Here’s a great book

Happy Thanksgiving! I say this now so I don’t forget later. We will be here for Thanksgiving. Nothing special, just us, and that’s okay.

I’ve been reading a very interesting book. It’s an international intrigue novel. The author is Davis Bunn. I read another of his books a few months ago and wanted to catch this as soon as I could. The other book was Rare Earth. This one is Straight of Hormuz. The main character is Marc Royce, an undercover agent for the United States but in an unofficial capacity. In this venture he finds himself trying to stop the possibility of the world going to war. Much to his surprise he is joined by Kitra, his love-interest from Rare Earth. This puts both of them in the awkward position of sorting out their feelings for each other while they try to solve the mystery. Through all this Marc has to stay alive, keep Kitra alive, oppose his superiors, find the contraband, and save the world. He handles it nicely.

The great thing about Davis Bunn’s books is that the dialogue is rated PG. You are not assaulted on each page with pulpy four letter words and gratuitous sex. There is an undercurrent of Christian thought without being preachy and it gives you a few things to chew on.

I recommend it to you. It can be purchased on Amazon or downloaded to your Kindle. It just hit the market.

Good reading.

I think winter is NOT here yet

That title is in contrast to the title of the last post. In September we were dumped on by the rains of autumn. A typhoon that hit Japan or China jumped into the polar jet stream and headed back to the northwest. It was loaded with rain!!! The weatherman told us it was coming and I had reason to expect a flooded patio. Here’s the long story.

A few weeks earlier we had a few minutes of hard rain and the downspout by the corner of the patio overflowed at the ground level where it goes into the pipe that carries the water to the street. That pipe is called a foundation drain. Water invaded the patio and we had to rescue rugs and other stuff we didn’t want to get wet. I thought this was just because of so much water all at once; an anomaly. It would drain normal rain but backed up in a downpour. But now we are supposed to get a monsoon. I heard they had sandbags available at Home Depot so I went down and filled a dozen. We built a dam and dug a trench and the rains came down. And the floods came up. The downspout spouted water like it did before but the sandbags helped – there was definitely a lot more water on the outside of the dike than on the inside. Well, something is wrong in the drain; it will have to be corrected.

Four or five days later we got a break in the weather so I took off the downspout. A hose down the pipe and into the foundation drain didn’t seem to indicate a blockage. The drain goes about two feet, turns a corner and picks up another downspout. There is a shrub at the corner and I thought maybe the roots had invaded the drain. So I dug up the corner. Nope. All was well.

I removed the downspout at that spot. All looked well. A hose pushed upstream seemed to indicate no problem. But pushed downstream, well… the water didn’t seem to flow as well as it should. The drain goes along the back of the house, turns another corner, picks up another downspout and heads to the street. I took that downspout off. Downstream, no problem. Upstream? The hose would only go a few inches.

Now I have to explain that there is a chain link fence going around the back yard. At this corner of the house there is a gate. Next to the house and very near the corner is a galvanized pipe going into the ground as a post for the latch side of the gate. In fact you can bring the latch down and put a padlock on it. The hose going up the drain seemed to end at about the place where the post went down. Now you’re thinking what I’m thinking, right? Surely no one would put a post into the drain. Would they?

Well, there was nothing left to do but dig up the post. It was encased in a big hunk of concrete and it left a large hole. Finally it came free and brought up a piece of pipe with it. And there it was – the post right through the elbow at the corner of the foundation drain. A little water could pass by but a huge torrent would back up. I could not believe anyone would do that.

My opinion of the workmanship? On the charitable side it was total ignorance. A couple guys said, “Sure we can put up a fence. It can’t be very hard, can it.” At the other extreme it was total malfeasance. A couple guys said, “Oops, there’s a pipe down there. Quick, cover it up before anyone sees it.”

A five dollar elbow from Home Depot, filling in my holes, replacing the downspouts and all is well again. But I saw it.

Then October came. Nice weather. Joyce and I took a vacation. Well, now really? Can a retired person go on vacation? Isn’t all of life a vacation? Uhhh, no comment. Anyway, we went to Belknap Hot Springs, up Highway 26 a little east of McKenzie Bridge. It is one of our favorite places and all we did was laze around, read, sleep, and soak in the hot pool. Like this…

Ahh, nice!

The Lodge. Some rooms upstairs, RV spaces to the right and more behind me up on a second level. The pool is on the other side of the Lodge. To right of the lodge is a bridge over the McKenzie River leading to the source of the hot water and on to a beautiful area for weddings, tent camping a cabin or two.

Our RV sitting on the bank of the river. We were there four days – it rained two and was beautiful for two. The rain didn’t bother us. We still hit the pool and otherwise read and slept. Oh yes, I did a little writing.

We’re on the other side of the river and that white spec way over there to the left is our RV.

Just a little stroll in the woods. The leaves were changing color and it was beautiful. We don’t have the massive forests of changing color like some parts of the US but what we have is sure nice.

After the September rains we have had almost two weeks of sunshine. And the newspaper says there is at least 10 days more. We have been using this time to get things done around the farm in preparation for when winter comes – and it will come. Joyce and I spent parts of several days getting the RV ready for a long winter’s nap. It is now washed, waxed, and it’s water pipes have been blown out. This week we will cover it and look forward to next spring!

Speaking of changing colors. Our neighborhood has a few small trees that change color but around the corner there are lots of huge trees with lots of leaves.

The red tree to the right is in front of our house. It is the odd ball of the neighborhood. It doesn’t loose it’s leaves until next spring. They are usually green, turn red in the autumn, then die but hang on until the new leaves force them off in the spring.

Does anyone know what kind of tree this is? It appears to be some kind of oak but I don’t know what kind.

Blessings.

I think winter is here

To continue where I left off last time… the garage, though still ailing is some areas and somewhat overstuffed, is much improved. Thank you. I now have my tools organized and hanging on pegs or stored on shelves. I have a light over the work bench, and MOST things put away in small boxes or totes or simply sitting on shelves. Why, just take a look…

It is not totally finished but it sure has been fun, when wanting a particular item, to simply go grab it. Usually. Remember, for the last two years I have had to dig around in boxes, look under stacks of something, and maybe find it-maybe not. It will take awhile to remember where I put everything. I still have an assortment of nails and screws to separate and categorize. While we’re at it look at this. The car is in the garage.

Yes, I know. It is only one car. The stuff in the left background will have to find a better place to live before Ginger can get her car in. But we are getting close. You would be impressed if you had seen the “before” look of the garage. This and the shed have taken most of my discretionary time. (Come to think of it, when a person is retired isn’t all of his time discretionary? No. I don’t think so).

Previously I told about Korak and I raising the shed a few inches to put in a pressure treated 4x4 – a project which ended three days later with us putting in new 4x6s and pier blocks in addition to the 4x4s. And then I told about putting in the sink. Now I have taken the gutters down, cleaned them and put them back up on the opposite sides. This was to get the downspouts to the front so I could channel the water away. I also replaced a section of roof. In addition I have added new siding to the bottom of the old siding to cover the new 4x6s and 4x4s. Not finished with that project yet. This little old shed has taken on a life of its own. I still need to put a floor in it but that will wait until next summer. It seems none of these projects are simple.

The garden is almost gone. We still have carrots and beets. And zucchini of course. The various squash are doing well. We will leave them until the vines freeze or otherwise die. I’ve turned the water off because God is now watering it. Our rain started Friday and will continue on and off for… well, probably for the rest of the winter. Now you know why I worked to get the car in the garage.

So with that I’ll close. No sermon this time. Have I mentioned that I’m teaching the Gospel of Mark in the adult education class at church? It is fun and not too much extra work. Just enough to keep me out of trouble. I think. Maybe I’ll blog the overflow from that class sometime. Do you think that would be good?

Blessings.

 

God’s Best

I have to let off steam. Watch out.

Imagine this scenario… a young man grows up exposed to all kinds of Christian influences. He graduates from a Christian high school. He meets a girl who grew up in a Christian church. They get married. But somewhere along the way something goes wrong. They start drinking. The drinking gets out of control. Pretty soon it becomes a habit and they become alcoholics. The drinking gets worse; he beats his wife. She gets a restraining order against him. He spends time in jail. When he makes bail he breaks the restraining order. He refuses to get help for his alcoholism. She informs him she has filed for divorce. He drives to a relative’s house. But he doesn’t make it. He has been drinking again, he is going too fast and he looses control of his car on a curve. He is killed instantly. Tragic.

I went to his memorial service. The minister talked about all his good qualities, what a great Christian he was, and how heaven welcomed him with open arms. Oh yes, he did have a problem but who among us isn’t without sin? So let’s celebrate his life.

Okay, I’m not getting into whether he really is in heaven or not. I’m not the judge; I don’t know about his various commitments and lack of commitments. But as I sat there it suddenly hit me: what a convoluted view of the Christian life! I was being told I can have serious moral issues, those issues can effect my relationship with others, I can keep having those issues without seeking help and still go to heaven because Jesus loves me. The only true statement there is that Jesus loves me.

I can handle this. I’m able to sort this out and I don’t think my relationship with Jesus is going to be damaged. But my thoughts went to the children (there were 3 in the family, one a teenager by a previous marriage). Also to his wife who is struggling with trying to make an effort to begin to change (yes, read some uncertainty in that statement). And to those in attendance who are not Christians. They all heard, “Say a prayer and don’t worry about your personal issues.” “Be a good person who says spiritual things now and then but lifestyle isn’t really important to God.” That’s. Just. Not. Right. Sorry, but I’m opinionated about this.

Let me ask, where is the call to a better life? …to a higher lifestyle? …to strive for excellence? Where is the “if a person is in Christ he/she is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come?” Why am I not hearing “first seek the kingdom of God?” When will we get around to challenging ourselves to be truly “called out.” If you missed it, the first two are references from the Bible: 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Matthew 6:33.

I know there is a school of theology that says if a person becomes a Christian (i.e. accepts Jesus as his/her personal savior) that person is eternally saved no matter what he/she does. There is an opposite view that if the person sins even once – any kind, any degree of abhorrence, against anyone, any time – that person immediately loses his/her salvation. For the record, my belief falls somewhere between these two polar extremes but that is not my issue here. I’m saying there has to be a commitment to a lifestyle standard higher than the norm. The expression might be “live above the world.” Let your life be a witness that Jesus has done something for you. And please don’t tell the children that lifestyle doesn’t matter.

Ok. Now that I’ve spouted off I feel better. It’s just that I’m bothered by cheap Christianity or a Christian life that seems to mean nothing. It’s okay to give me feedback even if you don’t agree.

Now let’s change the subject. I finally got my garden sick installed and working. It sure is handy to wash your hands or clean veggies. The compost bin is close so the tops of things can go right on the pile.

And the rest of the garden… Corn and raspberries.

Tomatoes…

Pole beans to the left and peas somewhere in the green area behind them. They were both removed right after the picture was taken. Kaput for this season.

A little of the bounty.

A couple weeks ago I made zucchini relish. Of course Joyce helped. We got about 9 pints. Then last week I made salsa – about 9 half pints. I’m not sure about the salsa. I think it might be too runny. But it’s okay, I’ll like it. And I’m the only one in the family who likes salsa.

We are in the process – slow process – of cleaning and organizing the garage. This includes my work bench and tools. I vowed to not take on any more projects until I get some organization out there. So that is where we have spent much of our spare time (spare time? What is that?). I’ll let you quite spending your spare time reading this. Now we both can get on to something else. Blessings.

Catching Up

The intent was good. But doing it was, well… delayed. I should have written sooner. The last post left off with a broken car. As it turned out, they totaled my Taurus. Then it was a matter of arguing with the insurance company about value. Without going into the gory details, it is enough to say that they won. Their offer wasn’t too awfully bad but they wouldn’t budge either. So I settled and bought a new car. Here it is.

It is a 1995 Buick Regal. How’s that for going backwards? It has a number of good things going for it. It only has 84,000 miles (only a few more than the Taurus), it is in good shape, the price was right, and – most important – it was my sister’s car. After Doris died, Bing drove it a little but he also had a pickup to drive. Finally he came to the point in his life when he realized he shouldn’t drive anymore and he sold both vehicles. We bought the car Saturday morning, June 8. And that chapter in my life came to a close. Saturday evening the next chapter opened.

Jana, Korak, Josiah, Lilly, and Jeyanthi arrived about 4:30. We were very much looking forward to seeing them again. Phase one of their visit was only 3 days. Monday evening we took them to the airport (in their van) to begin their vacation in Boston. But Sunday afternoon and Monday Korak dug a ditch for me to put in pipe to irrigate my garden. We put part of it in while he was here and then I finished it between rain storms. Ginger went with them on this trip.

While they were gone Joyce and I went to the coast to see the Sand Castle Contest in Cannon Beach. We camped for 3 days at Fort Stevens State Park (extreme NW corner of Oregon) and scouted the area for things to see and do because another camping trip was coming up in July with the grandkids. While we looked around I was invited to participate in firing a cannon at an old artillery battery location near the park. The battery was an army installation during the Civil War and thru WW II that protected the mouth of the Columbia River with giant mortars. I was the powder carrier. There was a certain procedure to follow, part of which required me walk backward so my body protected the cannon powder from enemy fire. To be interpreted: in a real battle I would be the enemy’s favorite target!

The family returned on Wednesday, June 19 minus Korak. He went back to LA to work for a couple weeks. For the next 2 1/2 weeks we did a lot of “family fun stuff” like picking the neighbor’s cherries that hang over onto our side – Josiah helped make a really good cherry tart.

And of course we made several trips to McDonald’s so the kids could climb and slide on the play equipment.

Playing in the water was always fun with most of our daytime temperatures in the high 80s. Jey loved wearing her tutu – even in the water.

Korak returned on the Fourth of July with a family friend. Mason is a year younger than Josiah and we have all kind of adopted him into the family. Sunday afternoon (July 7) we headed for Fort Stevens State Park again for 2 nights of camping. Mason had never been camping before so we had to give him this wonderful Oregon experience. In this picture we have guests who now live in the Portland area but used to live in Los Angeles and attended the same church as Jana and Korak. They came out for Sunday evening to visit. Around the circle (L to R) we have Joyce, Korak, Jana, Jeyanthi, Mason, Josiah, Lilly (almost hid), Judy and Mark.

We also played on the beach, went to Fort Clatsop, and, of course, made smores. The weather was “okay” – temps in the 60 and low 70s but NO RAIN!

Back at home Korak and I raised my shed to put a pressure treated 4x4 under it – hopefully to preserve it for a few more years. This simple chore took us most of 3 days. We found the main 4x6 timbers it was sitting on were rotted so they got replaced. While we were at it we set the whole thing on concrete pier blocks and tried to level it. We didn’t do a perfect job but it is better than it was. Next summer I’ll put a floor in it and have a really good storage shed.

This is not a very good picture of the garden but it does show that things are growing. We have eaten radishes, carrots, zucchini, lettuce, yellow crook neck squash, green beans, and two tomatoes. We have more squash, corn, tomatoes and onions coming.

They all left for home on Saturday the 13th but on Friday we made one last family adventure. This time to Enchanted Forest – a whimsical play land built around children’s nursery rhymes. Here we have the kids at “there was a crooked man who built a crooked house” and the whole gang intent on watching Pinocchio.

The day ended with all of us participating in a Walk for Life in Stayton. This is our friend Joann, Joyce and Donna – a friend from church.

I need to close with these pictures. We made a trip to Picture People for some formal photos. Korak wasn’t back yet but I’d like to share these.

And since I’m writing the blog I must include this picture. Don’t you love it?

Oh, okay. One more picture.

Love ya. Blessings. I’ll try to post sooner next time.

Oh, No!!!

I better take this occasion to catch you all up on the teachers of patience the Lord has been sending my way. First of all I want to state unequivocally that I have NOT been praying for patience. I guess the Lord just thinks I need a reminder. Let me set the stage for you. This will take awhile so get comfortable and read on.

Here goes. For several weeks I have been putting up with a rash on my lower legs and ankles. It has come and gone over the last couple years. One doctor says it is “itchitygimlesdermofunnystufforother.” Or something like that. He says, “Here, fill this prescription and rub the stuff on.” So I have. Maybe it helps. Maybe it is simply time that helps. I don’t know. The problem is that it itches. Let me say that again, IT ITCHES. The salve helps but so does scratching the skin off! It seems to be heat sensitive. More heat, more itching. Less heat, it is somewhat tolerable. So I don’t wear socks over my ankles, and I sleep with my feet uncovered. Yes, they do get cold. Remember that hot weather I mentioned in the last post? The rash started a few days after the warm weather started. The warm weather went away, the itching is going away – very slowly.

I know some of you like pictures so I’ll try to accommodate. Here are my legs. Well, they could be, you know!

Another doctor said it was due to my legs swelling due to the increased blood pressure medication I was taking due to my blood pressure being a little too high. Doctor number one said to do this but warned my legs might swell. I was seeing doctor number two because I had an ingrown toenail that needed to be cut out. Cringe at this point if you want to. WARNING: the following material is for mature audiences only. Reader discretion is advised. Actually the surgery went very well. No pain at all. Injecting the deadening stuff with two shots into the top of my toe and two into the bottom about sent me through the roof. Except he was holding my foot down. After everything was comfortably asleep he took his diabolical looking scissors and cut up my toenail about a quarter inch from the edge. Then he took his needle nose plies, got a good grip on the little strip of nail and pulled it out. It was really funny to watch because I knew it should hurt like… well, like everything. But it didn’t. Then he used his 6-inch cotton swabs to poke some nail-killing stuff up in the spot where my nail used to be. He said that part of the nail would never grow back. Good. So I have been doctoring that spot so it heals without getting an infection. So far, so good.

And here are my toes!!!

Then (see, this goes on and on)… then last week my back started hurting me – down in the lower back. I have had this happen from time to time but it would always go away after two or three days. This isn’t going away (although as I write this it is better). So I have worn a back brace part of the day. I have tried a few patches of IcyHot Medicated Pain Relief. After all, Shaquille O’Neal says it works and he wouldn’t lie to me would he? Actually, it does help. What really helps is standing up or laying down. Sitting is not good (and I’m sitting right now in terrible excruciating pain making a great sacrifice to communicate with you, my faithful dear reader. ((A tear would be appropriate about now.)) You may send donations to my home address).

And this is my back. See where it hurts? Right down there.

So it’s legs itching, toe hurting, back aching…

…and now we come to Sunday last. It was Memorial Day weekend. We had a great worship time at church remembering. Then Joyce and I packed the car and we headed to Eugene. The objective was to clean mom and dad’s grave. In the last post I said a day of rain was coming. Remember that? Well, it has rained ever since. My garden is about to drown. But I digress. It was supposed to be a rainy day so we were prepared with dry clothes to change into and old blankets and towels to put down in the car to protect the upholstery. We went to Creswell first to pick up my sister, Beth. She was house sitting at my niece Betty’s place. Then to the cemetery.

Here I need to draw a mental picture for you. Close your eyes and imagine this as you read. This is an old non-upkeep cemetery. A nonprofit has been formed to mow the grass, clean things up, and keep the gate locked to deter vandalism. Mom and dad are buried in the lower corner near the road. To get there I drove my car in the main gate, then a short ways to a road that went down the hill, then left along the property line where it ends just beyond the grave site. You must understand this is a rural setting and the roads are well-packed gravel with grass growing up in them. The place we parked was at the end of this access road, with trees on the right and the graves on the left. My folks are buried about three rows up. I had brought with me: 5 bags of red lava rock to freshen up what is there, a rake, a shovel, two trowels, a scraper, gloves, rags, three gallons of water, and some bleach to help remove the moss. We were prepared to fix this place up real nice, rain or shine. It was shining. Beautiful day. We are just getting started, I was scraping moss when I heard Joyce say, “What is that car doing?” I heard an engine rev and then a real loud CRASH. I turned around this is what I saw:

I was not angry but I admit I was irritated. I had a small bottle of water in my hand; I threw it to the ground and walked over to the lady who had just gotten out of her car. I didn’t yell at her. Joyce said I asked, “What were you thinking?” I’m thinking she just wasn’t paying attention and backed up too far. She said her foot slipped off the brake and onto the gas (which would account for the revving engine I heard). Her car is a Mercedes SUV. It weighs almost as much as a Sherman tank. With a trailer hitch in the back. She knocked my car at least the length of the car and up onto a pile of dirt at the end of the road.

As you can see she pretty much obliterated the back of my car. My trunk lid was up and a lot of glass you see is from her rear window. The good side: she had two passengers with her and no one was hurt, I was not standing at the back of my car getting something out; she has good insurance; it wasn’t raining which would have made the day miserable, and … now you have to appreciate this … my nephew, Will, who lives in Alaska walked up about 10 minutes after it happened. He was down here visiting and decided to visit the cemetery at just that time. He brought us home and his friend took Beth back to Creswell.

So now my car is in a repair shop. I don’t know yet if they will fix it or total it. I drove my pickup today and will get a rental car tomorrow. And I’m saying, “Okay Lord, you have my attention. Is it patience you are wanting to teach me? Or something else?”

 

The Farm

This is The Farm or as I usually call it, “The South 40.” It is indeed south but not quite 40 acres. However a lot more space than we really need. I’m not sure what we will do with all of it. This view is from our patio.

Has it really been almost 3 weeks? Well, you know the old saying about how “time is what prevents everything from happening at once.” You don’t remember that one? Some wise person thought it up and then wrote it down. But I digress. It has been a good three weeks. We have done what we always do so let’s take a shortcut. Read one of the other blogs and you’ll have it. The end. Good bye. See you next time.

Oh, you wanted more. I can do that. I’ll tell you about our delve into gardening. Several weeks ago Ginger bought two potting trays. Each one had 24 little tiny cloth pots of something similar to peat – they expanded when wet. I wanted to get an early start on our garden (last year it was June before we planted anything) and I didn’t know how long seeds would take to grow. So…

I bought a few packets of seeds, watered the peat, watched it expand and then planted seeds. All kinds of seeds – peas, beans, corn, zucchini, a different kind of zucchini, acorn squash, hubbard squash, summer squash, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, radishes, lettuce, and maybe a few other things. This was about Easter – maybe a little later. I kept the things covered with the plastic lid, kept them watered, put them in the light by the window, watched the moisture form on the lid, and sure enough they began to grow. And grow. And grow. I didn’t know they would sprout like that. I think the soil had a growth additive! We didn’t have the garden ready. It was raining. It was kind of cold. Too soon to plant outdoors. But roots were coming out the sides of the cloth pots, the beans were 6 inches high, the corn about the same. Peas were vining over the side of the table and heading toward the floor. This wasn’t good. They needed something bigger. So we bought the larger 4 inch peat pots and Joyce transplanted the big ones.

All to no avail. By the time the garden was ready the plants had outgrown themselves. The stalks were very spindly and couldn’t hold the weight of the plant and apparently couldn’t let enough nutrients pass through. They died. Oh well, we had lots of seeds (do you realize how many zucchini you could harvest from one package of seeds?!!). We planted again. This time the plants were ready the same time as the garden. And they made it into the ground. A side note here: the carrots, radishes, lettuce, and cauliflower didn’t respond to the starting pots. When we planted the garden their seeds were put into the ground. Same with the peas. And all are doing well. Take a look

I built one more raised bed this spring so we have four. They are 4 feet by 8 feet. I’m sure we have some things planted too close together, but oh well. The wimpy looking things in the closest bed are onion starts.

The tomatoes and corn are in the ground at the east side of the South 40. There are five tomato plants and about 24 corn hills. The corn is an experiment to see if it will really produce anything. I welcome any hints.

We got some squash and the tomatoes from a friend. We bought the cabbage plants and a cucumber.

The dark line in the middle right is where the raspberries will go. My blueberries will also go in here somewhere. All the dirt in the foreground is “extra” land. I don’t know what we will do with it.

Our biggest problem is that this is the dirt dug out from where Ginger’s house is and it is full of clay. I have tilled enriched top soil into it and will keep doing that each year but for now, there might be too much clay – especially for the tomatoes and corn. The raised beds are in pretty good shape.

I finally got a compost box built. I couldn’t find any pallets (four of them make a nice box) so I used the scrap stuff I had. I know the plywood won’t  last for very many years but it will do for awhile. I cut holes in it for air circulation. The large board at the bottom comes out to turn the stuff over and to get at the composted dirt.

If all this stuff grows and produces please come and take some. Please! PLEASE!! We’ll be overtaken by garden produce. The project I’m working on now is getting irrigation to all this so we don’t have to drag a hose around.

Depending on where you live you might be aware that we have had over two weeks of summer-like weather. A few days were even into the 80s. Monday it is supposed to rain and then back to sunny weather. No one knows (but everyone is prognosticating) what this means for later spring and summer. It will, no doubt, be a bad fire season.

So to close, here is one last picture. This is my mom’s wash tubs. I remember they were set up by the washing machine either in the kitchen or on the back porch. Mom (when I was older she let me do it) would run the washed clothes through the wringer and into the first tub of fresh rinse water. They would be swooshed around by hand and then the wringer would swing over above the divider and the clothes would go from tub one to the second rinse. Then, one more wringing into the basket and off to the clothes line.

Event After Event

Good evening. Since last we met a lot of time has gone by. Not without event, however. Life never gets boring around the ol’ homestead. A couple of things are worthy of note.

Joyce and I joined the Courthouse. Not because I have so many speeding tickets that it seemed wise to “join them rather than try to beat them.” In fact it’s not that Courthouse – not the one with the flag out front. Not too far from our house is a physical fitness/gym-type place with that name. We joined because we need the discipline of exercising our tired and worn bodies in a constructive manner. And our insurance pays for it. They have an insidious way to get you involved right from the beginning. If a new victim (i.e. client) attends 8 classes in the first month the company will wave the enrollment fee. No problem, eh? That’s only two a week. And so we embarked.

Silver and Fit seemed like a good baptism. The attentive reader will, at this point, recognize the connection to those with hair turning lighter shades of age. Of course we can go at our own pace. Which means sitting in chairs. After all the man in the wheelchair in front of us does. And the 92 year old lady does – sometimes. The instructor simply had us reach high, reach out, reach down – and while doing that move the left foot out, the left foot in, the right foot out, the right foot in (now do the hokey-pokey – no, no, no; that wasn’t part of it). After class I recognized muscles that had not introduced themselves in quite a while.

The next class of the week was water aerobics. Those would help Joyce’s knee problem. What can be so hard about doing that? Right? Do you realize how much resistance the water can put on your body when you are reaching high and low and putting left feet in and out? Well, you will after an hour of it. But the good news is we are sticking with it. We have two more classes this week. Actually we would be done except for the second thing that is worthy of note.

A senior couple in our church decided to move to Kansas. Their’s is a long story and we will miss them terribly but this is probably a good move. However they lived in their house here for 48 years and decided to pack and move in two weeks. They are wonderful people but obviously haven’t moved much so grasped only dimly the enormity of packing a large house, loading a truck and moving across the country. I am happy to report that they are now there and comfortably (I assume) moved in. In the meantime, we and many people from the church switched into rescue mode and helped them pack and clean. The small pod he was going to load everything into became a U-haul truck, then a U-haul with a trailer, and finally two U-haul trucks. He found a couple guys to drive them, they dodged the storms and the move went reasonably well. But there went a lot of our hours and consequently a couple of Courthouse classes. But people are worth it.

I must mentioned a third worthy event. In a moment  of  weakness I agreed to teach an Adult Sunday morning class on the Gospel of Mark beginning next Sunday. However, to kick this class off in grand style I taught a Mark Overview class last night. This was part of our Learning For Life that happens once a month for. It is amazing how much time had to go into preparing 2 hours of material (the class period can be as long as 3 hours). This was background information and looking at a few things in detail without taking away from the weekly classes.

I know there are no pictures this time. Just imagine Joyce and I sweating to the oldies (that’s not a pretty picture) and packing box after box after box (and that’s pretty boring). I’ll try harder next time.