Walking and Watching

Saturday mornings are wonderful for sleeping, and that is exactly what I did yesterday morning. I slept until 9:30 and made coffee. I rinsed the pot and cleaned the parts, expect that I forgot to put a filter in the basket and coffee ran all over the counter in a steady stream toward the sink. I dumped out the coffee and cleaned the basket again and started all over.

Lori told me about this new show on the Fox Network that she wants to watch called "Fringe." Apparently, my mom and step-dad are watching it as well. So, if I want to stay in the loop I had to get caught up quickly; the show airs on Tuesdays. So, I watched about five hours of TV on my laptop. The show is produced by, Abrams, the same producer of "Lost," one of our favorite shows.

Don't think I spent the entire day watching "Fringe" and gazing into my laptop screen, because I watched most of the Michigan game. U of M started the game well but Illinois thrashed them soundly. It was sad to watch. I am am avid fan so I watch as much as time allows. Dinner was ready before the game was over. But, alas, I did not see the final blow to what was once a strong football program that had a long winning streak over Illinois.

Before the game started. i took Evan and Nathan for a walk. Evan wanted to walk on trails and Nathan wanted to go the Nature Center. I decided to take them to Riley Woods. They liked the footbridge but were disappointed in the natural woods trails. The Nature Center has wooden paths making it accessible to wheelchairs and strollers.

We walked down the yellow trail and then backtracked back to the bridge. There was a father and son fishing in Riley Lake/Pond. Really, it is too small to be called a lake, but calling that body of water, Riley Pond probably isn't as dramatic as Riley Lake. The kids like drama too. They would parent that there were bad guys in the woods and Nathan would shoot at them with his cap gun. He didn't have any caps so he only annoyed the sparrows.

Nathan got tired and had to rest on a fallen tree for awhile. But, once we got back to the "Lake" he wanted to walk around it. Evan wanted to wait by the bride. Evan and I were sword fight; he with his plastic Captain Jack Sparrow sword and me with a stick that I using to draw maps on the ground to show the kids where we were.

Evan wanted to wait by the bridge as Nathan and I walked around the "lake." Evan joined us by walking around the opposite way. We then walked across the footbridge and to the Blazer.I got home after the kickoff, but I was able to see Michigan make their first touchdown.

As I am writing this, I am watching Crucifixions on the History Channel. Before that, Lori and I watched a show on Nostradamus. I should finish reading his book. Penn of Penn and Teller made a really good point. Where were the Nostradamus experts on Sept 10, 2001 warning us about the attacks? These experts always see the prophecies after the fact.

The History Channel experts claim the Jesus died of a heart aneurysm. That would explain how he was able to cry out just before he died. Jesus was one of many victims of that cruel and humiliating death.

The alarm went off and Lori hit the snooze several times. I thought I was going to get out of bed in time to wake the boys, but I fell asleep again and didn't wake up until 7am. I woke up Adam and Evan in time to drive them to school and we would have been on time, except, Evan could not find his shoes.

He was certain he took them off in the living room while watching Survivor. As I looked through the house I realized that Evan was mistaken. I asked him again where he took them off and then remembered he was watching TV in our bedroom earlier last night. I found them on the floor, under the window next to Lori's side of the bed.

I drove them to their respective schools and walked to the office with them. I believe that makes there tardiness excused. The reason I gave was the truth. Evan could not find his shoes. He is in a special ed class, they have to understand that it can be a challenge for him to remember where he left them.

I got home and woke Nathan up right away. I explained to him that I was running a little behind because I had to drive his brothers to school. He got up right away got dressed and was ready to go. He was happy that I found his missing jacket--it was hanging on a coat hook. Yes, a coat hook that is why he couldn't find it.

I got him to school on time and he rode right next to me. I felt a little rushed all morning, but getting him to school on time made me feel calm and relaxed. So, as I drove him I had to stop at The Riley Trails.

I took a walk on the trails again this morning. The foot bridge was slippery with frost. The woods were peaceful and there was a dense mist rising from Lake Riley. I walked out of the woods and around the lake as the sunlight was shining through the mist creating a bright glare. The amazing sight was seeing the melting droplets on the bridge reflecting in the sunglight. It was bright and sparkling.

I got home was going to blog about this morning right away but Lori called me to remind me that I had a doctor's appointment. Dr. Smith was glad to see that I lost 6 pounds and that I was doing better. He thinks the dizziness should improve. He gave me a perscription for a year supply of Prozac. I got home and I was tired and went to sleep. When Lori got home I was sleeping in bed.

I picked Nathan up at school and then drove to the Eye Doctor to pay a bill. I got home and finally took a shower and shaved. Lori had gone to the store and made a simple dinner of hotdogs and Lloyd's BBQ. I cleaned up after dinner and ran the dishwasher.

Evan, Nathan and I watched The Clone Wars on the Cartoon Network and I watched The Soup by myself.

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.