Let it snow; let it snow; let it snow...

We had a surprise today. Here's how it went down. Jill needed to take the car to the shop for a repair estimate. At the same time I had to wait home for the cable guy to come and install our internet upgrade. Laura had a date with a friend from high school, so Tim drove her to Tualatin.

After the car appointment, Jill and Tara drove to IKEA for some shopping. On the way home they picked up my mom and brought her to the house so she could see the kids and grandkids. Meantime, Tim stopped by his favorite bento house and picked up lunch.

During lunch, I was studying the sky out the dining room window, and I said, "The sky kind of looks like a snow sky." It was less than half an hour later, when snow flakes started drifting down here and there. Soon, there was heavy snow falling. Tim took Josiah out to play in the snow. They threw snowballs. They made a snow man. Tim tied a rope to a recycling bin and then put it around his waist. Josiah got in and Tim towed him around the neighborhood. I'm not sure who had more fun!


Initially, the weather stations indicated that there would be some flurries, but little accumulation...WRONG!! After a little while, we began making plans for Mom to stay the night. In addition, we were concerned about getting Tara to the airport at 5:00 AM!

In the long run, the snow stopped, the temperature rose, and the rain began to fall. I was able to take Mom home, and I believe the wee-hours trip to PDX will not be a problem...well, at least not weather-wise!!

While we were dealing with our paltry little problems, son Patrick was on a bus traveling from Amity to Portland with his high school basketball team. About the time they arrived in Portland, the game was called, and they turned the bus around. By the time they got back to the high school in Amity, they had been on the bus for nearly 8 hours. I'll get the full story later, but I am sure it was not the best day he has ever had.

So, now it is late evening. The snow has begun melting. The grandkids are bedded down. It may be time to go to bed soon!

Here's our fishpond with a garnish of snow.

The uniqueness of traditions...

As the day of Nativity approaches, our family traditions are revving up to meet the occasion. Tim and Laura and the boys arrived last evening. Jill broke out a couple of pizzas, and we had a lovely visit, after the boys were bedded down: Josiah in his Spiderman sleeping bag, and Judah on the guest bed.

At last, we all were weary from a long day, and we went to bed. Today, the Sagawas left for Tacoma to visit Tim's mom. It is traditional for them to spend Christmas Eve with her and Tim's siblings. They will return after dinner on Christmas Eve. In the meantime, while I went to help my mom with some last minute preparations for her trip to spend Christmas with my brother and his family in Bothell, WA, Jill baked the Danish fruit bread that is her tradition from childhood. Her brother is coming tomorrow, so this will be a nostalgic treat for the two of them. Of course, it will be a treat for all of us, because it is so good!
This evening, after a nice, brisk walk with Pogo in the nice, brisk December air, we launched into making the English meat pies that are a tradition my great grandmother brought from the old country, and which has been the traditional Christmas Eve dinner of my family since I can remember. I had prepared the filling yesterday, and Jill, bless her heart, made the pie crusts, while I filled the pies (they are about 5" in diameter) and pinched the crusts together. The first batch is in the oven baking as I write.Tara is due to arrive from Denver this evening about 11:00! She is bringing fixin's to make truffles (candy). This could become a new tradition! I love truffles. Patrick and Katie are coming tomorrow morning for their first Christmas with us on Christmas Day since they were married a year and a half ago. Pat is an avid collector of unusual board games, so I am sure we will be in for a treat, when we engage in some gaming in the evenings, which is another tradition in our family.

All things considered, this Christmas is shaping up to be traditional in some respects and unique in others. Having the kids and grandkids all here together for Christmas is the traditional way Christmas has been celebrated for centuries, and yet it can only happen every four years in our family because the kids have other family obligations. And bless their hearts, they are committed to enjoying this season with all of their family members on an equal basis. This Christmas will be traditional in the sense that we will be enjoying traditional Christmas Eve treats around the table, and yet it is unique in that we are including the traditions of my family, Jill's family and her brother Bob's family.

Most of all, it will be traditional in the sense that we will all be blessed by the celebration of God's reaching out to mankind to reconcile us to Himself by becoming flesh and blood, being born in a lowly stable (have you smelled one of those things recently?), and living among us so that He could know the human condition first hand, feeling the pains we feel and the joys we rejoice in, the trials we face and the temptations that overtake us. But it will be unique in that He cares for each of us individually, loving us unconditionally and longing to have a unique, personal relationship with you and me. He sits in heaven now to intercede for each of us with the Father. And the only Christmas gift that He desires is for you to give Him your heart. In exchange, He gave His life for you. Won't you do the same for Him this Christmas?

Just hear those sleigh bells jingling...

OK. Long time, no post. It is the Christmas season, and it kind of takes over one's life. Jill and I have been staying on top of things pretty well, and are finished with our shopping, decorating and most of the baking. (I even baked my signature Sprits cookies.)

Let's see now. We have watched a number of Christmas movies, although we have a couple more in our collection that we still need to check out. We have cleaned the showers, because all of the kids and grandkids will be home for Christmas. We are pretty excited about that.

We went to the annual Christmas play at Rolling Hills Community Church (RHCC). That has become a tradition. Mom, who just turned 94, has everything she could want, so for several years, Jill and I have taken her to some kind of Christmas play or pageant or concert. Her favorites seem to be the RHCC plays, which are done quite professionally.

Jill and I joined the rest of our Bible study group for a benefit concert put on by a group called The Trail Band for the benefit of Friends of the Children. Friends of the Children provides long term mentors for disadvantaged kids. The friends help with homework, hang out with the kids, take them to events and stay with them from kindergarten through high school. The main idea is for the friend to be a reliable adult in the kid's life, something many of these kids don't have otherwise. The concert was a lot of fun and the cause is a worthy one. We plan to attend again next year.

We anticipate, with great joy, the arrival of our kids beginning tomorrow. We expect Tim and Laura and Josiah and Judah to arrive from San Diego tomorrow evening. Tuesday evening, Tara will arrive late from Denver. We are not sure yet about Patrick and Katie. They are either arriving Tuesday or Wednesday from Monmouth.

In addition to the kids, Jill's brother, Bob, and his wife, Sandi, and daughter Tess will be with us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They are driving up from Walnut Creek, CA. So, we will have a houseful, and we couldn't be more excited.

We haven't seen Judah, except for photos, since he was two weeks old. That was in Early September, so we anticipate huge changes. In the meantime, here is a photo of the grandsons. Josiah is 4 and Judah is 4 months.

So much to be thankful for...

Click the photo for a slide show


Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. We were so fortunate to have my brother and his family and my mother (she'll be 94 next month) and a friend with us for the traditional turkey feast. The dinner preparations are always a joy for me and Jill. We both love cooking and entertaining. I suppose, if there is a shortcoming with our home, it is that we don't have room enough to seat more than about 15 at our dining room table. We only had half that many yesterday (well, there wasn't a half a person, but we did have seven), but we would have welcomed more.

Today the sun is shining and the weather is unseasonably warm. I got out and re-engineered our Christmas lights. I installed gutter covers a couple of months ago, and my lights that used to clip on the edge of the gutters no longer fit. I was able to add some plastic hooks and string the lights through them. We have, for several years had a lighted cross to hang on the front of the garage, but it didn't light this year. I am thinking that I may rework it into a star, which is more appropriate for this season of advent.

Tomorrow, we are picking up the motor home from the storage facility, and Sunday we will take off for a few days. Catch our adventures on my blog, Travels With Sadie. We are so fortunate to have our venerable old coach to whisk us away from time to time. We always feel really close to each other when we are traveling in her. Yes, I know, in 240 square feet we have to be close to each other, but I was talking about emotional closeness. The weather promises to be dry, if chilly, so we are glad the Champoeg State Park has lots of places for us to take brisk hikes and keep our blood circulating. Pogo always gets so tired the first time out that she sleeps the rest of the time we are at this particular park.

I learned that, if I were to pursue the Ph.D. I was considering, the State of Oregon would not recognize it. So, I have decided not to pursue it. We are remaining open to God's leading for where He wants us to be connected to fellowship and ministry. Apparently, further study is not in His plans at this time, at least not that particular program. I can only conclude that He has something even more wonderful in store for us.

I don't know if it is leftover L-tryptophan from the turkey, or the chilly weather while I was outside hanging the lights, or laziness, but I am feeling very sleepy. Thank the Lord that I am able to be retired and take a nap, which is what I believe I will do next. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and that the Advent season will bring much joy and the Peace of Christ to you and yours.

What a time we had, Rosie, old girl; what a time.

Jill and I got a crazy notion on Sunday and decided that Monday would be a good day for a trip to the beach. So, Monday morning, we got up and had breakfast, packed up the dog and piled into the old Ford. We were on the road by 8:30 AM, which was, perhaps, an error in judgment. The trouble with being retired is that you forget that those who still need to work have a tendency all to get on the road at once.

Well, the minor annoyance of getting through downtown Portland during the end of "rush hour" (goodness knows why it is called rush hour, when it lasts far longer than an hour and no one is able to rush anywhere) gave way to the joy of being on the road. The weather was not glorious, but neither was it awful. There was no rain, and the clouds were thin enough that we had occasional periods when sunglasses were definitely in order.

When we arrived at Cannon Beach, the weather was actually better than it had been on the way. The first stop we made in CB was at the coffee vendor's. We both had been yawning during our drive. Next, we took a walk on the beach, and Pogo got the run of the month! We spotted a huge flock of birds huddled together along the banks of the Ecola river. It turns out that the flock contained both seagulls and pelicans. I can't recall seeing pelicans this far north before, but there were dozens of them.

The wind, which was not brisk, nevertheless finally chilled us to the point that we decided to get back up among the buildings of Main Street. We visited most of the tourist trap boutiques and finally took Pogo back to the car. Our breakfast had worn off by now, so we made our way to Bill's Restaurant and Brew Pub. Jill had an oyster burger, and I dug into some fish and chips.

Our hunger sated, we decided to make a jaunt to Arch Cape, south on U.S. 101 about five miles from Cannon Beach. Having satisfied our curiosity, we headed north again for home. The ocean was so beautiful, that I decided to pull over at a viewpoint and get some pictures. That's when we discovered that we had left the camera at Bill's.

We made pretty good time on our way back to the Pub, hoping to retrieve the camera, which is not terribly valuable, but it contains our memory chips with hundreds of photos on them, including the ones we took on this jaunt. (Make a note: time to back up the photos!) The barman knew exactly why we had returned, and with a wry smile but nary a word, he went to the "lost and found" drawer and handed us our little friend.

The drive home was beautiful, and since it was Monday, there was very little traffic. We decided to stop at Camp 18 Restaurant and gift shop, a place we have passed many times but never visited. It was not a disappointment. We didn't eat, of course, but the museum of "manly" machinery and the gift shop were charming.

We arrived home before dark thinking that the day had been just about perfect. Click on Sasquatch above for a slide show.

Who needs binoculars and birdcalls?

Yesterday, God put his avian creation on display for us in our own backyard. Between the sheer wonder of the number and variety of birds populating our backyard simultaneously and the fact that I didn't want to miss the show, I didn't go and dig out the camera, so I have borrowed some photos from the internet.

We noticed a flock of tiny yellow/olive birds that I think were goldfinches in their winter coloration. Or perhaps, they were females or juveniles:
There were some black-capped chickadees:
We also saw a western scrub jay:
As usual, we saw lots of Oregon juncos:
There were a couple of house finches:
We even saw a hummingbird, I'm not sure what kind, but it looked a bit like this:
Another frequent visitor is the rufous sided towhee:
English sparrows were in the mix:
Just behind our house, the neighbors have a fig tree which was full of starlings:
Perhaps, our favorite was the red-winged blackbird:
Finally, this morning, I looked out at the bird feeder and saw a dove:
So, I ask you, "Why go to a lot of expense and trouble to do your birdwatching?" Just come on over and enjoy the show. We'll put on a pot of coffee for you!

Busy week.

Jill came home on Tuesday. She and Tara had a wonderful time at a couple of resorts in Vail, CO. It was the off-season, so they got really good rates and stayed in some luxury lodges. It is good to have her home.

Wednesday, I drove to Monmouth again and completed some plumbing projects for Pat and Katie. They got the gas turned on at their new home, and the water heater pressure relief valve was bad, so a lot of water went down the drain. I had Pat shut off the burner and the water when he called on Tuesday. On Wednesday, when I arrived, it took me about 10 minutes to remove the old valve, and after going to True Value for parts, it took me about another 10 minutes to replace it with a new one.

On to the master bath sink. I had picked up a new sink at George Morlan plumbing. It took about half an hour to install the sink and the fancy new faucet the kids picked out. They look really nice. On to the guest bath faucet. This was about a 15 minute job.

The bugaboo was the guest bath toilet, which had bolts holding the tank onto the bowl that were so rusty, I had to drill out the centers to get them free. Once that was done, it didn't take long to rebuild the "guts" of the toilet. That left me enough time to install new towel bars and TP dispenser.

I forgot to mention that job 1 was to remove the door locks so we could take them to the locksmith for re-keying. I made a trip to the locksmith at 9:00, 10:30, 12:00, 1:00 and 2:00, before I found the locksmith at home! Turns out he had had three emergency calls to the WOU campus, where some co-eds had locked themselves out of their rooms. The bottom line is that we did get the locks re-keyed, and now the kids have one key for all five of the door locks. Pretty neat!

Thursday morning we joined our friend Steve for the pressing of the cabernet sauvignon grapes, which will become wine sometime between now and next spring. That was followed by a visit to our favorite pastor at Rolling Hills Community Church.

Friday was a pretty open day. We went to the gym and the rest of the day we puttered around the house. Saturday, however, we got busy and attacked the back yard. At this point it is pretty well winterized. That is a good thing, because it has done nothing but rain since then.

Sunday, we visited Mom. Nephew Alex had been visiting for the weekend and doing a lot of projects for Mom. So, the four of us had dinner together and a nice time of family reunion.

That brings us up to today. Jill had a coffee date with her pal Connie. Meanwhile, I got out our decrepit old carpet shampooer and did some work on our carpets, which were pretty disgusting. Now they look a lot better. Jill was pretty impressed. When that job was done, we had lunch with Perry Mason and then I spent the afternoon working on my blog, Marching as to War.

That is the latest from the old pilgarlic. Hope your life is filled with blessings, too.

A day of rest...

Today may be the most non-productive day I can recall. I was too tired and sore to do much of anything. It all started on Friday.

Jill is in Denver visiting Tara, so I was on my own. Pat and Katie finally got the keys to their new-to-them house. It is quite a nice house with good bones, but it looks rather tired. On Friday morning, I drove to Monmouth with the car packed to the gills with tools, materials, overnight gear, and Pogo. I picked up the keys from Patrick and drove to the house. There were a number of areas in need of dry wall repair. Mainly there were little nicks and gouges here and there. I got busy with my drywall mud and spent a good deal of time repairing things.

When I first arrived, I found a note on the front door saying the gas company had turned OFF the gas. I called Pat, and he said that he had assumed the same company that provides electric, water and sewer and garbage service would turn on the gas. Not so. I went outside and found the gas meter. The valve was not sealed, so I turned it on, but I couldn't get any appliances to light. So, it was on to other things.

The dryer didn't work, so I took a look and found out that the knob that needs to be turned to start the dryer was cracked. This was a typical cheesy plastic knob, which was called upon to turn a rather stiff "D" shaped shaft. I found an old picture hanger and was able to bend it around the plastic part that was defective, and voila! The dryer works.

Pat and Katie arrived after work, and we continued with prepping for the big paint party on Saturday. At dinner time, we made a trip to Costco, Home Depot, and the bank, followed by dinner at Taco Bell. We picked up stuff to feed the troops and some various parts. Then we went back to the house. It was about 11:30 by the time we got back to their apartment, but we felt ready to paint the next day.

Saturday morning we started early and painted all day. Katie's mom, Terry, arrived and did some cleaning, but mainly she painted two bathrooms all by herself, bless her heart. Friends Dave and Kellie showed up and worked hard. They finished the painting of the large office. Then friends Trevor and Ashley arrived. The did a bunch of painting in the guest bedroom, but Ashley had to leave to look for a sitter for 2 year old Kayley. She didn't return, but Trevor did a lot of painting.

Pat's pal and fellow basketball coach, who is a semi-pro painter, was there, too. He gave us a lot of tips and took on the job of finish painting and fixing boo-boos. I spent a good deal of time working on plumbing a new faucet to replace the leaky one on the kitchen sink, only to discover that I needed some parts to make the old plumbing compatible with the new.

We stopped "early" on Saturday, but we had managed to paint the whole inside of the house, twice, excluding trim. We were home by 9:30 PM. I never slept so well. But it was a short night and we were at it again early on Sunday.

I made 3 (count 'em, 3) trips to True Value before I found the right parts for the faucet plumbing. I started to help with painting trim, when Terry said, "The toilet in the master bath is really leaking." I took a look, and found the bolts that secure the tank were so rusty and the rubber washers so rotten that water was leaking around them. Terry had turned off the water and flushed, so it was not a crisis.

Katie was about to go out to get some lunch, so I asked her to stop at True Value and get a toilet repair kit. After lunch, I disassembled the toilet and put in the new parts. When I reassembled it, the toilet leaked worse!! Oh, my! I disassembled it and re-configured the tank bolts. Still it leaked. The third time I disassembled it, I suddenly heard a rush of water, and the supply pipe came out of the wall in my hand. Pat and I scrambled to find the water shut off.

After yet another trip to True Value, I got enough parts to fix the broken pipe, figured out that the leak was coming from the gasket between the tank and stool, and reassembled everything. No leaks, hooray!

Next I started to install a fancy new faucet in the master bath. It wasn't until I got about half way through the project that I realized the faucet wouldn't fit the sink. So, I re-installed the old faucet, and we will get a different sink, because the kids really love this faucet.

The others finished the painting of the woodwork, and we all pitched in to clean up. We headed for the apartment about 7:00, dumped a lot of garbage, and I packed my gear for the trip home.

Today, when I arose...very slowly...I realized that this was going to be a very non-productive day. I did take care of some book-keeping, but that was the extent of my exploits. I have arranged a slide show to show some before-and-after pictures of the house, although the before pictures were taken in the daytime and the after pictures were taken after dark. Click the photo to see the show.

Where did September go?

Good golly, Miss Molly, it has been a long time since I posted on this blog. There are a couple of posts on Travels With Sadie, but I have been remiss in posting here.


We have been busy, since we returned from San Diego. After a leisurely trip up the coast with stops in Santa Cruz and Crescent City, we took a five day vacation to reconnect with each other. It was a wonderful time in Woodland, WA at the Columbia Riverfront RV park (see Travels With Sadie).

When we returned home, we hosted a potluck supper for our Bible study group. It was a good turnout, and we enjoyed reconnecting with these dear friends. We will switch from summer-potluck mode to "school-year-study" mode soon. In the meantime, members of the group have been busy. Michael has been traveling on business, Kathy L. has been busy with preparing for and participating in a bead show. Kathy makes the most beautiful glass beads. Click on her name above to go to her website and see some of her wares. Ben and Shirley have been off to Wallowa Lake for a combination business/anniversary celebration trip.

Last Sunday was a busy day for us. We went to church at 9:00 AM and then to a marriage ministry meeting. From there it was off to a barbecue, kicking off Dale Ebel Ministries. Dale was the founding pastor of Rolling Hills Community Church, where he served as senior pastor for 31 years. He recently retired from that position and is taking a different approach to ministry. Please visit his website to learn more.

The barbecue was held at the home of friends of Dale. This wonderful couple has seven children, which means it is a blessing that they are able to have a large home on several acres, complete with swimming pool and sport court. They have dedicated this beautiful home to the service of the Lord, and they sponsor similar gatherings from time to time. The weather was lovely and the company even better. Hot dogs and hamburgers were provided, along with beverages. Guests brought salads and desserts. It was an impressive spread. After lunch, nine people were baptized in the swimming pool. I always get a thrill out of watching a baptism, so this was a real treat for me.

After the barbecue, we headed to our friends', the Davises', home, where we joined a party in progress bottling last year's wine production. Steve makes outstanding wine and gets all his friends to help with the process. It is quite interesting and a lot of fun. We had helped with the destemming of the grapes last year, so this was the culmination of the process.

Last week, we headed out to Barton County Park, which is situated on the Clackamas River. There is a post about this on Travels With Sadie, as well. The stated purpose of this trip was to find some blackberries, which abound in the park. In years past, we have gorged ourselves on them. This year we were too late, but we had a great time anyway. The river is so beautiful, and the park is seldom crowded, so we feel like it is our own private resort.

Yesterday, we were invited to Steve's house again. This time, it was for destemming 400 pounds of Pinot Gris grapes for his next batch of wine. Amazingly, it only took the three of us about 2 1/2 hours to destem and press the grapes. This batch should yield about 100 bottles of Pinot Gris wine. Judging by Steve's prior efforts, it will be wonderful.

Today we attended church early and then came home to enjoy the last warm sunny day for a while. Jill puttered in the yard and in the laundry. I puttered in the motor home, making some repairs and improvements. It was a nice, relaxed day. This evening we had dinner on the patio and then sat by the fish pond and chatted and enjoyed each other's company. Life is, indeed, good.

Oh, no! Not again!

Click on Josiah to see a couple more pix.

Today is Judah's 2 week birthday. In honor of the occasion, Grampa uploaded a picture of each of the boys, and one of the two of them together. Judah is growing by leaps and bounds. He achieved his birth weight by day five. Now he feels much heavier, and he has filled out enough that I told Laura, "If his tummy gets any bigger, we can call him Judah Buddha!" She liked that!

Jill and I will hit the road for home tomorrow. We're planning to stop in Santa Cruz tomorrow evening and Crescent City on Friday. Saturday morning we will fulfill an ambition and drive over US 199 from Crescent City to Grants Pass, and then continue homeward on I5.

So, this will be the end of the grandkid pictures for a while. Next, you can probably expect some pictures of Pat and Katie's house. Their offer was accepted, and they should close on the sale by September 30th!

More grandkid pictures

It is hot in San Diego today, so we all went to the beach. This is actually Judah's second trip to the beach. Tim and Laura took the kids to the beach on Thursday. Click on the photo for a couple of random shots.

Below is a video of Josiah playing in the water with a big yellow dog named Jackie.

Judah's second week

Click the photo for more pictures of Judah


It sure is busy with a baby in the house. As I have written before, my job has been to keep Josiah busy. This is no small task, and I do go to bed tired each evening. The kid is non stop motion from dawn 'til bed time.

The pictures I have included above include Judah's first bath and a rare shot of Judah with his eyes open in Grampa's arms. The rest are pretty self explanatory. Hope you enjoy them.

And here's a picture just for Josiah!

Trying to keep up...

Click on the picture of Josiah for a slide show.

Baby Judah is 1 week old today. It is hard to believe that much time has passed. Laura is recovering slowly from her drive-by birthing (she arrived at the birthing center about 20 minutes before Judah was born!).

My job has been to keep Josiah occupied, while Mom and Dad get settled in with the new baby brother. Of course, Jill has been right there with me all the way. She works like a Trojan from dawn 'til bed time, cooking, doing house work, laundry, tending Laura and caring for Josiah. Right now, she and Josiah are napping.

We took Josiah to Spanish Landing park on the waterfront in San Diego this morning. He had a great time playing school and apartment on the play structure. Grandma and Grandpa played along and even went down some of the slides! It is pretty warm here today, for San Diego, so even though we were by the water, Josiah got pretty hot and his face was flushed.

We decided to take him to McDonald's for a little lunch and some play time on the indoor Playland. This, of course, followed yesterday's movie (Ponyo - very cute!) and lunch. Josiah wanted clam chowder, so we went to King's Fish House and had some very yummy chowder.

On Monday it was a trip to Burger King play land, which was not as well suited to Josiah as the one at McDonald's. He had a personal victory, though, when he went up the second rope ladder to the "orange" box (a plastic cube with orange, plexiglass bubble style windows).

And so it goes. One adventure follows another. How he keeps up the pace he does is beyond me. If I could keep up and did so for a couple of weeks, I think I would be ready for the NFL season.

Don't know when we will be headed home, yet. It will be nice to have life back to normal, but there is something pretty wonderful about being a grandpa!

It's best to be prepared for miracles...

I got the call at 6:30 AM on Wednesday, "Be ready," said Jill. "This is it." I leapt out of bed and began working on all the tasks I had somehow not completed, although my intentions had been good. First was to pack my bag. Next I had to run to WalMart and get a new battery for the car. I had known this needed to be done, but somehow, I hadn't got around to it. Next was a stop at the pharmacy for a new tube of high fluoride content toothpaste, which I had ordered several days before, but had failed to pick up.

Then it was home again, turn on the garden hose to refill the fish pond, and go back to the garage to install the new battery in the Ford. That task was successful, so I turned off the hose and got the lawnmower fired up to trim the front lawn. Next was to gather Pogo's belongings and put her in the car. Then I remembered to put out the garbage cans for pickup on Thursday. I ran next door to the neighbor and asked her if she would bring our garbage cans back up to the house after they were emptied the next day.

At 10:03 AM, I left the house. The car also was not filled with gas, so I stopped at the filling station. I noticed that the car was very dirty, so I headed for the car wash. Just as I arrived there, I realized I had forgotten to throw in the bag that I HAD remembered to pack, the one with all the special request items that were needed in San Diego by various family members. So, I had to go home and start over again. Finally, at 10:36, I was on the road, heading for San Diego to see my new grandson.

Jill had called in the midst of my preparations to tell me that he was born at 9:14 AM, just 20 minutes after Laura arrived at the birthing center. I didn't even find out how much he weighed or how long he was. Anyway, I was on my way. I drove until about 9:00PM, when I finally found a pet friendly motel in Stockton. I called Jill and got the update. Judah Robert Sagawa was born at 9:14 AM, Wednesday, August 19th, 2009. He weighed 8 pounds even and measured 20" long. Mother and son were home by 3:00 PM and doing fine.

It was a long drive on Thursday from Stockton to San Diego. I hit the road at 6:00 AM and arrived at 3:00 PM. When you look at the pictures, you will agree, I am sure, that Judah was well worth the drive. Oh, and did I mention that it was absolutely wonderful to be reunited with my wife after three weeks?

Of homes and family...

So, although I haven't posted in a while, I haven't been idle. Today I finished the project in the yard where the pine tree died. Since my last post, I spaded the ground there, roto-tilled it, added three bales of peat moss and four sacks of composted steer manure. While I was about it, I capped off three of the four sprinkler heads and added a drip watering converter to the fourth one.


After I competed all of that, I decided that instead of using the whole area for a flower bed, I would plant grass and just make a flower bed along the base of the rock wall. Below are some photos of the finished project. The white flowers are a perennial version of salvia, of which I had never heard until I got to the nursery. The crimson flowers, of course, are chrysanthemums. I love them, although I have never had great success with growing them.

Before planting, I spaded some sand into the soil in the flower bed, and the soil is nice and fluffy and wonderful to work with. I have no doubt that it will become compacted over the winter, but some judicious mulching should help.

I have to give credit where credit is due. Over the weekend, I had a visit from Patrick and Katie. They helped me fetch the sod for this project, and Patrick helped me lay it in place. Being a math teacher, he was able to make several suggestions about how to get the most coverage out of the sod with the least waste. I only wish he had been with me when I was figuring how much I needed. I made an error in calculation and ended up with a two roll excess of sod.

While Pat and Katie were here, we had some fun, too. We spent Friday running errands, including a stop at the mortgage broker who is helping the kids arrange financing for the purchase of their first home. That was followed by lunch with Patrick's sister, Kat. From there, it was on to a post-operative visit regarding Pat's recent eye surgery. Finally, we picked up Gramma Jane and went out to dinner to celebrate Patrick and Katie's first anniversary, which is actually tomorrow.

After the sod project, Pat and Katie and I spent a lazy Saturday chatting, playing games and nibbling. All in all, it was a wonderful time for me. I hope they enjoyed it as much. They went home last evening to prepare for tomorrow's outing to look at some more houses. I think they are on the brink of choosing a house, and it wouldn't surprise me if it happens this week.

In the meantime, Jill is still in San Diego tending Laura, who has been on complete bed rest until yesterday. Her baby is due in three weeks, but whenever the little bundle arrives, I will hit the road to join the family for the excitement of a new baby. I have missed Jill, terribly, but I am so proud of her for taking on the job of tending Laura and Josiah, who celebrated his fourth birthday yesterday.

When it is all over, Jill and I are going to hop in the motor home and have a getaway for about a week.

The first day in a loooonnnnggg time...

Today I was able to work in the yard for the first time since we got home from San Diego on the 24th of July. The weather has been too hot, until now. We had 10 straight days above 90 degrees, many of them above 100. Today we got to 72, and it has been like heaven. I have had the patio door open, which was made possible by the installation of a new screen of the roll-up, window shade variety. It works well, and for the first time we have adequate ventilation in the dining room.

But I digress. This morning I worked in the front yard. My favorite little pine tree died and turned the most awful shade of brown. Finally convinced that the neighbors would notice the change, I got my trusty bow saw...well, not mine, actually...the saw belonged to Jill before we were married...in fact, I married her for this saw...and I cut down the tree, which stood about 7 feet tall. Next, I got out the power shears for which I married Jill and trimmed off the branches. Finally, I cut the trunk in two and stuffed it all in the yard debris bin.

I was able to dig out the root, along with the root of a blue star juniper that died in the same bed. So, now the bed is pretty much bare. The problem with these plants is that the bed is primarily a patch of clay that turns into a swamp, when it gets wet. In my surpassing wisdom, I put four (count 'em) four sprinkler heads in this bed when I installed the irrigation system. I could turn them off, except that the same circuit waters several other flower beds that don't suffer from clayitis.

The plan is to overhaul the irrigation system and then put about three million yards of organic material, sand, compost, and gypsum into the bed before replanting. Now, all I have to do is locate some plants that like poorly drained soil, and I will be set.

Tomorrow...Home Depot for supplies and then back to work...Well, that will be after the 6:00 AM tee time and before the 3:00 PM meeting with my protege. Stay tuned for pictures of the progress.

These are the times that try men's souls...

Lots has been happening since my last post. Jill did, in fact, fly out for San Diego on Thursday. Fortunately, the flight was at a reasonable time and didn't require arising at zero dark thirty to get to the airport. She got to SD around 1:00 PM, and Tim met her at the airport and took her home.

Laura had been talking like the proverbial Dutch uncle to get the doctor to send her home. She prevailed and was home by Thursday evening. She is on complete bed rest and is not even to be vertical at any time except to use the bathroom. So, Jill has become nurse to Laura and nanny to Josiah, who will be four in just under two weeks.

In the meantime, I have been at home. After I took Jill to the airport on Thursday morning, I took our dear friends the Davises to the airport Thursday evening for a flight to Riverside, CA. Friday I spent with my Mom. We went shopping and she got her hair done. I did a few little projects around her house and we had a fine lunch together.

Saturday, it was back to the airport, this time at zero dark thirty, to deliver our dear friends the McLaughlins for a flight to California. So, by now, the car knows its way to the airport, and I figure the next time someone needs a ride, I will just send the car and stay in bed.

Of course, with Jill in San Diego and Laura in a precarious position with her pregnancy, I canceled the reservation at the RV park in Potlatch on Hood Canal. That was sad for me, not only because I love the Canal, but also because, for the first time, we had actually arranged to meet two other couples at the park and spend some time camping with other people. Oh, well. Perhaps, another time.

So, now it is Sunday afternoon. I had a great time at church (well, as great as I could have without my honey by my side). I mowed the lawn, and in a little while I will go back to Mom's house for our traditional Sunday dinner. I am not sure when the call will come, but when Jill tells me that Laura has gone to the hospital in labor, I will pack up the car and head for San Diego. That could be this week or next or who knows when...

What a time we had, Rosie old girl...

Well, it has been a whole week since I posted. "Why?" you may ask. We arrived home from San Diego on Friday, July 25th (which, incidentally was my Grandma Brooks's birthday...happy 118th, Grandma...although she passed away in 1966). While we were there, I thought I was a kid again, and I kind of wrecked my back. So, I have been recuperating. The good news is that we got the work done that we set out to do. Tim and I tore down a brick wall and remodeled a shed and moved it to the back corner of the lot. These two projects gave Tim and Laura what may be the largest backyard in San Diego!!

Since we arrived back in Clackamas, the weather has been hotter each day. Saturday was around 95. Sunday was closer to 100. Yesterday, we recorded 105, and today the high was 108. Tomorrow is forecast to be about the same as today, and then a cooling trend will set in. By the weekend, it will be back in the mid-80s.

Last night at 11:00 PM, Laura called to say she is in the hospital with premature labor. This is eerily similar to the time four years ago, when Jill and I had been in San Diego helping the kids paint their condo. The day after we arrived home, Laura called from the hospital, where she was in premature labor. That time, they got the contractions stopped and she went home after a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, her water broke a couple of days later, and Josiah was born 5 1/2 weeks prematurely.

We are hoping that things will go better this time. Her contractions are now stopped, but the doctor wants to keep her in the hospital to make sure. Jill will probably fly down there on Thursday, which would be a prerequisite for Laura's being able to go home from the hospital. This time around, there is an almost 4 year old who needs tending, and Laura needs bed rest. She is not due until early September, but she has been told that the baby will be full term in terms of development by August 15th. So, the current goal is to keep the little beggar in there at least until August 15th and then let nature take its course. August 15th is Josiah's birthday, so it would be ironic if the new baby comes on that day!! Bit of an intrusion on J-man's big day!

So, life is uncertain and a little trying at the moment. We are scheduled to take a motor home trip to Hood Canal a week from today. It is looking pretty much like that will not be happening. If Jill is in San Diego, I would be pretty lonely in the motor home, not to mention that I may be needed in San Diego at some point, too. We shall see what the Good Lord has in store for our family. I am reminded of James 4:13-14: "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."

Destruction, construction and a birthday bash...

My goodness, it has been ten days since I posted! Where does the time go? We are in San Diego, staying with Laura and Tim and little Josiah. Another baby is due to be born on September 5th, and the kids wanted help with straightening up the yard and getting prepared for the arrival of our second grandson.

So far, Tim and I have knocked down the cement block wall that ran between the house and the garage. It was about 16 feet long, six feet high and about 6 inches thick. We rented a rotary hammer, also known as a jack hammer, and went at it. It took us about four hours to remove the wall and a brick planter that was on the back side of it. Cleaning up the rubble is another matter entirely. Tim has a call in to a couple of possible sources for hauling away the debris from the wall, along with other trash that has accumulated.

Some of that other trash is left over from our second big project. There was an 8' by 10' shed made of sheet metal in the back yard. It was old and rusty and dilapidated, and Tim and Laura wanted it removed in order to open up the other end of the back yard. Tim and I talked it over and decided to dismantle half of the shed and do some remodeling which will result in a smaller shed that is 5' by 8'. That project is about 80% complete. There is still a gap between the roof ridge and the top of the wall that I moved into what was formerly the center of the shed. I hope today to engineer a solution to that problem. Then it will remain to pressure wash and paint the "new" old shed and move it to its new location by the corner of the fence. Jill, bless her heart, has offered to do the painting, a job I do not relish.

The final construction project for this visit will be a new gate between the garage and the end of the fence, which formerly connected to the now defunct brick wall. This project should be relatively simple, and it involves using new materials, unlike the shed remodel, which involves old rusty sheet metal, screws that are rusted to their nuts and have their screw driver slots filled with old paint. And spiders...did I mention the old shed was a haven for spider, from daddy long-legs to black widows! Yuck!!

Yesterday was my birthday, and we had a wonderful time. The whole family went out for breakfast. Then Tim and I went to work on making a new brick foundation for the shed. Later we placed the final fence post to support the end of the fence that formerly attached to the brick wall. That is the one on which the new gate will swing.

At the end of the day, Tim, a master of the grill, grilled some nice thick lamb chops, asparagus and fingerling potatoes for my birthday dinner. We topped it all off with a bit of ice cream cake from Baskin and Robbins! What a feast...what a family. It was a VERY good birthday.

Like a babbling brook...

Finally, I found time today to overhaul the fish pond. I just went through this whole process a year ago, because the pump died. I bought a new pump last August; in January it failed. I didn't want to get into the pond when it was full of ice water, so I postponed the repair. Well, then I found it easy to procrastinate about getting it done. It's true that we were on a road trip for a month, and then we were getting the house ready for all of our kids to visit in June. Then the kids all showed up, and we had a great time. Then Patrick had eye surgery and spent a couple of days with us.

So, today was the day for the project. Actually, I cleaned out a bunch of algae yesterday, which helped a good deal, but the water was still cloudy and the pump was still broken. So, today, I tried to defeat the GFCI long enough to pump the pond dry, but after about a minute, the pump quit altogether. That put me in the position of having to hand bail 300 gallons of water by hand. Not fun!!

Part of the reason that I have procrastinated on this project is that I expected to have to fight with the pond shop to get a new pump. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Tranquility Ponds in Clackamas cheerfully gave me a new pump on warranty exchange!

Once I had the pump in hand, I installed it and pumped the last of the water out of the pond. Then I hooked up the pressure washer and cleaned the rocks and replaced the ones that the raccoon had dislodged last year when he ate my favorite gold fish. By five o'clock, I was filling the pond and trying out the new pump. It really looks great. Tomorrow, I will go to the pond shop again and buy some water hyacinth to float in the pond.

I had caught the two goldfish we had left in the pond and put them in a bucket while I was cleaning the pond. After it was refilled, I put the fish back in, and they seem to be very happy. So, I am very happy; Jill is very happy. Everyone is very happy. Pogo was not too happy while we were sitting by the pond watching the fish. She wanted more dinner...

Some of this and some of that...

Busy day today. It was supposed to be the "repair the fish pond day," but things got in the way. I had to do some bookkeeping. Then I had to call an insurance company regarding my dad's estate. The call didn't go through, so I had to send an email to the company. When I finally went outside to work on the pond, I thought I had better check the mole trap to see if I had caught my little friend who has been wreaking havoc in back yard.

I did, in fact score with the mole trap. That was a relief, since the count of mole hills had increased to 14. Having caught the mole, I felt confident in cleaning up all the mole hills he had created. By then I was on a roll with reclaiming the lawn. I mowed, fertilized and watered both front and back lawns. Well, by the time I finished all that stuff, it was time for lunch with Perry. Jill had gone next door to babysit, so I made a sandwich, switched on the tube (yes, we still have a tube, which is not to say that Jill and I haven't had long discussions about a large flat panel set), and sat down to see whodunit.

After lunch, Jill came home, and we went to the pond supply shop to get a vacuum cleaner-like gadget to pick up debris from the bottom of the pond. The gadget looks like a vacuum cleaner hose attached to a rigid section of telescoping pipe with a vacuum cleaner brush type attachment on the end. It hooks up to a garden hose, and the idea is that the water from the garden hose squirts out of a nozzle at high velocity, creating a venturi effect and causing water (and any nearby debris) to be drawn into the pipe and discharged through the vacuum cleaner hose onto the lawn.

You know those things in life that seem so right and turn out to be such a disappointment? Well, the "Muck Vac" is one of them. The concept is so good; the execution not so much. The directions say that the contraption requires 50 psi of water pressure, and I know that our water pressure is on the order of 65 psi. Nevertheless, the water pressure was inadequate to lift the pond water high enough in the tube for it to actually be expelled out the end of the exhaust hose.

Years ago, I constructed a gadget that works on the same principle. It uses water at high speed to produce a venturi suction, but instead of lifting the water out of the pond, it discharges at pond level into a nylon stocking, which acts as a filter. It works like a champ, but it adds a lot of water to the pond, and sometimes the stocking tears and spills it's contents back into the pond. So, I was hoping the Muck Vac would be the answer. Wrong! Tomorrow it goes back to the store. I'll get my $118 back and keep using my $10 homemade thingamajig.

I forgot to mention that we were expecting to host 9 for dinner this evening, so a portion the morning was given over, among other things, to dicing and marinating 6 or 8 pork chops for making teriyaki shish kebabs. After my battle with pond scum, I came in and assembled the kebabs. I can tell you, that is a lot of skewering!! In the end it was well worth the effort. The kebabs were fun to eat, and the company was non-pareil.

And later the same day...

Patrick's eye surgery went well. In the words of his doctor, "It was uneventful." That may be true of the surgery, and we are confident that Pat will have a speedy and satisfying recovery. In the short term, however, he is suffering mightily with pain and nausea.

The nausea, we are told, is in part the result of the surgery, since visual input can induce nausea. In addition, the medications that were used to induce general anesthesia are known to cause nausea. The pain, on the other hand, seems excessive, since the doctor told him he would have "some discomfort" for two or three days and didn't prescribe anything other than OTC analgesics.

He is sleeping now, while Jill and Katie and I sit in the dark because we don't want Pat to get up and come into a brightly lit room. Even Pogo seems concerned and keeps going to the door of the room where Patrick lies sleeping. We trust that God will bring him through this, and he will soon be in the pink again.

A day like all days...

I write this from OHSU's Casey Eye Institute. Patrick is having surgery as I write to correct his strabismus (crossed eyes), which was diagnosed 20 years ago. He and I are both asking the question, "Why wasn't this taken care of then?" I don't have answers, but I do have faith in his surgeon, and we expect a good outcome. In fact, the surgeon told him that he won't even need to wear contact lenses when it is finished.

We (Jill and I) are in the waiting room, but Katie went back to the prep area with Pat. The surgeon told us that the procedure takes about 45 minutes. That, of course, doesn't include prep and recovery time. It is a day surgery, and Pat will be going home with us. I suspect he and Katie will go back to Monmouth this evening. If I were the patient, I would want to recuperate in my own home, rather than at my parents' house!

This has been a full day. Pat and I played 9 holes of golf this morning at a par 3 course near my home. It was neck and neck in a see-saw battle, until the old man quadruple bogied the 9th!! It was the pressure, man...

After the golf game, we did a little geo-caching. Things didn't seem right and we didn't find the cache. When we got home, it turns out that the GPS co-ordinates we were using were given in degrees, minutes and tenths of minutes, whereas our GPS reads out in degrees, minutes and seconds. The difference in notation put us off target by something like a mile!! That is not conducive to successful geo-caching.

Today is Jill's and my 8th wedding anniversary. Pat and I stopped by Safeway on the way back to the house to pick up a dozen red roses. They made a hit and bought me a few husband points. So, this has been an eventful day so far, and it is just now 1:36 PM! I think I'll go rest now.

Seeking higher things...

Today, we finished the Murphy bed. I say "we" advisedly. Jill, bless her heart, helped me haul the mattress box in from the garage, even though it was VERY heavy and unwieldy. Then she helped me complete the construction of the cabinet and install it against the wall. That was yesterday.

Today, we installed the mattress support and the mattress. That is when the crisis erupted. We looked high and low, but we couldn't find the 3" memory foam mattress topper that we had planned to put on the bed. The mattress we have is pretty low quality...one of those "mattress and box spring for $99, both pieces" kind of deals. However, with the topper on it, it is quite comfy.

We finally found the topper, and then we were all set to make up the bed. That's when we discovered that we didn't know where the mattress cover was. Again we searched high and low. I guess, in the future, I should search higher and low. The mattress cover was in the same place the foam topper was: in the attic. Having no memory, I had completely forgotten that I put them both up there last fall.

Once we found the mattress cover, we made up the bed, and now it is ready for its first occupant. I hung a picture over the head of the bed for a little "down home" atmosphere.

One more project from the "to-do" list to the "done" list!

We finished up the dining room window installation today. Click on the photo of our "new" dining room to see a slide show of the process. My cousin, Tom, (he's the good lookin' guy in the photos - aka world's nicest guy) installed the new window unit, which is 6' 0" by 6' 0". The old window was 6' 0" by 4' 0", but the effect of the new window is much more dramatic than the figures would indicate.

After Tom installed the new unit, I trimmed out and caulked the exterior. Then I used some of the old sheetrock that was removed at the base of the old window to trim the inside opening. It took a couple of days, what with mud drying time and sanding and texturing, but I must say the finished product looks quite professional. Jill put a new coat of paint on the window wall, and we have a new dining room - tres chic!

The beat goes on...

Today was, guess what, another project day. We got the new dining room window installed on Monday. Yesterday, I installed the exterior trim boards and caulked them. Then I went into multitasking mode. I put a coat of varnish on some of the parts of the Murphy bed that I am building. While that was drying, I installed the new drywall trim around the window, installed the edge strips and put on the first coat of mud.

Today, Jill and I went to Home Depot to pick up some more mud. The stuff I used yesterday, in addition to being nearly gone, is also very old and it's getting kind of lumpy. On the way home, we stopped off at "Biscuits" and had a yummy breakfast. Then it was home, where I morphed into "Project Man."

The first order of business was to sand the mud that I applied yesterday. Then I went into the garage and stained some parts of the Murphy bed. While the stain was "working," I went back in the dining room and applied a new layer of mud to the drywall. Boy does it help to have fresh, unlumpy, un-dried-out mud!!

The rest of the day was spent working on the Murphy bed. All of the parts are now made, except the 1/4" plywood deck that the mattress will rest on. I believe that, by the weekend, I will have all of the staining and varnishing done. Boy do I love MinWax Polycrylic water soluble varnish. It dries in about a half hour, so multiple coats can be applied in one day!

I decided to stain the exterior of the bed cabinet a nice rich cherry color to match the desk that is in the den. But I also decided to leave the interior the natural color of the birch plywood. This means that I first have to varnish the "natural" area, being careful not to "slop" onto the area that will receive stain. Once the natural area is varnished, I can apply the stain to the exterior surfaces.

When the stain is dry, the final application of varnish will finish up the construction phase. All that will be left then will be the installation of the bed in its ultimate home.

Meantime, back at the dining room, I hope to texture the dry wall tomorrow. That will leave that project with nothing further to do but paint. Now all we have to do is decide what color...the same color?...a new color?...it's the decisions in life that kill you!!

Never a dull moment...

My how the time does go by. It has been a whole week since I posted, but what a week. Last Saturday we started the demo of the kitchen in preparation for our new countertops. It took until Monday evening before we had removed all the countertops and disconnected all the plumbing. Then the contractor called to say he would not be here at 8:30 as promised, but would be able to be here at noon.

Finally, at 12:30, the two Brians from Contour Countertops arrived and went to work. The results are beautiful, and we couldn't be more pleased. Click on the photo below to see the demo process and installation.

So, we got the new countertops installed. That evening, I reconnected the plumbing, so we were only without water in the kitchen for about 24 hours. The amazing thing is that there were no leaks when I finished...and everything works!! Two days later we were having a potluck in our new kitchen with our Bible study group.

Well, now that the countertops are done, it is on to other projects. Thursday, I shagged enough materials to build a Murphy bed in the study. When all of our kids come home at once, there just aren't enough beds to go around. Yesterday I started the construction, and today I continued. It is coming along very well, and I should have it finished by the time the kids all come home in 2 weeks.

Just to make sure we don't get complacent, we also had my cousin come over and start on the installation of a larger window in our dining room. That project should be finished on Monday, although I will need to do some drywall repairs after I finish the Murphy bed project. So, there won't be any dull moments in our immediate future!

It's good to be home...

Today is our first full day home from a 4 week road trip in out motor home. See our blog Travels With Sadie for a full account of the trip, with photos! We spent yesterday afternoon unloading the coach and doing laundry.

I didn't want too much grass to grow under my feet, so this morning I ripped out our kitchen counters...well 2/3 of them. The new ones are to be installed on Tuesday, so the old ones had to be out of the way. I left the counter with the sink in place, so we can use water in the kitchen until Monday evening. Then I will dismantle that one, and by day's end on Tuesday, we will have new counters. I hope I can also have all the plumbing reintstalled by then, as well.

My big brother, Charlie, is in town, staying with Mom for the weekend. Oddly enough, his wife and developmentally disabled daughter, Laura, are also in town, but not with him. They rode down on the train from Seattle with a group of disabled folks to see the Grand Floral Parade, the centerpiece of the Portland Rose Festival. The group stayed in a hotel last night and had reserved seats for the parade this morning. There is nothing that Laura likes better than a parade.

Charlie came down to visit Mom and help her with some household projects. They are coming for dinner in a little while. So, wrath and destruction in the morning, and a little family reunion in the evening. That's what I call a good day!

Waiting on the Lord's timing...

Our dear daughter-in-law, Katie, is down with strep throat. She has had bouts of this illness over the years, but she says this is the worst episode to date. She missed work yesterday and went to the doctor, who prescribed medicine and bed rest. We are praying for a speedy recovery.

Although it is bad enough for Katie to be ill, this episode also interfered with a planned family get-together this weekend. Since we will be on the road on Mother's Day, we invited my mom to come for dinner tomorrow afternoon. The plan is to celebrate Mother's Day, and the kids were coming home for the occasion, and for the first visit since their wedding, last August. They were looking forward to it and we were, too. So, Katie's illness is a double whammy for the family.

Patrick called yesterday and said they will come up later in the weekend, if Katie improves. I told him not to rush things, because Katie's getting well is what really counts. He also said that his school has a pupil with swine flu, so there is a chance that the school will be closed next week. Ever the optimist, Patrick sees that possibility as an opportunity to come for a visit before we leave on our journey. Today, we got word that his school is closed until further notice, and definitely for the entire week next week.

So, at this moment, we are patiently waiting to see what develops. In the meantime, we will have Mom over tomorrow afternoon and enjoy ourselves. As Paul the Apostle said, "I have learned to be content with what I have."

It's not nice to tempt mother nature...

Since my last post, we have experienced more "Oregon-spring-like" weather. We had quite a stretch of rainy days, and if one believes the weather forecasters (never a sure bet) there is more rain to come.

Today, however, has been beautiful from sunrise to early evening. As I write, the outdoor temperature is 72 degrees and the sun is streaming in the front windows. Jill and I made a call on Lowe's garden department and Home Depot's garden department. We picked up about $100 worth of bedding plants and spent a happy afternoon planting them.

This is the earliest we have ever planted bedding plants, but that is because we will be on the road on Mother's Day, the traditional day for planting in the Pacific Northwest. My experience with early planting has not been encouraging. Years, no... decades ago, I was lured into early planting (late March or early April, as I recall) by a run of several days' warm sunny weather. The inevitable return to Oregon's wet chilly springtime weather didn't kill the plants, but it stunted their growth, and they never did recover.

So, we shall see what God has in store for us in terms of weather. I am trusting that this current little breach of gardening etiquette will not result in a similar disastrous result. In fact, I told Jill that I expect to come home from our excursion to a yard bursting with color! Now if the elves would just come and replace the pump and clean the algae out of the pond while we are gone...

Of the good earth and bad knees...

What a wonderful spring we have had. It was sunny again today. In the last two days, we have completed the weeding and spading of our flower beds. We are now ready for spring planting of bedding plants and tomatoes. This is the first time in three years that we have been ready in time for the traditional Mother's Day planting.

This year we will be on the road on Mother's day, so we will take a chance and plant a week early. I anticipate, that, with our wonderful automatic watering system, we will come home to some nicely matured bedding plants. The pond is in serious need of attention, though. I replaced the pump last August, and the new pump failed in January. I am hoping that it has a one year warranty and I can get an adjustment on a new pump. Unfortunately, I don't think that is going to happen before we leave on our vacation.

Jill injured her knee while she was in Taos, NM a couple of weeks ago. Of course, she thought it was minor and would take care of itself. Yesterday, it got worse, so we went to the doctor today. A few x-rays, a little manipulation of the knee, and the decision was that it is not yet time for an MRI. Put a brace on it and take ibuprofen for a week. If it isn't better come back. That seems reasonable. The only problem is that, if there is no improvement, all that hiking we were planning to do on our southwest vacation may be impossible. I wonder if they rent Hoverounds at the Grand Canyon?

Life is hard, sometimes...

We have been in a stew. On Tuesday morning, I received an email from someone I trust. It was a forward of a thread, in which there were several letters indicating that the senior pastor at our church is being forced to step down within the next three weeks. I have been aware for some time that certain members of the elder board and the pastoral staff have had some differences of opinion with the senior pastor about his tendency to speak openly about the political climate in our state and nation. The email thread indicated that this was the reason behind the change.

I sent some inquiries to a couple of people I know in the church, and as the day went on, I received assurance from a couple of sources that the whole thing was a hoax. Late in the afternoon, an email came from the church indicating that, whereas talks had been going on for a couple of years regarding the eventual transfer of leadership, when the pastor retires, this whole situation came as a surprise to the elder board and that the pastor had suddenly decided to pursue other ministry opportunities. The letter was signed by the elder board and by the pastor, but was obviously not written by him.

The suddenness of this change, coupled with the disquieting news in the email threads I received, make the circumstances seem suspicious and have left us with doubts as to what actually happened. What we know is that the pastor will be gone by the end of May. We also know that this all happened so suddenly that the congregation was completely unaware that anything was in the works.

On Wednesday, an elder called me to explain the whole situation. This seemed peculiar, because, although I am personally acquainted with this elder, I had the impression that this was more than a routine call made to all church members. It seemed to me he was too concerned about how much I had heard or understood about the situation. I trust this man, but I was further disquieted by his call.

On Wednesday morning, I received another email forward from the original source. The author was known to my source but not to me personally. It indicated that the author and another person had spoken with the pastor between services on Easter and were told by him that he did not want to step down, but that he had no choice.

I shared all of the information I have received with a pastor friend who is not a member of our church. He confirmed that it was at least very disturbing. Today, Jill received a letter from a friend who is a church member. She said that she has friends who have spoken with the pastor and who have assured her that he is not being forced out.

Our current state of mind is one of confusion. At this moment, we are not sure whom we can trust in the church. We are praying for God's guidance and for clarity as to what all of this means. This is very hard for us. We are very involved in ministry at this church, and this episode has been very painful for us.

She's baaaa..aack...

Jill is home! She returned yesterday from a five day trip to Denver and Taos, NM. She flew to Denver on Thursday, and she and Tara drove to Taos on Friday. They spent a long weekend exploring this art colony/ski resort town. On Monday, they drove back to Denver, and Jill flew home this morning. It is so good to have her back.

On the way home from the airport, we made a trip to the church to pick up a file on a new couple, whom we are going to meet this evening for marital encouragement. Now, when I say, "On our way home," you must understand that the airport is 10 miles north of our home and the church is 15 miles southwest of us. So the round trip was about 40 miles! Still, we needed to pick up the folder, and it gave us a chance to reconnect. We stopped at a Mexican restaurant for lunch. It was a fine time.

Today, we will resume our routine of walking at the mall, and we will spend time in prayer before meeting with our couple. There have also been some big changes at our church. We learned yesterday that our senior pastor is stepping down after 31 years. He will be pursuing other ministry opportunities, including training other pastors. We will miss him terribly. I guess the only real constant in life is change.

Making lemonade from lemons...

Easter is past, but thank God, the resurrection lives on forever. I had a wonderful Easter day. Jill has been in Taos, NM with Tara, so I had to fend for myself. First order of business was Easter day worship service. That was at 9:00 AM. I got to the church early, because I was concerned about a crowd in the parking lot. Friends were in the narthex, and while we were visiting, I mentioned that Jill was out of town. They immediately invited me to join them and 20 of their family members for Easter dinner. It was a lovely potluck.

But I am getting ahead of myself. After the worship service, which was very moving, I spent an hour teaching in the Ignite singles' group. This is a group of 20-30 something single people. They are young; they are fun; they know their Bibles; and they are hungry for God's word. I have been presenting the Biblical view of God's design for families. Although this material is not new, it is pretty countercultural. The Ignite group has been very open to hearing it, and it has been a blessing to have the privilege of presenting it to them.

In the afternoon, after returning from the Fowlers' gracious invitation to dinner, I got to do some instant messaging with my beautiful wife. She and Tara had a lovely Easter service at the Presbyterian church in Taos. Per her report, there were traditional Easter hymns and a stimulating message. They went to lunch afterwards and then did more exploring of the town. I can't wait to see Jill tomorrow and to get a first hand report!