Old friends are great !

Here's a photo of our friend Steve with Dee at the Church Brew Works Restaurant.

Well our friend Steve arrived safely on Sunday night from NJ. He and I golfed on Monday and Tuesday. I was so happy to be able to take him to Treesdale to play golf with him and to show him the three courses there. He just kept saying "Wow", "wow," "wow". It really is a lovely course.

On Monday we played Lake Vue North because of an outing at Treesdale. The weather warmed up nicely. But golfing Tuesday at the club saw rain showers, sunny patches, more rain showers and even some sleet. The wind was cool as well. So we played about 12 holes and then just rode the rest of the holes so he could see them.

Monday night I took him to Bogmeister practice and he said, "Next time I'll stay with the dog." LOL However a trip to Ol Uncle Bob's and then a dip in the hot tub was a nice finish to a full day. Dee was able to go to her gym and do an infra-red body wrap to relax. Tuesday night went to dinner at the Church Brew Works and had buffalo burgers. In the evening Steve helped me clean up a lot of unused files and programs from my computers to improve their speed, and we also downloaded free versions of McAfee Security to protect my computers. That all took quite awhile, but in the end it was worth it. "Thanks Steve for sharing your expertise."

Wednesday we had a nice breakfast at First Watch and then blasted off leaving Mars for the warmer climate of South Jersey. Later Dee and I watched some shows we'd recorded on television and then the end of the Game One of the world series. Steve said he got home about 6 PM. That was about 7 hours after he left Mars.

The Steelers Party and Steve Arrives

Sunday we went to our "new comer"s class at the church and then worship. Afterward we went to the "Steeler Party" held in the fellowship hall. Lots of people wore Steeler shirts for the worship and party. They had a pot luck mean that included a wide variety of snacks for the game. They even had door prizes for half-time. It was a nice event, well done. Here's a pic from the afternoon. We stayed through half-time and then headed home.

When we got home we watched the rest of the game and read the newspaper. It was a nice day out, but got cooler as the day wore on. Toward evening our friend, Steve, from NJ arrived. We enjoyed getting caught-up on news from NJ and then later introduced him to our Hot tub. He thought it was great! During that time I saw a shooting star (first one in a long time) and of course made my wish. We concluded the evening chatting and watching Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox in gave seven. The win puts them into the world series with the Phillies.

Lighthouse Volunteers

On Saturday, Dee had to work, so I went to Butler to help other Rotarians do rehab work on an old building for the lighthouse Ministries. Lighthouse is a human services agency that gives people help with food, furniture, counseling and housing. The building we worked on is an old one down town. We worked on the exterior by ripping off the old wood and putting new materials in its place. My crew used a power saw, hammer,pry-bar and power drill and new sheeting masonry materials. I was there about 4 hours. Others in our group worked on the electrical issues for the 6 apartments above the main floor. It was good to be there, see the work of the agency and volunteer some time. I used my new GPS navigator to help me find the place. Here are some pictures of our work crew from Rotary.

On the way home I had a nice chat with my mother on the phone. I called her just to touch base. She seemed in good spirits and still recalled her visit to my place to hear the Bogmeisters practice and she also recalled the market where Dee works.

I got home about the time Dee was finishing work. Bonz had a nice walk. Later in the day we took the dog to have his nails clipped and ground down. Dee had purchased a floor steam cleaner she wanted to try on the hardwood floors. So I vacuumed while she did that. She was happy with the results she got. We finished the evening watching some programs we'd recorded previously.

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.