Back to Mooncrest after 35 Years Away

Here are two of the three curtains Dee made for the kitchen area for the holidays. Nice work!

Yesterday we went to Freedom Square for a breakfast because we had two coupons for free breakfasts. It was the last day for the coupons and the place was packed. But we like the place so we waited a LONG time.

After returning home and changing clothes we went to the funeral of Betty W's brother in Moon Twp. We stayed there until the service began, then we went to the church. It was Mooncrest Community Baptist Church, my first pastorate out of seminary. We were able to visit with about 10 of our former members after all these years. We left there about 35 years ago, so it was quite a reunion! It was good to see the place again. It brought back a lot of good memories and we were able to get caught up on what happened to folks and their children. Lots of fun and like a blast from the past. We stayed at the church until the people started coming in for the two o'clock luncheon. Then we left and headed to Beaver Valley Mall. We hadn't been there since we left Mooncrest Church.

We walked around and looked at the sites. It was nice to not have to be buying anything. Then we used the GPS to find the quickest and best route home. It worked just fine. We were about 18 miles from our place when we left the mall. At home we had leftovers of that beef stew, rice and potatoes and even ham.

It was bitter cold out, so we stayed in and I read in the living room with the fireplace and Christmas lights on, and Dee watched some television, before she did some cleaning of the master bathroom. We watched a program we'd recorded called. "Naughty or Nice" with Goerge Lopez, a Christmas story about a mean sports announcer who is challenged to be "nice" on the air. A comedy with a cool ending.

My First Visit

Yesterday was my follow up visit to the periodontist where I learned that although I'm brushing my teeth properly, I have some bone loss below the gums where the brush doesn't reach and so I'm going to have some work done in those areas.Lots of $$$$ even with insurance. Tra-la. But first I have to get a root canal. Oooo.

On the way home I spotted at the local Cokesbury store and picked up couple of copies of "The Upper Room" devotional. I plan to give them out when I start my "visitation." Then I made my first call on a guy named 'Paul". The visit went well. He freely offered that he stopped going to the church about the time he'd had surgery and the previous minister resigned to take another church. I think he felt abandoned. Then he said he missed singing in the choir. (Now he can't because of breathing issues and the oxygen bottle he carries with him at all times.) Since he had an appointment to go to we didn't get to talk much, but he seemed to appreciate my visit and accepted the items I gave him. It really felt good to be connecting with people in the way I used to, that is, "in a clergy capacity." I almost felt energized as I identified myself to him and the son and the reason for my visit. I think that'll make subsequent visits to others easier.

Then I went to a local place called The Fig Tree. It's owned by a member of the church and I thought I'd just stop in and meet her. She wasn't there, but I did meet one of the employees, who, as it turns out was also a member of the church. In fact her father is the guy who has been encouraging me to sing with the worship team.

When Dee got home from work, she put the finishing touches on the crock pot dinner of a beef stew dish that was heavenly. We stayed in for the evening as it was really cold out.Dee worked on new holiday curtains for the kitchen. (See picture tomorrow) and I did some reading in the living room with the Christmas lights, fireplace and Christmas music by that Mannheim group. I find that space so relaxing with the white lights on the garland and the tree. uummmm.

A Relaxing Day

Yesterday Dee had the day off, so we were able to do some things together. In the morning she went to contours and I worked on memorizing the notes and words for the quartet song we're doing on Dec. 14. Then I went to Rotary luncheon. There was no speaker, but we did have a club assembly, That's when we talk about what the Board did and how they are spending the money we raised to give away. They're also planning to go caroling next week after the luncheon - to three nursing homes in the area. and the following week they'll be giving Rotary coloring books (with a good story about ethics that highlights the Rotary 4-Way test) to the 2nd graders and dictionaries to the 3rd graders of the Pine Richland school students.

Afterward I went home and took Bonz for a nice long walk. The weather was nice and the temp at about 45. In the afternoon, we went through the storage boxes and looked at the other Christmas things we have there. We also put the nice lighted ceramic Christmas Tree that Donna made for us in 1972 on the kitchen counter. It brightens the corner just fine.

In the evening Dee got a phone call from Ellen M. so I went up to the living room to read while she talked on the phone in the basement. The living room looked so nice and inviting with the Christmas lights, so I put on some soft Christmas instrumental music, turned on the fireplace (and the glowing embers feature that John C. showed me) and just relaxed reading my book about FDR's first 100 days. I listened to 3 Cds before Dee came up.

Dee suggested that we used the hot tub again, and since I'd balanced the chemicals earlier in the day, I knew it was ready for another dip. We finished off the red wine Donnie gave us and enjoyed the bubbly in the bubbly. We'd discovered another feature of the hot tub we didn't know about. It changed the jets direction and flow and made the massage feature even nicer. Ahhhh God is good.

Planning on Visitation

Yesterday I decided to work a little on this "visitation ministry" I'm going to be doing as a volunteer for our church. I plotted the people's addresses on a map of Cranberry Township. I learned where the people lived in relationship to each other. I was surprised at how they group themselves into 3 main sections of the map. I also went to the church to see if they had copies of last week's bulletin and a copy the "Daily Bread" devotional that I could give to people when I visited them.

I've been struggling with how to introduce myself on the phone since none of these people will likely know that I've been "approved" by the church Session to do this. I've written a couple of scenarios to introduce myself, and they all seem too wordy. For instance, they mention that I'm calling on behalf of the church and pastor and that we're trying to connect with the people and learn what their needs are so we can minister to them and their families more effectively. However, the more I think and pray about it, I'm drawn toward just cold calling on them. And if they're not home, leaving the devotional, bulletin and my card. And if they are there, then just introducing myself indicating I'm the new minister of visitation from their church (which they likely haven't been to in a long time.)

I also worked on the Bogmeister music some. There are two songs I don't really know well enough to feel confident singing. I tried to play them on the Qchord, and that helped me hear what the notes are supposed to be. We're singing again this Saturday evening at the Butler Country Club as "carolers" for an hour during their member banquet. That should be fun. (That'll be a busy day since I have the Air Force worship service at 3 p.m.)

After Dee came home and we had dinner, I finished decorating the tree with some blue bulbs and some white flowers. The bulbs are about an inch or two in diameter and since the tree is in the loft, they don't stand out much. But they are nice there just the same.

I had a nice talk with my mom. She seemed pretty alert, has picked up her medicine refills, and reflected on her visit with us on Thanksgiving. We talked about her coming to hear the Bogmeister show on the 15 of Dec. I told her I'd pick her up and bring her and that she should pack her bags for an sleep over at our place. She's happy I'm singing with the group and always likes to hear about what we're doing.

WE finished the evening watching a couple of programs we'd recorded.

My New Santa Hat !

Last night our Harmony Chorus sang our first program. It was for the International Order of Odd Fellows banquet. We had about 18 guys show up. It went very well. We wore red bow ties and Santa hats with our white shirt and black pants combination. I found this hat on Saturday in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. It's different than the usual red hat with a snowball on the peak and white fur around the edges. I'd noticed that a couple of the guys had "different" hats and so I thought I'd get one. Whatd'ya think?

Yesterday was a day for more decorating (put the tree up in the loft area). Also, I began writing and sending Christmas cards. I'm going to include a flier for our Bogmeister "Ringing in the Holidays" flier with the cards to encourage people to attend the fun night of great barbershop harmony music we've planned for Monday, December 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Pine Richland Elementary School.

I'm happy with the way the decorting is coming along for the holidays. I've never really been into that, but decorating this place is fun. And especially since Dee is working three days a week, and I'm not except on weekends occasionally (I do the Air Base worship this Saturday for the 171st Air Refueling Wing) I have time to get the stuff out, and put it up. Dee then tweaks it with her special touch so it meets her standards. Here is a photo of our new garland on the staircase and the lighted tree in the loft.

After I got home, we took a dip in the hot tub. Nice. There was a breeze, so when it blew by, it really chilled the already cold air so that anything out of the water was COLD, but everything under the water was very cozy. We broke open a bottle of red wine Donnie brought us from the Renaisance Faire they attended. Sipping wine in the hot tub - ahhh heavenly.

The First Sunday of Advent

Here's a photo of the full tree at PPG place. Notice the skaters on the rink surrounding the tree. There were actually a lot more skaters, but this was just after the zamboni finished smoothing the ice surface.

Sunday was much more relaxed in that we took our time reading the morning paper before heading off for worship at 11 a.m. It was the first Sunday of Advent and communion Sunday. It's the first time I didn't do the candle lighting ceremony with a family of the church. But it was good to see how someone else does that part of the service. Also, it was nice to see the results of the decorating group's work. The tree I helped put up was festive with children's hand made ornaments. The tree near the pulpit in the sanctuary was trimmed in gold and white with Chrismons on it. And there was a "giving tree" decorated with tags for needy children in the area. (Much like our Angel Tree). And there was a creche on the floor near the pulpit. The choir sang an Advent song that was well done and appropriate for the day. The Campbells were there when we arrived and we sat with them as usual. We had a nice chat after worship before they headed home.

I stayed for quartet practice afterward as we got ready for singing on Dec. 14 worship services song, "In the Bleak Midwinter." I'm trying to memorize the words and notes so I can look at people while I sing and not rely on the sheet music. We're winging acapella. It's coming along. Back home I got out the new microphone I bought and hooked it up to the computer and recorded my part, and then I put it on my ipod so I can hear the notes while I sing. Cool. It should help.

We had lunch at the Chinese Palace restaurant near our home, and then went home to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New England Patriots in the rain. The Steelers won handily. Nice. We spent the rest of the evening reading and then watched "The Unit" before going to bed.

A Trip to the Big City with Family

We spent Saturday with Kerri and Patrick. The day began with me making my famous oatmeal for everyone. The walnuts, flax and brown sugar were added to each person's taste. To my surprise some people don't pour milk on their oats.

Then we went to McGinnis Sisters where Dee could show our family around and introduce them to her boss. Then we headed out to the Strip District and downtown Pittsburgh. Kerri wanted to gt a tiny Palamalo Steeler shirt for the new baby to war home from the hospital in April. We explored some of the Steeler clothing stores in the Strip and then had a fantastic lunch at a new place for us. It was called Belle Nolte (Beautiful Night). It's a Pizza shop with various kinds of sandwiches. Kerri had a piece of pizza that she shared and it was "outa this world". The crust was crisp but crunchy and yet soft on top with real fresh mushrooms. Pat and I got the Italian Stallion sandwich and Dee and Kerri had a Philly Steak and Cheese. What a great meal! We'll be back there for sure.

From there we headed to the Market Square area of the city and found a parking spot on the street (no need for a parking lot) and walked over to the PPG ice skating rink and large Christmas Tree. PPG had windows filled with gingerbread houses made by school children. Inside the Atrium, there were more prize winning displays of gingerbread houses in a village and train setting. (See Photo)

As we walked around, we looked at the "Santa's from around the world" displays. Here's one of the Irish Santa with Pat and Kerri. !

As it turned out, there was to be a concert by the "Trombones on Ice." There were 80 trombones along with trumpets, tubas and flugelhornes among other brass instruments. The musicians were of all ages grade school through 70 years old. They played Christmas music specially arranged for brass. Awesome

When we returned home, Kerri took a nap since she'd been sneezing all day. Her allergies had kicked in and there aren't many approved meds for a pregnant person to take for allergies. She was worn out. Looked more like Rudolph than Kerri. Afterward, she and Patrick headed out to Megan's place for a dinner planned for them. They decided to stay in the Monroeville area overnight because it was about 45 minutes closer for their drive home.

What a wonderful visit we had with them! My new son-in-law is easy to talk with and we find lots to talk about. Kerri looks radiant as a mom to be. And we shared their joy and excitement about their moving to a new place the week of Christmas in preparation of the new baby girl.

After they left, we chilled for a while and then went to Barnes and Noble for a relaxing time perusing books and magazines. Back at home we watched a recorded television program and then hit the sack. What a great weekend!