A couple of more applications

Here is the picture of the "Wall of Golf" I created from some of my golf exploits over the last couple of years. The two pics on the left are from my attendance at the Golf Teaching School at Penn National GC; The two pics on the right are from a trip to the Carroll valley Course near Gettysburg; the one at the bottom is of a course I played in Myrtle Beach; and the picture at the top is of my golfing friends in NJ. (Remember you can always click on the photo to enlarge it to see the details better.)

Yesterday Dee and I went to Costco to pick up some groceries and have lunch. On the way back home we stopped at BBand B where Dee checked out some new curtains for the bedroom. She found some she liked and we decided to get them. At home we just chilled out. I did some reading and she worked with the new curtains. I also filled out an application for an adjunct faculty position listed on the website of Robert Morris University.

I talked with my buddy Steve in NJ. He'll be out here to visit on Sunday night through Wednesday morning. Dee and I are looking forward to that. After dinner, we went to Barnes and Nobel to use some coupons we had for free dessert and coffee. They were very tasty and worth the trip. Dee also interviewed at the Marriott during the day for a receptionist position there. She liked the place and felt the interview went very well. The hours would be more than she'd originally thought of doing, but we'll see how it goes. That particular Marriott was rated among the best in the USA. It's where Ryanne had her wedding reception.

I continue to fiddle with facebook. I was recently contacted by Meghan Shanley from our old neighborhood and also a gal I know when I was a teenager in Monongahela. Kerri had contacted so many of our old neighbors children it's amazing.

We finished the evening with a dip in the hot tub, complete with merlot and a near full moon. It was 50 degrees out, but nice and toasty in the bubbling water. Aahh so relaxing.

A Splash of Color

This is a recent view from our deck as the fall colors come into view. A wonderful time of the year. I'd forgotten how striking the colors are in Western Pennsylvania. Nice.

Yesterday I had two interviews. The first with the DS of the Pittsburgh Conference of Methodists. It turns out he lives in my housing plan so we met for coffee at the Giant Eagle. We had a good conversation, compared notes on life, and he seemed willing to use me from time to time to do pulpit supply. What surprised me was that he is stressed by his job. He's had to do double duty, so to speak, because one of the other DSs of Western PA had a stroke and so the work is doubled. He expressed hope that we could develop a relationship, and get together with our wives for fellowship. He'd pastored the large Methodist church in our area and then took the DS job. He's lived in his current house for 2 years and since he works so much he doesn't really know anyone in his neighborhood. He seemed like a really nice guy and I'd like to help him if I can.

The other interview was with the pastor of the church we're attending. We talked about ways I might help with the ministry there in a "quasi formal" way. The presbytery has a position in local churches called a "Parish Associate" that gives a person some formal recognition in the local church for purposes of doing ministry - specifically leading communion services etc. We're going to pursue that in the weeks ahead. I may do some visitation of people who haven't been in worship for more than a month. I'd enjoy that once day a week or so. He also indicated I could teach a Sunday school class if I wanted to. Either I could wait till his class is over and then start one, or start one sooner by having it approved by their Christian Ed board. We'll see where that goes.

Dee went to her "infra-red wrap" at the gym she attends, and then we met to do lunch. I took her (via the new GPS) to the Log Cabin Inn in Harmony. It's a very nice place, rustic, in the country with excellent food at very reasonable prices. It was like a date - very nice. Afterwards, we stopped at a couple of places and she shopped while I played with the GPS in the car to learn more about how it works.

The weather was blustery all day and the temps were dropping into the high 50s. It looks like cooler weather is here. I'd hoped to put a fresh stain on the deck floor, but it's too damp for that right now. Our friend Russ is going to Boston today and Dee is sending along a nice picture created for Marissa's new baby. Here's a picture of the the picture.

Interviews and Navigation

Bogmeister practice went very well on Monday night. We had about eight new men singing with us. We're getting ready to do the Christmas songs and then sing them at nursing homes and other agencies in the area. Hopefully some of these men will stay with us after the Christmas season is over. It was nice having a larger chorus singing.

Earl C. stopped by and picked me up for the Men's Bible Study and breakfast at the CCUPC Church. There were seven of us there. We had good conversation. The group meets every other Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. Then, later,Dee and I both had interviews. I saw the Executive Presbyter in Zeilinople about the possibility of being approved to get on their list of supply preachers. I thought it went well and hopefully that will be approved by his board on the first Monday of November. Dee had two interviews. One as a receptionist part-time at a nice place, and the other at the Cranberry Library. She said both interviews went well. One of the women at the library interview used to live on Kennedy Lane where Dee lived. It turns out she remembered Dee's dad very well and credits him with teaching her about how to accept death and what it is Christians believe about the afterlife. I guess they had a great conversation. It was great to hear that someone had such vivid and fond memories of her dad after he's been gone for twenty years. When we got home, I'd received an email from the Methodist DS for Pittsburgh. It turns out he lives in Adams Ridge so he gave me his cell and suggested I call him.

My new GPS came and we've been playing with it and learning how it operates. It's a Navigon 2100 Maxx

The directions are simple enough and it comes with traffic alerts too. Dring the evening we wtched some programs we recorded like NCIS, Eli Stone, and Your Own Worst Enemy. All in all it was a pretty nice day.

A Ride to Lake Arthur and Moraine State Park

Sunday we went to Sunday school class and then worship. The class was a combined class of all the classes and the pastor gave a powerpoint presentation on Stewardship. It was good to see him using the technology, however, he could have done some things to spice it up. Nonetheless, it was the launch of the stewardship campaign.

The worship service was nice. A little girl sang a song during the offering that was excellent. The morning message was about God's gift of righteousness through the sacrifice of Jesus and the Truth that it makes us acceptable to God. Matthew 22:1-13. We saw Earl and Marilyn there. He and I agreed to go to the men's breakfast on Tuesday. Earl will pick me up. Also, he wants the shelving supplies we brought from home. He said Rod G. thinks he can use them. That's great!

After worship we ate at a little Chinese place I'd not been to before and then drove to Moraine State Park and Lake to see what it was like. Since it was 82 degrees, we enjoyed the sunshine, fall colors and saw some of what the park had to offer.There 7.5 miles of bicycle/ walking paths there as well as boat rentals, and pontoon cruises and even a beach with sand. It was very nice. We hope to go back and have a picnic there with Bonz sometime before it gets too cold. I even saw one of the Bogmeisters there with a group of people having a picnic. It was a great ride.

I took Bonz for a walk and then read the Sunday paper and watched a little football. We had dinner on the deck since it was so nice out. I continued reading the book, How to Wow.

We finished the evening by watching some of the shows we'd recorded. Another nice day.

Another Beautiful Fall Day

Yesterday Dee went to work in the morning and I worked on hanging pictures from my golfing experiences and the display of logo golf balls I've been collecting. I hung six pictures and a golf ball rack. It's in the basement next to the computer (office) area. It turned out very well. I think I'm getting the hang of this picture hanging routine. Then I did my other Saturday chores and practiced my Barbershop music before Dee came home. Bonz got a nice walk around the courtyard.

In the afternoon we returned some things at Linens and Things and just chilled out. Later we thought we'd try Bob Evans Restaurant since we hadn't been there for awhile and we liked their food. We stopped at Wal Mart and Dee bought some stuff for her hair. Then we came home and relaxed. All in all a quiet and beautiful fall day.