Today's the Day!

A goal is a goal, and my goal was to post every day. But I'm not promising to give an update before I fall into bed tonight. I'm writing this at 8:30 this morning. Wendy is up and showered. Jen has showered, and her hairdresser has arrived. I've fixed snacks for all of us to eat at lunchtime just before the ceremony--it's supposed to be a hot day, and we don't want any fainting! We have a big bowl of fruit on the counter (for breakfast, and again for dinner tonight), Evelyn's coffee cake, and the coffee cake a neighbor sent for us to enjoy. The sun is shining, and there's only a 30% chance of rain.
It's going to be a good day.

Friday of Wedding Week

Today was our wedding rehearsal, preceded by a stop at Memorial Hall to take plants and sound system and other goodies for decorations at the reception. It was blazing hot, and all of us were sweating at Memorial Hall, despite the presence of air conditioning, but that was a small negative in light of the perfect way the hall has turned out, under the able direction of Carol Ray with David, Jan Cummins, and Shannon Penrod adding their help, along with Wendy and Evelyn, of course.

The rehearsal was a relaxed and nostalgic and pleasant experience, led so well by Bobby Jackson who will perform the ceremony tomorrow. We shed tears at the magnificent processional played by Geoff  and Emily Plank. I was glad I got to hear Lisa sing, because I probably won't get to tomorrow (she sings before the bride and I enter). And the whole rehearsal was special because we got to be with Byron and Katie Cartwright.

Just as we arrived at CCU for the rehearsal dinner, the sky opened, and we had to hustle inside under umbrellas through the downpour. Later we learned that the storm at our house had caused one side of the pear tree in front of the house to split off. And when Matt got to Dan and Cindi Cooper's house to spend the night, he discovered that they're without power!

But the dinner was what Jennifer wanted, I think, a relaxed, fun time together, with lots of laughter and way more food than we could all eat.

Scott, Amber Lyn, and Amber Jo Aulen 

Ken and Susan Aulen and Lisa Sweeney-Taylor 

Wendy Wagoner, Jana and Greg Perry

Thursday of Wedding Week

Today, the hottest day of the year, and two days before our wedding, I mowed the lawn. Actually, I planned to mow just the green spots around the trees we had watered. But by the time I was done, I had probably run the mower over 3/4 of the lawn. It wouldn't have taken much longer just to run over all of it. 

And then I edged the lawn and the flower beds. I hadn't been done for weeks, and I was waiting to make it sharp just before we have extra company this weekend.

After lunch, the ladies went on an outing to get pedicures, and Matt and Miles and I took two cars to the Thunderbird Car Wash where Ryan White treated us to freebies and upgrades. Thanks, Ryan! Then  I went to the store to buy groceries for the rest of the weekend, including extra soda for the rehearsal dinner and our post-wedding afterglow, protein and other sustenance for lunchtime at the church, between the photographs and the ceremony, food for dinner tonight, and other assorted necessities. I hadn't eaten enough lunch, so when I got home, I foraged for a snack and got beaten in Chinese checkers by Miles. Then they and Wendy went swimming in the neighbor's pool while I worked on flowers for the wedding reception. 

I had found a flat of salmon vinca with maroon centers. I transplanted them into 4-inch terra cotta pots; they'll decorate the food tables. While Jen was gone I lined all the travel cases with black plastic.
 After supper from the grill (hamburgers and asparagus; Evelyn made potato wedges in the oven), Jen and I assembled the centerpieces, and really, we're quite pleased with the result.

We got done in time to meet Dan and Cindi Cooper at the Cone, and then Matt and Miles went home with them to spend the night so we have a bed for Geoff and Lisa who are driving here from NYC even as I write this and will get in sometime in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. 

Wednesday of Wedding Week

Someone once said that the truly productive person works most days like he does the day before vacation. I don't know if that's possible, but today (my last day to work before  next Tuesday) was very productive for me. I actually was able, through a combination of delegation and concentration, to cross almost everything off my list! Of course, there could have been more on my list, I guess, but I did leave work feeling at peace about what I was leaving behind.

I met the gang at Twin Dragon restaurant for supper. The Johnson kids like Chinese buffets (who would have guessed?), and we hadn't been there in years. It was surprisingly good, and we had fun.

Afterwards, Jen and Matt and I stopped at Meijer's and bought plants for our reception center pieces. Quite a few of those I bought and have been watering for weeks just aren't going to be pretty enough for the wedding. But we found some beautiful substitutes, and Jennifer and I will have fun tomorrow putting them together.

When the three of us arrived back home, plants in hand, Evelyn, Wendy, and the kids were warming up on corn hole tossing (our neighbors lent us a set for the rest of the week), and we had a tournament  that managed to involve all seven of us. Matt and Miles were a team, and none of us were surprised when they won. Ah, maybe the oldsters will prevail tomorrow!

All's Well That Ends Well

Little challenges that marked the day:
We post all our business expenses online. Today I had one $13 tab to post, but the site wouldn't take my password. So I clicked the button to ask them to send me a new password. They sent me the e-mail with the new password. I entered the new password, but the site wouldn't accept it. I tried this one more time: new password, enter new password, the site wouldn't accept it. And then I got a message saying I had attempted log-in too many times and was being logged off.
Tomorrow's the deadline for submitting June expenses. Maybe my $13 will be authorized then.
Second event to record for posterity: a warning ticket on the way home. Cincinnati-Dayton Road. There was a line of at least 50 cars heading toward West Chester Road from Union Centre Blvd. All of them were going straight; I wanted to turn left. So I crept along beside the straight line of cars, through about two or three left turn lanes (for the offices, etc., on my left). But you're not supposed to do that. You're supposed to wait till you're close to the intersection and that intersection's left turn lane is open for you.
The friendly West Chester policeman was jovial and kind and he didn't give me a citation. "You've just received your first wireless warning ticket," he told me as he handed my driver's license back to me. (He had returned to his car and entered all my data into the computer mounted on his dash.)
This made me almost late for dinner, our welcome-to-our-house dinner for Matt and Miles and Nina who arrived in Indy this afternoon.
We had lots of fun over Evelyn's wonderful spaghetti and meatballs (Rachael Ray's recipe, tried for the first time) and salad and French bread (we ate the whole loaf!)
After dinner we walked to the park and had a big time on two sets of playground equipment until almost dark, when we walked back home for ice cream before bed.

The weather this evening was cool and beautiful. We soaked it up, because it's supposed to be sweltering for wedding day!

Today, To Do

When I first started this blog several months ago, several said, "Every day? You're going to post every day?"

Today is one of those days I understand why they were dubious.

Today was one long series of to-do's. Part of this is because we're working ahead at work because I'm going to be gone most of two weeks in July and the first week in August. Part of this is because I'm going to be out of the office this Thursday through next Monday, and then there's the holiday on Wednesday. Part of this is because we're gearing up to produce our first monthly edition of Christian Standard, and the second monthly edition is already largely planned, and I'm on the verge being late with planning the third monthly edition. And in addition to planning, there's production (editing, proofing, writing, art choosing) for the current issues. And consulting with marketing folks about promotions relating to the roll-out of the monthly.

And after work, errands and then a meeting with some guys from church in Loveland, and now I'm back home catching up with Evelyn and Wendy and Jennifer about their day. And this blog feels like one more item on the to-do list.

Jennifer got here about 11:30 last night after a day that was much longer for her than today has been for me. She had her own list of to-do's today, and I'm guessing her list will continue into tomorrow too.

But the do's are getting done, and that's good. And we're not unhappy about the week before us. It's just, as I told someone today, that your only daughter's only wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime series of events, and so there's nothing really to compare it to.

More on this incomparable week tomorrow!

This World . . . and the Next

Talking with Wendy today, Wendy or Evelyn mentioned alerts in the news for travel to Mombasa in Kenya. The conversation led to details about contingency plans for Wendy and her team should an emergency evacuation be necessary from their place of service. Hiding places among local natives, secret rendezvous sites, and options in case the closest airport was compromised—these were among the possibilities she described.

I couldn't help but think about the Scriptures Johnny Dye quoted this morning when he was a guest speaker at Christ's Church at Mason.

First the words of Jesus to his apostles just before his crucifixion:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18)

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:13).

And then the challenge from one of those apostles to Christ’s followers decades later.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the father is not in them” (1 John 2:15).

And finally the rebuke from the Lord’s own brother to wayward Christians in his midst:

“Don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

I think about Wendy's bout with recurring malaria and then typhoid fever in the months before she made this visit. I remember her sister's Facebook update about a rat bite while she was sleeping in her bed in Haiti. And then there were the weeks of prayer for Adrian Fehl, missionary in Ethiopia, who was beset by a virulent virus that left him unable to eat or drink for many days. Far from any quality of medical help, he suffered dehydration that threatened his kidneys. 

Yet none of these has spoken any intent to leave their field of service. 

I think of their sacrifice and suffering, and I shake my head, echoing the words in the book of Hebrews: “The world is not worthy of them” (Hebrews 11:38).

But how will I know I have not succumbed to the love of this world? Must I forsake my comfortable American suburban routine to know I don’t love the things of this life more than those of the next?

Maybe. But afraid to do that, I search for another solution while challenged no more by the Bible’s command than by the example of those I know who so simply and beautifully are obeying it.

Pretty Flowers, a Lovely Evening

Two reasons for posting this picture: These are the flowers I sent Evelyn for our anniversary yesterday, and I wanted this picture to help me remember them. And this was the table setting for our dinner tonight with Dan and Cindi Cooper. Evelyn wanted to invite them, not only just because they're friends, but also because she knew they would enjoy visiting with Wendy. Evelyn made salmon with the wonderful topping whose recipe we got from Judy McCann. I grilled asparagus and new potatoes outside and made a salad with lettuce from our lettuce patch on the deck, with strawberries, blueberries, goat cheese, and candied pecans, with a raspberry vinaigrette (store bought). I bought a loaf of organic pretzel bread from a stall at the West Chester Farmer's Market this morning, and Cindi brought a yummy pistachio pudding dessert.
We DID learn some more about Wendy's ministry in Tanzania as she answered all the questions Cindi and Dan had for her. It cooled down outside as the evening wore on, so we ate dessert and visited on the deck.
I busied myself with all kinds of things that needed to be done today, but I didn't get outside to tackle the yard tidying I intended. I'm debating between Christian Standard work and yard work for tomorrow afternoon. I think the yard work is going to win.
Jen e-mailed to say she would be finishing up in Nashville and driving this direction tomorrow afternoon, arriving after supper. Our big week is about to begin!

Men (and Women!) in Black and Other Nice Things

Most fun of the day: the whole office dressing in black in honor of Scott Ryan's last day at Standard. (Scott's the guy with the beard, in the center, below.) Scott, a friend and designer who's been with us 15 years, is leaving to do design work at Frontgate. To show him we love him, we dressed like he ALWAYS dresses: black shirt and black pants. Note the guy on the left, our colleague and buddy Dale Reeves who not only imitated the outfit but the beard and sideburns too!
(It's difficult to get a good picture of 40 people, so I'm just posting both pictures, since different folks shine in different shots.)

Best laugh of the day: Reading Jennifer's blog post. Most of my Facebook friends also read her blog, but if you haven't, you should. Below is the picture she posted along with all her "kids say the darndest things" quotes.

Nicest surprise of the day: All the folks who "liked" or commented on Evelyn's and my reciprocal posts to celebrate our anniversary today. 39 years, wow! Not only was it gratifying to read all the congratulations, but also challenging to live up to the nice things they said about us! Wendy has a spiffy new camera, and she took our picture for our anniversary this evening.

Plates for a Wedding

Found dessert plates for our reception—504 of 'em—at the third (and the fourth) place I shopped today. The quantity was suggested by the caterer; we'll have 'em not only for dessert but as extras if the other plates run out for the appetizers. Another item off the list!

And I picked up my suit at Macy's after the slacks were finished. Another item off the list!

The wedding rehearsal is one week from tomorrow!

Most pleasant part of the day: sitting outside on the deck in the humid dusk with Evelyn and Wendy, talking about the challenges of re-entry into the West after living in the Two-Thirds World. Both Wendy and her sister Christy and Christy's husband Zach have experienced the challenges in the last week.

Check This!

It's nice to check things off a list. Today:
Get visa applications for Brazil trip in the mail. Check.
Compose directions from the church to Memorial Hall for the wedding reception. Check.
Get decision about whether to buy plastic dessert plates instead of renting them from the caterer. Yes. Check.
Stop by Costco to pick up plastic dessert plates for the reception. Check.
Determine that Costco doesn't have the plates and decide to check another Costco, Staples, or Wal-Mart. Check. :-)
But we are making progress.
Tomorrow I pick up my suit from Macy's.
I've always been a big list maker. Every week I make a list of stuff to accomplish that week, by category. This week I've relied on last week's list with new, daily lists of tasks for each day this week.
Of course, there are always a few things from yesterday left for today. The reason for the daily lists is that the length of the weekly list might seem a little overwhelming. But, indeed, it is satisfying to check those items off!

Earlier this summer (in desperation for picture for my blog) I took a picture of my new tomato plants. I think I deleted it from my camera, and I was wanting to publish it here to compare with how they've grown by now (I'm desperate for a blog picture today, too!).
Oh well, they ARE coming along, and in another month, the contrast will be dramatic (I hope!)
And all without writing anything on a list!

Brazil, the Beauty, and the Passport Picture

Because the US requires an expensive and difficult process for getting visas to enter this country, those countries require a similar process for US citizens to visit their country. To get a visa to enter Brazil, a US citizen must pay $160 and submit an application with a passport photo attached. So tonight we went to Walgreen's and for $9.99 apiece let the happy photo manager snap a digital picture, play with it on his screen, and print out the photos precisely sized to please the Brazilian consulate.

Actually, we went twice. The first time we showed up, the setting sun was shining through the plate glass window and making funky shadows on that white screen. So we had to come home and return after 9:00. The photo manager was changing the trash can plastic liners in the parking lot when we arrived, but he finished quickly to come serve our needs.

Evelyn looked over my shoulder as I was typing this and let out a guttural oath. I think she looks cute, but that's not the word she would choose. You know what they say about beauty and the beholder's eye.

Brazil, Here We Come!

Spent today handling details, following up, making assignments.

Spoke and wrote with Larry Travis and Rafa Soares about details for our Brazil trip. It's coming together. It's going to be good. We're going to have fun. And the payments from our tour members will almost pay all the expenses!  :-)

Followed up on some outstanding assignments for our October issue and made a few new ones to try to finish filling it.

Wendy was here most of the day; said she felt better than yesterday, took a nap this afternoon and then met her friend Becky from Plainfield to have a girls night out. Actually they're staying overnight and we'll see Wendy sometime tomorrow.

I chopped branches off our river birch and the pear tree in front of the house. Got branches out of our eyes walking to the front door or mowing the grass. And trimmed back the barberry bush by the garage, all in time for the garbage man to haul off the trimmings in the morning.

Grillin' in the Rain

I grilled chicken in the rain today for our Father's Day lunch.
It seemed like a good idea--before it started raining. We had the chicken and the vegetables for the grill and some fresh corn on the cob from Station Road Farm, and we decided to grab supper in combination with a shopping trip last night instead of fixing that stuff. So we saved it for lunch today.
It was a beautiful, sunny morning. Still pleasant around noon when I fired up the grill and cut the chicken into kabob-size portions. I oiled and salted and peppered the vegetable chunks, threaded the skewers, and laid it all out on the hot grill.
Wendy was sitting outside with me on the deck, enjoying the breeze.
"Hmmmm, it looks like it could rain," I said.
And then we felt a few drops.
So we came inside.
And then the sky opened. The raindrops steamed and evaporated off the hot grill lid, and I watched from inside, with one eye on my watch, trying to figure when the chicken would be cooked (and wondering if it could do so without my poking, turning, and fussing over it).
Soon I got a windbreaker with a hood and braved the shower to go check on the meal. I cut a couple of the kabobs to make sure the chicken was finished. I had planned to brush barbecue sauce over it all during the last minute of cooking, but Evelyn and I had already given that up.
The rain slowed, I brought the hot (and not too wet) skewers inside, and the meal was fine. Excellent, actually. Evelyn picked some leaf lettuce from my abundant patch in the flower box on the grill and made wilted lettuce. We ate carrot cake from the freezer (leftover from Jennifer's wedding shower) for dessert, and it was all good.
The rest of the day was low-key and quiet. Enjoyed long talks (and much discussion of wedding weekend details) with each of the kids.

Wendy joined us at church this morning, and I snapped this picture of these three pretty ladies (Wendy, Cindi Cooper, and Evelyn) in the foyer after the first service.

Making a Difference

Our church's men's ministry asked me to emcee this morning's Dads Make a Difference seminar that met this morning 7:30-noon. About a hundred guys came for breakfast, followed by two challenges each from Jeff Stone and David Vaughn. I wouldn't have attended if I had been asked to emcee, but I'm not sorry I was there. It was good to get better acquainted with a couple of the guys there, reconnect with Jeff, and hear Dave's heart as he spoke so openly about his own vulnerability and brokenness.

We picked up Wendy from the airport last night about 7:30 and brought her straight home. She took a shower, visited with us a few minutes and went to bed, exhausted. She relaxed through the day at our place. We went to Stein Mart to look for bargains during their big sale; we didn't find any, but Wendy bought a sweater to wear with the dress she plans to wear to the wedding. We ate supper at LaRosa's, came home, and Wendy went straight to bed.

I cut grass in the front yard; Evelyn had cut the back and sides this morning while I was gone.

Trust a Smiling Editor?

Paul Williams was in the office today. I think I took his picture with Matt Lockhart the last time he was in. I promise not to take your picture every time you come to the office, Paul! But this one is for a special purpose. Soon we'll distribute  a news release to announce the advent of Christian Standard becoming a monthly magazine, effective with the September issue. The publicist preparing the release (Joni Baker) said we need an image, and I humbly suggested that maybe a picture of the editor(s) would be as interesting as another magazine cover. And our marketing manager agreed. So . . . here we are. Scott Ryan from our office took the shot. Isn't he a good photographer?!
Before and after the photo shoot, Paul and I brainstormed article and theme possibilities for future issues. Oh yeah, we came up with some good ones!

The Pressure's On . . . and In

So let me tell you about Engagement Health. This is a benefit our company provides us; it's voluntary to participate in it. If you decide, of your own free will, not to participate in it, the company will decide, of its own free will, to charge you and every adult on your health insurance plan a surcharge of $50 each per month.
So Evelyn and I volunteered to participate.
There are several different options. Evelyn chose the weekly fitness path. Dutifully every week she reports how many days she has exercised for at least 30 minutes.
I chose the blood pressure program. Every week I go to this kiosk in our office, which weighs me, takes my blood pressure and pulse, and records it in a computer record so I can keep track of my progress.
Actually, I kind of like it. It's easy. It's fast. And I get a weekly record of my blood pressure to show my doctor at my annual physical.
But this week the computer in the kiosk broke, so we have to log in or call and report our progress manually. (Evelyn does this every week.)
So we pulled out the blood pressure cuff, and I took my readings at home. 135/63. I'm having trouble getting that higher number anywhere near the desired 120. I'll weigh myself tomorrow and then record online.

Stayin' Alive

"Hey, Mark, you ought to consider being a writer," Greg said to me across the platform during worship team practice tonight.  I wasn't sure what he was getting at, and then he said he enjoys reading my blog.
"So I put your picture in my blog, and you decided to read it?"
"Yeah," he smiled. "And I've been reading it ever since."
Frankly, I'm always surprised when someone new tells me they're reading this. My little diary entries about each day's activities seem pretty mundane to me. But, hey, Greg, thanks for the compliment of checking in here from time to time.

Before worship team rehearsal, I left work and went to Wendy's for chicken nuggets  and a root beer frosty float, one of my favorite treats. Then I went to Hobby Lobby and bought two bags of Spanish moss for our wedding reception centerpieces. I'm keeping coleus, impatiens, vinca, hosta, zinnia, rye fern and variegated ivy alive till we assemble the centerpieces two weeks from tomorrow. In fact, I'm fertilizing them to beat the band so the vines will be green and the flowers will be blooming  when we need them soon.

Rays of Sunshine

This is the third night in the last four that we've had company for dinner. It doesn't seem that heroic to me, but then again, I haven't been doing the cooking! (Well, I did cook on the grill Saturday and Sunday, come to think of it.) Each evening has been enjoyable and memorable and full of laughs, none any more than tonight when we welcomed Carol and Dave Ray for the evening.
Carol (and Dave!) is staging Jennifer's wedding reception, and this evening she came to see all the "props" Jennifer has gathered to decorate the room. It was the perfect excuse to eat together, and Evelyn fixed an old stand-by, "Party Chicken." The Rays are one couple we had never served it to before! After a hot day, the evening became dry and almost cool, and we ate dessert on the deck, visiting outside  till 11 o'clock!

Happy to Have Company

We enjoyed an 18-hour visit by Jim and Norma Pierson starting yesterday afternoon about 2:00 through breakfast time this morning. When we visited with them last month, we persuaded them to stop by here on their way home from a trip to Wisconsin where Jim was speaking and Chicago where one of his daughters lives with her husband. As we expected, we had a wonderful time!

We decided on the spur of the moment to go downtown to the Cincinnati Museum Center to see the special Pompeii exhibit on display there till August. We learned a lot; it was very well done. We enjoyed it!

Then we came home to enjoy Honey Baked Ham ribs warmed on the grill, Evelyn's potato salad that always bring raves, and Bush's baked beans. (Jim told us there's a Bush's baked beans museum and restaurant not far from where they live! It's on our list to visit sometime when we get south again.)

It was an afternoon and evening full of laughter and great visiting, punctuated by a fun experience and good food.

The good food continued this morning as Evelyn made us Dutch Babies  for breakfast, accompanied by a bowl of the first peaches of the season. They weren't freestone, but they were very tasty!

The Piersons were on the road before 8:30, and I headed off to work. We had been working ahead since Jim Nieman is on vacation for two weeks, so today was a good day to do some planning and tend to some tasks that kept falling to the bottom of my to-do list.

It rained overnight and into the afternoon, but surprisingly, the grass wasn't wet and the ground wasn't soggy after supper, so (for the record) we mowed. (That fertilizer I put down on Memorial Day is really working!)

Just One Year

One year ago on a Friday, Wendy Wagoner and Jennifer met Evelyn and me in New York City. They had been in Pennsylvania, because they had agreed that Wendy should meet Matt Johnson and Nina and Miles before she went to Africa. And Wendy had never seen New York, so they combined destinations. We met Lisa at her beautiful office overlooking Manhattan, ate lunch at a sidewalk cafe outside the Rockefeller Center, and saw the city from Top of the Rock.

That evening we drove to Long Island and heard all of Geoff's jazz bands play at their spring fundraiser and concert at the high school where he teaches. It was a beautiful evening, a wonderful concert, and a fun time.

Saturday we tried to show Wendy some of the city, although the rain kept us from some of what we wanted to do. She could still see the Statue of Liberty through the fog.We walked through Chinatown, stopped in at a small museum, and ate dinner at one of Geoff and Lisa's favorite restaurants before adjourning to their apartment to visit for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, Geoff took Wendy to the airport so she could fly to Florida to do a VBS. That afternoon we walked the Highline, went to Geoff and Lisa's church, passing the theater where the Tony awards were being presented that evening, and then ate dinner outside at a restaurant in the park beside the Hudson River.

Lisa quizzed Jennifer about Matt: How do you feel about his kids? How do you feel about his church? Is he a good kisser? :-) We passed by the Lincoln Center where we yucked it up for picture poses in front of the fountain there.

One week from today, on a Friday (actually just five days from now), Wendy will come to Cincinnati to be here for Jennifer's wedding to Matt Johnson.

Three weeks from today, on a Saturday, Jennifer will marry Matt; Miles and Nina will be their wedding party. Geoff will play, Lisa will sing, and Evelyn and I will smile and cry. Then "party" is the theme for the reception we're planning at Memorial Hall after their afternoon wedding. 

The time will fly between now and then, just as it has since we were in New York together just one year ago. And I'm filled with anticipation about what the next year will bring in all of our lives.

Grilled Vegetables Might be the Best Vegetables!

We used the grill for the first time this year. I'm a little surprised we're getting started so late, but I needed someone to help me lift it onto the deck from it's winter storage in the garage, and I didn't get anyone asked till Matt was here this week moving Jennifer's leftover furniture into our place. While he was in lifting mode, I asked him to help me move the deck.
"Didn't I help you lift this off the deck?" he asked. And I remembered, yes, he did--when he and Jen visited us in October. Maybe the week before the wedding I can actually COOK someone for him on the thing, since he's been so good to help me haul it around.
I grilled chicken and vegetables for supper. Terry and Shirley Wuske joined us, and we enjoyed catching up with them; it's been too long! They're working hard on the house they bought and they're redoing from front to back. I hope their evening here was a little respite for them.
I grilled asparagus, an onion, a yellow pepper, cremini mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes to go with the chicken. A recipe on the Food Network website suggested a vinaigrette of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, herbs, and garlic to pour over the vegetables after they're grilled. We used Evelyn's family recipe for a hot marinade (vinegar, butter, and a few other ingredients) for the chicken. It always makes it good. Uncle Ben's rice and sourdough bread from Ferrari's Little Italy and Bakery (last night's dinner) rounded out the meal, with a peach pie from Shirley for dessert.
Today, the 9th of June, I FINALLY got all my winter stuff out of the closet and all the summer stuff out of storage. The almost-90-degree day was a clue that I wouldn't be wearing sweaters again for awhile! Also arranged books on the bookshelves we inherited from Jennifer and went to the grocery store.
Tomorrow I lead the song service in the Classic Praise service, subbing for Dave Lautzenheiser who will be on vacation. And Jim and Norma Pierson are planning to spend the night with us, on their way from Chicago where they're visiting this week back home to Knoxville.

Three Weeks and a Day

Three weeks and a day from Jennifer's wedding, Evelyn and I went to Macy's and bought me a suit and tie to go with the dress she's wearing on the big day. One more item marked off the list!
The best part about the evening was dinner at Ferrari's Little Italy and Bakery in Madeira. I remembered I had a Groupon for the place and realized it's not far from the Kenwood mall. It's a wonderful restaurant! Nice, intimate atmosphere, a wonderful menu full of things we want to try.
I had chicken Madeira and Evelyn had cheese and spinach ravioli. Very good! We bought a loaf of sourdough bread from the little bakery in the front of the place to serve at dinner tomorrow evening.
I have a long list of to-do's for tomorrow, before we have Terry and Shirley Wuske for the evening. I'm thinkin' we'll probably use the grill for the first time this year.

Mow, Mow, Mow the Yard

I began last spring recording on Facebook every time we cut the grass. I just wanted to know how many times in one season we cut it. But I soon lost track after forgetting to record it a time or two, and I figured it was a little boring anyway--right up there with people telling about their digestive problems or how many brats they ate at the picnic.

I thought about keeping a running total of grass cuttings as a footnote to my daily diary entries, but other activities seemed more pertinent (maybe not always more interesting) to post. So no totals here, but I can guarantee you that we've cut the grass A LOT already this spring, and even though it's been dry the last several days, the lawn was really shaggy tonight, just 4 days after we last cut it (Sunday afternoon). So Evelyn and I went at it after supper.

She had a student once who told her grass mowing was man's work and she shouldn't be doing it. But many days it's either mow the grass for 30 minutes or walk for 30 minutes. So I gladly let her take a half hour behind the mower and I usually use the time for other piddling around the lawn.

Tonight I pinched the blooms off the impatiens plants I've bought for the centerpieces for the wedding. I've been feeding them every day, and I'm going to keep that up for the next 3-1/2 weeks. So I sure HOPE they're blooming again by then. The plan is for them to be bushy and beautiful instead of leggy and lame. We'll see!

Moving Day

Matt and Jen arrived at our place late this afternoon with a truck full of most of Jen's earthly goods.  They had unloaded a table and chairs at Jocelyn and Donovan Weber's place, and then Jen and Evelyn headed for the seamstress for a fitting of the wedding dress. "Just rest," Evelyn told Matt. But he and I decided to try to get the stuff Jen was leaving here into the house before they got back.

We did it! A bed frame with box springs and mattress, a futon, an antique dresser, two hassocks, and two big bookshelves. Evelyn fixed a wonderful supper of roast beef, carrots, twice-baked potatoes, and tossed salad. After supper Jen showed us a few more boxes full of props for the reception to bring in. One bedroom of the house is just about full of stuff for the reception--but not for long!

I told the people in the office that I was going to stay and eat breakfast with Matt and Jen tomorrow and might be late to work. But they want to be at the courthouse by 8:00 to get the marriage license. I may get to work sooner than usual!

Two Mulch!

This is my official declaration: These are the LAST TWO bags of mulch I will buy this summer—I think! I emptied one of them (the bag of Pine Rustic) and half of the black Nature Scapes, which is what is all over the courtyard, the bushes in front of the bedroom, and under the tomatoes.
It's time for flowers to grow and weeds to be targeted and killed, but the mulching is DONE—I think!

Let Us Anticipate

"I'm guessing we'll be reading more and more about the wedding as the day gets closer." Fred Gossman said that at church Sunday (Fred reads my blog. I'm always surprised when somebody tells me they're reading my blog! Hi, Fred. . . . )

This week, especially there is wedding-related news, because Matt and Jen are moving all her earthly goods to his house in Levittown, PA this week. He's flying to Nashville tomorrow, and they're loading the truck. Then Wednesday they'll drive to Cincinnati, unload one piece of furniture she's giving to Donovan and Jocelyn Weber, and then end up at our place. Jennifer is having her final fitting for the wedding dress, and sometime before bed, we'll off load a few pieces of furniture she's leaving here--time will tell if for awhile or for good. We'll eat dinner and relax with them in the evening, and then they'll head for PA Thursday morning. I think their plan is to unload the truck there Friday.
We got word this morning that our block of rooms at the Hampton Inn in Covington was sold out, so I called Carol who added five more rooms for Friday and Saturday.

Katie Cartwright texted me today: "We've got our room, so we're ready to party!" But I didn't have her number in my phone and didn't know who on earth was asking me to party. I texted back, "I think you have a wrong number."
"It's KT," she wrote back and added a smiley face. "Put my number in your phone!"

I have done so, and I am joining her in anticipation for our big day, just 26 days away!

This is my lettuce patch, growing in an over-the-bannister planter on the deck. 

I wonder if we'll still be eating lettuce from here by the time of the wedding.

Actually, I'm doubting it!

An Evening with the Neighbors

"We should do this more often." That's what several neighbors were saying at Jordan Capelli's graduation party this evening.

Jordan, the graduate, climbed atop a pyramide made of her
cousins, her brother, and a neighbor or two.

It was fun to connect with several folks we may not have talked with in a year or more. I don't feel like we've done a good enough job as neighbors to our neighbors. Most of them are not active Christians, but they are likable, intelligent, generous, neighborly, interesting folks. I've thought a lot about how involved we are with our own yard, our own jobs, our friends from church or CCU, our family, our schedule. Friendship takes time. Building relationships takes time. Building friendship and relationship is a beginning stage, a vital first step, toward anything that looks like discipleship. I think the "missional" folks have that right. We are at the embryonic stage of relationship-building with only a couple of our neighbors.
At least we had cordial, engaging conversations with several folks tonight, and that made me feel good. And the Capellis had wonderful homemade Italian sausage and pasta with sauce among two tables full of food!
Until the party, today was a somewhat typical Sunday for us: First service, then breakfast at Mimi's, then a stop at Wal-Mart where Evelyn bought a big, floppy hat to keep the sun off while she works in the yard, then yard mowing for Evelyn while I edged and did a few other yard tasks (watered and fed those plants for the wedding!) (I used my new handy-dandy edger to edge along the grass strip by the street on the street side. I dare say that has not been done more than once or twice, if at all, in all the years we've lived here. It was difficult, but it looks nice!)
Then I came inside, took a shower, and tried to do some Christian Standard work for 2 or 3 hours before we went to the graduation party. I did get drafts written for two editorials, so I felt good about that.
Jim Nieman is going on two weeks of vacation, starting next week, so we've been scrambling to get ahead the last couple of weeks. (But that doesn't explain why I'm writing so many editorials at one time.  That's not a matter of getting ahead, but rather catching up!)

A Good Saturday

A good Saturday: Paid bills and brought the checkbook up-to-date for the first time in a couple of weeks. Was happy to verify that we're still solvent. Was also happy to discover why we had stopped getting our Time magazine: our subscription expired several weeks ago, and I hadn't paid the bill!

Skyped with Wendy this morning, and she's looking much better than the last time we talked with her. She's been off the typhoid meds for about a week, but it has been a very busy week for her, and she's exhausted. She doesn't feel fully recovered, but she's hoping some rest and healing of her system and a few more days with the strong drugs out of her system will combine to have her feeling fine.
She leaves for her month away next Saturday. First a break for a couple of days in England with a friend. And then on to our place June 15 where she'll stay till the wedding.
The wedding is four weeks from today. This time that Saturday maybe I'll have a wedding picture to post.

I was running errands today and stopped in at Home Depot to pick up a couple more bags of mulch (actually, it was four bags, and I decided after spreading it today that I need two more--maybe the final two, we'll see!). As soon as I arrived I saw they had a selection of beautiful 4-inch annuals on sale @ $2.50 each. I grabbed 16 of 'em; if I can keep 'em alive for four weeks, they'll be part of the centerpieces at Jen's reception. I'll report here close to the date.

Also had a nice visit with Geoff on the phone this afternoon and nailed down plans for the post-wedding family get-togther at our place he and Lisa are hosting. They chose a yummy, easy (catered-in) approach, and we're really looking forward to it. He's plodding away on research for his doctoral dissertation. I'm proud of him. I don't believe I've ever had that kind of drive or discipline.

Tonight was the final performance of "Cinemagic" with the Ambassadors Choir at Mason Christian Village. Evelyn and I grabbed dinner with Dave and Mary Lautzenheiser on the way to MCV and had a fun time. Evelyn and Mary sat in the back and took it in. The "village people" did well, and the whole experience ended happily.