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.