A Beautiful Weekend

Yesterday started off chilly and gray, but by about 2:00 the sun was out and before suppertime the temperature was almost 70 under a beautiful clear-blue sky. I had picked a good day to attend a beginning photography class at Ault Park.
I signed up for it on a whim, with a desire to understand the manual settings on my camera instead of always depending on the presets.
It was conducted by the owner of a photography business in town called ernestography, run by a likable young man named ernest worthing.
It was a beginner's class, and I did learn some stuff, and I'm going to try to practice it this week so I don't forget it!
One thing we learned was how to use manual settings to put a close-up object in sharp focus while making the background blurry. This picture plus a few others from my practice session are posted in a Facebook album.
I came home and cut grass for about an hour but didn't have time to finish before dark, so I finished Sunday after church, errands, and lunch.
Friday evening  Evelyn and I went to the symphony. I had seen a Groupon (or was it Living Social) coupon earlier in the week for discount tickets to hear Andre Watts in concert with the orchestra this weekend. We didn't subscribe to the Pops season this year, so I thought we'd enjoy a chance to go to Music Hall.
Before the concert we went for dinner to Taste of Belgium, a restaurant in the middle of a two-block area in Over the Rhine that is filled with trendy restaurants and other venues. Many of

our friends are Taste of Belgium fans, and I've been wanting to get there for some time. We had their signature chicken and waffle for dinner and enjoyed it. I really want to get there for brunch someday!
We parked in the new garage under Washington Park and walked a few blocks to Taste of Belgium and then walked back to Music Hall. The evening was cool but clear, and it was nice to be outside.
I was really glad we got to hear Watts. The coupon tickets were for seats on the main floor. We usually sit up high, but this time I was glad we were so close to the guest artist. We could see his face as he performed, and I must say I've never seen anything quite like the energy and animation he infused into every passage, every flowing arpeggio, every strong chord. He commanded the instrument, almost attacked it with energy and passion. He mouthed the rhythms, threw his left leg off to the side as he finished a challenging section. His was a marvelous performance.

Tonight was Evelyn's Basin group, something new created this fall by our church's women's ministry: small groups of women, hosted by an "older" woman to give "younger" women the chance to get to know other women in the church and have the influence of an older woman in the church.
Tonight they enjoyed a potluck of Mexican treats. Evelyn finished the chicken for the tacos and made an apple crisp this afternoon while I helped around the edges and wrote a draft of my column to be posted at christianstandard.com Tuesday.
I retreated to the family room and TV and Facebook while the ladies had their dinner, and I snuck upstairs to steal some supper after they'd been through the lines. It was a relaxing and yummy evening to end a fine weekend.

Happy Birthday, Diane!

There are at least two good things about birthdays. if you're in the right situation. If you're on Facebook, you get lots of greetings from all kinds of people you may not hear from any other time.
And if you're on the Magazines staff at Standard Publishing, you get free lunch with all your other co-workers at the place of your choice.
Today was Diane Jones-Dunham's birthday, and she chose a place new to her--and me! The Rusty Bucket on Mason-Montgomery Road. I was surprised at how good it was, and how hard it was to choose what I wanted from all the interesting possibilities on the menu.
Happy birthday, Diane! Today's celebration was the perfect proof of a truth we sometimes forget: "It's more blessed to give than to receive." I've received another great idea for where to take Evelyn for lunch on Sundays or dinner anytime! (Or dessert! I had a couple bites of that cookies and cream sundae Diane got free for being the birthday girl. Let's see . . . just six more months till mine!)

Our Autumn Weekend

"Let's get together this fall and do something to see the leaves," I suggested to Evelyn's brother and wife, Ken and Susan Aulen.
They called several weeks ago with an idea I hadn't anticipated. "Let's ride the Loveland Bike Trail." We agreed that this weekend would be the time.
Ken and Susan got here about 5:00 Friday. Wendy Wagoner had been here much of the afternoon, doing some work, using our copier, and visiting with  Evelyn. Evelyn decided to fix white chicken chili for dinner; Wendy had requested she make it at least one time before Wendy goes to Tanzania in January, and Friday night seemed like the right time.
It was a wonderful dinner. The soup is a favorite; we had plenty of good relishes to accompany it. And I stopped by Graeter's to pick up a dutch apple pie and cinnamon ice cream for dessert.
Wendy (and Milo!) left about 7:30, but we enjoyed staying up and catching up with Ken and Susan.
The next morning Evelyn had pumpkin muffins, apple butter, fruit, and scrambled eggs for breakfast. We needed to eat hearty before our big day of exercise!
We got to the bike rental shop in Loveland after 10:30, and we were on our way after 11:00. Ken and
 Susan brought their bikes, and Evelyn and I rented ours.

It was a gray, chilly day. But the showers of the early morning had stopped by the time we were on the trail. But a breeze plus the wind chill of just riding the bikes made Evelyn wish she'd worn gloves and me happy I'd brought my ear  protection.
We rode 8.7 miles from Loveland to Milford, with a stop to rest our our legs and catch our breath (and eat granola bars and water) on the way. But even with the stop, we got there in about 90 minutes.

We rode and walked our bikes into Historic Milford (I didn't know there was a historic Milford!), and ate lunch at Padrinos on Main Street. Evelyn and I split a small pizza and a salad, and it was very good!
As it turns out, historic Milford has several little shops like you find in Waynesville or Lebanon, and we wandered through a few of them before taking out for the ride back to Loveland.
We had hoped the afternoon would get warmer, but it seemed to be getting chillier. We rode back with a couple of rest stops this time and made it to Loveland before 4:00—just before the rains came. We rode through steady rain in the car on the way home.

The trees are beautiful this year, but, oddly, not as pretty along the bike trail as some places in the neighborhoods we drive through every day.

We had about an hour to warm up and clean up before leaving for dinner. I had made reservations at Tellers in Hyde Park. It's a nice place, and we had a gift certificate and Groupon to use there. This was the perfect opportunity to enjoy a special dinner at a favorite place.
Evelyn and Susan had the salmon. Ken had the trout and shrimp. And I gave up the chance to eat healthy by ordering the pork shank. Oh, it was good--juicy, falling off the bone. Each couple shared a coffee creme brulee for dessert. We were full and happy.
We came home and visited for a couple of hours before giving up for the day.
At 6:30 Sunday morning, one of our smoke alarms started chirping, and we fumbled half asleep to try to figure out why, since Evelyn had replaced all the batteries in all the smoke alarms not long ago. I got the bright idea to push the "Test/Alarm" button on the errant device, which set of sirens, and a digital voice "Evacuate. Evacuate!" through every smoke alarm in the house (some time ago we upgraded to a system that connects all the alarms.) I was mortified, and  Evelyn went downstairs, where Ken and Susan had been sleeping, to tell them they did not need to evacuate!
I had planned to sleep till 7:00, but at 6:45 I gave up and headed to the bathroom to shave.
Sunday we enjoyed worship at 9:00 at Mason. Trevor DeVage's sermon was the wrap-up for our "I'm a Church Member." It was a nice challenge. "If you're a growing church member, you're a dying church member." Three attributes of a growing church member: He's serving, giving, and going. (I think I need to rethink all three in my life!)
I had received a gift card to Mimi's from the folks in my office for Boss's Day, so we used it to treat Ken and Susan to breakfast after church. They were on their way not too long after lunch, and Evelyn an I settled into an afternoon of errands: grocery, lawn mowing and other yard errands, checkbook updating, and assorted online visiting and task-completing.
We ate popcorn and leftover pie and ice cream for dinner while we watched 60 Minutes, Madame Secretary, and the episode of NCIS we had recorded last Monday.
It was a very pleasant autumn weekend. The weather was beautiful Friday and Sunday (not so much when we were out IN it all day Saturday!) . I'm guessing we won't have many more pretty weekends yet this year.

Road Trip

Oh boy, I'm SLOW in recording our fun September weekends, but better slow than never, I guess.
I promised to quick rundown of our road trip to Levittown, PA September 18-22.

We had been looking forward to this trip for a long time. Why?
• Extended time with our buddies Bill and Verna Weber.
• Opportunity to see our grandson, Miles Johnson, perform with his high school marching band.
• Celebrate Miles's birthday Friday night and Saturday.
• Spend time with our whole family, Jen and Matt and Geoff and Lisa, in addition to Miles.
• Hear Matt preach and attend church at Levittown Christian Church.

And all of the above is exactly what we did.

Evelyn got home from teaching Thursday afternoon after 4:00. The Webers had arrived here some time before that (they drove here from Indy--this was a long day on the road for them), and soon after Evelyn rolled in, the four of us rolled out, on our way to PA. We chattered all the way to New Stanton, where we spent the night (after a nice dinner at--where else?--Cracker Barrel!).
We were on the road in good time Friday morning and made it to our hotel outside Newton, PA by 3:30 and to Jen's by about 5:00.

We stopped and got sandwiches and made it to the football stadium in plenty of time to get good seats for the whole evening. It was Homecoming, so we got to see floats and the king and queen and court.
But the main attraction was the marching band. (Oh yeah, the home team won the football game!)

Geoff and Lisa made the long and challenging trip to be there--Geoff drove with Frankie, and Lisa took  no planes but trains and automobiles to meet us there. I really appreciated their effort to join the party.

After the game we retreated to Jen and Matt's for wonderful birthday cake (four layers, cookies and cream cake--it was wonderful!).

The next day we met late in the morning to ride together to Philly, where Jen and Matt had picked a wonderful Chinese restaurant for a family birthday dinner to celebrate Miles's 16th birthday. We had wonderful food--just too much of it. Evelyn and I wished we had split a meal. We walked around the city--to the riverfront, to a festival--enjoying the sunshine and the company--and a stop at a favorite
tourist site to try Mr. Franklin's ice cream.
And then we crashed at Matt and Jen's place before supper.

Geoff and Lisa left for the trip home, and then the rest of us enjoyed sandwiches and salads for supper, followed by a bonfire and s'mores in their backyard. What a fun, fallish evening.

Sunday morning we enjoyed worship, including one of the best sermons preached anywhere in America that day, all about Gideon by Matt. Jen fixed a wonderful lunch (country ribs in the slow cooker!), and after lunch we went to a state (?) park for a nice long walk. Nikki enjoyed the walk and we enjoyed the scenery. For supper we went to the Johnsons' favorite Mexican restaurant, and Bill treated. (Thanks, Bill!) The evening was still young, though, so we decided a stop at their whippy-dip place (I'm writing this too long after the events; I'm forgetting the names of things!) would be the best way to end the day. Oh, it was good!

We stayed as late as we dared (Matt is an early-to-bed guy, and Miles had school the next day). Jen wanted us to hang on after the guys went to bed, but we had a long day of driving ahead of us Monday, so we said good-bye about 10:00. It was a weekend we'll always remember.

It's a long drive home from Philadelphia, but we made it in OK time (lots of bathroom stops for us oldsters, plus a nice lunch), and said farewell to Bill and Verna about 7:00 p.m., thanking them for the weekend of fellowship as they began two more hours on the road to their place in Indy.

Weekends with Friends

We've had three nice weekends in a row, and I want to jot down the highlights so I'll always remember them.

September 12-14
Friday night Evelyn and I splurged and ate out at Embers restaurant in Kenwood (or is it Madeira?). We called it an early birthday dinner, because it's such a nice place, but we couldn't wait till her birthday because I had a Groupon that was going to expire September 17!
The food is good. The presentation is wonderful. The portions, at least for my short ribs and macaroni and cheese combo, were huge. And I felt compelled to eat every bite. It's been a long time since I've been that full, and it will be a long time before I allow the memory of such a good meal to be spoiled by how uncomfortable I felt for nearly 24 hours afterwards!
Saturday night Shirley and Terry Wuske came over for a simple supper on the grill in anticipation of helping us with a service project in Mason later in the evening.
About the supper: I cooked chicken with a teriyaki glaze on the grill, along with pineapple and green peppers. Evelyn made an Oriental rice dish (from a microwave pouch), and I had bought frozen egg rolls and fortune cookies at Kroger. Our dinner was simple, but it was also fun.
About the service project: Christ's Church at Mason provided most of the volunteers for the city of Mason's annual Heritage Festival. I cajoled several fellows from my small group to help; I chose the assignment of clean-up. We were at least a couple of people short, though, which is why I asked Terry and Shirley if they could help too.
The tasks weren't difficult. The evening was chilly, but dry. We were finished folding tables and chairs and putting away the arcade games by 9:30 (we had arrived at 9:00). But they needed some help with more tables and chairs after the 10:00 fireworks display. So we hung out and laughed with Dave Wick and Mike and Jessica Browning till the big ka-booms. (Evelyn was in charge of turning off and then on one of the large generator-run light banks, and Terry and Shirley each "manned" another generator-light combo.)
Collapsing the large metal and fiberglass picnic tables on the grounds was the hardest part of the evening. But we had a good crew working on it (some city employees as well as us volunteers), and we were on our way by around 11:00. It was fun!
Sunday morning, for the second week, I stood at a book table where we were distributing each attendeeI Am a Church Member. The whole church is considering the book as our preachers preach through each of the chapters. I was one of six folks who wrote a week of devotions to accompany the study; we wrote 6 days of devos for each chapter of the book. We were giving away the devotional books with Rainer's book.
family a copy of Thom Rainer's book.

Next entry: September 18-22: Road trip with Bill and Verna Weber to Levittown, PA where we had a fun reunion--and a birthday party for Miles!--with the Johnsons and Taylors.

After a Long Weekend

Vacation: a break from work, at the end of which you're ready to get back to the job.
That's the way it's supposed to be, right, but as I crawled out of bed and drove to the office this morning, after a long weekend away, I wasn't quite ready to pick back up the routine.
But it wasn't long before I was feeling productive and satisfied again as I looked at the proof for the November issue (it looks good), handled correspondence, and made a decision about how to promote our app at the International Conference on Missions this November.
The highlight of the day, in many ways, was our birthday celebration with Lookout editor Kelly Carr. According to our tradition, she chose the place for lunch, and all of us enjoyed her choice, Mimi's.

We're having beautiful weather. Evelyn cut the back and side yards this afternoon, and I mowed the front, trimmed, and watered plants after work before supper.
I'm ready (I think!) to tackle a long list of tasks that need to be accomplished this week. After a good day of getting back into the routine, I need to be more productive tomorrow than I was today.

Weekends with Friends

I've been preoccupied or pooped, and the blog has suffered. But I want to remember how we spent the last two weekends.

The FOUR-Day Weekend: Labor Day

Our four-day weekend began Friday afternoon when Wendy Wagoner came to see us. She did laundry, and we ran out to supper, followed by a stop at the Cone on the way home.
Evelyn made pumpkin-pecan pancakes for breakfast, accompanied by a bowl of fresh blueberries and raspberries. Better than First Watch!
Saturday afternoon we mowed grass and I did some other yard work.

Then we got cleaned up and left home by 5:30 for dinner and a movie. I had a Groupon for Kenwood Theater, so we saw the film Boyhood after a delightful visit to Dewey's pizza, just a couple of doors away from the theater.

I'm glad I saw the movie, because it achieved something unique, filming the same cast each year for 12 years, with a script to portray the life of a boy from ages 6 to 18. The film was well-acted, I guess, and the premise was unique enough to keep us watching. But I'm not sure I'd go so far as to recommend it. 

For one thing, there's a lot of rough language, especially in one particular scene featuring a circle of teenage boys trying to impress each other with how crass they could be. I'm not a prude about such things, but it did get wince-worthy more than once. 

And then there was the message of the film. Or the lack thereof. The main characters in the movie lived generally hopeless lives, battered by their poor decisions and those of others around them. I figure it's very true-to-life, at least life as many people live it, and so I guess I should say, "See the movie and then go love your neighbor." But many of the non-Christians I know aren't as messed up as these folks were.

Sunday I led worship in the Classic Service and was really blessed to get to do so. Not only by the chance to plan it and recruit a couple of volunteers to take a special part in it, but also by Trevor DeVage's hope-inspiring sermon about Heaven, the last in our 31-week journey through The Story.

Sunday evening we met Dave and Carol Ray for supper at First Watch. We met at 5:00 and had to be kicked out when the store closed (early on Sundays) at 8:00. We stood on the sidewalk and parking lot still talking till after dark, and then a young, thin woman accosted us with a long story about being pregnant and kicked out of the house where she lived and she could stay at the Days Inn for $52, but she had only $24 and she swore she wasn't lying and she really didn't want to lose this baby and could we please help her. Evelyn and Dave and I gave her cash, and on the way home I think we all had "buyer's remorse." One side of me wished we had offered to follow her to the Day's Inn and pay for her room for her. I wonder if she would have let us.

Monday was a rainy day and a quiet day around the house. Jennifer called us late in the afternoon (a nice visit!), and by then it was raining steadily off and on. Instead of cooking on the grill as we had planned, we ran to El Rancho Grande for a quick Mexican fix. I was surprised to see a big crowd there on a holiday evening.

The plants always look prettiest in the morning. The light rain made them seem even healthier.
By Labor Day some years, the pot garden is looking pretty scraggly. But I was taken by how
nice it looked this year, first thing, on Labor Day morning.

Last Weekend: Road Trip
Once or twice or three times every year we get together with Todd and Lyn Dillon and Terry and Shirley Wuske, usually spending overnight Friday at one of our homes. This weekend we picked up Wuskes at 4:00 on Friday and headed to Dillons' place in Plainfield, Indiana. (I took off the whole afternoon so Evelyn and I could enjoy a long lunch with Bob and Sue Willson who were in town for a quick visit. We sat at McAllister's with them for at least 90 minutes.)
Todd and Lyn are the consummate hosts, and we couldn't have enjoyed more sitting around their table with them Friday night. Lyn said she bought all the food already prepared, and it was yummy. The laughter and the talking were even better.
We chose this weekend for the visit because Saturday was the Penrod Arts Fair, a one-of-a-kind event meeting on several acres of the grounds surrounding the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It is a juried show. The presenters of painting, pottery, leather work, metalwork, leaded glass, woodwork, handmade jewelry, and more are all top-quality. Add three areas of eclectic food offerings plus several performance stages featuring everything from bluegrass to ballet and you have a day more than worth the $15 admission--especially when you can browse the grassy aisles with good friends. (We arrived midmorning after enjoying breakfast treats--yogurt parfaits created by Shirley and homemade cinnamon rolls baked by Evelyn--along with healthy portions of coffee and conversation.)
Actually the grass turned to mud in several spots, because it rained hard overnight and drizzled off and on all morning. We wore long sleeves and carried umbrellas (we only actually used them a little), and weren't daunted at all by the weather. Actually it was nice to have a cooler day without beating sun.
We were back at Dillons for a wonderful supper of cauliflower soup and chicken salad croissants. It was pleasant to enjoy the meal on their screened-in back porch, and again the good food was enhanced by the good conversation.

It's wonderful to be able to laugh hysterically as well as talk about deep issues that concern us, all with the same group. It's an experience that provides encouragement and accountability, a sharing of Christian fellowship that can't be manufactured or programmed.
We left after 8:00, drove to Wuske's house to pick up our car and were home well before midnight. It was a short night because Evelyn and I had volunteered to be at the new Starting Point (replacement for the old Welcome Center) for its trial run at 8:30 Sunday morning.
Sunday afternoon included grocery shopping, bill paying, and a nice phone visit with Geoff.
Two great weekends--too nice to forget.

Feeding a Visitor

This little guy visited our deck, climbed up on the railing, and had some supper from our pot of parsley. I didn't know squirrels ATE parsley! Such taste!
We're having the first real heat wave of the summer, and it's late in the summer for it, seems to me. We're at the stage of the year when the annuals are looking leggy or heading toward death and I'm tired of watering and feeding and killing bugs. The heat doesn't make it any more pleasant or the health of the plants any more likely.
But we ARE getting a good crop of tomatoes this year; we've been eating them every night and usually at lunch too. And the last big holiday before Thanksgiving is coming this weekend. Those are all good things.
The progress I'm making at work is a good thing too. Spent quite a bit of time today working on
marketing or sales initiatives for Christian Standard or the Christian Standard app. That and correspondence and a long phone call with Roy Lawson (who has been one my most faithful counselors throughout much of my career) filled the day. I started a more complicated than usual editing project last thing Monday and left it spread out on my desk to finish first thing this morning. Didn't get to it all day.
Took a first look at the whole proof of our October issue, which goes to the printer next week. With the holiday Monday, I have quite a bit to accomplish the next three days.

This Week at a Glance

This is becoming my weekly instead of my daily diary, but I'm determined not to just let it go. A few things to record from this week:

Made some progress at work: planning/editing the November issue, consulting with Jim Nieman about layout and design options for the October issue. Spent quite a bit of time emailing and on the phone to nail down plans for the Stone-Campbell Dialogue meeting that will happen this year in Abilene in October. (Evelyn and I are planning a nice dinner out the weekend before her birthday, because I'll be in Texas on her birthday.) Did some work toward further marketing of the Christian Standard app and its digital editions. As of today, close to 1,300 people have downloaded the app and close to 100 have actually paid to read the magazine via the app. That's gratifying; the numbers grow every day. But the progress seems slow to me.

Thursday Paul Williams was in the office for our last official meeting together. His contract as consultant with Christian Standard ends in August. It was a productive meeting, a nostalgic meeting, a meeting with blessings (Paul has always shed light on my path), ultimately a difficult meeting. I will truly miss all the insight and ideas he's shared to help make Christian Standard what it has become.

Friday I had a great lunch with Dave Lautzenheiser; talked over my plan for the worship service August 31. He asked me to lead in the Classic service, because he plans to be out of town that weekend.

The weather has been hot and dry, at least it was till the end of the week when we had a couple of rip-roarin' thunderstorms overnight a couple of nights. I had thought maybe I'd come home from work Friday to cut grass, but Evelyn decided (and I agreed) it was just too hot! So on an impulse we called Terry and Shirley Wuske and invited them to share dinner with us at LaRosa's (our treat)—just for the fun of it and to celebrate the new half-time development position Terry began with Grundy Mountain Mission last week. He'll do a fine job, and he can do it from Cincinnati! So they won't have to move, and we won't have to tell them good-bye. We adjourned to our place after spaghetti and hoagies to finish off a peach pie Evelyn had baked earlier in the week (with peaches we had bought in Amish country). We really enjoyed the spontaneous evening together.

Saturday night Paul and Sev Friskney came for dinner. We hadn't visited with them all summer, and it was good to laugh and catch up. We had typical picnic fare: hamburgers on the grill, baked beans, cole slaw, and Evelyn's potato salad. She made a Rice Chex ice cream dessert that we used to serve every summer but hadn't had for years. It was a fine evening.

Brian preached in the gym, and those of us in the auditorium
enjoyed his sermon via the video feed.

We enjoyed being at church this morning. This was our regular Welcome Center Sunday, so we were there about 8:30. I had some contacts to make regarding that worship service next Sunday, and we enjoyed all the chatting and laughing we always enjoy with the extended time to see folks. Trevor had asked Brian Jobe to be guest preacher, and he had a fine sermon. I'm thinking I'll use his points as the jumping off point for my men's group Bible Study Thursday.

 After church Evelyn and I each had separate meetings to attend. Mark Senseman led a training meeting for people who have been serving at the Welcome Center; he announced and explained some exciting innovations and renovations coming to that whole ministry. Evelyn attended Mark's meeting while I attended training led by Dale Reeves for "tribe" leaders in anticipation of a new series kicking off September 7. Dale has done an excellent job getting all that ready. Evelyn attended training for women's Bible study leaders last Sunday at lunchtime, and she's at a women's kick-off event this evening (Sunday) for that whole emphasis. It's really great to see strategic plans, training, and fresh ideas from those leading the ministries we're involved in!

Summer's Winding Down

Spent quite a bit of time today thinking about, handling some correspondence for, preparing for, and then participating in a 90-minute conference call about the Stone-Campbell Dialogue that will meet in Abilene the first weekend of October.
The Dialogue meets each year to foster unity by bringing together folks from Christian churches/churches of Christ, a cappella churches of Christ, and Disciples of Christ for a couple days of talk, mutual sharing, and worship. I've attended it for several years and became the coordinator for the 4C's churches at least a couple of years ago.
It's always an enjoyable time; I've appreciated friends I've made in the process. It's always a fair amount of work to gather attendees and plan or help facilitate a program. And I always wonder if it's really worth it--could the same amount of time, energy, and money accomplish more for the sake of Christian unity? I dunno.
As usual, every evening I watered plants outside, and although several of them are still beautiful, some of them just seem tired of blooming, growing, and trying to be spectacular. (Could it be that I'm just tired of watering, weeding, and killing bugs?) There's a parallel here to life in general, I think, but I'll have to save the teasing out of the analogy for another day.
As I said yesterday, I took a bunch of pictures in the garden Saturday, and the pictures of the individual plants are prettier than the yard in general. Here's another of those shots; I want to post all of them, maybe tonight, on Facebook.

I was finished with the yard and packing my lunch by 8:00, so I decided to sit on the deck and read awhile. I had to quit by 8:30, because it was getting dark. Not too dark to be outside, but too dark to read. The days are getting shorter; summer's winding down.

Now for something I said I was going to do every day but haven't kept up.

Quote of the Day:
I cannot remember in my lifetime when there has been so much foaming blind hatred and mindless rage going on in the world, America, and even my state (Missouri) as there is right now. We need genuine peacemakers, not religious terrorists, race baiters, and political opportunists.
—Victor Knowles II on Facebook today.

A Weekend in August

We ate dinner Saturday night with Bill and Verna Weber, Donovan and Jocelyn and Ruby and Nora, and the Webers' friends from South Africa, Phil and Irene Hughes.
The Hugheses had been visiting the Webers as a part of their four-month visit to the U.S. this summer. We had wanted to connect with Webers--we hadn't seen them since a couple of brief hellos at the NACC. They suggested we meet them on their way out of town (they had come to visit with Donovan's family for the day) and back home to Indy. So we drove over to the Bob Evans on North Bend Road and enjoyed a nice early supper with them.

"Thanks for coming over here to eat dinner with us," Verna said as we were breaking up.
"Hey, this is the high spot of our weekend," I said.
"Oh, I hope not!" Bill replied.
Well, maybe it was. But the whole weekend has been pleasant.
Friday we had a big night out with a Groupon-discounted dinner at Mimi's followed by frame shopping at Hobby Lobby.
Saturday I spent a couple hours weeding, trimming, and watering outside. I decided to take some flower pictures while I was working.. The pictures look better than the yard. We haven't had rain for quite awhile, and the grass is pretty brown.

Then I got a good start on my final batch of notes to folks to tell them about the Alaska trip we're helping host next summer.
After we got home from supper, we watched the latest Muppets movie via Movies on Demand from Time Warner.
Evelyn and I worked the Welcome Center at church, and she and I each had meetings at church at noon.
I went to the grocery on the way home and bought a can of soup to eat for lunch. Then I finished my Alaska invitations and took 'em to the post office late in the afternoon.
We had a nice talk with Jen on the phone after supper.
A simple weekend. A pleasant weekend.

Look What Was Waiting for Us When We Got Home . . .

We got home today from our visit to Amish country, and while I was filling the sprinkling cans to water the plants on the deck (they really needed the water), my eyes fell on our four tomato plants, laden with ripening fruit.
I picked the ripest. There's more out there waiting for us. Evelyn and I ate one of them for supper, and I'm taking some cherry tomatoes in my lunch tomorrow. The one we ate tonight tastes homegrown--I think we'll be tasting them every day for the next couple of weeks.
This morning up in Berlin we went food shopping--first at a country store where we picked up some South Carolina peaches (had one of those for supper too) and some Amish-made jelly. Then on to Heini's Cheese Castle. (Go ahead and make jokes about the name--we did!) We got some cheese spread and a few small blocks of cheese and threw it all in a cooler we had brought anticipating some food purchases.
We stopped for a late lunch in Grove City, OH and were home before 4:30. I (we) had plenty of time to tend to the yard, unpack, go through the mail, bring the checkbook up-to-date, clear out some of my work emails, and pay bills.
It was nice to be away. I'm ready to get back at the work ahead of me.

Visiting the Amish . . . and Other Folks

Today was our full day in Amish country, and we enjoyed it. But our only contact with Amish folks was one nice man with whom we discussed the weather on the porch of his store; about two dozen nice ladies taking money and waiting on customers at the craft, furniture, linens, antiques, and other doodads stores we visited; and several horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping down the tourist-crowded main street of Berlin, Ohio.
We're staying at the Inn at Honey Run, a remarkable hotel  about 3 or 4 miles outside Berlin. I bought a  Groupon to this place on a whim this winter, and Evelyn and I picked this weekend to come use it. I don't know if we'll ever be able to afford the place without taking advantage of a special, but we'd love to come back. Everything about the place is perfect for the location. It's nestled into a woodland environment, surrounded by five-story-tall trees, with an elegant but comfortable atmosphere and friendly service.
Part of our package was breakfast served in the room this morning, and it was wonderful--elegantly presented and every bite tasty--far more than we would normally eat for breakfast. In fact, we wrapped up the scones to enjoy later.

It has been raining or threatening rain all day, but we did pretty well at dodging the raindrops during our browsing/shopping binge. We were back to the lodge by about 4:00 or so. We took books to the overstuffed chairs in the lobby and enjoyed a cup of coffee while we read for about an hour. Then back to the room to relax and get ready for dinner at 7:00.
I had decided we'd have one really nice meal on our trip, so I made a reservation at the lodge's
restaurant. We weren't disappointed. Not only was the food served with a gourmet flair, but the setting was beautiful. We were seated by two six-foot-tall corner windows looking out on the woods surrounding the lodge. By the time we were finished, the rain was coming in torrents, and it was beautiful to sit inside with dessert and watch it pelting the leaves of the maples and pines.

We'll Always Remember Mentor

We'll always remember our day in Mentor . . . and we liked it enough to consider coming back someday.
Had a nice breakfast at the Residence Inn and then drove to the James Garfield Home just after it opened at 10 a.m. We were there for at least a couple of hours. The home is beautiful. His heirs donated it and its furnishings to the local historical society, so most of the items we saw were originals, not reproductions. It is a huge, beautiful home, made larger by Garfield's widow after his assassination. He had lived there himself, of course, managing the huge farm where it sat and also running his campaign for president from there.

The James Garfield home

We learned a lot about him. "He is a forgotten man," our excellent guide told us. It seems certain he would have been a great president had he lived. He knew six languages and had fluency in five of them (English, German, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew--the last was the one he knew least).
He was the first (and, I think, only) president to be elected from the House of Representatives.
He was the first presidential candidate to conduct his campaign by going directly to the people instead of working through spokesmen. He greeted scores of students and other citizens who came to hear him speak from the front porch of the house we visited.
His wife created a presidential library with all his papers and books here after his death. It was the first such presidential library.
He was a brilliant man, an accomplished and competitive student. In his lifetime he worked as a farmer, professor, preacher, politician, and more. The house and grounds surrounding it are shaded, cool, and beautiful, and we really are glad we made the visit.

The naturalist pointed out the swallowtail butterfly and
encouraged me to get a picture of it.

In the afternoon we went to Holden Arboretum, a 3600+ acre spot a short drive away. We were led in a
tour through the butterfly garden and then took a walking tour through many of the trails surrounding the visitors center. We saw fields of blooming perennials and many bushes and trees that were new to us. It was an absolutely beautiful day, sunny but not too hot--the perfect day to spend so much time outside. We were there from about noon till almost 3:30.
Then we drove to a state park on the shore of Lake Erie and walked across the sandy beach to stick our feet in the water. We spent more time cleaning the wet sand off our feet back at the car than we spent on the beach, but at least we could say we had sampled Lake Erie.
From there we drove a few minutes to Brennan's Seafood House, a restaurant I had researched ahead of time. It's certainly not a fancy place--all wood paneling and sailing kitsch. But it is a local and tourist favorite, and we enjoyed it. We split the Fisherman's Platter--shrimp, scallops, perch, whitefish, and a crab cake--and then split a piece of key lime pie to finish it off. It was a huge amount of food, and we were glad we shared it.
We had done all of that by 5:30, so I suggested we catch the first evening showing of Helen Mirren's new movie, The Hundred-Foot Journey. We really enjoyed it. In spite of a few implausibilities in the plot, the acting was wonderful, as was all the attention to food! We'd recommend it.

Our Minivacation

Evelyn and I are taking a little long-weekend trip, starting this afternoon. I'm writing from Mentor, Ohio. Tomorrow we're gong to visit the James A. Garfield home, a National Historic Site. Garfield, before he was president, was one of the Christian leaders who worked together to start Christian Standard, and when he died, the Standard's first editor, Isaac Errett, preached his funeral. (Found this article about Garfield published in Christian Standard.) I've always thought I'd like to visit his home sometime, and when I purchased a Groupon for a stay at a bed and breakfast in Millersburg (Amish country), I decided to combine the two destinations into one trip.
We'll visit the Garfield home tomorrow and maybe visit the Holden Arboretum, try to see some sand beside Lake Erie, and do whatever else we can find to do around here. I'm looking forward to a Saturday in a place I've never visited before.
We left home about 2:30 and stopped at a Mansfield exit for supper at Der Dutchman, a place we used to stop on the way to or from Grove City, PA, when Jennifer was in college there.

Earlier this week (Tuesday) we got to spend the evening with Wendy Wagoner who came the spend overnight with us. She will be the missionary in residence at CCU first semester (starting August 18), and she was in town working out some details with them. It was great to visit with her and sense that she's doing well.
Wednesday night we had Dan and Cindi Cooper at our house for our weekly dinner and Major Crimes evening. We really enjoy the series, a spin-off from The Closer, and the weekly fellowship with the Coopers is something we always look forward to.

Wednesday at work we sent the September issue of Christian Standard to the printer, and Jim Nieman has been working since then to get the digital version ready to upload to the new Christian Standard app.

Our tomatoes are starting to come on. Evelyn gave a bunch a of the grape tomatoes to the neighbor before we left, and a few of the regular tomatoes will be ready when we get home.

Blooming Possibilities

Believe it or not, these are Knockout roses. I've discovered if you catch them in bud, they look almost like tea roses in a bouquet. Of course, they're not as pretty after they open fully, but hey, with Knockouts, there are almost always more to pick in a couple of days.
The flowers are in preparation for an overnight visit from Wendy Wagoner tomorrow evening. And because we'll be busy with her then and with Dan and Cindi Cooper Wednesday evening (our weekly shared dinner and viewing of our favorite TV show, Major Crimes), I needed to prepare my Thursday-morning Bible study this evening. That Serendipity New Testament for Groups was my ally in this week's preparation.
Two outstanding events of the day: had lunch with Mark Haas, former art director at Standard, to catch up, hear about his work with Rebel Pilgrim Productions, and talk about our long list of shared concerns, friends, and interests. Was proud to show him our new digital edition available on our new app. Was glad to hear how fulfilled and challenged he is by his current work.
Later talked with Dave Empson who graciously allowed me to have a table/display at the upcoming International Conference on Missions in exchange for a free ad in Christian Standard. Marketing budgets have been cut (again) at Standard, and the new marketing director had decided Standard wouldn't be going to ICOM this year. I can't blame her, but I'm very glad Dave and I worked out this deal so there can be at least some presence for Christian Standard at this large convention. We need to do whatever we can to keep this app in front of people.
The ICOM people want me to do some interviews, like those I did for NACC, with missionaries and others at ICOM. I'll enjoy that, and it will add to the video archive available to us for links from upcoming digital editions.

An Open Letter to Trevor DeVage and Benji Maurer

Before this morning's worship at Christ's Church at Mason was finished, I determined to write a thank-you note to Trevor DeVage and Benji Maurer for leading an experience that challenged and inspired me. And then I decided I'd just let anyone read what I have to say . . .

Dear Trevor and Benji . . .

Thank you, thank you for the blessing of this morning’s “Easter in August” worship service. It touched

me in ways I didn’t expect and can’t explain, but I can tell you several aspects of the service I thought were very special.

• I loved the way you worshipped with us, Trevor. When you came to the center of the platform to sing

“The Old Rugged Cross” with us, when you closed your eyes and raised your hand in worship, it was almost as if you were leading us. You were with us in a way that can’t happen when you come onto the stage after 30 minutes of singing. Today you were a fellow-worshipper, not just the presenter-preacher.

• I loved the way you used that hymn as the lead-in to the first point of your sermon, without introduction or interruption. We were right there with you, from the first word.

• Speaking of that old hymn, thanks for including it, as well as a couple verses of “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” later in the service. Everyone was singing along, younger people as well as older. I loved the new accompaniments and the way the old hymn was combined with a contemporary worship song.

• I loved the energy in the room. It was a blessing and a challenge to see 30-somethings around me, men as well as women, singing and engaged. What a future our church has when we’re developing Christians like these!

• It was wonderful to hear the congregation singing with me (or listening to them sing when I didn’t know a song). The instruments accompanied the words and the melodies to make a powerful testimony.

• Thanks for surprising us a little with how the songs and other elements of worship all fit together. A gentle dose of the unexpected kept our attention, kept us anticipating. I wasn’t really ready for the worship time to be over.

• Thanks for teaching us a new song, with the promise to use it several times in the next weeks. It has such a powerful message. I’m looking forward to learning it and hearing our voices lift together as it becomes part of our shared experience at CCM.

I’m also looking forward to the combined services we’ll enjoy in September. I know you’re working harder than we can understand to craft worship experiences that honor God and point us to his presence. You achieved that for this morning’s worship. And I just wanted to say thanks.

Back again . . .

I remember several years ago when I decided to visit the dentist after at least a couple of years not having regular checkups. "I'll come see him again if he promises not to holler at me," I remember telling my wife.
I did go back, no one hollered at me, my twice yearly checkup routine has been restored, and I haven't lost any teeth.
I feel sort of the same way about this diary. I'll start writing it again if no one hollers at me for skipping more than a month of posting. And if anyone will read it again. (I've always said I don't care if anyone reads it, but deep down, I like it when people comment.)
The only way to start over is just to jump in, without guilt for events not recorded or pictures not posted. I may be able to do some make-up, but I'm not going to take on that burden.
I will look back at least one weekend, though, to record that Evelyn's brother and his wife, Ken and Susan Aulen, came to visit last weekend. We had a great time. The Reds were in town, and we went to the game Friday night. Got there early enough to show Aulens the new park on the riverfront before the game. Ate supper in our seats at the game, and enjoyed a beautiful evening. The Reds lost, but it was still a great evening to be there, especially with Friday night fireworks and a first—the Cincinnati Pops was there to accompany the fireworks live! The fireworks were remarkably synchronized with the music, and our cheap seats were perfect to see them. It was fun!
Saturday we had a long time of chatting and coffee drinking at breakfast. Evelyn made a favorite we haven't enjoyed for a long time, Breakfast Dutch Babies. We went shopping in the afternoon and grabbed lunch at the food court at Kenwood Mall.
We went to Raja India for supper and then on to Mason Middle School where Mason Community Players were staging The King and I. My work colleague, Elise Kaplan, had the role of Anna, and I was eager to see her perform.
She has a beautiful voice, and we enjoyed the whole performance. I'm so glad we got to see it.

The sets and costumes were beautiful too.

Sunday we went to the 9:00 service and then on to Mimi's for brunch. Ken and Susan visited awhile longer after we got home, and then we relaxed (and I did a bit of work) in the afternoon and evening.
This weekend has been very good so far. Last night we grabbed supper at Chili's and then drove across the street to shop for an automatic dishwasher at Sears. When we moved into this house more than 11 years ago, Joy Norwood, our realtor, took one look at the dishwasher in the house and said, "You'll be getting rid of that."
Well, we haven't gotten rid of it, but now it's time. It's corroded in the bottom, and we suspect some small leaks. We found an excellent mid-priced model on sale, with a promotional discount on delivery and installation. The new one will be humming along (and I do hope humming instead of the roaring of our current model) Thursday evening.
This morning Evelyn went with me to the West Chester Farmer's Market, and we enjoyed some of our purchases for supper tonight--corn on the cob, lettuce greens with vinaigrette, fresh tomato, and breaded, fried zucchini. It was great.

Soon we'll adjourn to the family room to watch a live stream of the symphony's Lumenocity performance. We weren't lucky enough to get tickets for musical laser show, but at least we're not fighting the crowds to see it in person.

Weekend Update

It's been a fine summer weekend--good food, good friends, (pretty) good weather, and some unique experiences.
Friday night wasn't unique. Evelyn and I mowed grass; she did more than half before I got here after 5:45. I finished the yard and then edged and blew grass off the sidewalks. After a quick shower (it's hot these days, and so humid), we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Raja India, for supper, before stopping at the grocery to pick up a couple of things on our way back home. We relaxed with Cold Justice and the evening news before heading to bed.
Saturday I was up early. The morning was pleasant, although humid, and I sat on the deck and read this week's chapter from The Story with my first cup of coffee. The rest of the morning was breakfast, our walk through the Park (I walk two miles; Evelyn walks three), Saturday Wall Street Journal, and a couple of hours of this-and-that in the yard. It's satisfying to have the time to tend to little details: chopping some branches off bushes and trees, watering and feeding the plants in pots, killing weeds, checking the gutters, doing a little grass trimming.
After lunch we went to Dave and Mary Lautzenheiser's for Dave's 60th birthday party. Mary had prepared a wonderful spread of food, and we really enjoyed visiting with friends from church as well as Dave and Mary. It rained some on our way to their house, but it cleared up in plenty of time for us to tour the beautiful flower beds he's planted all around his house. Dave, the master gardener, is an inspiration.
I came home and did some work for Christian Standard for a little while and then went to the grocery store. Evelyn and I had eaten so much at Lautzenheisers that we didn't really need supper. So Evelyn popped a huge bowl of popcorn that we enjoyed while we watched an old movie that I had picked up at Redbox while I was at the grocery store. The Sum of All Fears, starring Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman, had a plot with a few lapses in logic, but it was well-acted and engaging. I'm glad we saw it.
Sunday we were up early and on our walk before we got ready for church. (Believe it or not, we weren't the only ones out walking at 6:45 in the morning!)

Today was the first Sunday in the New Testament portion of The Story, and the church had planned "Christmas in June" to mark our study of the birth of Jesus. It was a creative service, full of blessings, especially the excellent sermon by Brad Wilson. The biggest takeaway for me: Think of all the incidents of obedience that made the Christmas story happen: Mary and Joseph, of course, in a succession of good decisions; but also the shepherds and the Magi.
We met Terry and Shirley Wuske at first service and adjourned to the Frisch's in Liberty Township where we left the Wuskes' car and embarked on Ponderama, an annual tour of homes that have installed inspiring water features created by one firm here in greater Cincinnati. We went to three homes, and the first two were truly magnificent.
The home on Crest Road in Colerain Township sits adjacent to two home lots the homeowners purchased and turned into a park of flower beds and water features plus a gazebo. I've really never seen anything quite like it in a private home.
The pictures below were taken in only one section of their landscaped back and side yards, and they only begin to convey what this place was like.

Evelyn really liked these bushes with the
feathery leaves (at the 2nd home we
visited), but the homeowner didn't know
their name.

Then we drove back to Liberty Township and visited two homes off of Kyles Station Road. The first is down a long, private lane in a secluded setting that is truly remarkable.
We decided the best way to end our "tour" was with a stop at The Cone. We sat and visited before taking the Wuskes back to their car before 2:00.
I did some emailing and other work for Christian Standard when we got home. We ran out for supper to El Rancho Grande (love those Val-Pak coupons) and stopped into Krogers to return the Redbox movie and pick up a couple items still needed after yesterday's grocery run.

Summer Shower

One thing we enjoyed about the house where we used to live was the front porch stretching across the front of it. Sometimes we  ate a light supper or drank a cup of coffee there, and we'd often adjourn from the dinner table to sit there with company on a summer evening. Jennifer spent hours there reading. And all of us loved to sit under its roof and experience the coming of a summer storm--the smell of the rain, the gusty breeze, and finally the summer shower.
Our tiny little porch now has no room to sit. And you'd most often need to stay pressed against the front door to avoid the rain in a storm. But once in awhile, even though Evelyn usually laughs at me, I'll stand or sit in the garage with the door open and watch the coming of a storm.

I did that tonight after racing through a few errands in the yard in anticipation of the storm. I got inside just in time to see the wind beating up the plants on my deck and turning all the leaves of the trees straight up so you could see the paler green on their underside.

 I stood in the garage, admiring the gray and white clouds, enjoying the breeze, listening to prolonged, rolling rumbles of thunder from the distance, and waiting for the rain. When the shower finally did come, it really wasn't that fierce. I'm thinking some nearby neighborhoods may have received more of a downpour. But we're supposed to get more overnight or in the morning. It will be enough to water all the plants, saving me from hauling sprinkling cans today (and maybe tomorrow).

Evelyn tried a new recipe: shrimp with pineapple, sweet peppers, and onion. She had the marinated
ingredients arranged on the skewers when I got home from work, and I grilled them quickly for a tasty summertime supper.

Vacation Diary, Part Two

Monday, June 16
We left the 9/11 Memorial and Museum after noon, and we were hungry. We stopped at the first deli we saw and decided to go upstairs, be seated, and order pizza, instead of ordering sandwiches from the counter downstairs. The World Cup was playing on the big screens, and the place was busy. And the service was slow. The pizza was wonderful, but we were there at least an hour. By the time we found our way back to the subway, got back to Grand Central Station, and walked back to the hotel, it was well after 2:00. And then we had to wait for the car to be delivered. Bottom line, we weren't out of the city till after 3:00, later than I wanted to leave.
But we got through the Lincoln Tunnel fast, and the traffic on the Turnpike kept moving. We checked into our Residence Inn in Horsham and got to Jen's after 5:30, in plenty of time for a wonderful evening.
Matt grilled some of the best Italian sausages and barbecue chicken thighs we've ever eaten. And Jen had brought in every salad sold at the Giant supermarket deli. It was a wonderful supper. We took a walk through the neighborhood to use up a few calories. (All 8 of us, four Johnsons plus Evelyn and me and the Cartwrights.) And then we adjourned to Dairy Delite to enjoy a true delight native to the area, water ice. We ate our ice cream, lucky to snag a table when the place was crowded with other delight-seekers. It was a great way to end the day.

Tuesday, June 17
We slept in a little and relaxed in the morning and got to Jen's around 11:30. We went to lunch with Jen and Miles at a quaint little coffee shop/cafe nearby and then drove into the city to the historical district. We didn't have a lot of time; the museums all closed at 5:00. But we were able to see an introductory film, the Liberty Bell, Congress Hall, and Independence Hall. (All the free tickets for the latter were already gone when Jen had called several days earlier, but the ranger let us sneak in with a huge tour group of high school kids, and we were really glad we got to see it.)
We had good tour guides at Congress Hall and Independence Hall, and we enjoyed lolly-gagging through the adjacent Washington Park, under the giant shade trees, beside a sparkling fountain, and surrounded by colorful landscaping.

The senate chamber inside Independence Hall

We walked down to Penn Landing and looked across the Delaware River at Camden, New Jersey. Matt and Miles met us and led us to Sonny's, one of their favorite spots for the famous Philly cheesesteaks. Wow, what a good choice. They were really good--and larger than some of us could finish.

We drove back to Levittown and decided we needed something light and sweet to get the taste of the cheesesteaks out of our mouths. You guessed it--another trip to Dairy Delite. Two days in a row isn't too much for vacation!

Wednesday, June 18
Jen met us at our hotel, because it was on the way to today's destination, Valley Forge. After a delightful lunch of salads and soups (and a couple of cookies) at the Corner Bakery Cafe, we made our way to the national park.
It was a h-h-h-hot day. I think the temp hit 96 degrees that afternoon. But we still enjoyed the visit. We watched the introductory film and looked at all the explanatory displays in the visitors center. Then we took the trolley tour around the giant park. The guide explained how regiments from the various states built log cabins, many of them each sleeping 6-9 men. We were interested to learn there was no battle there and Valley Forge housed more than 20,000 people, including several hundred women and children who would have been destitute if they hadn't accompanied their soldier husbands to the camp.

This house was Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge. The beautiful grounds surrounding it
(pictures below) were the loveliest part of the park.

We drove to Newtown where we met Matt for dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant there. Byron declared it was the "office party," meaning he treated for dinner. It was a very fine treat. We returned to Matt and Jen's place for more visiting and laughs before returning to our hotel to pack for the trip home.

Thursday, June 19
We were up early and had plenty of time to linger over the hotel's breakfast before leaving for the Philly airport. We dropped off Katie and Byron a little after 10 and began the trip over the Turnpike and across the Interstates back home to Liberty Township, Ohio. We were home a little after 8:30 p.m., plenty of time to sort through the mail, pull our few clean clothes out of the suitcases, and watch Monday's episode of Major Crimes before heading to bed, tired but happy.