It’s New Year’s Eve! Can you believe it? We are but hours away from the year 2020. I find that amazing. As a kid I never imagined that I’d see the year 2020 because that was soooo far away and sooooo far in the future. And if I did see 2020 we would be traveling back and forth to the moon and other planets and stuff. But here we are, on the brink of a new decade and frankly, —-not much has really changed. Certainly people and society have changed for the worse. When I was a kid it was unheard of to walk into stores and churches and schools and gun down innocent people for no reason. When I was a kid, we knew we were either a boy or a girl and we knew God had made us to be that way. Our parents weren’t confused as to which sex their child was either, When I was a kid I was held accountable for my actions. I was taught manners and respect for my parents, my neighbors, my teachers, the law, and my country. We were taught to do what was good for society. Today it seems, we are too focused on individual wants; — not needs or rights, — wants. And the world I see approaching  will continue to be filled with hate, and greed unless we can turn ourselves around and look toward God instead looking in the mirror to see the most important person in our life. How was that for a gloomy end of the year paragraph??

On the other hand!!!! —- As I said in my sermon on Sunday, I also see a blank canvas in front of me. God has laid out 365 brand new days for me to paint the best picture I possibly can. There are 385 days of opportunities for me to make a difference in the world around me. Every dayI will have a brand new day to treat people kindly. Everyday I will have a chance to show respect to others, to do something for someone, to bring the word of Jesus Christ to someone, and to be the example of God’s love to the world around me. That my friends, is an exciting challenge isn’t it. Now, some of you who read this may not in fact be Christian and that doesn’t in any way diminish your opportunities to be a decent human being. The Ten Commandments of the Hebrew Bible were written many decades and centuries before Jesus came to earth. If you simply and truly follow those, you can and will be an excellent citizen of society. I urge you though to take the next step and read and accept the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus adds love and grace and mercy to the Ten Commandments. Love and grace and mercy received from God Almighty and shared with your fellow human beings will open up a world of joy that seems impossible.

I didn’t start out to write aa sermon this morning. BUt it looks like maybe I did. I hope you have a wonderful 2020 and I hope it starts out a whole decade of blessings. Enjoy those blessings and share them. Peace.

It is a cloudy 55 degree morning and the Backyard Buffet looked like a busy airport this morning. Of course the starlings have come in force but so has a flock of Robins, lots of finches, a few cardinals, and woodpeckers. Add to that squirrels and aa couple of rabbits out there too. What all of that tells me is that the weather is going to turn nasty and cold again. We have had about ten days of beautiful weather that isn’t even close to what our Decembers should be. But the rain (lots of it) is supposed to come in yet today trough tomorrow and then the cold weather starts gain new e get back to daily highs of hopefully at least forty degrees.

Ms. Kate’s foot isn’t any better and I think we have come to the conclusion that she has Gout. Gout is an arthritic condition that can come on suddenly and is extremely painful. I’ve only known a couple of people that have ever complained of gout but I remember that they were absolutely miserable. Of course it is a weekend and the doctor’s office is closed. So, we have cancelled any weekend plans that we may have planned and she will just sit here and take her Tylenol, and hopefully she can get in to see her doctor on Monday. She has been sleeping on the couch and in the chair because she can’t stand to have the foot up or to have the sheet touch the effected area. That is very typical of the gout symptoms.

We have the ingredients around here to make turkey noodle soup so I think I will try and put that together today. I am not a cook by any stretch of the imagination but with some good coaching and direction from Ms. Kate it should turn out fine. I love soups of most any kind and Ms. Kate makes soup better than anyone I know. Her best soups are generally ”cream” soups like clam chowder Nd asparagus soup etc. So, with me following her directions, we’ll give it a go and she wwon’t have to get on her feet.

I have my sermon all ready for tomorrow. It is hard to believe that I’m preaching my last sermon of 2019. I have three sermons to preach at my current church i January and then I move to the new parish I have already started working on my services and sermons for February. The big change is that now I preach every other Sunday and up there I’ll be preach every Sunday at two churches. It wil be aa lot more work. But, I love it and I volunteered for it. And God will get me through it if it is meant to be.

With that in mind, I’m gone for today. Have a blessed weekend.

Friday morning of Christmas week. So far our morning highlight has been watching the Roomba work that Julie and Jim gave us for Christmas. I had to go get it unstuck at least three times. Nothing like hearing your Robot vacuum saying “Help me, Help me!”  LOL.  So much for artificial intelligence taking over the world.

I had to take Ms. Kate to the Orthopedic Immediate Care clinic yesterday. She has something wrong with her foot but we don’t really know what. They weren’t a lot of help either. They took X-rays of her painful area and the X-rays showed that nothing was broken or cracked or chipped; but that doesn’t explain the pain she still has. They put her in a foot brace and told her to take Tylenol. So far, we don’t have any improvement. But it has been less than 24 hours since the visit so we will see. The pain isn’t constant, but when it comes, it is severe. On the way home from the clinic, we stopped at our doctor’s office and she had her bloodwork done. This morning they called with the results that her Pro-Time was out of whack  and she has to lay off of that medicine for three days. Pro-time is a blood thinner. Maybe that being out of whack is causing the pain???? So, I’ve gotten the walker out for her and we have kind of traded place in taking care of one another. It’s only fair. She has been watching after me since February.

We are still have unseasonably warm weather here.Today I think it is supposed to get to sixty. Our normal December weather should be maybe the upper forties. But —- the weather dudes say that we will be back to our forties starting next week. I guess this was just a fluke to set us all up for colds and pneumonia.  

That’s all I have for you today my friends. Have a blessed weekend.

Christmas has come and Christmas has gone and so have Julie and Jim and the pups. Ms. kate and I are back to our “normal”, whatever that might be. What I ow is that it is quiet once again in the house. There is no hustle and bustle and pups needing to be let in or let back out. And blissfully, the Hallmark Channel sappy movie channel isn’t playing on the television. I think that channel played steady for the past four days. It’s okay but, every story is the exact same with just different characters, but not necessarily different actors. LOL But they are “feel good movies” and the scenery is always good. So, only fifty-one more weeks until they start playing those shows again.

Our Christmas Eve service went very well. The Chancel choir and the Bell choir did an excellent job, and the place was full. We got to the church about twenty five minutes before the service started and I had to park way in the back of the lot. It was wonderful!!! Lots of family and visitors were in attendance. I don’t know how many folks were there but I suspect we passed the 100 mark.

As is usual, —- Ms. Kate fixed an excellent Christmas lunch for us. The kids had complained at Thanksgiving that we had not fixed turkey so Ms. Kate was determined that we were going to have turkey for Christmas. She had turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes, hot rolls, corn, oyster dressing, freshly made cherry/rhubarb jelly for the rolls, and she even made an extra non-oyster dressing for Julie who doesn’t like oysters. We sent some home with the kids but we have a lot left for us to have for left-overs, for which I am glad. And, she did all of this while hobbling around on a very sore foot and using a cane. I helped her but I don’t get around as well as I used to so we looked like old people hobbling and wobbling around the kitchen. Today, I have to “put my leg on”. I didn’t wear my brace at all yesterday which was dumb on my part. Today I can tell it. By last evening, I was hunched over with my walking and that of course makes my back hurt. Yeh, nobody accuses me of being smart.

I don’t know what she did to her foot but it is swollen and very sore at the first joint where the big toe connects to the foot. She dropped something on it a few days ago and it has gotten more and more sore every day. So, we have a message in to our doctor and hopefully she can get in and have it evaluated today.

This morning, we are just lazing around here. Ms. Kate didn’t sleep all that well last night due to her foot so she is in her chair dozing on and off. We have talked bout maybe going to the movies today to see the new Star War’s movie. However, I don’t think she will be able to do the stairs in the theater, so maybe we’ll just stay home and hope the doctor’s office can work her in for an evaluation. The movie can wait until the hype all dies down and the kids are not on school vacation.

In the meantime, I’m headed to the shower and getting myself cleaned up. I hope your Christmas spirit last you all the way through 2020. Have a blessed day.

Happy Christmas Eve!!! It is going to be a warm and beautiful one around our neck of the woods. In fact we may even break a temperature record since it is supposed to go above sixty something degrees today. I love it even though it is far from normal.

We were expecting Julie and Jim here around lunch time today. They will be here until some time tomorrow afternoon They have to both work on the 26th so it makes for a short visit again. But, we’lll love every minute we get with them. But, I just got a text from them saying that she blew a tire and her spare is flat so they are waiting on road side assistance and then they need to go get a new tire. So at the moment we are conversing as to whether they are sitting along side the road and can I come get them or anything? Bless their hearts. This not the way to start a trip.

Today is Ms. Kate’s 72nd birthday. Every year that she has another birthday I give God thanks.  Back in 1993 she had two heart attacks and a double by-pass surgery. God granted us another 26 years together. Fifteen years ago she had a stroke that could easily have killed her but again God touched His healing hand on her and we have had fifteen years of blessings. So, I give God thanks every time she wakes up to another day. I can’t imagine my life without her. I can’t begin to imagine what my life would be like today had she not been with me all of these years. This year it was my turn and I took a fall that could have easily have killed me. But once again God stepped in and am alive and well to celebrate this birthday with her. God is the ultimate creator and sustainer of life. And, God has a master plan for each of us if we will just follow it. Obviously there are things that she and I individually and as a couple have yet to accomplish. So, Happy Birthday Ms. Kate. It is a blessing to be living and loving with you.

Tonight is our Christmas Eve candlelight and communion service. I hope it will be well attended. It is one of my favorite services of the year. And the weather will be perfect for folks to get out and about.
Of course that means that Christmas is tomorrow. I hope and pray that your Christmas will be fully blessed with the spirit of the Christ child. May God bless you and keep you. May God rest His countenance upon you throughout the coming year. Peace, Shalomn.

Happy Saturday the 21st of December. It is a happy day for our family; we celebrate our youngest daughter’s birthday. I think it is her 48th. Gosh, in another couple of years, all of our daughters will be a half a century old! What does that make Ms. Kate and me —- Ancient??? Lisa though is our official “bringer of winter” since her birthday falls on the Winter Solstice. So, if you have cold nasty weather with snow and ice, you know who to look to. LOL

My backyard Buffet guests are fairly happy this morning. I filled the sunflower seed feeders yesterday afternoon and I also filled the safflower seed feeder so the cardinals should be very happy. There is a squirrel on each of two of the sunflower seed feeders and they will  hog those feeders for at least an hour and there will be squirrel battles as other squirrels try to move in. I didn’t fill the bark butter bits feeders because I knew they would be the target of the starlings all morning and right ow I have the starlings working on suet cakes. I told you I had a feeder that holds four suet cakes tha they were fighting over yesterday. Two of the cakes are completely gone by now and the other two are a lot smaller than they were. I bought two cases (24 packages) of suet yesterday. It a relatively cheap product to buy and the birds love it. It is a high energy food which is good for them in the winter. I also picked up a 20# bag of safflower seed because I could get it on sale. That will last me probably through January. Trying to keep up with my Backyard Buffett practically needs me to develop a spreadsheet of who like what and when to buy it. I filled up my sunflower seed can a couple of weeks ago and it is down about a fourth. I think I’ve told you I go through between 700 and 800 pounds of sunflower seed a year. My guests are completely spoiled but they return a lot of enjoyment for the cost of all of that.

Well, the country is still in turmoil as the Speaker of the House hasn’t sent the articles of impeachment over to the Senate for trial. And now everyone has gone home for Christmas vacation and won’t return for business until January 6th of 2020. I sometimes think I’d rather have a job cleaning outhouses with a spoon than to be a congressman. The product they put out is about the same but at least I would have honest work and I’d be doing the job I was actually hired to do. You know, I honesty believe that the vast majority of our elected officials go into the job with honest, well meaning intentions. But it doesn’t take long for the particanship, and quid pro-quo to set in and the ideals and morality get tossed aside and the only thing they seem to work for is their re-election. But enough of my thoughts on politics. I’m not nearly as informed as other people soI’ll just stick to whatI know —- Prayer and faith that God will not let us destroy ourselves or this wonderful country.

It’s time for a coffee refill. Y’all have a most wonderful weekend.  Shalomn.

A glorious morning to you. We slept in this morning because we sat up and watched some Food Network baking competitions until 0100 this morning. Itwasn’t that we really cared who won, I guess we just weren’t ready to go to bed yet. Of course, at 0800 we were ready to get up yet either so we lazed until about 0830 today. But, we’re retired old people, well one of us is retired,  and I reckon we can sleep in if we want to.

It has been an interesting morning at the Backyard Buffet. There are two squirrels on a thin branch in the Maple tree just across my west fence. I don’t know if they are fighting or doing a mating ritual. (I don’t mind watching their antics but I’m not going to read the squirrel sex manual.) With all of the batting around and jumping around, I don’t know how the branch doesn’t break or they don’t fall off. But the one squirrel has been taking on all other squirrels for battle to keep them way from the squirrel it has been sitting with. But then, all of the squirrels have been bonkers this morning chasing one another all through the trees and up and down my trees and over my roof and back again. .

Not to be outdone, the starlings have been here this morning en masse. I’ve had a flock of about 18 here this morning. I didn’t fill the feeders yesterday so most everything is empty. But I have a feeder that holds four suet cakes and they have been all over it. They fight and squabble and land on top of one another and peck at one another. They peck at the suet and they lose a lot of it on the ground. It doesn’t get wasted though because a bunch of them are on the ground scooping up what gets knocked off and lost. They are truly “flocking birds” because suddenly they will all take off and fly away. The slowly the scouts will come back and the next thing you know, they are all back again. You have most likely seen that same kind of action on wildlife shows where suddenly huge flock of ducks or flamingos will just suddenly all take off together and slowly return to wha they were doing. So now, —- the starlings are gone and the little woodpeckers are here at the suet feeders and looking like “What the heck happened to the food?” Don’t worry, there is still plenty out there for them. It is 35 degrees out there at the moment. When it hits 40, I’ll throw on my jacket and go feed all my babies.

We are five days away from Christmas. Are you excited? Do you plan to attend a Christmas Eve service. I hope you do. We’ll do a communion and candlelight service again this year, The bell choir will play Nd we’ll sing Silent Night in the candlelit sanctuary and it will be beautiful and heart-warming. Please take advantage  of the opportunity to go give thanks to God for the greatest gift of all time; the presence of His Son, Jesus. For what God has done for all of us, it is the very least we can do to take a couple of hours and humble ourselves before Him..

Have a blessed Friday.

Happy 22 degrees Thursday morning. At least it is just cold. There is no snow and starting around noon a warm front is moving in and for a change, it will be a dry one. I know there will be a lot of disappointed people because not only are we not going to have a “white Christmas”, it is going to be over 50 degrees. Yay us!!!! The great part about that is that we won’t have to worry about people driving through snow and ice to get to the Christmas Eve service.

I try to stay away from politics in my comments and sermons, and writing but I must vet for aa moment about what happened in this country yesterday. For the third time in our history as a country, the congress has voted to impeach the President of the United States. They have spent the last three month in a sham bunch of hearings that have cost the American tax payer over $42 million dollars just to “legalize” a foregone conclusion because the Democratic Party has the majority vote in the House of Representatives. They have gone through a litany of things they wanted to prove he did and have proved none of them and finally have voted to impeach him because he won’t play their game and they don’t like him. They basically started this process an hour after he was elected as President back in 2016. Next, it will move to the Senate where the Republicans have the majority and they will vote to keep him in office and the results is that our elected officials will have not accomplished a thing for the past three years. In the history of this country, never has so much hate rhetoric been spewed across the country and the media. 2020 is the year that we will once again elect a presidential candidate and this entire thing has been about making sure that he doesn’t get re-elected. I think he will be re-elected, in fact I hope is does. I may not like some of the things he does; he tends to act like a spoiled brat with all of his ranting on Twitter, but the country is in the best shape it has been in decades. But —- whatever your politics, I would ask that you pray for our leadership and our country.

It appears that I need to fill bird feeders today when it warms up a little. The Backyard Buffet has a lot of visitors this morning looking for food and the cupboards are pretty bare. That’s thanks to the starlings that have been coming in waves and cleaning out everything.

Time to move on. We have a few things to accomplish today once again. Have a blessed Thursday. Peace.

There is white stuff all over our ground and roofs this morning. However, it isn’t on the roads so I appreciate the “convenient” snow. And, — the sun is coming out now so that will help to eliminate the white stuff rather quickly. I certainly cannot complain. Much of the country is having terrible snow storms in the north and yesterday there were tornadoes in the south. So, we were very lucky with this storm despite all of the cold rain we had yesterday.

I have a lot of visitors at the Backyard Buffet this morning although most frequent are the starlings. I have a couple of squirrels out there and they are really “puffed up” and looking fat. The wind or breeze makes this 32 degrees feels more like 15. The birds are all puffed up too. The doves look like little grey puffballs walking around in the snow covered ground. I’ve had a few cardinals here and a wren or two as well s a few finches. Earlier I had a mockingbird here and it took on a couple of starling for a food fight. The starlings lost that battle. LOL

Ms. Kate is baking cookies this orning. Yesterday she mixed up several batches of dough, Springerlies and what we call “Georgia Ann’s Cookies”. They are an oatmeal cookie with nuts and stuff and they are a crispy cookie and they are delicious. I had some of them for my supper last night. Springerlies are a family tradition and it can’t be Christmas without them. I did ask Ms. Kate to not go overboard with cookie making this year because I know that I would eat 90% of them and I don’t need to do that. So I think this will be it for variety. She did say that she will need to make more of the oatmeal cookies because she has at least four people to make a plate of cookies up for.

Our cantata went very well on Sunday and the service was very well attended. We had 86 in church Sunday. I expect this Sunday will see the pews filled too. The children will be doing their Christmas program during the Sunday school hour and we have a baptism happening during the worship service. So, with two “special events” I expect we will have close to 100 people this Sunday. It is always wonderful to see the church pews full. I finished my sermon and service for January 19th last night. I have one more sermon to put together before I move on to the next parish on the first Sunday of February. 2019 still has three weeks to go and I’m already working on 2020 stuff. It is no wonder I never know where I am.

That is enough for today. I’ve set here long enough and I have things to get done today. Have a blessed week. Peace.

Good morning in this Friday the 13th. Can I just tell you that I am glad to be home and in my recliner in my sunporch!! Vacations are great but it is always so good to get home, sleep in your own bed, and settle in to your routine. Now of course we have to play catch up with all of the stuff we have to do but that is all good too. It’s normal and it’s routine. And —- my cup of coffee I brewed myself, tastes wonderful. I didn’t have to go to a restaurant and buy it, I did’t have to sit at a slot machine and wait for a “free” cup of coffee, I just walked to the kitchen, turned on the pot and had a fresh cup of coffee within five minutes. Life is good.

We checked out of our hotel in Las Vegas at 1100 yesterday, had breakfast, then went to the Bellagio Resort to see the beautiful Christmas decorations. Then we turned in the rental car, caught the shuttle to the airport and got through the TSA security process with little to no hassle. Then we sat for about three and a half hours and waited. The flight home was uneventful which is what you want a flight home to be. We arrived in Louisville around 2315 eastern time, got our luggage and headed home. We got home at 0100 central time.

The National Finals Rodeo was great. Of course we could have stayed home and watched it on CBS Sports but being there with 20,000 fans makes it “an event”.  Unfortunately for my sister-in-law Karen and I, we followed the crowd that was leaving and we went out the wrong door of the stadium and ended up on the opposite side of the stadium of where we needed to be to catch our bus back to the hotel. So, we walked and we walked, a minimum of a mile and a half, probably two, not really knowing where we were going but only with a “general idea”. We knew the direction we needed to be and finally got to the Hard Rock Casino and took a cab from there. I was totally worn out. That was more walking than I had done in a long time and frankly more than I want to do any time soon. Had we known exactly where we were going and had decided to walk “on purpose” it would not have been as bad; but the stress of the situation added to the misery. But —- chalk it all up to the adventure and we two 75 year olds made it just fine.

So today we unpack the suitcases and put those away for awhile. Ms. Kate wants to finish decorating the tree, I have to get the Christmas cards and my sister’s birthday card in the mail, and I have to write a homily for Sunday’s service yet. Sunday is our Christmas Cantata and I’m excited about that. We have choir practice tomorrow morning. (See, back in the routine.)

So, you have a most blessed weekend. Christmas is coming quickly. Take time to concentrate on the purpose of this special occasion and the fact that it is not about running around frantically for buying presents. Take time to be thankful thatGod loves you enough that He sent His Son Jesus to teach us how to live our lives here on earth and to open the only opportunity we have to have an eternal life in the presence of our Creator once this earthly life has finished. Peace.

Wednesday, noonish or so. We’re still here in Las Vegas and it has been a good trip so far. The penny machines haven’t beat me up too badly because I set a limit of how much damage I’ll take each day. When I reach that point, I walk away. I know there are most likely people that would think it terrible of me to be “gambling” but I have a slightly different approach to that. I guess I don’t feel guilty about it because I do have a limit that I play. Slot machines are not designed to let the player be the consistent winner. Four billion dollar hotels aren’t built by the customer takin all of the money. Therefore, to me it is just the price of entertainment for an evening. Sometimes I’m lucky enough to walk away with being a little ahead but most of the time I pay my dues and have a good time and then head back to my room.  

We’ve been watching the Wrangler Finals Rodeo and tonight sister-in-law Karen and I will go. They hve been exciting so far. There are cowboys and cowgirls, or at least a lot of “want-a-be’s” everywhere you look this week. Some of these folks wear more bling and expensive clothes that probably cost more than my new car. Sheesh!! But it is interesting to see it all and be a part of it all.

Tomorrow, we’ll check out of our room around noon and head to the airport and wit for our plane to head home. We are supposed to fly at 1450 hrs and that will put us into Louisville, KY around 2130 hrs. The we get back to the grind and get ready for Christmas. We still have presents to send out, cards to send out, cookies to bake, and a tree to finish decorating. Plus we’ll have an extra worship service to do on Christmas Eve. After that, life will settle down a bit as we go through New Years and into 2020. I still have one sermon to finish and another to write before I move to the new parish. So, I don’t have a lot of time to waste because there are things I need to do to prepare for the new job.

That catches you up with what we are doing. It may be Friday before I write again. Until then, I pray you will have aa blessed couple of days. Peace.

Good morning! I don't usually write on a Sunday morning but I haven't written in a couple of days, and I actually have a Sunday morning free. No, I haven't forgotten what I urge other to do on Sunday and I've already done my meditation with the Lord for the morning.

It has been a great last couple of days with the exception that Ms. Kate has been been sick with her cold still. Yesterday she spent a good deal of he day in the room resting. But, she feels a bit better today, or at least she sounds a bit better.

Heather and John came over Friday morning and we had a wonderful day visiting with them. Lauren came over later in the evening after she got off of work, but she spent the night with with one of her MX racing grirlfriends. Yesterday morning Lauren joined us at our hotel and we all had breakfast together. After that, we all went up to our hotel room and we exchanged our Christmas gifts with one another. Then, Ms. Kate stayed in the room while the rest of us went to the Ballagio Hotel to see their as always beautiful Christmas display. From there I brought Lauren back to the hotel to pick up her van so she could head out to Primm for an awards ceremony and end of the racing season banquet. She was recognized for being second best in the country for the year.

After we dropped Lauren off, the three of us went down to the South Pointe Hotel so we could walk around the cowboy shops and displays and maybe watch a rodeo event ot two. The place was packed. No parking to be found and cowboys and cowgirls and "looky-loos" everywhere. We decided to skip it. Instead, we headed north on I-15 and went out to Nellis Air Force Base. John had never seen it or even been on an Air Force Base so it was a good adventure for hime. I was the Commander of the 99th Security Forces Group at Nellis twenty years ago. I can't believe it has been that long. We went to the Base Exchange and I picked up a couple of things that I was wanting and then we drove around the base and I showed John what the base looked like including where the USAF Thunderbirds are housed. He thouroughly enjoyed his "mini-tour".

Last night we had a nice dinner together and they went back to their room over at the Venetian and we went back up to our room here in the Palazzo.

Today it is cloudy and looks like it could rain most any time. I'm not sure what if any plans we might have for today. It will all depend on how Ms. Kate is doing.

That catches you up . I hope your day is pleasant and full of joy. Peace.

Good morning from sunny Las Vegas. It is currently 43 degrees and will go up to 58 before the day is over.

We left yesterday morning for Louisville which is in a different time zone, an hour ahead of us. Our flight was to be at 1615 which meant we had to be there by 1415 for TSA security crap. We got there at 11330 local time and got checked in. We sat there for an hour or so and they bounced that our plane was going to be on a “weather-hold” when it arrived in Louisville because of bad weather in Las Vegas. We were informed that we would not be leaving until 1800 hrs.  Lots of grumbles went through the crowd of course. Then maybe fifteen minutes they changed the time again. Bottom line is that we actually left about thirty minutes after our scheduled departure tie and arrived her n Vegas at about 1800. Of course by the tie we got to baggage  claim, then to the rental car place and left, we didn’t get to our hotel until right at 1900. By then, we were both starved. We decided that we would just order in-room service. We checked the menu and found out that only the steak-house was still serving in-room. So, we ordered a steak to split, a couple of baked potatoes and a couple of soft drinks. It was delicious. In all of our years of traveling, I don’t now that we have ever ordered room service.

Ms. Kate has a cold which makes the trip miserable for her. She is taking her Muscinex so hopefully that will make the cold short-lived. I don’t think we have devised any plans for the day as of yet. We’ll just play it by ear and see how she feels. Although, my stomach is telling me it is time to give it some love. I guess I better cut this off then and make my self presentable.

I hope your day is fully blessed and is as bright as the sunshine I see out my window. Never forget, God loves you, and so do I. Peace.

29 degrees on this crisp Tuesday morning. At least it isn’t raining and the temperature will bounce all the way up to almost 45 today. That’s about normal for our area here in early December. There are a few high clouds out there but it sure is nice to see a lot of blue sky peeking through.

Early December, —- I can’t believe I’m saying that but here it is. 2019 has only 28 days of life left in it and we will begin a whole new year and a whole new decade. That is kind of exciting don’t you think. Although, you know I was born in 1944 and with this new year being 2020, that means I’m only two and a half decades from being 100 years old. I don’t think I want to live that long. By the time you turn 100 all of your friends are long dead, most likely even your kids are dead. And —- you really can’t take care of yourself and you have pretty much accomplished everything that God put you on earth to accomplish. Nah, I don’t need to live to be 100 years old.

We spent yesterday running around getting some things done before we head out on our vacation tomorrow. So far I’ve only gotten my suitcase out, I haven’t started actually packing it. We’re headed to Las Vegas and I checked the Accuweather predictions and they don’t look too bad. I think the highest temperature we will see is sixty-one and the lowest temperature will be in the low forties. That’s not bad at all. It certainly won’t be “short-sleeve weather” but heavy jackets won’t be required either. I hope we don’t come home to snow and crappy weather here. Right now most of the country is under some kind of winter weather watch and winter storm warnings. It is going to be that kind of year. I don’t have the snow blade on yet. We didn’t have time to do that when Jim was down. He and Julie are going to be down for a really quick trip I think on the 13th or 14th so maybe he will have time to help me get the blade on then. He is pretty quick with doing it. It is a lot easier to get the blade on my newest John Deere than it was the old one.

The Backyard Buffet is busy right now. Lots of cardinals and finches, titmouse, nuthatches, and of course starlings and blackbirds. The feeders are pretty empty but the yard is also very sloppy. They may have to just be on their own and clean up everything they have knocked on the ground. Then I will fill everything when I get back next week. They do depend on me having food and water here for the though. Well, they depend on the source, they have no idea how it gets there; although sometimes they sit on the branch and look this way and it makes me feel like they are blaming me and wondering whay I haven’t done my job. LOL

I haven’t been on y bike for a week and today I am going to get on and ride for awhile. We moved the bike out of the sunporch because Ms. Kate doesn’t want to ride it out here because it is too cold for her. The bike is now in the dining room and I look out the dining room window. BUt, it is what it is. I’ve alwys got my headphones on and am watching You Tube videos when I ride anyway so I guess it makes no difference.

Having said that, it is time to get busy. I pray you will have a blessed day. Peace.