October 30 - “Fred George Rudolph Von Snickelwammer”

Chris did her walk yesterday. ever the faithful one.  I stayed home nursing a bit of a queasy stomach and a bit more of a sore body. I did do my back exercises, though. 

 

When she got back (Two and a half miles this time), we settled in for an entire day of relaxing around the house. Well, except when we had to run to Walmart to get stuff to make chili for the Fall Festival at church this afternoon. 4-7 pm. Bring the kids and come on out and eat some chili or hot dogs and enjoy some games.

 

So, what did “relaxing around the house” consist of?  I know the television was on.  Hallmark Channel for a while.  I remember some college football.  Then there was the new jigsaw puzzle on the table.  Josiah and Brennan and the “Boy who chose to remain nameless so I named him Fred George Rudolph Von Snickelwammer” came over for a brief visit. Soup for lunch, then leftover Mexican food for supper (Not exactly the best choice with a queasy stomach, but all went well).  And of course all that was one big lead-in for watching the Astros World Series Game Two victory. Woohoo.

 

Josiah returned to watch the very end of the Astros game with us.  Chris was torn in the ninth inning.  She felt like she should leave the room, but the tension was so high, she kept returning.  We all rooted Pressley on to get that final out. Josiah spent the night with us.  Hmm.  Guess it all accumulates into a full day after all. 

 

Romans 1:17 says, “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”

 

Father, thank you for Josiah. Help him grow to love and follow you and to be …  happy.  Amen.

October 29 - “Forked … and an impromptu watch party”

We’ve been forked. Yep.  That hideous tradition we discovered some month ago in Waco, and saw it reborn in Arlington, has made its way to Galveston.  By a strange coincidence, the forks that mysteriously appeared in our front yard, tines to the sky, showed up the very same week that our friends the Sprays, who were involved in the aforementioned debacle in Arlington, are here in Galveston on vacation. I’m not saying it was them by any means.  But it was somebody who was up to mischief in our front yard while we were engaged in Bible Study within …

 

I have officially started back on my back exercises. I guess I was never supposed to stop, but life happens. Not sure how long I’ll be able to keep them up this time. Why? Well, other than the fact that I have been really sore and not sleeping much, going forward I’ll have to factor in whatever physical therapy is to come for my hip. Wait.  I’m getting a little ahead of myself.

 

I went to the sports orthopedic doc yesterday. She told me to come back in two weeks, and if the insurance approves, she will shoot me in the hip with one of those really long needles. After the shot she arranged for me to go to physical therapy for as long as it takes.  We walked on over to the physical therapy department to nab an appointment slot for sometime after the shot takes place.  They actually had an opening at the very time I would be available (read here in town).  We took it.  So … two more weeks of hip pain and not much sleep.  Woohoo.

 

Last night we hosted an impromptu watch party for the opening game of the World Series. I got a text from Sam asking what I planned to do last night.  Sam is almost as big an Astros fan as I am, by the way, so her question was kind of a silly one.  I replied, “I was thinking about watching a Hallmark movie or two. Wanna come join us?”  The evening kind of morphed from there.  Sam came, as did Lauren and Ed.  Janell and Brennan even braved the rain to stop in for a while.  And the game?

 

We danced.  We cried.  We ate.  We sighed.  Let’s do it again tonight.

 

1 Corinthians 13:6 says, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

 

Father, thank you for friends to share a baseball game with (and for guys like Ed who don’t mind joining me in a homer dance).  Amen.

October 28 - “BLMT and some wigglin’ bones”

We had an out-of-state visitor yesterday. Our friend Dana from Seaside days gone by returned to the Island from South Carolina for a visit. Actually, she was visiting another friend up in Kingwood, and we just happened to be close enough for her to stop by for lunch. So glad she did.

 

We went to the Sunflower Bakery. It has been a long time since we have been there.  In fact, I didn’t remember going there at all.  It is in a part of town that is really low on places to park, so we had to circle the block to find a spot.  Once inside, we grabbed a menu and made our selections.  Dana had a salad.  Chris had a chicken salad sandwich.  I ordered a BLMT sandwich. I got confused when I told the waiter what I wanted, so I just listed all the letters I could think of at the time.  He returned with a Bacon, Lettuce, Mozzarella, and Tomato sandwich. BLMT. Good stuff.

 

After lunch we drove around a little bit to see some of the changes around Galveston.  We even managed to connect with another old friend who lives in the East End now.  Dana and Traci made plans to touch base later in the day.  As always, it was great to catch up. Wish we could have seen Alex as well.

 

Last night was home group once again.  We did have an unexpected highlight this week.  I pushed the button to play Sam’s favorite song of all time, Dese Bones Gonna Rise Again.  It always encourages me to do a little bit of a jig, and last night was no exception.  But, as exciting as that was in itself, my performance paled in comparison to what was happening on the other side of the room. Sam had joined in the dance mania and was absolutely rocking out with the music, swing her arms around and wiggling her hips just like the skeletons on the video.  Made me proud. 

 

Matthew 10:16 says, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

 

Father, please be with Dana while she continues her Texas trip.  Keep her safe.  And thank you for giving Sam the energy to do a little dancing last night.  Please give her – and us - many more of that kind of moment.  Amen.

October 27 - “Sycamore”

I managed to keep up with Chris on her two-miler yesterday. It took a while, but I was finally able to separate the back pain from the hip pain. Weird. Thinking back, it was the hip aching that woke me up at around midnight. But it’s the back pain (that kicks in when I try to change positions) that forces me out of bed and into the recliner. Sure hope the doc I see on Friday has some relief for one of them, at least.

 

Speaking of docs, Chris had a doc appointment in the afternoon to check in with her PCP.  While she was gone, I went to Randall’s to pick up a prescription. While standing in the inevitable line, I struck up a conversation with the guy behind me. Actually, he conversed. I pretty much just listened.

I sure found out more about him than I ever imagined.  He works at the airport for Shell Oil.  Earlier in the day he to do his early voting duty. The election official there asked for his ID, as usual.  But then she demanded (quite rudely) that he say his address out loud to verify it before she allowed him to vote. He quietly replied that his address was the one on the driver’s license.  She pressed the issue, loudly demanding that he was required by law to say the address out loud.  Just as loudly he asked what law that was. He finally didn’t see any reason to continue the argument further, though.  “I finally gave in and told them I live over on Sycamore.”  Wait a minute.  Sycamore.  I waited until he took a breath and jumped in to ask where on Sycamore.  He lives just down the street from us. I told him we lived on Sycamore as well.  He proudly remarked that he was “one of the originals.” He had lived on the street since the seventies.  Cute.  I let him know that I grew up on the street as well.  We moved there when I was five – 1958.  Got you beat by a decade or two. He knew our house as “The Cagnola’s.”  He even recognized “The Vaughan’s” name.  Great to meet you, Neighbor Marco.

 

Psalms 34:19 says, “The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;”

Father, please be with Marco as he continues to adjust to life without his Mom.  Amen.

October 26 - “Freezer Day”

Freezer day. That’s what it said on my calendar when I checked it yesterday. The day our new freezer will be delivered. The day our Blue Bell ice cream reclaims its rightful place in our world. 

 

But first, we had to do all the preparations to make ready its space (the freezer, not the Blue Bell).  It was to live in the laundry room area, so that entire space had to be cleared out.  Chris had been wanting to at least rearrange in there for some time, so here was her chance.  Meanwhile, I used the opportunity to straighten up the garage.  Several things did make it to the trash can, but it was mainly a rearrange out there as well.  One of our long-time projects that has been on hold was to switch out some shelves.  We moved the sturdy metal one that we had initially purchased to hold all the boxes of my books.  That one went into the laundry room in place of one of the plastic ones holding the games.  That plastic one went to the garage.  The other, smaller plastic one shifted over to hold some of Chris’ sewing stuff as well as the extra soft drinks.  It was quite the ordeal. 

 

Finally, the freezer arrived.   It always amazes me how two guys can madhandle an appliance like that to get it into place.  They didn’t have any trouble at all getting it through the door and plugged up into its proper space.  They also hauled the old one away. Now we just have to wait until later this morning to check it out temperature-wise, and it will be ready to load back up.  Thanks here to Lauren for baby-sitting some of the stuff we had in the old freezer that we couldn’t fit in our fridge. 

 

So … Got the freezer. Reloaded the room with less stuff. Still need more room. Sigh …

 

Psalms 28:7 says, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”

 

Father, thanks for working out all the details on this whole freezer thing.  Getting it here, sure.  But also giving us the stamina to pull off the preparations.  Amen.

 

October 24 - “The great escape”

We had a bit of a scare yesterday.  I woke up at 5:30 or so (actually a little earlier).  I got my fruit together and made me a cup of coffee. All seemed to be going pretty much as usual.  As I sat down to work on my blog, it hit me that Freddy wasn’t sitting in her rocking chair - her usual spot in the mornings. I remembered opening the door to “her room,” and the fact that she didn’t come out right then was not that unusual.  Sometimes she is outside.  But it had been a while, and still no appearance.  So I started looking.

 

I walked through every room in the house.  I went outside into the back yard and walked all around out there.  I went up on the deck to see if she was asleep in one of the chairs there.  All I succeeded in doing was waking up the neighbor’s big dog, which started barking.  Finally I went back inside and opened the door to our bedroom.  Chris was just waking up, so I informed her of the dilemma.  She was out of bed in a flash to join me in the search. 

 

We combined forces to revisit all the places I had already been. The only possibility left was that she had somehow gotten out of the backyard and into the vast, wide-open spaces of freedom.  We decided to at least walk around the block and see if she showed up.  Chris started one way.  I went the other. Almost immediately I met one of our neighbors who walks in the dark, very early every morning.  She assured me she would keep her eyes open. As she ran into Chris further down the block, she encouraged her with, “You know, I didn’t want to tell your husband, but we have seen several coyotes on our walks.  But not this morning, though.”  Thanks.  I’m sure that calmed Chris’ fears. Coyotes have been seen all too often in our neighborhood.

 

But back to my part of the story.  As we finished our brief chat, I heard a do whining.  Could it be?  It took me a few seconds to home in on the sound’s origin.  Our next door neighbor’s porch.  Another few seconds for my eyes to focus in the darkness.  Yes!  There she was, wiggling back and forth in recognition as if to say, “Come get me.” 

 

I called out to her, but quietly, since it was not yet 7 a.m.  She wiggled even more, but still didn’t come.  Now, our neighbor has a handicap ramp leading to that porch.  And of course, to meet ADA requirements, it spreads clear into their backyard to get the slope right.  I made my way around to the beginning of the ramp.  Yep.  There was Freddy at the top, just a-wiggling.  But she wouldn’t take more than a few steps toward me before returning to the porch.  Strange.

 

I finally decided that she must be afraid to come down the ramp.  As quietly as I could, I went up and got her and brought her home in my arms. I also told her that she needed to be careful. I reminded her that the last time she was out running around before she came to live with us, “somebody” hit her with a car. Best we can tell, the kids must not have pulled the gate completely shut and she managed to squeeze through the small crack. And once through, she couldn’t get back in.

 

I know there is an abundance of spiritual applications there.  The dangers of leaving the protection God offers.  Once you have succumbed to evil, returning to God is sometimes not that easy a thing to do.  True freedom is living life within the confines of God’s provision.  The list goes on and on.  Good thing I’m retired now.  Seaside would have had an earful come Sunday.

 

Last night we had supper with our Arlington friends, the Sprays, at Shrimp n Stuff. Really enjoyed catching up with them. We were going to see if the Cordray’s Ice Cream Shop was open, but we ran out of time.  Great folks. 

 

Isaiah 54:10 says, “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

 

Father, thank you for the spiritual lessons Freddy reminded me of through her little escape act. Thanks for keeping her safe from the coyotes. Amen.

October 24 - “Sweeeeeep!”

Kel’s family came over after church yesterday for some lunch. He joined us after a meeting. We enjoyed some great roast and rice ala Chris. In was actually a quiet afternoon. We watched some baseball (Phillies vs. Padres) and football (a bit of the Texans), and Kel took a nap. After a Sno-come break, the kids played pretty hard outside and in the office. They even invited Brennan from across the street to join them. 

Then came last night … Sweeeeeep! The Astros swept the New York Yankees in four straight games to advance to the World Series. It took an extra hour or two postponement for the threat of rain, but they finally got the game played. Great fun to watch. 

John‬ ‭7‬:‭37‬-‭38‬ says, “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.””

Father, thank you for days when we can kick back and just be. Amen.