Happy 18 degrees! But, the sun is shining and the cardinal clan is here this morning for breakfast and a drink. They look absolutely brilliant out there on the bird bath having their morning refreshment. I had to go out and add water to the electric bird bath this morning. I should have maybe emptied it because it is scuzzy on the bottom with the crap that blows in and that the birds carry in. But there is enough ice out there on the sidewalk  that I don't need to add to it.

Yesterday morning we had to cancel church because of the weather and treacherous roads, and we certainly weren't the only ones. Most of the churches in the area cancelled way before we did. So, I took the time to have my coffee and watch my yard full of birds. I must have had 50 - 60 birds out there all trying to get food. The air was a blur with the birds darting back and forth. We had a hawk in the mix and at least three times it hit my glass doors chasing another bird. But --- eventually Mr. Hawk got his breakfast as he nailed a starling.

I had gotten up at 0600 and went out and shoveled out half of my driveway so we could not only get out but also back up my steep driveway after church was over. I had heard nothing from the church councils so I needed to be ready. I came back in an hour later (yeh, it took an hour for just half of the driveway), poured a cup of coffee and finally called a council member of one of the churches to see if any decisions had been made. They were in discussions with one another at the time but finally decided to cancel. So, I finished my coffee, watched my birds, and then called neighbor Dan and asked if he would help me swap out tthe mower deck for the snow blade on the John Deere. He was glad to help out. Dan and I got the switch out done, and put on the new "Terra-Treds" for extra traction. After that it was fun time. I got both of our drives cleaned off in fairly short order. I usually do the street and hill in from of our houses too but they were just ice due to the rain that had preceded our snow and super temperature drop.

This morning I took Ms. Kate to her doctor's appointment and then we stopped at McDonalds for a bite of breakfast.  Now we're are back home and I need to get to my computer and get started. But, the coffee is good, my music is nice, and the winter picture outside my sunporch is beautiful. As much as I don't like snow; I have to admit that God certainly paints a beautiful picture when it does snow. It fits in with what I can partially imagine the brilliance and purity of Heaven must be like. When I look at a snow covered scene like there is out my door, it is as if God had wiped away all of the touches of humans and put out a fresh canvas. If "peace" had a color; --- this is what it would look like.

I hope you have a most blessed day. As cold as it might be outside of your door, the love of God will keep you warm. I pray for any and all of those who don't have a warm home to be in this morning. I'm not only talking about the "homeless" that we see on the street corners, but also all of those who have lost homes dues to the recent flooding and other storms. Unfortunately we too soon forget that these people are still suffering long after the disaster. Keep them in your prayers and if you can help --- do so. Peace!

Saturday night late; I thought I would wait to write my blog until after the $900 million Powerball numbers were picked to see if I actually had to write it myself. Well, as you can see, I didn't win and am writing it myself. But, I did have one of the numbers they called and that's an improvement in my luck. I generally forget to buy a ticket or if I buy a ticket, I forget to check them. The lottery is obviously a priority in my life don't you think?

Winter is sitting outside the door. It is currently snowing and we are expecting maybe 1-3 inches of the white stuff. I still haven't put the blade on the John Deere although I have had opportunities. My son-in-law just offered over Christmas and again he offered to come over Tuesday. But I had this idea that if I didn't put it on, maybe it wouldn't snow. Silly me! So, now --- neighbor Dan and I will do it tomorrow afternoon. Maybe that will insure we don't have any more snow. In the mean time, as soon as it quit raining I went out and put out some snow/ice melt on the driveway. It had just started doing some sleet/snow. The temperature is supposed to drop drastically with wind chill temps in the single digits tomorrow. I suspect that church attendance is going top be very light ---- if we get to have church.

We had our association meeting today as predicted. Last year we had this meeting and there was about 60 people attending. Today there were 24. I'm not surprised. People are just not into attending a meeting that does not directly impact their lives. In fact that was part of our discussion today. I'm not sure what it will take but we need to do something to make the association viable and meaningful to people.

This evening, I finished baking the rest of the cookies that Ms. Kate had mixed up and in the refrigerator while she worked on her birthday and thank you cards that she makes for folks. Then we sat and watched television together for a couple of hours which is rare for us. Generally we watch totally different shows. She watches cop and lawyer shows and I watch HGTV, and Food Netwaork stuff with a little SciFi thrown in and things like Treehouse Masters. But tonight we were watching Food Network and the Kids Baking Championship.

OK, I gotta check outside and see what the streets look like, not that I can do anything about any of it.  You folks have a wonderful Sunday. Stay safe if you are in the snow storm areas. And regardless of where youo are; --- take time to give God praise for his bountiful blessings.

Friday morning; end of another work week for people with "normal" jobs. For me --- it is my "day off".. I generally take Friday and Saturday as my days off but lose a lot of the Saturdays due to a meeting or a class or a funeral or a wedding. It's the nature of the job and I chose it; or it chose me. Tomorrow is another one of those lost days because we have an all morning meeting with the church association.

The city sewer crew is back this morning to finish the installation of the manhole in Ms. Margaret's yard. They sure have a mess over there. It doesn't help that it rained some last night either so the tracks from the Bob Cat are going to be a bit deeper. They dug their trench a couple of feet deeper than needed because they were off in their location of the sewer line and were digging beside it by about a foot. But, they located it and all seems to be going well now. I'm just really glad they didn't have to tear up my fence to get to it. I guess when the previous owners of my home initially built the fence they put it within the easement, so there is always the possibility that if the city needed to work in that area, they have the right to destroy the fence, and they don't have to replace it. We have underground power lines running to the homes here in this neighborhood and I know by the red flags out there that those lines run right next to my fence. That would suck if they had to work on them.. But, they are re-filling the trench this morning and all is well on my side of the fence.

It is a bit warmer this morning and not raining now. I had a yard full of robins this morning when I came out to the sunporch. There were at least thirty of them hopping around and running all over the yard. I assume they stopped off for a snack on the way to someplace else. They have all gone now. At the moment, the female red-headed woodpecker is holding court and ruling the feeders. I have three or four cardinals out there and a few finches too. Beyond that it is just a couple of squirrels playing around. I have to fill feeders again today. It looks like everything is pretty well empty and it is supposed to turn really cold by Sunday. I also need to empty the bird bath and re-fill it. They get it pretty scuzzy, and while it might not bother the birds to drink the same water they bathe and poop in, it looks nasty as heck. I sometimes think feeding these silly birds is as bad as raising livestock  on a farm.

I've finished my devotions and contemplation for the morning. I've played my two computer games; Bingo Bash and Criminal Case, and I've gotten caught up on everyone's life through Facebook. And, I've sent an email to my sister. Now it is time to finish off the last of my coffee and get started on my day. One thing for sure I need to do today is get a haircut.

So, think kind thoughts today. Hug someone and go do something nice for someone. It's a perfect way to end your week. Have a blessed day.

I'm back! I can't believe it is Thursday already. Our Tuesday and Wednesday were busy days, and somehow I just never got around to sitting out here. I missed it too. 

Tuesday, we decided to run over to Kentucky just east of Louisville to an outlet mall. There is an Under Armor store and I wanted to pick up a couple of things. And of course, --- there is a Coach store there too and Ms. Kate was drawn like a moth to a flame to it. Our wallets didn't get hit too hard; --- we still had gas money when we left there. We came back across the Ohio to New Albany and went to Julie and Jim's house and spent the night there. Jim fixed us a nice supper. Julie was working late at the University because classes start next week and they are busy putting together book orders for the students. So, we didn't have a lot of time to visit with her. But it was wonderful to be able to spend the night at their new home. This is the first time in their 30 years of marriage that they have owned a home and had room for us to stay at their home. And, they have had several visitors spend the night now in their new home. We are so very happy for them. 

My entertainment this morning is all on the other side of my back fence. The city sewer people are in Ms. Margaret's yard putting in a manhole  for what ever reason. We have been on a private sewer line forever here and last fall the city finally took it over. In the process of all of that the city determined that the previous owner had really let the thing deteriorate. As a result, of course, they are doing work on it for which our sewer bills have raised to pay for, for at least the next ten years. But, this morning they are digging up a deep trench. I was just out there watching, (where else would I be) and they are down seven feet and have two more feet to go. Their trench is about twenty feet long. As finicky as Ms. Margaret is about her yard; I'll bet she is fit to be tied. 

Last evening was choir practice but with all the other stuff I had to do yesterday, I didn't get around to  running the bulletins. So, that is on my primary agenda today. Ms. Kate is working on the month's birthday cards and also the "Thank you" cards from Christmas that we still haven't gotten around to writing. It sure doesn't take much to get behind. The Christmas trees are still up and that needs to be taken care of. But, I'm in no hurry to do that. I think they will stay up until the last Christmas cookie is gone!!!

I've refilled the bark-butter paste feeders again this morning and have a bunch of different birds out there eating off of them. It's good high energy for them especially in this cold weather.  But now, it is time to wrap this up and get busy. My time as blogger and "over-the-fence-supervisor" must come to an end for today. I pray your day will be a good one. Regardless of what you have planned for today --- God has plans for you too and God will be there with you every second of every day. Take a few moments today and acknowledge that fact. Peace!

The swimming pool is open for business. I finally plugged in the heated birdbath last evening and it has had a lot of visitors this morning. It is 34 degrees this morning and the water had been iced over every morning for the past week. But today, I have the only open water source around here so the landing zone is full. There is a stiff breeze out there so I'm glad I filled the feeders last evening. I wouldn't want to go out this morning. It is brrrrrville out there. It's a Carhart coverall morning.

The weekend went quickly. Saturday was Ms. Charlotte's funeral and yesterday was church day. We got home around 1430 and then a couple of the neighbor's came by. The Girl Scout next door came selling cookies and of course we bought $20.00 worth. And neighbor Dan brought over a dish full of fresh-out-of-the-deep-fryer egg rolls that his wife Minh had made. She makes the best egg-rolls in the world and it is always such a blessing when she shares. After they all left I came out to the sunporch, turned on some Montovani and I don't think I heard the end of the first song. I awoke to the next to the last song on a 27 song CD. Yeh, --- that was a quality nap. Ms. Kate said I didn't even finish the sentence I was saying; I just drifted off.

There are currently five cardinals sitting on the edge of the birdbath. I wonder if that equates to meeting around the water-cooler at work. I can see another four or five sitting on feeders and in the bushes. What a beautiful sight. All my regulars are here this morning; the finches, the junkos, the wrens, the chickadees, and the mockingbird. By now, the squirrels have discovered that the feeders are full too. But --- they are spending more time keeping each other off of the feeders than they are eating.

It is going to be a busy week. I of course have writing to do, but choir practice starts up again this week. We have a special meeting of our local church association this coming Saturday morning and I have the first of two church congregational meeting on Sunday. The second one will be the following Sunday. And before you know it --- January will be gone. I tend to look down range at the calendar a lot for planning purposes and can see where this year is going to fly by, at least through the first half. Come July we'll throw out the anchor and slow the boat down a bit. In the mean time, I'll just enjoy the simplest of pleasure such as seeing that beautiful Cardinal and that cute little wren that hops around everywhere out here on the sidewalk. God speaks to us in all kinds of ways and my mornings out here are just one of the ways I get to see and hear His glory. Have a blessed day.

It's a beautiful morning! The sun is shining, the yard is full of birds, no clouds and 34 degrees. The only downside is that I was up way too early today for some reason.

The great thing about being up this early today though was that I have spent the last hour chatting with my three girls via Facebook Messenger. I do love that. I chat like that with at least one of the girls every day, and generally all three of them although maybe not at the same time. But sometimes like this morning, we set at the cyberspace kitchen table with our coffee and chat our little hearts out. It is so much better than telephone simply because I hate talking on the phone and this way we can all talk at the same time to one another.

I have a metal bird bath in the flowerbed that we turn over in the winter. The base of it is a hallow tube. The wren has decided that that will be his winter home. I've watched it fly in and out of there several times in the past few days or it will just sit at the opening and sun itself. The tube is deep enough that if need be, it can move on up and out of the way of a wandering cat. I love my wrens so I'm glad they have found a safe spot. My branch and twig pile is providing a good spot for the cardinals too. I still haven't plugged in the electric bird bath because it just hasn't gotten that cold.

Today I have Ms. Chaarlotte's funeral to do. Between visitation, funeral, travel the ten or fifteen miles to the cemetery, do the graveside service, and attend the bereavement meal ---- this will be a six hour event. I need to be at the funeral home by 1130 hours, so, my sitting and drinking coffee, chatting, and writing needs to be wrapped up soon. It is amazing how quickly time passes out here when I'm just enjoying a morning.

I hope you will take time to attend a worship service his weekend. We all have so many blessing for which to be thankfulIf you sat up out of bed this morning and your feet hit the floor, you have a bed, a house, and the ability to move freely about. That is so much more than so very many people have. Take time to give thanks to God for that.

A crisp (34 degrees) cloudless, sunny blue sky greets me on this first day of 2016. It is the first sunny day we have seen in a while and it is most welcome. I hope you had a nice New Year's Eve. Ms. Kate and I had a nice evening. We went to her sister Karen's house for supper and visiting with the nephews and nieces. They celebrated their Christmas together last evening and we're kind enough to have us join them. The food was good, thee company was great. We got home around 2000 hrs and then just watched television until the neighborhood exploded with fireworks and people banging pans and shout their Happy New Year into the night.

Our day today will most likely consist of not doing much around here. We will have our black-eyed- peas at some point today just for luck. But so far this morning, we're doing a couple loads of laundry, having our coffee, and doing our respective computer stuff and enjoying the life that God has granted us. Basically, we are just sitting around feeling blessed.

Yesterday we went to the churches and ran our weekly bulletins. First though, I finished up working on the funeral service for Ms. Charlotte. Her service will be tomorrow. Visitation will be from 1200 -1400 hrs. With time for funeral and then drive to the cemetery and graveside service, it will be about a five hour event. Thankfully, while it will be cold, there is no rain or snow in the forecast. I hate doing funerals in bad weather.

Julie just sent us a wonderful, albeit short, video of Jim's brother surprising him with a visit to celebrate Jim's 50th birthday. Jim thought Ms. Kate and I were coming over to stay at their house for a couple of days. he had no idea it was his brother that was coming. It was a wonderful moment to witness. I don't think they have seen each other in a couple of years. The "man-jabber-factor" just went up 1000% around their house. I don't know that Andrew has ever been in this part of the country. When Julie told me he was driving out, I asked her if Andrew realized that this is no longer Indian Territory. Massachusetts folks have a rather skewed vision of the rest of the country. I used to have a picture of the Massachusetts vision of the USA, It showed Massachusetts -- then a big void, -- then California.

It is a good time to start the year off by giving thanks for a whole new set of 365 days to make an impact for the good in people's lives. I trust God to guide me in that process. This year will include big events such as Ms. Kate and me celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary in February, and the marriage of Heather and John come April. The wedding in California and a high school graduation in North Carolina will provide great travel opportunities and "kid-hugging" opportunities of which we never get enough.

Have a blessed 2016. Let God be in charge.