All's Quiet

All’s quiet on the southern front. That means not much happened last week. Susie has been after me to put up some pictures so I’ve added some that go back a couple weeks. I copied these from the Lebanon Church Facebook page. But first, the boring details of my week. You know, kind of like church at the mission… you have listen to the sermon before you get the food (except the Gospel Rescue Mission in Grants Pass doesn’t do that).

So, let’s see… last Monday I finished my taxes and sent them off. I think they are correct. I hope they are correct. I’m getting money back instead of having to pay. That’s a good thing. I also sent out our prayer letter to those who have asked for it. Joyce and I are making Monday evenings (except tonight) our movie night. Last week we rented “The Hurt Locker.” It was good but in my opinion not “best picture” good.

The middle of the week I felt like I might be coming down with a cold so I took a lot of Airborne and soaked in a HOT bath. Kind of like sweating the bad stuff out. It worked. Still had to labor (endlessly??) on our cleaning and sorting. Joyce is doing really well. She actually got to the back wall of the junk (err… craft) room. Nobody’s seen it in years! She sorted, tossed, boxed, bagged, and repacked. She filled our garbage can and there are bags left over for other days; she filled our recycle barrel – then the neighbor’s; there is still stuff left over for next time. Oh yes, then there was the trunk load that went to Goodwill. When all this was over she stacked the stuff she wants to keep against one wall. There were “only” twenty boxes and totes. Only 20! Oh well, it’s a start. I almost have the office finished. Anybody want three file drawers of outdated sermon resource material? Come and get it.

Mike needed help with some supports for his grape vines so Thursday afternoon we bought, cut, drilled, and bolted. Beautiful day – sunny, in the 70s. Really nice. That evening we all went to dinner at the Taprock. That’s a new restaurant in town overlooking the Rogue River.

Saturday my sister, Beth turned 85. They had a surprise party for her so we went up to the Eugene area for that. Actually, I went. Joyce was supposed to go with me but she woke up feeling puny. So she stayed home getting well. Sunday I went to the early service at the Nazarene Church and Joyce stayed home. Later in afternoon we worked in the yard. Another beautiful day – temps in the high 70s. We did some weeding and I got most of my garden in. If it gets too cold and the seeds don’t come up, I’ll just replant later.

Today, it is cloudy and supposed to rain for a couple days. Then nice again. Such is life in Oregon. We went to Medford to get some work done on the pickup and get Joyce’s glasses fixed. And… I have to tell this because it’s funny. We have a gift card for Red Lobster so we decided this would be a good time to use it. We had a wonderful meal – a little more expensive than we would usually pay but we have a gift card, right. The lady brings the bill, Joyce and I are engrossed in conversation, I automatically get out my credit card and pay the bill – totally forgetting about the gift card. So come and see us. We have a gift card to Red Lobster we need to use someday.

And that’s the way it was – one week in our lives.

The pictures are from Wednesday night KidZone at Van Essens a couple weeks ago -- lamb petting, egg hunt, hot dog feed.

Two Weeks Worth

Guess what? It’s been two weeks since I blogged and a lot has happened – good things. Let me start back at Lebanon. The last time I blogged it was raining. It did that most of the week including Good Friday and a little on Easter. There has only been a very few times when I’ve been out in the RV and couldn’t wait until we got home. This was one of them. But… here’s the good part. Wednesday (going way back before Good Friday) was Family Night and it was scheduled to be at Van Essen’s farm. It was for the whole church but with an emphasis on the kids. They had new lambs for the kids to hold and pet, and eggs for the kids to find. The teens helped hide them. The neat thing is, the weather was GOOD! Imagine, Oregon in the middle of a rainy week and we had good weather. There were between 65 and 70 people there; about 35 of them were KidZone-age kids; plus lots of parents. And lots of hot dogs. Great evening.


Friday we did a Tenebrae. That is a Service of Darkness with candles that are extinguished as the service progresses. It was the same one we did at Allen Creek except that Trevor and I changed it a little. Not very many people came but it was also the first time they had done anything on Good Friday. Now they know what they missed. I’ve told Trevor to celebrate all the things they do. Rejoice in them. Make them positive and be upbeat. After awhile people will begin to realize that good things are happening and they won’t want to miss them.

Joyce, Leanne, and I spent most of Saturday before Easter getting the KidZone room and hallway ready for the next theme. We made it look “western” with paper fences on the walls, posters, bales of hay, and other decorations. It looked great and was ready for people to see on Easter. We're (actually "they" because we won't be there for very much of it) calling it "KZ Corral" but it actually an old Group VBS called Avalanche Ranch.

The Easter Celebration was … well, a celebration. Good music, good message, good attendance, good spirit. The day started with a pancake breakfast and everyone loved it. After worship, we packed up the RV and left for my sister’s place in Elmira. We had originally planned to go to the coast for a few days of vacation but with the rain (and wind at the beach) we decided to skip that part of the journey. It still rained most of the time we were at Beth’s but it was good to spend time with her. She invited Doris (my other sister), her husband, and their daughter over for dinner. Plus Roy and his wife. It was fun to get together with all of them.

We left the RV there and headed for home Tuesday. The weather most of this past week has been pretty good – I even got the lawn mowed. It is cloudy, a little cool, with some showers and typically Oregon. The weather on TV just said the week ahead is going to get progressively better. I need sun!

Our BIG project is sorting and throwing. We have got to declutter, downsize, and make it easier to move when the time comes. Joyce has tackled the “backroom.” That is her craft room – packed (!!!) with stuff to make kid’s crafts. Much of it is recycled stuff so can be put in the recycle bin with no hard feelings. Some of it will go to the Daycare for them to use. Some is garbage. Some she will keep. But when she is through, the room will be a bedroom again. I have worked in the office but have gotten bogged in computer stuff.

Important computer stuff. I killed (read: wasted, shot, frittered, blew, dumped) two days not getting anything accomplished on the computer. First it was the taxes. Last week I took them to Liberty Tax Service (the ones with the Statue of Liberty logo) because there were a couple things I didn’t know how to do. After three hours with them, I concluded they didn’t either so I picked up my papers and left. I’ve heard good things about TurboTax so I decided to try that online. After spending all day Thursday answering their questions, entering figures, and trying to figure out what they were really asking for, I decided there was something wrong with the way I had entered something. They wanted me to pay $1 on one screen and $650 on the next screen. I really should be getting money back from Uncle Sam. So I dumped the TurboTax idea. I am in the process of doing them the old fashioned way (doing it myself with paper and pencil). I’ll either finish tomorrow or file an extension.

Friday was the next wasted day. I wanted to connect my laptop to my printer wirelessly, i.e. network. The printer is not wireless so I got some parts from Staples and commenced to string it all together. But it didn’t work. After calling tech support, I found out one of the things I bought from Staples was manufactured so long ago it might be supported my newer technology. So I boxed it all up and took it back. Another day down the drain. But what fun watching it all swirl around and around before it disappears. Remember, I’m retired and time doesn’t matter. I can do whatever I want. (I keep telling myself as I look at the jillion things that are begging to be worked on!)

But I did take the time to barbecue after church today. I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time. It sure tasted good. Then we watched the Masters Golf Tournament on TV. I was glad Phil won and that Tiger did well but didn’t win.

So the week ahead will be filled with sorting and throwing and cleaning and doctor’s appointments and sundry stuff like that. How exciting!

Rain, Rain, Rain

We are in Lebanon. Had a few nice days in Grants Pass getting the RV ready to travel. That meant taking off the cover, washing it, checking the systems, and loading it up for 12 days of travel. We had our share of rain but there were some beautifully gorgeous days. It was fun driving around with the windows rolled down. Finally on Saturday we headed out.

But before that could happen, I had to deal with computer issues. The last blog was written from my old desk top. This one is being written from my new laptop. Does it look different? I mentioned a great computer crash last time. As it turned out, Korak got it running – sort of. There was a point when I thought it was totally dead and another point when I thought it was totally fixed. Neither was the case. However, Korak helped me get the essential information off the old one so I am happy. I think he was getting tired of getting phone calls from me though. I tried to order a new Dell on line but that wasn’t going very well (probably because of the slow speed of my old desk top). On a whim, I went to Staples and they had what I wanted (almost) at far less money. By the time I added the programs I wanted and a few other things, it wasn’t “far” less money, but it was a nice savings. And it was almost immediate. So I’m a happy camper now.

Well, I’d be happier if we weren’t sitting in the midst of one of the worst rain storms in recent memory. Saturday night it started to rain and has only stopped for brief periods. Last night the rain fell, the wind blew, the RV rocked, and we wondered where we would be when dawn broke. The weather forecast is for… guess what? Rain! So we’ll tough it out. We had one minor leak but it is fixed now – or mostly so.

Sunday morning we attended church at Sweet Home. Matt and Susan are the pastoral couple I am mentoring. The only problem is that there hasn’t been much mentoring lately. He is doing well, however. They are a great couple with three kids and one on the way. He came from another denomination and has worked in churches before but never as a senior pastor.

This week is Wednesday Family Night at the Van Essen farm to hunt for Easter eggs and pet the new lambs. Oh my, I hope the rain gives us a break. Then a Good Friday service and Easter morning pancake feed and Celebration. It will be fun. Lots more fun if this rain stops – or at least slows down.

What is your weather like? Take the poll to the right. Let’s see what is happening around the world (hah! As if there are readers that far away.)

Not Bored Yet

Well… it’s not boring yet. We left our Lebanon house at 10:45 Monday morning, all checked out with keys turned in and a promise we would get our full deposit back. There was a quick stop at the mechanic’s shop to present them with flowers and a box of candy (read last week’s blog). Then it was to the church for Dave’s memorial service. We arrived in our grubby’s just as the service started so we sat in the sound booth, kind of out of sight. The church was packed, people were in suits, and a bag piper played at the end. Trevor led the service and he did a really good job. I was proud of him. We snuck (sneaked?) out as soon as it was over, got diesel, UPSed the TV stuff back to Comcast, picked up a story on CD at the library and hit the road. We arrived home about 4:30 Monday afternoon. The pickup was unloaded by 6:00, the house was a mess with all the stuff we jammed in, and we were tired. Good day, though.

So the week was full of sorting, tossing, and cleaning – the kind of things we will be doing for the next several months. We HAVE to reduce the clutter and we don’t need this much stuff!!! Gotta think about moving – how soon I don’t know, but it will happen. We took the tarp off the RV and washed it while the sun was shining. We had a beautiful, sunny week. By the way, the weather was great for the move – no loading in the rain and no need for a tarp while we traveled. Thank you, Lord. Mike and Joann helped us try out a new restaurant Thursday. It was good and not too expensive. They really promote their wine but that can be refused.

I ordered high speed internet from Qwest. Well… if you can call 1.5 megs high speed. They have faster but not in our neighborhood. Why Qwest? They offer the best flexibility if we (or when we) travel. Speaking of traveling… we have decided that the trip back east will not happen this year. I’m sad because I was looking forward to it but there is too much happening to properly plan. I think we’ll do some shorter trips, like to Glacier, maybe to Arizona, maybe Utah, some of the California National Parks. That sort of thing. Anyway, back to the internet service. Friday evening I sat down to go through the steps to get the laptop connected and disaster struck.

Real disaster. The computer hung up trying to boot up Windows. With the assistance of a nice lady on the “help” line, I got the desktop connected. That is what I’m using now. Saturday, Korak tried to help me get the laptop running. It was getting quite complicated and he needed to leave for a birthday party – HIS birthday party. (Isn’t he a great son-in-law to work on my computer on his birthday?) I was able to salvage my “contacts” from Microsoft Outlook but a few minutes later – before I could copy “my documents” – the whole thing crashed. Nothing on the screen except a cursor in the corner winking at me and taunting me to do anything about it. Bad. Real bad. Tomorrow I’ll see if some computer guru can salvage anything. Did I have a backup? Yes, but it’s several months old because the external hard drive I got for a backup system stopped working on the laptop. My tales of woe could go on and on. You know what I mean. But this too shall pass.

Today we worshiped with the Nazarenes who are using the Allen Creek Church building. It seemed kind of funny (and a little sad) that we were there but it wasn’t a Free Methodist group. However, they are doing real well. They just started having three services – one Friday evening and two Sunday morning. It was a good time of worship and there were people there from the old Allen Creek church.

Among a lot of other things, this week we have to concentrate on getting the RV ready to travel. We’ll be in Lebanon next Saturday. Better go rest up.

Ready to Roll

Well, here I am in an almost empty house, sitting on the floor, propped against the wall writing my last blog from the canal-side mansion. What a day it has been! What a week it has been! I preached this morning. Then they had a potluck for us in our honor -- even though we'll be back in 2 weeks. Then we had a Leadership Council meeting. I got back to the house at 3:00. Joyce had most of our stuff packed up. Mike and Joann were here on a short RV vacation so they took some things back with them -- the hard to pack items like pictures and plants, plus our clothes, plus my TV. So I started loading the pickup. It is now ready to roll except for our air mattresses, the cleaning supplies, and the food that will go in the cooler. About half the house is clean so tomorrow we'll finish it off, get an inspection, and hit the road.

Probably hit the road all the way to the church for a funeral service. They are having a memorial for the man who died last Sunday and we would like to attend if possible. So about noon we'll be on our way home. By the way, the weather is nice -- a little cool but no rain forecast until at least Tuesday. I hope they are right because I didn't tarp the load.

Now let me tell you about the pickup. Those of you who are our Prayer Partners know a little about it, but here are more details. Monday the pickup started running real rough and had no power. The same problem as one year ago in Tucson. They really couldn't find anything wrong and as they checked out wiring it stared to run better. So here we are stuck in Lebanon where I don't know any diesel mechanics, with a week full of running around ahead of us, and a move home in seven days. I usually handle things like this pretty calmly, just do what needs to be done and move on. But for some reason, this really threw me. I had trouble staying positive and was constantly wondering WHY.

The earliest a mechanic could look at it was Thursday. I rented a car so we could do our running around but had to bum a ride to Corvallis to get it. The Albany Enterprise would come and get me but they didn’t have any cars. Corvallis had cars but they didn’t go to Lebanon. Wednesday I took the truck to Millers – just down the road from us. He was recommended by a friend. Since then, several people have told me he is the best. I believe it. He spent most of the day Thursday tracking down one thing and then another – none of them solved the problem. Late in the day he called to tell me the sad tale and suggested we pull the fuel injectors on the 3 cylinders that showed problems in one of his tests. The “we” here is that he would do the work and I would pay him for it. The injectors would go to Eugene on Friday to be tested.

Try to understand my distress. We are at the end of the week, we have a rental car, and we need to move Monday. All I can see is a delay in getting the truck fixed, us camping out for a couple days in the church, and nothing going according to plan. My plan, that is. I was trying to stay focused on God but it wasn’t going very well. Finally I could say, “I wonder how God is going to work this out. I wonder how he will get any glory from this?” Thursday evening, I told Joyce I was discouraged about this whole situation. She tried to remind me that I’m always the one saying that cars break down and need repair or need new tires or something. It just happens so be prepared to pay for it. I know all that, but I’m still discouraged. I spouted, “Why couldn’t this have happened in Grants Pass. I have a car there. A mechanic could have the pickup as long he wanted.” And Joyce replied (you’ll love this), “Sure and then you wouldn’t have to trust God as much would you?” Ouch! But she was right.

Anyway, by Friday I’m resigned to spending big bucks on a bunch of injectors or maybe not even getting the pickup until Monday or Tuesday. Friday afternoon they called. The pickup is running! Yahoo! When I walked in to pay the tab, the lady looked real apologetic and commented that she was sorry the bill was so much. I was braced. I was prepared for $1,500. Hit me with it. She said, “$583.” I said, “Is that all?” Wow! He only had to replace one injector. But this is the neat part. The office lady (who is his wife) got up at 5:30 Friday morning to take my injectors to Eugene (usually they are mailed). She drove through a terrible wind and rainstorm and spent 3 hours there so she could bring them back with her. Then he went right to work putting it all back together so I could have the pickup by the weekend. Isn’t God good? Even in my doubts, he comes through. We are taking her some flowers on our way to the church!

So tomorrow we start a new phase in the journeys of Gene and Joyce. Stay tuned. It might even be boring!

Not Like Last Week

Sorry to everyone looking for another exciting installment in the life of Gene and Joyce. No scandalous cross-dressing this week. No thought provoking ladies luncheon. Although I did take it on myself to put address labels on envelopes, photocopy the newsletter, fold it, stuff it in the envelopes, stamp a return address, affix postage, and mail it. Sounds like a secretary’s job, huh? Well, I wanted it out before next whenever.

The usual things were good as usual. KidZone was fun and Family Night was well attended. I worked in the office getting the new directory ready (so did Trevor). We passed around a proof copy today. Good thing we did, because there are some corrections. It will be completed by next Sunday.

This weekend is Men’s Advance at Aldersgate Conference Center. I went up Friday evening and again Saturday evening. We have 8 or 9 guys who stayed the whole weekend. The speaker was Len Sweet. Really good. Deep thinker but able to break it down to such chewable pieces that everyone can get it.

Shanette preached today. I preach next Sunday. Monday the 15th we move back to Grants Pass. This week will be busy with a lot of last minutes things. I don’t know when I will be able to blog again because I have no internet connection in GP. I will go to hotspot until I get something hooked up. For those who are curious, we will be back in Lebanon March 27 thru April 4.

We found out this morning that a man in the church who had prostate cancer went home to glory. I suppose that is something we will be dealing with this week. Trevor and Shanette had made good connection with he and his family.

So the next phase of our life’s journey is about to begin. God goes ahead of us; God goes with us.

I don’t know what I did last week but I sure was busy. It seems like all the days merge into one. The biggy was the Joyce-inspired women’s luncheon. I guess it had been eons since the ladies had done anything together so Joyce got a few to meet and plan a lunch for yesterday. She had lots of help but still a lot of the work fell to her. The whole event had a “you are someone special” theme. To put the two hours in a short simple sentence, they eat luncheon stuff, had a “style” show based on the fruit of the spirit, heard a devotional, and worked on notebooks by pasting magazine pictures of things special to them.

As it developed, they were short a person for the style show. So some guy who should know better but never seems to learn his lesson volunteered to be one of the “ladies.” Can you imagine? I hope not!!! Each of the ladies was one of the fruits and this guy was the last fruit (I know what you’re thinking. Don’t say it!) – self-control. I think he lost his somewhere. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Who let this guy... er, lady in?            The "guest" speaker

All of the lovely models pose for a photo.

I am in a “try not to do too much but do what really needs done” mode. That means I’m letting Trevor and Shanette do most of the work but picking up some loose ends that are either critical or temporary. One of the temporary jobs I’m working on is getting the new church directory done. It is now a month past the promised date and really needs to get finished quickly. Maybe by the end of this week?! It is hard to feel productive but not “do anything.” I find myself prodding Trevor to quit procrastinating and plan ahead. I want to go ahead and do it, but that won’t do him any good so I hold back.

We had a good planning meeting with the ladies who are doing KidZone (remember, we are technically just helping). They want to continue with the kind of program we are doing. I brought some more old VBS material (used by Fir Point Camp in some past year) and they chose Avalanche Ranch for the next unit. This is encouraging. The BIG issue is finding someone – or a couple – to take our place. They do need at least three leaders to make the club concept work for the 15 to 20 kids we have.

I close with this photo of the full moon rising last night and reflecting off the canal behind our house. 

Blessings

A Trip to GP

Hello, and happy Monday. I didn’t blog yesterday because I didn’t want to! I heard somebody say that retired people could do whatever they want to do, so I thought I would try it. I didn’t want to blog so I didn’t. How did it feel? Well, just so-so. No great high associated with it.

The big thing last week was our trip to Grants Pass. I’m happy to report all is well. The house is still standing and there are no water leaks. We did the usual hometown errands and I had a doctor’s appointment. It was one of those medication check ups. He looked down my list of lab work results and declared, “You are doing great in every area except one.” I knew what he was going to say. My glucose level keeps creeping up and is now at the place that he is starting to shake his finger at me. So, no sugar for me. I’m on the same diet Joyce is now. How boring. Oh, plus the exercise.

One of the fun things we did while we were in Grants Pass was have another one of those “Allen Creek Gang Potlucks.” We had this one in the clubhouse in the mobile home park where Delma and Reggie live. Thirty-seven people showed up (including five children). Three were true nonagenarians. Look that one up in Webster’s if you have to, but it is getting pretty well up in years. One still drives! One had a stroke but is doing well. The other just keeps ticking – kind of like Timex. The whole evening was lots of fun and a good time of staying in touch. These people really care for each other and miss “the good old days” of Allen Creek. Someone said I should go back and restart the church. That is not realistic. First of all, most of these people are tied into new churches and enjoying the new friends they are making. Second, it takes more than a few interested people to start a church (it takes dedication, leadership, talent, sacrifice, to name a few). I’ll leave it to someone else to start a new church in Grants Pass.

On the way back to Lebanon, we stopped in at Sutherlin for a leadership meeting regarding Camp Fir Point. The plans being laid will make for a super camp next August. And when we got back to Lebanon, we attended a community production of “Larceny and Old Lace.” It was produced by a local retirement facility as a fundraiser. The dinner was “ok” but the play was hilarious. Lots of laughs.

Trevor preached Sunday and we started our own version of fasting during the traditional Lenten season. And now we are into a new week. Wonder what it will hold? Seems there is always something exciting – or at least interesting. Have a good week.