March 14 – “Katz”

We were back at Seaside again yesterday, and Kel and I had a little surprise for everyone.  He introduced the theme verse again for the teaching series he is doing, and when he gestured for it to be displayed on the screen, display it did, indeed.  Except for one thing … it was in Visual Verse form.  Kel played it up great, and finally asked for someone out there to come up and help explain it.  I “just happened” to have my trusty pointer with me and begged him to call on me.  It was fun going through a verse again in its visual form.  The Seasiders seemed to get a kick out of the surprise.  Maybe we can do it again sometime.

 

After church a group of us went to a restaurant called ShyKatz (Or maybe it was SkyKatz.  Something like that).  It’s been around a while, but we have never been.  It was another Sam celebration for her birthday.  Gotta make that big number 70 something special.  The restaurant was in an unusual place.  Pretty much a residential area, in fact.  It was in what looked like one of those old corner grocery stores Galveston used to have a proliferation of.  Not many frills.  The food was served on mismatched, but real glass, break-if-you-drop-them plates.  I had a BLT sandwich, and it was really good.  I even saved half for supper last night.  Chris had a chicken salad, and she brought home more than half of hers.  It is definitely a place I would return to.  They have some breakfast items that I would really like to try. 

 

Continuing with the katz theme, After lunch we returned to the house with Lauren, Cathy, and Sam, and for the rest of the afternoon we dove into Sam’s cats jigsaw puzzle that she left here on Thursday.  The five of us worked for several hours on that thing.  I know it was several hours, because the University of Houston basketball game started just as we did, and they finished before we did.  Not that we finished the puzzle.  We’ll attempt to do that before home group on Thursday.  We got pretty much everything done but the cats.  Five of them, I think.  I won’t be messing with that part of the puzzle between now and Thursday, that’s for sure.

 

Psalms 139:23-24 says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

 

Father, thank you for friends who enjoy puzzling with us and sharing a meal together and just being together.  Amen.

March 13 – “Article of the Mundane”

Boy, did we ever have a retirement-style day yesterday.  One to write home about, that’s for sure.  I mean we could submit this one to a journal for senior adult living and in would for sure get published.  Well, now that I think about it, maybe not.  It would probably be considered “too usual.”

 

My bottom line for the day was, of course, college basketball.  Or, for the purposes of our Article of the Mundane, sitting in front of the TV all day.  Once again, we were treated to an array of great games.  Several were nail biters.  Others ended up looking like blowouts, but they were actually really good games. 

 

Now I couldn’t just sit on the couch and veg all day, could I?  Well, I guess I could have, but I moved a little bit.  Between games I adjourned to the puzzle table to stare at one of the new ones we have to put together.  Yep, we have two that are on the list.  Now.  One is Sam’s.  We gave it to her for her birthday, and she left it here so we could all work on it at home group.  In fact, we are supposed to get it all set up and started this afternoon after going out to lunch.  Should be fun.

 

Now Chris likes college basketball, too.  She likes it more when she knows someone playing or when she has determined that she will be rooting for a particular squad.  Because of that distinction though, she has difficulty with indiscriminately flipping between two or three channels to get the best of several games at once.  Kind of drives her crazy, actually.  So instead of suffering through mid-major finals, she decided to organize a bookshelf.  That’s her stopgap measure until we can get our wall full of shelves.  She actually found some that she kind of likes for sale at Ikea.  Still not sure enough to pull the trigger, though.  So, organize the fiction shelf, it is.  Looks really good now, too.

 

Once the final game was in the books (Duke losing to Virginia Tech), we did our twice-yearly duty.  Changing the clocks.  Spring forward.  Lose an hour’s sleep.  Actually, the hardest part of that whole ordeal is remembering how to reset the digital monsters we have.  I greatly prefer the old-school dials.  We were in bed by ten or ten-thirty.   Or was it nine or nine-thirty?  No idea.  All the clocks matched when I woke up this morning, though.  And it was still dark.  At 7:08.  Wonder who will have forgotten the clock thing this year at church? 

 

2 Samuel 7:22 says, “How great you are, Sovereign Lord!  There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.”

 

Father, thank you for our Day of Mundane.  We appreciate that kind just as much as the off-the-charts exciting ones.  Amen.

March 12 – “High-tailing it”

Cardiac rehab countdown … five … check.  Only four left.  Then we leave for Western parts unknown.  Well, maybe not unknown.  It’s just that we have never been to these particular Western parts before.  So “unknown to us,” then.

While Chris was gone, I did my weirdo home workout again.  Watched Sports Center again.  It’s a great show as long as they talk about baseball or show highlights of college basketball.  But they give way too much coverage to “pro basketball.”  Yeah, it’s in italics for a reason.  That stuff they do is just not real basketball.  Don’t like it.  Never have.  The college game, on the other hand, is exciting, and the fans really get into the game.  And the concept of playing defense is still a thing.  Bring on March Madness.

 

Speaking of March Madness, I did spend some retirement hours watching conference tournament play.  The close games are continuing.  Even the one that appeared well enough in hand that I went on to bed at half time last night turned into a nail biter.  Texas Tech held on to win by one point against Oklahoma.  If you can’t tell, I love this time of year.  I did consider one thing the other day though.  We are going to be on the road for a lot of the games in the tournament this year, including the final game.  Guess we’ll be watching some basketball in hotels …

 

We also tried to keep up with Jachin’s games.  He played two games with the junior varsity in the morning up in Santa Fe.  Then he high-tailed it all the way to El Campo to pitch a game for the varsity.  (“High-tailing it.”  Oh, come on, Word grammar check.  Surely you have heard of that one.  Means hurrying up, going fast, and the like).  He did well in the first two, although the good guys lost them both.  I was really proud of how well he did in the varsity game, though.  They let him throw over 70 pitches.  The good guys’ offense didn’t show up at all, though, and you can’t win a game with zero points on the board.  Still … proud of you, Jachin.

 

Last night we were visited by our niece and her husband and son from Lubbock.  They had been at the Houston Livestock show (showing chickens), and their usual decompress time after all that stress is … go to the beach.  Well, and stop by for a quick visit with Uncle Kelley and Aunt Chris.  It’s pretty cold today, though.  Have fun out there in the water.

 

1 John 4:4 says, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

 

Father, please keep Serena and Mike and Wyatt warm today and safe tomorrow when they head back to Lubbock.  Amen.

March 11 – “Wacky Workout”

Chris went on to rehab yesterday morning.  Counting down.  Five more days left.

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I did our newfound workout at home.  My doctor prescribed this one for me.  He described it this way:

1.  Turn on a TV show that you like, or listen to music.

2.  Whenever there in a commercial on, walk around the house briskly.

3.  During the show, walk in place, you know, like a member of the band. 

4.  (This is my favorite part)  Do it all while carrying around a can of beans in each hand. 

5.  Do it for thirty minutes, three times a week.

 

There you have, folks.  Guaranteed to keep you in shape.  Well, at least enough shape for a 67 year old coot. 

 

I also watched some college basketball.  Conference tournaments have begun.  I have already seen some amazing games, even among the lesser known teams.  There have been several overtime games, and more than a few ended with buzzer-beater shots.  One kid in the Texas A&M game last night made a three-quarter court shot at the half time marker.  He didn’t get it off in time to count, but it was a phenomenal (or phenomenally lucky) shot.  Gotta love March Madness.

 

In the late afternoon we went up to Santa Fe to watch Jachin play in a baseball game.  The good guys were down 7-1 before they made a real run at it.  They ultimately fell short and lost 7-5, but it was an exciting game.  Jachin grounded out to first and walked and scored a run.  He played first base the whole game.  They play again this morning, then Jachin has to scurry off to El Campo to play with the varsity this afternoon. 

 

Last night at Home Group we had a party of sorts.  We celebrated Sam’s 70^th birthday a few days early.  Had to do something to surprise her.  Chris made her favorite German chocolate cake, and she had several cards and gifts to open.  Sweet lady, that Sam.  (Of course I have to say nice things about her … she reads the blog every day.  Just kidding, Sam.  I love you, Sis). 

 

Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

Father, thank you for the years we have known Sam.  Please touch her with some physical relief.  Give her doctors great wisdom as they work out a plan for her medically.  Amen.

 

 

March 10 – “Seeking the ‘All clear’”

I suppose my big even of the day came when I went to the doctor’s office.  Nothing’s wrong.  Well, nothing new, anyway.  it was just time for my annual physical/Medicare Wellness Check.  Never knew that was a thing until I had to do one every year.  In fact, I’m still not clear on how it is different from an annual physical.  I mean, after all, isn’t that what a physical is – a wellness check? 

 

As far as the visit results go, I suppose I passed with flying colors.  He went over my medications with me and adjusted one of them a bit.  Kind of strange adjustment, though.  Instead of taking 40 milligrams once a day, I now take 20 milligrams twice a day.  How is that different in the long run?  He said it was time for a shingles vaccine.  I told him I already had shingles.  He said the vaccine would make any future cases less severe.  Hmm.  Sounds like the Covid speech all over again.  He also said I need a tetanus booster.  That one I know I don’t need to worry about unless I step on a rusty nail.  His other bit of advice concerning the shots?  “Get them at the pharmacy.  There they cost maybe $25 or so.  Here they cost $250.”  Deal.  He did a blood test for the usual stuff - cholesterol, etc.  Said he’d let me know on MyChart if anything looked suspicious, but he didn’t anticipate anything.  His parting shot was another crowd favorite.  He said I could probably go for exercising just a tad more than I do now.  I’m right on the bubble of really needing to.  “Maybe if you lost, say, ten pounds?”  Sounded pretty easy coming from him.  I’ll get right on that, Doc.

 

Chris had an appointment yesterday, too.  Hers was just a checkup with the skin doctor.  She was blessed with the opportunity to show off her skin for a resident and a Physician’s Assistant student.  Sounded like the resident was kind of arrogant.  The real doctor put him in his proper place, though.  He was trying to do an exam while she just sat in a visitor’s chair.  The doc told him to move over to the exam table. That’s why they put it there.  Better light and all.  She also had Chris remove her glasses so the shadows on her face wouldn’t look like skin anomalies.  Basic stuff, youngster.  Bottom line from her visit?  All is well.  Guess we are cleared for our journey into the wilds of Utah in a few short weeks. 

 

Luke 11:13 says, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

 

Father, thank you for watching over our physical bodies so we can enjoy the trip here in a few weeks.  Amen.

March 9 – “Paddington Bear?”

Well, here’s one I never thought I would be saying.  Yesterday we went to see a play.  Now, that in itself is not that unusual a statement.  I love theater and pretty much any play unless it has an inordinate amount of singing with no plot development.  But this one was truly unique.  Paddington Bear in a Jam.

 

Yep.  Paddington Bear.  It was a kid’s thing performed at the Grand Theater in downtown Galveston.  We were invited to attend with Christina and Noa and Ezra.  Christina and the kids swung by and gave me a ride.  Chris had to go to cardiac rehab first, but she was done in plenty of time to meet up with us at the theater.  In fact, we both got really good parking spaces ride across the street from our destination.  They got the tickets as part of a larger group, too, so we didn’t even have to wait to get inside.  Good thing, too.  It was drizzling rain and cold.  

 

But back to Paddington Bear.  Apparently he wasn’t a thing in the eighties when our boys were prolific readers of children’s literature.  If Sesame Street (Kel’s favorite) or Mr. Rogers (Josh’s favorite) didn’t have it as a guest star, or if it wasn’t flying on the back of Dumbo (Nathan’s favorite), then we didn’t see much of it.  I think it was also set in England, so maybe it was a cultural thing. 

 

The play itself was cute, I suppose.  Paddington came to his neighbor’s house to borrow a cup of sugar and ended up causing disaster after disaster.  The bear character was actually performed by three puppeteers.  Performed really well, I might add, although I did see a puppeteer head creep up one time.  But that happened when the bear was walking around in a circle.  Not an easy task to achieve, by any means.  The whole thing was kind of like an attempt at a live action cartoon.  And as a quick aside … I don’t historically do well with watching cartoons.  I may or may not have dozed off a time or two.  Ezra seemed entranced by the whole performance.  I think Noa got a little bored after a while, but she did enjoy the slapstick comedy when it occurred.  So did the theater full of elementary school children sitting all around us. 

 

I understand there is supposed to be a whole series of these children’s theater features coming to town.  Hey.  Sign me up.  I still have a little bit of Tigger left in me from high school …

 

1 John 3:18 says, “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

 

Father, please be with all of those little kids who came to see the play.  Keep them healthy and happy, and give them a constant supply of Paddington Bears to entertain them.  Amen.

March 8 – “Bahoorookah”

I received an early-morning text from our neighbor’s daughter.  She reminded me that her mom was having surgery over at UTMB that morning.  She had picked her up at 4:30 a.m., so she brought her dog over to spend the day in his crate at Grandma’s house.  She asked if I wouldn’t mind letting him outside for a bit.  I assured her I would take care of it and headed right over. 

 

He was a sweet old thing.  Pure bred beagle named Lu.  He went right outside after a brief detour into the garage.  Hey, he was a bit disoriented, after all.  And when he was ready to come back in, he barked.  Well, I think it was a bark.  Some kind of horrendous noise came out of his mouth, anyway.  Sounded something like “Bahoorookah.”  Hard to spell it. 

 

According to her instructions, I had a treat for her to get her back into the kennel.  Didn’t really need it.  He went right in.  I offered the treat in my hand.  He sniffed it.  Then he looked at me, pushed at my hand, then bounced his nose on the ground.  Well, OK.  I obediently set the treat where he had indicated, and he gobbled it up.  That was one smart critter.  Oh, and the dog was pretty intelligent, too.

 

Proverbs 31:20 says, “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.”

 

Father, please be with our neighbor Linda as she recuperates from her surgery.  And grant that sweet old beagle a restful, calm life as well.  Amen.