A Trip to Zelienople

If you havent seen the photos of Kerri's pregnancy, click here and check them out. No baby yet, though. http://kerri.julian.googlepages.com/shower

Yesterday we went to Zelienople to check out a store run by someone from the "chamber networking" group I'm in on Tuesdays. We found a nice kitchen table there but we're not sure about the size. It may be a bit too large. What we have now is 36x36 and is expandable. It was 36x54 and expandable to 54x54. That may be just a bit too big even in the closed position. We like it's sturdiness and color and have been thinking of a change in that area.

We also had lunch at the Log Cabin Inn. We've been there before and enjoyed it the last time we were there for lunch. We thought of going to two other places in our coupon book, but it turns out one had burned down and the other was closed. Tra-la.

In the afternoon, I went golfing (60 degrees) at Treesdale. It was good to hit a few good shots although I lost several balls to the lakes and the woods. I played by myself, but it was a nice day out and I had a good time.

In the evening Dee and I went to church for the pot luck dinner (she took a 4 bean salad that got good reviews). We ate with the Campbells and the Pastor and his wife at our table. During the service I sang with a quartet an a cappella version of "Were You There". It seemed to go well. The whole service was nice and we did communion by intinction. The Pastor did a first person sermon as the Biblical person Thomas. He did a nice job.

While we were there the Sunday school Superintendent asked me to consider teaching the "New Testament 101" class. The people currently teaching it wanted a break since they've taught it the last couple of years. The class would start in September and go through May. It's something to think about. I enjoy teaching and they already have the course handouts from the curriculum used in the past. I could just build on it and tweak it to fit my style. The guy who asked me said that if I had preaching engagements, he's get someone to fill in for me teaching the class on the Sunday's I'd be away. Likely then, that would mean I'd not do any kind of local interim work, but supply preaching as I have been doing this past year. The class is designed for grade 12 students and any adults interested in taking it. It would force me to be more intentional once again about doing weekly preparations. That would be good.

Back at home we watched a little television. Dee had recorded the movie "The Mummy". We watched it for a while, and then finished it in fast forward to see the end. Weird stuff.

Today was also the day they buried the 3 police officers who were shot on April 4 in Pittsburgh. A sad day for the police department, those families and the City.

Bird in the Raccoon Trap

Wednesday was a quiet day. I noticed that we caught a blue jay in our raccoon trap. LOL It seems the neighbor put some of the food he was feeding the birds (peanuts with shells and suet) in the trap, and of course the birds got interersted too. Later in the day I saw the bird had been freed so it must have been the neighbor who let him go.

Rotary today at noon was enjoyable There was no program but several new members stood and introduced themselves and talked about their work, families, hobbies and educational backgrounds. There was a guest at our table who seemed interested in joining. She'd visited another club, but found there were very few women and from what I gathered, she thought our group was much friendlier as well.

During the afternoon I did some reading in the loft. I've been wanting to read J.I. Packer's book "Prayer" but haven't gotten around to it, so I read a chapter in it in the loft. Nice spot.

Tonight I go to quartet practice at the church. Wee'll be singing tomorrow night at the Maundy Thursday service. We'll be singing "Were You There." It was nice to see the sunshine out today, although the high only reached 51 and it was breezy. I did cook our dinner on the hibachi. We'd gotten a coupon for Omaha Steaks and decided to use it. I guess it's a good deal. Lots of cuts of meats and potatoe dishes. Anyway, we had two of the steaks tonight and found them to be very good.

The Snow is On the Ground (Again)

Yesterday we finished putting the china back in the china cabinet (after the painters left) and I hung a vertical mirror in the living room between the two front windows. Then we returned a couple of items to stores because we changed our mind about the window treatments on the front windows for the time being. We put the red valances up and they looked nice against the soft green walls. So we'll stay with that for now.

I've started using the treadmill again. The Dr. says if I walk 2-3 miles a day it'll do wonders for my triglicerides, so I'll have a go at it. I've been listening to my ipod when I do it (Bogmeister music). And it helps the time go faster.

It's gotten cold during the last 12 hours and there is about an inch of snow on the grass and cars this morning and flurries are still in the air. (Where's Spring?)I finished reading my book on "Body Language". Fascinating stuff. I've begun being more attentive to "body language" so I'll see what I can observe. The book goes into great detail about everything from which seat you select at a table for a meeting, to how you sit, look, lean, point your toes, hold your hands, if you smoke whether you blow the smoke up or down, which are all part of "clusters" that supposedly have indications of your inner mood and thoughts. As I say, I'll try to be more observant and see what I can tell what people are saying non-verbally.

I had Bogmeister practice and turned in the money for our tickets for the Pirate game. People can still get tickets to the game but they'll have to order their own hopefully using our code # 722466 to get the discount. Our seats are in section #125. The tickets cost $20 and we get a Pirate Hat as well. WOW!

Last night we heard that our Fall Show will be on October 3,2009 and that it will be an Irving Berlin Show featuring his music. Songs like "Always" "Blue Skies" "Cheek to Cheek" "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" and "White Christmas" among others. It should be fun learning the words and notes for show.

Our Day for Worship and Dog Walking

Sunday morning saw Dee and I heading in separate directions. She went to our church and Sunday school class and I headed to Crafton to preach there. The Crafton church is a small Baptist Church in downtown Crafton. I remember being there several times when we lived here before. In fact their previous pastor, Bill Morford, did our taxes for several years.

When I arrived I was greeted by Charlie Brown (yes that's his name) the husband of the pastor Marie Brown. Marie was sick and I was filling in for her. As it turns out, the organist had surgery during the week and was having reactions to the pain medications, and so she wasn't there either. Thus, everything was done a cappella and a boom box was connected to the sound system for nice prelude and postlude music being played. The congregation was lively and went with the flow. I'd taken my Q Chord along for the children's chat. The kids like the instrument and asked to play it after the service was over. My part in the service went well. I did the "Biblical Storytelling" method of the scripture reading. (memorized the text, and then told it to the congregation in the hopes that they would "experience" the text rather than just "hear it being read.") The sermon seemed to go well.

Pat Stetz was the worship leader for the day and she did the communion part of the service. All was done with an informality about it, but it was worshipful and meaningful to those who were there. They are a friendly congregation. Pat introduced me to each parishioner as they exited the sanctuary.

When I got home, Dee and I had lunch. We're been having deli sandwiches lately for lunch (flat bread with smoked turkey and ham with a little Beemster cheese, tomatoes etc.) The meats come from McGinnis' and is very tasty. Later we went out for dinner at Longhorn (with a gift card and coupon).

One of our new friends at our church has a father who died on Thursday. We went to the funeral home to pay our respects, and visit with them for a bit before heading home. The gentleman who died was 91 years old and was called "Pap" by his family. His son-in-law is one of the men in our Tuesday morning men's Bible Study group.

When we got home, we walked the dog around the block (62 degrees), read the paper, watched some TV, talked with Kerri on the phone, and then used the hot tub to relax with a glass of White Zinfandel at dusk. We finished off the evening watching "American Graffiti" (great music) with Ronnie Howard and Richard Dryfus. I was surprised to see Harrison Ford in it too. All in all it was a nice day.