Now the Yard

Maybe I should take a picture of the "before" so you (well, me too) can see the difference when it is finished. It's our backyard I'm referring to. We decided to get rid of some lawn -- which really wasn't lawn anyway. It was more a patchwork of weeds and grassy clumps. Anyway, last summer Korak rototilled about half of our backyard so I could get the cottonwood tree roots out of it (the trees are gone so no worry about the roots returning). Since then it has produced a nice crop of the most interesting looking weeds. Now I have to digress a little and talk about the weather. For the last few weeks we have been having rain, then sun, then rain again, then a forecast for rain but maybe not, and throw some cold in there, and so on. It even snowed one morning -- not much, just a little bit. But this weekend --sun, warm, almost hot. Mid 70s for the temp which seems hot considering some of the temps we have had.

So back to the backyard. I was able to spray that nifty crop of weeds with Round-Up, dig up an old stump, and we hauled a trailer load of stuff to Jo-Grow. Oh, now I need to digress again. Jo-Grow is at the old landfill where we can take woody yard debris like grass clippings, limbs, vines, etc. They grind it up, mix it with fertilizer stuff, let it stew for awhile and then sell it back to the public as mulch. The "Jo" is short for Josephine -- the name of our county. The "Grow" comes from... I don't know what... maybe because it's supposed to be good for growing. So we borrowed a trailer, cleaned up a bunch of stuff in the yard, took it to Jo-Grow and brought back a trailer full of... well, Jo-Grow. Then I borrowed a little rototiller and prepared our old raised-bed garden to be the new raspberry patch -- with a little Jo-Grow thrown in. This meant digging out the old railroad ties and putting in new supports to hold the wires to hold up the little, slender bodies of the raspberry bush. All of this means, my body is sore. It seems I keep finding projects that make my muscles tired.

The rest of the project will follow in due order. While we were in Arizona we were impressed with the rock landscaping -- to be interpreted, "no lawns." So we are putting in a new raised-bed garden, some kind of rock design, some flower pots, shrubs of some sort, etc. Something like that. As you can see, it is very well thought out. Also, we are going to put in a hedge of something along the back of our property. The guy developing the property in the back says he is going to put up a fence but who knows when that will be. With the housing market the way it is, he may not build there for quite awhile. So we are going to plant something -- maybe photinia. Anybody know anything good or bad about using photinia as a backyard hedge?

There are things in our lives other than backyards. We volunteered to help Diana with Kids Klub each Wednesday evening. She has been doing it by herself or with help from a couple of middle schoolers. It was fun to be back with some of the kids we know and to meet a lot of new ones. Today we went to church at Calvary Chapel. They meet in a converted store down town on 7th. It was kind of odd to sit in church and watch cars go by on the street.

Well, you can tell it has been a rather low key week. Lots of work in store for the coming week if the weather permits. So what is in store for your week? Keep looking up.

Completed!

The floor's done. And I think my knees are, too. It took us 3 days and that includes the quarter round we used as a base (around the edges). Actually it looks pretty good. There is only one spot where the crack is too wide. I'm not sure what happened there. The hardest part was getting the stuff laid on a part of the floor going into the hallway that slopes down. Since we had to put it on edge to snap it in, we had to build up the lower end to make it level, then remove the blocks. It looks okay. Here is what the finished living room looks like with Beth's new rug and furniture back it. And here is what one the carpenter's looks like when he's hard at work.

The two ladies in the NEW double recliner are my sisters, Beth and Doris. It was Beth's birthday so we celebrated with a dinner and cake.

Before we left to go home on Thursday, Roy barbecued T-bones and halibut for us. We had so much meat he sent some home with us. Yummm! It sure was good.

In the last blog I mentioned the tax odyssey and pronounced it finished and done. Wrong! I got a call from H and R on Monday that they couldn't file the taxes electronically because something was wrong with one of the EIN numbers. We could file the old fashioned way -- by mail, but we hadn't signed the mail-in forms. So what to do. We were 140 miles away and taxes were due the next day. What I finally figured out was to download an extension form, print it, and send it in. Fortunately I had my computer and printer with us. Then when I got back to Grants Pass, I got the mail-in forms, we signed them and NOW it is all done, finished, and over. Yea, right. Something will pop us. That is the pessimist in me.

Here are the four wanderers. Long time bloggers will remember Roy and Twila from Alaska pictures. Roy was my loyal companion on the floor project.

Today we worshiped at Edgewood Christian Fellowship. They meet in a local school cafeteria. They are huge and we were sort of stuffed in the room. Good sermon, though. Oh, we woke up to snow this morning! Not much but enough to make the car white. Maybe someday spring will come.

Well, that's it in my world. What's in yours?

Moving On To Floors

Well, we relieved some of the stress. Tuesday we bought a car. Our friend Roy, who works at the Ford dealership in Grants Pass made contact with us -- he had been out of town -- and we bought a 2007 Ford Taurus. It was a former Budget rental with 31,000 miles, very clean. I've never had an extended warranty on a car but thought maybe it would be a good idea with this one so we rolled the price, warranty, title transfer, and closing costs into one ridiculous offer. After a little back and forth exchange we finally settled on a decent price. Joyce and I felt good about it because the final price was less than the amount we had available. A couple of the other cars we were looking at would have meant going into debt a little bit.

Now let me tell you about tax stress. I had my taxes figured out but with questions about a couple things so I wasn't real confident I had done it all correctly. 'The way I figured it, I owed the US gover-mint about $400 more than I had already paid them. Almost the same with the State of Ory-gun. I made an appointment with the local branch of AARP to look them over and answer my questions. We showed up on Wednesday, filled out their form, and the lady started putting things in the computer. Then she had questions about what to do. Her boss came over and discovered I had income from being a minister (remember Newport the first part of last year?). After an hour and half of forms and computer input she informed us they weren't supposed to do minister's taxes because they were too difficult. Okay, now what? I tried again to put the right numbers on the right lines but ran into more questions. Now I'm beginning to panic because I'm scheduled to go to Eugene Friday and be gone until the end to the following week -- note: that is after the 15th.

I told Joyce, "this is nuts." I picked up the phone (sidebar here: this was a cell phone. We don't have the old land line phone number any more. The phone company has given that number to some unfortunate soul who is getting a host of calls for Gene or Joyce. Go ahead and call us, but don't use the old 476 number). Okay, where was I? Oh yes. I picked up the phone and called H and R Block with two questions. Do you have someone who knows how to do taxes for a minister and can they do it in the next two days? Answer: yes and yes. My appointment was for two hours at 10:00 Friday. She said we could do it all right then, wrap it up, and be finished with it. Sure enough, she was quite knowledgeable and so was her computer program. Two hours later I had good news and bad news. The good news was that she saved me a bundle on taxes -- I only had to write a check for $40 to the IRS and I get money back from the state. The bad news is that H and R Block is rather expensive. But all in all, I'm way ahead. And it is done. Over. History. Behind us. And we can move on to other things. Like floors.

I promised my sister Beth, I would install a new wood floor in her kitchen -- you know, one of those "floating" wood composite jobs. Somewhere along the way, the kitchen project grew to include the living room and hallway. Oh well. My nephew Roy, prepared the floor by taking up the old carpet and leveling the low spots. Beth lives in Elmira, west of Eugene. So Friday afternoon, Joyce and I showed up with the RV and work began. By Saturday evening we were about one third finished and possessed sore knees, legs, and muscles in general. We have lots of corners, nooks, and crannies to do but it will be done by the end of the week.

Today we attended worship at the Eugene Free Methodist Church -- they call themselves Living Hope. Good service and good message by Pastor Dave. Afterward we enjoyed lunch at Izzy's with my sister-in-law Iva, and Joyce's brother and wife Jack and Luwayne. The only problem was that our time was too short. I had a Conference committee meeting at 3:00. It has been a good day.

Sort of a boring week, huh? I guess that happens when one is retired and doesn't have anything to do. Are you bored? What's your day like?

Decisions! Decisions! Decisions!

Being home is stressful. I guess the decisions aren't big enough. When we are traveling we have to make really BIG decisions like what route will we take, where will we buy diesel, which museum will we visit, and which RV park will we stay in. Now those are biggies. I mean, if we pick the wrong route the pavement might be rough and if we pick the wrong museum it might be boring. And of course, if we pick the wrong RV park the other guy's rig might be too close (we had a few of those).

But here at home the only decisions to be made are things like which car to buy, which high speed internet service to subscribe to what is the best way to upgrade our TV reception. What trivia! Where's the challenge? How does one really get himself into the importance of such minor decisions? I'm getting stressed at the simplicity of life...

Okay, I hope you can tell I'm being facetious. Actually being at home is proving to be more stressful. I hate buying cars. I hate trying to decide which make and model; I hate picking the actual car; I hate the hassle of haggling. I hate trying to decide which promises and bits of information coming from the salesman are true and which are false. Stress! But I started the process last week.

And then the internet. And the TV. We have to do something to improve things so I've inquired at all the available providers. Now the decisions. One consideration is what will happen when we travel again -- can we simply suspend service or do we have to shut it off. And what does that cost? Oh the stress, the stress! Whatever shall I do?

Well, here's what I did. I didn't do anything. Some people call it procrastination. I call it careful contemplative deliberation. Maybe I'll make some decisions this week -- maybe not. Got any good suggestions?

Here's what I DID do. On Tuesday I joined RASCALs. The acronym stands for Rogue Area Senior Computer Assistance League. They meet each Tuesday morning for a couple of general sessions on some computer program or problem and also offer classes on other computer subjects. I was part of it a long time ago; it was fun -- and informative. I also visited a couple of senior people in the hospital. Kind of going back to my roots. I always enjoyed visiting senior people and especially those who were ill or had other needs. A couple of lunches and breakfast with the area pastors and that was my week. No wonder I'm tired. I worked hard.

Decisions. I hate 'em. Do you like making decisions? Tell me why?

Taxes

One word says it all, doesn't it! An image immediately comes to mind... papers all over the kitchen table, a calculator sitting in the middle of the mess, bleary eyes, lights burning late into the night. Well, part of it is true. I wasn't as organized for my annual tax duty this year as I usually am. But Thursday and Friday were the days. So out came the stuff and the sorting and calculating began. Only I didn't work late into the night. Last year I had an accountant do them because of the changes in my life. There were enough things different this year that it would have been easier to have the guy do them again. But now I have them figured out -- I think. I will have a professional look them over. So how did it work out? Well, it could have been worse. My frustration is that I would get it finished, double check it, and realize an error. However the correction to the error always caused me more money. It was finally, "just leave it alone."

The Ministerial Education and Guidance Board meeting which I mentioned in the last blog was Tuesday. It was a loooooong day... but a good day. We interviewed about 7 people who are in various stages of entering the ministry. Three will be ordained as elders (for our church, that means minister, pastor, reverend, preacher -- whatever you want to call them). That will happen this coming June at our Annual Conference.

We had a great time with Ginger. Joyce went with her to a class she taught to some of the ladies her organization supports on how to protect themselves from those who would try to take advantage of them. Remember, she works with mentally challenged clientele so this kind of instruction is much needed. All in all, it was just fun to spend the evenings with her.

And then, in addition to all that... I did nothing. Or at least, very little. I am spending a lot of time carrying in fire wood -- it's just plain cold here! At night it has been getting down to the high 20s. They tell us this will end soon. I hope so. I'm ready for spring -- or going south again. Today we worshipped at the Pursuit Church of Nazarene. They have an interesting history. There used to be 3 Nazarene Churches in the area -- one in Murphy, one in Rogue River, and one in Grants Pass. None of them very large. About 2 years ago they closed all three, sold the property (or listed it for sale), united as one congregation, and began a new church plant. They presently meet at South Middle School about a mile from our house. They still aren't very large but it was a good service and a good sermon.

So that's it here. Not very exciting but you know what they say... "we can't stand much excitement at our age." How is the excitement in your life? Hope you aren't overwhelmed.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jog

Maybe it was more "jiggity" than "jog." We left Las Vegas at noon Tuesday, stopped at a Wal-Mart in Tulare that night, left at 5:15 the next morning and arrived home at about 5:30 p.m. No problems; no incidents. It was really fun being with Joshiah, Lilly and Jana in Las Vegas. We went to a museum Monday and also played in the hot tub. Tuesday morning we had breakfast together. Korak was supposed to be with us but got tied up helping his parents with a car problem. He joined us in time to say goodbye.

The weather was off and on rain from Corning all the way home. Since then it has been dry but somewhat cold. Rain started today. I wonder why we came home?

At home it has simply been "play catch up" -- wash, mail, banking, groceries, clean RV, etc. -- not very interesting. At present we are in Salem at Ginger's. This morning we attended the Easter service at Allen Creek, then left for Salem. Ginger, Joyce and I went to McGrath's Fish House for our Easter dinner this evening.

I have a board meeting at the Conference office Tuesday, then we head home Wednesday. Time to do the taxes. So this is short but I'll make up for it with a couple pictures of the kids.

I've Seen Las Vegas

The high and low. The high this week was camping on the shore of the lake in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. We sat in the shade with a beautiful view of the mountains over the lake, roasted wieners for dinner, and toasted marshmallows for dessert. Everyone needs more evenings like this. But we only had two. On Thursday we took most of the day to tour Hoover Dam and see the views from the view points. What a sight!

We left the nice warm sunny pleasant lovely great (notice I'm heaping on the adjectives for everyone up north in the rain and snow) weather of Bullhead City on Wednesday and landed at Lake Mead. No hookups, but a top notch campground.

But on Friday it was off to Las Vegas. Why Las Vegas? Well, for one we had never been there and I've always wanted to see it -- Joyce hasn't, but I have. And two, it was another chance to see our grandkids (oh, and Jana and Korak, too). Korak's parents live here so it was convenient for them to come here. Friday evening Joyce and I drove The Strip and walked through Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, and New York New York. That is a lot of walking. Yesterday, with Jana and the kids, we went to Circus Circus to see the free circus acts and let the kids play games on the "midway." The circus acts are free because it gets the people to the midway to spend lots and lots and lots of quarters on silly games. We drove down to the MGM Grand to see the lions. That was really cool. The lions come right up to the glass. Lilly and I were 12 inches from a lion's face! And we toured 4 floors of M&M (as in candy) paraphernalia.

We are camped at Sam's Town about 5 miles from The Strip. Kind of interesting that after we left LA we started this Arizona/Nevada adventure at Sam's Family Spa and RV Park in Desert Hot Springs. Now we end it at Sam's Town in Las Vegas. As far as I know these 2 Sam's don't even know each other. This place has a waterfall and light show each evening. Very good!

Okay, so to the title for this blog. I wanted to see Las Vegas. Now I've seen it. I'm disappointed. The Strip was not what I expected -- much more crowded and too much construction. People drive fast -- remember I've driven in LA -- these people drive fast. They zip in out of traffic and think nothing of cutting you off. And the city doesn't seem to have a pattern for the streets. They stop, end, turn, and run at angles to each other, all for no apparent reason. They call this "sin city." Yes, it is. The signs -- some actual signs -- are everywhere. Of course there is sin in every city but here it is flaunted, celebrated, capitalized on. So, okay. I've seen Las Vegas. We leave for home Tuesday. We are only staying until Tuesday because the kids are staying that long.

Today we worshipped at Green Valley Christian Center. A great, growing Assembly of God congregation. Afterward Korak took all of us out for brunch at Boulder Station and then we went to his parents house for the afternoon.

Now you know my world. It is not the world of Las Vegas. Where is your world? (Don't miss the pictures I added midweek, below)

How About Some Pictures!