Back To School

I mentioned earlier, it was time to dive back into the routine. I started my second seminary class today, "Pastoral Theology in Luke and Acts. I watched a couple of lecture sessions online, and started the reading. It is all fascinating stuff, and very appropriate in that the Gospel of Luke begins with the detailed account of the nativity of Jesus. That works out well as we head into the Christmas season. I hope that this quarter goes as well as the last one!

It is another chilly and cloudy evening, and it is going to get a whole lot colder by the end of the week. December starts in less than 2 hours, so I guess cold weather should be expected. Tomorrow is looking decent, with some sunshine and temperature reaching the upper 30s. By this coming Saturday and Sunday we will be seeing high temperatures just in the 20s, and lows could dip down to around 10 degrees. As the cold air comes crashing in at the end of the week there will very likely be some snow, but with a lack of available moisture it probably won't amount to much.

Must...Have...Coffee!!!

Its Monday, back to the old grind. No more long holiday weekend. No more two week break from seminary classes, its all systems go once again! Of course, the day will start on the tennis court. We haven't played since last Monday so my butt has started to heal nicely, only to anticipate another kicking this morning. This is the final week of class for the aviation weather course that I teach at Spokane Falls Community College. We will spend the week talking about thunderstorms, and then the last exam hits Friday.

Weather this morning is very frosty. There is some fog in the valleys but it is rather clear up here on the hill. The week is going to start out mild, and turn much colder by the weekend. Highs today and tomorrow will be in the low to mid 40s, but by Saturday and Sunday we probably won't get out of the 20s! Along the way we will very likely see a bit of snow, most likely on Friday.

Productive

What a day! It started with a very good morning at church. Today is the first Sunday in Advent. The beginning of the new church year, and a time that we look forward to the coming of Jesus, both as the little baby of Bethlehem, but also as the triumphant king who is coming again to reclaim his kingdom, and to recreate the world to the perfection that was in the beginning. After church I chewed on a left over turkey leg from Thanksgiving...delicious...and then headed out into the backyard to rake up the leaves that had fallen in the past week. Once that was done it was time to put up the light fixture that we bought for the kitchen yesterday at Ikea in Seattle. Ever since we bought this house we have had an awful fluorescent light hanging on the kitchen ceiling, and Kay and I finally got up the nerve to replace it. we saw a new fixture in Seattle that cost only $25.00 so we jumped on it (the light bulbs cast almost as much as the fixture itself). It is not the most beautiful thing, but it is a definite improvement over what had been there, so we are happy with the change. Beth wanted to see what it looked like so there it is...up above...for all to see.

After completing the project we headed for Home Depot to find a light fixture to replace the one that is over the kitchen sink. That is the problem with making a slight upgrade in the decor...it leads to the desire to do even more. We went to Home Depot to look, and couldn't leave without dropping more than $100.00. I think that most of you can identify with that experience.

After returning home we headed across the cul-de-sac to spend a few minutes with my good buddy Brady, his parents Jason and Sharelynn, along with our friends Larry and Darlene from Boise, who just happen to be Jason's dad and mom, and Jillian and Brady's grandparents. They came up for the Thanksgiving holiday, and due to our busy-ness we hadn't gotten much time to reconnect until this evening. After about an hour it was time to come home and have dinner, roast pork and yam fries, and then spend a couple of hours crying like a baby while watching "A Dog Named Christmas", a Hallmark special on CBS.

Sunday Morning

It is mid morning now, and the sun is shining. The next few days are looking cool and dry, with a little sun popping through at times. Temperatures will be in the upper 30s to around 40 by day, and down around 30 at night. Right now it doesn't appear as if there is any major rain or snow headed this way this week. I'll have much more to say later this evening.

Best Of The Year

We got back from Seattle late this afternoon, the weather over the pass was wet but no real hindrance to travel. What I want to focus on was our visit with Mark and Liz Munderloh yesterday (Saturday) afternoon. Let me lay the ground work. Mark was severely injured in an electrical accident on the church buiding site on September 12th. His hard hat came in contact with a high voltage powerline on that Saturday morning. He suffered electrical burns over about 31% of his body, along with a spinal cord electricution injury. After being taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane Mark was Life Flighted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle that same day. Yesterday Kay and I visited Mark and Liz at Harborview, and the above pictures were taken just before we left. It is a miracle that mark is still alive, as most electrical accidents have a fatal outcome. The bigger miracle is that Mark is getting stronger everday, I mean...look at him...he is doing wonderfully well. He is making progress toward getting back close to, if not all the way, to the point where he was physically before the accident. Spending time with Mark and Liz was absolutely fantastic as the two of them have such a great faith and trust in God, and are truly thankful for all of the little things, the small steps forward that Mark has been taking. Yesterday he was able to stand up on two different occasions, and the therapists were talking about getting him to take a few steps today. I don't know if that happened today, but I am confident that it will soon. One of the bigger problems that Mark has is the loss of feeling in a few his fingers. That makes it hard for him to pick things up and hold them. The majority of the electrical current entered through the back of his head, which you can see the effects in the picture above, and exited through his hands. That is probably why he is having problems with the feeling in his fingers. Other than that I truly believe that he will continue to get the use of his arms and legs back, along with everything else, over the next 6 months to a year. It will still be a long slow process, but a process that will continue. The bottom line is that I am asking for prayer. First, a prayer of thanksgiving for the healing that Mark has already received along with the witness that he and Liz have given to all of the caregivers through this ordeal so far. Secondly I would ask that you pray for continued recovery for Mark, and a safe trip home as they head back to Texas in two to three weeks. Thank you Lord!!!

Sleepin' In, In Seattle

Yesterday the sun was shining, today the Seattle gloom is back. We are going to be taking a leisurely pace today to head back home. I will post pictures this evening.

Hello From Seattle

It is late evening in Seattle, we just finished watching "Ice Age, the Meltdown" on TV. That is the way the evening went, playing canasta and watching TV at the Red Lion Hotel. The drive over today was very easy, actually quite nice. We could see Mount Rainier from east of Moses Lake and the sun was shining most of the way. We got to Harborview Medical Center just after noon, and spent 4 hours visiting with Mark and Liz. It was a fantastic time! Just before we got there the nurse helped Mark to stand up next to his bed. He was able to stand on his own strength, and could feel the strength in his thigh and calf muscles. When we arrived he was eating his lunch, on his own! He had a couple of physical therapy sessions in the afternoon, the second of which they had him standing up again between the parallel bars in the gym. If you could have seen the smile on his face, and hear the joy in his voice you would have had tears in your eyes just like we did. He looks great! It was a wonderful day, and we give thanks to God for the miracles that he has already worked for Mark and Liz. They are looking forward to going home to Texas in 3 weeks. Kay and I both know that the recovery is far from over. Mark has quite a ways to go yet, and a lot of work to do, but we are sure that the recovery will continue, and there is no reason to think that Mark will recover to almost, if not totally back to where he was before the accident.

We are probably going to be going to Ikea in the morning, and then to the market in downtown Seattle for a bite to eat before heading home. We hope to get back to Spokane before dark, at least not to much after it gets dark. We might drop by the hospital again tomorrow just before leaving town...if time permits.

A Few More Thanksgiving Shots

Great times with friends! Jacob, Arlin-Reidar and Kay, Dan, Reidar and Neilene (NAHHHH-LEEN)

Go West Old Man

We are about to load up the Conestoga wagon (Toyota Corolla) and hit the trail heading west, Seattle or bust. After yesterday's eating extravaganza I think the bust part is more likely! After getting my gizzard all gassed up I did the same to the car last night and we are ready to go.

It has rained steadily ever since late yesterday afternoon, we've picked up almost a half an inch, and all I can say is that I am thankful that it hasn't been a few degrees colder causing all of this to come down as snow. The equivalent snowfall for this much moisture would be somewhere between 6 and 8 inches. Temperatures have been hovering around 40 degrees all night long so snow is not an issue. The forecast for Snoqualmie Pass heading into Seattle is also showing rain, not snow, so that is a good thing. The only concern for our travels is the traffic, but since this is Friday, and we are staying away from major shopping areas, I anticipate few problems. I will file a report from the road (more likely a hotel room if the Red Lion Hotel has a decent wireless network) this evening.

Friends and Food

Wow...am I stuffed! We spent the afternoon and evening with friends and had a wonderful time. The three little ones in the pictures are our 3 Godchildren, Erik, Isaiah and Chloe. They are just a bit older than 3 and a half years, and full of energy. Also full of energy is Elsie, the almost 1 year old lab. Dinner included two turkeys, one roasted and the other smoked. The roast turkey was very good, but the smoked bird was fantastic! I ate way too much and paid the price all evening long. We also celebrated Nina's 17th birthday (she is the one on the left in the picture with Kay, Chloe and Erik). Its hard to believe that she is 17 as it seems like just a year ago she was in the 3rd grade. I guess I am not the only one getting older at an alarmingly rapid rate. Tomorrow we will be heading for Seattle. The trip is mainly so that we can visit Mark Munderloh, the Laborer For Christ who was injured in an electrical accident on the church building site back on September 12th. It is a miracle that he is alive, and he is making progress toward recovery each and every day. He and his wife Liz have been in Seattle, at Harborview Medical Center, ever since. They will be there another 3 weeks before heading back to Texas with Mark continuing his rehab there, at home. While in Seattle we will also do a little shopping, returning by Saturday evening. It looks like the weather will be pretty good with just light rain on the pass tomorrow and Saturday. I will be taking my laptop so I will provide updates along the way.

Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving Eve. In a month it will be Christmas Eve! I just love this time of year. This evening we had our Thanksgiving service at church, followed by a pie social. We strategically skipped dinner so that there would be more pie capacity. Good move! The pies were fantastic! I had 3 pieces, all of a different variety. Some of the teenage boys may have had as many as 6, which is okay since there was more pie than the Russian army could eat in a year, and those kids are about as thin as anyone could be without being in danger of falling through sewer grates. After church and pie we stopped by Waddell's pub to watch the end of the Gonzaga-Cincinnati basketball game, the championship of the Maui Invitational. GU won in overtime so it turned out to be a great evening. The place was packed with Zag fans and a lot of other folks who were thankful that they don't have to work in the morning. A good number of them will be even more thankful when they wake up tomorrow!

The weather today was beautiful. I spent a good part of the day visiting members of the church, some who are pretty much housebound and can't get to church on Sunday. It was very nice, and with the sun shining and temperatures on the mild side it was nice to be out and about. Tomorrow is looking pretty good too, but probably cloudier. We are going to spend Thanksgiving with some very close friends, and that should be a real treat. They adopted triplets a couple of years ago, and the little ones are now 3 and a half. It is so much fun watching those kids destroy everything their path. That's what little kids love to do, especially when there are 3 of them.

Lookin' Good

I was greeted by bright sunshine this morning, As I descended Hatch Road off of the South Hill I found myself being swallowed up by fog. That fog is now dissipating so things are improving down here in the valley too. It should be a nice November day with a little sun and temperatures into the mid 40s. Thanksgiving Day will feature more clouds, but still dry weather and little temperature change. Speaking of Thanksgiving, we have a Thanksgiving service tonight at 7:00pm here at St. John's Lutheran. Why not stop in and join us as we give thanks to Him who is worthy of all thanks and praise, our Lord God? You can have some yummy pie too!

Gonzaga Win...Wisconsin Loss

The college basketball match-up that I have been waiting to see finally took place this evening as the two teams nearest and dearest to my heart went head to head. It was the Wisconsin Badgers (my Alma Mater) against the Gonzaga Bulldogs (my hometown team). I knew that my allegiance would lie with the Badgers, but I watched with mixed emotions. In the end the Zags came away with a convincing win, which to me was not totally unexpected. I believe that this Gonzaga team is a lot better than a lot of people think, and they are only going to get better as the year goes on. As for the Wisconsin Badgers, they weren't bad, just had a bad night shooting the ball. The problem is that this is a way too common occurance. There were some good things that happened, kids that stepped up, but you have to make some shots if you are going to be a good team. We'll see how that goes throughout the rest of the year. The bottom line, Gonzaga is the better team.

So much for the sports report, now it is time for the weather. It ended up being a cloudy day with very little to get excited about weather-wise. We made it up to 43 degrees this afternoon, and are headed to the low 30s late tonight. Wednesday and Thursday will be mostly cloudy and about the same in terms of temperatures, into the low 40s. Looks like rain will be with us on Friday followed by quiet and cool weather on the tail end of the holiday weekend. There are no big snowstorms out there ready to pounce on us anytime soon so travel should be pretty smooth sailing through much of the long holiday weekend. There probably will be some mountain snow Friday into Saturday.

Murky & Muddy

We have had a damp and gray start to the day with some light rain that has fallen overnight. It is looking drab and drizmal all day long as there is no wind to blow any of this stuff out of here. It will probably be around 40 degrees this afternoon for a high temperature, which is about what you might expect in late November.

Thanksgiving is almost upon us so that means that a lot of people will be hitting the roads. Travel conditions look pretty good through Thursday as the weather will be quiet and fairly mild. Friday there will be some rain and mountain snow (great...we are going to be trying to get to Seattle on Friday), and then quiet weather will return for Saturday and Sunday. All in all that is not too bad for those going over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house. If your hanging around home come join us for a pre-Thanksgiving service at 7:00pm Wednesday with a pie (mostly homemade) social following the service...YUM!!!

Go In The Snow

I took advantage of a quiet day of weather,and in many other aspects, to get new tires on my car. I have been slip slidin' away on snow, and even rain, for the past few months so it is about time. I am hoping that the new tires will get us to Seattle on Friday so that we can visit Mark and Liz at Harborview Medical Center. Right now it looks like the weather will be pretty bad over Snoqualmie Pass on Friday so I am not all that optimistic. We'll just have to wait and see.

As I write this it is halftime of the Arizona-Wisconsin basketball game at the Maui Invitational. Wisconsin has an 8 point lead and I really need them to win so that they get to play Gonzaga tomorrow night. I think that it would be fun to see how these two teams will fare against each other. I am a fan of both, but the Badgers are my Alma Mater so that is truly where my heart is. Both are very good teams so it would definitely be a treat!

Crunchy

All of that slop from yesterday has turned into lumpy crunchy ice this morning as the temperature overnight has fallen to 30 degrees. It is looking like a quiet day today, we will probably even have a little sunshine at times. This afternoon the high should be in the upper 30s so the melting of yesterday's snow and slush will continue. Tonight there will be a little light rain, and tomorrow temperatures in the low 40s. Bare ground will once again greet us on Tuesday morning.

Maybe you missed them, but I added the latest pictures from our church construction site. These were taken last Friday afternoon. The finishing work is being done in the school wing and the drywall is just about all up in the fellowship hall and sanctuary. We are still on schedule to hold our first worship services in the (nearly) completed church on Christmas Eve. I can't wait! I guess I'll have to though.

Winding Down

What a day! It is finally just about over. Church went well this morning, in spite of the weather keeping a few folks away. By the time we left, just after noon, the roads were wet as the snow had changed to rain and drizzle. Most of the snow has now melted, although since we live in one of the higher areas of town there is still about a half inch of slop out there on the ground. The next few days are looking milder, with rain tomorrow night, so the snow will probably be gone by Tuesday morning, if not before.

We went to lunch after church with our friends David and Laurie. You can see David's picture in a previous post from Saturday. Late this afternoon and evening I had a 3 hour basketball officials meeting. It was a clinic about how we can better do what we do. As a relative newcomer I found it very interesting, but I can just imagine that those guys that have been doing this for 20 to 30 years were rolling their eyes and thinking that it was all an incredible waste of time.

Tomorrow it is going to be back out onto the tennis court in the morning with my regular posse, at least I hope that they are all there. Tuck has yet to rejoin us after his surgical procedure a couple of weeks ago. I really miss having him there, except when he drives one down the alley past me for a winner. He does that quite often, only because I set myself up for it be cheating toward the middle of the court. I will then be heading to class to teach. We are entering the final two weeks of class. The afternoon is reserved for getting things done on the home front. Tuesday and Wednesday will be dedicated to writing sermons for the Thanksgiving service on Wednesday evening and for next Sunday. Kay and I are hoping to drive over to Seattle on Friday to see Mark and Liz Munderloh. Mark is continuing to slowly but surely recover from his electrical accident on the construction site of our new church back in September. It would be nice if we could get prayers for good weather over the pass on Friday, and for our return trip on Saturday.

Note to Norie; If you would like to leave a comment you have to sign up for a gmail account (Google). It is free. Then you can also become a follower. I love my followers...I wish that I had more!

Snow Job

We woke up to a couple of inches of snow this morning...maybe more pictures later???...but managed to get down the hill to church safely. Folks are showing up for church now, so the brave souls are out on the roads. The snow is winding down for now so things should be improving this morning.

Oh Well

Its late, but I have finally gotten around to posting some pictures. These are from Friday evening at the Gonzaga v. Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne basketball game. That is my friend David, who got us the tickets through his law firm, and the other shots are from some of the action. Gonzaga won by about 35 points, which wasn't at all surprising.

Today was a challenging day in many aspects, and I hope that things improve tomorrow. We will have to deal with some snow on Sunday, I am not looking forward to that, and between church in the morning and a basketball officials training seminar in the evening it is going to be another busy day. Oh well...that's just the way things are!

I'm Not Yet Dead

In spite of not posting since Friday morning, I am still here. I have just been exceedingly busy. I will have much more to say later this evening, and will be posting pictures. I will keep you in suspense as to what those pictures will be.

We are going to get some snow late tonight into Sunday morning. Right now it looks like about 2 inches for most of us, a little more on the higher ground and a little less in the lower parts of town, near the Spokane River. Temperatures tomorrow will rise above freezing to the mid to upper 30s, so it should be pretty easy to get around from around noon onward, but it will probably be pretty slick in the morning. Give yourself some extra time to get to church...tomorrow's sermon will be a good one!

Its Friday!

I need to post more pictures! It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so that means that I don't have to write as much if I post pictures. But what should I take pictures of? Maybe you could write in with suggestions. That might be interesting.

We've got another typical November day on our hands. More rain will be arriving late this afternoon. The big weather story over the weekend is what is going to happening Saturday night into Sunday morning. There is some snow on the way, and it will probably cover the ground with an inch or two again over the higher ground in town, and a little less from downtown Spokane out into Spokane Valley. It won't be terribly cold, so it looks like the weather on Sunday will be quite sloppy. High temperatures today will be near 50, but only in the upper 30s by Sunday afternoon.

Knees Crying!

I had a doctors appointment earlier today for the yearly physically. The bottom line is that I probably won't die in the next year unless I get hit by a bus. Tonight, I feel a bit like I have been hit by a bus. After the appointment I was off to referee two girl's basketball games in Reardan, about 15 miles west of Spokane. The first game was 7th graders, and the 2nd was 8th graders. The competition was pretty good, but the quality of play left a little bit to be desired. The one common denominator of the 2 games was the fact that the teams pushed the ball up the court on every possession, and these old knees got a little tired of that by the end of the evening. I little time in the hot tub has made things a bit better, so I am now looking forward to tomorrow morning when I can get back out on the tennis court to embarrass myself again.

The rain and snow from earlier today, which quickly changed to all rain, has long since ended. We should be dry until tomorrow afternoon, and then the rain will return. By later Saturday night into Sunday morning the weather will probably be getting a bit sloppy, as some slushy snow will probably fall. Up on the higher ground, which includes where we live, there will be some snow accumulation, while in the lower spots, such as downtown, it will probably just be wet. Anyway, this is typical November weather so what do you, or I expect? Temperatures tomorrow will be up around 50, but by Sunday we probably won't get out of the 30s.

One final note, tomorrow evening I will be going to the Gonzaga versus Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne basketball game compliments of my buddy David (His law firm gets the tickets). I actually drove past the IPFW campus about a month and a half ago when I was in Fort Wayne to begin my first seminary class. That experience has me torn as to who to root for...GO ZAGS!

The Coffee Tastes Good

It is a cold and wet morning, so a hot cup of coffee...or three...really hits the spot. I just spent an hour sitting in the waiting room at the Rockwood Clinic lab (I guess that is why they call it a waiting room) so they could do a two minute blood draw. They seemed to be a wee bit under staffed. I am now in the saddle at my desk, ready to take on the day. Its a little chilly in here, but a whole lot better than outside my window.

The rain began before daybreak today, and has been mixed with some snowflakes. According to the DOT traffic cams the snow was enough to whiten the ground a bit out near the airport. It is just rain now, and rain it will be for the rest of the day. Temperatures will climb from the mid 30s to the low 40s late this afternoon, and then probably keep on slowly climbing tonight. There will be more showers and wind into tomorrow, but we should make it up to around 50. The weekend will be cooler with the idea of some more light snow Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Heading Toward The Weekend

Another Wednesday has come and gone, meaning that the weekend is just around the corner. Before I get there, there are some interesting things that are going to happen, mostly tomorrow. I get to go to the doctor for the annual physical exam, with all of the fun things that accompany that. First though, I have to go to the lab for all of the blood tests in the morning, and then the appointment is in the mid afternoon. Right after that I will be heading for Reardan, Washington to officiate two girls basketball games, 8th grade and 7th grade against Wilbur-Creston. I have the feeling that the quality of play will be somewhat suspect, although they may prove me wrong.

The weather tomorrow will be a whole lot wetter than today. Today was actually pretty nice, with some sunshine and temperatures in the 40s. Tomorrow we may see some snowflakes early, and then just rain from mid morning into the afternoon. More rain is expected Friday too so it appears as if there will much mud heading into the weekend.

Gonna See Some Sun

I managed to get up before the sun today, which isn't all that difficult in the middle of November. The sky is nice and clear so the sun will be shining today...always a good thing in the middle of November. It will be a brisk fall day as temperatures struggle from freezing this morning into the mid 40s this afternoon. These are the type of fall days that a lot of people like, cool and refreshing. The clouds and the rain will be back tomorrow, and Friday, and by Saturday night into Sunday morning it is looking like a little more snow is coming our way. I'll take the sunny day!

Wednesday is here, and that means the usual Wednesday routine which starts off on the tennis court at 8am. I hope that Tuck is back with the group today, all recovered from his surgical procedure last Monday. It will be nice to have my regular posse all in place. Jim Guyer filled in very well, too well if you ask me, but then who's asking me? This is a busy week at the church since we are trying to get ahead of the game for the holidays. Yesterday I prepared two service, one for Sunday and one for Thanksgiving. Today I will be working on next Sunday and starting to plan the Christmas services. Thanksgiving next week means that the office will be closed for a couple of days, and that means the work has to be done this week. Oh well, its a labor of love! Tonight we have choir practice, and that is always a lot of fun. The bass section tends to get a little out of hand. Lately Kay and I have taken to stopping at Waddell's for a brew after singing. That is a tradition that I hope will continue.

Picture Time

Here are the pictures that I promised. Notice the green grass! No, that is fresh hydro seed. It is the middle of November, so I can't imagine that it is possible that this stuff will last through the winter and produce a lawn in the spring. I'm no landscaping expert, just a skeptic. Also, notice the vertically oriented shot. The guys that are taping the sheet rock are up on those lifts, basically hanging from the rafters to do the finishing work. This is not a job that I aspire to! All of the insulation is now in and the drywall is going up very quickly. At this point I am planning to have services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the new church. As Willie, our Project Manager, says "if we don't have a temporary occupancy permit, and have Christmas services in the new building what are they going to do about it? Good point! The floors and the ceilings are going into the education wing right now so that is just about done. The pipe-organ will begin to be installed around the first of December and that is one of the final steps. We may have to sit on folding chairs at Christmas, but we are still going to be in the new building. I can hardly wait!

Stuff Blowing Around

It has been a windy night into this morning. The wind gusted to 32 miles per hour at times, but it sounded a lot louder whistling through the pines around the house. The good thing is that it has been a warm wind so we are starting out with a mild 50 degrees this morning. There is more rain on the way as we head into the afternoon today, and then again by Thursday. It will be cooling off again too, into the 40s for the rest of the week.

I am planning on going into the new church and taking some pictures today. It changes dramatically everyday as work continues on the interior. I will post some pictures this evening. We are planning to be in for Christmas Eve services at 6 and 11pm on December 24th. The earlier service will be a family song service while the 11 o'clock service will be a traditional candlelight service. Make plans to come and join us in our new house of worship!

Its Been Quite A Day!

Monday is just about done, and that is usually good news. Its kind of bittersweet for me since Monday is my day off for the week. I actually got a lot accomplished. As of this evening I am now a certified basketball official in the State of Washington. I had to take a 100 question rules test and then do an online rules clinic to become certified. I scored 100 out of 100 on the test. Before you get too impressed please keep in mind that I received a copy of the test a week ago, and all of the answers were provided. It was just a matter of putting them in their proper places and that was that. I have been officiating AAU games since the last weekend of October, and on Thursday I will be doing my first school team games of the season out in Reardan. It will be 7th grade and 8th grade girls battling the teams from Wilbur-Creston.

I also did some clean up work for my seminary class. My final project was submitted Sunday, but I had a couple of surveys to complete. That is all done so now it is no more school for the next 2 weeks. I started work on this Sunday's church service and had a brief meeting to talk about the staffing of the preschool when it opens on January 4th. Kay has just about gotten all of the Christmas shopping done, yeah, you know my beloved wife...the overachiever. Tennis earlier this morning was not too embarrassing, so all in all it was a good day.

The wind has been blowing strong all day long, and there is some rain on the way. Tomorrow is going to be a windy and wet day, and it will be damp through the rest of the week with a little bit of rain at times and a lot of clouds. Right now it looks like Saturday night could get a little interesting as some snow might be coming our way. I'll keep you posted on that through the rest of the week.

Snow More

That snow that fell on Friday, and has been lying on the ground ever since...gone...outta here...no more! It all melted overnight as temperatures have actually gone up not down. We are now sitting at 38 degrees with a beautiful sunrise in progress, lots of oranges and purples in the eastern sky. The day will turn out mostly gray with a sprinkle or two, and temperatures will be in the middle 40s this afternoon. Through the week we are looking at cloudy and damp weather. A little light rain will fall on the Inland Northwest from time to time, but it won't amount to that much, just enough to keep things soggy. Daytime temperatures will be in the 40s each day through the upcoming weekend and overnight lows will be mostly in the 30s. Nothing too exciting here!

Monday, Monday, yeah...its Just another Manic Monday. Monday is my regularly scheduled day off and I plan to make it that, for the most part. I still have to go to my meteorology class, I will be handing back a ton of papers, and I still have to go get my but kicked on the tennis court. Outside of that I have no plans. With no homework to do over the next 2 weeks I might just have to take another nap, just like yesterday.

It Is Finished!

I may have borrowed that line from a higher authority, but it is the best way that I can sum up where I am at right now. The first quarter of my seminary education has been completed. My final project for the quarter has been turned in and I celebrated by taking a nap this afternoon. That was SWEET! It is the first time in about 3 weeks that I have slept like a baby...no...I didn't fill my pants in the process. I have a two week break before the next quarter begins so I am looking forward to a couple of weeks of lower stress which will take us through Thanksgiving. Speaking of Thanksgiving, right now we have no plans for the day, so if you would like to invite us over it would be just fine with us. We'll even bring the food and cook it!

Most of the snow has melted from the ground. It is starting to rain a little bit right now. For the first time since Friday afternoon the temperature has gotten back up above freezing again, and as a matter of fact, it is now the warmest that it has been all day at 36 degrees. Tomorrow we should be into the mid 40s, and it looks pretty mild through the entire week. Clouds and a little sprinkle will be the rule as well, so it looks like typical November weather.

Life is good as the Badgers and the Packers both came out of the weekend's games victorious. The college basketball season is off to a good start too as both the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Wisconsin Badgers both had convincing victories over lesser opponents this weekends. I look forward to the day that I might be able to officiate a division one college basketball game. Given that I started being an official this late in life, last year, that will probably never happen. A person can still dream though, can't they?

Must Be Winter

The warmest, and I use that term loosely, that it got today was 29 degrees. That was the official high at the airport. In spite of that I was sweating like a pig, all because of running up and down a basketball court for 4 hours chasing 4th grade boys in a striped shirt blowing a whistle. I guess it was better than being stuck outside for that same length of time. It is a cold 25 degrees right now, but it is also cloudy so it won't get much colder overnight. A slow warm up is in the works into next week so maybe winter isn't here to stay just yet.

Tomorrow is looking like a rather stress free day. Pastor Young is leading the services at church, and there is a voters meeting between services, so I won't be teaching Bible class. I have finished my final project for my seminary class, so that is a load off my mind. I do have to grade 17 exams and a research papers for my meteorology class, but I can do that in front of the TV so it is all good.

World of White

This is what we woke up to today, actually we went to bed to it last night, about an inch of new snow. It is cold and gray this morning with the temperature at 25 degrees. We won't be getting much above freezing later this afternoon so the snow will not be melting quickly. It will be melting though as the weather slowly warmers back up again into early next week. When will the next accumulating snow fall? You guess is as good as mine with the next round of precipitation coming in the form of rain by the middle if next week. Tomorrow we should get up to the upper 30s to near 40 degrees (there's some melting), and we will be into the mid 40s on Monday. Don't expect much sunshine as that is hard to come by this time of year.

Snow Job!

We got our inch of snow, actually 9 tenths of an inch at the airport today. It is all over now and by the end of the weekend just about all of it will be gone, melted away. The weather through the weekend will be rather quiet and chilly. We will probably see some sunshine at times by late tomorrow morning into the afternoon.

Lets see...what more is there to say. Tomorrow is another big Saturday of football. My Alma mater. the Wisconsin Badgers will be hosting the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan stinks this year, actually the state of Michigan stinks every year, but that has nothing to do with football, so it should turn out to be a Wisconsin victory. That is not a sure thing as there is something about this rivalry that makes it very unusual for the Badgers to come out on top. We'll see tomorrow.

Watch Out For Black Cats

Friday...Friday the 13th...a day that strikes fear into many, but it shouldn't because it is the beginning of the weekend. Sure, the weather isn't supposed to be all that great. Sure, it is going to snow this afternoon into the evening. Sure, the roads will probably get icy as it gets dark this afternoon, but look at the bright side...black cats will turn white if left outside. Now I wish the snow would just get rid of the cats, all of them, as I really don't care much for cats. As I mentioned the main snow threat will be this afternoon into this evening, and accumulations will be light with about an inch for most areas, and up to two in the higher ground around town. As it begins this afternoon the streets and highways will just be wet, but when it gets dark they are likely to get pretty slick. We will all have to brush up on our winter driving skills. Some of us...ME...need to get new tires. That won't happen today though as I imagine that all of the tire outlets will be swamped with people...like me...who have known for a long time that they needed new tires and have done nothing to remedy that problem.

After the snow the weekend will be cold and quiet. It is 32 degrees right now, and we will end up in the mid to upper 30s today. It won't any warmer tomorrow or Sunday. Warmer air will be arriving early next week and rain will probably be here by Tuesday. Our little bit of snow may be visible on the ground into Sunday, but after that...not so much.

Is It Winter?

As I sit here tonight the temperature is 24 degrees and fog is settling in again. Tomorrow there will be light snow falling in the afternoon and evening, and it will probably stack up to an inch or a little more, especially in the higher parts of the area. Today's high temperature was only 35 degrees, and tomorrow will be about the same so you might say that winter is getting an early foothold. Looking a little farther ahead it appears as if any snow that does accumulate won't hang around all that long. After a chilly, and mainly dry weekend milder and wetter weather will be here for early next week and temperatures will climb back into the 40s. That's not warm, but it is an improvement over what is out there right now.

It is almost Friday, and as usual the day will start off with a trip to the tennis court, indoor of course, for my usual Friday morning humiliation. After that I will be taking my meteorology class out to the National Weather Service office for a tour of the facility. With the weather that is expected tomorrow it should be an interesting excursion. The class had a test today, and tomorrow the second research paper of the quarter is due, so I will have lots of papers to grade over the weekend. Throw in 3 basketball games to officiate on Saturday and all of my regular church duties and it will be another busy weekend...just the way I like it!

Frost And Fog

The fog is lying thick and heavy over the Spokane area this morning, and with temperatures blow freezing it is pretty frosty too, I'm sure some of that frost has formed on the road surfaces, so it is probably slick in spots. I will be heading north today, to a Circuit Pastors conference at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in north Spokane. In the middle of the whole thing I will be heading for my meteorology class to give the students their second exam of the course. Its a really good one. I think they'll enjoy it! The conference will last until about 3:00pm, and then it will be back to work to finish the evangelism outreach plan that I am writing for my church, St. John's, as the final project for my seminary class this quarter. It is due Sunday, and right now I am at 14 pages and counting. I hope to finish the monster today, and then edit it down to a reasonable size tomorrow before turning it in. Then I get a two week break before the next quarter begins. WOOHOO!

Did I say snow? Perhaps I am avoiding that word due to the lack of excitement that I have for seeing it fall through the air and collect on the ground. The latest computer forecast models are slowing the onset of precipitation, snow, tomorrow and seem to be keeping more of the energy to our west and south with the weather system that will be bringing. This is all slightly good news, as if the snow falls mainly during the day most of the roads will be wet rather than white. Also, with the strongest part of the system passing west and south of us the amount of snow will be less than if it barreled right in. I still look for an inch or so on the grassy areas by tomorrow night, with maybe two inches over the higher parts of town like the South Hill, West Plains and Five Mile Prairie. Beyond that it will stay cold, highs in the 30s through the weekend, and then warm up a bit with rainy weather early next week.

Say It Ain't Snow!

Its going to happen sometime, so why not get it over with? I'm talking about the first measurable snow of the season. As I am writing this Kay is saying that we don't want any snow at all this year. After the past two winters that is a sentiment that I am sure that a lot of people will share! In spite of that we will very likely see our first official snowfall on Friday. This is virtually a guarantee as Kay went out and started Christmas shopping earlier today. Okay then, just how much snow are we going to get. At this point I would say an inch or two. It will probably start just before daybreak on Friday, which is the coldest part of the day. That means that the snow will stick to the grass, stick to the rooftops, stick to the driveways and stick to the streets. Friday morning could be very slick, but I promise that I will make it to tennis to get my regular Friday morning butt whoopin'. Today was an interesting tennis experience as things went well at times while at other times it was not so good.

Before the snow arrives we will just be cold tomorrow. Temperatures will start off in the mid to upper 20s and not get our of the 30s in the afternoon. Friday we will be barely above freezing. Road conditions will improve through the day but the snow on the grass will not melt off until later in the weekend. The weather will remain chilly through the weekend, but milder air and rain will be coming in for early next week.

Veterans Day

November 11th, it used to be called Armistice Day, my tennis buddies will remember that, and now it is Veterans Day. Its a day to honor those who have served are country in the military. If you run into someone that you know is a veteran just say "thank you". You will probably be the only one who says that to him or her all day. That's unfortunate. This Veterans Day is going to be turning a little damp. It is cloudy and temperatures are now in the mid 30s. We'll likely end up in the mid 40s with a little bit of light rain. We are still on track to see some snow flying by Friday. I'll have a better idea if that is going to be a big deal by tonight.

A Couple of Updates

Got the word from Tuck, one of my tennis buddies, that he came through his surgery well, and is anticipating rejoining the tennis group next week. Tomorrow morning I will be back out there again with the same suspect from Monday morning. I'm sure that it will be an interesting experience. The rest of the day will be consumed by work on my final project for my seminary course, writing an outreach plan for St. John's, my church.

The weather today ended up being very nice. All of that is about to change. It is clear and cool right now, but by morning the clouds will be here again and rain will move in by midday. From there we will be chilling out and it still looks like there will be snow in the air, and some on the ground too, by Thursday night into Friday. Oh boy...I can't wait!

Bright And Beautiful

The sun is shining this morning and it is going to be a very nice day. We should be up around 50 degrees this afternoon, and although more clouds will be popping up we should see occasional sunshine through most of the day. One thing that I noticed yesterday is how ridiculously early it gets dark in the afternoon. For years I have been cloistered in a brightly lit building during the work days of the winter, so I didn't realize how ridiculously early it gets dark in the afternoon. It is going to do that again later today so I vow to be ready for it!

As the week progresses the weather is going to go downhill. Rain tomorrow will be followed by colder air. Behind tomorrow's weather system will be a couple more that will be dropping in from the northwest. The one on Thursday looks pretty minor, but the one that will show up Friday afternoon appears more impressive. It will be cold enough for some snow from both. Again, Thursday's doesn't look like a big deal, but Friday could be. One thing that we have going for us through is that the precipitation, mainly snow, will start in the afternoon which of course is usually the warmer part of the day. That should help keep any accumulation from becoming a "big deal" on the streets and highways. This early in the winter weather season the time of day that snow comes down has a big impact on what will stick to the roads. With all of that said, we will just have to wait and see what happens.

Got Er' Done!

The winterization of the yard is complete. All of the leaves a raked...er, mowed up and the back patio furniture is put away. I also swept out the garage this afternoon, but of course with winter coming that will just get full of all of that guck that collects in your wheel wells when you drive in the snow and then melts all over the garage floor. As a reward for all of my hard work my bride, Kay, took me to Bennedito's Pizza for dinner this evening. It was yummy. We got a small margherita and a small pesto pizza. Both were great.

Earlier today was my regular Monday morning tennis romp. I am usually the one who gets romped. That was certainly the case at the start today, but things got better as the morning went on. Tuck was in the midst of being prepped for some surgery this morning, so we had a sub, Jim Guyer, take his place. Jim is a great guy, and a very good tennis player. I informed the rest of the group that Jim was the first guy to ever kick my butt on a tennis court (it had happened in other venues quite a few times before that). He clobbered my a couple of years ago in a Labor Day weekend tournament when I had been playing for about a month. Today he picked up where he left off 2 years ago. Actually by the last set of the day Bill and I exacted our revenge. We won that one 6 to 4. Prior to that the teams that I was on were soundly thrashed by a total of 12 games to 1! I haven't gotten an update about Tuck's surgery today. I hope and pray that all went well , and that he will be back with us next week. I will report as soon as I find out.

It is raining again out there, but that's is alright with me. Later in the week we will probably see some snow. When and how much are the questions. I don't think it will be a major storm, but we should get our first measurable snowfall of the season. earlier today it was "slipperier than a cobb". That is another one of the goofy sayings that my dad always uses. How slippery can a cobb be? Cobbs are usually rather coarse in texture, so if anyone can shed a little light on this saying it just might straighten me out from a life of confusion. Anyway, it was icy this morning. That won't a problem tomorrow morning as temperatures will stay above freezing tonight. The rain should be gone by morning, and little sun is in the forecast for tomorrow afternoon. More rain will be coming Wednesday and that snow is looking like it will get here by Thursday night into Friday morning.

White As Snow

It did not snow overnight, but it kind of looks like it. There is frost on the pumpkin this morning, and yes, even over two weeks after Halloween there are still pumpkins out there. The only one that belongs to us is the 5 foot tall plywood variety pumpkin that I hand-crafted back during an earlier period of unemployment (I've had a few of those). We usually keep that bad boy out there through Thanksgiving. Believe it or not, there are a couple of those lightweight plastic foam pumpkins rolling around the neighborhood, literally. Nobody knows who they belong to and they just roll from yard to yard whenever a decent wind comes along.

If one of those guys is in our yard today it is liable to get raked up. Today is final fall clean-up day for the outdoor environment surrounding the Albrecht homestead. Most of the leaves are in the backyard, since earlier in the summer I uprooted the only tree in the front. I will be running the gas out of the lawnmower and weed whacker, and putting the patio furniture away for the winter. I really don't like winter, but that is just my opinion.

The forecast later in the week could include a bit of winter-like weather. There will be an upper level low pressure system, with a pool of cold air, that will stir up some snow. Most of that should stay in the mountains but we will be on the look out for flakes in the valleys too. Today should be no problem. The sun is out now, but clouds will cover the area by afternoon. Rain should hold off until after dark with wet weather tonight. That will give me enough time to get the yard work done.

Hot Stuff!

When you see the title of a post on a blog it should give you a clue as to the topic that is going to be discussed, or should it? From my days in the television business we learned of something called a "tease". Basically it was a short statement and a bit of video that runs just before a commercial break that is supposed to "tease" the audience into hanging around to see what the story was behind that "tease". With that in mind the title of this post has nothing to do with the weather, as today's high was all of 40 degrees. It does not have anything to do with anyone burning in hell, as that was not the subject of today's sermon. What it does relate to is the food that we ate today. After church we went to Taco Bell for lunch, always a favorite of mine, and as is usually my custom I doused everything with about 5 packs of fire sauce. What was even more impressive is the fact that for tonight's dinner Kay and I planned to make buffalo wings. Kay got some Frank's Red Hot Wing Sauce at one of the food shows that she worked, and we decided to see if it was any good. At this point I can't say for the both of us that it was good, but I am confident in saying it was hot! Maybe we will spend some time "burning in hell. We'll see how the night goes.

I mentioned the cold day that we had, and with it we had a little rain. Right now we are in a break in the wet weather pattern, but the rain will be returning again tomorrow night. Wet weather is expected through Wednesday, and then it should dry out for most areas on Thursday. We may see some more rain and mountain snow by Saturday night and Sunday, but it does appear as if it won't be AS wet at the end of the week. Temperatures will remain on the cool side all week long, but then again this is November, and we should expect that.

Off And Running Again

Sunday morning, and that means another early start. I was awake before 6, but didn't get my lazy bottom out of bed until after 7. The first church service isn't until 8:30am, so there is still plenty of time. It is a very gloomy and gray morning so the inertial force that makes a body at rest want to remain at rest was quite strong. We are welcoming new members into the congregation today so that force overwhelmed inertia.

There is more rain on the way today, probably very light, but that's okay. This is November so it could be snow rather than rain and I for one am thankful for that. Tomorrow still looks pretty good, so I can get some final yard work done. The rest of the week will be chilly and damp, with the threat of snowflakes by Thursday or Friday.

My Knees Are Barking!

I have come to the end of another day. It is really hard to tell which day it is sometimes. We had our men's breakfast this morning which turned out to be great, and then it was time to run up and down a basket ball court chasing 5th grade boys all afternoon. The breakfast drew 9 guys, which was about as many as I had food for. My Bible study took a little longer than what I had anticipated, but it was well received. Afterwards I had to write up the comments that were given by the participants, and then it was home to put on my striped shirt and head for the gym. I did 3 games today and the first one took forever. It was a foul fest. The next two weren't as bad so I did manage to get out of there on time, at about 5:00pm.

We cooked Asian food this evening, a recipe from Bali, and a couple of Chinese entrees. It all turned out to be good, but the one from Bali seemed to be missing something. I am looking forward to a piece of pumpkin pie, which we made last night, before I head off to bed. That will be soon since I am preaching tomorrow and leading the services. I have a basketball officials meeting at 3:30 in the afternoon. I also have to turn in the final version of my Bible study to be graded tomorrow afternoon so it will be another busy day.

It is trying to spit a little bit of rain outside right now. Snow continues to fall up over the mountains but here in the low lands there is not much going on except the wind. It is still pretty blustery out there, but not all that cold. Tomorrow will likely bring more rain and it will be a cool day. It still looks like Monday will be drier and sunnier.

One final note... my Alma mater, Wisconsin, came out victorious again today in football. They are now 7 and 2 for the year, which is better than the pre-season expectations. That will allow me to sleep in a good mood tonight.

Breakfast Anyone?

It is before 8:00am, and I am already at church as I write this. We are having an impromptu Men's Breakfast this morning so that we can eat and test drive the Bible study that I wrote for my seminary class. It is on Jeremiah 1:4-10 & 17-19 if you want to follow along at home. We'll be starting in about an hour.

The sun is shining this morning and the temperature is about 40 degrees. It is still rather windy, but not as bad as yesterday. On Friday the peak gust was 40 miles per hour. Today will turn cloudier as the day go on, and a few showers are likely by evening. Snow is going to be a big deal in the mountain areas today and tonight, with a Winter Storm Warning at elevations above 3,500 to 4,000 feet. There will be as much as a foot in the Idaho Panhandle up around 5,000 feet and higher. Today's high temperature will be in the upper 40s, and Sunday is looking mostly cloudy and cool with a few showers. We will probably only reach the mid 40s tomorrow. Monday should be a day of rest, at least weather-wise, with some sun and dry conditions. Then the rain and mountain snow will return again for Tuesday through the end of the week, on an on and off basis.

Time For Pictures

It has been a while since I posted pictures of the new church building so I am including them tonight. The exterior is getting the final paint job, and the interior of the sanctuary and fellowship hall is now insulated with the drywall starting to go in next week. The drywall project will take about three weeks, and then all that will remain is the finishing work. I am still hoping and praying that we will be in the new church building by Christmas. Your prayers will be a big help too.

This morning's tennis outing was not the abject disaster that I feared. I played fairly well, although not as well as Wednesday. Overall the 4 of us played a very competitive hour and a half of tennis, which makes it fun for everyone. That is the main reason that I play with my posse every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, because it is a lot of fun. I really enjoy my time with Tuck, John and Bill, they are a great group of guys and I love to hear their stories! I would like to put out a request for prayer. Tuck is having a medical procedure done on Monday. I don't think that it is going to be a big deal, but anytime you undergo surgery there is some risk. Please pray that Tuck comes through completely and comfortably. He is not going to be able to play with us for the next week or so, and I know that we are going to be happy to see him back with us.

The wind of the day has finally died down. The power went out at the church for a couple of hours earlier today. I think that it was about 10:30am when we lost it. Over the weekend it is going to be cool and damp. More rain should be arriving early tomorrow, and then on and off showers will persist through Sunday into early next week. Tomorrow morning we are going to have a men's breakfast at church, so I can test the Bible study that I wrote for my seminary class. I have 3 basketball games to officiate tomorrow afternoon, and after a full morning of church, I'm preaching, and Sunday School Sunday morning I have a basketball officials meeting Sunday afternoon. It is going to be a full weekend!

Blowin' In The Wind

Wow...another song title, this time Bob Dylan. What does all of this say about the writer except that he's rather old. We had the rainy night, a total of 17 hundredths of an inch dampened the official rain bucket, and now we have the wind. Gust have been around 36, 37 miles per hour the past couple of hours, and that is the way it will be all day long. A few more showers will be popping up this afternoon, but for now the rain is gone. More rain will blow through this weekend, on and off, so we will be staying on the wet side for awhile. Snow will be a big deal in the mountains for the next few days. The snow level, the elevation that snowflakes melt and turn to raindrops will be lowering today to near 4,000 feet, and to as low as 3,000 feet at times over the weekend. Nearly all of the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene area are below 2,500. Along the river the elevation is below 2,000 feet. Higher up the snow will be accumulating and a Winter Storm Watch is up for the mountains of northeast Washington and the Idaho Panhandle for late tonight through Saturday night.

I got up earlier than normal today after being awake way earlier than I wanted to be. The alarm was set for 7:00am, but at 6:30 I finally decided to arise after lying awake since 5:30. This will give me time to properly prepare oatmeal before going off for my Friday morning butt kicking at the tennis club. I am not anticipating good things as my posse will be looking for payback from Wednesday. I'll let you know how it turns out later today. Have a great Friday...I'm off to boil my Quaker Oats.

I Love A Rainy Night

Does anyone remember that song? "I Love a Rainy Night" by Eddie Rabbit. If you do you must be as old or older than I am. I'm so sorry! It has been a rainy night, at least thus far. It probably will stay that way too. I really do love the rain. Maybe that's why I liked living in Florida so much. Now snow, on the other hand, I can definitely do without. People around here are always talking about how they love the four seasons. To that I say "horse hockey"! You can have your 4 seasons...Frankie Vallie and all (Wow...that's even older..."Oh what a night, late December back in 63. What a very special time for me..."). I grew up with 4 seasons, and spent a good part of my first 30 years shoveling the 4 seasons. I much prefer the situation in north Florida, 3 seasons, 10 months of summer, a month of fall and a month of spring. That suits me just fine. Anyway, back to the rain. Now that the tap has been turned on it looks like it will be very hard to turn off again. Occasional wet weather is going to be with us for the next week or more. As I mentioned this morning it is going to be getting cooler too, resulting in falling snow levels. We should start to see some pretty hefty accumulations over the mountain areas of the Inland Northwest this weekend into next week. It is far too early to start thinking about ski areas opening, but they may be seeing the beginnings of a base building. Today's official high was 51 degrees, and tomorrow should be near 50 again. From Saturday through at least next Wednesday most of the daytime highs will be in the mid 40s.

Tomorrow morning is almost here. That means it will be time to get back out on the tennis court. It will be interesting to see if I return to my usual inept self, or am able to continue to play at the level that I did on Wednesday. If I were a betting man, I would bet on the former. Of course it would be pretty ridiculous if anyone ever bet on me. Tomorrow is Friday. Now there is a revelation. To me Friday is much like any other day, which applies to Saturday and Sunday too. Sunday is different because of all of the things that go on at church. I guess what I am trying to say is that every day is about as busy as all of the others. I have one more week to go in the first quarter of my seminary education. After that I get a 2 week break. I am looking forward to that so that I can reconnect with my wife What's Her Name? There is only one more month to go in the aviation weather class that I teach at the community college, so once that is over some of the pressure will be off. Along with that some of the income will be gone as well.

Before I go...a note to Sally...thanks for reading and the pasta recipe that I talked about a month ago can be found by going to the archive and clicking on October. Just scroll down to the post titled "Famous Pasta Sauce" and there you have it.

Going To Get Wet

We are off to a good start to the day today, and the weather should hold up well through the afternoon, but from then on wet weather will dominate into next week. We will see a major shift in the weather pattern as a high pressure ridge shifts to the east allowing low pressure from the Pacific to move in. The result will be a cooler, and at times wet period right into the middle of next week. The first wave of rain will move in tonight, with showers lingering tomorrow. There might even be an isolated rumble of thunder or two Friday afternoon. Another round of rain will come through Friday night into Saturday, and more showers will be in the forecast just about every day for the next 6 or 7. Along with this will come chillier air. That will drop the snow levels in the mountains low enough to cause trouble for travelers. Accumulating snow could get as low as 3,000 feet by Saturday and Sunday. Temperatures here in the Spokane area will be getting into the 50s again today, but then drop back into the 40s through the weekend. Overnight lows will be in the low to mid 40s. In reality, this is just about what you would expect of November weather.

En Fuego!

It has been said many times that the worst day fishing, or golfing, or sailing or etc..etc...etc... is better than the best day working. But what about when you have your best day of tennis ever? Where does that compare? It was an interesting morning. In our first set of the day I was teamed with Bill (Please go back to the older posts to see pictures of my posse). We were playing pretty well but we got skunked, 6-0. John and Tuck were on fire ("en fuego" for those of you who like Mexican food). From there on it was my day. I could do no wrong. I am not sure how that happened, but what I am sure of is that it will be a long time before it happens again. My day of kicking butt will probably turn into a day of getting my butt kicked again on Friday.

After my tennis experience the day went pretty much according to its usual pattern...work...work...work. This evening was our weekly church choir practice, which is always a good time. Our choir director, Laurie, is an incredible musician, but even more important than that is that she understands that music should be fun. We have more fun than we should be allowed to have at choir practice. What is most amazing is that when we perform the songs in the church services they are actually quite good. For our congregation, which is rather small, we have a large choir, usually more than 15 people. Tonight we welcomed two new members. Dale and Grace recently moved here from Arizona, and are joining the congregation and the church choir. Thank you God...we can certainly use the help!

And now, the weather. Today turned out to be pretty nice. The sun was shining and the temperatures made it into the 50s. We are going to have a change beginning tomorrow through the weekend. More clouds will be showing up on Thursday, with rain by Thursday night into Friday morning. From there we can expect a few showers at times Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday. It will be getting cooler too as highs in the 50s tomorrow will retreat to the 40s through the weekend. In the mountains there will be some snow falling, but probably not a lot. Most of the moisture will come through while we are on the warm side, so the snow level will be quite high, above 6,000 feet into Friday morning. That will be dropping to near 4,000 feet by Saturday, but the precipitation should be light resulting in only minor accumulations.

Gonna Be A Nice Day

There is not much fog out there, and the sun is already shining. The sun will be able to mainly just raise the temperature today, without having to use some of its heat to evaporate water droplets, so it will end up warmer than yesterday. On Tuesday afternoon the temperature topped off in the mid to upper 40s, and today we will be into the low to mid 50s. That's a bit a above the normal high of 48 degrees. The weather pattern will be changing through the end of the week as a ridge of high pressure shifts inland from the west coast allowing a Pacific storm system to push in. We'll see more clouds tomorrow, maybe a few afternoon sprinkles too, with rainy weather arriving Thursday night into Friday morning. Once the main rain area moves through things will be breezy and a bit showery at times through the weekend. Thursday will still be mild, back into the low 50s, and then highs will be in the 40s for Friday through Sunday.

It is Wednesday morning, so I will as usual be offering myself up as a living sacrifice to my tennis posse. I think the main reason that they keep me around is to feed their egos. I know that they all must feel much better about themselves, especially in regards to their athletic prowess, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning when we finish.

One Of Those Dreaded Nights

I have been sitting for the past couple of hours wondering what I was going to write about. This is a great fear of anyone that does this blogging thing in that if what I put out is not interesting no one will want to read it. If no one reads it, then what is the point? So you I fear that you might not understand my predicament.

After eating supper tonight, and some prompting from my wife Kay, I have decided to invite all of you for dinner. Kay is an incredible cook...just ask her! I really mean that! She is an incredible cook. This afternoon she was watching Rachel Ray, which is rather odd since she usually finds Rachel Ray rather annoying. Anyway, Ms. Ray made a breaded chicken and salad dish, a 30 minute meal, and Kay thought that it might make a good dinner for us tonight. I had a meeting for basketball officials this evening at 6:00pm, and I wasn't sure how long it would last. I told Kay that I would call her when it was over so that she could start making our evening meal. You have to understand that most people have a regular suppertime, which usually varies by a half an hour or so. We are not nearly that disciplined. We might have dinner anytime between 6 and 11pm. Anyway, The meeting ended just after 7, and I called as I had promised. When I got home Kay was in the middle of the meal preparation, and informed my that she was putting her own interpretation into the recipe that she had seen earlier today. The end result was incredible. I would best describe it as restaurant quality comfort food. Once again...you are invited to join us for dinner at your convenience, just give us an hour or two heads up. (Note: Kay doesn't know that I have extended this invitation)

Weather-wise it did indeed turn out to be a nice day. The fog burned away quickly except for right along the river where it hung around into the afternoon. Tomorrow will be a little bit warmer, but the fog will once again greet us in the early morn. The clouds are back on Thursday with rain Thursday night into Friday. It will remain on the mild side on Thursday, in the 50s, and then cool off again into the weekend.