What's happening?

When you think no one is reading your blog, you lose motivation to post to it. Anyway, in the hope that someone, somewhere might read this, I will update what is happening in my life.

Today, Gail come over this morning for our weekly piano duet practice. After she left, we went over to Nick's house and picked up Luke and took him to his favorite restaurant, the McDonald's in Sapulpa. We ate lunch there and let Luke play on the playground equipment there.

After lunch, we went to an outdoors playground where Luke played on some equipment there. Following that we went to a nearby Braum's for ice cream. Braum's ice cream is the best -- so smooth, and rich, and creamy. We took Luke home about 4 pm. I came home for a nap.

Basically, that was our day.

Now for my goals for 2015. Last year I met my goal of walking an average of a mile a day, or 365 miles for the year. I believe I logged 420 miles for the year (can't find my record book right now). I am going to set a goal of 400 miles for 2015. Last year I read 20 books, cover to cover. My goal for this year is 12 books, one per month. My favorite book from my reading last year was Manhunt, by James L. Swanson. It is the story of the search for Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. The book was well researched and is a detailed account of what happened on the day of the assassination and the days following until Booth was caught.

The most important book I read last year is titled Crucifying America by C. J. Werleman. It is about contemporary politics.

One book I want to read this year is titled Masters of Deception. I have had this book in my library for a few years now. It is about optical illusion art and features the art of M.C. Escher and Salvadore Dali.

I was contacted by a representative of the Tulsa City Council to see if I would be available to give the invocation at a meeting of the city council this year. I said I would.

Last week I was sick. This week J is sick. We have also learned that Jen (Nick's wife) is sick. So, there seems to be plenty of sickness going around.

Back again from Missouri; tree of knowledge

We got back home from a few days in Missouri. In December, we spent more time in Missouri than Oklahoma. My Dad has not been doing well. He is 92 years old now and his days are growing short. Due to poor circulation in his feet, he has been seeing a wound doctor. Last week (or maybe the week before) he went to an appointment at Mercy Hospital to see the wound doctor. The doctor admitted him to the hospital. He stayed there a few days before going to a skilled nursing facility in Springfield. He has been having pain in both legs and receives periodic treatment for his legs. Both legs are wrapped with an elastic material.

Each year at Church of the Restoration we erect a tree. In addition to the usual ornaments, this year we decorated the tree with miniature book covers. I made the ornaments by bringing up the book from the Amazon web site and printing the image for each selected book (about 2 by 3 inches). I cut out the image after printing it and had it laminated. I punched a hole at the top and attached an ornament hanger. The book I chose was S. I. Hayakawa's Language in Thought and Action. Some of the other selected books were Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Stranger, The Little Prince, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

I have been thinking about goals I would like to achieve in 2015. Next time I post to this blog, I will write about that.

Catching up on things

It has been almost a month since I last posted something here.

Today we returned from a six-day trip to Springfield. My Dad is not doing well. He spent a week in Mercy hospital being treated for congestive heart failure. He is now at a short-term convalescent facility for rehab. Mother is weak as she ages. They will not hire help. We are the only help they will accept.

More later....

Uganda Kids Choir

This picture taken tonight at Sand Springs United Methodist Church. Pictured are the ten members of the Uganda Kids Choir. They were moving fast so the picture is blurred.

Back from Springfield again

Here are the highlights from this past week:

On Monday, Gail come over for a two-hour practice session. After that I went to Mark Twain Elementary School where I am a volunteer tutor. I met with my student, a third grade boy, and we practiced reading. The program is called Reading Partners. Volunteers from the community work one-on-one with students who are behind in their reading skills.

On Tuesday we did our usual thing with Luke.

On Wednesday, we drove to Springfield to assist my parents. We spent two nights at the Arbor at the Mall. J had cooked a big Thanksgiving meal at home and transported it in ice chests to Springfield. On Thanksgiving she heated it up and the five of us (Mother, Dad, Paula, J, and myself) enjoyed turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, chocolate cake, pecan pie, and probably a few other things I don't recall.

We got back to Sand Springs last night. I was tired, even though it doesn't seem like I did much. I guess it was the driving that fatigued me so. I would never make a long-haul trucker.

My hand is no better than the last time I posted here. I have a trigger finger now on both hands. It is the middle finger on both hands. I am to see a hand surgeon soon.

Tomorrow is Sunday. I don't know what will be done about the stolen air conditioning. Something will have to be done before next summer.

TTH and church

We attended Tulsa Town Hall last Friday. The speaker was Bill Bryson, an expat now living in England. He is in the US on a book tour and Tulsa was one of his stops. A Walk in the Woods is one of his books. He has written more than a dozen.

Yesterday we went to a dinner at the church. There were about 20 people there. It is pledge time. Those making a pledge filled out their pledge cards.

It was snowing this morning as I left for church. There were only six people there today. The big news today was that the church's air conditioner units had been stolen sometime within the past week. That is a serious blow to a small church such as ours. It could very well send us under.

Dan at Silver Dollar City

This shot was taken near the entrance of SDC.

Christmas Tree at night

Tracks overhead

You can walk under a train at Silver Dollar City.

Tree at SDC

Church at SDC

Here is the Wilderness Church at Silver Dollar City.

Branson

I haven't posted anything to my blog in quite a few days. I have been doing a few things which if I don't write about soon will fade from my memory. So here goes...

Last week we spent four days in southwest Missouri. We drove to Springfield to check on my parents and then drove on down to Branson. Earlier this year we had noticed that people who were married in 1976 got free season's passes to Silver Dollar City. Although we have made several trips to Springfield this year, we never found the time to go to Branson. Last week we did.

We stayed at the Best Western which is about a half mile from Silver Dollar City. It was close enough that you could hear the sound of the steam engine at SDC. It was very convenient that there was a Dollar General store next to the motel as we went there for soft drinks and other vacation supplies. The last night we stayed there, Friday, the motel was packed. Returning from the acrobats show, we found only one parking spot outside the motel. It was off in the south forty. The motel needed a shuttle between the parking lot and the motel. There was a good breakfast at the motel, however there were no vacant tables in the breakfast area.

We saw a couple of shows at SDC. One was an adaptation of the film "It's a Wonderful Life" while the other was an adaptation of Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol." Both were musicals. Also, while in Branson we saw "The Amazing Acrobats of Shanghai." Their balance and agility were truly amazing. One man stood on a plank on top of a barrel and flipped bowls from the end of the plank and caught them on the top of his head. Although it was mid-November, there were still plenty of tourists around.

We left home on Wednesday and returned on Saturday. The next day was Sunday. At church Rev. Debra gave the talk. We had seven visitors from a UU seminary visiting. Soon we will be putting up a Tree of Knowledge in the sanctuary.

Movie; Halloween; Finger; Workday at Church

This past week J and I saw a movie. It was St. Vincent starring Bill Murray. It's a better than average movie, but notinh to rave about. The dialogue has some clever wording. All in all, it's sort of a downer, but I guess you could say it is true to life.

Last night was Halloween. On the way back from Springfield (Friday), we stopped at Vinita and went in to a WalMart and bought candy for the trick-or-treaters we expected that evening. J was not feeling well and went to bed around 5 pm. After watching the evening news, I went outside and set up my candy stand so that the trick-or-treaters could do their thing without ringing the doorbell. It had turned off cold that day, which probably had a lot to do with the low number of t-o-t that came by the house. I would say we had, at the most, 30 t-o-t last night.

My trigger finger is still bothering me. It is the middle finger on my left hand. I am still able to play piano, but not quite as well as before this condition came on. I see a surgeon next month who will advise me on what to do.

Today was another workday at the church. Someone a few weeks back stole the gate to the children's play area. I happened to have a gate (chain-link fence type) that we took down a few years back just taking up room in the shed. I loaded it into the car and took it to church today. It was just the right size. It fit like a glove.

Back from a brief vacation

Wednesday morning we left for a brief vacation. We drove toward Oklahoma City but got off the turnpike at Stroud. We took highway 99 south to Ada. We had a reservation at a motel there. On the way, we stopped in Seminole at a Taco Bell for lunch. Then we went to a Braum's for a chocolate shake. Once in Ada, we checked into our motel. That evening for dinner we ate at a Santa Fe Cattle Co. I had salmon. J had a steak.

The next day we drove to Sulphur. We visited the Chickasaw Heritage Center just southwest of the town. There are several building on the campus. In the auditorium we saw a stomp dance and watched a film. Afterwards we ate Indian tacos in the cafeteria. There is a reconstructed Chickasaw village on the grounds. The village is enclosed in a palisade made of wooden posts. The tribal council building was the largest in the fort-like compound.

The museum contains several artifacts. It would take several hours to take it all in. We hurriedly went thru it in about an hour.

Going back to Ada, we took the turnpike. I have a Pikepass and did not check the fee to use the turnpike. But the turnpike is a joke. It is nothing more than a two-lane highway. I have traveled on much better roads for free in the state.

That evening we dined at Prairie Kitchen in Ada. The decor was very interesting. I took several pictures of the interior. I will post some later.

To Springfield and back

We made another trip to Springfield this week. We left on Wednesday and returned on Friday. It was good to see my parents again and take them to various places they needed to go.

While there I walked the hallway on the third floor of the Abbey for an hour. That brought my total for the year to 369 miles. That means I have achieved my goal of walking an average of a mile a day. I will continue and see if I can make it to 400 miles for the year.

I went to the church work day on Saturday. There were about 20 people there. Other groups use the building where we hold services. There is the SOS group - a secular organization for sobriety. The Muslims meet there, also. All together there are four or five groups using the building. A lot of work got done Saturday. We cleaned out the religious education room, throwing away three large plastic bags of out of date material. There is a paper recycling bin across the street. I took several boxes of paper and dumped them in the bin. Outside I dug up irises from the flower beds.

Attendance at church was down today. The speaker was Rev. Debra. We had only six in attendance at the start of the service. A couple more came in as the service was going.

Sebelius - Goodbye to Bob - trigger finger

While at church Sunday someone had tickets to an afternoon concert at the Tulsa PAC. Bill D. claimed the tickets, but upon phoning his wife, he discovered they had other plans. So I ended up with the tickets. I phoned J but got her voice mail. I left a message telling her I had tickets and headed home. When I got there she was with Luke. She told me to go on to the concert without her.

I arrived at the PAC about 10 minutes before the concert started. It was an all Sebelius concert. "Finlandia" was the opening work, followed by two other short pieces by Sebelius. After the intermission, Symphony No. 2 was performed.

After the concert, I headed home (a 20 to 25 minute drive)and picked up J and we went back to Tulsa to say goodbye to Bob Pugh. Bob had died on Thursday. Bob was one of the founders of the Tulsa Walking Club. He had walked in all 50 of the states and in all 77 counties of Oklahoma. He had also walked in 9 foreign countries. He held key positions in the TWC, including trailmaster. The Club is going to miss Bob. He was just a couple weeks shy of his 89th birthday.

I continue to walk several times a week. I am now up to 357 miles this year.

In the past month I have developed a condition known as trigger finger. I went to the my doctor's n.p. who checked my hand and referred me to a hand surgeon. I have been reading articles on the Internet about the condition. It is more of a nuisance than anything. I am supposed to see the surgeon in a couple of months. I hope by that time that it has gone away. It is my middle finger on my left hand that has the problem. I have seen advertised a device that looks something like a ring with a flange on it. I might get one of those to see if it resolves my problem.

Returning to my blog

It has been a while since I last posted anything to this blog. There is a lot of catching up to do. The last few days have been busy.

Mondays are my busiest day. Gail comes at 10 and leaves at noon. Then at 12:30 I have to be at Mark Twain Elementary School where I tutor a student.

Yesterday, J and I drove over to Gail's where we all (Gail, Glenn, J and myself) went to eat lunch at The Foundations restaurant. The restaurant is operated by the Platt College Culinary Arts school. The food was excellent. The meal was just $9 each. That included beverage and dessert. Each Friday the school has a theme, such as Mexican or Chinese. The theme last Friday was Home-style cooking. Food is served as a buffet. Choices included fish, meat loaf, and chicken. As you sit at your table you can view the students preparing the food just inches away by looking thru the plate glass to the galley nearby.

Last night I was going to eat some ice cream. As I dug the scoop into the ice cream, I noticed it was unusually soft. I checked the freezer and discovered things were thawing out. Friday evening is probably the worst time to have an appliance failure. We will have to wait until Monday to have a serviceman check out the fridge.

J and I had talked about having a secondary fridge back in the office area. Now was the time to get one. (Actually, Friday would have been a better time.) Anyway, today I went out and bought a compact fridge for $100.

It's always something. Last week it was the garbage disposal. It started leaking and had to be replaced.

This Sunday, Gail and I will play a piano duet titled "Summer Samba." It is Humanist Sunday this Sunday. The speaker will be Bill Dusenberry. He will speak on "Why Republicans Can't Be Humanists."

Recent activities

Monday (yesterday) began with Gail coming over for piano duet practice. We are working on Faure's "Gavotte" and Glinka's "Impromptu en Galop," among other pieces. As soon as Gail left, I got ready to go to Mark Twain Elementary School where I volunteer as a tutor for a third grader who is about a year and a half behind where he should be in his reading skills. And in the evening, we went to the Methodist Church for the second session of "Making Sense of the Bible." The Bible study is led by the church pastor. We viewed a 15-minute video of Adam Hamilton discussing the lesson for the day. There were about 30 people in the study.

Today, we got up early (for us) and went to an elementary school where my grandson attends fourth grade. We were given a donut and a cup of orange drink and listened to some of the students read.

Once we got back, I went walking. I did my usual 3-mile stint.

Making Sense of the Bible

Below is a link to a short video in which author Adam Hamilton talks about his recent book Making Sense of the Bible. Hamilton is pastor of the largest Methodist church in the U.S. It is located outside of Kansas City. You will have to scroll down to find the video. I will be taking a Bible study course at the Methodist Church which uses Hamilton's book as its text.

In the video I was surprised to hear Hamilton admit that the Bible has errors. That is something you don't often hear from a Christian.

Here is the link to the video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL31pUOUw_U

A Nocturnal Visitor

Last night my wife and I went to bed around 11:30 pm. We had been asleep for a couple of hours when suddenly we heard the doorbell. Ding, dong, ding dong, ding, dong. I got out of bed and looked at my cell phone for the time. It showed 1:38 A.M. Who, I asked, comes visiting at this time of night?

Whoever it might be was persistent for he rang the bell a second time. Not knowing who was outside the door, I went to the door and said "Who's there?" loud enough so that the visitor could hear me through the door. The visitor made a short reply, but I could not make out what he said. I turned on the porch light to illuminate the area.

I proceeded to the window to see if I could get a view of the visitor. I went over by the piano hoping I could get a good view of the doorbell ringer. I saw the person -- a male, caucasian, about 25 to 30 years old, and rather swarthy looking -- standing in front of the door. It was no one I had ever seen before. He rang the bell once again.

By this time my wife was on the phone calling the police. The 911 center dispatched a patrolman, but he was in north Sand Springs when he got the call. The visitor decided to return to his vehicle parked in the street with motor running and lights on. There was also a second vehicle parked in front of our house, but it's lights were off. I could not tell if it was occupied.

The visitor got in the car and made a U-turn and proceeded south on 51st St. and disappeared into the night.

A couple of minutes later the police arrived. The patrolman came to the door and spoke with us. The patrolman just missed the visitor by two minutes.

After the visitor and policeman were gone, I noticed our neighbor was getting something out of his car trunk, or maybe he was putting something in it. As soon as he closed the trunk lid, he went inside his house. The time was a quarter until two.

We slept uneasy the rest of the night. When I got up at 7:15 this morning I notice the second car, the one parked in front of our house, was gone.

We were left to wonder what this whole incident was about.