Sunday, May 30, 2010

My Sunday

After five years of attending Church of the Restoration as a "chronic" visitor, today I joined the church. The service today was one of remembrance, especially remembrance of two members of the church who left this life in the past year, Jewel Hines and Betty Anne Davidson. I never knew Jewel, as far as I can remember; but I did know Betty Anne. Betty Anne was a liberal activist in the Tulsa area. I can distinctly remember her greeting me one day at church. I can still see her face. The next thing I knew, I was reading her obituary. She was taken by cancer. She was about my age.

Today's service was led by Vanessa Adams-Harris. The title of the message was "This Do In Remembrance Of Me." Vanessa read an essay she had written a couple of years ago based upon her childhood memories.

The service next Sunday will be on Humanism. I selected the hymns to be sung and informed the pianist, Edna, about them. They are "This Little Light of Mine" and "We Would Be One." There are more parts of the service (Announcements, Chalice Lighting, Affirmation, Children's Story, etc.) to be decided upon. The special music selection will be a piano/guitar duet. My friend Joy Avery will accompany me on guitar. We have not yet selected the music to be played.

Luke and Ayla spent the afternoon with us. We took them home about 5 pm.

The Shecklers (Marti's daughter and son-in-law) have a new baby boy. We watched a new video on the Sheckler's blog tonight.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Volkswalking again

We went volkswalking again today. This time we walked near LaFortune Park in Tulsa. The walker has a choice of three routes. We took the route which goes through a neighborhood adjoining the park. This was our third YRE for this half of the year. It was a hot day. My car said it was 93 degrees. After we finished, we went to a nearby QuikTrip for something to drink. We also got a corndog each as a snack.

After returning home, we went out to Lake Keystone to pick up the receipts there. There had been 22 walkers walking the YRE at the lake since I last had collected the money.

Next, Nick and Jen came by and left their little ones with us as they went to the movies and out to eat. They came back a few hours later and got Luke and took him home. Ayla is staying overnight with us. She will be going with Nanna to church in the morning.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Getting back into volkswalking

I'm feeling pretty good now. Today we went to Promenade Mall and did the volkswalk inside the mall. That is three circuits on the ground level and three times around on the second level. While up on the second level we stopped at the Food Court and shared an order of barbecued chicken on rice. As we were walking away, we passed by the Chick-Fila venue where someone was passing out samples of yogurt with shredded peaches mixed through it - a free dessert.

Today was the first time I have walked any significant distance since by back problem came on back on March 5. I'm not sure how long the effectiveness of the steroid injections will last, but I'm living each day as if it were my last. Today's year-round walk went a distance of 3.1 miles. So far this year, I have walked three of the club's YREs (year-round events). The club sponsors seven YREs. One is in Bartlesville, and one is in Galena, KS. The rest are nearby.

There are five schedules volkswalks in southern Oklahoma over the Memorial Day weekend. I had hoped to travel to those cities and do the walks, but J reminded me that Ayla has a birthday party at the Dobbs on Sunday. Besides, I need to be at church to plan the service for June 6 with Rosemary. The theme of the service will be Humanism.

After we finished the volkswalk, we went back to the car and drove north on Yale Ave. I pulled in at Saied's Music. I visit the store about once a month. I looked at their selection of duet music for piano. They had a lot of music which I had never seen before. I bought three books of duet music. The first book is titled Dixieland Duos and contains the piece "Tiger Rag." The next book is Have It Your Way and contains the piece "Traveling the Allegheny Road." Finally there is Joplin Ragtime Duets, which contains "Heliotrope Bouquet," "Magnetic Rag," "Peacherine Rag," and "The Ragtime Dance."

When I got home I checked the library's web site to see if I had any books to pick up at Pratt Library. There were seven there waiting for me. I drove to the library and got my books.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

A two-cart day at the grocery store

We finally made it over to the grocery store today. We were getting low on food. In fact, we bought so much today that we had to have two carts.

I am feeling well enough now to resume volkswalking. We were going to do the walk inside the Promenade Mall, but since it was getting late we decided to put it off. The steriod injection I got two weeks got rid of 95% of my pain. I have not been able to tell that the injection I got yesterday has had any effect yet.

We have been sharing kitchen duties lately. Tonight we are having talapia on rice. I will be fixing that shortly. J will handle the reminder of the meal.

I heard from Rosemary by e-mail. She and I are going to organize a program on humanism for Church of the Restoration, Unitarian Universalist. The program will be presented on June 6. Rosemary has presented some excellent programs in the past. Restoration is a multi-racial congregation.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I get a second injection today

Today we arrived at St. John M.C. to receive the second and last injection of steriod. The doctor asked how the last injection was doing, and I told her it had relieved about 95% of the pain. I feel good enough now that I would be willing to go about my life without any problem. Only occasionally do I get a reminder that the potential for pain is still there.

This visit went smoother than two weeks ago. Once again there were about two dozen people in the waiting room, but once I checked in, I was called to go to, what I would call, a holding area. While there they prepped me for the procedure. An IV connection was inserted into the top of my right hand. I answered some questions. Then while lying on my back on a bed, I waited for a half hour. Then a nurse wheeled me to the procedure room. The IV connection was hooked up, and I went to sleep (more or less). I do remember being wheeled to recovery after the procedure was finished. In the recovery area, I felt at peace (being in a drugged state). I was there about 30 minutes, and then a nurse transferred me to a wheelchair and wheeled me outside to the parking lot on the seventh floor. J drove up and I got in the car. We took off for Sand Springs.

Back in Sand Springs, we stopped at the Crescent Cafe for lunch. When we got home, I could still feel the effects of the seditative. I took a long nap to sleep it off.

After I got up, I went out back to water the tomatoes, cucumbers and pepper. I also helped J erect a canopy tent which we had bought the previous day at Atwoods.

J got a call from Ayla who was aware she had birthday presents waiting for her here. (Today is her birthday; she's now 7.) She wanted to know if Nanna could bring them over to her house. We got the presents wrapped and drove over to Nick's. I took my camera and shot several pictures. We did not stay long. It was dark even by the time we left our house. We got home in time to watch the 10 pm news.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Genealogy projects

We began the day with a trip to our new dentist in Sapulpa. It was like stepping back in time a few years. He does not have the latest in technology as does Dr. F. For example, we had x-rays of our teeth taken. They use actual film, whereas Dr. F has digital x-rays which are instantaneous. The equipment appears to be older than at Dr. F's. In all, it took longer for this visit than in the past with Dr. F. Dr. B. said we both have a cavity, which we will get fixed later.

We made a trip to Atwood's where we bought a patio table and chairs plus a canopy tent. We were going to get some mulch, but we thought we could get a better price at a later date.

On our last trip to Springfield, my Dad gave me a book about my genealogy. I have several pictures I have acquired from my mother and my cousin Vicki of relatives from way back when. I spotted a book, Digitizing Your Family History, while I was at the library today. I checked it out. I plan to scan the pictures I have and put them on the web for whomever may be interested in viewing them. I will set up one for the Nerren side of the family and one for the Andrews side of the family.

Most of the people in the pictures are people I do not know. How soon we are forgotten once we die! Countless millions lived their life, died, and are now utterly forgotten. I am now in the autumn of my life and expect to join the ranks of the forgotten by the year 2100, if not before.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Busy day; scans canceled

Well, we had a busy day today. First, we took the ailing Saturn to Same Day Auto Repair to get it checked out. If you read yesterdy's entry, you know about the problem I had with it. The problem turned out to be with the serpentine belt and too much play in the path it travels. The belt was replaced along with the belt tensioner for a total of $362.65. That includes labor, of course.

On the way home from dropping off the car at SDAR, we stopped at Braum's for a sausage and egg biscuit. We also got a half gallon of milk.

Gail arrived around 10 am and we played piano duets for a couple of hours.

Wondering about the scans I was to have on June 8, I phoned Dr. Rapacki's office and left a message inquiring about the second set of scans. As it turns out, I do not need the second set of scans after all. The original scans I had last March were ordered by Dr. Uy, a radiologist. Dr. Rapacki's computer is set to remind his staff if so much time passes without scans beng ordered. Since my scans were ordered by Dr. Uy, and not Dr. Rapacki, the folks in Dr. R's office thought it was time again for scans. That's good news.

Here at the house, we have a wooden fence at the back of our property. Some time ago we bought three gallons of stain to restain the fence. We did that today. We also put out the plants we bought about a month ago.

I need to get the notes I took from Sunday's TAM meeting and post what happened at that meeting on another blog.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Busy day

Today turned out to be a busy day. First, I went to Restoration this morning at 11:00 for the service. I've noticed that a couple of the regulars have not been there for the last few Sundays: Larry and Rosemary. The last time I talked to Rosemary, she was complaining about her back. I don't know about Larry. He was attending regularly, and then he was gone.

We did have one visitor this morning. My friend, John, from the Humanist group came. I figure if we can get five HAT members attending, we might use this core group to present some programs. Right now, we have (in addition to myself), Barbara, Larry, John, and Steve. This could be our core group, right there, assuming that all are as enthusiastic about this project as I am. Barbara stayed home today because she is soon to be a great-grandmother. She wants to be alive when the great grandchild comes. She has an implanted pacemaker and thinks she doesn't have long to live.

The service today honored Margaret Fuller, one of the original New England Transcendentalists from the nineteenth century. She was also a Unitarian.

After the service was over, I high-tailed it over to the Agora Coffee House (some 8 to 10 miles away) , getting there just before the beginning of the Atheists Meetup. On the way there, I heard an awful racket coming from the engine compartment. I turned off the AC, and the noise stopped. I'm afraid my air conditioner is shot. I will take the car in to Same Day Auto Care tomorrow morning and have them check it out. J has already told me that if it is the AC, we might as well get another car, rather than spend a thousand dollars on repairs. The car is already 13 or 14 years old.

I arrived just before the meeting started. I took notes which I hope to put up on the meetup site tomorrow. The meeting lasted for two hours.

I went to Wendy's and ordered a large chili with a Dr. Pepper. I phoned J to tell her about the car. I had already called Joe in the morning, knowing that with the indexing project I am working on, I could not do everything.

It's time to turn in now; I will need to rise early tomorrow to take the car in. On the way back, we might stop and get a sausage biscuit at Braum's and then it will be time for Gail to arrive for piano duet practice.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Food and Fellowship gathering

This morning we passed up eating at Catfish Row and Fred's Diner in favor of La Hacienda on Peoria Avenue. Seated across from us was Dave Tinney and Richard Maule. There were 11 people there in all. We had two conversations going at the string of tables we had put together. I prefer one round table like we had at Chopsticks. There usually one person at a time speaks and everyone else listens. When you have a seating arrangement like we had today, you get multiple conversations going.

We had the chicken burrito. It is so large that one serving is enough for two. Imagine two people eating for less than seven dollars.

Richard told me about something called "Radio Lab" which I will look into. It is some kind of broadcast which he likes. It was Richard who told me about Mr. Deity (http://www.mrdeity.com/) which I enjoy a lot.

After the meal and the conversation, we came home and I resumed working on the index. I should have more to write about tomorrow.

Friday, May 21, 2010

School Awards Program

Today was awards day at Central Fine Arts Academy in Sand Springs. We were there because our granddaughter, Ayla, a first-grader, received an award. I think, in fact, everyone there received an award. There must have been 300 awards given out. It took two hours to give out the awards.

When I got back home, I resumed work on an index. I worked on it all afternoon. I finally took a nap around four or five in the afternoon.

While in Springfield, my Dad recommended I read The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. As soon as I finish the index I'm working on, I will download the book to my Kindle and start reading it. Is there any chance I could get my Dad, or any other person of the Christain persuasion, to read, say, Atheist Universe by David Mills?

A new issue of The Nation, dated June 7, came into my Kindle tonight.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Back in town

We drove over to Springfield, Mo. Wednesday morning to visit my parents. On the way, we stopped at Exit 4 near the state line and ate at Wendy's. I love their chili. We got back on the road and drove on in to Springfield, arriving around 2:30 pm. While in Springfield, I picked up my e-mail. I had a message from the publisher I'm working for right now. They asked me to make some changes to the index I sent them a few days ago.

Before going to bed, I used my Kindle to post an entry to my blog. That was a first for me. The Kindle is a mere 6" x 8" by 3/8". Using it instead of a computer took longer, but it worked.

We got up this morning and loaded up the car and hit the road. Passing by Joplin, we decided to stop at Red, White, and Blues, a barbecue restaurant on Rangeline. I usually get barbecue, but today I got the catfish. J got barbecue.

After lunch, we got back on the road and drove on in to Sand Springs. We had two days of mail in the mailbox, but there really wasn't much there.

I had wanted to hear Franky Schaeffer speak at the Interfaith Alliance meeting tonight (held at All Souls), but I needed to do some work on the index, too. I stayed home and worked on the index.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Oil change

This afternoon I got the oil changed in my 2008 Saturn Aura. I went to Same Day Auto Repair. I asked the guy at the front desk if the technician could reset the Oil Life indicator. He said no problem. It did not take long to get the oil changed. On the way home, I discovered that the Oil Life indicator had not been reset. I called the shop when I got home, and the guy confessed that the technician had forgotten to reset the indicator. I tried to do it myself, but I could not get it to work. So, I went back to the shop, and the technician did what seemed like the same thing I had done unsuccessfully, but with him it worked. I'm not much of a mechanic.

This evening we went to the 60th floor of the old City of Faith building. There is a great view from the top of that building. You could see for miles and miles and miles. The occasion was a CPCU dinner. We had Chicken with mashed potatoes, squash, carrots, bread, and iced tea. For dessert we had chocolate cake.

I went by the library. A video I had ordered was there waiting for me to pick up. It is "Coco Before Chanel." Inhale long and slow. Tonight I watched "2012" on DVD.

Monday, May 17, 2010

We eat at Rib Crib

The day began with us going to the church and dropping off a cake for a reception following a funeral. Once that was done, we went to Braum's for a sausage and egg biscuit each. While there we read the morning paper.

We returned home before Gail came over for two hours of piano duets. We are working on a program for the Fourth of July. Thus far we have the following pieces we are working on: The Stars and Stripes Forever, Washington Post March, and Yankee Doodle Variations.

We got our lawn mowed today. We had a break in the rain and took advantage of the window of opportunity.

Tonight we had supper at the Rib Crib, a barbecue restaurant on the other side of the river. I had the all-you-can-eat ribs with baked beans, and potato salad. I think I downed about eight ribs. I was no longer hungry by the time I walked out of that rib joint. Rib Crib was having a promotion involving Relay For Life which is sponsored by American Cancer Society.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Bad day at church

I went to church this morning expecting some sort of service, but when 11:00 came around there were just three of us there. There was Edna, the pianist, Mary, the lay leader, and myself, the congregation. The service did not make. No one had the heart to go through the motions. We just sat around a while and then left. I guess too many people had other things they had to do this morning. (Compare this to the humanist meeting yesterday which had 17 people.)

Anyway, I sent an e-mail to Vanessa (the church administrative assistant -- assistant to whom? I wonder) who was in North Carolina doing one of her one-woman performances, lamenting the failed service. There is some hope that our HAT group can come to the rescue, so to speak. We have two members who are willing to speak to the congregation (Marilyn and Herb), and I have an essay by Isaac Asimov which would make an excellent talk. Gail and I could play the piano. I figure one sure way of getting people there is to give them a role in the service. One person could take on the Chalice Lighting, another could read the Affirmation, one could read the Children's Story, called "A Story for All Ages," even though there are no children in the congregation; another could give the "Welcome," everyone could take part in the Candle Lighting, and someone could read the Closing Words. I figure if so many people have a role in the service, they are more likely to come as not.

After I left, I went by the grocery store and bought a sack of bagels and two boxes of Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensation cocoa mix. That is what I have been eating for breakfast lately -- a bagel and a cup of hot chocolate.

Once I got back home, I spoke with Steve Nunn on the phone. Steve had said he would be attending CoR. I learned he had gone by the church shortly after I left. We chatted on the phone for a while and then Steve suggested we get together to talk about matters face to face. Steve is a member of HAT. Steve is in favor of forming an alliance between HAT and CoR. Steve came over and we talked for about 20 minutes before I had to leave for drumming. Steve is a kind of unpaid community organizer. He is always recruiting neighbors to take part in local activities. It is good to have Steve on my side.

I left for drumming and was about 15 minutes late getting there. I had called Joe to tell him I would be late. We did our drumming, and then I headed home. I tuned in to the news and learned that some headway was made on stopping the leaking oil in the Gulf.

After the news, I took J to WalMart where we bought a few things.

Healthwise, I'm still holding up pretty well. If I could just keep feeling this well, I would not need to visit with Dr. Rapacki again.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

HAT meeting today

Today I went to the HAT meeting held at the Genealogy Center on Harvard. The meeting started at 2 pm and went on until past 4 pm. There were 17 people there today. I wrote up what happened and posted it on the HAT blog. Anyone interested may go to the HAT blog and read about the meeting there.

After the meeting was over, we drove to Nick's and picked up Ayla and went to the Crescent Cafe for dinner. I had a mushroom and swiss burger with a Dr. Pepper. J had fried shrimp, and Ayla had scrambled eggs and pancakes. Ayla is spending the night here with her Nanna.

We were eating during news time. There are TVs in the restaurant, but you could only see the pictures. I could tell from the pictures that the oil spill is still gushing oil into the Gulf. It appears the efforts to cut off the flow of oil has not suceeded. The slick continues to grow.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Today's activities

Our first event of the day was a Tulsa Town Hall which was held at the Performing Arts Center. It was raining, and that may explain why the crowd was down somewhat from other TTH events we have attended. Today's speaker was Dr. Rufus Fears, professor at OU in Norman. He is a good speaker and talked to us about the early leaders of this country: Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Mason, Morris, and others. He spoke without notes and included anecdotes from the lives of these men which made his talk come to life.

I had heard him before on CDs of the lecture series Books That Can Change Your Life made by The Teaching Company. It is a series of 24 lectures, each about a famous person and what they wrote. Please contact me if you would like to listen to this series. He spoke without a single note and kept the audience captivated for over an hour.

When I got home, I finished up a list of HAT members with relevent info (street address, phone numbers, etc.) and took the list to a copy shop and had 25 copies made. I will distribute the list tomorrow at the HAT meeting.

This evening, I went to the monthly poetry group meeting at Border's Bookstore. There were just four of us tonight: Sandra, David, Mary, and myself. We read poetry by William Collins, Thomas Gray, Christopher Smart, and William Cowper. I read Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." Gail, the backbone of this group, was away on vacation. We decided that next month we will choose two of our favorite poems and read them to the group.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Storms Rake Tulsa Area

There were some freaky storms in the area this morning. They were very spotty -- a bit of damage here, more damage over there. Large areas in between were untouched. We dodged the bullet here on Spruce in Sand Springs.

High winds toppled utility poles in Tulsa, resulting in power outages in Tulsa. The schools were closed as a result.

This afternoon, Luke and Ayla visited us while their parents went somewhere.

Tonight we watched a movie on DVD. It was an old movie from back in the 50s or 60s. It starred a young Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal. The title was "A Face in the Crowd." The main character in the movie, Lonesome Rhodes, discovers he has the ability to manipulate the public and does so as he rises to the top.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Medical Day

We arrived at St. John Medical Center this morning by 9:30 for my 9:45 appointment. We check in and discovered there was no record of my having an appointment for 9:45 or any other time that day. The receptionist gave me a couple of papers to fill out. I filled them out and took them up to the desk. Soon I was called to the window where someone took my insurance information. I was told to have a seat and some minutes later my name was called. It was probably about 11:00 am. by this time.

I was taken back to another room where I was preped for the procedure. An IV connection was placed into a vein. It wasn't connected to anything, but it was ready to go. I was told someone else was ahead of me, and I would have to wait about 20 minutes. There were two nurses waiting on me. Both were named Paula.

After about 20 minutes someone wheeled me to another room. We passed by a large window on the southeast corner of the seventh floor. It gave me a good view of that part of town.

Once we got into the procedure room, there were three people there, all women. Dr. Morgan talked with me a bit. She said there were two ways to go about the procedure. She explained them both and left it up to me to decide. I picked one and then rolled from the bed on to the operating table. I was told to hold my arms out front. My underwear was pulled halfway down my rear end. I felt something cold rubbing my lower back. The next thing I remember I was laying on my back regaining consciousness. I was still a bit groggy. Someone helped me into a wheelchair and wheeled me out to the parking area on the seventh floor.

J was driving the car. We returned to Sand Springs, stopping at the Crescent Cafe for lunch. Once we got back home (around 1 pm), I went to bed and slept until around 4:30.

The nurse said it would take 2 to 5 days to feel the benefits of the injection, but I already am feeling much better.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Nature's Wrath Visits State

We experienced rough weather in the state tonight. Storms hit between 4 and 6 this evening. According to one report, there was a swath of destruction from south of Tecumseh over to Highland Road. Altogether, five people lost their life. Tractor-trailer rigs were overturned and traffic on I-40 between Shawnee and OKC came to a halt for a time.

Meanwhile, back in Sand Springs, I was out returning books to the library. As I was returning to my car, I spotted what I thought was a rock in the tred of my front right tire. Using my car key, I tried to flip it out. However, it was not a rock but the head of a nail. Take it out and the tire would most likely deflate. Instead, I drove to Wal Mart where I had purchased the tires. I had a road hazard warranty on the tires when I bought them. Unfortunately, the nail was too close to the sidewall to be repaired. I would have to get a new tire. The tire was pro-rated by wear, so it only costs about $30 for a replacement. I got an oil change while there as well.

I went to bed right after the evening news and slept to just a few minutes ago. My back is still giving me problems, and nothing feels as good as being stretched out in bed.

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Performance goes well

I am feeling better today. It used to be I felt the best when I first got up and slowly declined throughout the day. Now, when I first get up is the time I feel the worst, and I slowly feel better as the day goes on. I can tell the disc is still out of place, but maybe I am getting used to it. Anyway, I go the St. John's for the steroid injection on Wednesday. In the meantime, I am trying to take it easy. The disc which has slipped out of place is aggravating the nerve which runs along the disc.

I went to Church of the Restoration this morning. I had hoped that some of my humanist friends would be there. We had talked about forming a partnership between HAT and CoR, in which each entity supports the other, but today was not the day. There were just the usual suspects in the congregation. Actually some of the regulars were not there. There were seven people there today: Gail and myself, Mary, Betty, Larry, Vanessa, and Edna.

The special music went well. Gail and I opened with Alexander's Ragtime Band, followed by Champagne Rag. As the service closed, we played I'll Wait For You and Black Hawk Waltz. (Imagine the quotation marks where they should be. I'm tired.)

Following the service, we went back to the room across from the kitchen where we had salad, baked beans, egg custard, and fried chicken.

I had my phone on vibrate during the service, and I felt it vibrate. J had called. I phoned her back, and she said they would be at Nick's to celebrate Luke's birthday. (Tomorrow is actually his birthday, but since everyone was free Sunday afternoon, that is when we celebrated it.) There were nine of us there. We sang "Happy Birthday" to Luke.

Saturday, May 08, 2010

Ayla's recital day

My granddaughter, Ayla, played her annual piano recital today. Considering she is a first grader, she did very well. She played her piece from memory and played it flawlessly. She had a good sense of the piece as a whole. It sounded very polished.

The entire recital lasted about an hour and a half. Afterwards, cookies and punch were served. There were about 30 students in the recital.

Next we went to WalMart where we bought a birthday present for Luke, whose birthday is May 10. Then we took Ayla to her house to get some things for her overnight trip to Nanna and Papa Dan's. She ate her dinner at McDonald's where there is an indoor playground. She is very social and takes to other kids right away. She has never met a stranger.

While I was a home, I worked on my indexing job. I reached the end of the mark-up phase yesterday. I have about a dozen pages left to enter into my indexing computer program. Then I will start editing it.

Also, tonight I went over the pieces we will probably play in church tomorrow. I don't know how much they will want us to play, but we have seven pieces ready to go, beginning with Alexander's Ragtime Band.

Friday, May 07, 2010

Getting ready for Sunday

As you know if you are a regular reader of this blog, plans were for Gail and myself to play a special for church this Sunday. Then I got a call from Edna asking if we could do several pieces this Sunday. I said yes. When I told Gail, she suggested we get together for another practice. This afternoon was that practice -- a full 2 and a quarter hours of playing duets. We worked on seven pieces in an effort to come up with a program for Sunday. We poured our hearts into this practice, so much so that afterwards I fell asleep watching the news and then took a long nap later.

The day began with a trip to the grocery store. I was quite fatigued by the time we got home. However, my back seems to be getting a bit better. I am scheduled to go to the hospital for an epidural steroid injection next week. I will be glad when I can get back to walking.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Slow day

This was a slow day for me, which is OK. I don't need to be pushing it. When I first got up this morning, I was having a lot of difficulty walking. Sitting was no problem, and lying down was all right. It is just trying to move around that is difficult.

I spent most of the day indexing. I think I will be ready to start editing the index tomorrow or the next day.

We watched a movie on DVD tonight. I checked it out from the library. The title is The Secret Life of Bees. I had no idea what it was about, but it turned out to be a very good movie. I would recommend it to my friends.

After watching the movie, I returned it to the library. There was a book there waiting for me. It was Enlightening the World: The Creation of the Statue of Liberty. The statue was a gift from France. What event in American history gave France the resolve to make the statue and give it to the United States? Answer: The assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

I am feeling better tonight, at least better than I felt this morning. My doctor said that sometimes these thing just go away on their own. I hope that's the case with me.

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

I visit my neurosurgeon

At 11:00 this morning we were at the office of my neurosurgeon. He came in and said "You have a disk herniation." This is the same surgeon who operated on me in 2007. That time he operated at L5 for the same problem. The problem disk this time is L4.

He asked if I had a pain management doctor. I said no. He recommended Dr. Morgan, whose office is in with his. The office was out to lunch. I left a message for them to call me when they got back. Doctor Rapacki suggested I get a steroid injection and possibly a second one if the first one does not work.

Next we went across the street to the Olive Garden. I had the Seafood Alfredo. It has a lot of shrimp and scallops in it. Then we came home.

Soon I was at the library. I had books to turn in and books to check out. Then I went by the bank and got some cash. When I got home I took a phone survey for Olive Garden which will give me a $4 discount next time we go there.

The person from Dr. Morgan's office called to schedule a steriod injection next week on Wednesday. They also told me to stop taking pain medication until after I have the injection. I had been taking 6 to 8 aspirin a day for the pain. So far I am doing okay without medication.

This evening we transferred the plants I bought yesterday into containers. We have four tomato plants, three cucumber plants, and one pepper plant.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

The Day in Review

This morning I took my spouse to the doctor's office. Her right leg has been bothering her at the knee and she wanted a medical opinion. The doctor gave her an ointment which helped considerably.

On the way back home, we went by the post office box where HAT gets its mail. The box was empty.

We decided next to go to WalMart and get an elastic brace for her leg. We looked at the equipment for support of knees, elbows, etc. and bought an adjustable knee brace and an elastic knee brace. When we got to the car, she tried them on. The Medium elastic brace was too tight. I went back into the store and returned the item, and then bought an XL brace. It fit just right.

We stopped at Riddle's Plant Farm on the way home, and I bought a few tomato plants and cucumber plants. They are sitting on the back porch right now. Maybe I can get them in the ground tomorrow.

I got a call from Edna, the church pianist, this afternoon. She wanted to know if Gail and I could play several selections next Sunday, instead of just one. I told her we could. It sounded as if there will be no speaker, just music. Then I sent Gail an e-mail informing her of the change. Gail and I will be getting together this Friday afternoon to select and rehearse the additional songs we will play.

This evening we went to the auditorium at the middle school for a musical program put on by the kindergarteners. Our grandson, Luke, was among those performing.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Lunch at the Crescent Cafe

The day began with Gail coming over for a couple hours of fun playing piano duets together. We will be playing at Restoration this Sunday morning. Our selection will be Glenda Austin's "A Little Bit of Bach." This will be a change of pace for us. Heretofore, everything we have played has been ragtime. We're branching out.

After Gail left, J and I went to the Crescent Cafe for lunch. We both had deboned fried chicken pieces. I had some potato salad. Before we left, I ordered a piece of chocolate pie. We brought it home and ate it later.

In the afternoon, we worked on fixing a trash can ... the kind you step on a lever at the bottom and the lid opens up. We spent about an hour trying to rig it so that the lid would open as the foot pedal was depressed. We never could get it to work. I guess we will lift the lid by hand until we can get another trash can.

I spent most of the evening indexing. I got an e-mail from the managing editor. She said they want a nine-page index, run-in style. I said I thought I could have the index done by May 17. Right now it is more than half way done.

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Today's happenings

Today being Sunday, I went to Church of the Restoration. Attendance was about 30 -- a bumper crop of devotees. The reason for the jump in attendance is a youth group from Topeka was on a trip, and our church was one of the stops. They spent Saturday night in the sanctuary. There were five or six adults and the remainder were teenages. They had attended the service at All Souls prior to coming into our sanctuary.

The group had visited a museum in north Tulsa which tells about the Race Massacre of 1921, in which several blacks (dozens? hundreds?) were killed. Much of north Tulsa was torched. Many businesses were destroyed, including the famous black Wall Street area of Tulsa. The grounds on which our church stands was part of the destruction. The rage even took to the air as people with private planes circled about trying to shoot innocent blacks on the ground. Many blacks fled the city never to return.

From here the group is to travel on the OKC and visit the Bombing Memorial. Before returning to Topeka the group will have visited the Trail of Tears Museum in Tahlequah. Several of the youth took part in our service by lighting a candle during the "joys and concerns" part of the service. In fact, all of the candles were lit during this part of the service. It took quite some time just to get through this portion. It is a good thing the speaker did not speak a long time.

Barbara was at church and asked if I was going to go to Herb's in the afternoon. Herb had called a meeting to discuss some matters relating to HAT. I told her I was intending to go, and she asked if she could ride with me to the meeting.

We stopped at Arby's for lunch and then went on to Herb's. There were seven people there: Ron, Randy, John L. Herb, Barbara, Marilyn, and myself. We talked about matters ranging from the formation of committees to a review of the bylaws. The meeting lasted a long while. Herb had prepared a sheet with seven items for discussion.

When I got home (just before news time), I noticed the yard had been mowed and the hedges trimmed. Our new yard man had been here. I hope to hear something from my doctor tomorrow regarding the MRI I had taken last Thursday.

Next Sunday, Gail and I will be playing at Restoration again. We will work up our piece tomorrow for Sunday.

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Review of the day

This morning we went to Braum's for breakfast. We had the usual -- a sausage and egg biscuit with Coffee (for J) and orange juice (for me). While there, we read the paper. We returned home and I resumed indexing the book I am working on.

This evening, we went to the Bradleys for Movie Night. Gail and I played "Castle House Rag," and I gave Gail the primo part to a new piece we will be working on. It is Schubert's "Fantasy in F minor." I got the music from a CD Sheet Music disc I own. There are more than 1,100 pages of music on that disc. At $20 a disc, I consider it a bargain. Then we watched the movie, which was "Capitalism: A Love Story" by Michael Moore. We had seen it before, but I was glad to see it again.

Freethought Calendar for May

May 2010 Calendar of Activities for Freethinkers

Sat., May 1, 7:00 pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 5607 E. 54th St. showing of a film will follow playing of “Castle House Rag” by our piano duo, Gail and Dan.

Sun., May 2, 2:00 pm
HAT Planning Session, at Herb’s house, 3414 E. 85th Pl.

Wed., May 12, 7:00 pm
Tulsa Atheists Mid-Month Social, Campus Grill, 3148 E. 11th St.

Sat., May 15, 2 pm
HAT Chapter Meeting at Genealogy Center, 2901 S. Harvard.

Wed., May 19, 11:20 am
ALGAE, White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan Rd.

Thurs., May 20, noon
Contest deadline for “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day.” Mail your drawing to HAT, P. O. Box 571127, Tulsa, OK 74157. Winners will be recognized at Food and Fellowship gathering.

Sat., May 22, 11:30 am
Food & Fellowship at La Hacienda, 4518 S. Peoria.

Sun., May 23, 1 pm
Tulsa Atheists Meetup, at Agora Coffee House in Fontana Center

There is a possibility a meeting will be held (in the first full week of May) at Bill Dusenberry’s to discuss action to be taken in regard to “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day,” May 20.

Due to low attendance, Secular Singers is suspended for the summer. We will resume in September, provided there is sufficient interest.

Questions? Call Randy (622-6975) or Dan (798-3629)