The Sixth

Cocoa

2012-01-21T09:27:00.000-08:00

A couple days ago we found out that mom likes hot chocolate. She had a large mug of it that evening and finished the whole thing. Yesterday I gave her another but I think it was too much on top of her dinner and she asked me to put it in the refrigerator. She said I could warm it up for later. I'll see if she wants it for lunch.
When we were young we called it cocoa. I knew other families that called it hot chocolate. I remember wondering about different names for things like that. Maybe it had to do with my parents being from the Midwest. I know sometimes they would call a Coke a bottle of pop.
Mom is having breakfast finishing her coffee. In a little, I'll ask her if she remembers having a bottle of pop when she was young.

Content

2012-01-19T19:03:00.000-08:00

Tonight mom is a little more disoriented than she has been lately. Now that I think about it I could have guessed that it would happen pretty soon, part of the up and down pattern we have noticed.
After dinner mom usually asks to go back to her place which is her bedroom down the hall. We've known for a while that she is a little confused about where she lives and sometimes thinks that her room is in another place. Usually though, when we start walking down the hall, she knows where we are and can even give directions.
Tonight when Jan wheeled her down the hall mom didn't recognize her room and wondered how she would get home. Before long she got in bed and is now resting peacefully.
A little later as we talked about what all this meant, Jan said, "All we want is for her to be content." And you know what, that is exactly it.

Is that Geordie?

2012-01-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

Growing up, my nickname was Geordie. My dad was George Rutherford the fifth and I am the sixth so up everyone called me Geordie. Mom always said my dad's mother gave me the nickname because in Scotland it is diminutive for George. It is part of my Scottish heritage. This morning I heard mom ask Jan, "Is that Geordie?"
It goes along with a pattern that we thought we had noticed. Some days mom seems stronger physically and others she's stronger mentally. Today must be a mental day. It looks like she is going to sleep most of the day.
Some days mom has been up most of the time and moving around pretty well. It's funny but days like today are a little more worrisome. I guess it's because when she sleeps a lot we feel like she is getting weaker, but if the pattern holds in a day or two she will perk up again.
Part of me will be Geordie then too.

Fried Eggs

2012-01-15T09:35:00.000-08:00

Mom (She moved in with us last summer.) and I are sitting in the living room. She is having a breakfast of two fried eggs, two slices of bacon, a half slice of toast and a cup of Taster's Choice instant coffee. She likes it better than brewed.
As I was making her breakfast I wondered how many years ago it was that she taught me to fry an egg. I remember it was on an electric stove (Seems like it was a Hot Point.) with push buttons instead of knobs. Number three was the right button to push.
Mom always kept a pint fruit jar of bacon grease in the door of the fridge (a Cold Spot) to cook with and showed me how to use a little when frying an egg. I think it is cool that for the last few weeks, we have kept a little jar of bacon grease that I use to fry her eggs with now. Mom's doctor wants her to gain weight so the bacon and grease seem like a good idea.
As I'm remembering, it strikes me that once in a while mom seems to remember a little too.
It's a great morning.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T20:21:00.000-08:00

Eden and Elly are spending the night with us tonight. In fact when Anna and Ken get done with the church high school group New Year's Eve activities they are staying the night too. They think it will be a little much waking up the girls to take them home. So we have a full house. With Rebekah that makes seven of us here to see in the new year.

2010-12-31T20:12:00.000-08:00

I bought a used bicycle and blogged about it over here.

Luckiest Grandpa

2010-01-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I am watching all three grand daughters, Georgia, Eden, and Elly, while Anna has lunch with MT. Before Anna left about 1:00, I was sitting with Elly thinking about how good it feels to have them around. Then I realized that what really feels good is that our kids like coming over and bringing their families.

Georgia's Birthday Party

2009-11-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

Birthday Flip

2009-11-02T18:09:00.000-08:00

I got a Flip Video for my birthday. Here is a little video of Georgia and Eden.

Elly Kirsten Wilkinson

2009-11-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

Anna's baby came today.

Here is another picture.

Bicycle

2009-10-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

Alrightythen, Jan tried out the bicycle today and after I adjusted the seat she thinks she might ride to work tomorrow.

Bicycle

2009-10-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday I bought an old Schwinn Crossover (1980s, Made in China, I believe the bottom of their Cross models.)from a lady who had it listed on Craigslist. I gave her the full asking price of $10. I brought it home, aired up the tires (They're still holding.), and cruised around the neighborhood. Sunday I rode it to church and back. Then later, cleaned it some and took apart and rebuilt the pedals. The bearings were a mess. Tonight I adjusted the brakes, cleaned some more and rode around a little. It is turning out to be a nice bike. I mentioned to Jan that it rides real well. She's thinking about riding it to work this week. I think it is worth $20 now. Before too long I'll put on new tires.

While looking up information on the Crossfit on the internet, I ran across a cool bike blog. I put a link to it on the right of this page. I am amazed at the things some people are doing to restore old bikes. Someday it would be interesting to find something really old like from the 50s or even pre WWII and see how close to original I could get it.

Tour of California

2009-02-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

I left work about 3:30 today at the urging of a couple friends and made it to Old Town in time to catch the racers. This first group was past in a flash. I took the picture on the corner of Woodworth and Second. It was amazing, quite a deal.

Third day on the treadmill with my backpack, it's getting easier. 35 minutes, 1.25 miles.

Evolution Valley

2009-02-16T16:54:00.000-08:00

I hope to do The Big Walk 2009 this summer with some guys from church. I spent some time on our treadmill today with my backpack on. I had it loaded with 20 pounds of sand. The plan is to hike into Evolution Valley with options to do some local peaks for those so inclined. I figure after hiking 18 miles in I will be looking to be reclined on a nice foam pad with a good book.

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2008-12-30T22:03:00.001-08:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family history research - Roots

Eden's Slide Show

2008-12-26T20:17:00.001-08:00

Georgia's Slide Show

2008-12-26T20:14:00.001-08:00

Toy Trains

2008-12-14T19:06:00.000-08:00

Years ago my sister, Heather bought some electric train stuff at a yard sale of a friend of hers. She gave some of it to me. This week for the first time in years I got it out and have been tinkering around getting it to go. I have it set up on a partial sheet of plywood. Jan says Georgia will love it. Georgia enjoyed the one we saw at the tree farm where I was Santa last Sunday. Seeing that one is what started me thinking of setting mine up for Christmas. Rebekah asked about having the train go around our Christmas tree, but I don't think I have enough track and don't have things running well enough to be sure the engine wouldn't stop on the backside of the tree. So far it has been fun. When I get things going well, I'll put up a picture.

2008-10-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

Does anyone (Sara?)know anything about fractals. I watched Nova on channel 18 last night and lost a lot of sleep thinking about them. So much so that I emailed a math professor I know and asked questions and gave my thoughts. I hope that is the end of it and I get some sleep tonight.

2008-10-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

I went for a bike ride today after work. Rebekah had to come pick me up at the Clovis Hospital. I had a flat tire, only made a little over nine miles, Fowler Ave. to Sheppard to Tollhouse Road to the Hospital.

2008-10-28T17:16:00.000-07:00

I put my bicycle back together today and went out for a little ride to the hardware store. The bike seems fine. Maybe I don't need another after all. I hope to be on it regularly again.

Cycling

2008-10-26T16:30:00.001-07:00

I signed up to follow a blog today. Pushing Pedals is a blog by a young man who is riding his bicycle across the country.
I also have become a craigslist junkie. I have been looking for a road bike for myself.

Biking

2008-09-28T07:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I joined some friends from Eagles Harbor Community Church for a bike ride. We left about 8:00 AM and rode a little over 35 miles up around Avacado Lake. It was my longest ride. I rode a Specialized Allez that belongs to fellow rider Gary Gerrard. My old Raleigh Grand Prix has a broken spoke. Next time we will try to get some others from Mountain View Church to join us.

2008-07-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Camping and Surfing

2008-07-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

It was a great week of camping and surfing. I never got to my feet on my board but caught quite a few waves on my knees or belly. When I got home I reviewed some of the surf lessons online and have a better understanding now. Catching a wave and being at its mercy is awesome. I never quite felt that before on a boogie board.

Biking

2008-07-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

I rode my bike to Woodward Park this morning. It was a nice ride. The trails there have me interested. It looks like a ride from the park to Lost Lake would be great. I think I'll try it. I'd like to get familiar with the trails on that side of town. Next time I'll drive over and start from Woodward.

Today on the way back I had a flat tire. Jan picked me up at Shepherd and Willow. It was 16.4 miles to that point which would have put me over 20 if I had made it home. I've been looking to do 20 miles, maybe next time.

Old Truck

2008-06-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

I spent most of the afternoon at Shawn's working on the old truck. I got the rear axles pulled and they came out just as I had had been told by some friends. Then Shawn and I got the left rear axle seal out which is why we pulled the axles in the first place.

I'm trying to decide on what to do about the master cylinder. I think I got it cleaned out enough to put in a rebuild kit and reuse. There are some options including going with a dual master cylinder so the front and rear brakes are on two different systems which is a safety thing newer vehicles use. I'm thinking that if I can I'll go with the original just cuz.

Here are some interesting links that have been helpful with old truck info.
1948-51 Chevy Truck Shop Manual
1937 - 1960 Chevy Specifications & Restoration Info
The Stovebolt Page -- For Old GM - GMC - Chevy Trucks!

2008-06-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today I took my board to some friend's to practice. Today I waxed the board. It makes a big difference. The wax helps the board be less slippery. I found a website with some instruction and tips for newbie surfers. I've been trying to pull myself up on the board and then paddle.

Week of Surprises

2008-06-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

I thought I couldn't be more surprised than I was when I saw the girls carrying a surfboard down the hall on Father's Day. Well I was wrong. Tuesday I was shocked to find out that my friend Shawn Nuefeld had gone to my brother's house in Chowchilla and brought home our dad's '51 Chevy Pickup for me. I guess it happened a month or two ago. Since then Shawn, Doug (my brother), Jan, the girls and all else involved have kept it a secret until I would be up to the Nuefeld's and be surprised. Well it sure worked. While I was visiting Tuesday evening, Emma (Shawn's daughter) invited me to go to the garage to see her bicycle. She and Josh (Shawn's son) escorted me though the utility room and Josh stepped aside letting me open the door, and there it was an old blue chevy truck.

Shawn and others (Matt rebuilt the carborator.) have been working on it and now I get to join them. Shawn says soon we'll be driving over to Humphrey's Station for a milkshake.

Here is a picture.
Here is another.

2008-06-15T20:24:00.001-07:00

Here is another Board Picture.

Father's Day

2008-06-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

Rebekah baked me a boysenberry pie for Father's Day from berries from our own backyard. It was delicious.

After dinner everyone surprised me with a surf board for a Father's Day present. I am still in shock about it. I have been talking about taking surfing lessons since last summer. We will be camping at the coast outside Santa Cruz the week of July 6th. I hope I can catch at least one wave. I'd like to hook up with the surf camp Wil and I saw last summer. They spend most of the year in Chile as missionaries and I haven't seen their web page updated for this summer yet. Well, having my own board will let us try it out on our own. I found some web sites to help novices get started. Here's one that has teaching videos. How to Wax a Surf Board | ExpertVillage Videos

2008-06-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

When I got to the bus stop there were two guys with bikes waiting. So since I knew there is only room for two bikes on each bus, I rode home, up Cedar and then Barstow.

2008-06-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

I rode my bicycle to work this morning. 12.4 miles, just over an hour. It was good. I plan on catching the bus to CSUF and riding home from there. I'd like to see how the bike racks on the buses work. Everybody loves my One Less Car shirt.

$4.38/gal

2008-06-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

Sara gave me my Father's Day present today because she won't be here Sunday. It is this cool shirt.

Cycling to Work

2008-06-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

I rode to church this morning then went out for a ride after. I decided the easiest way to ride to work would be to ride up Fowler Avenue to Ashlan then take Chestnut or Maple or Cedar south to Calwa. I'm thinking Maple might be best since it doesn't have Freeway 168 access. With only four busy days of school left, I might wait and give it a try when school is out. I figure it is about 14 miles one way.

2008-06-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

So last Tuesday I crashed on my bicycle. I'm not sure what happened except that I watched my front tire sliding sideways and then ended on the sidewalk left shoulder first. Since then I haven't felt like blogging and hadn't ridden again until yesterday. My shoulder is much better. I even played softball with the Mountain View team today (They were short players.) and got my second, third and fourth hits this century.

Gas is still too high. I'm thinking about riding to CSUF and catching the 38 bus south to Calwa sometime before school is out.

Line in the Sand II

2008-05-27T16:16:00.000-07:00

It seems like Fresno is a perfect place to try a few things to encourage folks to ride to work regularly. It's flat. What more could a commuter ask? Could Fresno and Clovis designate some east/west and north/south streets as bike, scooter, electric car paths during a rush hour to try something out?

If we closed Maple, Fruit, Barstow, and McKinley to autos for a couple hours in the morning and again in the evening, maybe people would get on board with commuting with our gas guzzlers.

Line in the Sand

2008-05-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

$4.00/Gallon Gasoline
It is time for communities and people to draw a line in the sand over the cost of getting to work. We need local leaders who will begin looking for ways to help their communities break away from the gas pump. Can we begin to look for ways to encourage people to ride bikes, high mpg scooters, electric vehicles, mass transit, etc. to work?

I'm thinking we can. There must be answers out there.

I've been toying with the idea of biking to work. I live in East Clovis and work in Southeast Fresno, and wonder what a good route from Bullard and Armstrong to Cedar and Jensen would be.

I'm looking in to a moped.

Any ideas?

2008-04-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

Another cool thing happened today. Rebekah went to a technology conference at Sunnyside High and won two prizes. One was a gift basket from Sierra Nut House with a gift card from Barnes and Noble. The other was an Airliner. It is a tablet that allows you to wirelessly connect to a computer so you can roam around a classroom and continue to manage a slide show or other presentation. It is very cool. It is from the same folks who make the Smart Board.

San Joaquin River Trail

2008-04-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

Today I joined some friends from church and walked part of the S. J. River Trail. We had become interested after seeing an article in the paper about a new bridge that makes it easier for bikers to use the trail. It was a nice hike. Here is our picture and one of some of the scenery. The river gorge is beautiful. I did about eight miles round trip. Some others hiked through to Sky Harbor, about eleven miles. Next time I'd like to go through too.

Eden Hope Wilkinson

2008-02-29T17:31:00.000-08:00

Anna had her baby today, leap day, 2008.

the words:

2008-02-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

1. pot 2. pan 3. spoon 4. fork 5. knife 6. glass 7. fire 8. water 9. light 10. sink
These are the words that Mike asked people to use in a story.
Here is my story.

The two young people stopped and considered the fork in the road.

“Let’s head left,” said Tom, “I’m pretty sure the village is that way.”

“I think you’re right,” said Fred, “lead on.” So they headed down the trail to the left. Soon, they heard the sound of a stream up ahead. When they got to the water, they realized that it would be too wide and probably too deep to wade. Looking around they soon found some dry wood to use for a raft. They used Fred’s knife to cut some vines and tied the logs together. Before too long, they were ready to board. Happy that their ride did not sink, they made their way across the stream. Tom said, “Use your glass and pan the other shore for a trail on that side.”

Fred studied the far bank until he announced, “I don’t see a trail, but there is a fire ring and I think a coffee pot in the shade of that large cottonwood tree. If someone is camping there, a trail can’t be too far.” He used a light branch as a paddle to head them toward the camp site.

Reaching the shore, they hopped off their raft and sent it down stream. As the boys passed the encampment, they resisted the urge to spoon themselves up a helping of the fish stew simmering on the fire. They found a trail heading in the right direction and lit out once again.

Before long they came to the outskirts of the village and were soon splitting wood for their grandmother.

Tag: Woody, Anna

At the Matinee

2008-01-21T16:05:00.000-08:00

We saw The Bucket List today. I liked it a lot. There were some real good lines, scenes, and points to ponder. Anybody else see it?

Dominoes

2008-01-12T21:47:00.000-08:00

The girls and the grand girls were over tonight. We had Chinese food and played Mexican Train.
Our camping trip with the Martins is booked for July 9th to 15th at Manresa Uplands State Park. Hopefully during that week some of us will take a surf lesson or two.

Old Posts

2008-01-09T21:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, Sitemeter says someone in Florida checked out my old posts about the old window swamp cooler. What a deal!

2008-01-07T20:45:00.000-08:00

Jan got a cool new bathroom scale today. They had a coupon at Costco. We've never had a digital before. It's top is glass. I'm a little uncomfortable stepping on this thin pane of glass, but the paperwork says the maximum is 400 lbs. so it must be okay.

5. Loose Weight -I've lost 25 pounds or so. That goes back to the end of 2006. I'd like to keep it up. My doctor wants me to eat heart healthy which I think means lots of oranges and bananas.

2008-01-06T17:16:00.000-08:00

Good time at church today, we were asked, "What will have happened by this time next year?" (I'm paraphrasing because I can't figure out how to ask the real question without spending much time explaining the context for it. I'm pretty sure this is an incorrect use of parentheses, but I don't know what to do about it.)

These are the areas we were challenged to think about:
In my Spiritual Life,
In my Intellectual life,
In my Physical Life,
In my Relational Life,
In my Financial Life.

We filled out cards answering what we thought would have happened by next year. They will be mailed back to us mid-year.
I thought it all fit nicely into my lists of things to do, so here they are.

4. Walking- I figure this is the easiest so far. I have a course near home that takes me about 40-45 minutes depending on how I change it up and how much I jog. I usually go out in the evening sometime between 7 and 9. I hope to go for my walk or be on my bicycle (Maybe that's tomorrow's blog.) everyday.

Buckets and Buckets

2008-01-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

Today I eliminated a possibility. I won't be putting in-line skating on my list. I saw a young couple out skating and began wondering if that wouldn't be a good thing to learn. So I called a friend to see what he thought since he's about the right age to have done some skating. He said he had trouble with his ankles not being strong enough so that's enough for me because I had the same problem whenever Jan and I would go ice skating.

3. Back Packing- I haven't been back packing in probably 25 years. It feels like it is time try it out again. I wasn't an avid packer, but went a few times, twice with Jan. Our first trip together was as part of a geography (That was her major.) class at Fresno State. We hiked about 50 miles. I think we started at a trailhead at a place called Horse Corral Meadows to Lodgepole in Sequoia National Park. I know we hiked up Deadman Canyon (There's a grave, a shepherd I think.) and camped a couple nights at Big Bird Lake. The next night we stayed on the Tableland before hiking out the last day.

A friend, Shawn, is quite an outdoorsman and keeps telling me we'll do a weekend hike this summer. It's starting to sound like a good idea. At least there won't be sharks.

More for my Bucket

2008-01-04T12:46:00.000-08:00

2. Volleyball- Years ago we were volleyball players. Our little group would get together at Millbrook Presbyterian for volleyball on Friday nights. As far as I know, none of us were necessarily experienced but were pretty good and enjoyed it immensely. In five years I imagine we only missed 20 or 25 Friday nights. We also got together on some holidays if enough of us had the day off. Winters were interesting with the fog and such, but we were steadfast, braving most everything. Those were great times.
So I'm putting volleyball on my list of things that can keep you from aging too fast. This year I'll see if I can find some interest in playing at least occasionally. Now that there are sprinklers in at church, maybe we'll have grass too. That would make a great place to play.

Bucket List

2008-01-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

Mike Wise and his list for this year has me thinking. So here is the beginning of my list.

1. Surf Lessons- Last summer on our yearly camping trip to the coast, my friend Wil and I found the Anderson Family Surf Camp. Since then I've been thinking that learning to surf during our camping trip would be a good thing. They don't have this year's dates posted yet but I hope I can work in at least a day's worth of lessons. My cardiologist thinks I should stick to long boards. That's what he rides.
I'm thinking that if you only do old people stuff, it starts to rub off on you. So I'm going to try to think of some other less elderly things to do.

Swarm

2007-12-26T19:18:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas. All the girls and their families were here. This one of my a Christmas presents. It is a remote controlled bee called Swarm. I also got a kite, a Starbucks Card, and a sweatshirt. I like them all.

2007-06-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

58 minutes cycling

30 minutes shooting

10 minutes walking (I broke the left crank off my bike so I had to walk to get home.)

2007-06-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday

60minutes cycling

30 minutes shooting baskets

High Chair with Tray

2007-06-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

I finally got a tray made for Georgia's high chair. Everyone says they like the way it turned out. This week I am going to varnish the whole thing. I think I'll spray it. A friend at church suggested a clear finish that he likes to use.

2007-06-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

I've been under the weather since Monday and today was my first back on track.

22 minutes cycling

17 minutes shooting baskets

Tomorrow I'll get high chair pics up.

2007-06-11T20:04:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to live a little healthier. Today I did the following.

60 minutes cycling
25 minutes shooting baskets

2007-06-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to live a little healthier. Today I did the following.

49 minutes cycling
22 minutes shooting baskets

Here is a website that calculates calories burned.
Fitness Jumpsite: Calorie Calculator

Milestones

2006-12-31T13:37:00.000-08:00

We passed a new milestone today. Georgia grabbed a good handful of beard hair. I've been wondering when that would happen. Her mom and aunts were real good at it. It looks like the skill didn't skip a generation.

Yesterday and Friday I worked in the garage some. Among ather things, I rewired an old ceiling lamp that my dad had made out of an old acetelyne lamp. It used to hang in my parents house. Actually I have two. I hung the first one in the garage and have the second ready to go too.

I may blog some more later, right now I'm off to the mall with Sara, Rebekah and Georgia.

Christmas

2006-12-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. All the kids and baby Georgia were here. We had Christmas dinner and breakfast Christmas morning.
Christmas Eve mom, Doug and Janie, and Heather and Randy were here. It was a real good time of seeing and talking to everyone. We had barrel cooked tri-tip, and other delicious dishes. Rebekah had done apple and pumpkin pies for dessert. After dinner we opened presents.
Christmas morning Jan made a great breakfast with Swedish Pancakes, bacon, saugage, English Muffins and bagels. Anna and Ken cooked the sausage at their house and brought it over. When breakfast was over we opened our stockings. It is always fun to see what stocking stuffers everyone has come up with.
By early afternoon everyone had left for other festivities and we spent a peaceful afternoon at home.
It was a great Christmas.

Wireless

2006-12-23T22:19:00.000-08:00

Rebekah and Jan got me a wireless router for Christmas. They decided I should open it early, so I did. It works very well.

2006-12-19T07:38:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I was part of the Urban Mission Fresno project. We started on Friday evening at the Mennonite Biblical Seminary. For dinner we were sent to restaurants that were supposed to broaden our horizons. My group, made up of more veteran Fresnans decided the Chinese buffet we were assigned to was not outside our box so we went to a Pho restaurant on Kings Canyon. It was good. A couple of us think nezt year we'll offer a list of restaurants that really should broaden a few horizons.
Saturday the team I was with spent the day in downtown Fresno near Broadway and Divisadero at the World Impact building. We helped get ready for their Christmas Open House. We cleaned up, hung lights, and generally decorated. As 5:00 pm approached we also helped get food ready.
When the doors opened at 5:00 most of us worked food booths. I served egg rolls. People loved them. Lots of people from the community came and enjoyed the evening.
When we were finished, about 7:30, we cruised a few neighborhoods. We were given directions that took us to the westside, the Rowell neighborhood and the downtown area.
On Sunday we went back to World Impact and cleaned up, then had a touring church service giving us a look at some of the areas in town that World Impact is impacting. We were greatly blessed by the opportunity to see their ministries. Our weekend ended back at the seminary at 3:00 pm.
It was a great time. The staff was well prepared and worked hard to give us a missionary experience.

Thursday Afternoon

2006-12-14T20:34:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I met at Starbucks with my men's group from church. We meet every Thursday. Mostly we talked about Acts chapter 20. That's where Mountain View is in our annual Bible reading. It is always a great time. It is good to get together with the men and talk about God and come to him in prayer. I look forward to it every week.

Cookies

2006-12-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight I made Scotch Shortbread (p. 674,Boston Cooking School Cookbook, 1944). I used the wooden mold my Aunt Sibella gave me when she found out I like cooking shortbread. It has a Scotch Thistle carved in it. I plan on taking the cookies to school tomorrow. I made enough for home too.

2006-12-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

Since a week ago yesterday I've been meeting with a friend and going for a walk before work. He is a former Calwa student, although he was a middle schooler when I started working there so I didn't have him in class. He is a fire fighter and in lots better shape than I, but he seems to be okay with me as a walking partner. We have settled on a route that takes us down Cedar Ave. to the railroad tracks on California Ave. It is a little less than a mile one way and gets me back at work by 7:30 which is a little later than I'm used to, but plenty early nonetheless.

Newness

2006-12-11T19:34:00.000-08:00

We had a great weekend. Saturday Sara sent me a text message asking if we felt like having company, which of course we did. So, the Woodys came up.
I got to have Georgia at 5:30 or so on Sunday morning while Sara got to get a little sleep. I greatly enjoy those mornings. Sara, Ricky and Georgia came to church, making everyone happy. Lots of people had been praying for and looking forward to getting to see the baby. It was a great day. Georgia's aunts had a wonderful time showing her off. They really love her.
I imagine everyone who has ever been a grandparent can relate to what it has been like these last few weeks. Even before the birth, I was realizing that this is a new amazing time of life with interesting things around every corner. I think grand babies make you pay more attention to life.

Back to the Salt Mine

2006-11-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

Today was the second back from Thanksgiving and I got to fill in for a teacher who is sick and who had no substitute show up. It is a sixth grade class. The students are good and smart. It is nice to get back in the classroom once in a while. Of course some things I wanted to do didn't get done, but I'll work them in sometime.

Day After and Still Thankful

2006-11-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was great at Anna's. The food was almost as good as the company. Anna did a great job with everything. It was our first time cooking baby backs (Actually I did one rack in a small barrell for Rebekah's birthday, but never on this scale.) in a barrel tri tip style. They took about two hours and came out just fine. It will be interesting to experiment with different rubs and maybe wood chips. I'd also like to figure out how to cook a little slower like they do on the Food Network.

Today I got a picture album of Georgia up on Yahoo. I've never had an online album, I guess it worked out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

We have much to be thankful for. Our girls and boys are doing well.
Rebekah is a history major at Fresno State thinking about being a teacher. She works at Gottschalks. She makes the best holiday pies in the world and is making one right now.
Anna and Ken are working hard and successfully. She is a sixth grade teacher at Turner School in Fresno. He is the youth pastor at Mountain View Community Church. They keep busy with work and church projects. They are hosting Thanksgiving dinner today, their first in their new house. Anna has baby back ribs as well as turkey and the traditional fixin's on the menu.
Sara and Ricky are in the funeral business. It keeps them busy. They have five funeral homes in the business now. They had a baby, Georgia, on November sixth. She is a wonderful little girl and Sara and Ricky are great parents. They are coming to Fresno this weekend to see some friends and it will be nice see them all.
I am thankful for Jan being my wife for 30+ years. She is the best.
Jan and I are thankful to God for his great provision, protection, presence and salvation.
Have a great Thanksgiving

Homecoming and Thanksgiving

2006-11-22T08:57:00.000-08:00

Jan came home last night and although I am glad she got to be in Bakersfield, I was sure happy to see her. She had a great time with Sara, Ricky, and the baby. She got to help out with Georgia's first real bath.

Tomorrow we have Thanksgiving at Anna's. She is having ribs. Granny, Heather and Randy are coming.

The blogosphere is getting bigger. My cousin Betsy has put up a blog. I've added a link to it.

Visiting the Mom, Dad and Baby

2006-11-18T16:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after work I drove to Bakersfield. Last night everyone got a good night's sleep. I thought I might be some help in case Georgia needed to be awake, but she slept just fine.
Today I baby sat a little while Sara went on an errand or two. One thing she did was print birth announcements.
We went for a walk with Georgia in the stroller. The ladies across the street having a Christmas Bazaar rightly think Georgia is beautiful.
Tonight I might get to make dinner or maybe stay with the baby if Sara and Ricky want to go out.
Tomorrow after Thanksgiving lunch at church Jan is coming down.

2006-11-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

Today I spent the day back at work, although my mind was in Bakersfield. I don't have any new pictures to share today, but Sara has some great ones on Georgia's blog.
Sara and Woody are great parents. It has been great seeing them with Georgia. She is a lucky little girl.

Sunday Morning

2006-11-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

Today I am heading back to Fresno. Jan is staying until at least Monday and maybe Tuesday.
I imagine We'll have some time next week to come back and visit. Fresno Unified has Thanksgiving week off so if things work out We'll be in Bakersfield early next week.
Thanksgiving is at Anna and Ken's house so that will be nice. We're having ribs cooked in a barrel.

Aunts and Uncles

2006-11-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

Anna and Ken dropped by today to see little Georgia. They had been down south visiting with Ken's parents. They love their niece.

Beautiful in the Morning

2006-11-11T07:01:00.000-08:00

It is Saturday morning and I am holding Georgia. Sara and Woody are trying to get some sleep. Everything is just as it should be. There are even tree trimmers outside adding to a lovely November day.
This beautiful little one is making faces once in a while. Sometimes she looks surprised, sometimes happy, and sometimes like she's thinking real hard. Thursday Sara said she thinks Georgia dreams and I think we get to share in those dreams through the little faces she makes. What wonderful things she must see.
I wonder what she has to dream about. I wonder if dreams need some experiences to build on. Maybe before we get them, babies are singing with angels and she's dreaming about heavenly things.
Anyway, it is a beautiful baby this lovely morning and grandpa is happy, with a little tear of joy in his eye.

Happy Grandma and Grandpa

2006-11-10T14:45:00.000-08:00

Doctor Visit

2006-11-10T06:54:00.000-08:00

This morning Georgia is going to visit her doctor. Her mom amd grandmother are taking her. She is four days old today.

Bakersfield Babe

2006-11-09T21:24:00.000-08:00

Today after work I drove to Bakersfield. When I arrived I got to hold the baby. I am still pretty good at holding a baby and having dinner at the same time.
After dinner I drove Sara to Target so she could shop for a few things that she needed. After shopping Georgia had a good meal and went to sleep. Right now Woody is holding Georgia sitting on the couch. Things kind of look like a Norman Rockwell painting.
It has been a very good evening.

2006-11-07T19:23:00.000-08:00

Last night I drove home from visiting the mom, dad, and new baby in Bakersfield. Jan and Rebekah stayed. Today Anna and Ken went for a visit.

I visited mom this afternoon and showed her the pictures of Georgia on this blog. She enjoyed seeing them. Later we drove over to the Eye Institute and picked up her new pair of glasses. Then we went to Sonic. She likes Sonic Blasts with Butterfinger. Tomorrow I'm going to pick her up for dinner. I think we'll go to In and Out or some other fast food place.

Pictures of Georgia

2006-11-06T15:09:00.000-08:00

Here is little Georgia Woody. She was born today at 1:02 PM. She weighed 7lbs. 10 oz. Mom and baby are well.

Visiting the Baby

2006-11-05T14:46:00.000-08:00

Jan and I are going to Bakersfield tomorrow to visit with Sara, Woody and Georgia. Jan will stay most of the week. I will come home and be at work on Tuesday. Rebekah is going too a little later. She has to drop off a term paper at school first. Anna is trying to take Tuesday off so she can visit then. We'll try to get some photos up tomorrow. Rebekah will have her laptop and digital camera with her so we should be able to post pictures.

2006-11-03T19:17:00.000-08:00

We got the lighting projects done on Sunday. We had to take several trips to Home Depot and Lowes but eventually had success. Sara and Woody's house is a cool old place and there were a few surprises in the wall. My favorite was to find that the paneling in the baby's room is new (a relative term) with old stuff underneath. When I cut a hole for an electrical box, I could see the markings left by an earlier light fixture on the older wall.
The baby's room looks nice and ready for the little one.

Wiring

2006-10-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

Tonight I am in Bakersfield. Sara and Woody took Rebekah and me out to dinner and to a cool little ice cream parlor afterward. Tomorrow I am going to rewire a couple light fixtures in the baby's room.

2006-08-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finished, To Kill a Mockingbird. I had never read it. My daughter, Rebekah suggested it to me. It is a good book. The cover says it was voted the best novel of the 20th century. I guess it could be. Usually I don't get in to the crowd that sees deep meaning in stuff, but I'll be thinking about that book for quite a while. And now I'll know what a Boo Radley moment is.

2006-08-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

Today I put a roof on a storage container I built. I patterned it after something I saw in a Martha Stewart magazine. It is in the style of shabby chic, made out of some old doors. It looks like an outhouse. Right now there are some lawn tools and patio chairs in it.

Earlier today I downloaded Open Office on to Rebekah's new laptop. I learned about it at a technology training put on by the school district. It is an open source product that seems completely compatible with Microsoft Office and it is free.

2006-07-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

I spent most of this week at work trying to get ready for the new school year. I got a lot of things done, settled in a little more into my office, took care of a few things for some teachers and pondered the end of summer.

2006-07-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, this blogging could change a person's life. Who knew I'd still be pondering things I read on a blog days ago, or even conversations last week about the Dixie Chics? Anyway as long as it is okay to talk about little or nothing on one's blog, here are some thoughts connected to the Dixie Chics, last night's Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young concert and Ed's Blog from July 13th.

1. It is good to have political diversity.
2. It is good that the folks on either end of the political spectrum don't run the show.
3. It is good that we have those folks.
4. It is good that the president's obligation to protect the Dixie Chics' freedom of speech is greater than their obligation to agree with him.
5. Same about CSN&Y.
6. I still love their harmony.
7. Why do we listen to the famous?
8. Why do rock stars find political activism so easy when I struggle with talking to my neighbor about Jesus?

Heat Wave, Corn Fields, and Ceiling Fans

2006-07-22T17:47:00.000-07:00

My dad would say, "It is so hot you can hear the corn growing". I always figured that was a midwest thing since there is so much corn back there. Daddy was from Illinois and I imagine on a breezeless afternoon you might just be able to here the corn grow.

This morning I helped my son-in-law, Ken put in ceiling fans. He was in his attic by 6:30 trying to beat the heat. The Weather Channel says it is 112 degrees this afternoon so getting started early was a good thing. We got three fans up and running.

More High Chair

2006-07-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

I worked on the high chair some more today. Most of it is glued up and the hinges and lock that keeps it from folding up when it shouldn't are painted antique brass. Tomorrow I'll have to go to the hardware store for screws that will hold the wheels on. So far I think it is turning out well.

Family

2006-07-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

I got a phone call from my cousin Betsy this afternoon. She and her sister Jane were in town visiting their mom, Jean. They wanted directions to mom's so they could drop by for a visit. I went over too. I had a good time. It was good to see them.

High Chair

2006-07-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

I've had this box in my garage for a while now. The high chair that I had as a baby was inside. I don't remember being a baby and using it, but I do remember babies that came after me using it. It was a cool high chair. It hinged in the middle to become a car. It even had wheels, although no steering wheel.
I have spent a few days getting it ready to be put back together. Lots of the work had been done years ago, probably by my dad or sister. I finished sanding a few parts and remaking one. I still need to make a new tray to replace the plastic one that is missing.
Happily, whoever rescued the high chair also saved the hardware for the tray. I'm pretty sure I can make a wooden tray that will work well.
I've dry fit most most of the parts. In fact that is when I noticed the piece I had to replace. Today I hope to get the base glued up. If I get that right, adjusting the seat to fit when I glue it up should be doable.

Blogging

2006-07-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today I have become convinced that blogging everyday is hard work. Having nothing to say I visited a few blogs that Sara has links to on her blog, interesting. I was especially impressed with the craftmanship of Adam and the thinking of Ed about the topics of global warming, not lying to get free tickets and Jesus.

Granny and the Internet

2006-07-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

I helped mom get on the internet today. Several people had emailed her since Randy (my brother-in-law)set up her Yahoo account a few days ago. I don't know if she will get in to email. It was all so new to her. Using a mouse and clicking don't come naturally. I'll give her another lesson in a few days. There are lots of people who she could keep in touch with if she gets the hang of email so I think it is worth a little more effort.

I had no luck finding the crib part for Sara, although the garage is getting cleaned up pretty well.

Garage

2006-07-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

Today I spent most of the day cleaning my garage. I have two reasons to clean up. First Sara is working on the crib that Jan gave her and a part is missing. I hope it turns up in my garage. Second I plan on parking Grandpa George's 1951 Chevy Pickup inside while I work on getting it road ready. If all goes well I'm going to get it from my brother Doug later this week.

My other project for today was to make a part for a piece of furniture I'm trying to fix up. So far it is going well. I have one more piece to try to recreate. I think it will be nice when I am done. If so, I'll get some photos and put them up.

Another bit of curiosity is that Granny, my mom has and email account now. What do you know? I hope she gets interested in it.

Sunday

2006-07-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today was a great Sunday. It started with church this morning. MT needed a greeter and usher so I was glad to be outside welcoming folks and passing out bulletins. I was working alonside a young friend, Mark, who is finishing student teaching this fall and planning on getting a job as a P.E. teacher when he is finished. It was good to have a time hearing about his plans for the future.
Church was good, with Pastor Fred continuing the series on spiritual fitness. It has been good to be challenged to get into shape with God. We also heard a testimony by one of the ladies who had been on the mission trip to Keyna. I am still suffering from a little mission envy. I am happy that Rebekah and Anna and Ken got to go. They had a great time and saw wonderful and miraculous things.
After church I met with my Fire Team men's group. We have a good time sharing and praying for each other.
Later I visited mom and had a good time talking to the ladies in her new home. She seems to be doing quite well, eating better and sleeping less. I think she is stimulated by her new surroundings.
Yesterday Sara was up from Baskerfield to visit. We had a wonderful housefull in the afternoon with all three girls and their aunt JoAnne from San José.

Cruising

2006-07-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

I drove over to church with the cooler attached this afternoon and gave my friend Wil a ride. He could definitely feel cool air coming through the vent. It was good to get a second opinion.

Cool Understandings

2006-07-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

I solved the problem of hanging the cooler on my pickup's window today. I scavenged a waist strap from an old knapsack and another from a bag to an old leaf blower, bent a couple large washers into hooks and what do you know? It worked. Next I'll go out for a drive and see what happens.
When I took the cooler apart there were two cords that I didn't understand. Last night I began to wonder if they were each wound around the cooler pad drum in different directions to allow the driver or passenger to pull one or the other to rotate the drum and re-wet the pad. I'm thinking that must be right so later I'll add those cords to see how things work. I've got some cord that almost matches the old stuff.
Alrightythen, I'm off for a test drive.

Alrightythen

2006-07-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Sara Helen called today and my grand daughter has a name now. She and Woody have been kicking around several names and it sounds like they have decided. I bet you could check out Sara's blog to see the name.

Cooler Follow-up
Today I replaced the old aspen cooler pad with a new one. I had to trim the pad to fit and I got the cooler all together, but haven't solved the problem of hanging it in my window. Tomorrow I'll look around for an idea.

Cool Cooler

2006-07-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today I started to work on an old automobile swamp cooler. My sister gave it to me. Years ago she saved it from the farm where we grew up outside of Chowchilla. I don't know any story behind whose it had been back in the days before car air conditioning. I know I thought it was old when I was young and I haven't been young in a long time.
Eventually I got the thing apart and found it was full of some nasties. Something had used it for a nest. Whatever had built the nest was was long gone, but there were nesting materials that resembled cotton or maybe the stuffing out of an old chair or something. As I recall, either would have been plentiful in the old barn where the cooler lived for many years.

I found that it works muck like a modern swamp cooler for a house using a pad of aspen shavings that adds moisture to the air that is scooped in as you drive down the road and swirled through the vents into the cab. I haven't been to OSH to get a cooler pad yet but when I do I'll have to figure out how the cooler hangs on the window and door and exactly how the whole thing works. I used to think that the pad inside spun around like a squirrel cage as you drove, but now that I've seen inside I think I was wrong about the spinning.

I hope I can find an old timer or car or cooler buff that can fill me in on some of the details about this type of car cooler. In the meantime I'm off to the hardware store.

Sunday

2005-12-11T15:42:00.000-08:00

Today at church I had my last class on the New Testament, at least until next semester. We discussed 1st Samuel. It was interesting.

Later in church we heard four testamonies from people who were getting baptized. They were very good.

2005-12-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight six of us got together and had Raclette. It was fun and delicious.