Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Freeze Warning!

Before you panic in the Spokane area, the Freeze Warning is for Fort Wayne, Indiana. By the time the sun comes up tomorrow, which is way too late, it will probably be down around 30 degrees. Tomorrow is October 1st, so I guess that is okay. Mornings are supposed to be cold in October. For Spokane clouds will likely keep it from getting as cold. The temperature will probably bottom out in the mid to upper 30s.

I am looking forward to a bright and sunny Indiana day, and because my class ends at noon tomorrow I can enjoy the afternoon. I am hoping to enjoy tomorrow night too as some thunderstorms are expected to roll in. Spokane's weather will be mostly cloudy and cool. There may be a sprinkle or two in a few spots, but most areas will stay dry. Highs tomorrow, like today, will be in the middle 50s. Things don't look that much different through the weekend. If anything it will be wetter. Cool and cloudy weather will hang on through Sunday, with highs in the 50s. The early to mid part of next week looks nicer with more sunshine and daily temperatures reaching into the 60s.

The week so far here in Fort Wayne has been very interesting and informative. I have made some new friends that will help carry me through the next 4 years, the length of this course work. I am looking forward to getting home though, it will be exciting to see the progress on the new church building.

Gonna Be Cold Tonight

The sun has finally come out this afternoon here in northeastern Indiana, and it has turned out to be a nice crisp fall afternoon. The temperature has gotten up to the low 60s. With a clear sky tonight and light winds it will be cold tonight, with frost likely by morning as the temperatures dip to the low 30s. Tomorrow looks like a beautiful day with temperatures rising to the middle 60s by late afternoon under a brilliant blue sky. There is rain expected again for Friday, but I don't really care since I will be headed home. Chilly describes the day today in Spokane as it got down to an official low of 34 degrees this morning. This afternoon the temperature has had to fight to get out of the 40s! Tonight we will be back down into the mid 30s again, with a crisp fall day tomorrow. Thursday's high should be back up around 60 degrees. It wasn't that long ago that it was 80, last Saturday in fact, but it looks like those days are gone for this year. Heading into the weekend we will see the rain chances picking up again, and the chilly weather will be reinforced. Highs on the weekend will be in the 50s.

Today's classwork was fascinating. We spent most of the day examining the post-modern American culture with the focus on how each generation relates to life. All of this was done with an eye on how the church needs to adapt its methods to be relevant, and reach members of the "Baby Boom" generation, "Generation X" and the "Millennials". Most of us in the group are Baby Boomers, with today's sessions lead by a Generation X'er, and a Millennial present to add her perspective. The information was very pertinent, and the presentation, by Bill Johnson, was tremendous. We asked a lot of questions and discussions continually broke out. The information that came out today will be very valuable in our church. We must never change the message, the Gospel, but how it is delivered has to change in order to reach people of all ages.

Pastor Young left today, and as I write this he is probably at 35,000 feet somewhere over Iowa, heading through Salt Lake City toward Spokane. My class will be finished tomorrow at noon, but I won't be leaving until Friday morning. I am hoping to get out and see the sights of Fort Wayne tomorrow afternoon. That should take about 9 minutes so I will have to figure out what to do with the rest of the day.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Wild Times At The Seminary

Remember what I said a day or two ago, "what happens in Fort Wayne stays in Fort Wayne"? Well, there is some truth to that. Tonight we had some musical entertainment in the student union. The performer was one of the students, and he played the keyboard and sang very well. It wasn't at all religious music, but rather a mix of 60s, 70s and 80s stuff, along with Broadway show tunes. He also had people doing some karaoke. There was one guy from Baltimore that was just fantastic. He sang several songs, and it was obvious that he had some professional training. Some of the others got up with varying degrees of success. I must confess, one does a lot of that at a seminary, that I got up too. I was talked into singing Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire"...with not a lot of success. I did another song, and it was much better, but using the above motto I am not going to identify what that song was. Those that know me very well, and have for a longtime, could probably figure it out. It was well received by the assembled masses.

Looking at today's weather, the temperature in Fort Wayne beat Spokane by 4 degrees, 59 to 55. It is still cloudy here, but I am holding out hope for sunshine tomorrow. Thursday is looking even better. We will be in class all day tomorrow, and most of Thursday, but the sunshine should lift the spirits.

On a totally unrelated, I wanted you to know that I am being housed in Albrecht Hall here on the campus of the Concordia Theological Seminary here in Fort Wayne, Indiana. You can make of that what you will.

Winter Soon?

Along with yesterday's wind there is a chill in the air here in Fort Wayne today along with clouds and a little bit of mist. I have noticed that it is quite a bit cooler in Spokane today too. The reality of the situation is that this is a little closer to the reality of what the weather usually is like in the last few days of September. Here in Indiana the sun will be back out tomorrow, but there will still be quite a chill, especially early in the morning. One thing about morning here, it doesn't get light out until almost noon. That is obviously an overstatement, but it is closing in on 8:00am before the light of day chases away the darkness. I am looking forward to some sunshine so that I can take some good pictures of the campus. It is pretty nice.

The forecast for Spokane calls for chilly weather from now right through the weekend. The days will be partly sunny with highs near 60 degrees tomorrow through Friday. Overnight weather will be partly cloudy and quite chilly. Lows will be mainly in the 30s, with a few spots getting some frost. I hope my tomato plants can survive until I get home. Wouldn't you know it, the rain is expected back for the weekend. It will probably be even cooler, with highs just in the 50s. Yeah...fall is here...I certainly hope that winter can wait for awhile.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Blown Away By The Experience

I have just finished the first day of my "official" seminary training and it has literally almost blown me away. We woke up to wind gusts of about 50 miles per hour here in Fort Wayne, and they haven't back off much yet. There were also some thunderstorms that moved through last night at about 2:00am, but wouldn't you know it I slept right through them. Speaking of sleeping, the accommodations are a bit "spartan", but at least the bed is long enough to "accommodate" my feet. For the first night here both Rev. Young and I slept fairly well. At least it was sounding like Virtus was asleep, otherwise there was a mountain goat snorting just outside our door for half of the night.

Today we were involved in orientation through most of the day. We actually start our first course of study Tomorrow, with the meat of it coming Wednesday through Thursday morning. There is talk of going out for hot wings and beer here in a few minutes, so we probably don't want to miss out on that.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Well Its About Time!

I know...I know...where was my post earlier today? Its not that I didn't think about you, its just that the wireless networks at the airports are only available to paid subscribers, and I wasn't about to become a paid subscriber! Pastor Young and I have successfully found our way to Fort Wayne, Indiana, with a minimal amount of hassles and annoyances. It is almost time to bed down for the night, but a free wireless network on campus was screaming at me to give you an update. The day started at 4:30am, and we didn't roll in here until 9:15pm. That of course is Eastern Daylight Time, as we gave up 3 hours in transit.

There isn't much to report yet from beautiful Fort Wayne since we just got here, and even if there was something to report...Hey...what happens in Fort Wayne stays in Fort Wayne. I am looking forward to breakfast tomorrow morning, and I sure hope that we can find it. After that is a day of mostly orientation, with most of the class work starting on Tuesday.

Weather-wise the nice weather in Spokane has one more day to run. Tomorrow will be a little warmer, in the mid to upper 70s in the afternoon, after reaching 70 earlier today. It will be much cooler on Tuesday, more like 60, and the light rain chances pick up Tuesday night into Wednesday. Here in Indiana there will probably be some thunderstorms late tonight, and windy and cool day tomorrow with morning showers. Temperatures won't be getting much above 60 degrees here tomorrow.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Weekend Update




Right on schedule, here are the latest photos of the St. John's Lutheran Church building project. We continue to move toward completion of the exterior of the building, but the interior is still a couple of months away from being finished. Once the roof is shingled over the church area the electricians can work their magic, and then the drywall goes up. In a week or so some of the Laborers For Christ will begin leaving us, and the good-byes will be difficult, but as Kay puts it we now have a whole bunch of new friends that we can visit, and stay with, when we travel. That's Kay...always the pragmatist!
I had my first basketball games of the new season to officiate earlier today. My first two were 8th grade boys, and the last one was 5th grade boys. It was nice to get back out on the court and run around a bit, but when all was said and done my knees were barking at me. I didn't blow any calls, or miss anything blatant, but as usual the coaches were barking almost as much as my knees.
Very early tomorrow morning I am on the airplane headed for Fort Wayne, Indiana. Actually, the airplane will take me to Chicago, and from there I will be driving a rental car. To fly directly to Fort Wayne was quite a bit too expensive, so the rental car thing from Chicago worked out to be a much better deal. I am really looking forward to getting started with classes so I can start learning how to do what I have been doing for the past 4 months. My mentor, Reverend Virtus Young (emeritus) will be accompanying me, and he is always fun to be around. I am expecting to laugh a lot the next 5 days.
The weather will continue to be nice for the next couple of days. Expect sunshine and high temperatures in the low 70s. Oh, by the way, the blowing dust today was never a big deal as the visibility never got below about 8 miles. I told you so! Tuesday still looks like it will be the start of the major shift in the weather pattern. From Tuesday through the end of the week it will be much cooler and cloudier, and there will be some rain showers to contend with. The mountains should see their first snow of the fall season. High temperatures will only be in the mid to upper 50s!!!
I will conclude by announcing that the Wisconsin Badgers had a nice win today, but then you probably already knew that since I have indoctrinated all of you into members of the Badger Nation. Bucky Badger beat Michigan State 38 to 30 in a game that was no where near as close as the final score would indicate. Next week will be a real test, the first road game, as the Badgers travel to East Dakota to take on the Golden Rodents.

Changes In The Air

An early morning run to the grocery store to pick up items on the "Early Bird Sale" got me to the checkout with 6 pounds of butter, 2 quarts of ice cream, a gallon of milk and some oregano. There's an Italian recipe in here somwhere. Anyway, while at the checkout I was asked by the checker if there really was going to be a big dust storm today? She said that she heard it from her sister yesterday that we would be under 7 and a half inches of dust and dirt by the end of the day (okay...that might have been a small stretch of the truth). I assured her that it just wasn't going to happen, but we probably will see a little blowing dust in the air this afternoon due to increasing winds during the day. It is already a little breezy. That calmed her fears and made her feel better about life, just another service offered free of charge from "The Blogger".

Temperatures will still be above average by a good 10 degrees today under a partly to mostly sunny sky. This afternoon's high temperature will be about 78 degrees, with the wind from the west to southwest at 15 to 25 miles per hour, gusts will occasionally go a little higher. The wind and the dry weather has raised the fire danger to a critical level, resulting in employees of local TV news operations to go into uncontrolled conniptions. Nothing sparks panic more than yelling fire in a crowded newsroom! The winds will die down tonight and Sunday should be another beautiful day. It will be a little cooler, but still nice, with an afternoon high temperature of about 70. By the middle of next week we are in for a major weather change, and the sunny, warm and dry will be replaced by the cool, cloudy and wet. From Wednesday through Friday daytime temperatures will have a hard time getting out of the 50s.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Friday Night, And The Livin' Is Easy

There is just something about Friday night that makes you happy. Even if you still have job responsibilities on Saturday, Friday night is still a relaxing time. Kay and I spent some time on the porch talking about the events of the day, and talking with Brady about the important events in his life. Most centered around a giant spider that his dad got out of the attic in their garage. This spider is not one that ever lived, but rather a Halloween decoration. When you are a 3 year old boy Halloween is something that really gets you fired up.

All in all, today turned out to be a real joy. All of the dragons that needed to be slayed showed up with their tails between their legs and never posed much of a threat. I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with people that I always knew that I enjoy spending time with, and some that I just learned today that I enjoy as well.

There is another busy day ahead tomorrow. I am hoping to be able to watch a little bit of the Wisconsin-Michigan State football game tomorrow morning, before heading off to church to set up for the regular Saturday pot-luck lunch. Tomorrow afternoon I have 3 basketball games to officiate, and then tomorrow evening I have to pack and prepare to take off to Fort Wayne, Indiana very early Sunday morning. I am going with Reverend Virtus Young, who has been the interim Pastor at our church, and is going to be my mentor as I study to become the full-time Pastor at St. John's Lutheran. Spending almost a week with Virt will be a big challenge for me. I may have problems with my gizzard from laughing all of the time because he is just that kind of a guy! I thank God that I have known him for about 9 years now, and it has truly been a joy the entire time.

Tonight's weather forecast is still pretty much the same as earlier today. Tomorrow will be another warm day for late September, but the winds will pick up from late morning through the afternoon into the evening. It will be a partly sunny day with a high in the upper 70s to about 80 degrees. Sunday should be mostly sunny and cooler. Afternoon temperatures will approach 70 degrees, which is near the average for this time of year. Much cooler and wetter weather will be here by the middle of next week, so plan to change your wardrobe by next Tuesday.

Not Much Is Changing


Its Friday morning, and it looks just about like every other morning this week. That's a good thing, as every other morning has lead to a beautiful day. Have you noticed the number of follows to this blog over on the left hand side of the page? 21, that's pretty impressive. You may also have noticed that the number hasn't changed for quite some time. Oh no! I've become stagnant. There is no growth! What am I to do? Probably nothing, just keep writing because I know that there are more of you out there who are reading this than have signed up to become followers, and besides, what to do get when you become a follower? Do you get a free T-shirt? A coffee mug? An autographed picture of my little neighbor Brady? NO, although I could probably arrange the picture of Brady, what you get is the satisfaction that you are supporting the blog that has been voted #1 by my dog Dixie.
As I wrote last evening, today will be a full day, but I am ready to meet the challenge. I am looking forward to getting out there and slaying all of the dragons that come my way. I hope that they're all small dragons that don't breath fire. Maybe they could belch a little smoke, but no fire. The trend of great weather will indeed continue today. It will be sunny with an afternoon high temperature of about 80 degrees. Things will start stirring a little bit on Saturday. A cold front will be approaching from the northwest. There won't be much moisture associated with it, so it should pass through dry tomorrow afternoon, with just an increase in the clouds. It will stir up some wind, especially in the afternoon and evening, so things will get a bit gusty from the west and southwest. Temperatures tomorrow will still be warm, about like today, reaching toward 80 degrees. Sunday looks sunny and cooler, more like 70 in the afternoon, and that should be very nice

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Uff Da!

For all who are of Norwegian heritage, or have spent a significant time in the area of Wisconsin and Minnesota, you know what the term "uff da" means. It is what you say at the end of a day where things never seemed to slow down, or when there is just more going on than you can reasonably handle. Today was such a day. It wasn't a bad day, no not at all. It was just one of those days where "the hurrier I go the behinder I get!" I think that you probably know what I am talking about.

As I approach the weekend I am trying to get as much done as possible because very early on Sunday morning I will be winging my way toward Fort Wayne, Indiana to begin a new chapter in my life. I have to be there bright and early on Monday morning to begin a new round of education, a seminary education that will most likely lead me to be the Pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church. I have actually already begun the process by reading one of the required textbooks for the first course that I will take. The great thing about my seminary training is that nearly all of it will be done online so that I can continue to serve my church while I pursue the education necessary to serve the church properly. There is nothing really all that different or special about the person who is the Pastor of a church, or at least there shouldn't be, He is just the lead sheep in the flock.

Tomorrow is looking like another one of those days. I have my regular Friday morning tennis outing, or drubbing is probably a better word, at 8:00am. After that there will be a little time to spend at the church before heading off to the community college to prepare for lab day tomorrow. Right after that will be a visit to the home of one of the members of our church. That could take several hours in I let it, and then back to the church to get done all that I didn't get done today, and some of the stuff that I would normally do next week, while I am gone to Fort Wayne. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. Okay...maybe I am whining just a bit.

The weather remains a non issue, just plain beautiful. Today was a sunny day with a high temperature of 84. Tomorrow should be equally as sunny and around 80 in the afternoon, after a nice cool low of about 50 early in the morning. It still looks like a nice weekend, and it still looks like it will get cooler and wetter next week. I guess its about time since October begins next Thursday.

Where Does The Time Go?

I thought that I had better check in, since I don't want you think that I might have died. It is just that it has been a very busy morning so far, and the rest of the day is looking about the same. At least the weather is not bothering us, it is nice and sunny, and will stay that way all day. The trend to slightly cooler weather is still expected, but it will still be much warmer than normal through the weekend. Once again, by the middle of next week fall should be in the air again.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

All's Quiet On The Western Front

The air is now cooling quickly after a very warm day. Today's high temperature was 90 degrees in Spokane, which missed the record high by only one degree, and was 21 degrees above the normal high of 69. The warm weather will be hanging on for the next several days, although it won't be AS warm as today. Tomorrow we will see the peak afternoon temperature at about 85 degrees, and it will be closer to 80 on Friday and Saturday. There are signs that by the middle of next week the feel of fall will be in the air with cooler temperatures and some rain.

There have been no new revelations from Beth today concerning her relationships with members of the opposite sex. I don't know if that is good news or bad. As her father I am not really sure what to make of this boyfriend stuff. I was a boyfriend a couple of times way back when, and to tell you the truth, I don't know what to make of that either. I am sure that the next week or two will be very revealing, and very interesting in regards to all of this.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. I plan to get up early to prepare for the Bible study that I lead on Thursday mornings, which I term "Lutheranism 101". It is basically a review of what we believe as Lutheran Christians. The study is from 8:30 to 9:30am, and after that I get to go down to the new church construction site for the morning snack and devotions. The food is always good and I have a great time talking with the Laborers and their wives. Each day a different couple takes their turn leading the devotion so they are always interesting and enlightening. After that I have a few things to accomplish before going off to teach my meteorology class at 11:30. I have a "date" to meet an old buddy from the TV station, Clarence, to play tennis after class. While I was working at the station we would play every week, but since I am no longer there we have not been getting together near as much. We always have a good time, no matter who wins. I am hoping that Kay and I can finish the altars for the pre-school later in the afternoon so that I can post some picture of them tomorrow.

Finally, I have a Brady update. For those of you who are new to this blog, Brady is my little buddy, and he lives across the street. Brady is a 3 year old who acts like he is 3 years old. Tonight Kay and I were having supper, BLT's, and the back door to the garage opened and in came Brady. Of course he had a million question, most of which centered around bacon. We had a dinner guest, although he wasn't all that interested in eating. I would have more to write about the experience except that we had to rush off to choir practice, so Brady had to head back home.

That's all for tonight.

A Betrayal Of Confidence?

When one goes into the full-time ministry, one must keep many things in confidence, much like a doctor or a lawyer. This applies to the people that are under your spiritual care, and the things that they tell you in private. So, this morning I am going to violate that confidence and "spill it" about one of our church members. Let me set the stage. I got home from the church last evening, and Kay sent me to the store to pick up a few necessities. I will keep what those necessities were in confidence. Anyway, while driving to Albertson's my cellphone rang. I was at a stop sign so I answered. On the other end was my daughter Beth. I told her that I was driving, and she wanted me to call her back AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I asked her to give me two minutes to get to my destination. Being the good dad that I am, I did indeed call her back. She said that she had someone I needed to talk to, and his name was John. He had the audacity to want to take my little bundle of joy out on a date. Allow me to back up a bit. I have always told Beth that she could date at any time, no matter what her age was at the time, with one stipulation...I was going along. As she got into high school I softened a bit, to the point that I gave up on my demand to be present, but that the boy had to be personally interviewed by me before any date could take place. Last evening she remembered that, and called me to have John talk to me before they went out. After a few pleasantries I hit him with the tough questions. He answered well (I don't know whether or not Beth filled him in on what would be asked in advance), and through the course of the interrogation I found out that he was a baseball fan. His favorite team is the Baltimore Orioles since he grew up in Baltimore. I informed him that football was my game, and I am a die hard Wisconsin Badger alum and fan. He responded to that by informing me that he supports the Ohio State Buckeyes. "Houston, we have a problem here". I am not so sure that I can tolerate a Buckeye fan. As the conversation ended I stated that I enjoyed our chat, and perhaps we would meet face to face one day. I then informed him that if he were to hurt my daughter physically, emotionally, spiritually, or in any other way I would meet him very soon, and the event would not be pleasant. I think that I said something about cutting his heart out. Maybe it was another body part. I don't remember my exact wording.

I can tell you this story since Beth outed herself on Facebook by announcing to the world that she now has a boyfriend. John and Beth went for a walk together after studying. This officially qualifies as her first date. Facebook is a great thing, as everybody on it instantly becomes an expert about anything that is being talked about. The conversation last night got around to the fact that all men are dumb, so Beth needs to stay on her toes. I guess I can't dispute that wisdom.

As for the weather, there is nothing new here. The normal high today is 70, and the normal low is 44. This morning's low has been 57 degrees, and the afternoon's high will be in the upper 80s. As I mentioned last night we will cool slightly into the weekend, but stay above normal into at least the middle of next week. I'm lovin' it!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A Full Day

The evening is rapidly running out, and bedtime is quickly approaching. Right now I am in the middle of a glass of wine, Yellowtail Shiraz, one of my very favorites. It has been a productive day with a lot being accomplished and some very nice conversations along the way. Most of those conversation I am compelled to keep in confidence, but lets just say that the news is generally good. Surprise of surprises, dinner was consumed at 7:30pm rather than after 9:00 tonight

I want to share an update on Mark Munderloh, the Laborer For Christ injured in the electrical accident at the St John's Lutheran Church building site a week and a half ago. Mark's wife Liz was back in Spokane from late Monday afternoon until midday today, getting their RV ready to drive back across the state to the Seattle area. Jim and Carol Bouvin went with her once again today, with Jim driving the RV, Carol driving their car (so they can get back again) and Liz driving her car. Jim and Carol have been a big help and blessing, as has the entire Laborers For Christ community. Mark is still in very serious condition. His legs have become swollen, and he is no longer moving them. He thinks that he is, but he is not. The swelling is keeping the doctors from performing reconstructive surgery on the back of his head, because they cannot safely administer anesthesia. It now looks like he will spend several months at Harborview Medical Center. Please, continue to lift up Mark and Liz in your prayers.

A quick word on the weather, it was another beautiful day. The high temperature was 80 degrees and the sky was again a beautiful shade of blue. Tomorrow will be the warmest day of the week as the afternoon temperatures rise to the upper 80s, and a few spots around the metro area hit 90 degrees. That is about 20 degrees above normal. It will cool off a bit Thursday, Friday and into the weekend, but only a bit each day. On Thursday we should top off in the middle 80s, Friday the low 80s, and then the upper 70s to near 80 degrees Saturday and Sunday. Through that time it will be dry with sunny days and clear cool nights.

End Of Summer, Start Of Fall

The seasons change today, at least that's what the calendar says. The weather has other ideas. Summer weather is going to be around for awhile, at least into next week. Warmer air is on the way. Today we will be ending up near 80, tomorrow the mid to upper 80s, and on Thursday the mid 80s. All will be under sunny skies and very light winds. It will be a little cooler Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but still very nice. Highs will be mostly in the upper 70s, with lows in the 40s to around 50 degrees. There is no rain in sight and the sunny days will continue through the weekend.

Monday, September 21, 2009

You Call That A Day Off?

I have been a parent for quite some time now, nearly 19 years. In that time it has become apparent to us parents that one of our chief rolls is to embarrass our children. I mean, why not, they spend most of their early years doing it to us, so turnabout is definitely fair play. Only rarely comes the opportunity to help a friend and fellow parent embarrass their child. That is my honor tonight. Say hello to Jason Moore, my neighbor. This beautiful picture is compliments of his dad Larry, who proudly showed it to Kay and I as we stopped through Larry and Darlene's place in Boise on our trip home from dropping Beth off at college. I don't think that I need to say much more about this photo as it truly lend credence to the old adage that "a picture is worth a thousand words". Now I know where Brady, my buddy and Jason's son, gets his love of snakes, crocodiles and all things jungle.

Speaking of Jason, He and his lovely wife Sherilyn, along with Brady and dog Lucy came across the cul-de-sac just as our day of work, or day off, was coming to an end. I mentioned the furniture building appointment in my post from this morning, and it did take place. Kay and I, mostly Kay, built two altars for the pre-school rooms in our new school that will be opening in January. They are just about done, as only the legs need to be attached and a polyurethane finish applied. I will post a picture of the finished product in the next day or two, provided that we do finish. Our meeting with the Moores consisted of some very nice conversation, and an opportunity to throw a tennis ball 4 or 500 hundred times out into the street so that Lucy could bring it back and drop it at my feet for another go around. Once again, by the time it was over, that tennis ball weighed as much as a bowling ball due to the accumulated dog slobber.

A now, a quick word about the weather...GREAT. Yeah, that was quick. It was beautiful today, 72 degrees with a bluebird sky. Tomorrow will be warmer, with Wednesday and Thursday warmer still. It is back to the 80s again in spite of the fact that fall officially arrives tomorrow. In fact, the weather still looks rather summer-like through the weekend into early next week, warm and sunny.

Its Cold Out There!

When I took the trash bins out to the street last night the air had that feeling to it that said winter can't be too far away. Well, it is 13 weeks away to be exact as fall begins very early tomorrow morning (4:44am), and each season is roughly 13 weeks. In a more general sense, it was the nip in the air that got my attention, and got me wondering if maybe I SHOULD cover up the tomato plants. I decided to stick with the forecast that said that the frost and freezing temperatures would be found outside the urban and suburban areas this morning, and that has worked out pretty well. In town the temperatures have dropped into the upper 30s to around 40 degrees, while in the outer spots it has gotten a whole lot colder. Deer Park airport has been down to 27 degrees so far this morning, and out at the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge just south of Cheney the current temperature is 24 degrees as of 7:00am. Skies are clear and winds are light.

Looking at what this week has in store for us, as fall begins, is a return to summer-like weather. We will see temperatures reach into the low to mid 70s this afternoon, with bright blue sunny skies. Tomorrow will be a little warmer again, back up around 80, and from there it will be mid to upper 80s for Wednesday and Thursday, and maybe a little cooler on Friday. The initial look at next weekend, and it is never too early to think about the weekend, is pretty favorable. We should see a continuation of the sunny weather and daily highs in the upper 70s to near 80 degrees, and overnight lows in the 40s to near 50.

Today is another one of those "supposed" days off. Since Monday typically starts with a butt-whoopin' at tennis, I am up early. Did I tell you about yesterday's butt-whoopin' in softball? Never mind. Even if it is a day off, I still have class to teach, and I will be stopping through the office at church to finish up that which I didn't yesterday, and to get started on that which I need to do tomorrow. This afternoon Kay and I will embark on some woodworking to build furniture, actually a couple of small altars, for the pre-school rooms. Kay is the designer (management), and I am the builder (labor).

Sunday, September 20, 2009

A Beautiful Day

Here it is, halfway through Sunday, and I am just now making my first post of the day. That is the way that Sundays are, rather busy. There is a brief lull in the activity from all of the goings on at church, which are now in the rear view mirror, and our upcoming doubleheader of softball games that will get underway at 4:00pm. Where last week's games were played in the heat, today is absolutely beautiful.

The sky today has been an incredible blue color, due to the very dry and clean air that is overhead. It was nippy this morning, but now we are near 70 degrees which is very nice for mid September. There is a Freeze Warning out for tonight. I don't think my tomato plants are in danger here in town, but outlying areas, the ones that usually get hit with early frost will probably get nailed tonight. From there-on the upcoming week's weather will be getting much warmer again, and continue bright and sunny. By Tuesday afternoon we should see 80 once again, and rise to the mid to upper 80s through the end of the week.

Saturday, September 19, 2009





































The day is done, and all in all I would term it a great success. The steeple was placed atop the new church this morning, on schedule, and our Praise In The Park service came off quite well, with the weather being mostly cooperative. I don't mean to complain, but a few things could have been better. I alerted the news media, all of the TV stations and newspapers in the area, that the steeple would be going up this morning. How many showed up? NONE. This is a good indication why newspaper circulation and TV news viewership is in a free fall. They don't cover local news, unless there is gruesome pictures or video. But, don't get me started on that. It also would have been nice if a few more people from the neighborhoods would have come to the Praise In The Park celebration. We have no control over that, but it was a wonderful time. We sang, we listened to wonderful music, we prayed, and for many of us, we had tears in our eyes on more than one occasion. I have to give my sincerest thanks to the Haas family and Doug and Candy Ginz for providing our music. This is something that we will definitely do again, but not until well after the upcoming winter is over. It was a little chilly today, but the rain stayed away and the wind was manageable. It did blow some of the music around.
In football it was a good day too. The Badgers won big for a change, but I know that some fans will think that it wasn't big enough. The Washington State Cougars came from behind to win in overtime, and the Washington Huskies beat USC. I am NOT a Huskie fan, but I do like to see USC go down to defeat.
Weather? Tomorrow looks great, with a crisp cool start, and I nice afternoon. The heat will be on again next week. Oh...its 9:15pm...time for dinner!

Looks Good...So Far!

I got up this morning to sunshine, and it is very comfortable outside. A look at the radar shows that it won't be this way for long. The good news is that the rain that is off to the west of us is very light, and if we see some around here it may come and go before 3:00pm. The not so good news is that once the cold front that is producing the clouds and precipitation passes the winds will be picking up and becoming quite gusty. The park that our Praise In The Park service will be held in is up on the hilltop, so it can be a wind tunnel. Oh well, more to pray for. we can all pray for a good turn out of the local folks too. I put out 16 yard signs around the area yesterday, and have 4 more to put up this morning, plus we did a mass mailing so it is not like people don't know we are coming.

Beyond today the weather looks great (wouldn't you know it?). Tomorrow will be mostly sunny and just plain nice, a textbook September day, where we start in the 40s and end up near 70 in the afternoon. From there it is back to the very warm weather again as we will be back up in the 80s to near 90 by the middle of next week, all with sunshine and dry conditions.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Late On Friday Night

It is almost time to go to bed, but the blog rolls on. It has been a full day, with tennis (not a good showing by yours truly today), meteorology class (lab today, so it was pretty easy), some time at church (mostly out placing signs to advertise our Praise In The Park celebration tomorrow), a trip to the fair (the pigs have already been judged and are gone) and then an evening of neighborly chat. In the midst of all of this dinner didn't happen until 9:30pm, but it was well worth waiting for as we had a chicken satay, with Thai vegetables and a curried rice. Yum!

A beautiful day today turned into a beautiful evening. The weather tomorrow still looks a bit un-nerving, but the amount of rain that will be coming through the the area looks pretty small. That being said, if it comes through between 5 and 7pm it will still be a problem. I am not worried though, as the weather, along with everything else, is in the hands of God, and whatever He wants to accomplish will be accomplished. It has been very enjoyable and rewarding planning and getting ready for tomorrows Praise In The Park so whatever happens will be a blessing.

I had the chance to watch a little football this evening, Boise State at Fresno State. I was torn between who to root for as I am a Boise State fan due to our friendship with Larry and Darlene Moore, our neighbor Jason's parents, who live in Boise, and the fact that my Wisconsin Badgers played, and barely beat Fresno State last Saturday. In the end, Boise State won the game, a game that didn't seem to have anyone very interested in playing defense.

I mentioned in an earlier post that tomorrow will be a big day in the life of St. John's Lutheran Church, so I better get some rest so I can be ready to seize the moment.

Friday!!!

For all of you Monday though Friday people, welcome to the end of your week. We are off to a good start as the sun is shining and there is that little nip of fall in the air. Speaking of fall, it officially begins next Tuesday at 4:44 in the morning. Make your party plans accordingly. Speaking of partying, Kay and I are going to the fair later today...WOOHOO! You can read a post from a week ago to see how I feel about the fair. It will be fun to be on the other side of the fish bowl for a change.

Today's weather will be just about perfect for one of the last days of summer, sunny and comfortably warm. We will be around or a little above 80 this afternoon, after topping out at a nice refreshing 72 yesterday. Tomorrow is a HUGE day for our church, St John's Lutheran. In the late morning a crane will be lifting the steeple into place on the new building. You can bet I'll have pictures of that to post. The steeple was saved from the old building that stood at 3rd and Division since 1950. Later in the day is our Praise In The Park service. It looks like there will be some rain coming through tomorrow, so again, pray that it comes by well before, or after our outdoor celebration. Sunday looks nice again with sunshine and low 70s.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Life With Brady




Much was accomplished today, but the highlight of the entire day had to be the evening on the porch in the presence of Kay and my buddy Brady. Brady is the proud owner of a new haircut and a new motorcycle helmet. In reality, it is a bicycle helmet that he wears when he's riding his scooter around the cul-de-sac, and the haircut was a trip that he made with his dad to Weldon Barber. If Brady's mom, and Jason's wife, Sharelynn reads this I think that the two of them have been "outed", and for that I am truly sorry. Brady and I had our usual talk about snakes, alligators, airplanes, and what it takes to be a "big boy". He assured me that he no longer poops in his pants, but is now regularly using the potty. This is a fete that buys him a treat from mom and dad, and allows him to go in our house to say hello to Dixie. You have to realize that Brady is still a boy, so at one point he decided to drop his drawers and pee off of our front porch. I guess it's a guy thing.
A little later this evening, after a dinner of salad and cajun shrimp, Kay and I headed out to the back patio to enjoy a fire in the outdoor fireplace, and a dip in the hot tub. The weather has been nice and cool this evening so it was a very pleasant and relaxing way to spend the evening. I am looking forward to a nice day tomorrow. The forecast still includes very nice weather.
Until morning...hasta manana!


An Update On Mark

I just wanted to take moment to share a website address where you can keep up with Mark's progress, and share notes of encouragement with He and Liz. It is www.caringbridge.org. When you get to the home page click on visit in the upper left, and then type in the name "markmunderloh". Thats all lower case and no spaces.

A Nice Rain

As expected a band of rain showers moved in just before daybreak, and I did hear a few rumbles of thunder. It may have been my stomach rumbling after last night's inferno chicken wrap, but I am pretty sure that it was thunder. What was most impressive was the 38 hundredths of an inch of rain that was measured at the airport. That rain is now finished, kaput, outa here! and clearing is moving in from the west. The rest of the day will be partly to mostly sunny and quite comfortable with temperatures reaching into the mid 70s. There will also be a nice breeze from the southwest. Tomorrow looks very nice, sunny and about 80, but the forecast for Saturday is getting dicier! The weather system that is headed this way looks a little more impressive on the forecast models than it has the past few days, so that means that the chance that we will have rain is better, or in our minds worse, than had been expected. CALLING ALL PRAYERS...CALLING ALL PRAYERS...your prayers for favorable weather for our Praise In The Park Service would be most appreciated.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Making A Joyful Noise?

Being that summer is on the run, although you wouldn't know it from the weather today as the official high temperature was 91 degrees, we are getting into the fall routine. That means that the church choir is back in business, and we had our first rehearsal this evening. We are a very fun group of somewhat musically challenged individuals, but with the help of our choir director Laurie the end result is usually quite good. We are also being bouyed up by some additional voices, and those voices are quite bit more accomplished than us regulars. These are from the Laborers For Christ, who are building are new church, and unfortunately they will only be with us for a few more weeks to a month or two tops. We will sing our first number this Sunday morning in both services so you will definitely want to come and see if we can carry a tune with out a bucket.

Speaking of the Laborers, the latest on Mark's condition is very encouraging. On Monday and Tuesday we were hearing that he may have to remain at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for as much as two months. Today we got word that it may only be a month, and he is doing well and in good spirits. He will be having some surgery tomorrow, to clean out some of the burns, but that is very typical of injuries such as this, or at least, so I am told. I am not a doctor, and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, although I wish I would have due to all of the barking dogs in our neighborhood, but I digress. Work goes on at the church and the roof should be totally covered by the end of the week meaning that the building will be sealed up very soon. After the roof is done the siding goes on the exterior and the steeple will be set on top of the tower. At that point the exterior will look finished, but there will still be a lot of work to be done on the interior.

I am looking for a change in the weather by daybreak tomorrow, Thursday. A cool front from the Pacific will be moving through tomorrow morning, and along and just ahead of it will be a band of showers and the chance for a thunderstorm or two. These should arrive in the very late night hours, just before sunrise. The showers will linger into the morning, with a few more popping up in the afternoon, but most of those will be over the mountains. We will be quite a bit cooler on Thursday, with the afternoon high temperature in the mid 70s. Friday looks nice and sunny with the temperature rising from near 50 early to the upper 70s in the afternoon. There is still an outside chance of rain on Saturday, but then again, if it does rain it would most likely be outside. Anyway, I am still a bit nervous about the weather for our Praise In The Park service late Saturday afternoon, just a bit!

A Change In The Weather?

It still feels like summer this morning as the cool of the morning is beginning to give way to the warmth of the day. We are headed for the upper 80s this afternoon, about 15 degrees above normal for this part of September. There is some cooler air on the way though, and we will be feeling it tomorrow. As that cooler air moves in we will be in for a bit of atmospheric action later tonight into Thursday morning. You will very likely see some high clouds moving in from the west this afternoon, provided that you are not stuck in a cubicle all day, or don't bother to look up at the sky. Those clouds will be the first indication of something brewing out there, and that something will be a band of showers, and a few isolated thunderstorms that will be in the area from about midnight tonight until roughly 9:00am tomorrow. Any rain is not likely to add up to much, but we will take anything that we can get in that department. Tomorrow will be breezy and cooler with partly sunny skies. The afternoon temperatures will drop back to the mid 70s, which is just about average. Through the weekend we will see comfortable temperatures, with daily highs ranging from the mid 70s to low 80s, and just a small chance for a shower or two on Saturday.

Oh no! Not Saturday! We don't want any rain on Saturday! Saturday is the "Praise In The Park" service that St. John's Lutheran is presenting in the park at Eagle Ridge, beginning at 5:30pm. It will be a contemporary, concert-like, atmosphere with two musical groups. The Haas family, Wayne and Tammy along with their 3 children and Doug and Candy Ginz will be providing the Christian songs, some of which we will all sing along with, some we will just listen to and enjoy. I will present a brief message centered on the Gospel. It should be a wonderful time of worship and praise, but we could do with out rain. That being said, the chances for rain between 5:30 and 7:00pm in the exact spot of the park at Eagle Ridge are quite small, but that chance still exists. Lets all pray that the Lord gives us favorable weather for this event, according to His will. If it is not His will, we will have a number small yard tents that we can put up.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Yawn!

It is getting very tired out this evening. It is getting late too. I managed to whittle away at the stack of stuff on my desk today, so now the mountain is not the size of Rainier, but more like Mount Spokane. We welcomed a new couple to our RV park today, better known as the Laborers For Christ Village. Tony and Evelyn Belendez arrived today after Tony got the okay from his doctor to return to work following an injury. They rolled in late this morning and Tony was on the job all afternoon.

The evening has been uncharacteristically quiet around our neighborhood. There was no sign of my buddy Brady anywhere. We weren't home that much though as a trip to Home Depot dominated our time until after dark. I got a call from Beth. She was at a Minnesota Twins game. My how that girl gets around! She claimed that the ticket was free, as she used an extra from her roommate Amanda's youth group. It sound like she was having fun, and the Twins were beating the Indians.

The weather continues to be nice and tomorrow looks toastier, up close to 90 degrees. That won't last long though as it will get a little cooler, just a little, Thursday into the weekend. There are still no signs of an early fall cold snap, and a threat of frost. My tomato plants love that, and when the tomato plants are happy, I'm happy!

Catch up with you in the morning!

Easing Into Things

A new "work" week has begun, and all is quiet so far. I will not be leading the services this coming Sunday, our delivering the message, so I hope that I can catch up on the pile of stuff that has been building up on my desk, which is now only slightly smaller than Mount Rainier. Work has resumed, as it usually does every Tuesday, on the construction site. The latest word from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle is that Mark is still doing well, and if he hasn't already been moved, he will be moving into a private room out of the ICU. We have learned that he will be there for awhile, possibly as long as 2 months as recovering from serious burns takes a long time to happen. His spirits are good and he still thinks that he will be back to work Friday. They have him on some "really good" pain meds. Liz has found a place where she can park their RV and stay while Mark is recovering, so one of the other Laborers will be driving it over to Seattle one of these days.

It is a beautiful morning weather-wise, sunny and pleasant. Our afternoon will be warm, up to the low 80s, and tomorrow even warmer. Wednesday afternoon will bring temperatures to the upper 80s again, where the normal right now is in the mid 70s. Again, I am hoping for a few showers later this week. I don't expect much more than a few.

Empty Nester' Note: One of the major changes that I have noticed since Beth has gone off to school is that our milk consumption has dropped to a gallon about every week and a half. That is down from 3 and a half cows per day!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Busy, Busy, Busy

Form what I have gathered from those who I know who are retired, today was a foretaste of my retirement. I was busier than most working days, and right now I am still and sore to prove it. The day started of slowly, or at least my ability to play tennis started off slowly. After an abysmal first set I got things turned around for the second set of the day. When I got home I took care of felling the condemned tree in the front yard, which after last evening resembled a beat up fence post. It was then time clean up for class, then return to the logging project after lunch. Pulling the stump proved to be a relatively easy task, as just digging beneath it caused the roots to give way. That stump has been disposed of, the hole left behind filled in, and grass seed has been gently sprinkled over the top of it. All of this was followed by laundry, vacuuming, and cleaning up some of the gross stuff that had been accumulating on the porch, mostly due to my overwatering of the dwarf lemon tree that is parked on a table out there during the warmer times of the year. I did manage to watch some of the US Open men's tennis final, in which Roger Federer went down to defeat, and a little bit of the two Monday Night Football games. That pretty much sums up my day.

The weather today seemed a bit more humid than normal, although the observations did not match my perceptions. I sure was sweating like a pig though. Today's high temperatures was a warm 80 degrees, and tomorrow looks like it will be a few degrees warmer again. The warmest day of the week will be Wednesday, when we will be back up into the upper 80s again. For the end of the week we will drop back to the upper 70s to low 80s and we might see a few showers. My lawn, especially the spot where the tree used to be could sure use a bit of rain!

Just Another Manic Monday

Up and at 'em! Its Monday morning and that means tennis at 8:00am. We will be playing indoors, but the weather is still conducive to outdoor sporting events. As a matter of fact, it was a little too toasty for my softball comfort yesterday afternoon, as the official temperature topped out at 89 degrees for the second day in a row. I did notice that the wind picked up a bit overnight, it blew the bedroom door shut...WHAM! That was a bit startling. That breeze will help to cool things down today, so instead of ending up near 90, we should end up closer to 80. The sun will be shining with a few high clouds adding a bit of texture to the sky. Tomorrow and Wednesday are going to be warm and sunny, with temperatures slowly creeping back up through the 80s. Later in the week we may actually see some rain, but not much though, as this warm weather gets shoved to the east and slightly cooler and more moist air moves in. Highs will still be in the mid to upper 70s for Thursday into Saturday. The weather in St. Paul is going to be sunny and warm for a few more days too, so Beth will be experiencing similar conditions to those of us back home.

Today is supposed to be my day off. It actually will be but there is plenty to do. After tennis I will get to work on removing a tree from the front yard. I started taking some branches off of it last evening. It has been there for 9 years, as long as we and the house have been here, and has yet to grow. It is not dead, it just hasn't grown. It was probably planted over a nuclear waste dump. It is not a pretty tree either, so it is destined for the dumpster. In the middle of all of that it will be off to my meteorology class, and them back home to re landscape the area that the tree has vacated.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

We Did It!











I Know...I know! It is awfully late for me to be posting the first information of the day. It was indeed a busy day, but a good one. Our church service was a smashing success, and I have the pictures to prove it. You may recognize Kay, she did the children's sermon, and you may recognize me. I am the very boring looking dude in the suit. There were 105 seats that were filled, so not many were available for non-blog followers. There were quite a number of folks that had never been to St. John's before, and for that, we are truly thankful.
A quick update on Mark's status. We don't know anything new "officially" yet, but Mark told Liz, his wife, that he will be back to work on Friday. I don't think he quite realizes the time it takes to recover from a nasty burn. As Liz was leaving for Seattle Kay told her that if Mark does get out of the hospital that quickly they should take a vacation.
We quickly drove from the church, passing briefly through home to change, and off to my first softball game of the fall season. I play with a bunch of my former co-workers at KHQ-TV for Flamin' Joes, a wing and beer place on Spokane's northside. In the first game of a doubleheader we were down 5-0 in the top of the 7th. What slow-pitch softball team can't score a run in 6 innings? We did manage 1 run in the top of the 7th, but went down to a "flamin' defeat". In the second game we held the other team scoreless in the top of the first, and then erupted for three in the bottom of the frame. By our last at bat, we found ourselves down 6 to 4, but came up with 3 in the bottom of the 7th for a walk off victory. From there it was back to the church to clean up the construction site and reset the regular church facility, home to mow the lawn and start cutting down a tree (more on that tomorrow), spend some time on the porch with the neighbors, and now we have a chicken cooking on the grill. Dinner eta? 9:00pm...as usual.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Weekly Pictures
















According to the usual protocol I am posting new pictures from the construction of our new church. No that is not a Jules Verne spaceship, that is the steeple from the old church that will be installed on the front tower of the new building. All that is left to do before the building is totally enclosed and sealed is to finish sheeting the roof over the sanctuary and fellowship hall, and install a few doors. You can see that we are all set up for tomorrow morning's inaugural service. There are only 112 chairs, so get there early to ensure good seating. The service starts at 9:00am.
No new information as of this time on Mark. He is hospitalized in the burn unit at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. It will probably be a few days before anything definitive is known.
I'll probably post more pictures of tomorrow's festivities later in the day. Have a good night!

A Real Scare Today!

I am checking in a little late today, actually, a lot late. Earlier this morning I was up and slowly settling in to watch my Wisconsin Badgers tangle with those pesky Fresno State Bulldogs on the gridiron. At about a quarter to nine (the game was to start at 9:00am Pacific time) my cell phone rang. I got word that there had been a bad accident on our church construction site with one of the Laborers For Christ, Mark Munderloh, coming in direct contact with live power lines. Kay and I hustled to church as fast as we could, and we were both fearing the worst. Construction workers and power lines coming in contact usually has a disastrous consequence. Upon reaching the site we were informed that Mark was still alive, conscious and talking, but had been burned quite badly on a number of areas of his body. The paramedics found that his heart rate and rhythm were normal, and he had been transported to the ER at Sacred Heart Hospital. After a time of prayer with all of those at the construction site Kay and I headed for the ER and met Liz, Marks wife, and Cherine Devine (a member of the church and a registered nurse who happened to arrive at the church just after the accident happened). Cherine had drove Liz to the hospital as Mark was taken by ambulance. After a short time the ER doctor informed us that Mark was doing pretty well, considering. He would be transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, he is already there now, as the burn center there is the best. As a matter of fact, any electrical burn patients are automatically transferred there to be evaluated and treated, since the extent of the internal burns will not be known for a few days. The bottom line is, Mark should make a full recovery, if not,close to it. It will be a long process though, and burns are very painful injuries. I ask all of you for special prayers for healing for Mark, and comfort and strength for Liz. She is holding together remarkably well, through faith and humor, and will be traveling to Seattle tomorrow to be with Mark. We ask that the Lord's hand of blessing and comfort be over Mark and Liz, and all of the rest of the Laborers and their wives, along with the members of the St. John's congregation, who have become close to them.

The accident caused us to lose power for the entire church property. That didn't stop the Saturday pot-luck lunch though, and there might have been more food than ever. It was all very good too. After lunch we began moving chairs and church furniture down to the new building in advance of the first church service there tomorrow morning at 9:00am. You are all invited to attend per the previous post. Lost in all of this was the Wisconsin-Fresno State game, which turned out to be a thriller. I did hear a score of Fresno State 21, Wisconsin 17 early in the 4th quarter as I drove back to the church from the hospital, but that was the last I heard until long after the game was over. once the power came back in my office, and the wireless network was back up and going, I was able to find the final score and recap of the game. Wisconsin came out on top 34-31 in 2 overtimes. Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime, then the Badgers intercepted a Fresno State pass in the second overtime, one of 3 interceptions on the day, and followed that up with a 22 yard field goal to win. I don't know if you had heard but an H1N1 flu outbreak hit the Madison campus, and as many as 45 of the Wisconsin players got bit by the bug this week, some just today. I don't want to make excuses but that may have had an effect on the play of the team. Even in the face of that they pulled out a victory.

I will have pictures of the church posted later on this evening...see you then.

Friday, September 11, 2009

A Personal Invitation

I would like to extend my personal invitation to all of you to attend the first worship service in the new church at St. John's Lutheran in Spokane, WA THIS Sunday morning. The festivities will begin at 9:00am sharp as we enter the building en mass an take our places in the sanctuary. After the worship service there will be time of fellowship with free coffee and doughnuts, followed by Bible study from 10:15 to 11:15am. Here is your chance to get in on the ground floor and be part of this historical event. For those of you that live some distance from Spokane you will have to get up a little earlier on Sunday morning. For those of you who live in Wisconsin or Minnesota (East Dakota) you better hit the road now! Remember, this building is not complete, so blue jeans should be the attire of the day.

It continues to look like the weather will be very cooperative on Sunday. The cool of the morning will quickly give way to the warmth of the day, as the sun rises in near cloudless sky. The sun won't be beating down on us through the still open roof that early in the day meaning that it should stay quite comfortable. The best part about the open roof is that our songs and prayers will rise up to God unhindered. Today was a beautiful day, in a number of respects. The weather was sunny and warm, 84 the high temperature this afternoon. I was part of the winning team in two out of the three sets of tennis that we played this morning, and the paving folks showed up at church and our parking lot is a wonderful shade of black. This evening I look forward to stimulating convesation with Kay out on the front porch, along with a visit from my buddy Brady. Barbequed ribs are on the menu, with yours truly manning the tongs grillside. I want everyone to make sure that they are up and watching ESPN at 9:00am Pacific, 10:00 Mountain, and 11:00 Central time tomorrow as Wisconsin plays host to Fresno State in football. GO BADGERS!

The weekend weather forecast remains unchanged, sunny and unusually warm for mid September. Highs will be in the upper 80s, with lows in the 50s.

Its Fair Time!

Today marks the start of the Spokane County Interstate Fair. For the past seven years that has meant spending endless hours, every day for a week and a half, at the KHQ-TV tent greating people, or in most cases just sitting there trying not to look like and idiot. Thats hard for me. I must say that I enjoyed chatting with a lot of the people who would drop by, but then there were those who would drop by, and then drop by again, and again and again and again. Each time they would stay a little longer than the time before. Most of these people had some sort of social mal-adjustment. I realize that the Fair is an important part of their lives, so they come every day, and I realize that these are God's children too, so I would treat them with respect. I just didn't look forward to their continual arrivals. Anyway, all of that, thanks to the management at KHQ-TV, is in the past. If I go to the Fair this year it will be as a spectator with some sort of social mal-adjustment and I get to play on the other team in that game.

Today has dawned bright and sunny. There is a pretty good breeze out of the northeast up here on the South Hill. That is typical of this type of weather pattern. Under high pressure, when not much is stirring weather-wise. The air over the mountains of northeast Washington and the Idaho Panhandle cools overnight, and starts to slide downslope out of the mountains into the neighboring flatterlands. This called a "drainage" wind. Right now I would say the breeze is about 10 miles per hour or so, with occasional gusts a little higher. That breeze will go away as the day warms up, and it will warm up! All the way to the mid 80s. We'll see sunny weather and afternoon highs in the upper 80s tomorrow and Sunday, and probably stay in the 80s into the middle of next week. I guess you could call that "fair" weather! yuk...yuk...yuk...

Thursday, September 10, 2009

More Football!

If you are a regular reader of this rag, you know by now that I love football. Earlier tonight the NFL season began, and there was a college game on TV too. I told Kay that she should be proud of me for showing remarkable restraint. I didn't watch either of them! We were out on the porch talking to our neighbor Lisa, and by the time it got dark, and then we cooked dinner (Chinese by the way) the games were all over. Actually Kay changed the channel to NBC just as the Steelers kicked a field goal in overtime to beat the Titans and said "hey Brian, there is football on TV...oh...the game just ended! I also have to give a shout out to my little 3 year old buddy Brady. When I got home from work today, about 5:30pm, he rolled up on his scooter (he calls it a motorcycle) and told me that he was a big boy, because he didn't poop in his pants. I told him how proud I was of him. about 10 minutes later he dropped a load in his shorts that his dad Jason described as "really nasty". Obviously, there is more work to do here.

I spent most of the day at a conference for Lutheran Pastors out at Hope Lutheran Church in Spokane Valley. I am not a Pastor, but I play one on TV...well, actually I don't do TV anymore, but it sure looks like God is calling me to be a Pastor, so I was invited to attend. It was an interesting experience and I learned a lot. When I got back to my church, St. John's Lutheran, I discovered that parking lot of the new building had not been paved as expected, but I guess that is okay since it has been covered with gravel and compacted so we can still park on it on Sunday morning, blacktop or not, for our inaugural service in our new building. Today was a good day in another respect as well, since we were approved by the United States Postal Service to be able to mail at Standard Nonprofit Rates meaning that the bulk mailing to everyone in southwest Spokane County went out today. This mailing advertises the outdoor concert and worship that we are having next Saturday, along with information about our pre-school that will be starting on January 4th of 2010. That is only 3 and a half months away.

And now...the weather...after reaching a high temperature of 78 degrees today the next few days will be even warmer. High temperatures will be in the Low to mid 80s tomorrow, and in the mid to upper 80s on Saturday and Sunday. This will all be under sunny skies and light winds. Looking farther down the road there are no real signs of any chilly fall weather even through most of next week, so again, it looks like the summer of 2009 does not want to give up, and that is alright with me.

Tomorrow is September 11th. Please join me in flying the American Flag!

A Great Day Underway

The sun is shining. The birds are chirping and there is a little nip in the air. That nip won't be around long though as we warm up into the upper 70s, and maybe 80 degrees in downtown Spokane. There is no change in the outlook though the weekend, warm and sunny, dry too. Some might say TOO warm! Winds will be light and the nights will be cool. Summer continues to march on. In St. Paul, Minnesota, "Land of 10,000 Mosquitos", it will be a warm and sunny day today, with showers and thunder coming into the area for tomorrow.

Here at the church, St. John's Lutheran that is, we are expecting to get our parking lot paved today. The brick work is continuing and the roofers have finished the school wing and the entry, so things are progressing nicely. The Laborers for Christ have been working on the church roof and installing windows. One of these day the electrical contractor and crew might even show up. I will post more pictures of the site on Saturday.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

A Long Day of Work And Meetings

The workday started at 8:00 this morning, and finally came to an end at 9:30 tonight. In that time was the usual stuff for a Wednesday, plus class from 11:30 to 12:30, and a couple of meetings this evening. Our church, St John's Lutheran, is planning an outdoor worship concert at Eagle Ridge next Saturday evening, September 19th, at 5:30pm. It is called "Praise In The Park", and it will be in the big park at the top of the hill in the Eagle Ridge development. You are all invited to that too! There will be two different musical groups playing and singing contemporary Christian songs, with plenty of opportunity for the audience to interact. I will also be giving a short Gospel message. This should be a lot of fun and it is a great way for our church to interact with our neighbors. We all hope and pray that the weather is good. Your prayers would sure help as well.

It sure is nice out right now! The sky is full of stars and the temperatures are cooling from a high of 76 degrees earlier this afternoon. Tomorrow will be bright and sunny with temperatures rising from around 50 degrees early in the morning to the upper 70s in the afternoon. Sunny and warmer weather is still on tap for the weekend. We will be up into the 80s each day, and even into the upper 80s on Saturday and Sunday. We are looking forward to good weather for the first worship service in the new church at St John's this Sunday, especially since the roof over our heads won't be completed yet.

Beth called this evening, and is signed up to get an H1N1 flu vaccination on September 23rd. She is hoping that our insurance covers it so it doesn't bust her for 25 bucks! I'm hoping that she doesn't get the flu before the 23rd. I know that the virus is running rampant at Washington State University, the University of Georgia, and at Wisconsin in Madison. Beth said that there have been 3 confirmed cases at Concordia-St. Paul, a very small school. Alright everybody...wash your hands!

Clouds Overhead

It is another fall-like morning around the Inland Northwest with a large band of clouds spread over the area. These are being brought to you by a pretty vigorous low pressure system passing north of us over British Columbia. It is vigorous, but pretty much moisture starved. The cloud base is up at 20,000 feet, and any rain that is found this morning will be over the mountains near the Canadian border. The clouds did keep the temperatures up overnight as the official low in Spokane was 49 degrees this morning. As the day goes on the clouds go away, this afternoon we will be back into the sunshine and temperatures will be rising to the low to mid 70s. It still looks like we are on track for more summer weather again for the end of the week and over the weekend. 80 degree temperatures will be back on Friday, and we should be well into the 80s Saturday and Sunday under mostly sunny skies.

As I have referenced before, this Sunday will mark the first church service in our new building. That building is still a work in progress so casual attire will probably be the best bet. Sawdust and dirt will no doubt be in attendance. The time of this service is 9:00am, so that is a half hour later than our typical beginning for the first service. I am planning to have a group picture taken of all who are in attendance so that we can put it into the Time Capsule that will be placed in the cornerstone of the new building. That way, people 50 to 100 years from now can all laugh at how goofy we look. I will be issuing all of you personal invitations in the coming days for this grand event.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Back To School

As I mentioned before, today was the first day of class for my Aviation Weather course. I was expecting about 16 or 17 students (that is what I was told was the number that was signed up), but only a dozen showed up. It is always interesting on the first day of class when the students come in. They all just sit down, and don't make a sound. I think they are afraid that I might breath fire and instantly incinerate anyone who has the audacity to speak to a classmate. This usually last for a few days, until they get to know each other a bit better, and then the pre-class scene turns into total bedlam. This is the 5th year that I have taught this class at Spokane Falls Community College. I think I need to get some new jokes because the ones that I am using are getting a little long of tooth, and blank stares have replaced laughter. All in all, it was a good start, at least no one got hurt.

Outside the temperatures are taking tumble once again. There are some high clouds drifting in from the west, and that should help to keep us from getting too cold overnight. Clouds act like the blanket on your bed. Some of the heat that is radiated from your body is absorbed by the blanket, and re-radiated back to you. That keeps you warm at night. Clouds absorb some of the radiation that comes off of the earth's surface, and send it back down to the ground, keeping the air just above the ground warmer than if the sky was clear. There you go! You just learned something by reading this blog. Education...just another service that I offer free of charge. It will be another chilly start to the day tomorrow, in the 40s and in the afternoon we will rise to the low to mid 70s. The mid 70s will be in the middle of the city. There will be more clouds than today, bit there will be some sun, so call it partly sunny. The longer term trend is for sunny and warmer weather into the upcoming weekend, By Saturday and Sunday the afternoon highs will be in the mid to upper 80s.

Note to Larry and Darlene, who are heading for Redfish Lake in the mountains of central Idaho this weekend. You picked a winner. The weather will be nice and sunny and the temperatures will be very nice. Highs will be in the low 80s, and the nights will be clear and cool. It will be a lot nicer than it was last weekend.

Unofficial Start Of Fall?

Labor Day weekend is often referred to as the "unofficial last weekend of summer" with official end still being about two weeks in the future. It sure seems like fall right now as i look out my window to mix of sunshine and fog, and the temperature is a nippy 40 degrees. In Deer Park, our local "ice berg", it is 30 degrees. Another sign that fall might be here is that I have abandoned my summer work attire in exchange, shorts and an untucked shirt, for a dress shirt and slacks. A tie will join the ensemble later this morning. The reason for this change of attire isn't really the weather, or the calendar, but is more job related. The class that I teach meets for the first time later this morning, and I want to project a professional image to the group. These young people, at least I think they are young people...I haven't met them yet, are in the educational track to mainly become airline pilots, and a professional image is important in that line of work. It gives the customers a sense of confidence in them, that they know what they are doing and the aircraft that they are about to fly on won't just fall out of the sky.

Back to the weather again, this feel of fall will not be lasting all that long. Today will be a beautiful day with sunny skies once the valley fog burns away. We should end up near 70 degrees this afternoon. Another nippy night is coming up tonight. Through the rest of the week we will see a steady warm-up. A few high clouds will be passing through tomorrow, so it should be partly sunny, and temperatures will climb to the low to mid 70s. From there it will be generally sunny by day, and clear by night. We should be back near 80 again by Thursday and Friday, with temperatures climbing above 80 on Saturday and Sunday. The weather will be dry through the weekend too, which is important since we are planning our first church service in our new, unfinished, building on Sunday morning. Much more on that will be coming up through the week.

Monday, September 7, 2009

The Neighborhood Has Come Alive Again




I just knew that you would want to see a picture of Dixie, and one of my buddy Brady, so here they are. After a very quiet, some might call it a boring, Labor Day weekend the neighborhood is once again turned into a hub of activity. The Moore's are back from camping, and the Gooies are back from their Seattle family reunion. That's right...we have a neighbor named Gooie, not a Gooie neighbor. In reality, his name is John Gould, so through most of his live he has been known as Gooie! All of the kids within a two and a half mile radius ended up in our house this evening, which is a-okay with us.
The highlight of the evening so far (we haven't had dinner yet...chicken pot pie) was an extended conversation with Brady on the front porch. It was centered around the merits of a person not pooping in their pants. It went kind of like this:
Brian: Brady, do you stink?
Brady: Yeah
Brian: Brady, did you poop in your pants?
Brady: Yeah
Brian: Do you need to go home and get new pants?
Brady: No
Brian: Are you sure?
Brady: Yeah
Brian: I think that you better go home and get new pants
Brady: Yeah...but there is a snake over there
Brian: No, there are no snakes over there
Brady: Yeah
Brian: No Brady, there are no snakes over there!
Brady: I'll go get new pants, I'll come back
Brian: Okay, I'll be here
Brady: Bye!
At this time Brady ran back across the cul-de-sac, and wasn't seen again for the rest of the evening.
The pot pie is just about done. The laundry is just about done (Monday is always laundry day), and the holiday weekend is just about done. Starting tomorrow I will have two jobs, as Ministry Director for St. John's Lutheran Church, and as the instructor for Air Science 103 at Spokane Falls Community College. By the end of the month I will start a third job, refereeing basketball.
Busy...busy...busy
Hmmm, what did I miss? Oh yes, the weather! It is cool and crisp right now. We had a beautiful sunset. Sunny days are on the way, and it will be getting warmer. After a few days in the 60s we will be back into the 80s for the second half of the week. I talked to Beth earlier today, after her trip to Post lake with my brother Dave and his family. The weather there was just that, sunny days with temperatures in near 80 degrees. She is going to be writing a 10 page paper for her English class about her Labor Day weekend experience. The assignment was only for 2 pages, but the shenanigans of that group will deserve more like 10 pages, at least that is what Beth had to report.