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.

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.

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!

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.

Make-Up Monday

Yeah, we've all heard about Throw Back Thursdays. Well, I decided I'd have a couple of "make-up Mondays" to share pictures I took without ever writing the blog post.
Today's Make-Up Monday reports on Easter weekend, April 18-20.
Good Friday began with visits from workmen. One was repairing the hallway and ceiling damaged by

the ice dam in February. Another was here to deal with the big, black ants we'd been finding on the dining room window sill every day for a week or two. The hallway workman didn't get the job finished yet. The exterminator spread lethal chemicals inside and outside all around the house, handed us a bill (a fairly big bill) and left offering us long-term protection for $100 per quarter if we were interested. I don't think we are.
That evening we ate dinner at Raja India with our new neighbors John and Nina Creech, a delightful couple. When we took a coffee cake down to welcome them to the neighborhood, we discovered they had lived in Clifton and they love Indian. So we suggested we enjoy it together. I hope we get to spend time with them again.
Saturday was typically full of errands and grocery shopping. That evening we watched a video from Redbox, Philomena, and we were really glad we did. A gripping story, great acting, lots to talk about.

 Sunday, Easter Sunday, we went to the 12:00 service. It was the fourth service of the morning, and the church asked regulars to attend late to make room for the crowds at the earlier services. We met Terry and Shirley and Brandon Wuske there, and they came to our place for Easter dinner afterwards.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we took a walk to the park after dinner before dessert, and then ate our Easter angel food cake on the deck. Shirley brought the dessert, specially decorated for the day! 

This Weekend, and Last

The road to blog oblivion is paved with good intentions. I have pictures for my blog, but I haven't been

Isn't this a beautiful pie Cindi made for us?

posting them or writing descriptions. Here's a little make-up with a rundown of last weekend and this weekend.
Last Friday we planned to go the Reds game; they were promoting a special buy-four ticket offer in addition to Friday night fireworks. But when we got closer to the day and realized we'd be sitting in about 55 degrees with a breeze, we decided we weren't that big of fans.
We had the plans with Dan and Cindi Cooper, but Cindi offered to bring dinner to our place, and Evelyn and she decided we'd rent Captain Phillips, the Tom Hanks movie about the ship boarded by pirates off the Somali coast. We had seen it at the theater, but the Coopers hadn't, and we were game to see it again.
Cindi brought a wonderful homemade chicken pot pie and a tasty apple salad, and Evelyn bought some Graeter's to go with her homemade cookies (peanut butter with mini Reese's cups melted inside).
What a nice evening, and I enjoyed the movie as much the second time a the first!
Saturday I got up early to get a haircut at 8:30, and then we met Bill and Verna Weber at 10:45 for brunch at Bob Evans. (They were in town celebrating Ruby Weber's birthday with Donovan and Jocelyn and Nora.) From there we drove to Hamersville, Ohio where we attended the memorial service for Tom Friskney at the Church of Christ there.
Mr. Friskney had been our professor at CBS in undergraduate school. I learned much of what I know about page layout from the yearbook class he led and I attended three semesters. His son Paul was Evelyn's supervisor and colleague all the years she taught English, and we're friends with Paul and his wife, Sev. It was a wonderful service. Jon Weatherly's tribute, as so often happens at funerals, taught us aspects of Professor Friskney's life we hadn't known and challenged us with his qualities that we had known but might have forgotten.
The Hamersville church building was packed (we stood at the back); at least half of the congregation were Hamersville locals who had known the Friskneys through the decades they've lived there. Perhaps the most memorable part of the service was the singing: "Wonderful Grace of Jesus" and Mr. Friskney's favorite hymn, "I Know Whom I Have Believed." The room reverberated with the voices of the enthusiastic singers. It's been awhile since I've been in congregational singing like that; it was thrilling.

 Saturday night we fired up the grill for the first time this year: chicken and vegetables, so good.

Sunday morning I heard the same sermon twice; Mark Sullivan preached it in the first service in the

Mark Sullivan preaching in the 9:00 service.

auditorium, and Trevor preached in the Classic service at 10:30. I was hosting there and chose to attend that whole service too. The message centering on the tragic lives of Rehoboam and Jeroboam told the story of the division of the kingdom of Israel. One quote to remember, referring to the effects of Solomon's sin toward the end of his life: "We make decisions, and those decisions turn around and make us."
This weekend on Friday we tried to eat dinner at Dewey's in West Chester, but by the time we got there at 6:10, they were already standing outside waiting to get a seat. So we slipped over to Friday's and had a nice meal splitting a side salad and sharing three small appetizers. We drove up to the outlet mall one exit north on 75 to pick up at item Evelyn needs and then back down to Kohl's to spend Kohl's cash, a $5 reward coupon, and to use a 20% discount coupon. We bought a couple of picture frames, and believe it or not, even with all those discounts, we still owed a little money.
Saturday was rainy much of the day. I paid bills and managed finances in the morning and then went to

the grocery store. Later in the afternoon, when the skies cleared, I drove to Home Depot for mulch and some bags of top soil (it was about the third trunkful of the week) and came home to spread the top soil and trim one of our hydrangea bushes before coming in to take a shower. I grilled a second time, a variation on the chicken and vegetables theme. This time the meat had a fajita marinade, and we ate it in soft tacos with grilled peppers and onions. It was very good!
Terry and Shirley arrived at our place about 8:30 to spend the night. They'd been on vacation all week at the Tulip Festival in Holland, Michigan (all their stories and descriptions and pictures made me want to go some year!). They brought us a pie they'd bought at a bakery up there: chocolate pecan. Oh my goodness!
We all rode to church together this morning (Trevor's challenging sermon to put our "issue" on the altar

and pray for God to consume it like he did with Elijah's offering), and then returned home to enjoy Mother's Day brunch together. I had said I would cook, but the longer Evelyn and I talked about it, the more we decided she should fix her favorite Amish Breakfast Casserole and her wonderful cinnamon biscuits. I made the fruit salad and poured the orange juice!
Terry and Shirley left early in the afternoon, and I spent much of the rest of the day spreading mulch in the courtyard in front of the house. Jennifer called in the middle of the work, which gave me a welcome break, and later I drove to Home Depot since I was about one bag short for completing that section. I got another trunkful (8 bags), which should take me around the side of the house whenever I get to that.
I took a shower and Evelyn made nachos for supper--we were still pretty full from lunch! Geoff called while we were eating. It's always a good day when we get to talk to both of the kids.
Two good weekends, too good to forget, which is why I wanted to make these notes while I could grab the moments to do so.

The tulips I planted in this pot last fall made a beautiful display on our deck this week.

A Different Sunday, a Good Sunday

Several things about the day were usual:
• Evelyn and I were at church a little after 8:30 to do our fourth-Sunday stint at the Welcome Center.
•  We attended the 9:00 service and heard an excellent sermon based on the era of the Old Testament Judges, based on that chapter in The Story. Trevor DeVage did an excellent job of summarizing 330 years of history and challenging us with the cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance that characterized the behavior of the Israelite nation at that time.

But more things about the day were unusual.
• We sat during the second service with our friend Alan Guttman who's been coming to my Thursday men's Bible study for years and  Sunday-morning church for weeks.
• After 2nd service we ran to the VA hospital emergency room on Vine Street after receiving a text from Shirley Wuske saying they didn't come to church because Terry decided to go to the hospital with chest pains. We got there just in time to visit and joke with them before he was discharged. (They decided it was just muscle pain, not a heart problem.)
(We had gone through the drive-in lane at Wendy's and grabbed fish sandwiches on the way to the hospital.)
• Then we left the hospital and drove to Eden Park in plenty of time to see the 2:00 performance of Pride and Prejudice at Playhouse in the Park.
It was excellent! We had bought tickets with the gift certificate Evelyn's colleagues gave her as a going-away gift when she retired from full-time teaching last spring. This play was her choice from the current season, and I was glad to go with what she wanted.
We had good seats and thoroughly enjoyed the production.

This beautiful setting was used in many creative ways to contain the various scenes of the play. These
two butlers lit the candles on this chandelier in the 2 minutes before the play began.

After the play we used a Living Social coupon to grab some dinner at Mount Adams Bar and Grill. I had their bean burrito, and Evelyn enjoyed the chef salad. Then we split a piece of Graeter's fudge cake with ice cream for dessert.
We were home in time to relax in front of 60 Minutes and some other TV, along with catching up on Facebook and then getting ready for the work week just ahead of us.

Fresh Flowers and Good Friends on a Snowy, Cold Day

Pictures of the Day:
Isn't it nice what $3.99 at Kroger's will get you when you'd like a breath of fresh for your dining room table when you're having friends for supper?
Terry and Shirley Wuske came tonight and helped us eat some of the wonderful treats in the carton of Omaha Steaks goodies Ken and Susan sent us for Christmas (they've been in the freezer since then). (The steaks, I mean. Not Ken and Susan.)

Quote of the Day:
I couldn't stop till I got all the way to the bottom.
—Shirley Wuske, describing her attempt at skiing, with a remark that made us think of so many other situations in life!

Happy Birthday, Evelyn!

We've been celebrating Evelyn's birthday since Wednesday night when the Coopers came for dinner and brought a gift for Evelyn and a candle for the chocolate chip cookies!

This morning we met Terry and Shirley at Half Day Cafe in Wyoming for a wonderful brunch.

Bill and Verna Weber are here tonight. Verna's been attending a conference in Cincinnati, and needs to go to Louisville for the NACC meeting Monday, so she's staying the weekend. We said, "Well, Bill should come over Saturday night, too, and we'll celebrate Evelyn's birthday." We've had a wonderful evening. They took us to dinner at Raja India in West Chester, and then we came home to have birthday cheesecake (from J. Annette's in Mason) and lots of laughs as well as serious talk about faith, the past, and the future. It's been great!

Weekends Are Made for This . . .

• Eating out (at a new Mexican place, Blue Agave beside LaRosa's in Tri-County for supper last night, [new for us, that is] and Bronte Bistro at Joseph-Beth Bookstore for brunch today).
• Running errands: Visits to Costco, Home Depot, Lowe's, the Apple Store, Staple's, and of course my favorite, Kroger's.
• Good times with friends: the Wuskes last night and Bill and Verna Weber and Paul and Sev Friskney today at brunch.
• Doing stuff we love: After Costco last night we picked up the Wuskes and drove to Newport on the Levee to hang out and see the fireworks after the Reds game. We stumbled into a big Oktoberfest celebration on the river bank below the stores at the Levee. We'd already eaten, so we passed up the goetta balls, brats with sauerkraut, and funnel cakes (although that last one really tempted me).
• Doing something on a lark: In addition to trying the Mexican restaurant when we'd really driven over there to eat at LaRosa's, we and the Wuskes decided to try the giant ferris wheel set up at the edge of Oktoberfest. It was a beautiful evening to see all the lights at the riverfront and feel the cool breeze.
• Laughing: with the Wuskes, and always with Sev Friskney and Verna Weber. The Webers, Friskneys, and Taylors used to get together every six weeks or so, but we hadn't been together since before school was out last spring. It was great to reconnect. And laugh. We sat at Bronte for at least 2 hours together.

On the way home, Evelyn and I decided just to stop at the Apple store and see what they're saying about iPhone 5s availability. The guy said a) they're getting new stock every evening, b) the online "order and pick up at the store" option had been disabled; maybe it would be reinstated this week, and c) if you show up at the store when they open, at 10 a.m. weekdays and Saturday, you'll have a pretty good chance of getting the phone you want. That's encouraging, because I thought with the hot interest in the new iPhones (9 million sold in the first weekend), maybe they'd be out of stock till next month or something. Also discouraging, though, because taking two hours on a work morning to drive down there, wait in line, and get the phones set up before driving back to work is almost impossible. We're thinking we'll be there when the store opens NEXT Saturday.

Weekend Update

Friday night we went to see A Strange Brand of Happy, Joe Boyd's new movie, with Terry and Shirley Wuske and enjoyed dinner with them at Red Robin afterwards.

Our granddaughter, Nina, decorated this pot as a Christmas
gift last year. It looks nice with a pretty yellow mum
to decorate our deck this autumn.

Saturday morning I cut grass, trimmed bushes, edged the front lawn, watered, fed, and rearranged flower pots, and made a bouquet of zinnias for the kitchen table.
I took my shower at noon and was dressed just in time to help Evelyn finish up lunch for Byron and Katie Cartwright,
who were in town for a conference last week at CCU. They arrived about 1 and spent overnight with us. We laughed, ate, talked, and thoroughly enjoyed catching up with them. They took us to dinner at Wild Ginger in Hyde Park Saturday night, and we capped off the evening with ice cream at Graeter's (on Hyde Park Square). The evening was cool, and we were almost shivering as we finished off our ice cream outside and hurried back to the car.
I was "hosting" in both chapel services Sunday morning, and Evelyn attended the 9:00 service in the worship center. So we met at Panera's for lunch. As soon as I was home and had changed clothes, I started on a list of more yard work. Finished trimming the bushes in front of the house, mowed down the fading patch of black-eyed Susans, watered plants again, and repotted some maroon shamrocks that had gotten water-logged and wilty on the deck. Then a trip to the store before chicken tacos while we watched the evening news.
It was a full weekend, remarkably productive while also making time for lifelong friends and meaningful worship. The beautiful sunshine, dry air, and cool temperatures just added to the blessing of it all.

Weekend Update

This daily diary is turning into a weekly (or less) update! Let me record our activities at least for last weekend.
Friday Evelyn and I went to Relish Modern Tapas for a wonderful supper. We tried a couple of their larger portions, main dishes (she the fish tacos, I the salmon) along with hummus and pita bread and later some lettuce wraps filled with quinoa salad. Very yummy, and different from the usual and mainstream. Then we hopped across the street to the Regal Cinemas to see Lee Daniels' the Butler. Our verdict: the acting was superb, especially by Oprah and Forrest Whitaker, despite the much-publicized departures from actual history. We enjoyed it.
Saturday I was at the BMV at 8:05 to get new plates for my car. I stood in four lines throughout the morning and was finally out of there by sometime after 10:00. Line one: to pay the sales tax and transfer the title. But that can't be done until the folks next door do a VIN check. Line two: Grab my number out of the machine--I was 31, and they were serving number 2--sit and read the newspaper till I'm called to do my VIN check. Line 3: take the VIN check form back to the title transfer lady, pay the sales taxes (the second largest check I've written this year), and get my Ohio Title. Line 4: go to the Returning Customers counter where I am called ahead of all the people in the room with numbers and escorted to the counter where I can buy new plates.
I stopped to buy two new tires for the car (the rear tires were waffled and wobbly-sounding) and had just enough time to stop at Auto Zone to buy bolts to attach the plates to the front (I bought the car in Kentucky, where they don't require front plates) and browse the garden section at Wal-Mart.
Then off to lunch with Dave Faust to brainstorm with him some ideas for replacing Shawn McMullen who plans to leave the editorship of The Lookout to become senior minister at Lifespring Christian Church.
I paid bills and cleaned out a drawer in the afternoon after I finally got home. (Dave and I enjoyed a LONG lunch at Seasons 52, a place I definitely want to return to!) Then we had a pleasant and fun evening with Terry and Shirley Wuske at their place. They fixed a steak on the grill and we ate on their patio adjacent to their spacious, park-like backyard. Brandon was in for the day, and we enjoyed visiting with him too.
Terry drilled holes in my front bumper, and we installed my shiny, new Ohio license plates.

Sunday was worship at the 9:00 service, breakfast at Cracker Barrel, Skyping with Wendy, a trip to the grocery store followed by my daily watering, some desk work inside (wrote a draft of my column that goes live Tuesday--tomorrow--morning at ChristianStandard.com), chicken tacos and some TV in the evening. A pleasant day!

Friday Night Fireworks

Every Friday night home game, the Reds have a fine fireworks show to end the evening. It lasts almost 30 minutes, and fans sitting in the stadium have front-row seats. But anyone on the riverfront, especially in Kentucky looking at downtown, can enjoy the fireworks too. And at least once each season I like to go to Newport on the Levee and see 'em for free.
Last night was our night. We picked up Terry and Shirley Wuske after 7:30 and drove to the Levee,
walked around to see the city views from beside the Newport Aquarium, and then retreated to the balcony beside the Starbucks on the second floor of the Barnes and Noble bookstore. We bought some cookies and coffee and enjoyed the view and each other's company till the game ended and the fireworks began.
It was a beautiful evening, a nice breeze but still warm. The only distraction was a festival going on down by the river, complete with at least two sound stages and competing rock bands thumping and blaring throughout the evening. They were far away enough that we could still hear each other when we talked, but it would have been nicer without them.
It was great to catch up with Terry and Shirley, though, and to renew what has become a tradition for our summers in Cincinnati. Maybe before the season's out we'll actually get to a game--inside the park!--some Friday night!

Happy Birthday, Wuske Men!

Our dinner table was pretty in pink this evening for a birthday celebration for Terry and Brandon Wuske, whose big day was actually Tuesday this week. "Terry doesn't want a party," Shirley had told us, even this year's birthday was a BIG one for him. So we decided we'd at least have a nice dinner, which we did.
Evelyn made barbecued beef brisket, cole slaw, and green beans. I had found a new recipe for macaroni and cheese, which Evelyn helped me cook this afternoon. (We wanted some hearty choices, since Brandon is eating vegetarian now.)
A chocolate birthday cake from Kroger's ("Happy Birthday Wuske Men") completed the meal. We had a nice time laughing and talking together.
Evelyn and I started the day quietly, drinking coffee and reading newspapers. I went to the store (it was quiet, too, on a Friday morning!), we took our walk, and I piddled around outside a little. I even had time to doze a little in the armchair this afternoon before a few last-minute duties to finish getting ready for dinner.
We had a beautiful sunny day, with temperatures topping out above 50 degrees, and tomorrow's supposed to be the same. Evelyn's decided we're cutting grass!

Thoughts from a Museum (and Another Fine Sermon)

I was thinking about our outing yesterday as I was reflecting on this morning's sermon. Maybe the connection is a stretch, but, hey, it's MY diary! :-)
Yesterday we went with Shirley and Terry Wuske to the  Cincinnati Museum Center. She had snagged some free admission tickets from a stack that had been given to Ronald McDonald House (they had more than they could give to their guests). We had talked about getting together in the evening, and we decided just to start earlier to take advantage of the tickets.
We only had time to visit the Cincinnati section of the museum, and not really all of that, in the two hours we were there. We definitely want to go back.

This is a depiction of Music Hall as it existed at the turn of the century,
with a look remarkably like today's.

This is a view of downtown Cincinnati, as it appeared in the 1940s. 

We spent the most time at the first exhibit, a scale model of Cincinnati as it looked in the 1940s (I think), and then another section showing parts of the city at the turn of the century. It was great fun to see the buildings we know now that were already part of the Cincinnati scene then. And it was very interesting to see how the streets and neighborhoods have changed.
(We retired to their house after the museum closed for yummy vegetable soup and cornbread made by Shirley and a little chocolate cake brought by the Taylors from Graeter's.)
Then this morning, Trevor preached the fourth sermon in his series on names of God. El Elyon means God Most High or Sovereign God; this is the God who is in control. I've thought a lot about how regularly I seek to keep control of whatever situation I'm in. The familiar story of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego reminded us that God is in control even when the situation seems hopeless. "God will be with you in your furnace," was a new thought to me. It's a blessing and a challenge to think about.
So here's my odd (or maybe it seems terribly apparent) connection: The world around us is changing, more rapidly than most people my age would have imagined 30 or 40 years ago. Certainly the Cincinnati of today is way different from the Cincinnati depicted in the scale models in the museum. It's true we're still using some buildings already built 60 or 100 years ago. But many are used in far different ways than originally intended. Most are in neighborhoods that have changed dramatically over the decades. And the facades of our business districts give no clue to the revolution in technology and demographics that has changed every facet of American life, just in my lifetime.
But God Most High is still in control. And regardless of political changes, social upheaval, or demographic trends, he steadfastly loves us and helps us pursue his unchanging will.
It's a helpful thought to begin the week. I need to be more about seeking him than reacting to change around me, or at least responding to change with him in mind.

Happy New Year!

We were up last night till after 1:00 this morning, and I didn't muster the energy to blog before I went to bed. We had Terry and Shirley Wuske for dinner. Evelyn made chicken parmigiana with green beans, tossed salad, and spaghetti (of course!). We had Graeter's ice cream and Christmas cookies and other confections for dessert and cheeseball and dip and crackers, with hot Christmas punch, for appetizer. It was a fun evening. We played a new version of "Buzzword" that Jennifer had brought and a new game Robb Faust had recommended to me, "What's Yours Like?" Then we reconvened downstairs in front of the TV to watch the ball drop and toast in the new year.

Earlier in the day, Nina and Jen painted their toes to welcome 2013. And then Jennifer and Nina (with a little help from Miles) decorated sugar cookies, trying out the new Ninja cookie cutters Jen gave Miles for Christmas.

Matt and Miles and I made a Target run for Miles to spend a Christmas gift card. And Matt, Miles, Nina, and I played a couple games of "Sequence" before I helped Evelyn get things ready for dinner.
This morning we were up at 8:00 to see off the Johnsons for their long trip home. They got away about 9:15, and Jen texted about 7:45 this evening to say they were home. Thankfully, this was an uneventful trip, unlike the journey here!
The house was quiet and empty--full of Christmas decorations, but no more Christmas. Before long, Evelyn and I started picking up, packing up, and putting away all the Christmas decorations. I ran to the store after lunch and then took down the tree this afternoon. We always leave a few of the Christmas things out till maybe February--those that look wintery without saying Santa Claus or Jingle Bells.
I'm almost ready, mentally, to jump back into the workaday routine. Our long Christmas vacation seems this evening to have been so short. But it's full of memories.
For supper we had sauerkraut and "gourmet hot dogs" from the wonderful Omaha Steaks package Ken and Susan sent us for Christmas. They say pork and sauerkraut is good luck for the new year. I said some prayers about the challenging year ahead as I was driving alone this afternoon. Lots of possibilities. Lots of challenges.
Several days ago Jennifer posted a quote I've been thinking about as the year is beginning:
"The measure of success isn't whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it's the same one you had last year." -John Dulles
Here's a challenge to me: When you're reading this blog post at the beginning of 2014, will you still be fretting about the problems that faced you at the beginning of 2013? Now's the time to deal with those problems--so I'll be experienced and able to tackle all the NEW problems of that year!