How was your Wednesday? Was it interesting? We spent yesterday morning going to the church running the bulletins. I suspect y’all got the same storm that we did. We were supposed to have Bible study last evening but I knew the storm was predicted to hit around 1700 and would be on-going through our Bible study time so I cancelled it. Here at our house and neighborhood we didn’t have any damage that I have seen. But in our TV viewing area, there were lot of wind damage reports. I had taken down a couple of my “yard ornaments” and had pulled my colors in. We did have some pretty powerful gusts to the tune of 55mph but praise the Lord, no damage. Of course, that was our one warm day of the week (80 degrees) and tat is what perpetuated the storms. Today it is only 43 so far this morning and the air feels damp. I went out to the jewelry store and got a new watch battery put in my watch and then drove over to Dunkin Donuts and picked up a half dozen. Between the 43 degrees, a 10th wind, and damp air, it got chilly pretty quick. But —- I pray all of you are okay. Warmer weather and real “Spring” will get here. 

You know, —- I remember when Dunkin Donuts had really good Donuts. That’s really not the case anymore, at least at our local DD. Here locally we have Donut Bank and Parlour Donuts as their competition and both places make so much better donuts. I only went to DD because it was a quick drive through. DD has the Bavarian Creme donuts that I always loved but their donuts are so much “drier” than they used to be. Remember the old commercial where the guy would say “Time to make the donuts”? I think back then each place actually made their own. But now, I think they are shipped in. The places don’t even smell like donuts. And they taste like “day-old” donuts. That’s what happens when corporate America takes on a franchise; prices go up and quality goes down. There used to be a place on Fulton Avenue that was a ‘Mom and Pop” donut shop. I think it was called “Honey Fluff Donuts”. If you got within a block you could smell the donuts baking and they were huge. Two were a meal. I miss that place. Sadly, they retired and had no one to pass the business down to. (Boy, I sound like an old dude reminiscing about the olden days.) LOL

Tuesday afternoon I went to do some parishioner visitation. I had a fellow that had a knee replacement on Monday and was supposed to go home the same day. But he had a couple of complications and they kept him overnight. I waited around to hear from him and we even texted back and forth and he wasn’t hearing anything about gong home, so —- I went on out to the hospital. I was driving around in the parking lot looking for a space when I got a text from him saying he was being released. So, I just kept going and went on to my next person on my list. 

That’s about it for today. The ground is soggy and the air is cold so I won’t be going outside to work today. Maybe I will work on my May services. Maybe I’ll just read the book I’m currently reading and then take a nap! I hope you have a wonderful day. Take stock of your blessing today and then give thanks for them. Peace. 

 I am beginning to think that Mother Nature and COVID are in cahoots with one another. This cloudy and cold/cool weather just drags on and on and on just like the COVID and Corona Virus and all of it subtitles.  I mean what is up with this weather. Yesterday on one of the northern states there was another 50 car pile up with three killed and dozens injured because of snow and ice. Here this morning it is 40 degrees with a sharp wind to chill you through and only may hit 50 today. Come on Miss Spring; put your beautiful big girl panties on and hop on out here. I have a yard full of beautiful  daffodils that have done nothing except hang their heads down due to the wind, rain and cold. 

Okay, so I’m grouching about something I can do nothing about; kind of silly of me. The blessings are that while it might be very uncomfortable out side, I’m not having to go hunt for shelter because I have no home. I’m not having to run for cover while holding my child as bombs and bullets fly everywhere and with out discrimination like so many people are doing in the country of Ukraine right now. I’m not sitting here wondering what I or Ms. Kate are going to eat today or tomorrow. And when I turn my television on and listen to the news I’m not listening to a State-controlled broadcast because I live in a free country. And I’m not afraid to say I’m a Christian because I don’t have to worry about being jailed or worse for saying that. So, I apologize for not remembering for a moment or two just how fortunate and blessed I really am. And when I go outside after while, I will walk around and look at my flowers and put on a jacket, and thank God for what blessings He is showering me with today. 

I had a good evening of writing last night. I finished up my sermon for Easter Sunday and worked on my service for the 24th of April. I won’t be home on the 24th because Ms. Kate and I will be on vacation, but I still create the worship service for the guest pastor. Then I ask the pastor to provide me with their sermon title and desired scripture. The. Parish is in for a treat this time. I have asked my friend and mentor, Pastor Art to fill the pulpit for me on the 24th. Art has his Doctorate Degree and has been preaching for well over fifty years. He has such a wonderful grasp of the scriptures and he loves to preach. He is two years older than me but I think maybe younger in spirit. Art and I spend a lot of time discussing theology and church doctrine. He is a true Baptist by denomination, training and thinking but has dual standing with our denomination. I hope the parish enjoys listening to him like I do. 

Alrighty then. I need to get on my computer and do some more trip planning for our vacation. Did I tell you that we have decided to follow the Great River Road along the Mississippi River from St. Louis MO, to New Orleans, LA. There is a lot of good sights and history to see along that route. In the mean time, have yourself a very blessed day. Smile at people today. You just might be the brightest spot in someone’s life today. Peace. 

 Well, well, well! Let’s open up a brand new week and see what falls out. Certainly nothing has changed weather-wise. It is 34 degrees this morning. The sky is still cloudy but at least the wind has died down for now. At this rate I may have to bring back out the electric bird bath to keep the skim of ice off of the water. It dropped down to 29 degrees last night. March certainly came in like a lamb but it is going out like a lion just as the old saying goes. 

I know I have been very delinquent about writing this past week. My apologies for that. I could just say I’ve been busy but the truth is that if i don’t write first thing in the morning than I never seem to get around to it during the rest of the day regardless of how my time gets filled. But last week was a week of filled mornings. This week looks a little better so I’ll try to stay on track. 

I spent a good deal of time this past Saturday out in the yard pulling weeds and cleaning out my asparagus bed. It was growing over with those purple flowered weeds that seem to over take everything. I wish I knew what they were called so I could grumble at them by name. I’ve tried “Googleing it” but all that does is take you to ads for weed-control companies like True Green. We had Tru-Green yard service one year and it was aa total waste of money. Any way —- I spent a Thursday afternoon bent over my raised asparagus bed pulling out the weeds and dozens of little “starter saplings” from the maple tree seeds. I was very surprised at how well everything pulled up, Of course, the raised bed has excellent dirt in it and it is soft so I was able to pull up roots and all. It was amazing to me; the little saplings were only maybe a “fist-tall”, but they came out with as long as nine inches of root. So, chopping them off would have done nothing to eliminate them. This is my first year of “production” for the asparagus. I planted it three years ago and had to wait three years before I could cut it to eat. It is early yet  but I have one sprig of asparagus up. I need to find somewhere to get some sawdust to put on that bed now. That’s what my friend Bob Schuessler always did and he has more asparagus than you can shake a stick at. (Why would you shake a stick at it, I wonder? What a weird old saying.)

Our Parish Bible study is really going well. We had thirteen again this last Wednesday and the discussion was lively. We’re discussing the last ten days in the life of Jesus. This Wednesday we’ll be talking about Mark 15, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Good Friday. I suspect that will go lively too. I find it wonderful and amazing that there are so many things that we think we know or just gloss over but when we really read closely, we find that we have a lot of questions about the “who’s and why’s” of our Biblical events. As the pastor people look to me for the answer and there is just so much that I don’t know and that has to be my answer. But then I feel obligated to research and se what I can find out. Unfortunately, that research often take me down some very long “rabbit trails”. But —- that’s what I love about Bible study too. 

Time to get busy for today. One of my self-given tasks for today is to work on our vacation plans. Last night I think we finally decided on a plan to head over to St. Louis, MO and get on the “Great River Road” and follow the Mississippi River all the way from St. Louis to New Orleans. That should be a great trip of back roads and bi-ways. Today I need to map it out.I think it is about a 700 mile trip. 

Have yourself a great day and a day filled with blessings. Peace. 

 Hello Thursday, my old friend. You’re a chilly thing this morning sporting you 41 degrees. And i can’t say much for your sunrise this morning nor your attitude since then. And what’s this about a high of only 41 degrees?? Haven’t you heard? — Spring has sprung. 

I don’t know how it got to be Thursday and this looks like the first day I have sat down to write since last Saturday. I know I have planned to write earlier in the week but things kept popping up and I guess I just never got around to it. Well, —- it isn’t as though you missed anything in my normally boring life. Actually, I have been busy working on Lenten and Easter stuff and we all know I’m get lost in that shuffle and forget about doing other stuff. But, I’m glad to say that I’m staying on top of it pretty well. I finished my Palm Sunday service and sermon last night after we came home from Bible study. 

Speaking of which, our Bible study has been a real success. We’re having a steady group of 13-15 each week. The discussion has been lively and most everybody participates. In the discussion. So often Bible study group meet and it ends up being a “leader’s lesson”. But, i made it clear that this was not going to be another Pastor John does all of the talking event. We are studying the Passion Week events in the life of Jesus. Last night we were on The Last Supper and we linked Maundy Thursday all the way back to Exodus and Moses and to the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. It’s a great group. We got to talking about unleavened bread and I think I might just make some unleavened bread for next week and take it to share. I found a recipe on the web and it is only four basic ingredients; flour, water, olive oil, and salt. Each ingredient has a specific meaning (which I did not know) so I think it would be a fun thing to do. 

I had a call from the contractor I had contacted about doing some tree removal in my yard. At the back of lot, right on the fence line I have maybe five or six trees, all redbuds that are rotted and diseased and really need to come down. I think I told you about them. Anyway, —- the fellow called me last night waith an estimate and it sounded like a good price so I have given him the go-ahead. I don’t know when he will come do the job but he said it is a “small enough job” that maybe he can work it in on a day when he is in the area. I have seen his truck around here before and he has good recommendations, so hopefully he can get to it sooner rather than later. 

That’s about it for today. Have a blessed week. Peace 

Fiv 

 Happy Saturday! This will be very short. I just wanted to wish anybody and everybody a good day. It is a chilly and damp morning with a breeze that isn’t helping the feels like temperature one bit, nor has the sun broken through the clouds yet today, so it is just gloomy and cold. 

I have lots of guests at the Backyard Buffet this morning. Cool weather makes them hungry and it make for a lot of flying in and out. It almost makes you dizzy watching them. But it does brighten my day. 

We are counting down days until my oldest daughter Julie graduates from college. She is finally getting her Bachelor Degree. She has been taking classes forever at Indiana University Southeast, and has accumulated enough credits for three or four different Associate’s degrees. She finally got with an advisor and put it all together and will graduate in May. We are all very proud of her. She is the last one to get her degree. Perseverance does pay off. She just likes to read and loves to study and research. So, running the bookstore for the University is the perfect job for her. Unfortunately he company, Barnes and Noble, lost the contract for all of the IU campuses this time so she doesn’t know what she is hoping to do. It would make sense for the new company to hire her but that certainly doesn’t mean they will. So, her last day of working there could be May 28th. We keep her in our prayers for good things to happen. IOf it is meant to be it will be. 

Okay, I said this would be short. Have a great weekend. Don’t forget to visit your house of worship. Peace. 

 How was your St. Patrick’s Day? Did you wear your green or did you risk getting “pinched” because you had no green on? I wonder what one thing had to do with another. Who said you are supposed to pinch someone if they aren’t wearing green? Is it still “a thing”? Do people still do that? I guess they do — Ms. Kate pinched me yesterday because I wasn’t wearing green. 

There are storms rolling across the country again today and tomorrow. There is a You Tube weather forecaster that we listen to who is really good at covering the weather across the country. His Pod Cast is called “Ryan Hall Y’all”. He’s out of North Eastern Kentucky I think, maybe the Covington area. If you want to know what is happening and or going to happen weather wise —- that’s the guy to listen to. We have had a shower or two this morning and maybe will have some more. Tomorrow seems to be our turn to get it though. 

I have our spring A/C maintenance guy coming today around noon or so. We’ve been with the same company for a long time now and they have always done good for us. We bought our furnace and our A/C through them I think maybe 12 years ago and it has been well maintained. Hopefully I can get another decade out of the system. They certainly aren’t cheap and with the shipping and economy, who knows what you can get anymore. After all, it took four months just to get a refrigerator. 

I just noticed that my neighbor has a tree that is all bloomed out. I don’t know what kind of tree it is but it has pretty white blooms on it. I didn’t see it blooming yesterday but maybe I just missed it. BUt I was outside yesterday a lot and I think I wold have noticed it. I’m glad to see it; it just another sign that spring has sprung. I had to fill all of my feeders in the Backyard Buffet yesterday. And it was time to unplug and put away the electric bird bath. I guess we could have a night or two bellows freezing yet but I don’t think the water will freeze over. So, save a little electricity until next November or December. 

Ms. Kate had a routine doctor’s appointment yesterday. After that we went to Nellie’s for breakfast and then on the way home we stopped foro me to get a haircut. It was starting to get a little shaggy over the ears and I wanted my beard trimmed up. It too had gotten shaggy. I didn’t dare try to trim it myself because I would have messed it up. It doesn’t cost me anything to have my barber do while I’m getting the hair cur so why not let the pro do it. 

Time to get another cup of coffee and go watch the cardinals and woodpeckers. Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 It is another bright and beautiful day, and it is Wednesday. Or, as the camel would say; HUMP DAAAAY! I love that silly commercial. It generated millions of people going around saying HUMP DAAAAAY!. And now that you have seen it twice, I bet it rides your brain for awhile today too. I’m so glad i could help get your day going for you. 

We have “stuff to do” today. This evening we have Bible study at the church at 1830 so I guess we will leave here around 1630 and go to the church and run our bulletins and get stuff set up for Sunday. Yesterday I spent the afternoon working on my service and sermon for the 27th and got it most of the way done. I need to go downstairs to the office and finish that up. Then I can start working on my April services. I have already put together the Maundy Thursday Service and the Easter Sunrise service so I only have the regularly scheduled Sunday services to work on. But that does include Easter Sunday and that is always a good one to work on. After Easter we go another seven weeks in the Easter season and then we have Pentecost. Pentecost lasts for the next 26 weeks. During the Pentecost season there are no special “religious days” but we do have 4th of July, Labor Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Three of those four require some recognition of thanksgiving and acknowledgement of our blessings. And no, it’s not Halloween, although daughter Julie might disagree. LOL She does love her Halloween. 

Sitting here looking across the street at neighbor Dan’s Maple tree, I’m amazed at how quickly it is starting to leaf out. This warm weather is doing the trick. It is 49 degrees already this morning and is going up to 72. Bring it on. It will be nice to go out with a short sleeved shirt today instead of a sweatshirt. I think that I can maybe take the snow blade off of the John Deere now and think about putting the mower deck back on. Yes, we have had snow in April before but I have faith that winter, as hard as it has been, is pretty well over with. I may have to call Jim and see if he can make it over to put the mower deck on sometime soon. Certainly the yard doesn’t need mowing just yet but one must prepare and not wait until the last moment. 

That’s it for today. I thunk I’ll scramble up some eggs for breakfast this morning. And I have some freshly squeezed OJ for us. I took the last of the oranges and grapefruit that we brought back from our vacation and \squeezed the juice out of them. It is delicious. 

Go have yourself a wonderful HUMP DAAAAY! Peace. 

 Hello Tuesday! I see you are half done with being a month in 2022. Pretty soon you’ll just be a memory and people will say “Where did the month go?” Unfortunately there is an eternal history of this happening to months, and days, and years and decades, and the centuries before you. Being time is to be a waiting fatality. 

And good morning to anyone reading this. I hope your day is going well. We certainly have another beautiful; day. It is currently 52 degrees and gong up to 70 today. There’s no rain in the forecast so that is promising. As I look out at Dan’s Maple tree across the street I can see that it is starting to leaf out just a little. I think Spring has finally arrived. I’m not going to be taking advantage of it much though this week. It is just a little early yet to be raking off all of the leaves from the flowerbeds. There is still stuff relying on the leaves for cover. But the daffodils are blooming so it is a nice blessing. 

I spent my Monday doing pastoral visits with parishioners and then all evening I spent writing and putting services together. I also spent quite a bit of time on my Bible study last evening. We’ll be talking about a few parables that Jesus told and I want to try to be sure I’m making sense of them when I talk. Many of them are self explanatory but many aren’t or they can have multiple meaning. So, one has to study and research and go to writers like Barkley for interpretation. It’s all good stuff but it does take time. I enjoy doing it though. It keeps the brain active. 

My visitations went well yesterday. One fella seems to enjoy my visits very much. He’s mentally very sharp, especially for 90 years old. Yesterday I got him to talk about his time in the military. He was in the Army during the Korean War, although he spent his two years in Germany. My other visitation didn’t go quite as well. My fella was having a rough day and has not yet adapted mentally that he will not be going home. He doesn’t understand how much care he really requires and that is a tough transition to make when you have ben independent all of your life. So, all the help he is getting right now seems more like punishment. But, he has his good days too and we’ve been friends for almost two decades. So, if he has a grumpy day, I just sit and listen and I pray with him. I hope that my visit brings him some comfort that life has not ended just because his situation has changed. 

Today I need to get back down to my office and start on my service and message for the 27th of March. There is never a lack of stuff to do. With that, I will leave you with wish that you have a blessed day. Peace. 

 The cardinals and the wrens are enjoying the Backyard Buffet this morning even though they have to brush aside a little bit of snow. We got what I call a “very convenient snow” last night. It is a solid dusting meaning it covered mist everything, but the roads and sidewalks are totally dry. But it is a cold one today. It. Isn’t supposed to go above 30 degrees and the wind is stiff. However, the daffodil blooms are sticking their noses above the snow. God always provides a blessing and a promise of better things to come. So, it is a good way to start a Saturday morning. 

I bought the new Collingsworth Family album for my IPad and am listening to it this morning along with my coffee and and a cherry turnover. I don’t know if you have heard of the Collingsworth family or not but they are a fantastic group. They are a gospel group and their harmony is off the charts. I don’t i have I have ever heard a group of singers with a better blend and intonation. Dad and son sing tenor, non and one of the daughters sings also, and two of the sisters sing soprano. I have several of their albums on my IPad and listen to them all the time as well as watch their videos on You Tube along with all of my other favorites. 

We picked up an eight pack of cherry turnovers at Sam’s yesterday as part of our call-in order. I love that feature of shopping. Just get on the computer and order, pull up to the store and they bring it out and put it in the car. How convenient is that? We do that at Meijers and occasionally at Walmart too. Most of the time it works out very well although we have had a couple of disappointments. The nice thing is that we don’t end up buying the “oh, that’s something I want” items. And I don’t have to walk all over the store looking for stuff.  

Did I tell you that we had a really good Bible Study Wednesday night? We had a dozen participants and they got involved with the discussion. That always makes for a nice study. I pray that it will be blessed by God and continue . We certainly have room for more. 

Today we will finish up the laundry we started last night and then I need to get down to the basement and work on next weeks message. I also need to set all of the clocks today because we change over to Daylight Saving Time tonight. I have already set the alarm clock. It wouldn’t be good for me to be late for church. 

I hope you plan to get out and brave the cold tomorrow and go to your house of worship. God has blessed you this week in ways you don’t even recognize or know about.  Go and join with other worshippers and give praise. Peace. 

 Well I’m back after another day of tax filing rejection from the State of Illinois and it is all over one line on a form. So, I followed their advice and mailed my form in. It is so frustrating especially when the Federal and Indiana State taxes have been accepted and approved, and i don’t owe IL nor do they owe me. I hate bureaucracy and I hate taxes. 

Yesterday was dental day for me. I had a filling that was cracked and Dr. Wolf wanted to change it out. It didn’t take too long and I’m glad to have it done. Ms. Kate and I are fortunate to have good teeth and to have good dentists. We’ve been with them for 20 years now. Hard to believe.  We are also blessed with a great doctor which is critical since Kate has so many things that she needs a good doctor for. Again, I’m very blessed with relatively good health, especially for my age and diet. 

Speaking of diet — I had to go to Paul’s Men’ Wear yesterday and buy a couple of new sport coats. I’ve culled four out of my closet because they don’t fit me anymore. Too much ice cream I reckon. At almost 78 I don’t expect be losing any weight any time soon. The days of walking seven miles every morning before work are long gone but I should get back on my recumbent bicycle. It sets there in the sun room waiting on me and is only gathering dust, which is dumb on my part. But it sure is easy to ignore especially since the sun room is not heated. I gotta do better than that. 

Time to get off of here and make a run to Sam’s. We called in an order and need to pick it up because the wether is supposed to get nasty today. You have yourself a great day. Peace. 

 There are few things in this life I hate more than doing taxes. Sticking needles under my fingernails or having my teeth pulled without novocaine come close, but I can’t think of any others at the moment. We started on our taxes yesterday, finally. I was actually excited about getting them done because I thought that this year we had everything lined up, and categorized and ready to just fill in the blanks. ‘Twas not to be. We use Turbo Tax and have for the last eight years. I guess for someone who understands numbers and all of that (like my youngest daughter, who loves doing taxes) it is probably easy. BUt doing taxes makes some reallly foul language fall across my lips and that ain’t a good thing. As we were going through the process, once again we found that there was information that we didn’t have and so I had to contact people and hope they responded quickly. I’m happy to say that both of the people I needed responded very quickly so maybe I can get this annual chore done and off of my mind for another year. Until then I ask the Lord’s forgiveness for my potty mouth. 

Can you believe that after a wonderful weather week last week that went up even to the 70’s — the forecast is for snow on Friday and this morning it is 33 degrees and only going to 45 today. That’s even more crazy than my tax return. Weather dude last night said maybe 1-3 inches of snow on Friday. But, since we aren’t looking at the other nasty stuff like ice, maybe I will get to go play with the John Deere this time. It has been sitting at the ready for weeks waiting to go play. However, by Sunday we are back into the 50’ s and then back up into the 60’s and 70’s next week. The spring roller coaster is alive and well. We have daffodils blooming though so that is a wonderful blessing from above. 

This morning we have an appointment with our investment dude to see how bad the money markets are doing. That will be depressing so we’ll go to breakfast somewhere and cheer ourselves up. I’m so glad to report that Ms. Kate is feeling better and her diverticulitis symptoms are starting to subside. This has been a tough round once again for her. 

Tomorrow I’ll be busy doing a parishioner visit, running church bulletins, and then doing a Bible study in the evening. Thursday I go have a tooth repaired. So, this is an active week. I spent some time last night working on my Tenebrae service for Maundy Thursday. I know I’m a bit early but it requires me to find several (up to 14) readers for the program so I need to start now with getting the program lined up and then start recruiting participants. It will be a combined service so I will have both churches to draw from. But it will still be like pulling teeth to get people to volunteer. Getting up and reading in front of an audience just seems to be so hard for people to do and I have never understood that. Obviously none of their grade school report cards had teacher comments that said “Talks too much and likes to show off too much”. LOL That’s okay, that behavior has served me well despite what Mrs. Smith said. 

Shower time and prep for the day time. I hope you have a blessed day. Stay warm. May God bring peace to your heart. 

 Hello Friday, nice of you to join us this week. I think Thursday must have skipped town because I don’t see him here. It’s 39 degrees and sunny and promises to go up to sixty or so. That’s doable I reckon. So far we don’t have a lot of plans or maybe no plans at all for today. I have several things started and several things I could be doing. I have a good start on my sermon for the 13th and I have the actual worship service finished. I just need to keep my thoughts in line and get the sermon written. I also need to look at my calendar and organize my brain. I have a wedding coming up in a couple of months and I need to start the counseling for that young couple. And, I have added a Bible study to my weekly schedule for the Lenten season. Plus I’m working on a Tenebrae service for Maundy Thursday and have barely gotten past “thinking about it” stage. 

We still haven’t done our taxes although I did get the corrected document form the church and we could do them. I hate to waste a sunny day doing taxes. We need to do them on a nasty rainy day when we are already in a bummer mood anyway. LOL I wouldn’t want doing taxes to ruin an otherwise pleasant day. This way we can save all of our grumpiest for one day. 

I think I maybe need to go get a haircut today too. It feels like my hair is tickling the junction between my head and my ears. It’s just enough to bug me and I keep swiping at it. 

The war in Ukraine is still waging. Russia’s President  Putin is bound and determined that he is going to crush that country and bring it back under Russia once again. He hates democracy and he hates the fact that the USSR fell apart many years ago. He was a KGB officer (Russian spy service like a gestapo) during that time and part of the very brutal regime. His dream is to bring it all back together and become the world power it once was, regardless of how many people have to die to make that happen. The world has totally turned against him and he is being backed into a corner and that makes him even more dangerous. There are a million refugees that have fled Ukraine and they are all women and children. Every male between the age of 16 and 70 has been ordered to stay and fight for their freedom and they have been effective against an overwhelming force. But they are simply out manned and out gunned. I fear a lot more people are going to die because Putin will not back down. And, while Americans and other nations are all pledging support and are waving Ukrainian flags here where there is peace, they have no idea the horror that can come if Putin escalate this thing to use of nuclear weapons. So, pray, my friends. Pray for peace, pray for the suffering people, Pray that Putin will come to his senses and realize what he is doing. 

On that note, I will close and wish you a peaceful and pleasant day. Shalomn. 

 Wednesday morning, and not just any Wednesday morning. It is Ash Wednesday and this is the beginning of the Lenten season for Christians all over the world. Tonight we will have a worship service and will do Holy Communion and the Imposition of Ashes as part of the service. I always look forward to this service. I think it is because I like the “formality” of the service and the adherence to some old traditions that don’t get practiced in a lot of churches. I like the coming to the altar for communion, I like the imposition of ashes to signify our atonement for our sins. For me, it brings us deeper into our relationship with God and involves us in the life of Jesus Christ on a deeper level. We have two services that are “extra” during the Lenten season; Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday. Maundy Thursday acknowledges the “Last Supper” that Jesus ate with his disciples prior to his arrest, trial and crucifixion, and Resurrection. It sits between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. I know probably all of you know that but just in case someone who is “unchurched” happens to read this blog, I like to share my faith and rituals. 

Yesterday was a beautiful day and we took advantage of it. Ms. kate went out and cut back a patch of Garlic Chives that was growing in one of my flowerbeds. There are also daffodils growing in that location and they were being over shadowed. Then she cut back a bunch of dead stems from the lilies from last year. In the mean time I pulled my garbage can around to the back yard and picked up sticks and branches and things that had fallen over the winter and late fall. I take them and break them up into six to eight in lengths and put them in the trash. I filled my large garbage can with them. That is is a little beginning on all of the “Spring clean-up” I have to do. But, it is a start and ya’ gotta start somewhere. We are supposed to have two more really nice days and then it is supposed to rain some more. So, I just want to get a little something done while I can. 

I’m hoping to get my corrected last W-2 tonight so we can finally get our taxes done. But, if it is nice tomorrow and the next day, I’m going to be outside and not at the desk doing taxes. God gives us rainy days for that job. 

Well, my breakfast was a comedy of errors this morning. I decided that I’d fix a pan of Pillsbury Orange rolls. I like those a lot. So, I preheated the oven, and got a can of rolls out of the fridge and opened them and discovered that I had opened a can of biscuits instead. So — okay, I can remedy that by using the biscuits and rolls them in melted butter and then swipe them through a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. I did that and put them in the oven to bake. But, then I read that I should have put them two inches apart according to the baking directions. It was too late by then because I wasn’t going to dirty up another pan. So, I baked them the appropriate amount of time and put them on a plate. Error three was that these were Grands, flaky layered biscuits and I think they must have had butter in them already. I ate one and a half and toddled them in the wastebasket. They just didn’t taste like they were supposed to. I’m probably not ready to go on Top Chef just yet. I guess that’s why we have boxes of cereal around here. 

That’s it. Ms.Kate is having trouble with her diverticulitis again today and isn’t feeling well. I gotta keep a check on her and then this afternoon/evening I need to go to the church early enough to run my bulletins for Sunday and prep for tonight’s service. 

Have yourself a blessed day. It’s the season to walk to the cross of Jesus \so keep yourself in prayer. Peace. 

 Tuesday morning, March 1st 2022. Here we are, starting the third month of this year already. The really good news is that we are starting march of with a couple of days of really nice weather. It is supposed to go to 60 degrees today and be sunny and dry. That’s all a really good thing s the ground can dry out and i can get out in the yard today today and pick up a winter’s worth of broken twigs and branches before it starts raining next week, maybe even this weekend. 

I haven’t written since our anniversary I don’t think. We had a wonderful day. We received so very many well wishes via Facebook. Were it the “olden days”, we would have had a mailbox full of cards. —- Actually, that isn’t true because it is through social media that people share things that others would not necessarily know such as when your wedding anniversary is or even when your birthday is. We talk about it on Facebook and all of our friends respond to that. I think that is one of the great things about Ms. Kate making all of her greeting cards for folks. It is a much more personal touch knowing that she took the time to make the cards and send them out rather than just tying a “like” on social media. 

We didn’t do a lot on our anniversary other than go out for dinner at the Haub Steakhouse. As I have posted, it was an “okay” meal. The restaurant has been around for years but I understand that it has changed hands and the quality of service and food has gone down. There was nothing wrong with the meal but when you drop $80.00 for a meal and tip, I expect better. The food was no better than I could have gotten anywhere else, and the service was slow. I’ve had worse, but I’ve also had a lot better. It’s seems to be a sign of the times. Ms. Kate and I said that we’ll maybe go back but we won’t be rushing there again any time soon. I would give it a 3 out of 5 star rating. 

We had a good Sunday. The worship services went well and were fairly well attended. So, we went to church, stopped and picked up McDonald’s for lunch, came home and took a nap. 

Yesterday I went to a nursing home to see a parishioner. He was doing fairly well. I got there just as he was sitting down to eat so I sat with him while he had his meal. He had a couple of women at his table and he wasn’t pleased about that. He wants to eat alone. He’s been living alone at home for several years now since his lovely wife passed away and that’s what he is used to. I can understand his thinking. If I didn’t have Ms. Kate, I wouldn’t want a couple of strange people sitting at my table either. But, he was glad to see me and visit with me and didn’t want me to leave. 

I was up at 0600 today for some reason. That’s not a good thing. I like my sleep and I feel like I got robbed. LOL. 

Since I’m up though, I might as well get off of my computer and get some work done. I hope you have am excellent day. Peace.