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.

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.

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.

Garden Gallop

Took a day of vacation today to join Dave Lautzenheiser and a bunch of other (mostly) seniors from Christ's Church at Mason for the annual Garden Gallop. Dave and Sarah Ferris organize this each year about this time; it's a trip to 3 or 5 nurseries/garden centers to shop for plants for spring planting and summer gardening.
This is at least the third time I've joined the group. I go for the fellowship, to keep Dave company (sometimes he and I are the only males), and to ooo and ahhh over all the annuals, perennials, vines, bushes, planters, hanging baskets, and garden doodads one can find at these garden centers. And every year he takes us to some places I've never been before.
This year we visited three garden centers on Ohio Pike/Route 125 east of town. I bought at least something at each of them; two offered us a group discount, and all gave new ideas.
I always have a container garden on the deck, and I decided this year to try something different: all foilage. I was able to find several unusual plants you just don't find at Home Depot and Lowe's. (But I saw some that I HAD seen at the big boxes, at much lower prices, so my shopping isn't over.)

Our gallopers posed for a group shot at one of the nurseries where we visited. We dodged raindrops
all morning. But the heaviest rains were on the way to the first stop and on the way home
after the afternoon was over.

We ate lunch at Quaker Steak and Lube. Great onion rings! They're giving away a Harley later this year, but I didn't enter the contest. Think of it as Cracker Barrel with motor cycles and auto paraphernalia hanging from the ceiling and decorating the walls instead of antiques, washboards, and pictures of somebody's grandmother.
After lunch (a LONG lunch, but it didn't matter; we enjoyed the visiting), we drove back to Natorp's in Mason. It was the first time I'd been there this year: acres of BEAUTIFUL, healthy plants under one roof. Every kind of annual, vegetable, herb, and perennial you can imagine.
I have a gift certificate from there I want to spend, but I didn't have it with me today. (Didn't know we were going to go there.) So I looked at everything and made mental notes. I'm going back to Natorp's!
I began the day by running into the office and visiting with Matt Lockhart for about an hour regarding a proposal we're making to sign-on with a company that creates digital versions of magazines. We're seeking approval tomorrow, along with another significant request at the same meeting. I'm praying about this (and I don't say that flippantly). At home this evening I revised the P&L statement I had created in preparation for that meeting.

It's My Diary. I'll Be Gross if I Want to!

"You're going to POST that picture?"
Evelyn was somewhere between disdain and shock when I showed this to her. But, hey, it's my diary, and next year or 10 years from now I want to remember this--in all its grossness.

The shingles are scabbing over. I wear a shirt with a collar during the day to hide the most of it. But I'm not shaving, and my best efforts to look preppy are wearing thin.
We're a week and a day into this process. I'm hoping the medicine truly will speed this up (I've heard stories of suffering from 4 weeks to as long as 6 months!).
They really don't itch and chafe too much--mainly because clothes are not rubbing against most of them. There's a dull ache that comes and goes. I seem to be able to stave it off with ibuprofen. It LOOKS worse than it FEELS most of the time.
I think my testimony has moved more than one person to investigate the shingles vaccine. I say, "Go for it!"
We're in the midst of a massive heat wave here. Along with all my other "this could be worse" scenarios is this one: I'm glad I'm not laying asphalt or stringing telephone wire for a living. Of course, in that case, I probably would have called in sick and stayed home in the cool. I've been working up a sweat the last couple of evenings just hauling water for my patio pots. Thirty minutes of mild exercise creates the need for a clean T-shirt.
I need to do some retroactive diary entries. I have pictures to post and commentary in mind. I hope to get to it soon.

Sunday Guests

 Ajai Lall spoke at our church this morning--he brought a passionate challenge to act on our concerns for the poor and powerless and the lost. Evelyn and I had welcome center duty, and I hosted at the 8:30 service. At that service, we sang a worship song that was popular some time ago.

No other name but the name of Jesus
No other name but the name of the Lord
No other name but the name of Jesus
Is worthy of glory, and worthy of honor
And worthy of power and all praise.

For some reason, the words struck me as particularly meaningful today. I've been thinking too much lately about my own glory and honor, perhaps.

Later in the morning we had a nice visit with Ajai's lovely wife, Indu, and I was able to snap a wonderful picture of her with Evelyn.

We ate lunch at Olive Garden with a gift card Evelyn had received at school for leading her "D" group. We cut grass and I did some other yard work as soon as we got home. And after a shower, I went to Lowe's to pick up what I hope is our last batch of mulch for this year before heading to the grocery store. We had a nice visit with Jennifer on the phone, and then Evelyn fixed grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches on rye bread; I talked her into strawberries with ice cream to finish it off. We watched "60 Minutes" and then later both struggled to stay awake during a PBS "Masterpiece Mystery."

This List Makes Me Tired!

As I took a quick shower this evening, I found myself wondering how I could have been so productive and busy this weekend while still ending Sunday feeling unsatisfied with what I'd accomplished.
I guess it comes down to making a list too long to finish.
What I accomplished:
Talked with Wendy on Skype Saturday and with each of our children this afternoon: a combination of between 3 and 4 hours catching up with some of the people we love most in the world.
Officially celebrated my birthday with dinner out at Trio's Bistro Friday night, using a Groupon I'd saved for the occasion. Ran by Stein Mart and bought a couple of things, one of them at a great savings with a coupon we'd received in the mail.
Welcomed and watched Jim Tompkins who brought a 2,000-pound stump grinder to our front yard Saturday morning and literally obliterated the stump to the Bradford pear that blew down last summer, almost a year ago. Dug up a clump of mums growing in front of the stump just before he arrived Saturday morning and transplanted them by the driveway by the garage door after he left.
Raked the wood-chip-dirt mixture out of the lawn and into a mound at the corner of the flower bed.
Sprayed Round-up on tree shoots had come up from the roots and got rid of quite a few of the weeds that had grown up around it.
Shopped at six different garden stores or departments for something to plant in its place. Finally settled on a four-foot dwarf Alberta spruce. Lugged it home in the front of the car along with some top soil and "Moo-nure" to amend the soil. Dug a hole in the mound and planted the tree.
Went out for Indian for supper at about 7:00 and then went with Evelyn to the grocery to divvy up the week's shopping. We weren't home till after 9:00.

Planned the Communion meditation for this morning's classic service at 8:30, where I hosted this morning.
(Mark Sullivan had an excellent sermon on Philippians 1. It was the first in a series from Philippians,
creatively titled "Paradox." Mark's sermon: "Chained but Free." He preached the sermon while presenting us with the visual aid of himself chained to his golf cart.)
Stopped at a nursery after church and bought a yellow Knockout rose bush to fill a hole behind the deck.
Planned the worship service for next Sunday morning; I'm leading the classic praise service for Dave Lautzenheiser, who will be on vacation next Sunday.
Paid bills and wrote our monthly donation checks.
Folded and put away some of my winter clothes and brought upstairs all my stored-away summer clothes. But they're not arranged in the closet well enough yet.
Mowed and raked grass in a little more than half the yard this afternoon, after talking with both of the kids on the phone. Trimmed down the winter-dead liriope beside the driveway. Raked up the mess I made. (Evelyn finished the mowing by cutting grass in the front yard.)
Packed my lunch for tomorrow.
Enjoyed "60 Minutes" and grilled cheese and bacon on rye sandwiches with Evelyn for supper.
It's helpful to see it all in print. I guess I don't need to feel guilty for not having accomplished anything this weekend! But, both at work and here at home, I have quite a long list of tasks that must be accomplished this week, and in the 2-1/2 weeks before we go on our 2-week vacation, departing May 31.

A Wonderful Weekend

Friday was my birthday, but we decided to cut grass instead of going out for a big dinner! Afterwards we went to the Raja India restaurant in West Chester and had a wonderful meal.
Saturday morning I was up early to get the oil changed. Then I met Dave Lautzenheiser for breakfast (he treated--at First Watch) before driving to the new Natorp's Garden Center on Snider Road. They have 3-1/2 acres under roof, resplendent with perennials, rose bushes, blooming annuals, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and herbs and more, much more. We spent at least 90 minutes there oooing and ahhhing over the beautiful, bountiful displays. Checked out some bushes and trees outside too. I didn't buy anything Saturday, but I will be back!
Evelyn and I rode to Indianapolis about 2:30  to join a family-and-friends celebration of Peggy Sweeney's 60th birthday. Peggy is our daughter-in-law's mom; she and her husband, Ed, have been friends almost since the time Geoff and Lisa started dating. We've been with them on family vacations at least twice, and they hosted us at their time share in Hawaii once; and we've been with them unnumbered other times for family gatherings: recitals, weddings, and other times.

Shannon and Lisa ALMOST got
through their sweet tribute to their
mom without crying!

Lisa and her sister, Shannon, and Ed planned a surprise birthday party for Peggy and invited us and the Webers, who have become mutual friends, and Shannon's in-laws, and two dear friends of the Sweeneys from Taylor University.
We were waiting for them at a private room at the Meridian Restaurant in Indy when Geoff and Lisa ushered Ed and Peggy upstairs. I think Peggy really was surprised, which was the first delight of a wonderful evening.
 The food was remarkable. The laughter and fellowship was special. The testimonies offered by Lisa and Shannon and Ed were tender as well as funny. And all of us around the table offered tributes to Peggy. (I even wrote new words to an old tune: "P is for how pleased we are to know you; E is for your energy--you glow! G is for the giggles we've shared with you. Gee, we've had such fun together on the road. Y is for the youthful way you've lived dear: hiking, biking, boating--you have done it all. Put them all together, they spell Peg-gy. Happy birthday, we think you're a doll!")

After dinner we adjourned to Shannon and Craig's house for more visiting, coffee, and a mini birthday cake for me! (Yesterday was the third anniversary of MY 60th birthday!)

Shannon and Craig Lewis's house was the perfect place for picture-taking!

Evelyn, Peggy, and Verna catch up

Lisa, Geoff, and Bill stopped to pose in the middle of a serious conversation.

Larry and Betsy Lewis, Shannon and Craig Lewis . . . and Binkley!

The Sweeney girls, with their handsome husbands and wonderful parents.

We stayed overnight with Bill and Verna, and then the Webers and we and almost the whole party from the night before met at the church where Shannon is events coordinator: College Park Church on the north side of Indy. It was an inspiring worship service, wonderful in every way.

Shannon gave us a tour of the large building, and then the Sweeneys, Shannon and Craig, Geoff and Lisa, and we drove to Taylor Creamery for a superb brunch. The restaurant is tucked into one corner of a huge, working farm. The food is organic and fresh. The time together was as special as the whole weekend had been. Lisa showed me some tricks for using my new camera. 

Two fine and fine-looking people!

We stopped by the little dairy store that's a part of the complex, and then stood in the parking lot and visited for another 30 minutes probably. We were on our way home by 2:00 and arrived here by about 4:00. Just the right amount of time to rest a bit, gear up for the week ahead, and have a nice, long phone visit with Jennifer. We ate popcorn and split my mini birthday cake while we watched an On Demand episode of "Elementary."

The Blossoms in Our Backyard

The crabtree behind our house is blooming beautifully, but very few are seeing it. I decided to snap some pictures of it, as well as the lilac blossoms that are getting ready to pop.

Evelyn mowed the front yard to make it match the height of the backyard. I've already lost track of how many times we've mowed this year, and it's not May yet. We're enjoying the green, though. I'll be bemoaning the dry weather sometime in July or August, so it shows no wisdom to complain now. 

Wednesday Through Saturday

Let me catch up on highlights of the last few days.
Wednesday we went to the Aronoff to see the touring company of War Horse. We had decided to see Trip to Bountiful instead of War Horse because War Horse, like most productions at the Aronoff, was so expensive. But then, after we had committed to the Playhouse play, I got an e-mail offering a "family pack" of tickets to select performances of War Horse—four tickets for only $100. I couldn't resist. I emailed Evelyn and Dave Ray and asked if we and the Rays would be free on one of the available times, and we picked Wednesday, April 3.
The play was remarkable. They did so many creative things on stage, with several life-size puppets, not just the horse of the title. We enjoyed it.
But as we were driving home at 11:30 on the night before my 6 a.m. Bible study the next day, I realized I was paying a price beyond dollars to have this experience.
The highlight Thursday was taking a break to go to a small recording booth at the Fox Broadcasting

Plaza, not far from downtown. A Christian radio station operates on one floor on one side of the building, and I had been asked to go there to record a 60-second promo for two Standard books by Beth Guckenberger. I enjoyed it, and it was really nice to have the break after the short night before.
"You've got a nice set of pipes," the guy pushing the buttons said to me. "Seems to me you've wasted a good voice on a career in print!" It's nice to think about the possibility of a back-up plan.
Friday night Evelyn and I had a nice evening: dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (used a gift certificate from Christmas) and then went to Pearle Vision to spend our Flex money on a couple of pairs of glasses for Evelyn.
Today I woke up early (by 7:00). We had some breakfast. I prepared for hosting at the 8:30 Chapel service and checked the checkbook. We Skyped with Wendy and then I spent some time thinking about hymns to sing during our gathering times on our cruise this summer. (I promised to have song sheets ready by April 15.)
We ate Easter leftovers for lunch and then took our walk. (Almost 60 degrees by the time we were outside.) Then I cut down the dead pine tree in the backyard and went to Lowe's to buy 8 bags of soil to cover up the stump (and maybe do some landscaping later this spring). I hauled the 8 40-pound bags to the back and spread 'em around on the bed and did some other clean-up in one of the perennial beds. I also took some time to plant some lettuce seeds in a window box on the deck. Then I took my shower and settled into the recliner in the living room to skim Time and take a nap.
Evelyn fixed our favorite salmon recipe for dinner, and I spent time afterwards getting acquainted with my birthday present. I bought myself a new camera. Found a deal on Amazon this week that I couldn't resist. When it was all over I got this for slightly over half price. Now I have to learn how to use it.
Here are a few pictures I took this evening while I was experimenting. Probably more tomorrow.

It's Winter, but Spring Is Coming!

"Well, Cincinnati is beautiful in the spring and the autumn, but we have so many gray days in the winter." I made the remark during a visit with an old friend, Jack Reese, who teaches at Abilene Christian University and was in town doing some research for his sabbatical project. He had called and we ate breakfast together at First Watch in Kenwood. It was blowing and cold as I arrived at the restaurant at 7:30 and left at 9:00. Still windy and chilly when I arrived home this evening after my haircut after work. But at least the sun was shining. So I decided to snap this picture of the daffodils poking through the mulch under a pear tree in my backyard. I was on the phone today with a friend in Johnson City, Tennessee, who said the daffodils are blooming in her yard. Not so in mine, which is fine with me, since it's supposed to get down to 26 degrees tonight with a high tomorrow well below 40. As I remarked to Peggy, my haircutter, this evening, "Well, I'm getting a lot of good out of my sweaters!" Yep, I've set out a wool sweater and corduroys to wear tomorrow!

A Simple Saturday

Paid bills. Skyped with Wendy (she's doing well!). Spent some time reviewing memory on my lines for a little musical review some people are doing Tuesday night for Evergreen. I'm the narrator of sorts. This is the same program for which I narrated with the Ambassadors choir last year.
Sorted through all my receipts, W-9's, and other papers I need for my taxes and got that information all tabulated and ready to take to the guy who does my taxes. Helped Evelyn put away the winter decorations in the living room and put out some spring things.
Took a walk with Evelyn to the park. It was chilly, but not cold and the walk in the bright, warm sun was wonderful. Decided to tackle an outdoors project while it was so pretty.
A rose bush behind the house needed to be pruned. Every time we've had a windy night this winter, it has been rubbing against the bedroom window, which has been a problem to Evelyn when I've been out of town.

So I whacked away on it and ended up cutting off more than was left when I was through.
I decided to take a picture of the bush so I can show some more when it starts branching out and blooming this spring and summer.
After our showers, Evelyn and I decided to use a gift card to Cracker Barrel for supper, and I had their Saturday special, chicken and rice. It was really good!
Went to the grocery store after that, and then Evelyn and I watched an old "Elementary" we hadn't seen. A simple Saturday. A good day. I was glad for the projects (the taxes and the rose bush) I got done.

Just 10 Hours

What can you do in 10 hours?
If I ever had 10 hours straight to work in the yard, I could mow the grass, do the edging, trim the bushes, clean the gutters, get rid of weeds, sweep the walks, and enjoy several breaks for big glasses of cold water.
At work I could proofread one whole 68-page issue of the Christian Standard in its new monthly format, proofread one weekly issue of The Lookout, enjoy a lunch out of the office with a colleague, handle some correspondence, and waste some time checking Facebook.
In 10 hours I could pull out and test the Christmas lights, go to the store to replace the strands not working, string 'em around the bushes in my front yard, come back inside to unpack and assemble our prelit living room tree, hang the ornaments, and take a few breaks to find my favorite Christmas CD's to enjoy while I'm decorating.

Obviously, I didn't drive every minute.
I couldn't resist playing with the camera
on my computer while Evelyn was driving.

In 10 hours I could drive to the airport, check bags, go through security, and fly to Europe with time to spare.

And in 10 hours, or maybe a little more, I can drive from 7056 Darcie Drive in Liberty Township, Ohio to the Brick Hotel in Newtown, Pennsylvania, having stopped three times: once for gas, once for a late lunch at Eat 'n Park, and once more to visit the restroom and snag a tall decaf mocha at a Service Plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

We had a good trip yesterday. Left exactly at 9:00 a.m. as planned. Enjoyed perfect weather (off and on sunshine and clouds and 50+ degrees), reasonable traffic except for one stretch on I-276 toward the end of the trip, and a nice assortment of classical music and NPR news on the radio, mixed with two editions of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" I had downloaded to my computer from iTunes.

We checked in to the hotel and then got to Jen and Matt's by about 8:00 for a nice visit along with pumpkin cheesecake and decaf. We oooed and ahhhed over their latest round of renovations (a professional tile job on the kitchen floor by Matt, the amateur, and an amateur paint job in the living room and dining room by some workmen, the professionals) and visited till past 11:00.

This morning we're taking our time with showers, breakfast at the hotel, catching up on e-mails and some other work, and hopefully browsing the little shops in Newtown before heading over to Jen's by noon or so to run errands, start cooking for tomorrow, and enjoy more relaxing and reading.

Ten hours is a small investment for the chance to enjoy time with our family (Geoff and Lisa will be here tomorrow!). 

Getting Ready for Winter . . . and for the Storm

Went outside before 2:00 to work in the yard and didn't come back in till almost 6:00. Mowed the grass, edged, trimmed, pulled up the tomato plants, emptied flower pots, took up one of the outside hoses, and Evelyn and I got all the furniture and the grill off the deck. The temperature on our front porch registered 49 degrees  when I went outside, and there was a gusty breeze to make the temperature feel even colder. I pushed "shuffle" on my iPod, and the Christmas carols that came up seemed appropriate! Didn't get everything cleaned up and put away; decided to leave some of the flowers on the deck and front porch, because they're still blooming! But I got a bunch done, and it felt like more than four hours on my aching back when I got inside. That hot shower felt good.
Evelyn raked leaves while I was outside and then came inside to make some wonderful vegetable soup. We had some for supper and we're saving the rest for Halloween. The plan is to have the Webers come celebrate with us and take two little girls trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. The weather report is for chilly with showers, so I hope that doesn't wash out our plan.
Both Jennifer and Geoff called during the evening. They're waiting for Hurricane Sandy to hit right between Philly where Jen is and NY where Geoff is. Things should be pretty crazy by sometime tomorrow or tomorrow evening, a great chance for power outages as well heavy rains and flooding. Geoff and Lisa live about one or two blocks from the mandatory evacuation zone in their neighborhood. They seem to be as prepared as they can be, and it was good to talk with them this evening.

Saturday at Home

It's the first Saturday at home alone for us in several weeks, and we've enjoyed it. A typical low-key day, but it's nice to have one of those, at least every so often. It's the last one for awhile. Next Saturday our good friends Byron and Katie Cartwright will be with us, and we'll be having fun together. The next Saturday I'm at the Stone-Campbell Dialogue in Dallas, Texas (and Jennifer will be here between trips enjoying herself with Evelyn). The next Saturday is the Missionary Convention, I mean ICOM, and after that Thanksgiving!
So . . . a weekend at home was definitely in order.
We ate breakfast out this morning, which we almost never do on a Saturday. It started like this: Evelyn was going to bake some cinnamon biscuits for us, but then she realized she was out of butter. And then she remembered she had credit for two "sweets" (cookie or muffin or cinnamon roll, etc) on her Panera frequent buyer card. "Want to go over there for breakfast?" "Sure, let's have an adventure." (You know  you're old when a trip to Panera is an adventure!)
Well, I drove in the direction of the Panera at Union Centre Blvd.; I'm not sure why, because the Panera at Voice of America is certainly closer. But when we got over there, I said, "Hey, we haven't been to Original Pancake House in quite awhile."
"Drive by and see if there's a line."
There wasn't--at 8:45 when we showed up. So we figured we can use the Panera card another time, and we indulged ourselves in their wonderful almond cinnamon French toast, which I can't remember ever seeing on anyone else's menu.
We came home and Skyped with Wendy Wagoner while I cut up apples for applesauce and Evelyn did a few other tasks, all while we kept up the conversation with Wendy.
I spent more time than was probably necessary finishing preparations for my Sunday school lesson tomorrow ("Attractional Vs. Missional") and practicing music to play during Communion in the blended service.
We grabbed some lunch (I made a salad with the first of the fall lettuce patch growing on the deck, and sliced one of the last tomatoes from our garden), I finished my Sunday-morning preparations, and then I went to the grocery store. (Stocked up on candy and apple cider for Halloween Wednesday night.)
By that time it was almost 6:00. I read in the book I'm supposed to finish for the Dallas retreat while Evelyn took her walk, and then took a shower after Evelyn while she fixed supper.
We watched the Weather Channel while we ate supper. This is not a sign of our dotage but of our concern for Hurricane Sandy, which is forecasted to come ashore with damaging winds and rain squarely between the Johnsons in Philly and the Taylors in New York. The height of the storm is supposed to be Monday night. Evelyn texted the kids today, and Geoff said they were stocking up on gallons of water and canned goods. I think it's going to be a challenging week for our East Coast kin.

We had grilled pork chops and StoveTop stuffing for
supper to go with the applesauce we made in the Crock Pot today.
The apples came from NorthCarolina.

A Beautiful Wednesday

Today was beautiful, with a high temperature in the mid-70s and bright sunshine. It gave me a great chance to chronicle the progress of the sugar maple in the back yard--all red now. They're predicting rain and probably some wind the next day or two, so Evelyn thinks we'll be raking Saturday. We'll see. I found some leaf lettuce seeds a few weeks ago and decided to try a fall crop in a flower box on my deck. It has sprouted nicely. We'll see if the hard freeze holds off long enough for us to get a salad!

Spent a lot of today debriefing yesterday's budget meetings. Met with The Lookout folks and our marketing manager and web guy about The Lookout's new web site that went live for the first time today. Did my part on our weekly e-newsletter and wrote a draft of my column that goes live tomorrow (better than writing it tomorrow, don't you think?).
Tomorrow I need to do some planning, manuscript reading, and assigning. I need a big block of time to give to that, and I believe I'll have it tomorrow. I'll let you know.
Previewed the video we'll watch in our men's Bible study tomorrow morning ("The Truth Project," 2nd half of Lesson 2) and visited with Jennifer on the phone till she had to go help Nina with her homework.

The Production Continues

The November issue of Christian Standard has been printed; copies should be in the mail now. The boxes of samples arrived Friday, and my copies were waiting for me when I got in the office this morning. Doug Priest, one of our contributing editors and the leader of Christian Missionary Fellowship, Inc., helped assemble the articles, and much of the photography, including these two wonderful shots, were supplied by missionaries and missions agencies. We'll be distributing samples of this issue at the International Conference on Missions in November, and we're pretty pleased with what this one contains.
Even after just one day out of the office, there was catching up to do today--mainly correspondence to handle. Today is the deadline for most of the copy for our January issue, so, thankfully, a lot of the material was coming in via e-mail throughout the day.
I spent some time looking over the Magazines budget for 2013. I'm "on call" to come defend the budget  sometime tomorrow.
Evelyn mowed most of the yard before supper this evening. She saved just a little (most of the front) for me to do. After I mowed I put down some grass seed in a couple of bare spots, threw away some plants that are done for the summer, and picked tomatoes. Yes, for the record, on October 15 we are still getting ripe tomatoes from the garden. (The skins on some of 'em are pretty thick, but Evelyn was able to salvage enough of one to liven up our salad for supper.) It's supposed to be cold tonight, down to 39 degrees. I'm thinking temperatures like those may be contributing to the thick skins on these tomatoes. If it doesn't freeze this week, though, we should have several more ripe by the weekend.

The Cleaning Clerk and the Begonias

"The price is $36.84."
The teenager at One Hour Martinizing read the tab to me.
"Well, I have this Groupon. So I'll pay what's left after you deduct this."
She punched keys on the computer/cash register. "OK, so that's $29.15."
"No, the Groupon is for $20."
"Well, it says here, the Groupon is for $10 after expiration."
"Right, but it hasn't expired yet. $20 off."
"Oh, I'm still learning how to do Groupons," she apologized. She punched more keys on the cash register. "That's $19.95," she announced.
"No the Groupon is for $20 off," I said.
She returned to the keypad. "$10.15!" she reported.
"$36 minus $20 is $16," I reminded her. She stared at the mess she'd made with all the numbers she had entered and punched a few more keys. The machine produced a receipt. "$15.50," she said.
I smiled, handed her a $20 bill, and wished I'd stopped at $10.15.
Not the most significant part of the day, but probably the most memorable. At work we had another art meeting for December, I handled a bunch of correspondence, tied up some loose ends on our December issue, had a good conversation with Matt Procter about NACC articles for Christian Standard and his idea that we offer student subscriptions of CS to Christian college students, prepared for a couple of meetings tomorrow.
This evening watched the Reds lose their second of four games to the Giants and previewed the Truth Project tape our men's group will watch tomorrow morning.
They're predicting a 32-degree overnight low, just as the begonias in front of the house look their prettiest. I decided to take a couple pictures of them before they freeze.

Still Growing, Still Mowing

Yesterday was gray and cold. Today was sunny and a few degrees warmer, so we mowed grass after work before supper. Actually, Evelyn mowed most of it. I finished up when I got home and then trimmed and swept. The afternoon was sunny and bright, but at 50-plus degrees, we were mowing in sweatshirts.
Evelyn put supper together while I was finishing up outside. She had made a new soup recipe yesterday: pasta bean soup. It was great. We had it with a salad that used the last of our cherry tomatoes with some mozzarella I had bought on a whim at Fresh Market Saturday. I grabbed some flowers from the backyard before I came in. They're saying frost warning tonight, but I figure it won't come. (They usually warn several times before it actually happens.) But if this is the last bouquet of the summer, we'll enjoy it.
I know this was just another Monday. But when it's possible, it's refreshing to make meal time a special time, and tonight's was.

A Full Day, an Attractive Deck

Spent the day at my desk, crossing off items that must be finished before I leave town tomorrow afternoon. Got quite a bit done! Wrote my column that will be posted Thursday at ChristianStandard.com. Prepared copy for the Christian Standard e-newsletter that will go out tomorrow or Thursday. Looked at the first proof for our November issue and worked on pagination and some layout tweaks with our managing editor, Jim Nieman. Handled details for the trip: downloaded Mapquest directions for the driving around I'll be doing Friday thru Sunday; checked in with Delta and printed my boarding pass. Did a bit of assigning for an upcoming issue.
Got my haircut after work, and Evelyn and I enjoyed chicken salad leftover from the weekend for supper.
Decided to snap a picture or two of the flowers on our deck. They won't be with us much longer. There has been some frost around here already. I was pruning and feeding the flowering plants, urging them to bloom some more, especially before our company came last weekend. The blooms are not as abundant as in July, but the plants are quite healthy, and the display is still pretty.
One thing about a garden in pots is this: when something starts doing poorly, you can just hide it or remove it. When something that looked puny finally takes off, it can move to center stage. I've enjoyed arranging and rearranging them throughout the summer to give us a pretty view out our breakfast-table window.
But when the frost comes, I won't be sad that I don't have to water any more!
Watering won't be a problem when I'm gone this week, because rain is predicted almost every day for the rest of the week. Maybe some of that grass seed the lawn service put down will sprout!