Radek James Patterson – Present And Accounted For

Yesterday at 12:46 PM, Central Time, Radek James Patterson entered this world.  His first official act was to let loose with his fire hose letting the delivery room crew know that that piece of equipment was in full working order.

Here are the stats: 8lbs 11ozs, 19.5”lg, 10 toes, 8 fingers, 2 thumbs, 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 nose, 1 mouth, 1 wee wee (fully functioning), and a full head of hair.  He has a good set of lungs and is capable of letting everyone within screaming distance know of his displeasure.

Mother and son are both doing just fine; doesn’t Jackie look great after delivering just two hours ago?  We took the girls over to see their two hour old baby brother yesterday afternoon.  Catia wanted to bring him home “right there and then” and couldn’t understand why he had to stay in the hospital.  After all, when you get a new toy you just take it home and play with it, don’t you?  What’s with all this waiting stuff?

Kalina, on the other hand, had absolutely no concept that “this thing” wrapped in blankets had anything to do with her mommy’s belly.  Whenever the word “baby” was mentioned she would point to Jackie’s belly and say, “Baby!”  I guess she thinks baby is part of her mother’s anatomy.  She’ll grasp the meaning of “baby” in a few days when mother and child comes home from the hospital and “baby” starts getting more attention than she does.

  

After getting the munchkins into bed last night I asked Judy how we could have possibly raised four of them.  We were so exhausted that we didn’t have enough energy to go to bed.  So we sat in the recliners looking at the dawg thinking maybe Gunner would put us to bed but, he just turned three circles in front of the door and whined.  “Can’t you just walk yourself, Dawg?  After all, you have four legs and I only have two and mine are all worn out!”  No deal, so a trip to the back yard it was.

Well, we got a decent night’s sleep even though we were not in our own bed and here we are, waiting for this morning’s brew to ready itself so we can partake of a cup of energy.  The girls are still in bed, the dawg has been walked and life is good.

What will today bring?  Grandpa is going to take Catia swimming while grandma is going to take Kalina swinging.  Then, somewhere during the day, it will be another visit to the hospital.  Oh yes, we can’t forget to spend some time with Katie and Alex; they were left at home alone last night and will be needing some attention.

So, that’s it for today but here are a couple of parting shots:

Oh yes, one last thing – Grandma Sheila and Grandpa Mike, Radek sends his love.

The Baby Cometh – Radek James Patterson

Jackie is in the hospital as we speak.  Baby Radek is about to make his appearance into this world.  Needless to say, there are two excited little girls who slept over at Grandma and Grandpa’s house last night.  

The girls were up waaaaaaaaaaaay toooooooooooo early this morning which is going to mean early naps later this morning. We’ll all be going to the hospital this afternoon and don’t want two tired little girls.  They will be making some family pictures so smiles are the order of the day.

Catia is excited about having a little brother but, somehow, I sense that Kalina is in for a culture shock.  Her little world is about to change.  She will no longer be the baby and will have no choice but to relegate that role to a baby brother.  It will be interesting to see how she makes the transition into her new role – that of the “Middle Child”.

Radek, the poor kid, is going to have two older sisters to contend with; he doesn’t stand a chance.  No wonder he has been in no hurry to “make the scene”.  But, the great thing is that he’ll have two sets of wonderful grand parents. 

Grandma Sheila and Grandpa Mike Winegarden live in Wisconsin and Grandma Sheila will be making the journey southward to visit with him in a couple of weeks.  Radek will be grand child number seven for them while he is number six for Grandma Judy and Grandpa me.

Well, it’s off to chase the grand daughters; little kids have lots of energy, ya know!  Grandparents, not so much – so we need to get a head start.  Ta-Ta for now.  More details on the birth of Radek James Patterson tomorrow.

Entertaining At Home

Yesterday we never left the house.  You know, it feels nice to NOT get into the truck for a whole day.  It could have been a PJ day for us except we had company coming for dinner.  Joel and Mary arrived at about quarter after 11 for a nice visit; this is the first time we’ve seen them since the wedding on May 1st.

We marinated some chicken over night which we cooked on our electric grill while some seasoned potato wedges baked in the convection oven.  A nice Italian salad mix along with tomatoes, celery, and red onion added was served with a Greek Vinegarette dressing.  Dessert was strawberry J-ello topped with Redi-Whipped cream.  Joel and Mary work hard at eating healthy so we wanted to present them with a nice healthy meal.

We had a great meal and a good time visiting with them; looking at wedding pictures and talking about their honeymoon in Italy.  Before long it was time for them to head toward home which is an hour and a half away.  Don’tcha just love it when your kids grow up to be “healthy, wealthy, and wise?”

Today we’ll return to two smiling little faces, power packed with energy, just waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to reenter their lives after a day away.  And, you know what?  We’re looking forward to seeing those smiling little faces as well.  Of course, it will be good to see Matt, Jackie, Gunner (the dawg), and Bam (the katt) again as well but, as I always say, it’s all about grand kids.

Piddling Around

We began the day by piddling around the house before making a quick trip to Wally World.  Piddling means wasting time; spending one’s time idly and insufficiently.  Well, maybe we weren’t entirely piddling but, we were doing insignificant things and accomplishing little.

Catia’s ballgame started out on schedule but ended up being cut short due to a fast moving thunderstorm.  These storms fester up in a hurry and go blasting by just as fast.  Along with them we get a reprieve from the heat but, they don’t last for very long and, often, brings increased humidity.

Being that it was an afternoon game and right next door to the church, we elected not to drive the 40 minutes back home to just turn around and drive back.  So, we took a short drive around the area south of Murfreesboro and then went and hung out at the church.  They have comfortable easy chairs in the Fellowship Hall where we could just sit in an air conditioned room and read which is just what we did.

After church we came home and piddled around the house some more before heading off to bed.  Certainly not the most exciting day that we’ve ever experienced but, somewhat of a nice slow down from trying to keep up with two little tikes.  Our grand daughters are very good for us but, they just have higher energy levels than we do; even still, we enjoy every minute that we get to spend with them.

Guess who’s coming to dinner?  Check us out tomorrow for the answer and, in the mean time, have a great Sunday.  Don’t forget to give thanks to God for His goodness.

Shopping, Sitting, and Selebrating

Judy took Jackie and Catia “Shopping” for Matthew’s birthday which was yesterday.  It’s hard to believe our baby is 28 years old.  While they were gone, Grandpa was “Sitting” Miss Kalina.  After Matthew got home from work we all began “Selebrating”.

Matthew’s favorite birthday meal has always been Miss Judy’s special lasagna and a yellow cake with peanut butter frosting, however, due to the recent heat he said he didn’t want to eat that “heavy” of a meal.  So he opted for grilled burgers, potato salad, and a cheesecake with cherry topping.

The kids (well Catia, that is) decided that it needed to be a party so she conned her mom into buying some balloons.  She and Kalina “went nuts” playing this them.  A good time was had by all.

That’s all for today, hope you’re having a great weekend. 

No Post From The Past Today

Well, I’m just going to have to stop promising “a trip from the past”.  We ended up going over to Matt and Jackie’s early yesterday morning.  While we were there, I decided that heat or no heat the lawn had to get mowed.  Boy, I can tell you that the heat was stifling.  It was in the high eighties, which is a lot cooler than it has been, but the humidity was extremely high.  That combination wears a sole out in a hurry. 

Therefore, I would just do a small section and then come inside for a while to cool down.  I got the front yard and along both sides of the house done leaving the backyard for another day (that’s about 30% of the lawn mowed).  I was surprised that I remembered how to run a lawnmower.  Judy “stood inside” doing the housework; she did the dishes, did some laundry, vacuumed, and played Nanny.  It was a productive day, to say the least.

Although it was about 5 to 10 degrees cooler yesterday; the humidity level was so bad that whenever you went outside from an air conditioned room your glasses would steam up.  It was another one of those days where you felt like you were wearing the weather – today is supposed to be the same only a little warmer.  Oh boy, just what we need, more heat with that humidity but, I’m still saying it is a whole lot better than the cold we suffered through last winter.  Our bones just don’t ache – well, ache as much as they do in the cold weather, anyhow. 

Today is going to be pretty much the same routine.  Jackie is hanging in there, literally as well as figuratively.  We’re hoping that baby Radek will make his appearance pretty soon as this pregnancy is wearing his mom out.  Please pray for Jackie, she not in any danger medically but, at this point, it is both physically and mentally stressful. 

We’re so glad that we have a lifestyle with the mobility that allows us to be where we are needed, when we are needed - It has been good being here.  And, it will be awfully hard to pull up stakes leaving the two little munchkins behind when it is time to move on.  We enjoy seeing their smiling little faces each and every day but, go we must.  We have three more smiling little faces waiting to see Grandma and Grandpa in New Hampshire plus a gathering with friends in Maine and a road trip with our oldest grand daughter in Vermont awaiting us.

Until next time . . . . .

“Please Stand By”

Matt and Jackie returned to the doctor’s office yesterday morning for Jackie’s regular weekly appointment.  Yep, she’s pregnant and yep, she’s in labor but, it’s just not time.  Even though the contractions are three minutes apart, they are not “hard” enough (don’t ask Jackie what she thinks about that assessment).  In any event, she was sent back home again to wait.

The girls had stayed over with Grandma and Grandpa on Tuesday night.  Yesterday morning was filled with movies, swimming, and swinging.  Yesterday afternoon was filled with lunch, some indoor playing, and a nap.  Judy made a chicken casserole for Matt, Jackie, and the kid’s dinner as well as ours.  Then we took the girls home for the night.

Grandma and Grandpa hit the hay early and were “out like a light.”  The girls were really good for us, however, they are five and two.  Man, if we could bottle up some of that energy and turn it into pill form, we’d make a fortune.

In the meantime, we are on stand by.  It will only take us about twenty minutes to throw on some glad rags and be at Matt and Jackie’s when the time comes.  Matthew is going back to work this morning so we’ll go back over to their house today.  That way Jackie only has to focus on being pregnant and in labor instead of chasing two high energy packed little humaniods as well as dealing with a dawg that needs to be walked on a regular basis.

So, that is the state of our union at this point in time – we are standing by to stand by.  Check back with us again tomorrow to see if Mr. Radek James has made any progress toward entering this world.  Plus, while we are standing by, we’ll attempt to gather up some photos for that “trip from the past.” 

Grandparents Called For Duty

Well, as you can tell (pretty smart people, y’all) this is not a trip from our past.  Actually, it’s a trip from our present.  Yesterday, just as we returned from running errands, we received THE CALL – Jackie’s In Labor.  So we rushed over to their house, beat Matthew who was coming from work, and assumed our duties as the Nannies.

Matthew took Jackie to the hospital where they monitored her for several hours, affirmed that she is in labor, but sent her home anyway; it’s just not time.  It could be a couple hours or a couple of days yet.  Oh yuck, a couple of days of labor in this heat; what could be finer?  They returned home just before eight (PM) so we munched up two little packlins (I mean we packed up two little munchkins) and brought them home with us for the night(s).

Needless to say, there were two excited little girls (namely Catia and Kalina) but, not so for two little kitty katts (namely Katie and Alex) who experienced the child invasion.  Catia has been wanting to “sleep over” with Grandma and Grandpa for awhile now and Kalina just wants to do whatever her older sister is doing – see, some things remain the same from generation to generation.

The girls seemed to sleep just fine but, Grandma and Grandpa didn’t.  Not because of the girls but because of the katts.  They decided to take up residency in our bed for the entire night.  Usually they come in with us at beddy time but then disperse themselves off to the recliners within a half hour or so.  Being that there were munchkins in the livingroom, a scary thing for a spoiled katt, they deemed it safer to stay by Mom and Dad’s side.

Oh well, we got through the night and are now entering Tuesday morning.  I’ve retreated to the bedroom to write this post while Grandma Judy is the brave one engaged on the front lines.  It’s time for me to put down the computer and go lend a helping hand now (or at least make my own coffee) now that everything is under control.  So, you’ll have to tune in tomorrow and see how our day progressed.

A Little Bit Of This And A Little Bit Of That

So, today here I sit with aching muscles.  Yesterday I shampooed the livingroom rug at Matt and Jackie’s.  That means moving the furniture to one side of the room, vacuuming, shampooing, vacuuming up the remnants, moving the furniture to the other side of the room, and repeating the sequence.  Once the vacuuming, shampooing, and re-vacuuming is done, it’s time to put all the furniture back in place.  Results = clean carpets and aching muscles.

Judy did some laundry and assisted grand daughter Catia with cleaning up her room.  “Are we done yet?”  “Can I play now?”  “I hate cleaning day!”  Typical five year old responses.  They work harder at trying to get out of work than they would have worked if they had just done the work, if you follow that logic.

It was hot yesterday afternoon but, the humidity stayed relatively low so it didn’t seem as bad as it was.  Not the case for today – hazy, hot, and humid.  The weather dudes are predicting a 105* heat index.  Sounds like a nice day to lay low, very low, and drink lots and lots of liquids.  We keep eyeing Crossville but, not today; “they” are predicting record breaking heat in Crossville for today.

So, this morning we’ll do our inside chores, run a couple of errands, and, most likely, spend the rest of the day reading (hope I don’t break out in a sweat while moving my eyeballs).  We’re both enjoying renewing our acquaintance with Derek Prince.  For those of you who missed it, Derek Prince was the grand father of our very first pastor.  He was a very intelligent man who could preach and write in a very direct manner that was easily understood.  He passed way in 2003 but, you can still listen to his teachings on the Derek Prince Ministries website. 

I finished Prophetic Guide to the End Times and am now reading Entering the Presence of God.  Judy is reading Secrets of a Prayer Warrior and Through the Psalms with Derek Prince.  All very convicting and challenging books that demand decisions be made and disciplines be instituted.  “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.”  (Rev 2:4-5 NIV)

Thank you for checking in with us today and we will be getting back to traveling in a few weeks.  Tomorrow, join us in another trip from the past.

“And The Heat Goes On”

“And the heat goes on, and the heat goes on.  Sun keeps pounding a rhythm to the brain.”  Everyday Nancy, the weather girl, keeps telling us today will be hotter than yesterday and tomorrow will be hotter than today.  It was hot yesterday but, the humidity was low enough that it wasn’t too bad.  More of the same for today, and for another week for that matter.

We do seem it be in a pattern of weather extremes.  Last summer we experienced the wettest summer on record, last winter we experienced days on end of cold weather.  At least this weather is a lot better than either of those scenarios.

At 6:28 this morning it officially became the first day of summer – and we were up to witness it.  Yay, “It’s summertime, summertime, sum, sum, summertime.”  Summertime is one of my four favorite seasons of the year.

Speaking of summertime, Judy has been looking at our trip northeast that is coming up in just a few weeks.  As always, we struggle with finding reasonably priced places to stay along the route getting to Maine.  A few prerequisites are:  One, don’t wanna drive more than five hours a day.  Two, don’t wanna drive more than two days back to back (Alex doesn’t even wanna do that).  Three, don’t know what three is.

We plan to spend a few days at Raccoon Valley before journeying on, so we are considering that as our starting place.  Raccoon Valley is only about three hours from where we are currently parked.  Four/five hours from there brings us into Virginia, next would be Pennsylvania, followed by Connecticut, and then arriving in Maine.  So we are looking for someplace in Pennsylvaina to spend a couple of days. 

We will be “picking up” Randy and Terry along the way.  They are currently located in Dover, Pennsylvania (which is near Hershey) so that would be the area where we would like to spend at least a couple of days.  We have contemplated the Gettysburg area although we’ve been there twice before.  If anyone has any ideas, leave us a comment to let us know.  Thanks!!

Well, yesterday was Father’s Day and we celebrated it with a cook-in; that’s what you do when it’s super hot outside.  Matthew, Jackie, Catia, Kalina, and Radek came for hot dawgs, potato salad, beans, Jello, and no bake cookies.  We huddled around the air conditioner while cooking the dawgs on our electric grill; no S’mores, though, air conditioners don’t do a very good job at cooking marshmallows.  A good time was had by all!!  Hope the rest of you dad’s out there had as good of a time as I did.

And, I guess, that’s it for today.  Be safe, have fun, and God bless.

Another Saturday, Another Game Day

We have been witnesses to one of baseball’s first – a quadruple play.  Yep, we saw four outs in one play.  The bases were loaded and the batter hit the ball to the infield.  He was thrown out at first and then the runner from third was tagged out on his way to home plate.  But the runners kept coming and each one was tagged out on his/her way to home plate - only a play that you’d see in a T-Ball game with 3,4,& 5 year olds.  It was hilarious!!!

As you can tell, we attended Catia’s second T-Ball game.  Their are ten kids on a team and each child gets a turn at bat.  Then that team takes the field while the other team comes to bat.  Once the last batter hits, all the runners just keep running home, often with little interference because the ball handling leaves a whole lot to be desired. 

Each team gets to bat twice and that’s the game; it takes close to an hour which is about fifty-six minutes longer than the average player’s attention span.  You get to see a kid sitting in the outfield playing in the dirt while another one is watching a bird fly over head as the ball goes rolling by.  What a hoot!!

Being only the second game that most of them have ever played, they are beginning to get the concepts down pretty well.  They know that you back one another up so that if the ball gets past the first player, the second player attempts to field it.  However, it often gets past the second player as well with half the team chasing the ball. 

They know that once you get the ball, you throw it to first base (or at least in that direction – another play requiring backup).  Often the runner rounds third before the ball has been fielded and eventually retrieved by the first baseman (boy/girl). 

One boy had a better strategy, he hit the ball and to avoid an out at first he just cut across the pitcher’s mound making his way to second base – is that an infield double?  Anyway, it’s absolutely a blast watching these kids play ball and definitely adds to the enjoyment of our day.  After all, it’s all about grand kids and what better way to spend time with them then watching them play sports!!

How To Obtain Calmness In Life

Here’s some advice that I received from a friend via email on how to obtain calmness in life.  I am passing this on to you because it definitely works and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives.  By following this simple advice heard on the Oprah show, you too can find inner peace.  Dr. Oz proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have not finished."

So, I looked around the house to see all the things I had started and hadn't finished, so before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Tequila, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates.  You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now.  :-)

Now, back to our real lives.  We engaged in our Domestic Engineering duties as well as received our daily grand daughter fix yesterday morning.  Then we came home where we relaxed and entertained ourselves.  I spent most of the afternoon reading while Judy kept herself out from under foot.  Actually she played on her ‘puter, talked to her sister, and did a little puttering around.

“So, what are you reading?” you may query.  I’m actually reading two books at this time (no, not at once, silly); Prophetic Guide to the End Times by Derek Prince and A Patriot’s History of the United States.  I find both books very intriguing; actually, I have a hard time putting them down but, after a couple of hours of reading my eyes begin to blur so I have to take a break.

We are beginning to get acclimated to these hot temperatures, however, it still requires that we move slowly and drink plenty of liquids; therefore, we tend to play inside most of the day.  The temps are supposed to go even higher over the next three or four days – Oh, Yay! 

Just so you know, we’re putting together another “trip from the past” for a blog entry next week.  I guess that’s about it for today so we’ll see ya later!

Mackinac Island Trip

Back in the spring of ‘04, (now this really sounds like an old timer’s story, doesn’t it), when we were transitioning from Georgia back to Michigan, we visited Mackinac (pronounced Mack-in-aw, don’t ask me why) Island for an afternoon.  One weekend each fall “they” offer a free ferry trip to the island for residents of Emmett County.  We hadn’t closed on our house in Harbor Springs, Michigan which made us eligible for the free ride.  We went with Judy’s brother, John, and his wife, Della.

Mackinac Island is a small island of about 3.8 square miles in land mass located in the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac which separates Lake Huron and Lake Michigan as well as Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

Mackinac Island was considered a sacred place to the Ojibwa Indian Tribes.  The tribes would gather on the island to make their offerings to Gitche Manitou, the “Great Spirit”.  The island was, also, the place where the Ojibwa buried their tribal chiefs (after they died, of course).

We took a ride on one of Arnold Line’s jet powered catamaran ferry boats.  It was a smooth and quick ride.

The first European likely to have seen Mackinac Island was Jean Nicolet, a French explorer, during his 1634 explorations.  About thirty years later the French established a Mission on the island.  With the establishment of a mission, the Straits of Mackinac quickly became an important French fur trading location.

The British gained control of the island after the French and Indian Wars.  A fort, Fort Mackinac, was built to protect their settlement from attack by French-Canadians and native tribes.  Even though the fort was built during the American Revolution no battles were fought there until the War of 1812.  The United States took control of Mackinac Island after the Treaty of Ghent was signed in 1815.

Following the Civil War, the island became a popular tourist destination for residents from cities around the Great Lakes.  The federal lands on Mackinac Island was designated as Mackinac National Park in 1875, the second national park to be established (the first being Yellowstone).  However, in 1895 the Federal Government turned the park over to the State of Michigan which designated it as their first State Park. 

   

Mackinac Island State Park encompasses about 80 percent of the island including Fort Mackinac as well as portions of the downtown and harbor areas.  Transportation on the island is provided mainly by horse drawn carriages and bicycles since no motorized vehicles (except for emergency vehicles) are allowed on the island.  Oh yes, let us not forget to mention that the Island is, also, noted for its fudge.

   

The Grand Hotel was built on the island in 1887 and is noted for having the longest porch in the world, the porch is 600 feet long.  Five Presidents of the United States (Truman, Kennedy, Ford, Bush Sr., and Clinton) are recognized in the long list of the hotel’s noted visitors.  The Grand Hotel hosted the first public demonstration of Thomas Edison’s phonograph as well as frequent stays by Mark Twain.  We didn’t pay the $10 head fee charged to visit the hotel but, certainly will should we ever return to the Island.

 

The Mission Church is the oldest existing church in the state of Michigan.  It was built in the New England Colonial style in 1829.

Here are a few photographs taken on our way back from our Island trip.  The Mackinac Bridge was completed in 1957 is the world’s longest suspension bridge (between anchorages).  It is 5 miles long from end to end with a 3800 foot span between its towers linking Mackinaw City (lower peninsula) to St. Ignace (upper peninsula). (Note:  Mackinaw is the correct spelling for the city, everything else is Mackinac) 

Two other familiar sights around the Great Lakes and the Straits of Mackinac are the lake freighters and lighthouses.  The Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was built in 1892 and today has a beautiful park where you can just sit and enjoy the views of the Straits of Mackinac, Mackinac Island, and the Mackinac Bridge.

Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed the pictures from our past.  If you pass through that area, be sure to take some time to visit Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, and St. Ignace.  This was our “stomping grounds” for many years. 

I first arrived in the area in 1970 when the Coast Guard stationed me at the Marine Inspection Office in St. Ignace, Michigan.  Judy and I returned to the area when I accepted a position with Control Engineering Company located in Harbor Springs in 1997.  Judy’s brother built his retirement home in the area so we return often.  It is a beautiful place to live and/or visit.

Vegging Out

So, here I sit, with coffee in hand, pondering what I should write about today.  Um!!  Let’s see.  What did we do yesterday; well – Judy took Jackie to her doctor’s appointment while I stayed with the munchkins, then we did a little more driving around Murfreesboro, stopped at Demo’s for lupper, and came home.  Wait a minute, that’s pretty much what we have been doing everyday.  Oh well, it is what it is!!

Other than our kids and grand kids (and a really nice church) there is absolutely nothing that attracts us to the Murfreesboro area.  Now, if you are thinking that we are looking to come off the road soon, that’s really not the case.  It’s just that we have some time to kill.  It’s been way too hot to go biking or hiking so riding about in an air conditioned truck is filling the void. 

The area that we explored yesterday is fairly pretty.  It is southeast of Murfreesboro with lots of horse farms along the rolling countryside.  Being that it was a last minute decision to go riding about, we didn’t have our camera with us; therefore, no pictures.

We still want to go to the Crossville, Tennessee area as it is in what is known as the Cumberland Plateau which is a range of mountains running through Middle Tennessee.  There are several state parks with biking and hiking trails and some nice canoeing areas.  The problem is that the weather forecast for the next week is for hotter weather than we have been seeing.  I guess we’ll just have to take another change of clothes with us and sweat it out.

Tune in tomorrow as we’re searching our archives for some photographs to share with you from our past.  It should be an interesting trip.  Bye, bye for now!!

Just Another Day In The Life

Well, we ended up doing the chores and making the Post Office run.  The chores, in this case, was the bi-weekly Walmart shopping trip.  We had seriously considered a trip to Crossville but, being that we didn’t get an early start, we scratched that idea.  It’s almost a two hour trip over there (and two hours back) so we need to get going a little earlier in the day.

We did do a drive around Murfreesboro to get acquainted with some of the neighborhoods.  The thought is that we will need to locate somewhere someday and being that the kids are here, this might be the place.  However, Murfreesboro doesn’t really have the “It” factor for us or, at least, it doesn’t have the “It” factor right now.

A cloud cover showed up around three o’clock and cooled things off by about ten degrees, however, the humidity remained high so it was still uncomfortable.  Tomorrow a front is going to pass through the area clearing out some of the humidity but, temperatures are going to go even higher on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

So that was our day.  Not all that exciting except for watching the grub making it’s way into the cupboards; there’s always a certain amount of appeal to that.  Okay, I guess enough is enough; try to remain cool, calm, and collected.   

Nutin’ Honey

We went over to the kids house for a little while yesterday morning.  Judy did housework while I walked the dawg and played with the grand kids.  The lawn needs mowing but, it’s just too darned hot to be out side for any length of time.  Once the kids chowed down it was time for us to make our way home.

It’s just a matter of running from one air conditioned space to another.  We had contemplated going to the pool, however, we were afraid that we would boil to death in the water.  So, the rest of the day was pretty much “Nutin’ Honey!”

The weather dudes are predicting another week of this above average weather.  On Thursday a front will pass by that will reduce the humidity levels, however, Saturday is billeted to be the hottest day so far this year – something we can look forward to.  Just as the high pressure fronts stalled last winter leaving us in below average cold weather, they have stalled again leaving us in above average hot weather.  Just one dang thing after another.

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?”, I queried the better half of this wedded bliss.  “Well, I don’t know!”, was the reply so there you have it.  We don’t have a clue as to what we are going to do today but, not to worry, we’ll find something.  Judy has some quilting that she needs to get done and I have some reading that I would like to do.  Will today be that day?  Maybe, we’ll just have to see.

Also, we still want to take a drive to Crossville which is “up in the mountains” and about 10 to 15 degrees cooler.  Will today be that day?  Maybe, we’ll just have to see.  Then, there’s always chores to be done and a trip to the Post Office that needs to be made.  Will today be that day?  Maybe, we’ll just have to see.  In the meantime; stay cool, have fun, and God bless.

Another Small World Event

Saturday evening we went to worship at the World Outreach Church which is a mega-church located in Murfreesboro.  As you can well imagine, being in the Nashville area, there is fantastic music along with great preaching.  

The complex is located on a large campus. The building has a huge foyer with four sanctuaries.  They, also, have a nice Fellowship and Resource Center among their many facilities.

Each sanctuary has it’s own music team.  The sermon is delivered from the main, Three Crosses, sanctuary which is televised into the others.

Now, for the Small World Event part.  After the service we decided to walk around this huge complex.  While perusing the Resource Center we noticed a lot of books written by Derek Prince who was our first Pastor’s grand father.  Later we “bumped” into Pastor Jackson in the Foyer and asked him about Derek Prince.  It turns out that his family was good friends of the Prince family and he knows David Wynns (who was our very first Pastor after accepting the Lord).  Another Small World Event – now you know “the rest of the story”!  

Today we are going to continue laying low while trying to keep cool.  Probably will end up in the pool before the day is over (most likely will feel like bath water).  There is no end in sight of this weather pattern with no rain in the forecast to cool us off; each day “they” add another day or two onto the cycle.  It may be warm but, it still beats the cold of last winter.  We just have to take it slow and easy.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

And out to the ball game we did go!!!   It may have been hotter than Hades outside but, life goes on and this was our Grand Daughter Catia’s first T-Ball game.  Wouldn’t have missed it if it had been 10* hotter.

Catia did just great; she hit, she ran bases, she fielded, and even threw a runner out at first base.  Her dad and mom’s training has helped.  Dad is into anything that has a ball involved in it and her mom, who is also into sports, played softball in high school.

Here are some photos that tell the whole story.  First of all, you need the fans.  (Be sure to use the cursor over the picture to read the captions.)Then, of course, you need the cheerleaders!Next you need the players.Now you’re all ready – Let’s Play Ball!!!  Catia is the third batter up and she’s waiting in the dugout with great anticipation.The pressure is on; there’s two runners on base with no outs – can Catia blast a home run otta the field?It’s a base hit which leaves the bases loaded and no outs, way to go Catia!!!Catia makes her move and scores a run, that makes it Brewers 3, Cardinals 0.Now the Brewer’s take the outfield with their star pitcher winding up for the pitch!!  Catia is looking for a shut out game!  Can she do it?Oh no, it’s a hit, but wait!!  Catia fields the ball and throws the runner out at first.  What a player!!!  This girl can do it all!!!  And to think, this is only her first game, folks.  What a career is in store for this young lady.What a game!!  Brewers win it 20 to 16, it was a real nail biter at times but, with their star player’s athletic ability the Brewers were able to pull it out.  Whew, I tell ya folks, it’s gonna be one heck of a season – this Brewers team with their future Hall of Famer, Catia, should have a fantastic year.    

On our way home from the game we stopped at Papa Murphey’s to pick up a pizza; they make the pizza and you bring it home to cook it.  They have a great thin crust and you can get a large one topping pizza for $4.99.  We chose a garlic sauce with chicken pizza and added mushrooms, onions, and dried tomatoes to it before shoving it into the oven.  ‘Twas yummy!!

Yesterday evening we went to worship at the World Outreach Church where another “Small World Event” took place.  More about that tomorrow.