I want to deliver it. I don’t practice them out loud per se’, but I do read them over several times after I have written them.

Lisa and family have lost power along with a half a million other people in North and South Carolina; but they remain safe and dry and so far have had no damage. The hurricane has been downgraded to a tropical depression for wind purposes but they have a lot more rain coming to them yet. I just give thanks to God that they are safe.

That’s it —- you are now caught up on what is happening from the sunporch. Have a blessed weekend and and take time to worship the God that has filled your life with blessing all this week. Peace.

It is Wednesday afternoon and that means that our vacation is drawing to a close rather rapidly. Tomorrow morning we will close up the suitcases, have the valet bring up the car and head north towards Indiana and reality. It has been a really relaxing vacation. We haven’t done much of anything except find some good places to eat, go to a coupe of casinos, sit in our room and watch the shoreline and enjoy the sunshine and read. We had talked about going to New Orleans and having some good beignets and maybe some oysters on the half shell at the Acme Oyster House but —— nah, we changed our minds. We brought along our beach shoes and our chairs to sit it on the beach and soak our toes in the water, but —— nah; that didn’t happen. It has been hot and muggy most of the time we have been here. So, we have just rested and played, and read.

 Brought along a Stephen King book of short stories that Julie gave me two years ago for Father’s Day and I finally got round to reading it. I think I will be able to finish it tonight so it can finally go on the shelf when I get home instead of on the table beside my sunporch recliner where it has sat since she gave it to me. Unfortunately, it hasn’t set there alone. I had four new King books stacked up there. Two of them are half read. Fortunately, I have the ability to pick either of them up and start where I left off and be immediately back in the story. Sometimes I may have to back up a couple of pages, but never more than that. Too bad I couldn’t do that “back in the day” in high school math.

The one downside of our vacation has been that yesterday I was woken early by my phone with a text that one of our parishioners had passed away. I have been back on the job for eight months now and we haven’t lost anyone but sure as I take a vacation, someone dies. It seems to be that way. This was not an unexpected death and I am glad that the man is no longer suffering in any form. He was a truly dedicated church member and a true worker for The Lord. It does however, validate the churches decision to have Art and I as co-pastors of the church. At. My former parish I would have felt that I needed to terminate my vacation or a “stranger” would have had to do the memorial. This way he is being buried by a pastor that he knew and that the family knows. The viewing will be tomorrow evening and the memorial/funeral will be on Friday morning. I’m sure Pastor Art will do an excellent job. He’s been marrying and burying folks a lot longer than I have.

Things have been going so very well at the church. We are gaining new members, and we are completing projects that have been on the books as a “some day” project for several years. People are seemingly very happy as a Faith Family and for the first time in many years there isn’t any strife and struggle going on. It is a great time to belong to our particular church. That being said, —- people tend to either credit the pastor when things are going well or blame the pastor when things aren’t going well. As I have said before, Art and I are supposed to be interim pastors while the search committee does its job. Maybe they are doing more than I think they are but I’m not hearing any forward motion in that area. What I have heard is;  “no need to fix something that isn’t broken”. Sigh,  I may be employed longer than I had planned. But —- it is all good because I’m loving life and honored at the chance to share the Gospel.

Alright my friends. It may be Friday or Saturday before I’m back on. Stick with me and wish us safe travels on the way home. Also pray for all of the folks along the eastern seaboard as Hurricane Florence bears down on them. Peace.

Tuesday afternoon and I'm sitting in my VIP Suite on the twenty sixth floor of the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, MS having a cup of coffee. I'm over looking the Gulf and the pool below me. There are "squadrons" of four pelicans flying way below me. It is a beautiful day. Least night it rained pretty good most of the night and this morning it was muggy as it could be first thing. We checked out of the Courtyard Hotel, drove around for awhile and found a restaurant that I had been looking for. It is called Le' Cafe' Beignet. We found where it was located the last time we were down here and they had moved. But the lady currently operating a business in that location told us where to go. So that was breakfast.

From there we went to find a place to get some AA batteries. The battery in my computer mouse died last night and I didn't have any spares. So we drove around until I found a grocery store and I picked some up. After that we went to The Golden Nugget Casino and played for a couple of hours, and I came out a whole thirty two cents ahead. By then it was time to be able to check in here. We'll be here until Thursday morning and then we head back toward home.

For family news --- Heather was in a four car pile up in California and her car is banged up front and rear. Of course the guy that caused the accident didn't have any insurance. Luckily, she wasn't hurt  beyond being sore. That's my west coast kid. On the east coast, Lisa, Gary and the family are tying everything down and getting ready to get hit full force by Hurricane Florence. They have a lovely brick home that should provide good safety, however, the acre yard she lives on has thirty two 100' pine trees on it. Hurricane force winds could make that pretty dicey. So, they are making their plans and coordinating with Gary's mom and sister and nephews to keep everybody safe. The could get as much as 20" of rain with this thing too. So, I'm asking for prayers all around. No doubt there will be property destruction with the hurricane but I pray that no lives are lost.

There are boats going back and forth and jet skis too out there just below. I've also seen dolphins playing out there. I would love to be out there on a jet ski. I have wanted to ride one of those for a long time. But -- I think this old dog better stick to the tricks he knows.

That's it for today. Have a blessed day. Remember the sacrificed lived from 17 years ago on 9/11 and pray we never have to experience anything like that again. Peace.

Monday afternoon and we're in Gulfport MS still. It has been a wonderful vacation so far. I enjoy sitting and watching what is going on out on the beach although to be honest, there isn't much really going on. The beach has been fairly deserted most everywhere we go. It s a far cry from a California beach. I still haven't actually been out on the beach at all. I've tried to get Ms. Kate to go walk with me on the beach but so far, no luck.

Yesterday we drove west to St. Louis Bay, MS for dinner. There is a place called Trapani's Eatery that we have eaten at one time before and loved the food. So, while we were down here we put it on our bucket list of places to eat at again. It didn't disappoint. It was right at dusk and there was a storm brewing to the southwest over the Gulf. We ate out on the patio and had a nice breeze come in and keep it very comfortable. We had our meal and then headed back to Gulfport and missed out on ay rain they might have had.

Today I took Ms. Kate to the outlets and she went shopping at the Coach Store. She bought a couple of new Coach purses. It was hard to believe she actually found a color that she didn't have. Then we went to Walmart to return a couple of blouses she bought yesterday, From there we went to the Island View casino for lunch. We had a really great lunch and of course there was too much. So we boxed up half of each of our sandwiches and brought them back to the room. Maybe we'll have them yet tonight as our supper.

Tomorrow is September 11th, 2018 and it has been seventeen years America was attacked by Islamic radicals by flying two planes into the World Trade Center Twin Towers, killing 3500 people. I distinctly remember standing in my family room, glued to the television, unable to believe what I was seeing. The sad thing is that I just watched the national news and the local news and not a single word has been said about it. How sad is that?

Take time tomorrow to remember those we lost to hate. Pray for peace.

Friday night and we are in Gulfport Mississippi. We had a non-eventful four hour drive down from Tuscaloosa, AL. and arrived around 1500 hours. We've checked into our hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott and are about 300 yards from the Gulf of Mexico.

It didn't take me too long to over stuff myself with seafood. We went out for supper and I ordered the steamed shrimp plate plus a cup of gumbo. It is very seldom that I get a plate of shrimp that is too big for me. But, there must have been a minimum of thirty-six shrimp on that plate, plus red-skinned potatoes, and fried okra. I am gorged and that was three hours ago. There will be no snacking tonight for sure.

I walked across the street to the sidewalk that they have running along the Gulf. It was very pleasant out there and a slight breeze was blowing. The tide was way out and there were just a few people that had walked out to where the water was. I think tomorrow morning I will picked up a breakfast roll and a cup of coffee and walk over to the beach and relax for awhile. Hopefully it won't be raining.

I've talked to folks back home and they say that they are having torrential rain and storms. That is the remnants of the storm that was here a few days ago. So, Ms. Kate and I have basically missed this thing all around. Hopefully it will stay that way.

That's it for tonight. We've arrived safely and the fun has begun. Peace.

Thursday evening and Ms. Kate and I are in Tuscaloosa, AL for the night.  We left home about 1000 this morning as we set off on vacation. It was a tough seven hour drive to get here. The traffic was terrible in Nashville whe we wet through which. Didn’t expect on a Thursday. But — slow and steady did the trick. Ms, Kate is a great navigator. We had to dodge rain, some of it heavy as we made our way this far. That is remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon as it makes its way north. But, the majority of the trip was fine. Tomorrow morning we’ll have breakfast here at the hotel and then had out. The end of the line is in Gulfport MS. We’re spending a week there doing nothing much beyond relaxing. That’s what vacations are all about right. Not being familiar with the area  have ordered delivery from a local pizza place It should be here shortly.

Well, pizza and calzone and a salad were delivered and they were just “alright”. The place advertised itself as a brick oven. I’ve eaten some really good brick oven pizza when I was in Italy and I’ll tel you in a moment that this pizza and calzone didn’t come close. But, it met the requirement for supper.

Now it is time to watch Mountian Man and rest awhile. I’ll get back to you tomorrow afternoon. Have a great night. Peace.

Tuesday, September 4th. Labor Day has come, been enjoyed, and is now in the history book and rolled up in the ball that never stops. Did you ever wonder what happens to time that has passed? Is it collecting to be used in another universe once that universe has been created? Is it like a book that we have read and now it just lays there on some extra-dimensional shelf of which we are not aware? Just a random thought this morning to get your Tuesday under way.

It is another hot and sultry day. Yesterday it was ninety-four degrees and sunshine wall to wall and today is a total repeat and tomorrow is supposed to be the same too. By Thursday it is supposed to be cooler and we are supposed to be getting some rain as a result of a tropical storm that is coming up through the Gulf of Mexico today. In fact it is going directly through the area where we plan to be vacationing starting Friday. Hopefully there will be no damage to the area.

Julies came over yesterday for a visit. It has been a few weeks since they have been over and Julie is starting what she calls “haunting” season. She works as a character in one of Louisville Kentucky’s haunted houses and has done so for several years now. The girl lives to do this even though it totally exhausts her because she also works full time and is going to college. Add to her load the fact that she has RA and poor health and lives in a state of exhaustion. Her answer is; ‘there will be plenty of time to sleep when I’m dead”. But, we’ve had a great visit and now we won’t see them until Thanksgiving.

I need to take Ms. Kate to a doctor’s appointment today. Then I think we need to go to the grocery store and put a few items back on the shelves here at home. We’ll get milk if we can get some with an expiration date of after we get back home on the 14th of September. I’ll probably also refill the bird feeders late today. I filled them yesterday but the starlings are going through it pretty fast.

That’s about it for today. My writing will be fairly on and off for the next ten days while I’m on vacation. So, ifI do miss a few days, please be patient and check on me. In the mean time, let’s pry for one another and let’s enjoy the blessings God has and will continue to provide. Peace.

September 1st, 2018; wow, I guess summer is done isn’t it? Monday is Labor Day and if I were still a Squardon or Group Commander in the Air Force, I would be working on my presentation for Commander’s Call. During Commander’s Call, I would be congratulating my personnel for making it through the summer without getting a DUI, or having an accident and hurting themselves either on the road or at home. It would mean that my Memorial Day safety briefing had been effective. The military keeps tabs on such things. I recall far too many times over the years that one of my people would do somethng stupid like get picked up DUI or worse, get killed from having an accident and I’d have to explain at all levels what safety briefing they had received because as aa commander, we were responsible for their behavior 24/7. There are a lot of things that I miss about the military but that isn’t one of them.

It has been aa really busy morning out in the Backyard Buffet. I had a flock of about fifteen or so starlings come in and take over the feeders. They are such nasty birds. They constantly fight amongst themselves to get at feeders and they push and peck at other birds. They grab food by the chunk and lose half of it on the ground. The they get in the birdbaths and splash the water everywhere. The after they have wreaked havoc for ten or twenty minutes, they fly way in unison. Now they will be gone for maybe an our and return to star all over again. Now it is the sparrows timee to fight over the bird bath and splash and splash. Ya’ see why I don’t get anything done in the mornings?

We had a fun tie at lunch yesterday with Bob and Brenda. I told you how it would go but Brenda blew the scenario by not ordering chili. She had a chicken sandwich instead. I told her she had broken tradition and she said she lives on the wild side once in a while. Oh well, —- good help is hard to find sometimes.

That’s’s aout it for this Saturday morning. It’s gong to be a hot day and a humid day but I need to do some work out side. I’ll just take my time and do or not do as I see fit. I the mean time, I wish you a happy weekend and a safe one. Now you have had your safety briefing!  Peace.