A good Thursday morning to you. It is a cloudy morning here in Evansville. It looks like it could rain but I think all of the rain has passed us by now. So, we’ll just wait for the sun to come out, hopefully some time today. It started raining last evening around 7:00 pm and I think may have finally eased on out around one or two this morning.  But, it’s going to be a muggy day. We used to have a young weather forecaster on one of our channel that would always say “The Muggies are back again today”. He moved to the Florida panhandle so he should be really acquainted with The Maggie’s by now. 

My roofing contractor showed up yesterday morning. I showed him where the leak had come through the ceiling and he took some measurement. Then he went up on the roof and was gone for about ten minutes and came back down, finished. He said that the wind had blown up some shingles and broken the seal and there were several rusty nail in the shingles. He caulked all of them and resealed the shingles and said he thought that might take care of it. He said to give it a few rains before we decided to repair the ceiling just to be sure. And guess what? —- He didn’t charge me a thing. He said our roof probably has another 5 years left on it. I guarantee you that I will go to that contractor when it is time to replace it. So, if you live in my area, and you are looking for a roofer —- Head’s Roofing and Construction gets my recommendation. That’s the second contractor in a week that has come and made a minor repair and not charged me or sent me a bill. Earlier our A/C went out and our contractor came out, fixed a couple of wires and got it going and didn’t charge me a thing. It’s amazing. 

Today will be “run bulletins” day for this morning and then I will do visitation this afternoon. My one parishioner fell again yesterday. Bless his heart. That is the third fall in the last two weeks. I don’t know what he keeps tripping on or why he keeps falling and his mind is confused as to what happens too. Just last week he had to be taken to the ER because they thought maybe he had broken a hip when he fell. Fortunately he was okay. I give God praise that I have not reached that stage in life —— yet! I hope I never do. He has dementia and is confused so much of the time. When I go see him today, he may or may not recall who I am. It just depends on the day and maybe even the time of the day. I always remember a sweet lady parishioner I had years ago who always said, “I just hope I go before my mind does.”  Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way for her. But, I suspect she didn’t know that. But I pray for that for me too. I would think it would be terribly frightening to constantly be in a world of strangers and new happenings every day. 

I guess I better get myself ready. I see the sun has finally peaked it’s head through the clouds. That sure helps to brighten one’s life. Thank you, Lord. It is much appreciated. 

Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 June 1st, 2022; last day of what is called meteorological Spring. So I reckon that means that tomorrow is the first day of meteorological summer. The actual first day of summer will be along in about 20 days. Now how’s that for boring facts first thing in the morning. 

I made breakfast this morning; eggs, sausage and pancakes. I don’t do that very often but I was sitting at the table about to start on my blog when I spotted the bag of Krusteze pancake mix sitting there on the shelf. I really like their pancake mix. It always turns out well. I’ve been using it for years and my grandkids all grew up eating “Papacakes” and looking forward to having them. When we got together for our last family reunion, they were all there and I put them all to work and we made a huge batch of “Papacakes” and waffles. It brought back a lot of fun memories from years past. When I first started doing that I would take my spoon and fill it with mix and then kind of “drizzle it” over the pan leaving little droplets of batter. They would of course cook quickly and I would gather them up and the kids would have “dots” to eat. Then they would tell us that they had 100 pancakes for breakfast. Those are precious moments that will last a lifetime.

Yesterday Ms. Kate and I went out and got all of the weeds out of the garden. Working together it didn’t take too long. I would hoe the stuff up and she would gather it together and put it in the trash can. My garden looks loved again. We are expecting rain sometime today and maybe in to tomorrow so I wanted to get the work done before the ground got muddy again. Then I did a little tree pruning on my Pussy Willow  tree. 

I wanted to go do visitation today before the rain but I’m waiting on a call from a contractor today. Did I tell you that I have a roof leak? I hate that because they are almost impossible to find. We didn’t know it until it showed up on our master bedroom ceiling. I had called our usual contractor three times and he still hasn’t gotten back with me so, I called another guy company that is well recognized and recommended yesterday morning and they got back with me yesterday afternoon to set up an appointment. He has three other appointments today but said he will call me as soon as he finishes the last job. OIIf course if it is raining or storming,, he doesn’t want to be on a roof, but he will call me either way. So, I’m staying home today and will spend the day working on my June 12th sermon. 

Speaking of that,. I might as well get out of my lounging clothes and into my jeans and get my day started. Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 Good morning and welcome to the last day of May 2022. In just 30 days, the year will be half over. But, let’s not wish it away just yet. I have a lot of things to do yet in 2022. 

How was your Memorial Day weekend? Ms. Kate and I had a good one. The weather was perfect and enjoyable, and this morning looks to be a repeat with a high of maybe 90 degrees. I just walked out to the gardens and they are sufficiently dried out that I can get in there and maybe get the weeds out. It has been entirely too muddy to even think about it. I have to try it today because we are looking at maybe having rain tomorrow and Thursday. Hopefully it won’t amount to any more than showers. 

I spent a lot of time out in the yard or Saturday mowing and weeding and trimming. There is a section of my yard on the north side of the house that had had a bunch of tree sapling grow and get big so I managed to get those all cleaned out. That area grows no grass but it sure grows a lot of ground cover vines so I took the weed eater and cleaned that out. I don’t know where all of the darned vines have come from that grow around here. If I don’t work at it, this place will be nothing but vines. I haven’t found a good weed killer to put on them and maybe I shouldn’t use that anyway. I suspect that there may be all kinds of beneficial bugs and things that rely on that habitat. And I’m not crazy about adding a lot of chemical to the soil. BUt, I did go get some “grub-ex” to put down to kill the grub worms. I may have already told you that. 

Sunday we had \pretty good attendance at the churches considering it was a holiday weekend that folks like to take off and go camping etc. After church, Kate and I went up to her sister’s house and visited for a bit and then went to a new restaurant in town called “Bubba’s”. The food was good, the service was good, but the place was like any sports bar —- too loud. Music was gping loud and that makes the customers talk louder. The several TV screens were showing a number of sporting events and fans were yelling and cheering. So, we may go back but will choose a quieter time like a mid-week late lunch period. 

Yesterday was a day filled with patriotism. We started at St. Lucas cemetery and had a good crowd there for the dedication of the new flag pole and flag. The two 90 year old veterans that I had raise the flag were very pleased at their part in the ceremony. Then at 0930 the local VFW showed up and did their 21 gun salute to our fallen comrades. From there, —  Kate and I followed them up to St. Paul’s cemetery where they did the same thing for the veterans buried in that cemetery. The folks from our two churches really turn out for those ceremonies. Finally at 1500 hours I went out on my front porch and played Taps on my trumpet in support of Taps across America. Neighbor Dan had his family out front fo hear it and stand at attention. Dan is a retired Army Command Sgt. Major. 

That catches you up of my Memorial Day weekend. I pray your was filled with good thoughts and prayers for a nation at peace. Have a good week. Peace. 

 Good morning. Welcome to another Friday. This is Memorial Day weekend and I imagine the highways and bi-ways will be a blur by this afternoon with people rushing off to get their weekend started. In our area the weather is predicted to be “perfect” so there will be lots of cookouts and BBQing going on. Boaters and campers will be headed out to the lakes and streams. Ms. kate and I will be right here doing what we do. The only extra thing will be a ceremony at the churches on Monday by the VFW and a dedication of our new flag pole and flag at St. Lucas. 

I really need to assemble my grocery list and go get my shopping done soon before folks start getting off work early and making last minute runs to the store. We haven’t had a solid trip to the grocery in maybe two weeks and the larder is getting bare, and that’s hard to believe. But, we’re out of essentials like ice cream and stuff like that. You know, — those cans of stuff that you grab and fix when nothing really sounds good, like ravioli and stuff. I want to go up to Dewigs Meats and maybe pick up some stuff too. And I think I need to get moving because the sky is clouding up and we do have a chance of more rain yet today. 

I finished my service for June 5th yesterday, That was my self-assigned task for the day so I started fairly early in the day and managed to get it all done. That doesn’t put me ahead to speak of but does give me a bit of breathing room. It’s amazing how easily it is to get behind and have to rush to catch up. 

Gotta get busy! Have a blessed and safe weekend. Peace.  

 Unbelievable! So many unanswered questions!!! Once again we turn on our televisions and we hear of yet another mass shooting, and once again it is in a school, —- not just a school, but an elementary school for heaven’s sake. Another deranged person has taken a military style weapon, covered himself in body armor to go shoot and gun down a classroom of innocent fourth grade children and their teacher. And — before he goes on his murderous rampage — he guns down his own grandmother, Why??? Why any of this? Why is he or any civilian allowed to buy military style body armor? Why is any person allowed to purchase military style weapons?  I’m not against guns or owning guns. I believe in the rights of citizens to be able to defend themselves and their homes as guaranteed in the 2nd Amendment of our constitution. But how does that transition over to the right to freely walk around and just kill people? 

We have a generation of people that have no concept of the sanctity of life. Their training to independently  kill with impunity begins at an early age with video games that teach you that there is nothing to killing to pulling a trigger and killing and the more you kill the better. And if you get killed — reset the game and go again. No body teaches them that real life doesn’t reset. 

One unfortunate fact of this latest and of most of these shootings is that we never know the real “why” it happens because most of them take their own life. In this case the police killed him, but the result is the same, we will never know why. What made this young man so angry that he had to take his anger out on 18 ten year old children and their teacher?? Why do these perpetrators always pick on the innocent? Why? Why? Why???? So many questions. Did you know that there have already been 27 school shootings this years? Did you know that since 2009 this country has had 273 mass shooting events with 1526 people killed and another 980 wounded??? And do you fully realize that this will continue to happen as long as people let it become third page news? 

Today, parents will grieve and continue to grieve for the rest of their lives, never understanding how or why their child isn’t out playing with their friends instead of being buried. Today, politicians will wring their hands and profess anger and shock and continue to do nothing but argue and turn their attention to whatever lobbyist is giving them the most support and is going to get them re-elected. Today pastors and clergy all over the country will tell you to pray and start putting God back in the home and the school but have zero plan on how to make that happen. Today first responder will brace themselves for the worst and pray that they don’t have to respond to something like this ever in their career. 

My friends, I have no solutions to the crisis or multiple crisis this nation is going through. I can only pray. I pray for peace. I pray for peace within our homes and in our communities and within our nation. I pray that God will provide us a way to instill a renewed sense is civility within this nation and every nation. I pray that somehow God will erase hatred from our hearts and minds and give us a sense of the peace that Jesus has promised us. 

God bless you my friends. I wish you God’s peace. 

 Good morning! You know what I did yesterday??? Not a darn thing! You know what I accomplished yesterday? —- complete relaxation. I don’t know when was the last time that I just took a day off and did nothing and relaxed all day. I told Ms. Kate that I took a “personal day” away from life. 

Well, actually, I guess that isn’t totally true. We did go out to Denny’s for breakfast and then we did go to Sam’s and did a little shopping. We didn’t find what we went there for though. But that didn’t keep us from using some other needed items. The first thing in the cart was my cherry turnovers. I love my cherry turnovers and I can get them eight to a package there. Sam’s was a zoo yesterday too which only served to increase my desire to get out of there and go home and do nothing. There were so many of us “old people”there and most were either stopped and trying to “think about what they were buying or they were tailgating as we walked along. But every time we stoped to look for an item there was always someone wanting in the same spot or were crowded up against us. I know we are slow too. Ms. kate is one of those who thinks about it all too much and is a slow shopper. I like to take my list, go pick my stuff up and and get out of there. But, thank goodness that yesterday wasn’t a “samples day or it would have been worse. On samples day the old and young act like it is a free lunch and will actually stand and wait for the demonstrator to finish cooking that piece of sausage so they can get their free sample. Then they will circle back and get another piece and still not up the product, but they want “the free stuff”. People are really weird animals. 

So, since I took yesterday off, guess what —— all of my work waited for my return and I need to get out there today and get some deadheading done and the back yard need to be trimmed and mowed. If I hustle, or at least work steady, I can get a lot done before afternoon nap time. It’s supposed to rain again tomorrow so I nee to try to get some stuff done. 

That said, I guess I’ll finish this cup of coffee and cherry turnover and put on my jeans and get to work. Have a blessed day.

 Peace my friends.  

 And the Mondays just keep on coming, don’t they? It seems like we have one almost every week. 

So how was your weekend? Mine was busy of course as it always is. But, after all of the things I had on y schedule last week, I look at my calendar this week and I see nothing written down. So maybe I’ll get a chance to get out and do some much needed yard work if it stops with the showers and storms etc. The weather has been so very weird. Some local places are getting real storms and other places hardly get anything. We had a lot of tree branches broken off up at St. Paul’s church and the neighboring yard and yet we had noting to speak of at St. Lucas which is basically across the field. Some of the wheat fields have big areas where the wind laid the stalks to the ground and then area s where it wasn’t touched. Here at home, we’ve not had enough rain to even level off the bird baths while other people get deluged. It is really weird. This morning it is currently 57 degrees with a brisk wind making it feel like 53, and not a bit of sunshine peeking through the clouds. 

Ms. Kate and I had to call our heating and air conditioning folks late last week because the house wasn’t cooling off at all. The fellow showed up and fixed a couple of wires on the unit compressor (at no charge) and it is working fine now. However, that is only a bandage to get us through. He needs to come back and do something with the compressor, (maybe replace it, I don’t know). I think thee unit is about 12 years old and has been a good one. Hopefully we won’t have to buy a new a/c. Those are never cheap. But, we’ll go with the flow. If it wasn’t a good company, I might be a little concerned that they were just scamming us to sell a new unit but we’ve had these guys for 20 years now and they are a very reputable company. 

Today Ms. Kate and I want to go looking for a present for Julie for her college graduation. We have something in mind and now we need to try to find it. And, —- while we are out, we need to do some grocery shopping. We haven’t done any grocery shopping for probably more than two weeks. Other than a couple of essentials, we haven’t gotten groceries since we returned from our vacation. So the level of stuff to just grab and fix is getting pretty low. But, between Ms.Kate not feeling well and me being busy as heck, we just haven’t taken time to shop or actually to eat much other than pick something up at fast food. That’s not very healthy. 

Soup, having said all of that, I reckon it is time to get ready and go shopping. Then by the time we get don, maybe the weather will be  little sunnier and I’ll feel like being out side. 

I hope you have a blessed week. Peace.