The Weekend

Friday morning I woke up around 6:15. Adam was already up and I woke Evan up for school. The morning went smooth, the two boys co-operated with me and they got the their bus on time. Evan didn't think it was warm enough for shorts so he wore his jacket to school. The temperature high on Friday was 77; shorts were appropriate weather attire.

I went back to bed until 7:50 and woke Nathan up for school. The night before he told me to pick out a red shirt for him to wear. I forgot, but he made sure that he wore a red shirt. He needed it for the fund-raiser laps he was running at school.

The fundraiser was wonderful! Rather than having the kids sell sub sandwiches and other items that no one really needs, (the kids never win the prizes for the big sales anyway) Nathan's school received funding from corporate sponsors and the parents just had to give $45 for each child at the school. The school raised over $15,000 and there will be no more fund raisers for the year! We are all happy about that.

Part of the celebration was that the kids ran laps. Nathan ran/walked six laps which was one mile. He was really hot and thirsty. He drank one glass of water and had one ICY POP. He still wanted water. All the students went back inside for a half hour of school. I drove to the gas station, bought five gallons of gas and two bottles of water.

I went back to the school and gave Nathan a bottle of water just before dismissal. We came home with the air conditioner blasting. He was happy. That night I gave him a shower because he was going to Marcie's party on Saturday.

Saturday morning I made breakfast for Lori, scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, two pieces of toast, orange juice and coffee. As soon as I started cleaning up the dishes, Evan came upstairs and asked for a scrambled egg. It never fails. He could have asked while I was breaking the eggs, but no, he waited until breakfast was over. Nathan just wanted Peanut Butter Toast, which is a very easy breakfast to make.

Lori and the kids went to Marcie's and I stayed behind much to my Mom's and my father-in-law's surprise. No one talks to me and they only give me mean looks. Staying home made me happy. My plan was to watch the Michigan game. Yahoo sports said the game started at 7:30, but it ended then. I only caught the last few minutes and saw that Michigan won with remarkable comeback. I watched the highlights and was able to read the play by play on the game on Yahoo, which on one page said the game was still in progress.

Today, I went to church and I drove my pastor home. That was fun. I told some of my fellow council members about my meeting with Brenda. I hope they decide to let her come and talk to us in November.

Here comes Friday!

There is something about Thursday knowing that I have three days off that really motivates me. Work is like a circus a lot of excitement that doesn't go anywhere. I have to give them credit, there is a lot of creativity in the methods they invent to make parts fail testing.

I got home showered and Lori ordered and picked up Pizza Hut for dinner. Tonight was the season opener of Survivor and that means pizza night. Survivor was a two hour episode and I posted messages at Survivor Sucks. I haven't done that in at least two years.

This season Survivor looks rather entertaining. The Fang tribe is having a hard time getting their game together They voted out a very attractive woman, Michelle who thought the rest of the group was acting stupid, which they were.

It will be interesting to watch this season. Not the brightest players ever assembled.

Anyway, tomorrow is my turn to take Nathan to school and I will stop by Riley Trails again and take a walk. I am drinking cheap Chablis while hanging out downstairs with Lori. Family Guy is on. This has become our late night favorite even more than South Park.

In other news, will the "bail out" happen? Will John McCain make another appearance on Letterman? Why is America fascinated with Paris Hilton? We may never know.

Feeding Ducks and Dinner as Autumn begins.

Sunday after I came home from church around 1 pm; I stayed late to do the attendance sheets and transcribe pastor's sermon. As soon as I changed my clothes I asked the boys if they wanted to go to Timbertown and feed the ducks. I took all the old stale bread that we have been storing in the outside refrigerator. The boys were excited about feeding the ducks, they enthusiastically climbed into the Blazer and we headed out. Adam didn't want to drive because it was a short distance. Nathan wanted to feed the white duck and told Lori before he left, "I am going to feed the white duck and make sure that he gets bread to eat."

The white duck does stand out but when we got there we didn't see just one white duck, but three. Geese look like evolved dinosaurs; two of them, a male and female I suppose (are there lesbian ducks?) were hissing at me. They were standing on the grass near the pond looking mean even after I tossed bread at them. Nathan the fearless made a light charge toward all the ducks and the two geese that were on the grass and all the water foul retreated into the pond.

Surprisingly, there were many gulls there as well. Evan tossed a large piece of flat bread at one Mallard who caught it with half of it hanging out of his bill. One gull chased after that Mallard. It reminded me of the scene in Finding Nemo where the seagulls are saying "mine, mine, mine."

Nathan chased all the birds into the pond after all the bread was gone.

Monday work was grueling. That is all I want to say about it. I get frustrated with the incompetence.

I got home around 6:45 and had a meeting with Brenda from the Mission Investment Fund at 7. I called her confirmed our meeting, showered, dressed and met her at The Holiday Inn Express. I rode in her rented car to Peace Lutheran and gave her the grand tour of the building. She liked what she saw and said, "it is a lot larger in the inside than it looks on the outside." After the tour we got back into her Hertz rental and asked me where I wanted to eat. She said, "you can pick anything just don't say Apple Bee's." She used the word platitude to describe chain restaurants. It must have been the word of the day for her because she used it again that night. The funny part is she noticed it herself.

I didn't tell her the name of the restaurant, rather, I gave her directions. When saw the name of the place, Crazy Horse Steakhouse, she really lit up. Brenda's words: "this place requires a beer." Spoken like a true Lutheran.

Lori complains that money is given to support the ELCA and part those funds are used on expense accounts. To our defence, I have to say throughout the dinner we talked about Peace Lutheran and fund raising and motivating church members to give more. She had some really great ideas such as Faith Promise statements.

Dinner was delicious and we each had a Miler Lite. Brenda was impressed with the service, the quality of food and the quantity. She is coming back in November and wants to go there again.

It was a great way to start Autumn.

Summer's last day.

I woke up this morning headache free.

The alarm went off at 5:30; I asked Lori several time to turn it off and she kept hitting the snooze. Finally around 6 am I got up turned on the light on the bed stand next to her and turned off the alarm and went back to bed. My watch alarm went off at 8:25 and I slept until 8:40 and then rushed to get ready for church. Did I mention that I was headache free? This was the third day in a row of waking up headache free. I have had a headache every morning for the past four months.

I was a little rushed getting to church but I made it in time. Al, the head usher, saw me running into church and held the door for me so I could sit next to Pastor before the prelude ended. He asked me how I was, and I told him I was doing better. I told him that I am taking Prozac at night and that helps me sleep better so I wake up more refreshed.

The Kyrie, which is Greek for Lord, the shortened form of Kyrie Eleison which means Lord have mercy is one of my favorite parts of the liturgy. As the assisting minister it is my part to lead. It is usually song, but I don''t have a good singing voice and I get too frustrated. So, I spoke the leader part as a meaningful prayer.

As the service continued I felt a joyful rush flow over me. I know it came from God. When I offer the chalice to those who prefer to drink from it, I usually say their name followed by, "The Blood of Christ shed for you." Today, there were about seven people in a row who were chalice drinkers and not intinkters. Then, there was a lady who was visiting today. I did something I never had done before. I asked her, "What is your name?" She said, "Elizabeth." Then I said, "Elizabeth, the Blood of Christ shed for you." She smiled.

The service ended and I felt wonderful. I stayed late and recorded last weeks attendance and transcribed Pastor's sermon on my other blog.

I got home and asked the boys if they wanted to feed the ducks at Timbertown. They said yes and I drove them all there. It was 77 degrees and hazy on Summer's last day. After feeding the ducks, Evan and Nathan played and Adam wandered around and went back to the truck and reclined the seat as if he were taking a nap.

Evan and Nathan got hot and we came home and I cranked up the air conditioning in the Blazer.

Soon after we got back, Lori and I went shopping at Family Fare and D&W. She needed Shallots and Family Fare didn't have any. While she was preparing dinner she discovered that one Shallot was rotten so I had to go back and get another package of them.

I relaxed in the hammock and watched gulls glide over my head and squirrels gather acorns in the yard and in the trees.

Dinner was good--Grilled Lemon Chicken Fettuccine.

I am off to bed. Goodbye Summer.

Last Friday of the Summer

Today, I drove Nathan to school and passed again Riley Woods Trail. It is a scenic wooded walking and cross country skiing trails. The trails wind through natural woods and an old Pine Plantation. I have been there before, but it has been awhile.

So today as I headed for home from Nathan's school, I stopped there. It was a beautiful morning and the sun was shining on me as I walked across the footbridge over Riley Lake and headed into the woods. The trails are cleverly marked yellow, blue and red.

I walked on the yellow marked trails and then wandered over to the blue trail. They are marked with color spray paint on the trees. I got turned around twice wandered off the blue onto the red trail and got turned around again. I headed toward Riley thinking I was close to the parking lot but I came out onto Riley Road.


I didn't panic I headed back on the blue trail heading East until I saw a sign for Riley Lake and turned right and headed for the lake. I walked back into the sun and headed for the footbridge. As I approached the bridge, a Golden Retriever came running toward me. The dog belonged my friend Tom who owns Book Village; I was surprised to see him there.

It was my intention to cross the bridge from both directions, but somehow I managed to walk too far West and too far North. Tom said to me, "you must have been on the red trail." So, after he left I walked across the bridge and back again and then I drove home.

Later, I mowed the lawn, showered, shaved, and picked up Nathan. On the way home, I got gas in the truck and then went home. It was a rather peaceful day and summer is peacefully sliding into autumn. I will return to those woods again.

Labor Day

The original plan was to take the kids to a park before lunch and then to the beach after lunch. I slept in until about 10 and we didn't end up leaving for the beach until closer to 2pm. Evan and Nathan spent most of the morning watching humorous Zelda videos on You Tube.

Here in Michigan there are laws against loitering. You can be as lazy as you want to be in your own home and no one is going to arrest you unless you become public health concern. Which means you have chosen a life style that well exceeds the parameters of laziness. Anyway, you can be arrested and charged with a fine for loitering, or you can pay an entrance fee at a State Park and loiter all you want.

The people who were at Holland State Park today were very creative with their loitering styles. Some set up tent like enclosures to keep the heat of the sun off of them, most of the people were loitering under beach umbrellas, and the rest of us were lying on blankets or towels on the sand.

The sand was very hot and inflicted pain on the delicate naked feet. Although, my feet aren't delicate the sand still hurt like a, well, it hurt a lot. Lake Michigan was between 69-70 degrees colder than yesterday, but very refreshing from the hot air and sun. Adam didn't even swim but the three of us did and we had a great time.

On the way to the beach, I stopped at the Wesco station (I wish I got paid to mention Wesco) and got 5 gallons of gas, four bottles of water and three bags of snacks, one for each of the boys who picked out their own snack. I knew we were going to be there a while, and water would be essential to have. There were given a $1 limit, because money is tight here.

Adam picked out a bag of Jay's Pretzels which he pointed out to me is now owned by the Snyder's of Hanover. Evan got a bag sunflower seeds, and Nathan got Flaming Hot Cheetos.
I just got water. After we swam for a while we went back to the beach blanket. The kids ate their snacks, except for Adam who ate all his pretzels while we were waiting to get into the State Park.

While we were waiting to get in, the line of cars being quite long, I saw many cars parked on the side of the road where No Parking signs are clearly posted. Behind all the cars was a Deputy Sheriff SUV with the lights flashing, apparently writing parking tickets. As we made our way to the beach blanket, I heard one guy say, "I can't believe I got a $50 parking ticket."
I had to laugh to myself.

All summer long we used a bottle of spray sunscreen. It has kept us from getting sunburned even at Michigan's Adventure Water park. Today, it was used up and I threw it away when we got home. I knew it was low and brought a backup sunscreen lotion. I did not want today to be the day we get sunburned.

After we had our water and snacks. I mooched some Cheetos and sunflower seeds from Nathan and Evan respectively. They were complaining that their water wasn't as cold as it was when it was purchased at Wesco (another unpaid plug). So, they dumped out the water and headed for the drinking fountain by the pavilion.

Sand on a beach, who would have thought that going to a beach means that you would get sand on your feet and legs? Well, there I was trying to fill these plastic water bottles with water from the drinking fountain. With full water pressure it wasn't too difficult, but when the faucet was being used to clean sand off of feet and legs of OCD families the water pressure was very low. While I was there attempting fill these water bottles, five families were washing of sand. It is my sincere opinion that if you have a problem with sand, don't go the beach.

My rusty Chevy Blazer has sand on the seats and the floor. Friday, I am vacuuming out the truck. I didn't care about the sand. It doesn't bother me. If I were so concerned about having sand in the Blazer, I wouldn't take the boys to the beach. I felt sorry for the little boy whose mom had pulled down his shorts and was cleaning his bare bottom by the faucet. Don't these people have showers at home? I was persistent and got our bottles filled, expect mine was 3/4 full.

The technique I used was to fill my bottle as full as I could and then pour the water into one of the other bottles, that way, Evan and Nathan had full water bottles. Nathan never drank his. He left it on the blanket and it got warm again. Right now it is in the refrigerator.

On the way to the drinking fountain, we saw Adam walking toward us from the pavilion. He said he was bored and wanted to go home. Our plan was to walk on the pier and then swim again. The look Adam gave me told me that he was really feeling bad that he even came along with us. So, I gave him the keys to the Blazer so that he could open the windows, relax and wait for us.

We walked through the scorching sand to the pier and walked to the end of the pier where many High School/College students were jumping in the water. Nathan said he wanted to jump in, but then changed his mind. I held his hand and was going to jump in with him but he backed away. I told him, "if you want to jump in, I will jump in with you. Don't feel you have to, but if you want to, we should." He said when he is older. So, that has become next year's goal.

We got back to the blanket, again, and all of us were hot and feeling a little tired. Evan was so hot and tired that he didn't even want to go back in Lake Michigan. I talked him into going in one more time, telling him that the Lake is refreshing and he will feel better. I walked with to the water and stayed with him past the sand bar where he lunged forward started swimming. He instantly was invigorated and was smiling again.

I said to him, "five minutes ago you didn't want to leave the blanket and no look how much better you feel." We swam, played tag and splashed each other for awhile and then Evan was tired and wanted to go home. He went back to the blanket to play games on my Trac Phone and Nathan started throwing wet sand at me.

At one point, I grabbed his hand to stop him and his nose got bumped and it started bleeding. I had him lie back in the water as I tried to stop the bleeding. It took sometime but it finally slowed down and we got back to the blanket, gathered everything together and headed for the Blazer.

Adam says he likes to travel light at the beach. Getting him to take a small Walkie Talkie with him as he walked around by himself was like pulling teeth. He took it with him. I tried calling him as we headed to the Blazer but he didn't answer. He told me that the rechargeable battery way low so he turned it off. What was the point?

I tried calling Lori on my Trac Phone to tell her that we were leaving and I couldn't get a signal, not even standing on a sand dune. I gave up after 7 minuets of trying to call her. If it weren't for the digital clock on the Trac Phone, I would be asking, what was the point?

We got home. I husked corn, grilled steak and after dinner, I gave Nathan a shower. It was a good day and a good summer vacation.