Happy Halloween! May all your spookies be good ones. We’ve had an uneventful day around here. I took Ms. Kate for her weekly hair appointment this morning and I ran to Ruler’s, our local version of a Kroger store. She likes the half and half from there, although I don’t know what makes it any better than anywhere else. But the lady asks and she shall receive. 

Right now I’m waiting on the Sears Appliance repairman to arrive. We need a new door put on our microwave. It has been cracked forever but yesterday Kate told me that the glass almost fell out of it. I looked on the internet to see if that could be a home repair and it can. In fact it look relatively simple but then the caveat says, it would be best to have certified repairman  to install it. 

Well, the young repairman came out and looked at it All told, it is costing me a little less than $500 to have a new door put on my microwave. But a new over the stove unit would have cost me a lot more and bless his heart, the repairman helped to save me over too hundred dollars. Buying the new door through them would have cost me over 450.00 for just the door. So, he had set down at my computer, gave me the part number to order, and the place to order it from. It saved me $250. He will come back on the 10th and put the new door on and in the meantime —— he told me to put duct tape on the front of it to make sure the glass couldn’t fall out. Yes, it’s a redneck fix but what the hell, it works. And the microwave itself works fine. 

Last evening I got busy and actually got a good start on the “pocket sermon” I’ve had running around in my brain for the past month. The danger of the piece is that I need to watch out for “rabbit holes” and stick to where I want to go with it and don’t end up with an hour long sermon. It wouldn’t do for me to fall asleep giving a sermon. LOL

My back yard azaleas are blooming. They do this every year in the fall. There won’t be a lot of blooms but it sure is nice to look out there and see fresh blooms. I also have a couple of lilies blooming and my zinnias are doing well. Thanks for the beautiful blessings Lord!

Nothing else is happening today. I suspect the Halloween’s will be pouring out soon. I’m sticking to my guns and I’m not passing out any candy this year. We’ll just keep the lights off and not answer any doorbell ringing. I guess that makes me a Halloween Grinch, but it is what it is. 

It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is the first day of November. Seems like it got here quick but I know it didn’t. Next thing we know we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving, then a half a month later it will be Christmas. 

That’s it for today. Have a blessed weekend. I may or not chat this weekend, if not, I’ll see you Monday. Peace. 

 Thursday afternoon and the sun is shining, and the wind has died down, and the temperature is hovering around 55 or so. All in all, a very nice day. For that I am grateful to the creator. 

Yesterday turned out to be "Tax Day" for us. Property tax bills came in for our home here and for our farmland over in Illinois. I was glad to put both checks in the mail and have that task completed. Of course, the taxes were higher this year than they were last year because that is how taxes work, I reckon. I am just glad that I can afford to pay them. Of all of the things that I have to deal with in life, I think taxes are my most disliked.  I dread every February or so when we do our income taxes because when it comes to dealing with anything using numbers, I don't do well and I'm always afraid I'm going to screw it up. Having property income from my farm always is a headache. I only get a little less than $7,000.00 a year income for renting it out but Illinois income tax just ads a headache I don't want. 

Today we were supposed to go to Louisville to have lunch with Julie and Jim and their friend Karyn. But she couldn't get anyone to "man the store" for her so we cancelled it. Instead, I went to a lunch meeting with a couple of my pastor friends. I always seem to learn stuff when I listen to these young guys. Today's topic between them cost me the purchase of another book. I came home and immediately went to Amazon and ordered the book they were talking about. What will I do with the knowledge I gain from it ----- who knows. 

Ms. Kate is currently fixing a meatloaf for our supper. She planned to do that yesterday, but we were still full from eating a late lunch. So, she's got it in the oven as I write this. She makes a great meatloaf. I know a lot of people turn their nose up at the mention of meatloaf. I had a son-n-law that would not eat it. The thing is that he likes everything that Kate would put into the making of a meatloaf but I guess the actual mixing of the elements turned him off. No wonder he became a "former son-in-law". 

Tomorrow is Halloween but The Monkey has retired and will not be sitting on the street by the driveway passing out candy. The Monkey is the mask that I have used for at least 25 years. I've just gotten to the point that I don't need to sit out in the cold, and the lids don't walk all the way up hill to our door. Years ago, the kids and I loved to decorate the house and the yard and each other for Halloween. Our's was "the house" to go to when we lived on the various Air Force bases. I've scared many a kid and adult with my various pranks. 

Okay, that's it for today. Have a great evening. Peace. 

 Good morning to you. Today is “yuckier” than yesterday weather wise for sure. It’s cloudy and rainy, and cold. But, it is supposed to all clear out  by tonight and I think the anticipated total is supposed to be around an inch and a half. It will be what it will be and my only recourse is to be thankful to God for any blessings that come with this rain. 

Tomorrow Ms. Kate and I will be heading to Louisville, KY to have lunch with Julie and her visiting friend, Karyn. Karyn is a nice lady and she and Jules are pretty much hooked at the brain. They met many years ago when Julie was working for Barnes and Noble in the Boston area. Karyn was her boss at the time. Karyn comes down every Halloween week and the two of them do “spooky stuff” together. A few years ago I went with them and Jim to Waiverly Sanitarium, a “super haunted” former tuberculosis sanitarium. We did a midnight to four in the morning stay all by ourselves in the dark. It was a lot of fun. But, no ghosties got us. LOL It is amazing how one’s mind can pull things out of the darkness whether it is there or not. I’d go back and do it again, although it is more walking than I would want to do these days, and Lord knows I couldn’t run. Bwaahahahahah!

Yesterday we took Kate for her checkup with Dr. Jackson as I told you we were going to. I’m very happy to say that she is doing very well with no outstanding issues. She does have to go for another check of her thyroid in a month. That will be done through bloodwork. Dr. J said that he really didn’t trust the “abnormal” reading that she had for that. So, he wants hr to have it checked again in a month. If it still comes out abnormal, he will adjust her medications. 

The hurricane hit Jamaica with 180 mph winds and rain causing lots and lots of damage. Then it moved on across the Atlantic and now is sitting over Cuba and hit there at 120 mph. I can’t imagine that. I think it will be over Bermuda by this afternoon and then head on northeast across the Atlantic Ocean. It will wear itself out by the time it reaches the north western coast of Europe. Our US Navy storm chasers flew into it a couple of days ago and actually had to abandon the mission because it was so rough. That doesn’t happen very often so it must have really been bad. I haven’t heard of any more deaths beyond the first 6 or 7. I pray there were no more. But lots of people are going to have to rebuild their lives out of nothing. I occasionally hear people say they would love to live on an island and enjoy the sun and the breeze and the ocean. Yes, it would be nice on those days, but when a hurricane comes —- you are out of luck. No thanks. 

I think today would be a good day for either chili or a meatloaf. I need to get some ground chuck out of the freezer. 

With that, I’ll leave you to enjoy the day as best as you can. Put a fire in the fireplace and pull up a good book. Peace. 

 If one day could copy another, today would be a copy of yesterday with the exception of maybe a couple less showers. But it is supposed to begin raining in earnest tonight and then through all day tomorrow. I’m just glad I don’t have to work outside and I feel for the folks that do. The temperature is a balmy 57 degrees. And speaking of weather, let’s all lift up prayers for Jamaica for the islands after that in the path of this category 5 hurricane. I think I heard there had been already six deaths attributed to the hurricane before it land on Jamaica this morning. When you live on an island like that, there are only a limited amount of places one can escape to. So Lord, I ask that you put a protective had on the people in the storm’s path. 

I have a stiff neck today. I guess I slept wrong in some way last night. I couldn’t really get comfortable and sleeping on my left side cause me pain of the left side of my head. It wasn’t a “headache”, it was pain on the side of my head. I don’t know what that is all about but this is the third night in a row that I have had that. I must be stacking my pillows wrong or something. 

Kate has an appointment with our family doctor today. It is a routine, every quarter visit. She did her bloodwork for the visit last Friday, I think. Today she has to have a chest X-ray. I have bragged on Dr. J before and will again. He is a really good doctor and has been through a lot with us two old farts. I pray we never have to find another doctor. He has a great family too. I was pastor for a lot of his in-laws while I was at the Ft. Branch parish. 

I have an idea for a sermon that has been rolling around in my mind for weeks now. I need to just sit down and put it on paper. Will I ever have the chance to use it???? I don’t know. But, if someone does ask me to fill in for a Sunday, I will have this one ready. It can be used on any occasion. I know I’m retired, but that doesn’t stop the brain and I like to create what I call “pocket-sermons”; sermons you have in your pocket if called upon. My buddy Art Christmas probably has a thousand pocket sermons ready to go on a moment’s notice. I’m not that wordy or smart. But then, Art has been preaching for about 60 years, has a Doctor of Ministry degree, and teaches at a seminary. I learn a lot from that old Baptist!! He’s a year older than me. He’s a great friend.

That’s it for today. Try to stay dry and warm. Give thanks to The Lord for all of the blessings you have been given year again today. Peace, my friends. 

 It’s wet, chilly, rainy and raw today. I wonder if there are any other adjectives I could use to describe a yucky (there’s one) Monday. I unfortunately thing is that this just day one of this weather. Reports say that we’ll be having this on and off through Thursday. But it is supposed to be a nice day on Friday, which is Halloween. The neighborhood monsters can have a good day to go grub for candy. I wouldn’t want them out there catching a cold. 

We haven’t done anything this morning except sit around on our IPad’s and work our individual games. Both of us like an app called Happy Color. We each do the picture of the day and then may find three or four other pictures that we like and color those. I find it a good exercise to wake up the brain while we look for the part of the picture that corresponds with the number we are trying to find. If you are looking for something a bit challenging and have free time I recommend this application. Some of the pictures will frustrate you because the spot is often quite small and well hidden. The other game that I play is Criminal Case. I’ve been playing this one for maybe three years now. Each “case” involves several different part to it and each part may take a couple of weeks to solve. Again, it’s a time waster but also mentally therapeutic. And —— I’m easily entertained. 

The reason we can sit on our bums today is that we did our work yesterday afternoon. We got the laundry all done including changing the bed clothes and making an apple pie. I think we have enough apples left for maybe two more pies and that will be the last of the fall harvest pick. Speaking of apples, I was down in my furnace/storage room a couple of days ago putting something away and noticed that we had several pints of apple butter on the shelf that Kate canned at least a decade ago. I decided to bring one up and see if it was still good. It is delicious!! It was like finding a bit of treasure down there. I figured it should be good since it was still sealed. So now, for a snack I pop a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster and have a bit of a snack of apple butter and toast. 

Our pastor had a good sermon yesterday. Yesterday was Reformation Sunday, the day that Martin Luther posted his 95 complaints to the church door in Wittenberg  Germany in 1519 and there the beginning of the Protestant (from protester) Church. His sermon was about the wife of Luther, Katherine von Bora, who was a major player in the beginning of the movement in her own right. I had never heard of her or frankly ever thought of Luther having a wife. It is an interesting story that you might want to look up sometime if you are interested in church history. He was a Catholic priest and she had been raised in a convent and wanted to escape. It’s good juicy stuff. LOL

I think it is time for me to make some Ramen soup. On a day like this soup seems like a good thing and I love ramen. 

Have a blessed day. Peace. 

 Hello Sunday afternoon. It’s been a peaceful day so far. We did “recliner church” again this week. You know, it used to bother me that people would stay home and watch the service instead of showing up in person. My argument was that you can’t get the same sense of Christian Fellowship when you aren’t together. But, frankly, Ms. Kate and I enjoy watching it from home and while we may not get the sense of “fellowship”, we are getting the gospel from our pastor and that is what counts; hearing God’s words and hearing His message.  Next week we will try hard to make it in person because it will be communion Sunday.

This afternoon Kate made another apple pie. I declared it to be “doing the LORD’S WORK because I know when it comes out of that oven it will taste heavenly. 

Yesterday we went to my sister-in-law’s house to gather pecans. She had told me that the wind was blowing a lot of nuts off of the trees. I took my bag and gathering device and went up there but I really didn’t find that many. There is enough for one good round to throw out to the squirrels. I suppose it looked like a lot more when she was mowing. Or maybe her squirrels have picked up a bunch of them already. 

My grandson Josh and his family finally got into their apartment three are renting in Raleigh, NC. The place they thought they were going to get turned out to be way less than advertised; infested with roaches, leaking ceiling, wacky electrical wiring. So, they demanded their down payment back and quickly found another place after five days in a hotel. Bless their hearts. I feel for them and am so glad it all worked out. 

Okay, my friends, that is enough for today. The end of October is rapidly coming this week. Give God thanks for any blessings you received this month. Peace. 

 Thursday finally got here, the day I have been dreading because of my electrocardiogram test. Yes, I know I was being a baby about it but those things are really very uncomfortable to have. If you’ve had one, you know what I mean. If you’ve haven’t, let me tell you about it. It is totally non-invasive and I don’t really know what they are measuring except I guess how well your heart is functioning. As I told you, I didn’t really know who prescribed it for me but I found out it was my primary care doctor, Dr. Jackson, who has been keeping me alive for 25 years now. 

Anyway, you strip down to skin above the waist and lay down on this bed on your side. The technician then spends the next hour poking and prodding with a couple of different instruments trying to get good pictures of the inside of your heart. Again this time I had a student I there to do the procedure which I’m not crazy about but she did a good job and they have to work on somebody if they are going to learn the job. The problem is that when the student has completed her job, she then calls in her supervisor to check her work. And of course the supervisor feels the need to get some pictures of her own. They have to really press hard  and they just keep it up and keep it up. I seriously thought about telling her that if she wanted to reach my back, she could maybe reach around my body instead of trying to go through it. But of course, I made it through it just fine and didn’t cry (in front of anybody.) LOL So, if your doctor recommends you have one of these things, just know, you are not in for a fun hour of your life. 

It was 42 this morning and once again is going to be only in the low 60’s today. Sunday, I think we won’t get out of the 50’s. I actually pulled out a sweatshirt to wear today. It wouldn’t be as “cold” if the wind would calm down. But the wind definitely makes you say “Brrrrrrrr!”

Yesterday afternoon we went to get “Bambi” (the little John Deere) a new battery. I’m glad to have it back up and running. Bambi is my backyard JD and I need it to mulch up the leaves that are soon going to coming own off of those two Tulip Poplar trees. I could of course, take “Big John” around back but it is a tight squeeze along the sidewalk and getting through the gate. When I bought Big John I tried to trade in Bambi it the dealer wouldn’t give much at all for it so I just kept it and once I got the fuel pump issues worked out, it has run well. I just needed something with a bit more power for my snow clearing out front, so I bought something a little bigger for the front. I don’t need to do snow removal in the back yard although I could because I have a blade of Bambi too. As much as I enjoy the setting of our home on this hill, I certainly didn’t consider snow removal at the time. 

Tomorrow is going to be another busy day. Kate has a hair appointment and I have an appointment to get my toe nails trimmed a the same time in two different locations. So, I will drop her off and run down the street to my appointment, then pick her up when I’m done. From there we’ll go do our thing at Planet Fitness and then we’ll head up to Kate’s sister’s house and gather pecans. She has three big pecan trees and they are dropping pecans like crazy with the wind we are having. I have the neatest pecan gathering tool and it requires no bending over. From there we’ll probably go get some lunch somewhere before we finally come home. So, I may or may not post tomorrow.

That’s it for today. Have a great evening. Remember that God loves you and you are never alone. Peace.