It is a sunny and windy 56 degrees this morning on this last day of September 2020. The early leaves are falling like crazy this morning with the wind. I think though that it is supposed to go up to 77 today which will be pleasant. 

I filled bird feeders last evening and had a good amount of guests this morning and then we had a tragedy. One of my prettiest cardinals hit one of the heavy glass  doors Really, really hard. It was so hard that it knocked the bird back and it landed flat on its back. It may have been alright or it may have broken its neck or a wing, I don’t know, nor will I even know. It was almost instantly pounced on by the stray black cat that wanders through my yard every day. I’ve never seen that cat go after one of my birds but it constantly chases the squirrels. I’ve seen it go half way up on of my poplar trees after a squirrel. But, it is going to get to meet Mr. Red Ryder if it starts after my birds. I spend too much money on bird feed and feeders for some neighbor’s cat to be eating them. This is not a take-out service for felines. 

Ms. Kate and I went to bed really tired and sore last night. We went out to the front yard flowerbeds and did a bunch of weed pulling and trimming back of the peonies and Black-eyed Susans. We filled the trash can totally and quit for the day. Neither one of us can kneel anymore and the bending over, especially on a slope wears a person out rather quickly. I told Ms. Kate that I can’t believe that we can’t last more than a couple of hours out there any more. We sure got a lot more to do and these cool weather days are great to work in. Although, —- this morning I think I would need to put on a sweatshirt. 

This morning we are finishing up the laundry and then we need to go up to the churches and run our bulletins etc. After that, Ms. Kate has a grocery list that she wants to take care of. Hopefully it isn’t too long of a list. I know she wants to go to Meijer’s which is a large store and you walk yourself silly finding stuff. I don’t know if she is going to go in or just send me in. We shop totally different. She is really slow and if I go with her, I get tired just standing there while she figures out what she wants etc. Me, give me a list and let me go. I reckon we’ll see what the day holds. 

Did you watch the Presidential debate last night> I did not and from everything I have read today, I’m glad I didn’t. It sounds like there wasn’t a lot of intelligent conversation being had. That’s sad. 

I guess I better get myself cleaned up and get my day going. I hope your Wednesday is a really good one. Peace. 

 Don’t let that beautiful sunshine out there fool ya’. It’s cool enough to make your knickers knock. It has gotten up to 54 by now and I think that 61 is going to be the high for the day. But that is okay because I have outdoor work to do today and cool weather will be a blessing. 

We got some rain Sunday night and into yesterday and we really needed it. I have weeds and Black-eyed Susans to pull out today and the rain has moistened up the ground nicely. It should make for easier work. I tried doing a little of it a few days ago, and stuff was just breaking off and not coming up. That just leaves the roots in the ground and helps nothing. Of course when I pull up those Black-eyed Susans, they are going to drop a thousand seeds, so —- I guess it is a wash. 

Yesterday morning Ms. Kate and I spent the morning at the optometrist getting our annual check up on our eyes. Thankfully we did not come out of there having bought new glasses. But, Ms. Kate’s cataracts are getting a little more developed so we’ll have to watch that. I have a little development but noting to worry about for a few years. What I do have is “droopy eye-lids”. So I have an appointment with a specialist to take a look at that and determine if some kind of minor surgery may be needed to lift them or at least the left one up. Sometimes I have to just reach up and lift the left one because it droops in front of my eye. It’s an age thing. Getting older has so many perks and fun things that can develop and happen to you. 

I had my sermon and the service for this coming Sunday all ready to go, but Sunday night I had a thought come to me for a maybe better message for this week and I decided to save the completed sermon for next week and write a new one for this Sunday. So I went down to my office about 1500 hrs and started on this new train of thought. I finished everything up by 2130 last night. Now, I have to put together the actual service for the next weekend and I’ll be done though the 11th of October. I need to keep working ahead because I have another vacation coming up in November and we know how much work that is to get ready for. 

The new television screens we put up In the sanctuary are getting great reviews. This coming Sunday we will be starting to sing again in church and Jacob will put the songs up there on the screens so that we won’t need to even use the hymnals. I’ll be really glad when we can finally get the new camera installed. I think I’m going to start putting my IPad or my IPhone up on the pulpit with me so I can see what he is putting up on the screens. Right now, I can’t see the screens because they are on either side of me. But Jacob says that we can download the program on to my equipment and I’ll be able to see it. I’m loving this new technology. It’s not gimmicky nor does it turn the service into entertainment, but it sure does enhance the service. 

Lots to do today so I’m jumping off. Have a blessed day. Reach out and be kind to a neighbor, call a loved one, and ave a talk with God today. Your day will go so very much better. Peace. 

 Good morning on this grey somewhat warm morning. I’m just dropping by to wish you a pleasant weekend. 

I’ve been out in the sunporch for the last couple of hours, watching my Backyard  Buffet guests and reading through Facebook posts. Nothing much exciting in there for sure. Our Terminex guy came around and sprayed for mosquitos one last time for the year. I’m glad he did, I was out there feeding birds the other day and was bothered by them. I’m very lucky that they don’t seem to like my blood very much and don’t bother me a lot. Ms. Kate though can’t be out there at all hardly without getting eaten. 

It looks like it is going to rain although the forecast does not call for it. I think what we are seeing is remnants of the clouds from the last hurricane and tropical depression that hit the southern coasts. We aren’t supposed to get any rain until maybe Monday and that will only allegedly be a morning incident and then back to sunshine and cool  weather. 

I had an interesting thought tis morning. I was responding on Facebook to a letter that had been posted by my church denomination concerning the results of a grand jury investigation concerning the death of Beaonna Taylor, a young black woman who was killed by police in Louisville, KY. Her death has cause massive marches and protests, and rioting and looting and assaults and killing of law enforcement  and civilian personnel by the Black Lives Matter organization. Ms. Taylor was basically caught in the crossfire when her boyfriend shot at police and they returned fire. The Grand Jury determined that the policemen who shot Ms. Taylor will not be charged because they determined that the shooting was legal and justified. The denomination and our local conference have taken the position that the verdict is all wrong and there has been no justice for Ms. Taylor. I made comment that the investigation had been handled by professionals of all levels, debated and a decision based upon the facts of the case had been rendered. Some one disagreed with me saying that I was only making assumptions because the case had not been released to the public. Here is where my thoughts come in. I think that far too many in our society think they have the personal right to everything that is decided upon. They seem to think that if they disagree with the decision that society is required to “prove it to them”. The person who disagreed with me has a point, I am assuming the Grand Jury is correct. But that is why we have systems. My  agreement or disagreement is only an opinion. Anyway, enough of that, I didn’t respond to the guy. He has his right to an opinion just like I do. 

Time to get cleaned up and go get my flu shot. Then I’m coming home and plan to eat some of Ms. Kate’s apple pie that she made yesterday. Have a blessed weekend. 

 And another Friday has rolled around. It is a bright and beautiful to boot! I have a few guests at the Backyard Buffet this morning. A couple of the starlings have returned for an upgrade in their diet. I had a few cardinals earlier but they have eaten and I guess gone off to work at whatever birds do when they aren’t eating. I still have at least one hummingbird hanging around and the weekend is supposed to be warmer, so w will see them more often. hey will be gone south for sure in another month. 

We went to the churches yesterday and ran the bulletins and set up the pulpits for worship. We also made several other stops. Had to go to Dewigs for some “cracker bologna” and other stuff. We also went to Sam’s for other groceries. I also had to pick up some paper for the church office. I should have enough now to last me through the end of the year. We also went to the orchard and picked up a half bushel  of apples. But, today I need to go to Meijer’s and pick up some Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts so Ms. Kate can do her magic with the apples. Interestingly enough, my “Facebook Memory” picture this morning was of an apple pie that she baked last year. So it must be the time to get them done. 

I think that while I’m out shopping for a couple of groceries, I’ll run to Lowes and pick up some lumber and the wall blocks that I need for my new raised bed. I can’t start assembling it yet but I want the stuff ready when I can. I think I will have to make a couple of trip to pick up the soil. I need twenty or maybe twenty five bags and that is a lot of weight for the truck. I’d like to have Lowes deliver it but that would cost me another fifty bucks or so. I’ll just make the trips myself. They will load it on the truck and I can get them off. Those 2 cu.ft. Bags are pretty heavy, especially if they are at all wet. I need to wait until the leaves start falling more too. I want to put my leaves as a bottom layer in the bed for compost. They should decompose under that layer of dirt over the winter. At least that’s my plan. 

Tomorrow Mss. Kate and I go get our annual flu shot. We never fail to get them. We are both “at risk” people and with the pandemic going on, we really cannot afford to be talking chances. 

The coffee cup is empty and I have work to do. You go have yourself a wonderful weekend and don’t forget to take time to worship our God. Blessings. 

 A few cardinals, a few more finches and sparrows are my guests this morning at the Backyard Buffet. I can see a squirrel or two off in the neighbor’s trees that are slowly making their way this direction.   My sunporch windows face west and south but a lot of times my squirrels come from the east and gallop across my roof. I get a lot of noise on my sunporch roof as they play up there chasing one another back and forth. Some times it sounds like a football game going on up there and I’ll see two or three of them coming down the willow tree next to the sunporch. It’s great entertainment and a blessing to watch. 

It’s hard to believe that a week ago this morning I was hugging Lisa and her family good bye as we all went our separate ways and back home. Ms. Kate and I had a two day drive and they all had about an hour and a half drive. But, praise God, we all made it home safely and are looking forward to our next visit. We don’t know if tat will be in December, when Matt graduates or next June when all of the family gets together for our next family reunion. 

My sidewalk is a little damp this morning. At some point during the night I did hear it raining, and it was a very gentle rain. Obviously it didn’t rain much because the ground is still brown and dusty. As i said yesterday, we could use the rain. 

We never went to the churches yesterday. Ms. Kate wasn’t feeling very well so we stayed home. We had a load of laundry to do and Ms. Kate made a pot of turkey-noodle soup. A great “fall thing” to do. 

That’s about it for today. I have stuff to get done. I hope you have a wonderful day. Let God hear from you today. 

 Wednesday again????? The days, —- they do continue to roll around, don’t they? I’m not sure what is going to be on the agenda for today. I suspect though that we will go to the churches and run the bulletins and prep for for Sunday. That will take us past the orchard and we can stop and pick up some apples. We planned to do that yesterday but never got around to it. We were entirely too busy doing nothing. LOL

It’s sixty degrees out this morning and the sky is cloudy. The weather dude says that is from the tropical storms down on the Texas/Louisiana border. I expect we will get some showers from that storm maybe tomorrow. We could use some rain, Everything is dry and dusty. We’ve gotten to the point where I don’t think we will be mowing this week. That’s the first time this summer, and it is actually the second day of fall. We are way over average on rainfall for the year. 

I’ve been trying to find a place for Ms. Kate and I to go for our next vacation. I still have three weeks left and can’t find a place that sounds “really great”. We did the somewhat local week and rented a cabin up in Brown County for three days and then went over to Parke County to look at covered bridges. Then we did the trip to the beach with Lisa and her family and that was wonderful. But now we are starting to bump up against fall and winter and right now hurricane season seems to be in full swing which will affect the gulf coast area. Plus with COVID-19 restrictions, it’s hard to know what is open and not open. Add to that, —- the amount of civil unrest and protests and rioting that is going on in any big cities makes it dicey to travel. It doesn’t make a lot of sense for her and I to pack up a bunch of stuff like groceries and clothes and go somewhere else for  week. Might as well stay home if that’s what we are going to do. So, I just don’t know. The cabin thing was nice but there were three of us going to someplace we had not been. I hate to think that I’ll lose three weeks of vacation but I guess it is possible. And —- I don’t want to sound snobby, but, —- we’ve pretty much been everywhere and done everything and trying new adventures is getting physically harder and limiting. I guess it is a blessed problem to have. 

That’s it for today. Have a glorious “Hump Day”!!!

 Tuesday afternoon. I’ve had a “somewhat” busy morning. We gathered the bills together and Ms. Kate wrote the few checks she needed to while I addressed envelopes and found the roll of stamps. We got our Illinois Property tax statement yesterday and I wanted to get that paid right away. The taxes really climbed again this year for Illinois. Their governor is tax happy and the state is broke. Ms. Kate and I own one quarter of a piece of property over there that My cousin farms. My sister owns a quarter and the two cousins own the other half. But taxes for my sister and I were over $1,150.00 this year which is an increase of almost $200.00 from last year. But, I don’t have to do anything with the property or the farming of it. My cousin Alan sends me a “cash-rent” check every year for $5,200.00 and I get to pay taxes. 

Beyond paperwork, I haven’t done a lot so far. Ms. Kate and I are getting ready to go to the orchard and pick up some apples. I don’t know if we will do “U-Pick” or just buy some. But it is apple pie time again and I don’t want to miss out. 

I worked out in my garden yesterday. I pulled up what was left of the dying cucumber plants and threw them in the trash. Then I pulled up four of my tomato plants that had died off and cleared that area. I have four plants left and they are about done, and I have my magical cantaloupe plants still out there. I don’t think many of those cantaloupe are going to actually get ripe, but it isn’t a big deal since they came up on their own and we didn’t even know they were going to. They grew from seeds in my compost pile. I think there are maybe 15 fruits on those vines but it is starting to get cool enough to maybe stop their growth. It would be great to get at least one or two from them anyway. I tell myself they were a gift from God. So maybe God will make sure they finish getting ripe. 

While we are having these cool days. It is also time to go ahead and pull up all of the Black-eyed Susans, cut back the peonies and Iris and put down some Preen to knock back any weeds that may be wanting to come up. Then I’m going to order my garden dirt, go get my blocks and lumber to make my new raised bed and as soon as the last of the tomatoes are gone, build my new bed. By then the leaves will have started to fall and I’m going to collect them and put them on the bottom layer of the raised bed as compost over the winter. There is always something to do. 

Time to decide whether to take a nap or run to the orchard. Decisions, decisions. Have a blessed day. 

 

 Good morning and happy Monday! Are you ready for a brand new week? I certainly am. Can you believe though that this is the last full week of September? I know, right??? My how the world has changed. By now kids should have been in school for a month but school systems across America are still debating on how they are even going to conduct classes. Will it be virtual or in-person learning? Do we shut down an entire school because one child showed up with a fever? Do we make sure the kids don’t touch one another or play together closer than six feet? What the heck kind of society are we continuing to support? It is frustrating to me an old dude with no players in the game; I can’t imagine how the parents must feel. But, enough of that.

I had to leave you for  bit. Ms. Kate had to have her monthly Pro-Time bloodwork done so we got dressed and and went to the doctor’s office so she could get her lab work done. After that we decided to run to McDonalds and pick up some breakfast burritos. I ordered five and we had to “step aside” because they didn’t have them made. So, we waited and we waited, but — we figured they would b nice and hot. —- We figured wrong. It is only five minutes from McDonalds to our house but they were way less than lukewarm which sucks. But here we are, out in the sunporch, eating our cold burritos and watching the guests at the Backyard Buffet. 

Speaking of which, Saturday afternoon we went to Pet Food Center and I picked up another 80 pounds of sunflower seed for my friends. I came home and filled most of the feeders again and have had a lot of happy guests ever since. I noticed that the Goldfinches have started to turn from their beautiful yellow to a dull yellow/green. It is a good sign that the seasons are changing. 

Enough for today. I pray you will have a blessed week. Peace. 

 Good morning and Happy Saturday. We are home from our vacation and today we unpack suitcases and put stuff away. It was a wonderful vacation, full of love and laughter and hugs and visiting. You know, the kind of stuff that families tat love one another do. It is good to be back home and in our own bed again though. I will say though that the bed at the beach house was very comfortable. In fact the whole place was nice and he family all enjoyed it. 

Amanda’s boyfriend brought along his pontoon boat and I got to go fishing in the Emerald Isle sound three days in a row. I only caught one real keeper but had a wonderful time. Her boyfriend, Bryan, took really good care of me on that boat and made sure I had a good time. Bryan lost his grandpa a year ago and he spoiled me in his stead. 

We left Thursday morning and headed back home. It rained on us, really hard at times, all the way from the North Carolina coast to the mountains on the west end of the state. I had prayed that we would have too bad of rain as we traveled through the mountains and God answered that prayer in our favor. The rain really slacked off until we go to TN and then it picked up again, although not as bad, We got west of Newport and eventually the rain stopped. So, we just kept on driving and got as far as Corbin, KY. We stopped at a Comfort Inn at Corbin, the same one we stayed at on the first nigh of our trip. Yesterday we only had about five hours to drive to get home. Our round trip was 1800 miles. 

Today I have to fill all of my bird feeders for sure. Everything out there is empty. It is another beautiful day. It’s kind of hard to realize that south of us a hurricane is ravaging the country. That was part of the reaso for all of the rain that we had Thursday in North Carolina. And out in California wildfires are so bad that the smoke has actually reached us here in Indiana. I can’t imagine what it would be like to try to breathe out there. 

Tomorrow of course, life goes back to normal routine and I’m back to work. I have the service all ready to go. I might run up to the churches today and get the pulpits set up etc. We also need to make a mini-grocery run, so there is a lot to accomplish today. Ms. Kate is still operating on east-coast time and was up at 0630 today. I stayed in bed until 0730 and have been out here in the sunporch since. (Another part of returning to routine life)

I reckon I better get started on my list of tings I need to do so I will drop off. It’s good to be back with you. Have a blessed day. 

 Happy Tuesday afternoon. I’ve had another wonderful day. It’s the second day in a row we have gotten in the boat and gone saltwater is fishing. Amanda’s boyfriend Bryan brought his pontoon boat to the beach house. We gone fishing these past two days out in the sound. Yesterday we caught a couple of flounder but today we got skunked. We caught some “trash fish” but you can’t eat them. Tonight we are having a fish fry. Last night we had fish chowder. The weather has been perfect; high in the mid eighties with plenty of clouds today to keep us from broiling. Yesterday we put the umbrella cover up on the boat because the sun was so bright. 

We have one more day here and then we head home on Thursday. I’m not sure how long it is going to take us butI anticipate that we will run into rain for much of the trip. We have not made any hotel reservation for the return trip and I guess we will just play it by ear. But it has been such a relaxing vacation, and it has been so very good to be with Lisa and all of her family. I’ve had aa good chance to get to know Amanda’s boyfriend and he seems like a good guy. He respects her and makes her happy and as Grandma and Grandpa, that is all we could ask for. 

I’m hearing good news from my home church, Zoar. After six years of a pastoral search, it appears they are really zeroing in on a candidate. I pray that is true and I pray that he is God sent. I guess if everything works out, they could be in place by the end of the year. I know that Pastor Art will miss being the pastor there but I also know he is really ready to finally retire. At 78, he should be considering it. But Zoar is going to miss him. He has been very good for Zoar and the two years I spent as his co-pastor were a God-send to me. I learned so very much from him. He and I still talk at least one a day through Facebook messenger and just because he isn’t preaching, doesn’t mean I will quit going to him for guidance. He and I have become fast friends. 

That’s all for today. I pray you have a blessed evening and a blessed rest of your week. Stay in touch with God. Peace

 Good morning from Emerald Isle, NC. I’m up early this morning for no other reason than to watch the sun come up over the sea horizon. Unfortunately, while the sun will come up, the cloud layer is thick enough to prevent any beautiful display of color. But, ya’ know, that is okay with me. It is sufficient to know that the sun still is coming up and God has given us yet another day with which to make something good happen. 

We arrived here at 1600 yesterday, unpacked the car and settled in. I spent at least two hours last evening just sitting out on a deck at is by the beach and watched the repetitive motion of the waves hitting the beach and listening to the beach sounds of the sand pipers and sea gulls and pelicans. This is exactly what I came to see and hear and experience. It is a moment in time that a person stores in their memory for when life gets overwhelming, and you can exhale and draw upon store memories to relax and gain composure. God gives us those moments.

Our vacation has been fantastic so far. It has been so great to visit with the family. I think we all really needed this. I is worth every penny I paid to rent this place. Yesterday, Ms. Kate and me and Lisa, Gary and Matt came down. Today Amanda, Brian and “Bug” (Caden) , Brian’s son, will arrive. It will get a bit more noisy with a ten year old boy in the house. And Amanda is a constant ball of energy and joy and laughter and love. I think she is 24 now, or maybe 23. It is hard to keep up with them and it seems impossible to  believe that all of our grandchildren are certainly not children anymore. Two of my grandkids are living with their significant others and are not married to them. Whether or I not I approve, is not relevant I guess, it is what it is for young people these days. And while their significant others come with a child or children, they still can’t be considered our great-grandchildren. It’s all new family dynamics and no, I do not approve. But, I love my family, and their family, so we take the package deal for what it is worth. 

The sky is beginning to lighten up and the clouds are going away so what. It is going to be a great day. Have a great Sunday. Take time to give God praise. I’ve already “been to church” today by simply sitting out by the beach and communicating with the marvelous God that crated all that I could see. Blessings. 

 Good morning on a cloudy Saturday morning. It rained pretty hard here for awhile last evening and night. I expect we will see a few periods of rain yet again today. We are packing stuff up at Lisa's house and getting ready to head southeast to the coast. I have checked the weather for there and we'll be having rain on and off for a couple of days but hopefully nothing too drastic. 

This morning, Lisa and Gary are headed to the shop to take care of a couple of things and then over to his mother's house to take care of her by bringing her breakfast and checking up on her. It is a Saturday routine thing. After that they will come back here and we'll pack the cars and then slowly meander our way to the coast. We have to go by a sports store and Gary, Matt, and I need to get our "5-day" coastal fishing license. Amanda's sweetheart is taking us fishing and I can hardly wait. I think we'll be fishing for flounder. I know Brian, (Amanda's boyfriend) catches some nice fish of all  kinds and so does Amanda. Brian is in a fishing tournament this morning. I'm not sure what kind of fish they are after today. But he has been a professional for a lot of years. He just won a tournament last weekend and picked up a $3,000.00 prize. That will buy a lot of bait and hooks. I haven't fished for flounder since the early eighties and Brian will have to show me what to do, or maybe Amanda will show me. I just know they are "bottom feeders" and you got to pretty much dangle the hook in front of their nose. I've never caught one. When we were fishing in Massachusetts, we generally caught cod and haddock. Haddock was considered the prize fish. Occasionally we would catch a "wolf fish" or "monk fish". They are some ugly critter and if you get your hand close to their mouth while removing a hook, they can bite a finger off. 

I went to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base yesterday to get my hair cut. We haven't been on a base in years so it was a good feeling to drive up to the gate to have my ID checked and have the young Airman say "Good Afternoon Colonel", and give me a great salute. We went over to the Base Exchange (BX) and I got my hair cut with proper military style and then we walked around and shopped for a bit. But, I told the kids that I got enough "military fix" to last me for awhile. 

That's it for today. Tomorrow is Sunday and I'll watch Pastor Brian give the sermon at St. Lucas on the computer. Great news, Our audio/visual contractor got the two 75" television screens put up yesterday. I don't know how much else they got installed. Good things are happening at the churchyard!  Have a blessed day. 

Friday, September 11th, 2020; 19 years ago today terrorists flew two planes full of passengers into the twin towers in New York City and another one into the Pentagon in Washington DC. A fourth plane was supposed to go be crashed into an unknown target but the passengers of that plane overwhelmed the terrorists and the pilot crashed the plane into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania killing all 40 passengers and crew. Over three thousand people died that day as buildings came crashing down. Many of them were firemen and policemen rushing into the destruction. There is no telling how many people have died since as a results of all of the toxins and dust and smoke they inhaled. It was an attack that we as Americans should never forget and yet in today's cancel culture that is demanding anything that "makes them feel bad" be removed or torn down I would not be surprised it it was declared racist because of something or another. Even worse, and I made this statement to some folks the other day, the young people that are currently rioting and protesting and looting , "all in the name of justice" are young enough that many had not been born yet or were not more than two years old on 9/11/2001 and therefore it means no more to them than either of our World Wars or Vietnam or Korea, or even the Civil War. I saw an interviewer on a college campus trying to talk to college students the other day about historical events and many of them could not answer who fought or won the American Civil War. And these are the future "leaders" of our country. 

We have arrived at Lisa and Gary's house and have had a wonderful visit so far. It has rained some and will rain again today but that doesn't bother any of us. Tomorrow afternoon we will head down to Emerald Isle and or rental for five nights. The weather is supposed to be good and again if it isn't --- oh well. We are there to relax and enjoy one another on a long overdue visit. So, while we relax down here, I hope your day is going well, wherever you might be. I bid you peace. 

 Hi y'all, This is going to be short but I wanted to just let you know that our trip is going well. We left home yesterday morning and stopped by Julie's house over in New Albany, IN. We had to drop off something to her and pick something up from her. From there we headed on to Corbin, KY where we had reserved a room for the night. We stayed in a place that we have stayed before. The hotel sits next to a Cracker Barrel restaurant but we decided to eat some of the stuff we had brought along.

We took off this morning at 0900 and headed out to Statesville to our reserved room tonight. Along the way we got hungry and we decided to have lunch the "old style vacationer" way. We pulled into a Cracker Barrel parking lot and pulled up under a tree and sat there and ate our ring bologna and crackers lunch with potato chips and soft drinks. I can't begin to imagine how many times as a kid that my folks would pull over to the side of the road and we'd have a picnic lunch along the way on out vacations. Back then there would be little park like pull offs with picnic tables and sometimes an outhouse toilet. There was no such thing as "fast food" although I can very well remember the first McDonalds I ever went to. It was in Rapid City SD. 

So tonight we ordered pizza delivered from Marco's. It may well be one of the better pizzas I have had. Our hotel was not where we thought it would be, ie on I-40. Of course, as always, Statesville I-40 is hosed with road construction. We looked for our hotel and could not find it. Ten miles past Statesville, we came to a place to turn around and I stopped and called the hotel. Come to find out, it is off of I-77. So we backtracked and found the hotel. As we pulled in to the hotel, we realized thamt had obviously made that mistake before because we have stayed in this hotel before. LOL. Oh well, --- we're on vacation. Who cares. 

That's it for tonight. Maybe I'll get to this again tomorrow, but maybe I'll be too busy hugging necks. Peace my friends.

 Welcome to Labor Day 2020. It’s a cool morning and the overall temperature today is only going to the upper 80’s, but the humidity has made a return, so, I reckon we will close the house back up. It has been nice though having the A/C turned off for a few days. 

I have a bunch of stuff to do today because we leave for vacation tomorrow morning. I haven’t cleaned out the car or gotten it ready to travel nor have I packed anything. I have stuff sitting here and there that we want to take, but that is about all. It won’t take that long to do what I need to do but I just have to get started on it. I’m very excited about this vacation but sure have lagged behind in getting my work done. 

We had good attendance at both churches again yesterday. Then we mad a stop at Target on the way home so I could pick up a “hub” device for my Surface Pro so I can plug in more than one USB device. Then we came home, warmed up the fried chicken form Log Inn that was left over from Saturday night. Ms. Kate fried up some okra and sliced some tomatoes and we had a great lunch. Of course by then it was nap time. 

Last night I tried my hand at making Power Point slides and I think it turned out fairly well. I made up a dozen slides for use during my sermon and service on the 27th of September. I then sent them to Jacob so he can play with them with the new A/V equipment that is supposed to be installed while I am gone. By next Sunday the screens and computer is supposed to be here and installed. The camera is on backorder but hopefully will be here shortly. Jacob is hoping to be able to use the new screens and computer to teach Sunday school next Sunday. I’m very excited to her how it all goes for them. 

One of our parishioners was taken to the hospital yesterday wit a heart attack and is having a double, if not triple by-pass done as I sit here. Lift up Allen in your prayers please. 

That’s it for today. My entries are going to be sporadic for the next few days; bare with me as we travel together. Peace. 

 Happy Friday afternoon on this beginning of the Labor Day weekend. Ms. Kate and I did a bunch of running around today. We were trying to get ahead of the Labor Day crowd. Ms, Kate wanted to get the graves decorated before the weekend so we gathered together our flowers and went to the cemeteries. We spent a little time decorating her grandparents, her mom and dad's and aunt and uncle's headstones. Then we headed out to Zoar Church and decorated my parents headstone. Now they look great for fall with fresh flowers and fall colors.

Next we took a country drive and headed up to Haubstadt for a trip to Dewig's Meat Market. They are a great business and are also personal friends of ours. We have watched them go through several renovations over the years and really have built a corporation. They win meat cutting and sausage making awards all over the world including Germany, the home of sausage. LOL

While we were there we picked up some of their meat spread and some spinach dip, and bread and chips and headed up to St. Paul's church. We ate a "picnic" lunch there in the recreation hall of the church and then did a little work. From there we headed back home and took a delicious nap out in the sun porch. The weather today is absolutely perfect so we have opened up the house and let the breeze flow through. I was actually awakened by the sound of a couple of Cardinals fussing at one another right outside the door. What a great way to wake up from a nap. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be a repeat of today weather wise. I'll probably mow the lawn and go pick up some sunflower seed so I can fill all of the feeders before we take off on our vacation. 

By now, it is almost 2200 hours and time to get off of the computer. Peace my friends.

 Good morning and a Happy Wednesday to you. I hop you got up on the bright side of the beed this morning. It’s 0900 and I want to just basically check in with you. Ms. Kate and I are getting ready to head up to the churches and run our bulletins, and then she has a beauty shop appointment around lunch time. I think I will spend the afternoon writing. We’re supposed to have more rain this afternoon so work outside will be minimal unless that changes. 

A week from today we will be heading out to North Carolina. I reckon I need to make some hotel reservation for a night on the road both going and coming. Everything else is already set as far as where we are going to be staying. Usually we stop in or around Asheville NC and then head on down to Lisa’s house the second day. We’ll be at Lisa’s for a couple of nights before we check into the beach house. We are all looking so very forward to just chilling, ocean-side and listening to the waves and visiting. 

I still have three more weeks of vacation to figure out where we are going to go. So much of the country is shuttered because of COVID. Places that we would normally go aren’t open. I don’t know what we will do. 

I took a break from writing this and we did go run the bulletins, grabbed some drive-thru for lunch, then I took Ms. Kate for her haircut. We picked up a couple of $5.00 Nacho Grande boxes for lunch. I really like them but I feel stuffed to the gills and so does Kate. There was enough refried beans in there to gs up the tank. I’m getting ready to take my nap and maybe in an hour I won’t feel like a fat kid in a candy store.

Okay, time to go. Have a blessed day. Peace.

 Well, September announces itself with a cloudy 74 degree morning. It looks like rain is on the way and prediction calls for a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. I reckon we will just wit and see what the day holds. 

The Backyard Buffet has been mostly quiet this morning. Mostly just a few small birds have come by for a bite. I have a grey squirrel here that is new to me. Because I am somewhat color blind, a lot of colors really blend together for me and I can’t tell what a true color is. Most of my squirrels are brown squirrels I think. But I have a grey squirrel among them and I only notice it because when it sits up on it’s haunches its belles is a solid white. So, I don’t know if he is a color mutation or what, but it is interesting, and none of the other squirrels mess with it. Maybe my neighborhood is getting integrated. 

I don’t know what, if anything that Ms. Kate and I have on our plate today. We kind of talked about maybe taking some hydrangeas up to St. Lucas and planting them around the tool shed. We thought maybe we could put in a couple. Right now they have a flower bed, and I use the term loosely, in the front of that shed that was created by one our young men several years ago as an Eagle Scout project. He put some shrubs in there and I think some pea gravel. It looked fine for a couple of years but has not been maintained and none of the flowers are left, just a couple of shrubs. Kate talked to Jacob about us giving them some plants to put in there but I know that if we don’t take them up there and plant them, it won’t get done. If they live, it will look great, if they die, we’ve lost nothing but some time. We also talked about putting some Black-eyed Susans on the west side of the shed where nothing is planted. 

I reckon while we are out and about we could also check on the local produce and maybe get a cantaloupe or two, and while we are at the church we can run the bulletins for the 20th of September. 

But, none of this is going to get done if I don’t get out of my chair, shower and get ready for my day. Have a blessed Tuesday, and have a blessed September. Peace my friends.