Kerri's in Town

On Friday I had to work from noon to 3PM. That went well because we were busy the entire time. Kerri and Patrick were home when I returned. It was good to see them. She brought me a birthday gift of a computer cam, so I'll have to hook it up when we get back from our trip. She is also going to show me how to use "Facebook". It's a social networking site that is accessible to people by invitation only. You create a profile and post items for others to read, but only those invited can read them.

We went to the Red Robin for a late lunch and enjoyed it very much. Then later in the evening they went to dinner in East Liberty with friends, and we stayed home and enjoyed the deck. We watched a little TV and had a quiet evening.

Driver's Education

Here is one of the two valances Dee made for our living room windows.

Yesterday it was raining in the morning so I decided to get some things done around the house with Dee. Then about noon she went out to pick up a couple of items for our trip to the Dude Ranch while I went golfing at Treesdale. When I arrived for golf, three of the other ranges had just finished their first nine and were making the turn. So I joined with them for nine holes. They've been working at the CC for 7-8 years are were familiar with courses. I had a nice time. Afterward I went to the practice range and worked on getting more familiar with my new driver. I'm learning how to change my swing to fit what the instructor said to do.

Later Dee and I went to a new place in Gibsonia for some new shoes for our trip. We had dinner at Giant Eagle. They have a chicken breast special with two sides that you can't beat. On the way home, we picked up a movie "August Rush". It's about a boy protege who was put in an orphanage at birth. His love of sound evolved into a love for music. The story is about his his mother and father eventually find him after thinking he's been dead from birth. A good story. Afterward we watched part of the Steeler game, and Obama's speech and then turned out the lights.

Kerri and Patrick will be up later on Friday through Sunday. Though they'll visit with friends in the area in the evenings, we'll get to spend some valuable time with them the rest of the days. And they'll be going to church with us on Sunday as I serve as liturgist and give the children's talk. We'll celbrate Kerri's birthday while they are here too.

More Networking

This cute little people mover is parked at the Station Square Shoppes on the south side of Pittsburgh.

The first thing yesterday morning I had breakfast with Rev. Jim Moran, our new pastor. We talked about ways I might plug in to the church and be useful to him. We explored several possibilities. He indicated there are rules and regulations within the Presbyterian Church that allow for official unofficial positions for retired clergy etc. He was going to look into it further.

Later, while Dee went to Contours and then ran errands, I went to Rotary. While there the new pastor of the Mars UP church was introduced. As it turns out the person introducing him, was the Presbytery's person in charge of pulpit supply assignments as well as the very person Jim Moran would have to talk with if I were to have an official connection with the church.

After lunch I played 9 holes of golf at Treesdale. I worked on the corrections to my golf swing that I remembered from the lesson I had while using my new driver. I was pleased with the results. When I did what the instructor said I did hit the ball better and straighter. PTL !

Dee worked on her new valances for the living room and completed one of them. It looks great! She really enjoys her new sewing machine. Later in the evening I went to quartet practice at the church. Our song is coming along although I really prefer singing acapella or with the organist rather than with an audio cd. The words and notes are coming along. Hopefully when we do the songs on the 7th of September, we'll make music rather than just sing notes.

We finished off the evening watching a mystery movie, "Thrill of the Kill" that had us both guessing "who done it" to the very end. It fooled us both.

A Quiet Day

Here is a photo from our "Duckie Ride" of the Three Rivers Point State Park Fountain...

Yesterday we went to Costco for lunch and to get some groceries (including some fruit called "apple pears"). Then, we went to Joanne Fabrics to pick up the material we liked for the living room valances. We decided to play some golf together at the little pitch and putt course near Mars High School. Dee did alright and seemed to have a good time. Then, we followed that up with some McDonald's iced coffee.

I'd received word that my new golf club (driver) had arrived at the pro shop, so I went up to pick it up. While there I saw Chris and asked him to give me a lesson if he had time. He did and he helped me make a couple of small adjustments in my swing on the driving range. It seemed to help make the drives go straighter. I'll try it out today when I play nine holes after Rotary.

When I got home, Dee had dinner ready - homemade burgers mothered in mushrooms - yummm. I took Bonz for a nice walk. We watched a previously recorded episode of "The Closer". (It's one of our favorite shows.)

The Search Has Ended

Here's a nice shot of the Pittsburgh skyline from the top of the "Duckie Boat" while on the tour of the city.

Yesterday morning I took Bonz for a VERY LONG walk while Dee went to Contours for her workout. Then, we continued our search for the right colored valances for the living room windows. And I think we found what we liked most at Joann Fabrics. Dee can make them on her new sewing machine. They'll look great! The material is red with a soft gold design.

We did some grocery shopping at Costco and enjoyed our favorite sausage and peppers and onions sandwich there as well. Did some other shopping (got the rope lights at Lowes) and did some banking. Dinner on the deck was great - a nice breeze prevailed. Then I went to Bogmeister (barbershop harmony) practice. We worked on the two songs we're going to use in competitions. Also people reported on their successes with the MUMs sale. I was pleased to report that I'd sold 8 MUMs so far. (check my Advertisement announcement from yesterday's blog update). After practice we went to Ol Uncle Bobs for milk and cookies. (I saw some of the Treesdale staff there too.) Then back home with Dee and we enjoyed our hot tub with wine and candles for a relaxing conclusion to the full day. Ahhhh.

The Bogmeisters "Sing Out"

Here's a photo of the Lakes Course hole # 5 (a par 5).

Sunday the Bogmeisters Barbershoppers sang at the Park Memorial Presbyterian Church in Allison Park. We did three songs: Amazing Grace, Hush, and The Irish Blessing. It went very well. The sanctuary was packed and the acoustics were very good. I offered a few words to our group before the service reminding them the difference between an "audience" and a "congregation" since this was the first time we'd sung in a church. I also made some comments about each of the songs we would sing and their message to the listeners. As it turns out the preacher's sermon was in sync with the message of one of the songs (which is always nice when that happens). The service itself was good. There was a 5 piece brass ensemble that played three times. Since we sat in the chancel and they were in the chancel, the music seemed loud to me. But maybe it wasn't so loud out in the congregation. The hymns were traditional hymns,and the again, the organ blared (from where we were) and so I couldn't hear the people singing (I couldn't even hear myself sing.) The message was good, and the service was very inviting with a mix of dignity and casualness.

Afterward, I drove to our church in Cranberry and got there just about the time the service was over. However, Dee was there and we signed up for the new member's class that will start in two weeks. The pastor there asked me if I'd like to serve as liturgist next Sunday since the regular assistant will be away. They are serving Communion and he said "this would be a nice way to introduce you to the congregation." I accepted. After that we had lunch at Texas Longhorn and then went home. It was very hot, so we stayed inside and actually turned on the air conditioning for the first time in over a month. Later in the early evening we took Bonz to the new dog park in Cranberry Township for the first time. It's a very nice park and has lots of room for the dogs to run around and socialize with other dogs. They have three areas: one area for small dogs; two areas for large dogs which they alternate from time to time so they can do maintenance on the "worn" side. We met some nice people there and the dogs seemed to get along. Bonz got in some good running time. I'm sure we'll go there often as it's only 6 miles from the house.