Tuesday afternoon.  It’s been a relatively quiet day, but is still pretty chilly. I think we are up to maybe 40 degrees by now. We started at 19 again this morning. We are supposed to be in a warming trend again. The roller coaster continues. I thank the Lord tat we are not experience in the weather that is still going on in the North East. Rhode Island got 37 inches of snow. I wouldn’t know where to begin clearing that kind of snow away. And I think that some places like New York are looking at least two more snow storms coming in. 

Here in Evansville, I have two crocuses blooming today. And my daffodils are all up and have buds on them. They won’t open though for maybe another two weeks. But the intermittent warm days are going to just get more frequent. And in 24 four days Spring will be here. I celebrated that today by ordering y tomato and zucchini squash seeds. I also ordered an indoor greenhouse for the sun porch. To grow my seeds in. It is time to plant the seeds  now and they should be big enough by the first week of May to plant out doors in the garden. I had not planned to do a tomato garden again this year but I gave in. And I guess I will try to grow some zucchini in one of my big flower pots. But, I need to get fresh potting/garden soil put in all of my pots and spread the old stuff out in the garden. As usual I’m going to be making extra work for myself. This year we decided to raise “bush tomatoes” and see how they work out. Generally I raise “regular tomato” plants that grow to about four feet tall or so. These are supposed to grow to about two and a half feet. The worst that can happen is that they won’t produce and I’ll just end up dropping by the local produce stand. And will have wasted money on seed. I still have okra seeds left over from last year. I guess I will see if it is still any good. Ms. Kate will want to plant a couple of cherry tomato plants too. 

Kate has an MRI tomorrow and I think needs to go have blood drawn again all before we go to the hotel. We can’t check in until 1600 so there is plenty of time. 

That’s my blabbering for today. I hope you have a blessed evening. Peace. 

 Winter is not going without a fight , that is for sure certain. I woke this morning to 19 degrees after us having 70 last week. But, —- we’re lucky. The upper north and east are currently under blizzard conditions. Travel has been basically suspended through New York and New Jersey, Boston and even Washington DC. Snow in some area is expected to reach 18-24 inches. I just read that there are currently 500,000 people without power. So, I’ll just put on my sweatshirt and enjoy what we have, —— and stay inside of the house. 

This is my “big week”. Thursday Kate and I celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary.  I know I have been talking about it for weeks but I’m am just excited to have reached this milestone. So many never get to and so many don’t even try. But when she and I make a promise, we do our best to keep it. I’ve conducted a lot of weddings and marital counseling sessions and I always remind my couples that at least when you are doing a “church wedding” you are making a promise not only to one another, you are making those promises before God, and therefore you are making sacred vows. I’m happy to say that I have only had a couple of my couples divorce. 

Have you gotten caught up in all of the “ICE vs NO-ICE” demonstrations going on across the nation. I guess I have some mixed feelings about all of this.  I think it is time all of the illegal aliens were moved back out of the country but I also think that the enforcement is over aggressive in some cases. I also think that the majority of the “NO-ICE” demonstrations are being funded by some very deep liberal pockets. I also disagree that students should be allowed to walk out of the schools to demonstrate without repercussions. And I especially get upset when I see teachers leading second graders out of the school to protest like happened in California last week. Those teachers should be fired for sure. If these high school kids want to protest, as is their right, they should do it after school. I’m betting the demonstrations wouldn’t amount to much then. But all of that is just my take on it. Thankfully we do live in a country where demonstrating and protesting is legal and allowed. I dedicated 32 years of my life to preserve that right whether I agree with their opinions or not. 

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

 Good morning at a very early hour for us. I’m in the waiting room while they take Ms. Kate back for her Cardio version procedure. They are just doing about 45 minutes of preliminary stuff and then will come get me. The procedure is quick when they get ready to do it. They put her to sleep, do a hopefully quick shock of the heart and then wake her up. I have never had it done and hope to not have to have it done. But this is her sixth time. At least it is non-invasive as opposed to the other options she may be faced with such as ablation or pace maker. By the time you read this, we will probably be home taking a nap. 

It was 60 degrees when I got up at 0430 and the temperature is dropping. We have enjoyed a delightful couple of upper 60’s and lower 70’s. But typical of southern Indiana, when it is that warm in February, there will be storms and even tornados, and there was a tornado north of us. Now we are expecting snow flurries tomorrow. I doubt they will amount to anything but the roller coaster weather is great for spring colds. 

Our oldest daughter Julie and her hubby, Jim will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday. That seems impossible. But then, Kate and I will celebrate our 60th next week so I guess all is as it should be. But good for them.  

I’m not sure what I will do with myself today. It depends on how long we are here at the hospital and the weather. I think though that I will spend some time writing a sermon. I have my sermon for March 22nd to work on and also I have to write one for March 29th.

Gotta go, they are taking me back to her room. Have a blessed day. 

 Good morning on this foggy Thursday morning. I love a foggy morning as long as I don’t have to do a bunch of driving in it. It like the world still has its blanket pulled up under its chin. There is always a peace than comes with a foggy morning that just puts you in a whispered conversation with God. It’s extremely comforting. 

Well —- yesterday was a thing but comforting until about 8:00 pm. We decided that we had everything we needed to get our taxes done for the year. I hate doing our taxes because I find it so very frustrating. It stems from the fact that I am terrible at anything to do with numbers. But, I logged in to Turbo Tax and according to them it should only take me one hour and fifty seven minutes to complete the process. Let me say, that Turbo Tax is a good product, we’ve used it for several years. But also, regardless of their advertisements that “”you can do your tax’s for free’ —- by the time I had all of the “add-ons” and guarantees, I finished at $350.00. However, it is what it is. 

So, I started on my tax adventure determined to not let it get to me, just fill in the forms, drink my coffee and get on my merry way. Well, that two hours went by and one thing after another and soon I was in to hour four. It all circled around one simple entry. We own some property in southern Illinois that we rent out for farming. It’s a simple process. The farmer gives me a check for a certain amount to rent the ground and at the end he sends me a 1099 MISC. However, the forms kept insisting that I need a schedule C which I knew I didn’t need and did not have one. Eventually I asked Ms. Kate to come work on it because I thought I must be missing something, but she couldn’t get it to work either. All the rest of the taxes were complete but we couldn’t file until this was fixed. 

We stopped long enough to go to Sam’s Club and pick up our called in order and then came back and I started again. This time I pulled up the “Tax Expert” on the Turbo Tax site.  She called me back and we launched into the problem. I literally spent two hours on the phone and computer with her. She was tied into my forms and was trying everything she could and agreed that I didn’t not need the schedule C. To make a loooonnnnnng story short, she finally fixed it and I have no idea what she did. But the taxes are filed and Federal is already accepted. Today I’ll mail off the Illinois taxes because as a non-resident, they won’t let me e-file. Ms. Kate and I went to bed before 10:30 last night, mentally and physically exhausted, but the 2025taxes are done. 

That’s my sad tale and now I’m going to refill my coffee cup and set my self down in my recliner. I hope you have a blessed day. Peace. 

 It’s Monday night a little before 2200 hrs. Today has been a holiday, President’s Day. I’m not really sure why we continue to celebrate the birthday of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Yes, they were prominent in our Nation’s history but a lot of other people were too. I know I certainly didn’t dwell on their accomplishments today nor do I think I could find a quick fifty people that did either. Federal workers got a day off work but I don’t know of anyone else that did. Certainly anybody in the customer service business didn’t. I mean we have to have places to go on our day off and we need gas stations to fuel to get there and restaurants to eat at when we do get there. And then there are all of the “President’s Day” sales that are held so shop people have to work extra hard. Nah!!!! Stupid to call it a holiday. 

Kate and I didn’t do much of anything today. She did make an anniversary card for Julie and Jim for me to put in the mail that wouldn’t get picked up because it’s a holiday. LOL And I did some sermon writing for the three Sundays that I have to fill in at a church in March. I got one of them done and have a start on the next one. The fact that it is the Lenten season gives me a theme to base my messages on. The scripture lessons for the second of the two Sundays are vastly different. The first on is the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The second scripture is the story of the vision by the prophet being shown the Valley of the Dry Bones. They are vastly different messages as far as I can see. I am using the Lazarus scripture because it will lend well to the next Sunday which will be Palm Sunday. 

Okay, gotta quit. Have a blessed night. 

 Happy Thursday. I don’t understand how a week goes so fast when I literally don’t really do anything. Well, —- except go here and go there taking care of appointments etc. But here it is Thursday already so I guess we will just dal with it. 

It has been an easy morning but now I’m waiting for the Walgreens lunch hour to be over so I can go pick up Ms. Kate’s prescription. (See, that where my days go, doing stuff like that, which aren’t really anything but take up time.) Then I need to run by Walmart grocery and pick up a couple of things. 

Tuesday, (I think) I took my truck to my friend’s auto repair shop to get a new battery. I couldn’t believe how much batteries cost these days. My battery I replaced was bought in 2019 and was a “75 month” battery so it lasted its allotted time of 6.25 years. I don’t remember what I paid for that battery but the new one cost me $235.00 including labor for installation. I knew it would be high because as you might recall I replaced batteries in both John Deere’s this past fall and they were over $60.00 each. I have no idea what the “big cost element” is in making a battery but obviously something is. That’s why when my Prius hybrid gets another 20,000 miles on it I’m going to trade it in before I have to replace that hybrid battery in it. I’m told that comes with a 2000 dollar cost. But, my plan is to give my truck to my grandson Jon and this way he will have a great battery in it. I’m just waiting for him to get settled in to a lineman’s job somewhere. 

We took Ms. Kate for an appointment with one of her cardiac doctors and they verified she is in AFIB. She has an appointment now for another cardioversion on the 20th of February to shock her heart back into rhythm. I think this will be her sixth time for this procedure. Bless her heart. (Literally)

Our snow is 99.5% gone now. The piles from shoveling are diminishing each day. Even the ones in the parking lots are melting pretty well. Our current weather is a little cold but normal for us for a February, and when the snow melted, the daffodils were waiting to be seen. That’s makes me very happy. It tells me that a there really will be a spring again this year. A couple of weeks we weren’t really so sure. LOL

With that, it is time to head down the road to Walgreens. Then I need to get back here and do some writing. I pray God grants you a wonderful day and rest of your week. Peace. 

 Well good morning. It’s great to stop and write a note or two. First of all, let me tell you it is a beautiful day. We have had so much cold weather and snow and crap that a day of sunshine from start to finish with the temperature supposed to maybe get to 60 —- that’s some good stuff right there. 

How was your weekend ?  Did you watch the Super Bowl? We watched half of it. we neither one really cared who won although we have rooted for the Patriots for a few years just because we lived up in that area for five years; and I wouldn’t support anything out of the state of Washington state just because of their radical politics. The same goes even more so for Oregon. I always thought that I would like to live up there but, they are so radically left skewed in their politics, I couldn’t do it.  But anyway, then we had heard so much about the proposed halftime show and knew we didn’t want to watch that. I’ve seen some snippets since then and am so very glad I didn’t wast my time; I think it would have made me angry. So, at half time the Patriots were losing and not playing well enough to win, we turned it over to the TPUSA alternative halftime show. It was a decent show. After the halftime show was over we switched over to watch a movie. 

Yesterday Ms. Kate had two doctor’s appointments. First she went to her pain management doctor. He prescribed another medication that is supposed to help relax the nerves that are causing her back pain.  Then in the afternoon, she had to go to her cardiologist because she was fairly sure she is in AFIB. Her doctor is new to us and I think probably fairly new to the profession because she’s quite young. But she seemed to be thorough. She confirmed that Kate is in fact in AFIB. So that means scheduling another cardio version. Hopefully sooner rather than later. It seems as though we just go from one doctor to another but actually she had her last cardio version a little over a year ago so hopefully this will do the trick again for awhile. I really feel for her and hate that she has so many health issues and she gets so frustrated with it all. 

We are just 16 days from celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary. I am very excited about it because I feel it is a real life accomplishment. We received a two free nights offer from our local hotel/casino and we are going to take them up on it as a celebration. We also want to go to Cavanaugh’s for dinner which is a very upscale restaurant  at the casino. I think it will be a great couple of nights. It seems silly to stay at a hotel in your hometown but we made it 60 years by being silly. 

Okay, enough for today. Have a blessed week. Peace.