October 3 – “Fritz and Heidi”

Well, it's been a long time coming.  For over a year Fritz, our mixed breed, supposed-to-be-a-Boston-Terrier-but doesn't-look-anything-like-one, lovable mutt and Heidi, our shelter-rescued, probably-pure-bred-but-no one-will-ever-know dachshund have been living in exile at Kel and Christina's house with their "cousin" Lucy.  Christina has been a real champ through all this – bathing them and giving them flea and tick meds and feeding them.  Kel took a different approach – teaching them manners and waiting anxiously for the day when our back yard would be safe enough to handle them again.  I'm not sure what the boys will think.    We picked them up while everybody else (except Lucy) was at a birthday party.  When they got home Christina called right away.  She wanted to know if they should jump in the car and start looking for the kidnappers.  She told me that she asked Jachin if something was missing from the back yard, and he never did figure it out.  I guess they'll get by without those extra muttleys hanging around when they go outside to play.   Our day was spent getting ready for their arrival.  We borrowed the lawn mower from Kel and got our lawn and part of the one next door done.  That yard next door is getting creepy.  The grass in back was so tall it knocked the mower for a loop.  It just sputtered and died and wouldn't restart.  I decided that I was supposed to be in our yard anyway, so I pushed it to our garage and left it.  After my tuna fish sandwich at lunch, I went back over to check it out again.  Sure enough, it was something simple.  The spark plug wire had been knocked loose.  I didn't try to restart it, though.  Hope it does OK when Kel mows their yard.   I did do some more cleaning in the back yard, and Chris replanted, or repotted or whatever it is you do with plants.  I threw away some boards that have been taking up space back there.  I also threw away our old barbeque pit.  The wheels fell off as I was pushing it, so I used them to replace the ones that broke off of Nathan's.  Not a perfect fit, but if we don't ever move it, they'll be fine – until they rust off, too.  I also found another tool box.  I don't know where it came from, but it was rusted at the bottom.  There was a piece of carpet in there, so the mold and gunk was having a go of it.  I managed to save a bunch of screwdrivers and they are now doing their time in the last remaining bucket of diesel.    Chris was ready to quit before I was.  I just felt like I should keep working, because this was the only day I could, with church on Sunday and school the rest of the week.  I need to watch what I wish for.  After we brought the dogs home, one of our neighbors came over and offered us a pile of dirt that he was tired of looking at.  It was just what we wanted to use in our front yard to mix with the sand and all the mulch from that huge hackberry tree we chopped down.  Maybe there's a chance that we'll have a lawn with real grass.  We'll see next spring.   Speaking of Spring, Jachin asked me if I would coach his baseball team next spring.  He said he could show them how to hit and throw and I could teach them how to catch.  Sounds like a plan.  Actually, that would be fun – if I'm not still the headmaster and the pastor.   Colossians 1:15 says, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."   Father, I know you have been through it all before, both as Jesus and when us humans complain over and over.  Forgive us.  Amen.