Wow! It is the last day of August 2020. A couple of things come to mind; first of all were he alive, my dad dad would have been 106 years old. My mother would have been 103. They were both born in August. Secondly, this year is slipping away and Christmas is only a little over 100 days away and then it will be 2021. Time is flying by isn’t it despite the fact that we are all still hiding from the CORONA Virus. 

This morning I have been calculating the cost of putting in a new raised bed and then I have to decided if it is worth the cost and the work. I’m looking at having to buy; (20) 2 cu.ft. Bags of garden soil, (2) 1 cu.ft. Bags of composted manure, (1) 3 cu.ft. Package of sphagnum peat moss, (12) concrete raised bed blocks, & (5) 2x12x8 pine boards. Current pricing brings the price in at almost $300.00. That’s a chunk of change and I don’t know that it is cost effective. And it may not be cost effective, but —- I’ll be planting some garden anyway so a raised bed will keep me from bending over so much. Right now none of the stores have any fall sales going on for that kind of stuff and I can’t build it yet until my tomatoes are out of the way. But, it is time to start the planning and thinking about it. I’m hoping that by the time I get back from our North Carolina vacation that maybe Lowes or even the local nursery will be having some sales going on. By then the area will be ready to clear off and I can put it together. It’s gonna be a hard days work but hopefully come spring and I can plant my early veggies, it will be worth it. If I time it right, maybe my son-in-law Jim can come over and help me. Those bags of dirt do get heavy. But, it keeps me thinking I’m still young. 

We ar supposed to have more rain again today. If we do, I guess I will maybe start on my September 27th sermon. No use wasting time. That would just put me one more week ahead of the curve. Right now it is really cloudy out there and the air is not stirring any. I Have a few guests at the Backyard Buffet.  Mostly I have wrens this morning and a few finches. I have not had many of my nemeses birds, the blackbirds and starlings. I think they have moved out into the fields for the beginning of the harvest. I hope I haven’t jinxed it by saying so. I’m still thinking about buying a squirrel baffel for the one feeders that they have forever climbed on. Wild Birds has a twenty % off for them. 

We had good attendance at the churches yesterday and I was so glad to hear them announce at St. Lucas that they are going to start Sunday school again for adults and kids. Ms. Kate and I were talking about that on the way to church yesterday, hoping they would start back. I’m also considering starting a Wednesday Bible study. I now we wouldn’t get a lot of people but it might fill a need for some folks. I have a couple of sets of Sunday school books from Zoar that I would like to use. It is time that we started being timid and start Ewing the church again. 

That’s all for today. I hope you have started your brand new week off with a prayer. God will walk with you every step of the way and every minute of the day. Share your love and share your blessings. Peace. 

 Happy Saturday. We all made it to another weekend. The weeks just keep rolling along don’t they? Who would have thought that we would still be running around in masks and social distancing at this point in the year; certainly not me. I was disappointed when they were predicting July, and now were are looking up the skirt of September and apparently are no closer to a cure than before. 

The tropical depression from Hurricane Laura has passed through. Our rain amounts and wind were far less than expected. Today is supposed to be a pretty decent day. I may mow my back yard after while and I also will get out and fill bird feeders. I’m sure the garden will need picking again today too. I picked it on Thursday so by now there will be more to gather. I’m anxious to go see how my surprise watermelons are doing. I really hope they will be ready when we head to North Carolina and we can maybe take a couple along with us to the beach. That would be an extra blessing. I didn’t tell you that we had an avocado that we didn’t eat so I also planted that out there in that bed. Maybe nothing will happen, but I could end up with an avocado plant too. That would be a first.

Speaking of my raised bed. I should maybe start looking at Lowes or one of the big box stores to see if the fall garden sales have started. I need maybe twenty 2 cu ft bags of garden soil as well as some so posed manure, and some peat, and the lumber and blocks to build the new bed. I can’t put it in yet because the tomatoes are in the way, but I could go ahead and get the supplies and be ready. I’m going to put in a 4’ X 16’ bed this time. Come spring I’ll be ready to plant lettuce and stuff. If I get it done before the leaves fall, I can cover it with the leaves for mulch too. That is the plan anyway. Who really knows what the future will bring. My neighbor Dann said he heard that this winter is supposed to be one of the harshest we’ve seen. It makes sense; the rest of the year 2020 has been hosed, why wouldn’t the year end up that way. 

Ms. Kate just called me for breakfast. I’m out if here. Blessings. 

 Good morning on this bright and warm Friday morning. The clouds are coming and going as the tropical depression moves this way. We are expecting rain and wind later on today as the remnants of Hurricane Laura makes it’s way through the mid section of the country and on out to the eastern coast. What started out as a Category four hurricane is now basically a strong thunderstorm now but it isn’t giving up. Wind flow and air patterns are amazing. This thing started out in the south Atlantic Ocean, came up through the Gulf of Mexico, shot up through the US and made a right hand turn and will now proceed on back out to the Atlantic and then turn left and go up the coast to Nova Scotia. I find that fascinating.

Ms. Kate and I attended a funeral at our home church yesterday  and then stayed for the meal. After that we went to our churches and ran three weeks worth of bulletins for each church. Now, I just have to finish one more sermon and then we will go run those and I’ll be good through the 20th of September. If I have time, I may go ahead and work on September 27th too.  That would be great to have all of my September stuff done. 

Did I tell you that my Motocross riding Granddaughter had another accident and has fractured her shoulder —- again. It was last week and she is just going to the Orthopedic doctor today. I talked to her today and teasingly asked her if she finished the race. I wasn’t overly surprised when she said; “Well, I only had two more hours to race so yeh, I finished it.” That girl is going to give me a heart attack yet. 

I think I’m going to stop here and take advantage of the breeze and sun and mow my yard. Have a blessed Friday. 

 A blessed Thursday morning to you. We are having a cloudy start to our day as is much of the country today. Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category four hurricane last evening on the Texas/Louisiana border. Report so far are just a little positive as there have been no reports of lives lost, at least in the United States. I think I heard that there had been lives lost on one of the Caribbean Islands but I’m not sure which one. It is reported that also the expected storm surge wasn’t as bad as it could have been either. Of course the proper authorities are all going to be out in the storm today assessing the damage. So, the first thing we need to do is give thanks to God for al blessings received through this storm, and secondly we need to pray for continued safety for all of the people in the path of this storm. Remnants of it are going to be through our area by Friday evening. 

We went on a shopping spree yesterday for our Backyard Buffet guests. I can’t believe I spent $243.00 on bird feeding products yesterday and that didn’t include any sunflower seed, nor did I buy any feeders, just bird food. But, I got enough to last at least a month. I still need to pick up 80# of sunflower seed though. 

I finished my sermon for September 6th last night and I got started on my sermon for September 20th. That is a sermon that I have been anxious to get started on. I have my notes and may scripture passages lined up I think. I had to redo the bulletin for that Sunday because I changed titles and the message I want to do. I got inspired by a Kim Collingsworth song the other evening and started putting down some thoughts. I pray it will turn out as good as I want it to. 

Okay, gotta go. I have a funeral to attend this morning. Have a blessed day. 

   

 Good morning on a warm and sultry Wednesday. The “feels like” is already 87 degrees going up to 97 and the humidity is officially in the “muggy” range. That’s a yucky way to start a morning. My backyard guests have come and gone and left a couple of the feeders empty. I have one goldfinch and one cardinal out there but that is it. 

So yesterday became interesting rather quickly. I had an appointment at 10:00 to have my Prius serviced and Ms. Kate had a hair appointment at 10:30 as I told you. I got to my dealership and was sitting in the waiting room when Ms. Kate called me. She said her Caddy was doing all kinds of weird things and would not start. So she called her beautician, Ann, and told her that she would have to reschedule. Well, Ann told her that she didn’t have Kate on her schedule at all and also that they had moved their beauty shop because someone had driven a car into their place. Kate told her that she had her appointment card saying that her appointment waS for 10:30. I guess Ann had written out her appointment card but forgot to put it in the book. Anyway, they rescheduled the appointment and Ann told her where the new place is. 

I finished up my appointment, stopped and picked up the groceries on my list, and came home. The battery in the Caddy was dead or on its last breath. I put my charger on it and I called my Cadillac Roadside assistance. They contacted our local dealer and sent a technician right out. He put his portable charger on it and it started right up. In the meantime, I had talked to my normal service manager at the Cadillac dealership and he told me to bring the car in as soon as they get it started and they put a new battery in for us. So, we drove it to the dealership and $248.00 later Ms. Kate was up and running. That was the original battery in the car so we got five good years of use out of it. But, we didn’t get much else accomplished yesterday

Today I need to call in an order to Wild Birds and go pick it up. The pantry is empty again. I made a list of things I need from them and I also still need to go to Pet Foods and get 80# of sunflower seed. I also decided that I won’t go to the church today to run the bulletins. We have a funeral to attend tomorrow and we’ll go after that up to Ft. Branch and do what I need to do. Today, I want to do some writing. So, barring any interruptions, maybe I can stick to a plan today. 

How about you stick to the plan of having a blessed day. I’m sure you didn’t get out of bed today hoping the day would suck, so get on it. Have a blessed day! Peace. 

 Welcome to another warm and sunny morning. The bird feeders are full but I’m not getting a lot of attention right now. A couple of small Downy Woodpeckers have been by but that is about all. From the level of feed I see in the feeders though, I’d say they were here before I got out of bed while it was still cool. 

Ms. Kate and I each have separate places to be this morning. I have an appointment to take my Prius in for service this morning at 1000 hrs and she has a haircut appointment at 1030. Once I’m done with mine, I need to go by the Cadillac dealer and have them put a new battery in Ms. Kate’s car key. Then I need to go to the grocery and pick up a few things. We did the laundry yesterday and used the last of our laundry soap pods and I need to pick up some coffee grounds. Back before COVID I had gotten a good deal on coffee and bought several large cans. Well, I put the last of the grounds in my coffee canister two days ago and that’s like putting the last bullet in your gun and facing a war party. No bueno!!!

We’ve been busy since we returned from vacation. Saturday afternoon I got a Call from a funeral home director asking me if I was available to do a funeral on Sunday morning. A man that I have known most of my life passed away and the family wanted me to do a short prayer service for them before his cremation. I explained that I was preaching at two churches on Sunday morning but that I could do it Sunday afternoon. So, we settles down on 1400 hrs on Sunday. I’m also in the process of putting together worship services and sermons for the first three weeks of September. We are going to be on vacation over the 13th of September which means that I have a service and sermon to prepare for the 6th and 20th, and a service only for the guest pastor for the 13th. I’ve spent the last couple of days working on those and so far, I have the services all planned and I’ve started on the sermon for the 6th. It just all takes time. 

Time to finish my cup of coffee and get ready to head out. I hope you have a blessed day and a blessed week.  Peace 

 Blessings on this warm and sunny morning. I’m sitting here watching a hummingbird as it buzzes in and about from the feeder to the phlox blooms and back again. Unfortunately the hummer is the only thing getting fed this morning. I think every feeder has been emptied. The hummingbird feeder was empty too yesterday when we got home because the squirrel has managed to get it open and all of the liquid was gone. So, today, I need to take stock of what food I have and fill feeders. Then I may need to call in an order from Wild Bird Unlimited and go by and pick it up. I think I also have to go by Pet Foods and get at least one 40# bag of sunflower seed. 

We got home from our vacation a little after noon yesterday. We got the car washed and all of the stuff out of it. It is ready for our next trip assuming we take that car. My little car would give us a lot better gas mileage. It will depend on how much crap we decide we need to take along on our trip. I think we need to talk to Lisa about that. She had said that they would take care of all of the food since we are paying for the beach one rental, but we still need to discuss it. But, we will probably end up taking the Prius. Actually, Ms. kate and I are discussing the possibility of selling the Cadillac. It just sits in the garage and we don’t drive it but every once in a while. I checked the Blue-Book value on it and we should be able to get around $17K for it because it is in pristine condition. We have just under 70K miles on it and it is a 2015. If we sold it, then we could put the Prius in the garage during the winter. The real problem is that she and I never have any luck selling anything. But it would save us insurance and excise tax on a car we seldom use. The same could be said about my truck which I drive even less. But when you need a truck, you need a truck. When I bought that truck I figured it would be my last one. It is a 2008 and I have less than 50K miles on it. I made sure I got one with 4WD when I bought one and yet, I think I have only put it in 4WD one time in the 12 years I have had it.  Just one of the silly things we think we have to have I reckon. I’ve kept it in pristine condition too. 

I have at least three sermons and four services that I need to get prepared in the next week and a half  so I can go on vacation again. Today, I’m heading downstairs to do some writing on next weeks sermon and service. I made a really brief start last night..

So, I guess I better sign off and think about getting busy. Have a wonderful Friday. Pray for your friends, pray for your enemies, and pray for our country and world. God likes hearing from you. Peace.