Visiting with Fellow Clergy and PR

Yesterday I went to the Pittsburgh Clergy meeting for Baptists at Mt. Lebanon and learned about what's happening in the churches of my denomination. While there I sat next to the minister from the Monongahela church where my mother attends. After the meeting we talked briefly about her. I asked him if he knew who she was. He said, 'You mean Toots Aiello." I said yes. He said he's talked with her on several occasions and she always seems to have a look on her face of "Wonder why you're talking with me." Any way, I'd mentioned a couple of things about her and described where she lives and encouraged him to connect with her again. I mentioned that her Sunday School class is the main connection point. He noted that no one in her Sunday school class attends worship. That they pretty much stay to themselves.

Here's a photo of the Bogmeisters from Monday night.

During the afternoon I began to do some PR for the Singing Valentines following up leads and calling people at the various media outlets - newspaper, magazines and TV. I also began a log of what I'm doing in that regard so I can follow up where I'm waiting for a call back or looking for an email in response to a request.

I received an email from Pastor Jim asking me if I'd preach for him on March 22 while he's away. I said "sure." That'll be different from when I preach on the February 1 date. In March both he and the Assistant will be away, so I'll be doing the whole thing. Shouldn't be a problem though, just a little more to do. We have two services so I'll lead and preach at both.

In the evening Dee and I went to a local mega church "open house" as they completed the construction of an addition and were having appetizers, tours etc. I'd been wanting to see the inside of that church anyway, so this was a good excuse to go. They seem to have it all. Special areas for little kids; teen area with multiple TV screens (like about 10) for gaming (I noticed 4 Wii set ups) a small stage for events. There were dozens of huge TV screens on the walls throughout the gathering areas. The main building has a 1,400 seat auditorium and a 300 seat one as well. The new addition has 500 seat auditorium for overflow worship seating, or for a second service going on simultaneously. Their PR even indicates a "Cafe worship" service at the same time for those who want a more intimate small group worship experience. Quite the place.

Back home, we watched a couple of shows we recorded of "Burn Notice." Then turned out the lights.

The Jersey Boys

Yesterday I went to the local Clergy meeting at St. John's Lutheran Senior Life Center. We planned the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" service for this Sunday night. During the meeting I suggested the quartet from our chorus could sing and the clergy thought that would be a good idea. So they're now in the program. There was also a senior care person (Janice Rodgers) there from the local PACE program for elder care. She talked about the services they offer in Butler County. She also mentioned some new "talking pill boxes" that help people with their pills. Later I called her and talked with someone in her office. The lady in the office said she had heard about them, but wasn't sure they were actually on the market yet. However, she did mention some "pill dispensing systems" currently in use that involved the client filling the "machine" and then it would dispense the pills as needed. Sounded interesting. They were in the price range of $50 for set up, and then $40/month range. I thought it was interesting. Then, I went home and while Dee was at work I finished the window "file" project in the living room windows. And I watched the inauguration on television.

Later in the evening Russ and Kathy G. came by for dinner (Dee made lasagna, a nice crisp salad, and then a fancy dessert with blueberry ice cream.) Yummm. Afterward, we went to the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh and saw the show "Jersey Boys". It was a musical about the lives of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The singing was awesome. The story line was actually a sad one. And the language was pretty bad. Despite the language, we really enjoyed the music as it was the music of our era growing up.

Music and Learning

It's Monday morning and a lot has happened since my last entry, not the least of which the STEELERS WON and are headed to the Super Bowl!

On the home front, I traveled to Columbus Ohio to attend the Leadership Academy for officers in the Barbershop Male Choruses of our district. There were about 170 men there. Being new to the hobby, I realized that there is much to learn and many ways to get our name out before the public. I spent a total of 5 hours over three sessions with P-R experts and tried to soak up their wisdom and insights. In some ways it was overwhelming because there are so many options to explore.

I also attended seminars on leadership and how to navigate the http://www.barbershop.org/ web site. But my favorite seminar was titled, "How to Keep the Bar in Barbershop ;)"

We also heard some great singing and participated in ringing some awesome chords. Here is a photo of the group watching the Singing Buckeye's an award winning chorus. And a couple of amazing quartets.

My daughter Kerri started a blog about her preparations for giving birth in April. She calls it "The Adventures of Baby J." and you can read her entrys at http://theadventuresofbabyj.blogspot.com/

It's been bitter cold out in the single digits until yesterday. We also got about 4 more inches of snow. But the roads are clear and I'm learning that they can handle snow better around here than in NJ where we used to live. Attendance at church seemed a little off, but it was good to be there to hear the choir, talk with a few friends and hear the sermon on John 1:35-51. I saw both of the men I'd invited to chorus practice and was able to reconnect with them briefly.

Windows and Staying Warm

View from our deck this morning.

Yesterday Dee went to work while I stayed home and continued the window "film" project on the front windows. I completed all but one pane before running out of film again. It looks good and I'm satisfied it'll make a difference. The temp is to go to -2 degrees this morning and stay in the low single digits all day. Wind chill is supposed to be in the -15 to -25 range. Burrrr.

Later I went back to Home Depot for another roll of the stuff, renewed a book at the library on Excel 2002 that I'm using to teach myself Excel (slowly). And I bought some more coffee for my next batch of "cold brewed coffee" that finished brewing just this morning.

In the evening I went to the Bogmeister Board meeting now that I'm VP of PR and Marketing. Lots to do in that job, but the Board was very helpful as I begin establishing a budget of sorts and discovering ways to network and get the word out about our singing group. The meeting was at Bill S. home around the fireplace. Nice atmosphere. The sharing of ideas, and concerns as we move toward getting our charter and non-profit status was good. And it was nice of Jim S. to pick me up en route to the meeting.

Today I head out to Columbus for the "leadership academy" for officers of the Barbershop Society Chapters of our District. I'll be back Sat. evening sometime.

Of Bowling and Valentines

Yesterday was a cold one for sure. I shoveled a while just to get the snow off the deck and to stay ahead of any accumulation. It was only a couple of inches deep, but it can add up. Dee went to Contours to workout. I then went to Rotary for the luncheon and program. At rotary I announced and explained the "Singing Valentines" project of my barbershop group. Several of the men seemed interested and took some of the "tear off" phone numbers for future use.

Two of the guys at my table were into bowling and so we talked about that. I learned a lot about "sanctioned league" playing. One guy bowled left handed but hurt his hand during the year and tried to bowl right handed. He found he could do it pretty well, so started bowling right handed for his league. Someone took him aside and said it was an infraction against the rules. If you start bowling left handed you have to do so the entire season. WOW ! Who would've thought.

This conversation started when he mentioned he'd purchased a new bowling ball for $200. I asked him how many bowling balls he had. He said after thinking about it, "eight." He said that he usually takes two balls with him to the bowling alley when he plays, and that some guys take more. There's another rule that says, "If you don't take all your bowling balls out of the bag when the play starts, you can't use one you left in the bag later." He also indicated that often getting the "7 pin" is hard for him, so he has a favorite ball for that shot. He noted that different bowling alleys play differently with certain balls. So it can make a difference which ball he uses depending on where he's playing. AMAZING!

The other guys at the table were just as surprised as I was regarding the many "rules." We were "bowled over" by all this new information ;)

Back home Dee and I continued to install the window "film" in an effort to make our place just a little more energy efficient. We finished the kitchen area and now will do the two front windows. The films seems to keep some of the cold out, and cuts down on the UV glare as well.

I worked at the computer surfing the www.barbershop.org site to learn more about my new hobby. I leave on Friday for a quick trip to Columbus for a training event for new chorus officers. I'm the VP for Public Relations (P-R). It'll be my job to send announcements to the radio stations, and newspapers about the singing Valentines.

Here's the deal: We'll send a quartet to sing 2 love songs to your "special someone" on your behalf. Also included is a personalized card with words from you to her/him; and a photo of her/him with the quartet to capture the moment; and a Valentine balloon. All for the low low price of $40. We're hoping to do more than fifty of these singing valentines on February 13 and 14. We'll sing at homes, offices, hospitals and even restaurants and stores. Wherever you want. If you're interested give me a call and I'll make it happen. (Note: Our quartets are good. Remember one of them sang the National Anthem for the Yankees/Pirates game last summer.) Have a great day!

A Little This and That

In the morning Earl C. picked me up for the men's Bible Study group at the church. We saw a brief video on the book of Isaiah, and then had discussion. It was nice of Earl to pick me up. We enjoy the guys who show up for it.

Back home we continued our window "film" project on the kitchen windows. It's coming along well, but we ran out of film and had to stop for the day. We think it's making a difference already regarding retaining heat. And we're getting better at applying the stuff as well. Everything went well except for the dog eating the squeegee handle ;)

We stopped at Giant Eagle for some groceries and I checked out the cheese selections. I didn't get anything, but it was good to see what they have. I received word too, that my cheese books have been shipped. Can't wait!

We got more snow so I did some shoveling. The weather reports indicate it's going to get colder and colder through the week. Friday is to be a high of 9 degrees - burrr. We stayed inside and watched some of the shows we'd recorded. I continue to make and drink my "cold brewed" coffee. I've made two batches and am about to make a third batch. It makes about 7 cups of concentrate that then can make about 30 cups of coffee. The concentrate can last up to 14 days or longer in the fridge, but we drink it before that. I like to make the lattes with it. Yummm.

Cheese Glorious Cheese

This is the view from our room at Seven Springs as we sat in our room and looked out the window. Cool.

Yesterday we decided to work on the windows at home by putting a thin film on them that keeps out UV rays and cold air while allowing a person to look out the windows. We did the basement window first and we already have noticed that there is a difference. We also did the door window to the deck. A lot of heat must escape through the window pane because by just adding the "film" it's made a difference. We're going to do the rest of the windows today - at least until the product runs out.

We also went to Barnes and Noble and perused some of the books I discovered online about cheese. I got so turned on at the "getaway weekend" that I want to learn more about cheese. Afterward, we went to Costco, and I examined their cheese department to see what kind they had on hand. I bought some Pecorino Romano from Italy. It's made from sheep's milk and came highly recommended by the cheese expert at the "getaway". Later we had some as a snack with a nice white wine, pinot grigio, that we bought in Virginia. Yummm. Then, I ordered three books on cheese from Amazon.com so I can read about how cheese is made, eaten, served and paired with wines. And to learn about some of the cheeses I'll be trying and looking for. Fun stuff. Can't wait!

Last night I went to Barbershop Harmony Chorus practice. We're getting ready for the "singing valentines" emphasis by learning the two songs we'll sing for people as a gift to their "special someone." We also began practicing in earnest the two songs we're going to do for competition. I was glad to see that Alan was back and that Bob, whom I invited last week, also returned. It was a good practice. I'm beginning to see that the guys who learn the song by ear, and can't read music, are at a disadvantage when it comes to learning new songs. They still learn the song, but it's a different process for them.

Afterward, Dee and I watched some television, tried our new cheese