Our Trip Home

Hearst Castle

Our last few days in LA were great. Friday evening Joyce and I went on a date while the kids were at Awanas. We went to Islands for dinner and then a movie -- Robin Hood. Saturday Korak fixed a really nice breakfast for us. Then I took Josiah for a haircut. His hair was getting pretty long and his mom wanted it cut before summer. However, he would only go the barber if grandpa took him. So off we went and he got it cut fairly short. When we got home I realized we didn't get any pictures after the haircut. Well, take my word for it, it looks nice.

Sunday was church -- twice. As it turned out the two services were entirely different so it was fun staying for both. The worship leader shared during the first service and Pastor Kevin preached in the second. In the afternoon Joyce and I stayed home while the family went to a cousin's birthday party. Monday, Kevin and I went to lunch. It is always fun to visit with him. He is an amazing Pastor. Evening dinner was extra nice and we had a couple friends come over to share our "last evening." Then we packed the car. Packed is a pretty good word for it because we brought back a bike for Lilly and a scooter for Josiah (he already has a bike here) so they have things to play with when they are here this summer. We also brought back lots of lemons from their tree to share plus baby clothes for a friend. Oh... also a tent for camping this summer.

We left Tuesday early heading for Hearst Castle on highway one in northern California. Pictures follow somewhere but I'm having trouble with how Blogspot posts pictures (as you could tell from the last blog). They have four tours but we only took the basic one which is recommended for people who have never been there before. It is an amazing place. It kind of proves that if you have enough money you can build anything. It is on the top of a hill with a jillion steps, lots of marble statues, tile everywhere and mostly made of concrete -- with a lot of wood also.

One is a marble statue and one isn't.

If you were a visitor of William Randolf Hearst this might be the bed you would have slept in. A lot of movie stars did.

This is where you would eat along with all the other guests. Mr. Hearst sat in the middle with the newest guests closest to him. I guess when you got to the end of the table you knew it was time to go home.

And finally, the indoor pool where you could take a dip before lunch. The water was heated in Mr. Hearst's day.

We stayed in a motel Tuesday night and made it back to Grants Pass late Wednesday afternoon. Then we left early Thursday morning for the Portland area to attend my Aunt Vera's memorial service. She was the last of my mom's brothers/sisters and died at the age of 99. While we were "up north" we also made contact with Joyce's niece. She was down visiting colleges with her daughter Katlyn. These are the people we stayed with while we were in Wrangell, Alaska. Our visit was short, but good.

I got my garden replanted Saturday. Replanted because some seeds didn't sprout and my tomato plants froze while we were in Lebanon. I think being an absentee farmer doesn't work very well. Joyce has been fighting a cold so this morning I stayed home to be with her. Doesn't that sound altruistic? I'm such a good husband!!! Actually I did something this morning that I've wanted to do for 40 years -- skip church and watch the Indianapolis 500 Race. I don't even feel guilty.

Our plans are to be home -- our GP home -- for a couple weeks before we go back to Lebanon and various other experiences. Trust you have had a great Memorial Day weekend. Blessings.

Busy Having Fun

Greetings from LA. It’s time to sit down and blog a little. I am so behind in computer work. I think it has been non-stop go and almost non-stop projects since we got here – with one little interlude I’ll explain later. We got back to Grants Pass Sunday late afternoon on the 9th, loaded the car, and left early Monday morning. I didn’t want to travel in the rain because I had the old air conditioner in the trunk but the lid wouldn’t close. To protect the trunk from rain we put down a piece of plastic and some old towels and blankets, then put more plastic behind the air conditioner and taped it to the side of the car with blue painter’s tape. Of course the trunk lid was pulled down as far as it would go and held with bungees. To make a long story short (and this could be long), it rained almost the entire way down. It rained while we grabbed a quick nap in a rest area, it rained while we ate lunch, it POURED (like in torrential) as we drove thru Sacramento, and it just continued to rain. If there was a big black cloud on the horizon, it wasn’t off to the west or east, it was straight ahead right over the freeway. As we approached the Grapevine it begin to slacken and finally quite for the last 2 or 3 hours of the drive. But – believe it or not – very little water in the trunk and the carpeting wasn’t even damp!

Interruptions! I’m having too much for this blogging stuff. I started this sitting in Starbucks enjoying a Decaf Grande Latte with a shot of cherry. That was after I read through 37 emails. But then noon time came and I promised Joyce we would go to lunch so off went the computer and off we went to an In N Out Burger for bit of LA culture. The one we went to is right by the landing path at the airport so big planes come screaming in every few minutes just high enough that you can’t touch them – but almost. It’s an experience. There were about 200 people either eating in the place or waiting in the drive thru line. By the way, today is nice sunny day. We have had some of those but have also had rain and cold. I did get to wear my shorts for a couple days.

As I implied, we have been rather busy. We cleaned the end of the back room – this is our bedroom but is also used for storage, etc. We put up the shelves we brought from home – the ones Joyce had in her craft room. We cleaned the patio which is next to the back room. All this made a van full to take to Goodwill. Plus a bunch for garbage. I bought Josiah a small tackle box to use as a tool box. Of course, this had to be filled with tools. Then he and I commenced to build a go-kart. Gravity driven, that is. That took most of Saturday. Much of the hammering was too hard for him but he wanted to build something. Actually he wanted to build a Viking ship! The only one I could find was already built and cost $300. So opted for a go-kart. He has more hills around here than water, anyway.

The pictures here are during his initial run. It needs better seat and some paint. I hope to get to those before we leave – if I don’t run out of time.

Of course there had to be time mixed in here for eating out, shopping, and running to Home Depot. Lots of Home Depot runs! That was last week. Oh yes, and time to be sick. Yeah, I picked up a bug and it hit Sunday afternoon. For awhile I was going at both ends. Not a pretty sight around here. We went to church Sunday and I felt okay – maybe not tip-top, but okay. We went to Chuck E Cheese for lunch (I’m of the opinion that their pizza would make anyone sick) and I went home early. Some of Korak’s family came over in the evening to have a party. I was in the back room having my own party! But Monday I was okay – rather dragged out though. That’s my one little interlude to the nonstop going. Actually, I was kind of nonstop there for… oh, never mind. You don’t want to know.

This week we shopped for a new bed for Lilly. I don’t mean we bought it, we just helped Jana shop. But then there was the putting together, the rearranging of the bedroom, the reconfiguration of the closet, putting the boat together. Oh yeah, the boat.

Joyce brought Lilly a box full of Barbies to play with. Actually, Jana's old Barbies, so she didn't get left out of all this.

We brought Josiah a model speed boat to glue together. Well, we found out it was a little beyond his skills, plus we left the good glue at home so had to settle for super glue. Actually he did a lot of the work. I helped guide the glue and did the really little stuff. It is now done but needs paint. That will get done – if I don’t run out of time (I said that once already, didn’t I?). Or his dad can help him with it.

Yes, I do have wifi access here. That makes it easier than going to McDonalds. Just no time to do it. Barely enough time to keep up with emails. But we’re having fun!!!

Josiah got a bike! Josiah got a bike!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
Josiah's cousin, Nikea, was born 5 days before he was so they celebrated together Sunday evening.
 
 
 
   
And we'll close with a couple views of the church Jana and Korak and kids attend. It is Marina Christian Fellowship (Free Methodist) in Culver City. It sits at a "Y" in the road. Each Sunday they set out coffee and donuts plus relevant literature. It makes a nice place to visit.
 

Happy Mother's Day

To all you mothers, Happy Mom's Day. I feel like I have quite a few moms because it took a village to raise me. Some of my moms have passed on, including my own, but others are still working on me. Thank you. Ginger is here to spend time with her mother. She took us out to dinner tonight at a realy yummy barbecue place in Albany. She'll spend the night with us and go home after church.

I am posting this on Saturday because I might not have time tomorrow. Out stint in Lebanon ends after church tomorrow. We drop the RV off at Beth’s and set out for home quickly. We want to leave as early as possible Monday morning. Leave? Yes! To see grandchildren, daughter, and son-in-law in Los Angeles. During the quick turnaround in Grants Pass we have to do laundry, pack our bags, mow the lawn, do some banking at the ATM, load the car and who knows what else. Loading the car will not be easy. We are taking the old air conditioner to Korak. It will fit in the trunk but not all the way, so the lid won’t close. We are also taking a shelving unit which we took out of Joyce’s “back room.” Plus some stuff for the kids. We’ll be pretty well loaded.


Trevor got home from Bakersfield Wednesday and Shanette on Friday. It was a good thing they were there. It seems they were the solid rocks in the midst of chaos, uncertainty, and indecision. The funeral service for Shanette’s cousin went well and the time spent with the family was good. Thank you for your prayers and concern for them.

Joyce and Shanette set up and decorated for a bridal shower this morning. Followed, of course, by the shower itself. Joyce was in charge of games. Shanette was grateful for her help. Other than that, the week has been fairly calm. I met with a couple people about the church. The conference board meeting in Salem went well. We will be ordaining two young men as ministers this summer.

I don’t know when I will be able to blog again. I don’t have the connection card (or air card) any more. It was real handy to get on the internet in almost any location. But it was also expensive and I don’t really need it now. I may be able to use Jana’s computer to post or I may be able to use McDonald’s internet. We’ll see how slow it is. So until next time… whenever that is, blessings.

In Lebanon Now

It seems like this is becoming a “post every two weeks” blog. Well, my mantra is becoming, “I’m retired; I can do whatever I want.” Yeah. Right. Well anyway we have been keeping busy and out of trouble – no arrests or anything like that. The BIG thing that has been occupying our lives is the sorting, tossing, and reboxing. Joyce has done a marvelous job on her craft room. I am still working on the office but I’ve made a lot of progress. I have two file cabinets (eight file drawers) full of stuff. I can’t see why a retired person needs that many files. So I have been tossing and tossing and tossing. That is emotional. These are files I have saved for years. I have time and energy invested in them. Some are old sermon research files that I started in seminary. They are outdated now and most of them I haven’t used in years because research on the internet is easier, contains more information and is more up to date. But I remember Joyce and me setting up those files. She helped me file a lot of papers and as I look through them, I think, “Wow, this is good stuff. This information is great.” Then I think, “But wait, when am I going to use it? Never! So dump it.” And I do. Some of the files are old class notes that I saved for research. Of course, I have emotional attachment to those. Getting rid of all those files requires a kind of hard heart or a shutting off of the emotions. I’m not good at that. But we’re doing it. We have filled our own recycle container (like a large garbage can) 4 times and our neighbors at least twice. Wednesday we took a large pickup load of stuff to the dump. This was junk from the house, garage, and shed. Since we were going, we threw some tires on top that our neighbor, Mary, wanted to get rid of.

Another allday activity is reflected in these pictures. Can you tell the difference in the house between pic 1 and pic 2.

Do you see the difference? The airconditioner in the wall is missing! We took it out, got a piece of T-111 siding, Joyce painted it three times and we got it nailed in -- all in one big, loooong day.

We are now in Lebanon. We came up Friday, stopped at Beth’s to get the RV and have lunch with her, and got here in time to send Joyce off with the gals to Ladies Retreat. She and Ginger shared a room and we also had about 10 others from here. They had a good time and got home this afternoon.

I preached today, primarily because Trevor and Shanette are in Bakersfield, CA. Shanette’s cousin was murdered Tuesday morning in her home so they went down to help the family. All the details aren’t clear yet but the police arrested a guy yesterday for the killing. Maybe when they get back we’ll get some more information. Tomorrow they are conducting the funeral for the lady. Of course all this is hard on the whole family and Trevor and Shanette need lots of prayer.

So we are here now to do what we can. I have some meetings this week and I’ll also meet with some of the people. When Trevor gets back we’ll talk about the church here, but basically what I hear, everything is going well.

Here is our fancy camping spot in the church parking lot. It doesn't have very many amenities but it doesn't cost much either.

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.