December 28th. Christmas has come and gone. Julie and Jim have come, spent Christmas with us, and gone back home. They will probably be back again tomorrow evening depending on the weather. It is supposed to rain and may even bring some snow along with it. 

Lisa and Gary arrived on Tuesday morning from North Carolina. We’ve been have a good visit with them They will head back to NC on Sunday afternoon. 

Christmas Eve services went well for both the morning and the evening service. As expected, both were well attended. This Sunday is my final service and my farewell to the parish. It has been a wonderful career but is now time to hang up the robe. 

That’s it for tonight. It’s late. With more company coming in —- I won’t be writing again until 2024. Have a blessed remainder of your 2023. Peace. 

 December 23; — one more day until Christmas Eve.  With Christmas Eve comes Ms. Kate’s 76th birthday!!! I have an Angel Food cake in the oven right now for her. I usually bake her an Angel Food cake, and there is a story to go with that. Many years ago I offered to bake her a cake for her birthday and she said she wanted an Angel Food cake. Well, my only experience with angel food cakes was when my mother made the “back in the day”. I guess back then they had a tendency to “fall” so we didn’t dare make any heavy steps or whatever or we would catch the dickens from my mother. So, I told Kate there was no way I could make an Angel Food cake. She looked me in the face and said “You can’t add a cup of water to a cake mix and bake it???”  Yeh, I felt pretty dumb. 

Yesterday was a fantastic day at the surgeon’s appointment.  We had the CT scan the day before and Dr. Roberts had the results of that. He was very pleased with what he saw. He said the infection was mostly gone and was ready to remove the drain tube from her which was fantastic. And just like that he took it out. She felt so relieved having that thing out. So first time in four weeks we didn’t have to do a flush last night. And for the first time in four weeks she was able to sleep on her left side without the drain hurting her. 

She goes back to she the surgeon on the 19th of January and then he will do her surgery two weeks after that. We appear to be coming to a close of this saga. Hopefully that will be the end of all of this drama and her life can get back to normal. She will be well, I will be retired —- watch out world!!! 

Julie is here and Jim and the pups are coming a little later. She is going to get busy shortly preparing the turkey for our dinner. 

Have a wonderful day. Peace. 

 December the 21st; the shortest day of the year. Yes, they all have 24 hours but today has the least amount of sunlight thereby giving it the title of shortest day of the year. Starting tomorrow morning we will have maybe one minute more of sunlight which will increase daily until June 21st. That’s your science lesson of the day and about all I know about science. LOL

It is also my daughter Lisa’s 52nd birthday. Y’ all don’t know her but let me just say she is a wonderful human being. And if I may be so bold as to say —- all of my daughters are wonderful human beings. They all have such different personalities. Julie, my oldest, is the one with the biggest imagination. That imagination has, I think, been the street to her success. If she thinks she can do something, she will make it happen. She is kind, determined and strong willed and would give you the shirt off of her back; —- unless you cross her or try to BS her. 

Heather, my middle is focused on doing what is right and is also strong willed. She’s honest to a fault and a deeply caring person. She’s highly selective of her friends and deeply loyal to those friends and her family. 

And then there is our birthday girl, Lisa. I don’t know of a kinder, more gentle person in the world than Lisa. We always called Lisa “our nature’s child” because she has always been in tune with the universe and the world around her. She unassuming, unpretentious, and deeply cares for the people and the world around her.  My girls are all wonderful mothers and wonderful daughters.  They are all the embodiment of Ms. Kate. I think they all get their “workaholic” nature from me which is why they are all highly successful leaders and managers; but all the rest of it comes from Kate.

So, that’s enough bragging on my girls. God blessed me and continues to bless me. 

Peace.  

 December 20th; eleven days left in this year and in this month. Can you imagine that??? And can you believe that we are supposed to reach 55 degrees today and that we might have 60 degrees on Christmas day?? But —— I’m not complaining about any of that. 

Our house cleaner was supposed to come today but I got a text from her that her son and her husband have both tested positive for COVID. So, she won’t be coming; and that’s okay. We went a lot of decades without a house cleaner. I just pray they will all recover quickly. Would be terrible to be spending Christmas with the entire family down with COVID. 

I’ll be spending some quality time today at Walmart, sigh!!! Got to get the shopping done for the Christmas company coming in and today is about the only free day to do that. Tomorrow and Friday we do doctor’s appointments and Friday Jules and Jim come in and then we have company for the rest of the year. My list isn’t overly long and I want to get my stuff and get out of the way of the last minute crazies. Ms. Kate and I have our menus fairly well planned, at least for the “big meals”. 

Yesterday we did a good outing. I got ms. Kate to actually ride along with me and we went to our butcher shop, and to both of the churches. She didn’t get out of the car but she did get to see. Few folks that we know and got to have short visits with them. It did her a world of good and it did me a world of good too. It was almost like a”normal day”. It’s been a long time since she went anyplace that wasn’t aa doctor’s visit. 

Well, I can’t put off Walmart forever so I better get properly dressed and get my shopping done. Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 Monday December 18th. This month is moving pretty fast, or so it seems. We are exactly one week from Christmas; and only two weeks from 2024. That countdown came really quickly all of a sudden. And yet, it seems like time is crawling along like a snail in a snowstorm. 

Our update on Ms. Kate is what makes time seem to crawl. We were really hoping that she could get this surgery done and over with prior to Christmas. But our last visit with the surgeon indicated that the fluids we are draining from hr are still showing abscess. And, rightfully so, they don’t want to do the surgery as long as the lesions are showing abscess. She ran out of her antibiotics and her surgeon took her off of them until after we can get another CT scan. So we are just continuing to flush out her drain tube twice a day and just wait. This Thursday she has her CT scan and then Friday she will see her surgeon for a another evaluation. If he decides that we can proceed with surgery, we will have to wait for “X” amount of days wile she gets the Coumadin out of her system; or they will put her in the hospital and maybe give her another plasma treatment to bring it down quickly. We just don’t know. So, we take life day by day. If we were not people of Faith, I’m not sure how we would be handling all of this. But, are are people of faith and we know God has the situation under control, regardless of what the outcome may be. 

In the meantime, I have two Sundays left of my job; that’s just three services. I will do two on Christmas Eve and one on New Years Eve; And out of the next 13 days we will have company for 10 of them. So, no pressure anywhere at all. LOL. 

You are now caught up in the Heumann web of excitement and I’ll stop with that today. I hope your week will be fully blessed. Peace. 

 Good morning and happy mid-week. It’s another cold sunny winter morning. I’m thankful that we are in a weather zone that doesn’t get a lot of snow. Last night my favorite weather forecaster said the odds of a white Christmas for us are extremely slim; in fact the temperatures will be warmer than normal. I’ll take it. 

Well our hopes and plans for Ms. Kate have been less than successful. We were really hoping that she could have her surgery before Christmas but that is not to be. It will be 2024 before she gets it done. We had really hoped we wouldn’t go into a new year facing another hospitalization and surgery. But — the reasons are valid. The fluid we are extracting from Kate still show signs of infection and they don’t want to do surgery as long as it does unless it is an emergency. Kate’s situation, while critical and surgery is absolutely necessary, it is not yet an emergency. So all precautions should be taken. It’s a pain in the butt —— but it is good medicine. Got to just leave in the hands of God. 

We are currently waiting for her surgeon’s office to get another CT scheduled so we can see how she is progressing.  When you bounce between several doctors it is hard to keep up because they don’t necessarily talk to one another. Right now she has a family doctor, a surgeon, a heart specialist, a radiologist, and an oncologist that she bounces back an forth to. Plus our dentist and optometrist. It’s no wonder our Rolodex names all start with Dr. 

That’s it for today. I pray you will have aa wonderful week. Peace. 

 I’m just making a “run through” today. I home for aa bit between doctor’s appointments for Ms. Kate. The first was with Dr. Jackson, our family physician and was basically just a check up for her. She has one of those every four months. While we there though he had his FNP give me my flu shot. I still have to get my RSV shot somewhere. 

We need to head out soon for her next appointment. This will be with Dr. Roberts, her surgeon. We are really hoping that we can get a date for her surgery scheduled. I suspect he will want her to have another CT scan before he gives us a date though. We have been doing the drain flush twice a day but we don’t know what we are expecting to see. I would not expect the stuff we get out of her tube to become clear but  we don’t know. We just want to get this all over with. 

We had good attendance at the churches again yesterday. The St. Lucas kids did their Christmas program and the choir sang “Mary, Did You Know”. Next Sunday the St. Paul’s children will do their Christmas Program and the St. Lucas choir will sing another anthem. And, believe it or not —- the following Sunday is Christmas Eve.  

The Pastoral Search committee is working hard and they now have at least a dozen candidate profiles to go through. The first two Sunday’s in January they have a candidate lined up to preach and she will be doing a trial sermon to become the interim pastor until a settled pastor is found. So things are working like they are supposed to and soon I become just a memory. I have to admit I have a bit of angst about the whole thing, but it is time for me to step down before I fall down. 20 years is long enough. 

Tie to go. — Have a great day. Peace 

 Happy Saturday morning. I’m sitting here at the kitchen table listening/watching to Christmas video music on You Tube. The scenery on the video is beautiful especially because all of that snow is somewhere else. 

It has been a relatively lazy morning around here. I was up at 0700 for no particular reason other than I was ready to get up. Ms. Kate was asleep in the recliner in the family room. She has had to sleep there because of indigestion and coughing. The doctors took her off of some of the medications that control all of that. Sleeping flat on her back doesn’t work and her drain won’t let her sleep on her right side. So, the “good” recliner works well for her. I call it the good recliner because it is a bit bigger than our other recliners. I think we have six recliners in this house and all of them are LazyBoy recliners. But this one is aa leather one and I have one just like it down stairs. They are super comfortable.

We got her medical routine done first thing this morning so that is done until bed time. Then I got the laundry going. It’s only a couple of small loads but I wanted it done before the weekend was out just to keep up with it. Monday we have doctor’s appointment in both the morning and afternoon. This way I don’t have to wait and do it after those. 

Julie is coming over today with the pups. She will stay here and be with Kate while I’m at church for two services and then a council meeting. She has to be back home for a 1600 appointment tomorrow but that will work out fine. 

It was 61 degrees when I got up this morning. It had rained some and a cold front has now gone through. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be only 40 degrees. That’s quite a change. I think it is also how so many people get winter colds. 

Well, the beautiful soft music is about to put me to sleep. So, it may in fact be time to check the inside of the eyelids. Have a wonderful day. Remember what this Christmas season is really about. Peace. 

 Friday morning, December 8th. It’s 48 degrees already this morning which is pretty decent. I haven’t been out much but I did make a quick run to Dollar General first thing this morning. We have a new one about a mile from the house that just opened maybe a month ago. I only went as far as the first aisle so I don’t know if they rest of the aisles are filled with the customary boxes that make it hard to get trough the store or not. However, it did appear that there was only on employee and she was stocking shelves. I was aggravated though that there are only three places to check out and two of them are “self-checkout” and take no cash, and are “card only”. So I rang the little bell and the lady put down her boxes and came and checked me out. This national effort to go to a “cashless society” drives me nuts. I don’t want to have to use a credit card or debit card for every purchase I make. I don’t know why the merchants would like it either because it costs them more when customers use credit. 

Yesterday we had to get hold of the hospital liaison person to make contact with the doctors office and give us a prescription for more of the “flushing syringes” that I’m having to use on Kate’s J-tube. We only had a couple of days worth left, not enough to get to her appointment day with the surgeon. The process went through smoothly though. The syringes are filled with .09% sodium chloride and I have to use two a day. I had first gone to our local medical supply store and they didn’t have them. They told me that they were by prescription only. But it all worked out and they prescribed two weeks worth. 

Yesterday afternoon was a nice afternoon so I got the John Deere out and mulched the leaves in my front yard. My neighbor had a huge Bradford Pear tree and most of the leaves blow over to my yard; (thanks for the gift) so I get to clean them up. It’s not a big deal since all I do is mulch them. Then I brought “Bambi”, my smaller JD in and have parked it in the garage for the winter and parked “Big John” behind it. Thankfully there is room and I think there will still be room even if I put the blade on Big John. 

That’s it for today. Have a blessed weekend. Peace. 

 Good morning on this cool but sunny December 5th. It looks like it might turn out to be a nice day. Got to give thanks to the Creator for another day of blessings. 

Ms. Kate is still doing fairly well. This morning she had a hair appointment. She hasn’t been able to wash her hair in days and days and she can’t take a shower because of the drain tube. So now she feels a lot better about the world since her hair has been taken care of. It is amazing how the simple things like that can affect one’s entire attitude. 

I have our winter heating and air guys doing to service the furnace and make sure we are good for the winter. He will check things out, put in a new Heppa-filter and life will be good. We use Schneider for our service. We bought the system from them several years ago, and it has worked extremely well. We have a n annual contract for service for bth the A/C and furnace. 

I neeed to fill all of the bird feeders. The yard is still wet and this Thursday is supposed to be a really nice day. I will wait until then. I did take a bunch of pecans that I had picked up and put them under the tree. I want to go see if they are gone yet. 

That’s it for today. Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 Good morning and welcome to the first full week of December. I hope you had a great weekend. 

Last week was a looooong week. I wrote to you on Wednesday that we were in Deaconess Gateway Hospital for Kate. Well that stay lasted until approximately 5:00 pm on Saturday. It was hours and days of waiting and sitting, waiting and sitting. The biggest problem is that Kate is on Coumadin blood thinner and they needed her “levels” to get to almost zero. So they gave her stuff to bring them down but that all takes time. Finally, the levels got to where they needed to be and they were able to take her and put in what they call a “J-tube” which is designed to drain the abscess out of the lesion. I’m glad to say it is doing it’s job. We have her home, and I am being her “nurse” and I’m emptying the drain tube and flushing it for her twice a day. She is feeling so much better now. 

We have her lined up to see her surgeon on Monday. Hopefully by then her abscess will be clear and they can schedule her surgery. 

I had a good Sunday, we had good attendance at both services and then St. Paul’s threw a nice luncheon for me for my retirement. I really appreciated that. This coming Sunday we will have the children’s Christmas program at St. Lucas and then the following Sunday the kids at St. Paul’s will present their program. And the choir is going to sing both of those Sundays. Lots of good stuff happening. 

On that positive note — I’m done. Peace. 

 Wednesday, the 29th. I’m sitting in Gateway Hospital with Kate. We spent all day yesterday going from her doctor’s office to here for another CT scan and then to the emergency room for a doctor to further evaluate her and admit her. The lesions on her colon have grown and are causing her all manner of trouble. The plan is to put in a temporary drain and give antibiotics until the infection clears up and then do surgery. We expect to be here “a few days”. THe final stage will be to remove her colon. 

So, that’s alll I have for today. Would appreciate prayers. 

Peace

 There is a bright sun shining in the sky but it is doing nothing to melt the frost off of the roofs across the street that I can see. It is a chilly 31 degrees again this morning and only going to go up about seven degrees today. But, we don’t have any snow like much of the country does this morning. So I have zero to complain about. Besides, I have no out door plans anyway unless Kate’s doctor’s office calls and wants to see her sometime today. 

Yes, she’s sick again, or maybe she’s still sick. I don’t know anymore. She’s past the COVID but it appears that the Diverticulitis is raising its ugly head once again. It can’t possibly be from anything she has eaten because she continues to be the “two-bite-wonder”. Just yesterday, Karen brought us some wonderful Thanksgiving food. Kate ate a couple of bites of mashed potatoes and gravy and that was it. Said she was full and didn’t want anything more. I’ve been able to get her to eat a half of a bagel in the morning and then she eats a couple of bites of something later in the day; and that’s it. Not even any snacking. It is all very concerning and I really hope we can get to the bottom of it. She still has the lesions or abscesses on her colon so maybe it is time for surgery; I just don’t know. Keep her in your prayers please. 

We are down to five Sundays left in my pastoral career. Yesterday we had really good day at the churches. Had a good crowd at St. Pau’s and then at St. Lucas I had a large crowd. Much of the St. Lucas attendance tough was all family of one set of parishioners. I had ask a member to play the piano as special music yesterday and he brought his whole family. They were using yesterday to celebrate the Thanksgiving get together and they were also celebrate the couples 55th wedding anniversary. And as an added bonus, his granddaughters also sang for us. It was really great. 

This coming Sunday will be the first Sunday of Advent and our St. Paul’s congregation is having a luncheon in honor of our departure. I expect a large crowd for that. With choir performances and children’s programs trough December I guess one could ay that we are closing my ministry with a bang. It has been a fantastic career. 

That’s it for today. Have a wonderful week. It will warm up some tis week. I hope you aren’t in th path of the snow storms. Peace. 

 Good morning on this 31 degree sunny morning. The “feels-lie” is a brisk 28 degrees but the wind is light so that would help, —- if I actually even thought about going outside this morning, which I have not. 

 I saw a picture last night of the going home traffic on Wednesday evening on the Los Angeles “I-405 & I-10”. It was at a creeping pace, bumper to bumper, ten lanes wide with loud lane on ramps and exits. I’m so glad I don’t live out there. I wish my daughter and her family didn’t. But, at least Heather and John are moving out of CA next year when she retires. They have already built their retirement home in Star, Idaho.  The grandkids will probably never move out of California because it is all they know. They are in their mid 20’s, they are successful in their jobs and life is grand. Kate and I lived in that rat-race area for a couple of years when I was stationed at March Air Force Base. That is in Riverside, CA and is on the outskirts of all the horrible traffic but anywhere you go in southern CA it is the same way. I’m glad to be here in the country roads of southern Indiana where our definition of a traffic jam is getting behind a combine going from field to field down the road. 

The neighbor across the street took down his “blow-up” Thanksgiving decorations yesterday. They had replaced his yard full of Halloween blow-ups. Now we all get to listen to his “pigs” oinking Jingle Bells 24 hours a day through Christmas. (Just shoot me now!!!) I guess he thinks it is all attractive, and at night when it is lit up it does attract some attention; but it isn’t for me. I personally think it all look trashy. But, no one asked me if I like it or not. 

Today is Ms. Kate’s last day of taking her COVID medications. She still isn’t doing all that well. She has zero energy, and sleeps all the time. She doesn’t have any of the Covid symptoms except for a cough, and that isn’t the “bad cough” that she was having.  Think she has been sick for so long, and has been through so much that her over-all system is just depleted. It worries me a lot. I already know she won’t be going to church tomorrow. 

That’s it for this Saturday morning. I pray you will have a great weekend. Peace. 

 Happy Thanksgiving 2023! It is a beautiful but chilly day; not a cloud to be seen. Forecaster said: “Enjoy it, it will be the last for awhile..”. I’m going to plug in the birdbath today. We’re looking at 20+ degree nights now. Might as well get the birds “heated pool” going at the Backyard Buffet. I think I need to fill some feeders today too. And — if it gets comfortable enough, I need to run the mower over the front yard today and mulch up the last of the leaves that are in the front yard. Well —- “last” is a relative term because they are coming off of the neighbor’s Bradford Pear tree and there are a lot more to come down. 

With Kate and I still “doing COVID” our Thanksgiving isn’t going to be very traditional. We are pretty well over it but Kate has no appetite and that means that if I fixed a bunch of stuff, she would eat one bite and “be full”.  That has been her pattern every since she started with the diverticulitis problem. 

Thanksgiving being early is a mental schedule teaser. We are still seven days away from December and the start of Advent season. But, I’m not rushing the year to end, that will come soon enough and the changes in our lives with it. 

So, have a great day, eat a lot, take your nap, and be grateful to the Lord God. Peace 

 Wednesday afternoon, “Thanksgiving Eve” if there is such a thing. It’s not a big deal around our household though. As I told you, we officially cancelled Thanksgiving here. Kate is still in quarantine and I guess technically, so am I. We told Julie and Jim not to come. I had a parishioner offer to bring a meal but I declined. Don’t want to take chances.

So today started off interesting. Kate was coming out of th bedroom tis morning and while she was reaching for the door, somehow she lost her balance and down we went to the floor.  She is not an easy person to get back up and it took us the best part of an hour. But, we finally did get her up and in her chair.  She’s going to be sore for sure from our efforts. I have no idea how she went down. Fortunately, she was not hurt bad in the process. She’s going to be more sore from us getting her up than she will be from the fall. What am I going to do do with that woman????? It’s probably a good thing I’m retiring; —- we both need keepers. 

I’m very excited. My daughter Julie, the queen of research on a computer, has been doing some digging into my origins. As you know, I’m an adopted kid and so is my sister. We have been told all our lives that the records are sealed and there was no way I could find out anything about my birth parent; —— that was before computers and my very determined Julie. She has tracked down an original of my birth certificate and she has found out info on both my birth father and my birth mother. She even found a copy of my birth mother’s obituary. There is a lot of info there and although we don’t know the exact reason we were placed in an orphanage, there are enough pieces of the story to come up with a great conclusion. . None of it makes any real difference to my life but sometimes. Person just needs answers. My Jules gave me a real Christmas present with this stuff. 

That’s it. Have a great day. Peace. 

 Happy new week. And it is Thanksgiving week. I assume everyone has their turkey and it it was frozen, you put it in the refrigerator yesterday to thaw. That was the plan in our house; —- however —— we cancelled Thanksgiving here. We will still be in quarantine. 

I’m on my last day of pills and quarantine but unfortunately, Kate has it full blown. We tested her again yesterday and she got a positive for COVID report. So, she sent a message through My Chart to her doctor right away and we are waiting on a response this morning from them. I suspect they will prescribe Paxlovid for her just like they did for me. Although she has so many reactions to different medicines, they may do something else for her. Anyway — we are quarantined through Friday around here. I texted Julie and told her to not come over. We don’t need her or Jim getting COVID. I think they neither one have had it yet. As I told her, the turkey won’t get any bigger or any more dead by the time we have it. We can have turkey for Christmas or New Year’s Day to celebrate my first day of retirement. 

I hope I never do anything that will land me in jail!  That’s a really random statement but let me explain myself. Because of COVID, I’m quarantined in a wonderful home, very comfortable furniture, all of the creature comforts. I can go to the refrigerator and get want I want, I can have my coffee or whatever when I want. I have th love of my life sharing this home with me.  I have all of the world to communicate with through television, multiple computers and phones. I can go outside or in my garage, or in my fully finished/furnished basement, and yet —— because I’m in quarantine and can’t go anywhere; I feel like a prisoner in my own home and don’t know what to do with myself. Imagine being in a 8X10 jail cell with bunk beds and a steel sink and toilet and a cellmate and that is all. Amazing what our minds do to us. 

Today is our middle daughter’s 53rd birthday. All I will say about her is that she is a wonderful human being and the world is so much better with her being in it. Happy birthday Heather. 

That’s it for today. This is ‘Thanksgiving week”. Make the most of that thought and be thankful for your life full of blessings. Peace. 

 With all honesty, I tell you that COVID doesn’t suck any less today than it did yesterday. Somethings  don’t necessarily get better with age. Well, that’s probably not true. I am on my second day of Paxlovid. I think it is maybe working but haven’t had it in my system long enough to really know. For those of you have not “had the pleasure”, a Paxlovid “dose” is three sizable pills that you take at the same time, twice a day. It leaves a metallic taste in your mouth for a while after you take it. But — as I told my daughters this morning, at least I still have the ability to taste which sometimes you lose with COVID. I guess my most common symptoms right now would be that I have a “dripping nose and a cough”. My ribs are sore from coughing and blowing my nose, and either the COVID or the meds are keeping me sleepy and tired. I’m sleeping in my recliner away from Kate because the last time she had it she was hospitalized. Now you are court up on my woes and complaints. 

But else where in the world; we had some rain last night with “some” be a relative word. I think we only had about .02 inches. It hardly got the new mulch wet down. The streets are still showing wet but that is because the sun has yet to come out from the clouds. It’s a good day to be inside. It was 60 degrees this morning at 0615 when I woke up and here at 1100 it is only 62. And the temps are supposed to drop for most of the weekend and next week. 

This “time off” is giving me the opportunity to finish up everything I have to do “work-wise” for the last six weeks of my job. I have one more sermon to write. I had two left but since I can’t preach this Sunday, I’ll use the one I wrote for this Sunday still and then write the last one. Hard to believe that time has actually come. But, I feel this is the plan God has laid out for me and for the parish. Hopefully they will get some one in that loves them as much as Kate and I do.  

That’s it from this Kleenex holder. Have a wonderful weekend. Peace. 

 Some days just go to hell in a hand basket I guess. I got to feeling bad yesterday morning but we had several things happening so I didn’t a have lot of time to worry about it. I had my yard crew here to get the place cloned up and I had a Zoom meeting for our Tri-annual Boundary class. By last night I was really feeling rough and could tell I had a fever so I got out one of our COVID tests and used it; —- and sure enough, I tested positive for COVID. I don’t have time for this. Anyway, —- I zipped off a text to my doctor on My Chart and told him. I heard back first thing this morning from them. They wanted to know my symptoms and when did I first start having the symptoms. That’s the last I have heard from them. I assume they are calling in a prescription for me; probably for Paxlovid which seems to be the “go to” for COVID. 

I did get a fairly good nights sleep. I’m in the recliner in the family room and Kate has the bed. It works better if I kind of sit up instead of lying flat on my back. 

Of course that means I will still be in quarantine on Sunday and can’t do my church services. I have contacted the two council presidents right away and told them so they can try to find a replacement for me for Sunday. I hate to have to do that to them but I’m also pretty sure I got this from a couple of church members, that came down with it on Monday. 

My yard crew did a fabulous job. There were ten of them and they got everything done in about seven hours. That would have been seven weeks for me. LOL

Okay, back to the recliner. Hope you have a great day. Peace. 

 Good Monday!!! (Is that a thing we say??) It’s a chilly morning at 38 degrees but the week is predicted to be actually pretty nice. I think the forecaster last night predicted mostly sunshine for the week with temperatures topping out in the mid sixties. That’s not bad at all. I just wish my darn yard crew would give me a call and tell me when they are coming. It is perfect weather for them to be out there. I really thought I had gotten my request in early enough to be early in the schedule before the rain and or snow moved in. 

Speaking of snow; I keep seeing al of these “El Nino” predictions about a terrible winter. I don’t know what to actually believe. As you know, I’m not a fan of any weather that I have to shovel and I keep seeing them hedge around about how much snow we might get but then they finish up their long scientific report with things like; — of course none of this is any kind of a guarantee. Well, duh! Of course you can’t guarantee it. However — leave off the 15 minute history report and give me an educated guess. One of the best weather reports I ever heard was being given by a young Navy Lt to the Admiral. He said “Sir any prediction of weather beyond three days out is strictly being pulled out of the reporter’s rear end!” The Admiral loved it. 

Yesterday was rather long at the churches; two services and a council meeting. Bless their hearts, they aren’t getting any responses to speak of for my replacement so they are constantly having to go to the drawing board and re-think their situation and make new plans. Pastoral search committee duty is extremely tough especially when the parish is small with a matching budget. And, we are a conservative/traditional parish and therefore not in tune with the denomination which has gone very liberal in their beliefs and practices. So, the denomination is in no hurry to find candidates for us and we are having to go outside the denomination to search for candidates. But, I remind them that diligence and patience will be the norm if they are to be successful. The right person is out there. And the answer is not for me to change my mind and just stay on. 

So today, I guess I will just stay home and work on sermons. I hope your day will be a really great one. Peace. 

 I see it got to be Saturday without any help from me at all. Obviously I'm not the center of even my own universe.  Oh well, welcome to the weekend. 

It has turned cooler again which is just what should be happening. It is almost the middle of November after all. Middle of November?? Did I really say that?? Where did the other ten and a half month go? Of course I've been talking about them, but that thought that it was the middle of November just seemed strange. 

What's on your agenda today? I need to get a haircut today. I suspect the barber shop will be packed. If I go early, maybe I can get in rather quickly. I took Ms. Kate to the beauty shop yesterday and she got her hair looking great for the weekend. Mine isn't "bad" particularly, but it does need to be trimmed over the ears and on the back of my neck. I'm not sure it couldn't go another few days, but I need to look proper for church. Nobody wants to see an unkempt pastor. 

Yesterday I did a pastoral visit with a man that I have only briefly met a time or two. He is the father of a member and has some severe health issues. I'm told that many years ago he was very active in the church. So, when I was asked if I would go see him, of course I said yes. I will go back  to see him again as long as I am still the pastor of the church. He's in a facility that is close to where another of my parishioners is so I can go se them two of them on the same day.  

We were supposed to have our yard crew come this week and that didn't happen. I'm disappointed in that because it has been such a perfect week for them to work. But I guess it has been a good week for them to be other places, but I did make sure I got on their schedule in plenty of time I thought. Maybe they are like so many other places and are having a worker shortage. But that doesn't excuse them from reaching out and letting me know, nor does it make my place look any better. 

I got my Wild Birds Unlimited order yesterday afternoon. There were two heavy boxes sitting in front of the garage door when I got home. This should last me through Christmas at least. That reminds me that I need to bring out the electric bird bath and take in the Hummingbird feeders. Those guys won't be back until mid April. 

That's it for today. It's time to clan up and had to the Barbershop. Have yourself a wonderful weekend. As always, I'll remind you to go to your house of worship. The Lord God has looked after you all week and has filled your life with blessing you don't even know about. "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good."   Peace. 

 Thursday Morning, and it is another nice one. Yesterday's wind cleared a lot of leaves off of the neighborhood trees. Dan's front yard Maple is almost void of leaves, and he did a good job of getting them cleaned up. His backyard Maple however, is one big beautiful red ball above his roof line as I see it from my kitchen window. I suspect it will be another week before it drops.

Yesterday was productive at the churches. I got several things done as far as bulletins are concerned. I also finished my December 3rd sermon. That leaves me three more to write, and I have those "kind-of" thought out and have jotted down some notes for them. 

Much of my day today will probably will be spent with a group of pastors. I belong to a group of what we call "Traditional Pastors", i.e. pastors that try their best to keep their ministry and messages on the conservative side and try to keep their messages "Biblical". So many churches, denominations, and pastors are jumping on all of the latest "worldly practices" and are perverting the scriptures. As a result, many churches and people are leaving the mainline denominations. I belong to the United Church of Christ (UCC) and it has gone "totally woke" in its interpretation of the scriptures and gospel. It breaks my heart to see it happening. Our local UCC churches belong to a subset of the denomination and conference called the Evansville Tri-State Association, (ETSA). When I began with my ministry there were 33 UCC churches in our area. Today there are 22 churches remaining in the ETSA. Another one of our churches left the denomination just two weeks ago. Now that I'm retiring in a few weeks it will be interesting to see what the parish does; will they stay UCC or will they leave the denomination too. They have already attached themselves to another more conservative association; but so far have not left the denomination because I have encouraged us not to leave but to try to stay and stand up for what we believe. But, as the world get crazier, and our denomination gets farther out in left field, It gets harder to defend staying. Whoever is going to come and fill my position, will have to address these issues . 

So, It's time to fix some breakfast. Have your self a wonderful day. Peace. 

 I can really tell that the leaves are off of trees in the back yard as I set here in the sun porch. It is really almost too bright to see my IPad screen. I need my ball cap to cover my eyes. But, I will take the sunshine and 75 degrees any November day. It is beautiful outside. 

Ms. Kari, our house cleaning lady is here this morning. She generally comes on a Wednesday but she has a scheduling problem tomorrow so she asked if she could come today. Of course I said yes. And she brought us some pumpkin crumble cupcakes and a pumpkin roll for the freezer. She is a really good baker. 

I still have not heard from my yard crew. I was hoping they would be here yesterday. I have a two day job for them for sure. But, maybe they will be here later this week. I hope. They are sure missing some good weather to work in. But maybe they have a bigger job hat they are currently working on or maybe all of their people didn’t show up —- I don’t know. I just want them to get here and get it done so I can mark that off of my list of things. 

I filled bird feeders again yesterday and put out some different stuff. I also cleaned the bird baths but it is almost time to change the one out for the electric one. I also put in a $250.00 order to Wild Birds and Things for food. That should last me to at least Christmas. The dang birds eat better than I do and they get it brought to them. Speaking of eating, I’m about ready to think about lunch time. I still have some of the pulled pork that Jim made and I think I’ll heat some of that up for a sandwich or two. 

The feeeders all have a lot of visitors about now. Several cardinals, finches, sparrows and doves. I had a couple of squirrels running around but they have gone off to the neighbors trees. That works fine for me. 

That’s it for today. Have a blessed Tuesday. Do something kind for someone today. Peace. 

 Happy Monday, after a great Sunday. Yes, yesterday went very well with church services that were fairly well attended. 

Today we had to start our day out with Ms. Kate’s Infectious Disease appointment. Her surgeon had recommended this appointment as a measure to rule out other options such as surgery. However, The ID doctor said that “yes, she does have a couple of small abscesses on her colon; but all of the antibiotic in the world will not “heal them” and he didn’t recommend any at this time. His opinion is that at some point she will have to have surgery to get rid of them; However, she is showing no symptom such as any pain or temperatures etc. So she has a colonoscopy and endoscopy coming up in mid-December. He says to have that and then start thinking about having the surgery. So, all in all — it was a great visit. —- So, we celebrated by going out for breakfast and now it is nap time. LOL. We neither one got very good sleep last night so a mid day nap is in order. You get to do that when you’re old. 

Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 What a beautiful Saturday. We’re on our way to 65 degrees and a day of wall-to-wall sunshine. 

I’m sitting at my kitchen table looking at neighbor Dan’s Maple tree. It has so far gone from green to red and now a yellow & brown. The leaves have begun to fall and there is a good layer on the ground around in his yard. They plan on heading out on vacation in another 10 days or so. It will be interesting to see if his tree loses its leaves before they go. He has another Maple in his back yard. I went over a couple of days ago and it is still summer green and has not even started to turn yet. Well, the leaves will all be waiting for him when he gets back. My trees have all lost their leaves and I have them cleaned up pretty well, except in the flower beds. I’m leaving that for the yard crew that is supposed to come next week. 

Yesterday afternoon I went out and pulled up all of my tomato plants. I gathered the last half dozen ripe tomatoes off of them, pulled them up and put away their cages. That’s another thing that I’m going to have the yard crew do; reconfigure those two raised beds. I want them made a little thinner so I can drive my mowers back and forth from front yard to back yard if need be. 

I think I’ll see if Ms. Kate wants to go out for some breakfast and then we’ll go up to Karen’s house and I’ll pick up pecans. I keep wanting to do that but today is such a nice day, It would be a waste not to go today. I think I told you that I’m just going to put them out under my tree for the squirrels. Kate can’t eat nuts any more and I’m not crazy about them but the squirrels will love them. 

So, that’s my story for today. Have a very blessed weekend, Don’t forget to set your clocks back tonight. And don’t neglect spending some time at your house of worship. Peace. 

 Welcome to November. I started a blog yesterday but didn’t more than a sentence written and got interrupted. Then I didn’t get back to it because the day was just that busy. 

How was your Halloween? Did you have a lot of tricksters and treaters? I did my usual thing. I get on my lawn mower and go sit down by the street. I have a monkey mask that I wear and have worn for years but this year I couldn’t find it so I just put on my warm clothes and sit there and pass out candy. I did have several of the kids ask me “Where’s the monkey?” It was a miserable cold evening this time for the kids and us adults too. On my little section of the street thee are four of us that sit out and wait for the kids. Across the street from me is a guy that goes all out for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with all of that blow-up stuff. He couldn’t possibly put any more things out there. I have to believe that it raises his electric bill up. Then he always has some elaborate costume that he wears to scare the kids. Reminds me of me many years ago when I was his age. All of my decorations though were home made and our house was always the one to gravitate to. 

It was 43 degrees when I went out to begin the evening and I stayed for two hours. By then the temperature had dropped to about 37, the wind had picked up considerably, and I had served at least 90 customers. I wimped out and came in. It was fully dark by then and I only had two small groups come by after that. So this year we only had about half of the number that we generally have. I have a lot of small candy bars waiting to tempt me now. 

Yesterday was a busy day, as I said. We did laundry, I did some writing, and then we had company all afternoon. And I had my weekly go to the church stuff to do; running bulletins, prepping the sanctuary, and then staying for choir practice. We are singing two different numbers between now and Christmas, plus we have a quartet that is going to do a number. We also have a Children’s Christmas program at each church. On Christmas Eve morning I have a soloist from each church singing “O Holy Night” for their Christmas Eve service. So there is a lot going on during our worship services in the next eight weeks. 

Today I absolutely have to fill my bird feeders. Everything is empty. And I will probably run my mower over my leaves one more time just clean up the yard a bit. Although, I saw a video the other day on Facebook that told us not to rake our leaves. Allegedly it promotes firefly growth and protection, and of course it is good much. But I use a mulching blade on my mower so I’d think that would be the same thing. I showed the article to someone and their comment was: —- “that woman obviously live in an HOA!” True, true, true. 

I’ve rambled on enough today. Have yourself a great Thursday and set yourself up for a Fantastic Friday! Peace, my friends. 

 Happy Halloween! It is going to be a cold, cold night for the little Trick or Treaters this evening. I guess “the Monkey will ride” again this year though. Or maybe I’ll just sit out there on the John Deere and wait for them to come along. I’m not actually sure I know where I put the “monkey mask” that I have been using for the past decade. But, I’ll have on my warm wear stuff for sure. I think it is supposed to be around  30 degrees at at Trick or Treating hour. My guess is that there will be a lot of “Taylor Swifties” running around out there tonight. She is all the rage  theses days. I saw that she just made “Billionaire” status with her music and concerts. And me —- don’t know that I have ever heard of a song she sings. 

Yesterday Ms. Kate and I made a couple of apple pies because Julie, Jim, and their friend Karyn were coming over. I must say that the pies were absolutely delicious. Kate had been wanting to make some earlier but her health had kept her from it. So I went to Schnucks yesterday morning to get some Golden Delicious apples. Kate wanted a couple of bags of them. Well, they didn’t have any bags of them and they were priced at $2.00 a pound for them. That amounted to approximately $1.00 an apple. So, I went to the IGA and found 3lb bags for less than $5.00. I brought them home and we got to work on them. We have one pie left and I’ll be starting on that one today. 

31st of October! I have two months left in the job or only nine Sundays left. That’s not long is it? I have to admit that I’m nervous for the parish because we have not received except one profile of an interested person in becoming the pastor. But I can’t let that be my concern. As my mentor and friend, Art Christmas tells me, It’s God’s parish; God will handle it as it needs to be handled. I know our profile is out there. I reckon they will have an interim for awhile. 

Today we are doing some laundry; actually just changing and washing the bed clothes. Sure glad we are in the days of indoor drying and not like it was when Kate and I were kids and our mothers had to hang the wash outside. Although, there is a lady that lives just across the block that always hangs her was outside. I don’t know why; maybe she just like that fresh air smell on the clothes. 

So, have a great Halloween, don’t eat too much candy, and then let all start thinking about Thanksgiving and counting our blessings. Peace. 

 Thursday, just past noon: I’m sitting here with a face, mouth, gum, and tongue all numb on the right side. I just came home from a dental filling.  For what ever reason, it always seems to take extra novocaine to prep me for dental work. Then it takes an extra hour for my face to return to normal again. So, I’m sitting here hungry and thirsty but I don’t dare try to eat or drink just yet because I will either spill on myself, or bite my tongue or jaw or something. So, I guess I will maybe try to drink something from my left side and hope it goes well. 

I spent the afternoon yesterday at the churches as I had told you I would be doing. I got the bulletins run and placed for this Sunday and I had time to run the bulletins for next week. As luck would have it, today I got a text from the choir director asking if we can move the date of the quartets song to a different Sunday. They were supposed to sing next week and I have that in the bulletin, —- but, —- what ever. Of course we can move it. Are you kidding? I’m just thrilled that we have a quartet that wants to do a number. Now, I wonder if I can convince them to sing at both churches???? I know the folks at St. Paul’s would enjoy them singing and I love the song they are going to do: “Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone”. Well the worst they can say is “no”. 

I need to get on the JD and mulch leaves again today. They are really coming down now. My Tulip Polar in the front yard, the one we call “Harley” is almost totally devoid of leaves now. The two in the back are losing their leaves fast too. Yesterday, Kari, (our cleaning lady) and did get the potted plants brought in to the sun porch. It’s supposed to drop temperatures really quick this weekend. Halloween is going to be miserable for the local kids as the high for the day is supposed to be 48 and we may be having rain. Speaking of which, I have yet to buy any candy for Halloween. I better do that in the next couple of days. 

That’s it for today. I’m going to get a cup of coffee and see if I can “side-drink it”. Peace. 

 Wednesday again — already. It’s a warm morning @ 62 degrees and little to no wind. I watching more and more leaves fall from the trees. Across the street, Dan’s Maple trees are starting to turn. They will get to a nice red before they suddenly fall. All of that could happen within the week. Cold weather is coming in this weekend. I thought our cleaning lady was coming yesterday but I had my calendar wrong and she came today. She and I will get the porch potted plants in today because next Tuesday they are predicting first frost and first freeze. When the temperature dumps, it dumps quick. At least there is no prognosis of snow in the forecast. However, the north third of the country cannot say the same. Friends of ours are already posting snow pictures on Facebook. It’s messing up their golf games. LOLOL. 

Being Wednesday, that means I have to go to the church to run my bulletins for the week and then stay for choir practice. I hope this week we have a better turn out for choir. We only had enough for a quartet last week and I was the lone male singer which is never good. I rely on those young guys to cover up my mistakes. “There was a day” when I could hold my own in choir and even did a few solos and duets. These days though the voice is weak and I have a difficult remember the note “sound”. And then I get so focus on the tone of the note that I sing the wrong words. I’m an old mess and need a keeper I think. LOL. But I enjoy singing, whether anyone else enjoys my singing can be debatable. 

Ms. Kate and I decided to go to Chipotle for dinner last night. They have a new place on the east side of town and we thought we would give it a try. Actually Kate wanted to try it. We have another one also on the east side of town but its location is terrible. One can hardly get in and out of their parking lot because it is on the corner of a very busy intersection, and when you do manage to get in the parking lot, there is hardly any parking. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that location close now that the new place is open. Any way, we went and I got us a couple of Carne Asada bowls to take home. It was “okay”. What surprised me though was that the young kid running the cash register actually did not know how to handle a cash transaction and had to ask someone to help him. I guess they are so used to people paying with their credit or debit card. I mentioned this to Julie and Lisa last night and they said that wasn’t unusual. Lisa and her family just went to Kings Dominion Theme park last weekend and she said the entire park was “cashless” and card only. Julie said that people are surprised that her bookstore still takes cash because the rest of the university only uses cards. Amazing. What are we going to do when the electric grid goes down and people can’e use their card? Do we just not buy anything?? Or what do we do when entire networks get hacked and accounts stolen?  Technology is great for a lot of things, but it can’t become the only solution. Artificial Intelligence use is becoming an actual worry to a lot of the nations leadership. The Jetson’s world is not going to be all we thought it would be in my opinion. 

Notes from the Sunporch —- we had four Bluebirds at once here yesterday in the backyard Buffet. Obviously they are migrating to somewhere. But it was a beautiful sight. 

That’s it for today. I need to go out and clear the leaves out of the patio plants so we can bring them in. Have a blessed week. Stay in touch with God. God certainly will stay in touch with you. Peace. 

 New day, new week, and it’s a beautiful day out side. 

It wouldn’t be normal if we didn’t start the week out with a morning round of doctor’s visits. I am glad too report though that these were very good visits. Today we had Kate’s six-month check-up from both her radiologist and her oncologist. Both gave her good reports and said that they will follow up. Back to the radiologist in six months and to the oncologist in a year. In the mean time she will have her mammogram of course, some time in January and an ultrasound next fall. But —- that doesn’t mean the calendar is clear of doctor’s visits any time soon.  We still have her annual Heart doctor’s appointment, her infectious disease consult for her diverticulitis, and her colonoscopy and endoscopy exams, and family doctor visit all before Christmas. Medicare and Tri-care must love us. It just leans credit to what I’ve heard for years; — you know you are getting old when the only numbers in your Rolodex are doctors. Although, I guess today’s Rolodex would be speed dial on your IPhone. 

Yesterday was another great day at church. I had the pleasure of doing another infant baptism. In fact this was most likely my last baptism. I only have ten more weeks on the job and there are no prospects out there that I know of. I’m really going to miss that. 

Tomorrow our cleaning lady comes and I am going to ask her to help me get the patio plants brought in for the winter. The night are getting cooler and we have had no threat of frost so far but I have babied these dang plants for two decades and I don’t want a sudden drop in temperature to catch me off guard and it maybe kill my plants. Somehow — those pots seem to get heavier every year. What’s up with that???

Well. I have writing to do and my computer doesn’t seem to want to do it for me. I guess I better head down to my basement office and get to work. 

It’s a brand new week with all kinds of opportunities to be kind to one another. Peace, my friends. 

 What a beautiful morning! It’s bright and sunny, about 60 degrees and a breeze of about 10 mph or so. Later today I am going to jump on the John Deere and square up the yards again. I have a lot of leave that are coming down and I down’s want to get behind on that chore. The female tulip poplar has maybe 15% of it’s leaves gone already. The male tree won’t start falling for probably another two weeks or so. His leaves are much bigger than the ones on the female. (I’m only guessing that they are male and female.) She leafs out first in the spring and drops first in the fall by maybe three weeks or so. And she is the one with all of the pods. 

We’ve gotten the majority of our “chores” done for the weeks so we can take it relatively easy for the weekend. Kate will be making Christmas cards, I’ll get the yard mowed and a little other yard work and then work on another sermon. Kate hates for me to work on writing sermons and stuff when I am supposed to be taking a day off, but I enjoy doing it. I suspect once I retire, I’ll end up actually doing some writing that may or may not lead to a book, but we will see what happens. 

Kate made french toast this morning for breakfast and of course it was just perfect. I bought some bananas yesterday when I went to the grocery so we each sliced up a banana to out on our french toast. 

So that’s it for today. I hope you have a great weekend. I hope where ever you might be is going to have perfect fall weather and you can get out and enjoy the beautiful changing of the colors on the trees and breathe in so crisp fresh air. Peace

 Wednesday, Wednesday, —- where do the days go? It looks like Fall out there and at 10:30 am it is only sixty degrees. I think it is supposed to get to about 71 and if it does, that will make for a beautiful afternoon. 

My job today it to make some parishioner calls and run my bulletins for Sunday, then stick around for choir practice this evening. It equals a busy day and a long day; but a satisfying day. 

Nothing else much is news around our house. Well, Kate’s surgeon did have a consult with the Infectious Disease folks concerning the lesion/abscess on her colon; and they want her to come in for a consultation. That won’t be until mid-November though. Nothing like dragging all of this out. The good news is that she is feeling so much better though. Maybe this will all just pass. That’s what happened when I had Diverticulitis, but then I was never diagnosed with an abscess. But, they have now put her on Omeprozole pills which is what I was prescribed and has kept me in check for two decades. Who knows, maybe that is the answer. It would be wonderful if the remedy was that simple. And that’s more information than you ever wanted about my wife’s internal organs; LOLOLOL. 

I’m looking forward to the weekend. Julie and the pups are coming over on Saturday and spending the night. I love that they live within an hour and a half drive from us. We don’t make it over there very often because we never know when or what that girl has on her plate for the day. She is always working it seems. She does five and a half days at work and is doing something that keeps her busy. I’m just glad that she inserts time to come here. It’s great to have one of the girls within reach. With Heather in California and Lisa in North Carolina —- it’s a long way for a drop-in. 

So that’s it; I need to make a couple of phone calls and check on my home bound folks. Have a great day. Peace. 

 Monday morning and October is officially one half over. It’s a chilly 48 degrees and thee sun has yet to be seen even though it is daylight. I think the forecaster said that these clouds may break up this afternoon for awhile. 

How was your weekend? We had a good one around here. This is the first weekend that Kate has felt well enough to to get out of the house go do some things. It was also her first theme back at church in some time. Everyone was happy to see her and she was really happy to be back. Being with our parishioners is the main thing that we will miss after I retire. For the past almost 20 years we have built a lifetime bond with them. Protocol dictates though that we not involve ourselves in those two churches for a lengthy period of time after we retire. It tends to interfere with the relationship that a new pastor is trying to build with the congregations. I understand the reasoning, but it isn’t easy. I wouldn’t want to interfere at all with their progress “post-me”. And —- they need to be open to new leadership and maybe even new ways of doing things.  However, many of these people have become very personal friends of ours. That will not change. 

Yesterday was a great day at my St. Paul’s church because we had an infant baptism. The church was pretty full. This event was actually a generational event. I knew the great-grandparents of the infant and even did their funerals. I confirmed the child’s father and his brothers, I married all three of the boys and now am baptizing their babies. Long pastorates will give you those opportunities occasionally and I have had several of them between the two churches. God blesses me every day with things like this. 

I’m looking over our calendar for this week and it is void of doctor visits this week with the exception of a dental cleaning for me tomorrow afternoon. What will we do for a social life???????

With that, I’m done for this morning. Have a blessed week. Stay in touch with God; pray for peace in this world. 

 Happy Thursday afternoon. Another busy day for us today but today’s adventure had nothing to o with going to a doctor. It has been a long time since I have been able to say that. 

Last evening I had choir practice at the church after I had spent the afternoon running the bulletins for Sunday. After choir practice, I asked one of my smart Tekky guys about something to do with my computer and printer. Well, unfortunately, when I left the church, I forgot to take the flash drive out of the computer and bring it home with me. My “church world” lives on that flash drive, all my services, all my sermons and programs I’m currently working on. That meant I had to go back up to the church this morning  and retrieve my flash drive so I can continue my work. So, I proposed to Ms. Kate that we get ourselves ready, go to breakfast, then up to the church and pick up my flash drive. Then, I needed to get a haircut and she wanted to go to the Dollar Tree store to look for some flowers and decorations for the cemeteries,.

So, we went to Sunrise Cafe for a great breakfast and then up to the church. I got to the barbershop and it was packed. I guess it is “Fall Break” for the school kids and every kid needed a haircut. Okay, it wasn’t that bad but, —- there was a long wait. There are five barbers in the shop I go to and I have a particular barber named Mary that I like to cut my hair. I signed in and it looked like there was only one call for Mary. But, I was wrong. There were three guys waiting on Mary, so it took a while. When I get my hair cut, I like to just sit there and let the barber cut my hair without a lot of conversation. Other guys seem to think they need to have a relationship between them and their barber and want to jabber on forever. All three of these guys were takers. In they meantime, Kate is sitting out in the car waiting. I finally called her and told her that if she wants to come in — there is a bathroom that she could use if she needs to. She did come in about the time Mary called my name. But, I got a nice haircut and will be good for another four weeks or so. We never made it to Dollar Tree. I guess we will do that maybe tomorrow. 

The great thing about all of this is that Kate felt well enough to do all of it. She is doing so very much better. Her surgeon called her today and said that her CT scan show that she still has two either abscesses or lesions on her colon, so she isn’t healed. But he is doing a referral for her to Infectious disease people to see if they think it is a problem and if they have something they can do to treat it without going back on the antibiotic pills that have been causing her all of this trouble. So, it is still a wait and see, but they are not seeing anything that requires surgery at this point. So, we will relax about it until told not to relax about it, and we will continue to give all praise to God for the care she has been given. 

That’s my report for today. Have yourself a blessed day. Peace. 

 Good morning on a crisp 57 degrees morning. The sun is shining and it is just a beautiful autumn day. 

It’s going to be another busy day. First thing this morning Kari will be arriving in a few minutes to clean the pace up. She does such an excellent job. One of the smarter things we have done is to have a house cleaner come in a couple of times a month. She does the vacuuming and dusting, cleans the bathrooms, and cleans mirrors as they need it. Basically she does all of the things that require a lot of stretching and reaching and bending that Kate and I just don’t seem to be able to do anymore. And, she’s a great person. 

We’ve spent the last two days doing doctor’s appointments. We don’t have the results back as of yet so we’re waiting patiently or maybe not so patiently on those. Kate read the results on her “My Chart” page but unless you speak “doctoreze” who knows what they are telling us. One would think they could have put in a simple statement like; “it’s better than it was” or something like that. But no, they put all of these medical terms in the report so you still have to guess what is being said. 

I finished my October services and sermons last night. Wow, —- it’s beginning to be real. This morning’s email contained the official announcement from the Evangelical Association asking for resumes for a new pastor for my churches. I have to admit, it gave me a twinge of sadness. I love being at the parish but it is time to cut the cord and bring in a young person to do God’s work in the parish. I just pray that whoever comes in will love those folks as much as I do. I think God and I have an agreement that it is time for me to step down. 

Today I have to go to the parish and run the bulletins for this coming Sunday. I’m going to have to run extras because we are having an infant baptism this Sunday at St. Pau’s and the mom told me that she expects a large crowd. I love a full church. Next Sunday, the 22nd, I get to do another baptism. It’s my lucky month. Everyone knows that infant baptisms are my favorite part of the job. I’ll miss doing that.. 

I reckon that is about it for today. I hope your week is fully blessed. Peace. 

 It’s October 9th, Columbus Day, — and I’m wondering if anyone cares. It is a Federal Holiday which means that banks and post offices and government offices are closed; —- however, the rest of the world moves on. It’s also known as Indigenous People’s Day thanks to President Joe Biden. Anything for a vote. I do remember my elementary school days where we would participate in little skits and have an assembly to honor Christopher Columbus based on a lot of errant history. But, I’m not going to start a political argument. I’ll just ignore the “holiday” and carry on. 

I think I told you that my son-in-law John had had a mild stroke last week. He is now home from the hospital and isn’t too much worse for the event. He still has some peripheral vision problems and must be cleared by the ophthalmologist before he can drive. I can see where it would be a problem because it is his left eye and that is the side that cars and people pass you on when you are driving. Hopefully this will clear up for him. But he is extremely lucky if that is the worst that he comes out with for all of this. Don’t drop him from your prayers just yet. 

We’re getting our selves dressed and ready to take Ms. Kate for her consult with her surgeon. I think this is a “follow-up” from her hospitalization she had here but he is going to have to also look over the records from her hospitalization in Texas. I just hope he doesn’t try to suggest that she take any more antibiotics. I suspect he will ask for to go take another CT scan, but maybe they will have gotten her results from the one in Texas by now. She didn’t go to church again yesterday because of the nausea tat comes from taking the antibiotics. She has two more days of them and I just hope that Dr. Roberts will say she can just stop them, period. The lady is worn out from being sick and nauseous every day. We have to make her “gooder”. 

I think I will stop and buy a Powerball lottery ticket while we are out and about. I stand as good of a chance of winning that $1.5 billion dollars as anyone else. Even after taxes, there would still be enough to fill up both gas tanks and go grocery shopping. My mind can’t even comprehend what I would do with that kind of money. 

Time to get in the car. I hope you have a blessed week. Peace.  

 Friday, Oct. 6th —- which means that next Friday is Friday the 13th!!!

It’s been another one of those days for our family. We got notified by middle daughter Heather that her hubby, John, had a mild stroke last night. Kate and I were just vacationing with them a week ago. What in the world. What is amazing is those two are the most health conscientious people in the family. They eat well and they exercise well. He rides 100 mile bicycle trips in the Idaho mountains and Grand Tetons. One never knows what life is going to bring. The really good news is that they caught it early in the process and got treatment for him to start dissolving the clot. I just heard from her a few minutes ago and they had him in for a MRI. She said he is doing well so far and his most notable complaint was some messed up vision in his left eye. So, my friends, please add John to your list of prayers. 

Today started with Kate going to the beauty shop to have her hair trimmed and fixed. She was going to cancel they appointment but I talked her out of that. I felt that as bad as she has felt, she needed something to make her feel a little better. From there, we went to the churches and got things ready for Sunday services. Then came back to Evansville, went to Walgreens to pick up medicine for Kate and then to the bank to deposit some checks. Now we are home and have taken a snippet of a nap. 

Yesterday I wrote my sermon for Oct 22nd and got the bulletin prepared for Oct 29th. This month has just begun and I’m already prepping for the next month. I will say it again, —— it will be really strange to not have this stuff to do come January. I’m still not sure how I will fill my time. But I don’t intend to just sit on my butt and do nothing. 

The West Side Fall Festival is going on and Kate and I will miss it once again. It all ends as of tomorrow night. Tonight there will be thousands and thousands of people down there just walking around and finding their favorite Fall Festival food. There are people that literally take a weeks vacation during this annual event and have every meal at the festival. This the second largest street festival in the country, second only to Mardi Gras. They expect over 200,000 people to attend this week. There was a day that it was so much fun to be there in the mix. But I was a teenager in those days. I sole contribution is to but $20.00 worth of “Half-pot” tickets. Last night the half-pot reached over $1,000,000.00. I’d be glad to share that with them. LOL

That’s it for this Friday. Have a blessed weekend. uncle up, it’s gong to be. Chilly weekend. Peace. 

 Happy Thursday to you. I’m hearing rain drops the beginning of the rain-drops hitting the roof of the sunporch. The forecast calls for rain most of the day until maybe around 1600 today. We can certainly use some rain to settle the dust. I went out an mulched the leaves again yesterday and there was a cloud of dust filling the air. So this will be nice. The rain is slow enough at the moment that it is neat to watch the large drops as they land in the birdbath and make a splash. I’m easily amused. I cleaned the birdbaths out again yesterday. There was more leaves than water in them. The leaves lay in there and get gnarly. But, the birds still drink the water and take baths in it. 

I have one cardinal that is being a bossy bird this morning. He doesn’t want to share a feeder or a birdbath.  If other birds come near, he runs them off. But I have all-of the feeders full so no one is doing without. But he doesn’t have to start the morning off by being rude. I may have to have a talk with him about manners. LOL. 

Yesterday was another doctor appointment day for Kate. It seems that we have one every other day. I know she is so tired of it and really tired of taking all of the antibiotics because they keep her nauseous. She has an appointment with her surgeon on Monday or Tuesday, I’m not sure which. It’s hard to keep up without my calendar in front of me. 

Besides doctor visit yesterday, it was also laundry day. We had all of our post vacation laundry to get done. It always takes Kate days to get everything put away when we return home. I generally have everything of mine put away within the first hour and my suitcase carried down to the basement. Probably my “stow and go” mentality left over from the military. 

Today I have to “get back on the job”. Prior to vacation I worked extremely hard to get ahead so I wouldn’t have to rush when I came back. But today needs to be a writing day and since it is going to be a rainy day anyhow, why not make use of it. Tomorrow I will go to the church’s an make sure everything is in order. 

So, that’s it for today. Have a blessed day. Peace 

 Happy Tuesday morning. It is 62 degrees and sunny this morning, little to no breeze out there. The neighbor’s “rooster-beagles” as I call them are busy barking to make sure everyone in the neighborhood is awake. 

I thought that maybe by this morning the birds would have discovered that I have filled the feeders but so far, —- no one is around. That’s alright, they will discover it soon enough. One squirrel did just come through the yard and was carrying something in its mouth. I don’t know what that might have been. I don’t have any acorn bearing trees so it couldn’t have been a nut. It might have been a small tomato. What ever it is, the squirrel is looking around for a place to bury it right now. They are entertaining little critters. I do love watching them despite the fact they cost me a a lot of money in Black Oil sunflower seed. But, when one puts things in perspective; I guess it isn’t bad. I spend a little over $800.00 a year for the sunflower seed, and then about $400.00 for the other kinds of bird seed. That’s about $1,200.00 a year for my peace and comfort and relaxation and enjoyment. Some people spend that much for seats at the Super Bowl to see a game that I watch for free on my television. It’s all relative isn’t it?

According to my Google calendar, I should be heading home from vacation today yet. So, I guess tat means that I am still on vacation today. Maybe I need to review or make another chores list for today then.  There is certainly always something that needs to be done around here. Maybe today I could tackle my garage and straighten things up out there. Or, maybe today we could go put fall decorations on the family graves if Kate feels like it. I don’t know, we’ll see what the day brings. 

In the mean time, I hope you have a blessed day. Peace. 

 Here we are, at the end of the second day of October. I made good use of it. I had a long list of things to accomplish today and I managed to get through all of them. That makes for a satisfying day. 

We started off the morning by taking Kate to have her blood draw that she gets every six weeks to check on her Coumadin levels. Her surgeon last week had altered her schedule so we don’t know what  Dr. Jackson is going to say.  I’m glad to say that she is still dong fairly well since we have been home. Still has bouts of nausea but that is due to all of the antibiotics that they have her on. 

So, I got my front and back yard mulched and mowed today. The leaves are starting to fall in earnest. In a month they will be bare. I also put away some yard still and I filled all of the feeders in the Buffet. Everyone of them was totally empty. I won’t get a lot of takers this evening but by morning there will be a crowd. 

Even though Ms. Kate didn’t get out of the house while we were in Texas, (until she was hospitalized), Heather and Joh and I did do a couple of fun things. We went to a winery tat was called the “Rhinory” because it was also a rhino sanctuary. The rhino’s name was “Blake” and we got to eat up close and personal with it and give it “pets and scratches”. That was a first for me. We also did a wine tasting. My son-in-law John found some red wine he really liked. I’ drink white wine and what I tasted was “okay” but not as good as some of our local wines here in southern Indiana. Oliver wine will out pace it any day. 

But —- the most fun I had was going to Lukenbaach, Texas. I’ve heard the song for years and I actually thought that Lukenbach might’ve a rather large town in Texas but had no idea where it might be. It turns out that Lukenbach (pop-3) is just a privately owned wide spot in the road out in the middle of nowhere. BUt, they had a stage with a live band playing good country music, and a couple of souvenir shops, lots of picnic tables and a dance floor pavilion. I could have sat there all day, having a brew or two and listening to the music. It was the highlight of the trip. So, It so ever get to hill-country in Texas, put Lukenbaach on your bucket list and be prepared to sit back and relax and enjoy Cowboy Americana. 

That’s it for today. Have a blessed evening. Peace. 

 It is Saturday after noon and Ms. Kate and I are home. We left Fredericksburg Texas on Thursday morning and made it to Texarkana, AR. Then yesterday morning we decided to try to make it home. We were just tired and didn’t want another hotel bag drag. So, we pushed hard and arrived home just as the sun was setting at 1900 hours. Most everything is still in the car. One of my jobs today is to get everything out of the car and put stuff away. But today so far has been spent relaxing mostly. I did take the car and get it gassed up and 2,000 miles worth of bugs cleaned off of it when I went to the post office to pick up my held mail. 

Ms. Kate made the trip very well. She had a couple of small bouts of nausea but they passed relatively quickly with her medicine for it. It has been months since I saw her feel this good. God is so good. I thank each and everyone of you who has prayed for her. Her ordeal is not over. She still is facing the possibility of colon surgery. She will know more after her appointments with our doctor and her surgeon. It would be nice to think that she is completely healed but the abscess is still there. 

So, there are lots of leaves to mulch up and blow off of my sidewalks. Lots of weeds that need pulling an a lawn that need to be mowed. Some who none of that magically got done while we were gone. But, we did come home to a clean house because our cleaning lady had come on Wednesday and had us prepped and ready. She does such a wonderful job, and goes above and beyond. But, other than bring the stuff in from the car, I don’t know that I will do anything else today. I’m on vacation!!!

I pray you have a blessed weekend. Take time to give thanks for your week of blessings. Peace. 

 God is great and Hill Country Methodist Hospital is wonderful. They have Ms. Kate back in sync and have released her from the hospital about 30 minutes ago. So, we have come back to my hotel room and will spend the night and head out towards Evansville in the morning. Many, many praise to the doctors and caregivers at that hospital. 

That’s all I got!  Our day has been blessed, I pray your’s will be too. Peace. 

 Tuesday morning an we are still in Fredericksburg. Our vacation took a sudden turn and Kate is in the hospital here in Fredericksburg. She has been sick the whole time we were here and hadn’t left the rental house. We had a great visit with the kids though. We went and did things but mostly stay at the house with Kate. Sunday evening she started feeling worse and then had a terrible night, with nausea and vomiting. So, first thing yesterday morning she called her surgeon’s office back in Evansville, and her surgeon said she needed to be seen and have another CT with contrast scan done. So, I got on Google and found out they have a hospital here. Heather and John finished closing up the rental unit while I took her to the ER at Methodist Hill Country Hospital. They then headed to San Antonio to catch the flight home. 

The hospital is really good and they got busy with Kate right away. They did all kinds of bloodwork and finally came back and said they systems were way out of balance and the abscess on her Colon is causing the problem. So, they admitted her. They have looked at several options; —- everything from inserting a drain into the abscess to keeping her and building her system back up with Electrolytes and antibiotics enough to get home, to full out surgery. The decisions were fluid all day. I think they have decided to not do any surgery because they are leaving her  Coumadin levels alone.  So, at this point, I don’t have a final diagnosis and probably won’t until they do another CT scan to see how things are progressing. But — they have her nausea under control and she had a good night last night. We are hoping now to get on the road by Thursday. Heather and John changed their flight plans to fly tomorrow and came back. I got us a couple of rooms at the local Comfort Inn & Suites. 

So, That’s my news’s for this glorious day. We may not yet be on the way home, but Kate is where she needs to be and is receiving good care. God has looked after us once again. 

Peace. 

 Happy Sunday morning. I’m sitting on the back patio of our rental house again this morning. It’s a little muggy because we don’t have the breeze this morning like I had on Friday morning. But my world is complete; Kate, Heather & Steph are sitting around the fire pit (fire not allowed due to burn ban) and they are visiting and enjoying being together. Steph and Chris will head back to Oklahoma this morning some time. The rest of us will be on the road before 1000 hrs tomorrow morning. Heather and John to CA and Kate and I start the drive back home. It’s been a very enjoyable vacation with the exception of Kate feeling constantly sick. She hasn’t left the house because of nausea. It’s caused by the dang super strong antibiotics that she has to take. Bless her heart. But —- she says she has thoroughly enjoyed the visit. 

Yesterday the four of us went to the Texas Ranger memorial. It as interesting. I guess the thing that I really  found interesting is the high number of Texas Rangers that were killed in the line of duty over the years. From there I had them drop me off back at the house  and they went to downtown Fredericksburg and walked around and looked at the shops. I don’t know that they bought anything and it was a hot day to be doing that. Later they came back to the house and we sat around until it was about supper time and then we went looking for a good meal. 

I had hoped to find a good Chicken fried steak someplace so we went on line and found a place that was supposed to “have the best chicken fried steak in Texas”. We got there and it was so loud and the line was long so we walked one down the street and found another place. But —- they only had chicken fried chicken and not steak. We settled for that and it was delicious. 

Today I want to go to a Wildflower Seed store and look around. I’m thinking that I want to turn one of my raised beds into a wild flower bed instead of raising any garden next year. So I want to buy a mixture of wildflower seeds to plant in there. After that we are going to a winery tasting and then petting a rhino. What can I say, I’m a wild child. LOLOLOL. 

In a couple of hours, I’ll watch Pastor Art as he conduct the worship service at St. Lucas. 

That’s it; have a blessed Sunday. Take time to talk with God today. Peace. 

 Good morning. It’s Friday, September 22nd and I’m writing to you from the back patio of our rented house in Fredericksburg. It is currently 80 degrees and there is a beautiful breeze blowing through. However, the sun will be getting higher and the temperature is going to hit 95 by mid day. 

This has been an eventful week. It was just eight days ago that Kate was put in the hospital and we did not know if she was going to require surgery or not. Between then and Monday she was given massive amounts of antibiotics and is still taking some by pill now. However, surgery for the present time has been put on hold. She got to feeling much better and we took her home on Monday afternoon. We were determined to make this vacation happen although we have shortened it by a week. Tuesday we decided to give travel a test try and headed out and stopped in Metropolis  Illinois for the night. She handled that well so we took off of Texarkana, Arkansas and spent the night. Yesterday morning we headed on down to Fredericksburg and arrived around 1700 last evening. 

The house we have rented is a neat place; very spacious and very clean. Today Kate is feeling a bit nauseous and we are just sitting around at the house and waiting for Heather and Steph and hubbies to arrive this afternoon. In the meantime, I’m going to make a Walmart run. It is only about three blocks away. I need to pick up some simple stuff. 

There are some thing I want to see here in Fredericksburg, one of which is the Texas Rangers museum. And I need to check the local ads for good German restaurants.  

That catches you up. Have a wonderful day. Peace. 

 Monday morning, September 18th. We are still at Deaconess Midtown Hospital. But the hope is that Kate will get to go home today. Dr. Gessfora, the hospitalist, was just in and checked her out and also expressed that she hopes Kate gets to go home today too. but, I guess it will have to be someone from the surgeon’s group that actually releases her. So, we could easily be here until this evening. But that’s alright; —- boring but alright, as long as she gets to go home. She wouldn’t have been doing anything more than resting at home anyway. But, it would have given me a chance to get some preps done for the trip. I have my suitcase mostly packed but I know that I’ll be packing hers too. 

So, I’m officially on vacation. That’s our first since March when we ran down and back to North Carolina for Amanda’s wedding, and that was a whirlwind trip. We’re really hoping that this trip will be relaxing. Our current plan, (and they change daily) is that we will now leave on Wednesday and will arrive at our rental house on Thursday evening. Then we leave Texas and will drive to Biloxi, Mississippi. We have reservations at two different resorts while we are in that area. One in Biloxi and one in Gulfport. We have stayed in both before several times and really like both places. We have certain restaurants in the area that we like to go to. One of our favorites is over in a small town called Bay St. John. They have some seafood dishes that Kate really like’s and the seafood is of course fresh out of the Gulf. 

My favorite place is the Beau Rivage Hotel and casino. Kate and I do like to play the penny slot machines. We take along a certain amount of money that expect to lose and just consider it the price of entertainment. Kate’s sister, has in the past won some good hits on the slots there but certainly none of us have become paupers or rich. And, I really like the coffee shop restaurant and the buffet at the Beau Rivage. Having said all of that, if when we get ready to leave Texas Kate isn’t feeling well, we will just head back home and finish our vacation as a “stay-cation”. 

That’s it for today. I donn’t know how often we I will be writing this week, because our plans our fluid. So, I pray you will have great days. Peace 

 It’s ne’er a dull moment around our house. Today I’m sitting in a hospital room with Ms. Kate. I told you she had to go for a CT Scan with contrast yesterday morning. Well, her doctor got the results back and called her and told her to go to the emergency room. We did around 3:30 yesterday afternoon. We were in the ER for 3.5 hours but they finally assigned her a room. I went home as they wheeled her up to her room. They are treating her for a diverticulitis infection. She can’t have anything to eat or drink until my tomorrow morning. They are giving her very strong antibiotics. She has a leak in her colon and they are hoping that these drugs will close it. If not, they will have to do surgery to repair. So, I’m asking for prayers for her. 

I came up here this morning at 0800. I eventually went down stairs for breakfast. I didn’t want to eat anything in front of her and have her even smell it. That would not have been kind. 

The trip next week is still on until we are sure we can’t make it. If we can’t, Heather & John and Steph and Chris can certainly still use the rental.

That’s it in our exciting world. Hope things are better in yours. Peace. 

 Happy Thursday. Can you believe that a September is half over almost?? And the morning is a beautiful one. We started our morning out like so many in the past oaths; at the doctor’s office. This morning Kate had a CT scan with Contrast. We didn’t know why she had to have it but —- Dr. Jackson had it set up so we went. Turns out it was to do with her Diverticulitis. She had to drink this large bunch of yucky stuff in a half an hour and then they did the scan. I reckon we’ll hear later today about the results. I sat out in the car enjoying the air and the peace and quiet, except for the noise of the traffic on the expressway about 400 yards away. I just told myself it was really the sound of the surf and waves coming in. LOL.  Ya’ do what ya’ gotta do. 

Yesterday I wasted a couple of hours u at the church. We had a technician from Ricoh Copiers come by and he was supposed install something to our copier so that I can print copies directly from my computer up there. Well, he worked for almost two hours and s on the phone with his boss or assistant the whole time and never did make it work. He will have to come back out and try it again. Oh well!!!! 

I had a parishioner pass away yesterday afternoon. I will do her funeral come Saturday morning. I spent most of the evening writing that. 

Today I’m going to start putting my stuff together to pack for the trip. We did a Walmart pickup yesterday evening and have the stuff we want to take along already in the car from that shopping trip. 

And today, I have to fill bird feeders. If I don’t they will revolt and start dive bombing me or something.

With that, I’ll drop off. Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 Tuesday, September 12th, it’s an overcast day. We have had some Pringle’s to light rain over night and some this morning. But it is leaving the are now I think. The forecast now call for “fall-like” weather for the next seven days. I’m seeing a few leaves start to fall. 

My day started at the doctor’s office for my annual physical. I’m very happy to report that I am in excellent health for my age. Just some of the routine issues that naturally come with being 79 years old. I’m very blessed. So far I’m living proof that coffee and ice cream just may be good for you. What’s really good about it is thatKate has so many health issues that we don’t need to be adding anything else to the pile. 

Speaking of, —- she is doing better today so far. We are still waiting on lab reports from yesterday to see if she has to go in for another injection of Rocepherin, her antibiotic. Hopefully the answer will be “no’. 

I told you that I had planted some tomatoes this year and that so far they just had not done anything. Well an update. Most of them never did do much of anything at all, I don’t know why, but I have two plants that are providing all of the tomatoes that I could possible want. Kate hasn’t been eating any of them because of her diverticulitis and can’t eat seeds. So I have been enjoying them. I just now finished a couple that I cut up in to pieces and salted. Yesterday a friend came by to visit and I sent some home with her. I need to go out and check on them again in a few moments and pick any more that are ready. If I don’t they will fall off of the vine and I don’t want that to happen. I lost several that way because they fell off when they were still very green. I guess the stem wasn’t strong enough. They aren’t huge tomatoes but they are so very sweet. I don’t know if the the plant tag is still out there or not. I want to get that same variety next year; assuming I plant tomatoes next year. I’m actually contemplating just sowing the raised bed in wild flowers next year.  

That’s about it for today. I have writing to do. Have a wonderful day. Peace. 

 Happy Saturday. I don’t know where you might be reading this but here at my house it is a cool 60 degrees this morning and the sky is a cloudy grey. It looks like it could rain any moment although I don’t think it is projected to do so. My neighbors were just out walking their dogs and they had on sweatshirts. Well, sweatshirts with shorts. LOL. 

Not much new in my world. Kate is not feeling well again today. We took her for another antibiotic shot yesterday. Of course the doctor’s office is closed today and tomorrow so she can’t get one until Monday. We just have no idea where to go with this. And right now, we are still looking at going on our vacation but it won’t be much of a vacation if she is just going to sit in a chair and not feel good or want to do anything. That’s exactly what happened to our last vacation we tried to take in Marilyn. 

I had a good day yesterday. I made three parishioner calls and then I went to the church and ran a bunch of bulletins to try to get ahead enough to go on vacation. Working ahead is always a good thing. But —- that said, I’m soon going to run out of Sunday to be ahead. LOL. I think I only have 14 weeks left until my retirement. Two of those Sundays I will be on vacation, and probably one of those Sundays they will want to hopefully have a candidate for my replacement and will want him or her to do a trial sermon. So, the job is coming to a close. 

I received my pre-ordered Stephen King novel yesterday in the mail. That make three stacked up beside my recliner for my post retirement enjoyment. That will take me awhile s slow as I read. But, I have thee rest of my ice to finish them. And as long as King keeps writing, I’ll keep reading. He is the only author I read besides all of the stuff I read for the job. I have all of his books in hardback. 

I was up way too early this morning. Sometimes I just wake up and it is time to get out of bed regardless of the hour. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, (generally around 0300) and I lay there and toss and turn and my brain clicks on and I think of sermon ideas and out other things. Two nights ago I had the beginning of a poem pop into my head. After I got up for the day, I went down and wrote that poem and it will be the beginning for my Christmas Eve sermon. So, thank you Lord for the mid night brain wave. 

That’s it for today. Have a great weekend. Peace. 

 It rained last night. We got all of .03 inches which is barley more than a dew. However, the sky is clouding up a bit more, and I think we are predicted to get more this afternoon just ahead of the temperature and humidity drop. That would all be good. We could stand to have some rain. 

Yesterday morning I got a call from my neighbor that I had a dead animal of some kind next to my mailbox. She didn’t know what it was but said it was pretty big. I went out there and sure enough there was something laying there and dang it was ripe already. I had not been to my mail box since Saturday afternoon and it wasn’t there then. So, I don’t know when or how it got there. It had not been hit by a car or we would have seen it in the road. I called Animal Control and they said they would come and pick it up, which they did late yesterday afternoon. The pick-up lady said it was a raccoon. I had to wear a mask yesterday while I mowed and ran my weed eater. Yuk. That lady that picked that thing up does not get payed enough, I don’t what she makes. 

So, that’s my stinky report for today.  LOLOL. Have a great day.