Good Friday

Go figure. Yesterday I saw people out on a golf course. Then, this morning we awoke to about an inch of snow, mostly on the grassy places. Mother nature likes to play tricks at times.

Yesterday, Dee was able to go to Contours, and I did my time on the treadmill and added a couple of other exercises in my battle against the bulge. During my run/walk session, I learned how they make the huge 50 caliber pistol at Smith and Wesson, and how Trek makes their ultra light bicycle frames. (It seems the water bottle with water in it on a bike weighs more than the whole bike.) I also began watching a "booknotes" program intervies with the author of the Ben Franklin biography I'm reading, Walter Isaacson.

Our weekly Friday trip to the lenten luncheon was again enjoyable. The service was up in the sanctuary after the luncheon. All of the local clergy participated. The preacher of the day spoke on "Restorative Grace." He used the words of Jesus, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." as his text. He focused on the nature of forgiveness and indicated that often we take forgiveness for granted, especially if we are more like the elder brother rather than like the prodigal in Jesus' parable. That is, if we've never really wandered far from God, then our awareness of the great gift forgiveness is, isn't quite as profound. He tried to remind us that no matter what level of gratitude we have, all have sinned and Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is for us all.

The series was nice for me as it allowed me to get to see and meet and hear many of the local pastors as they shared their faith via a sermon. Dee seemed to enjoy going. We got to sit together, sing together and worship together each week. Nice.

Later in the day we took a drive to see where an alpaca farm is located. We'd seen the signs before, but hadn't gone to the farm. It has a gift shop where they sell articles made with the alpaca. We found out where the road came out at the other end and were surprised to discover where we were.

Our trip to the Barnes and Noble bookstore to check out the brain book revealed that they don't sell it. So I'll have to get it online via Amazon. We closed out the evening watching a movie called "Mickey Blue Eyes" with Hugh Grant et. al.

May your Easter celebrations tomorrow be spiritually nurturing. Dee and I are going to church with my mother in Monongahela. After that the three of us are going to enjoy an afternoon dinner with our friends , John and Sherron Curdie at their home in Canonsburg. Looking forward to it.

O What a Beautiful Morning

It's always good to see the sun come up over the trees in the distance. Yesterday, I watched another program on the PBS station called, "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life." It was a seminar by a Dr. Amen about ways to keep your brain healthy. It was both humorous and practical. I've decided to get his book. By using scans of the brain, he's able to measure the progress being made as people change their lifestyles and eat foods that are brain healthy (He had a list of 12 brain healthy foods.). Good stuff.I did that while Dee went to exercise and I rode the treadmill and exercised. (Dr. Amen suggested exercising for at least a half an hour 4 times a week.)

Later I read another chapter in the Ben Franklin book. (He's finally back in America and it's 1775.) Since it was the first day of spring we went to get our free Rita's Italian Ice and then walked through Costco to people watch and try some of their goodies.

We attended the Maundy Thursday dinner and communion service at the church we've been going to. It was the first church dinner at the church we've been attending. There sure was lots of food! We enjoyed talking with the people at our table, saw a couple of people we recognized from before, and the pastor did a first person narrative of the events leading to the cross from the perspective of Peter. There were about 75 people there. It was done informally around the dinner tables. We lit candles on our tables, the lights were dimmed, and communion was done using the "intincture" method, that is, dipping the bread into the wine glass and then eating the bread. It went smoothly. It was nice to be there, to experience the time of worship and to not be in charge of anything.

It was good to see Pitt win their first round in the March Madness series. Go Pitt!

Some thought-provoking quotes: "An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day." "Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness." "Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak whispers the o're-fraught heart and bids it break."

A Quiet Day

Today is the first day of Spring, so that must mean golf is not far away! Yesterday was a quiet day of reading and birdwatching. I'm still trying to figure out the html language for blogs and enjoying the Ben Franklin biorgraphy. Our deck was visited yesterday by a downey wookpecker, some starlings, goldfinches and purple finches among others. This morning we thought we saw a blue bird but not positive.

I went to Rotary yesterday and sat with 7 new people I'd not met before. The speakers of the day were from the Mars Home for Youth. They have about 80 teens from 13-18 years old and about half live there. They get therapy, have recreation and do their schooling. The speakers were very motivated to provide an environment that would enrich the kid's lives. Good program and good service (ministry) to the community. Apparently, all the staff are new within the last 6 months. The school's prinicpal used to be in the public schools for 30 years and now enjoys the 10:1 ratio of students to teachers. It ws nice to learn about what they do there.

We have picked our teams for the March Madness tournament. It'll be interesting to see how we did each day as the tournaments progress.

A Time to Rest and a Time to Shop

As you can see, the progress on the new housing unit behind us is coming along as they've put the footers in. It's raining today so no work is being done. (although it's supposed to hit 60 degrees today!)

Yesterday saw us travel to Ross Park Mall to take advantage of some coupons we'd gotten in the mail and to pick up some other things we'd been wanting to get. I finally got a new pull cart for my golf bag. They were on sale and mine had died last season. We used a gift card at Dick's (given to me by the Deacon Board as a going away gift) and found a couple of nice golf vests for the new season. At Men's Wearhouse, I cashed in a customer appreciation coupon and found two new shirts that were on sale. I walked out with two new shirts and they only cost me three dollars. Dee found a nice spring 3/4 length coat at Stein Mart and a couple of items for the house. We topped of the shopping spree with dinner at Outback Steakhouse using a gift card given to us be the Morrises of NJ.

I'm continuing to try to figure out how to upload videos to this blog. I do what it says, but they don't seem to work once they are loaded on the site. But, I'll figure it out.

Here are some points to ponder...

"Life is not a one-hundred yard dash, but more a cross-country run. If we sprint all the time, we not only fail to win the race, but never even last long enough to reach the finish line."

"Often nature and life's little detours bring fresh air and a renewal of enerby in ways no other activity can."

"Never be afraid to sit awhile and think."

Feeding Mind and Body

Yesterday, as Dee went to exercise class, and I did the stationary bike and treadmill at home, I watched a great program on our local PBS station called "The Brain Fitness Program." It was about studies being done on the brain and the realization that the brain has "plasticity." Or the ability to always grow new neurons. No matter what the age, and no matter if there is an illness or stroke.

It seems there is a new field of study that studies these possibilities and it's called "neuroplasticity." And it explores ways to make our "brain span" equal to our "life span." Evidently they've learned a great deal and summarized it in "Seven Tenets of Brain Plasticity." Since I am very interested in keeping my brain sharp as I age, I took notes (This part came after I'd finished the treadmill.) Here are the 7 tenets:

1. Change can only occur when we are in the mood. (that is when we are really paying attention)

2. Change strengthens connections between neurons that are engaged at the same time.

3. Neurons that fire together wire together (That how we learn what goes with what and what comes next. Simultaneous neurons firing with new brain input that relates tosomething already in your brain.)

4. Initial changes are just temporary (until we do it over and over again.)

5. Brain Plasticity is a two-way street (There is negative plasticity too that must be avoided).

6. Memory is crucial for learning

7. Motivation is a key factor in brain plasticity.

As older people gain new skills this causes the brain to grow. Actually as we grow mentally, our brains become younger. So the question, "Can an older person have a young brain?" is answered YES. (Kind of like being Born Again - I guess.)

Then they gave 5 Tips for Optimal Plasticity

1. You heart must be in decent shape

2. Training should be incremental (start just below where you are.)

3. Training needs to be taxing and systematically improving.

4. It should be interesting in order to engage the motivationa circucits in your brain. (That is do something that is different for you.)

5. Plasticity can be tapped in normal everyday activities. (Use former skills, always see to acquire new abilities.)

The weather cooperated and so Bonz had two long walks yesterday. He's doing very well, calmed down a good bit and even walks into his crate on his own when we're about to leave the house. Two friends in Jersey had given us a fax machine when we left there. I figured out how to send faxes with it, but not receive them. Yesterday I had to learn to receive faxes as our dentist wanted the x-rays taken in Jersey. The Jersey dentist needed a signed statement that it was okay to send them. She wanted to fax us the form... after three tries, I figured it out. Whew!

Dee had noticed an ad in the paper for a local hotel for free St. Patrick's Day corn beef and cabbage, potatoes and carrots so we went. We saw some folks drinking green beer of all things. They even had a bagpipe group come in and play various songs including "Amazing Grace." It was an enjoyble time, the food was good, and the pipers raised some money for the hospitals that offer free care to children who are burn victims. We had a great time.

A Day of Rest

Finally after all these weeks we made it to church on time! Not only that we attended one of their adult Sunday school classes. This particular class ws studying the book of Luke chapter 11 - the Woes. There were about 25 in the class. We sat in a semi-circle around the walls of the room facing the two leaders who sat at a table facing us. People brought their Bibles and workbooks for the session. It was obvious that some had done their reading and writing in the lesson books before they arrived. That added to the verse by verse discussion. I found what the class members had to say often more insightful than what the leaders had to say. The people were friendly, some introduced themselves, and it was good to see how they do what they do.

Since we were early for Sunday School, we were also early for worship for a change. We sat with a woman we'd met the first week when Earl and Marilyn came in and sat behind us. We'd moved closer to the front (about 9 rows back) and they'd happened to realize we were in front of them, as they were sitting down. It was a good service. The adult choir sang with energy and sounded quite good. There was a duet of The Holy City that was nice, and the preacher spoke on "Why the Cheering Stopped" after Jesus entered the city. He said it stopped because Jesus' focus and message became more focused on committment,the disenfranchised and the cross. And that none of these is very popular. In fact, this made many not only uncomfortable but it made him a threat to their status quo lives.

The fellowship hour after church is a nice time to connect with the people we've connected with before. Lunch with the Campbells after church at First Watch was nice. I'm looking forward to going golfing with Earl once the weather breaks.

I received an interesting newsletter today from George Barna's Group. http://www.barna.org/(He does religious surveys of America to get the pulse of religion and Christianity.)

He asks two questions that are particularly relevent to me at this stage in my life. The topic is "relationships." In the survey he asks:
     What is the single most important relationship in your life today?
And what social group or network of people is most significant to you? 
How would you have answered these questions? 
How would your friends have answered? 

Most Significant Groups

Although adults listed numerous groups or networks that they deem to be most important, those groups generally fit into five categories. Three out of every ten adults (29%) said their church was the most significant group affiliation. The people they affiliate with at their place of work represented the top choice for two out of every ten people (18%), followed by loose associations of friends that regularly gather together (14%), a hobby club or social group (12%) and interaction with people in the neighborhood (7%).

Now that Dee and I have moved into a new house and new area, we're finding this question to be most relevant as we start establishing new "groups" that we identify with. Thus, finding a new church home is VERY significant as we look to the future. How would you answer those two questions?

City Sights and Smells and The Saint Patrick's Day Parade

Yesterday we decided to go to the PX at the local army base near the Pittsburgh Airport. Often you can find items there cheaper than elsewhere. I found a nice pair of binoculars among other things. Then, we thought we'd drive downtown to visit the famous marketplace known as "The Strip District." Getting there proved a little more challenging from the south of the city. Especially as we encountered the detours and traffic and revelers from the St. Patrick Day Parade. (Probably the 2nd largest such parade in the USA.)

A couple of times enroute after detour after detour we'd abandoned our hope of getting to "The District," when another route would open up. We finally made it. We'd planned to eat the famous fish sandwiches at Wholey's for lunch after we'd parked the car. But enroute, we agaain took a detour by eating at my nephew's favorite eatery called Pamela's Diner. Great food!

The Strip District is loaded with the aromas of every kind of food imaginable. We managed to bring home some fresh fish from Wholey's, fresh ground coffee from the Prestogeorge coffee emporium, spices from Penskey's and great visions of walking through the Macaroni House of cheeses, and nuts and oils pastas and olives from around the world. We finished off the afternoon with a really bold cup of coffee from the 21st Street Coffee Shop where each cup is individually brewed. Dee had their El Diablo and I had the El Cuervo -- Outstanding.

After the trip home I took Bonz for an extra long walk down to the clubhouse and back. Then, later Dee and I went to the Boy Scout spagettti supper being held at the church we've attended several times. Dee noted that church fellowship halls all seem to have terrible acoustics where the sound echo's off the hard walls, floors and tables. It was good to see so many young families and so many youths and teens who were part of the Boy Scout organization. The place mats listed the Boy Scout Oath and the values of loyalty, honesty and integrity they try to instill in their members. The food was adequate, but the experience and cause were worth the trip.