Unofficial Last Weekend of Winter

Memorial Day weekend is winding down, and rain has been coming down most of the day. There are still a lot of shower and a few thunderstorms in the area so I guess I won't be walking to the store to get something for this evening's Memorial Day dinner. This weekend is often referred to as the unofficial first weekend of summer. More often than not, and such is the case this year, it is anything but summer-like. Yesterday wasn't bad, but most of this three day span has been rather lousy. I guess we should always look on the bright side of things (a brighter side would be nice once in awhile), with the rain and wet grounds it was a lot easier to move all of the plants around the yard that Kay wanted relocated.

Tomorrow should be drier...I didn't say dry...just drier. It should also be a little warmer. So far today we have hit 61 degrees, and another 2 tenths of an inch of rain has been added to the bucket so far, and there is more to come. Tomorrow we should get to the mid to upper 60s, but then the rain will be picking up again Wednesday and Thursday and things will be cooling down again.

One final note on this Memorial Day weekend. Today I experienced what may have been the worst leg cramp of my entire life. If there is anyone out there that has ever gotten their leg caught in one of those tree shredders, up to mid thigh, I know how it feels. Yikes! I don't want to deal with that ever again.

Brady's Birthday Bash

Yesterday we celebrated my buddy Brady's 4th birthday. Actually, his birthday is still a couple of days off, but it was Saturday and that is reason enough to celebrate. In reality Brady has been 4 for the purposes of skiing for over 6 months, but that is a whole different story! The event started off with the kid's party in the afternoon...that would explain the jump castle, although some of the bigger...cough...cough...kids took their turns during the adult portion of the party that took place in the evening. Anyway, the castle was a big hit, but the bigger hit were the bicycles (with training wheels), scooters and the Cadillac Escalade that the kids used to unintentionally kill each other. Fortunately no one was permanently maimed. The weather could have been a bit more cooperative as it was a chilly and windy afternoon, but as soon as the kiddies left the party moved indoors, or two the back porch where the heaters were, and that made for a more comfortable time. Up at the top of this post you will notice Brady's grandpa Larry. He is enjoying his very first piece of sushi...very good stuff. I'm not sure who had more fun yesterday, Brady or grandpa Larry. My bet is that they finished in a tie.

Earlier in the day we had a "Weed and Feed" Session at the church. That is where you get a bunch of volunteers together to pull weed out of all of the planting beds around the church, and then feed them because you had to bribe them with something to get them to show up. It was actually a pot-luck brunch affair, so everyone brought something to contribute to the meal. As usual the food was great and as for the weeding...it got done. It seems when the landscaping was put in the weed barrier may have been an afterthought so the native grasses were staging an uprising. Now that they are cleaned up we will wait a week or two until the little guys rear their heads again then we will hit 'em with round up.

Church will be happening in a couple of hours. Today we celebrate Memorial Day along with Trinity Sunday. It will make for a nice mix of songs and in the message. Today should also be the best day of the weekend as far as the weather is concerned. It is rather cloudy right now, but we are in for on and off sunshine today, and no rain. Temperatures will get into the mid 60s this afternoon. The rain will be back again for tomorrow...and Tuesday...and Wednesday...and Thursday...You get the picture! There are still no signs of summer's immanent arrival.

Frog Choker!

It has been one wet day! At the airport the rain in the bucket measures 7 tenths of an inch. I do believe that it has been quite a bit more across the southern part of the metro area, well over an inch (My unofficial bucket measured 1.06"). In the midst of it all I was out in the elements cooking hamburgers and hot dogs for the preschool end of the year barbecue. Today was the last day of school for the little kiddies. Thankfully, the church has a number of pavilion style tents. I brought one down from the garage above the church and managed to stay dry as I grilled in the midst of the monsoon. Actually, it was not at all a monsoon. A monsoon is the term that relates to a seasonal reversal of the prevailing wind direction, which often leads to very wet weather. For example, in the winter the winds in the Indian subcontinent generally blow down from the Himalaya Mountain range across the land area and out to sea. That combination of down slope wind coming from a landlocked area is very dry. In the summer the wind reverses, coming off of the Indian Ocean and blowing up slope toward the mountains. The result is a moisture laden flow of air blowing uphill that releases boatloads of moisture in the form of constant and heavy rain. There is your meteorological lesson for this evening.

Looking ahead toward the Memorial Day weekend the trend of generally lousy weather that has been with us for the months of April and May will continue. While it won't be as wet as today, there will still be showers tomorrow and a few on Saturday. It should be a little milder due to the fact that there won't be as much rain, but still below average for late May. Tomorrow we might just get close to the middle 50s, and on Saturday maybe...just maybe...60 degrees. Sunday and Monday are looking a little better. It should be dry with highs in the mid to upper 60s.

Note: A hearty welcome to Larry and Darlene Moore (My little buddy Brady's grampa and grandma) who arrived today from Boise for the weekend. The big event will be Brady's 4th birthday party on Saturday.

Getting Old Fast!

My how time flies! I have discovered the principle of age acceleration...the older you get the faster you get older. That would explain my rapidly declining skills in many areas. Case in point, yesterday was Sunday, and now its Wednesday. At least it sure seems that way. Not all that much of great significance has happened in that span of time, just the usual...a couple of tennis outings, a couple of days of work, a couple of fairly decent days of weather, and a couple of beers along the way. On Monday I did meet up with an old friend (actually, I am the old one and he is quite a bit younger) from my years at KHQ-TV. El Tejon (Spanish for Badger) left of his own accord at about the same time as I left, which was a year ago, and is now producing television programs for public access. That was on Monday. Yesterday I made a couple of calls on folks that have been hospitalized, but both are now doing very well and have gone home.

I mentioned the weather, and today we have some rain. That's a good thing since we put the tomato plants in the garden on Sunday and planted seeds for beans, onions, lettuce, kohlrabi, and some other things that I can't identify. They all have to be loving the moisture, and it appears as if there is more where that come from. We will have showers scattered around the area today, and again tomorrow. There could be some pretty substantial rain too. As we get to the weekend the abundance of showers will diminish, but not completely go away. It is going to be cool for awhile too, as today and tomorrow we will be hard pressed to get much above 60 degrees, and only warm up a little bit into the weekend...Memorial Day weekend!

Here I Am!

It has been since Friday that I have reported in. A lot has been happening since then, which may be why I haven't reported in. Saturday marked the 28th anniversary of the wedding of Kay and I. We don't usually do a whole lot for anniversaries...except maybe the big ones, so yesterday there wasn't all that much that was expected. Low expectations...I like that...never raise the bar too high! Anyway...we did go out for a late lunch, and then take a nap. The couple of glasses of wine may have had something to do with that, as well as the fact that we had a designated driver. There are benefits to having the youngster back in the nest, at least for awhile.

Today being Sunday of course there was church this morning, and we will be headed back there shortly. We are having our Sunday evening contemporary service this evening, which we hold the 4th Sunday evening of each month. We are kind of experimenting with this at the present time, that's why only once a month. It seems that our congregation has been skewing kind of old for the last 100 years in terms of the age demographics. Now that we are situated in an area where most folks are not quite so old we thought maybe it might be good to move out of our comfort zone and do things a little differently, at least on occasion. I get the sinking feeling that I will be there, along with Kay and Beth, our musicians, the Haas family will be there, and that will be about hit. I hope and pray that this is not the case, but most of the members of our church, being in the more seasoned demographic, don't find the more modern music and relaxed style their cup of tea. I guess we will find out if my predictions for church attendance are any more reliable than my predictions of weather were.

Speaking of weather...it hasn't rained today, at least not yet. That gave me the opportunity to mow the back hayfield, and we even got most of the garden planted. The tomatoes and peppers are in, along with the carrots, beans, lettuce and kohlrabi (I know what it is but I can't spell it...thank you spell check!) We'll see if it all grows, and if we can stay ahead of the weeds! The weather lately has been pretty lousy, chilly and wet. It should be getting a little bit warmer in the next few days. Today we have been fighting our way toward 60, which isn't bad, and by Tuesday and Wednesday we may even be back near 70 degrees. There have been a few showers in the area this afternoon, but the next few days are looking drier.

Final Exam Day

Today marked the end of the spring quarter for the Concordia Theological Seminary, at least that was the case for me. Since I am doing an online program I could take the final exam any time between today and Sunday evening. I chose to get it out of the way today. After a morning spent memorizing the 11 sections of the Book of Concord, the authors and the date each was completed, the 28 Articles of the Augsburg Confession, the 6 chief parts of the Small Catechism and the 12 Articles of the Formula of Concord I was ready to go. The whole ordeal took about a half an hour, and my memory did not fail me. I am assuming it will before too many more years pass me by. The bottom line is that I am done with school for a few weeks, and that means that I may have a life again...at least for a short time.

Sleepin' In

There was no early risin' today, as the alarm clock was not set and even the predawn warbling of the Robins in the incessant post sunrise barking of our neighbors dogs was going disturb my slumber. I think I am finally getting readjusted to normal life (if there is such a thing) after last week's sprint across the country. I am in my last few days of the quarter for my 3rd seminary class, so having a clear head is important for my upcoming final exam...tomorrow.

Yesterday I managed to put in a better showing on the tennis court, and was fairly productive at the office. That was made more difficult by the fact that the weather was beautiful on Wednesday, mainly sunny and mild. I did get the opportunity to get out and walk around late in the afternoon. It was more like I had to as I was hit with some raging cramps in one leg and in my midsection...not fun.

The weather took a big turn overnight as some heavy showers and a lot of wind blew through. Today we will be seeing more showers, mostly this afternoon, and might hear some thunder. Tonight the showers will end in the evening and then it will be getting downright nippy. After we reach only the mid 50s today many of our outlying areas will drop below freezing tonight. I am not at all worried about our garden though, as we are up on the hill where it is usually a few degrees milder at night, and mostly because we haven't planted anything yet! I guess we need to get going. The weather doesn't look that conducive to digging in the dirt though as it will be cool and showery through Saturday, with highs just in the 50s. We should crack 60 on Sunday.

Up And At "Em!

The clock said 5:15am, and after rolling around for about an hour and a half it was time to give up on the idea of sleep, and see what kind of havoc I could wreak in the world of the vertical. I guess there was just too much stuff rolling around in my brain, which shouldn't be surprising since I do believe that there is a lot of empty space up there in which things can roll around.

Anyway...here I am! Today looks like it will be a pretty decent day. We had some rain yesterday, and it was a whole lot cooler than the low 80s of the weekend...just in the upper 50s to near 60. Right now the sky is clear and the temperature is in the middle 40s. We will be seeing sunshine today, although high clouds will begin increasing by the afternoon, and it will warm up a bit to near 70 by the end of the day. Another round of rain will arrive later tonight and the weather is shaping up to be cool and damp on Thursday and Friday. Both days the mid 50s is about the best we can expect from the temperatures, so sweatshirts and jeans will be needed once again. The weekend should be a little bit better, but still on the cool side of average for the latter part of May. We may make it into the low to mid 60d by Sunday as mostly cloudy skies linger and a few showers dance around the area.

In a couple of hours I will be making another feeble attempt at imposing my will out on the tennis court. After Monday's debacle I am really not expecting much. A couple of the guys in our regular posse are going to be missing today, so who knows what to expect? As for me...I expect to get my butt kicked!

Meltdown!

After a week on the road, mainly sitting on my backside and eating copious quantities of fried food, it was time to put in an appearance on the tennis court this morning. The result was predictable, and embarrassing. I was generally unable to move, and when I did it was incredibly slowly. I knew what I wanted to do with the tennis ball but was unable to execute it (I should have been executed). The bottom line was that I was again schooled by my tennis posse...John, Bill and Tuck. I received an e-mail later today from Tuck regarding his health. He has been feeling lethargic and tired for some time now, and his doctors are not sure why. He will have to excuse himself from our 3 day per week tennis habit until the cause of his problems has been identified and corrected, so I would ask for prayers of good health to be directed his way.

After tennis I was off to re-establish my position as Vicar and Ministry Director at St. John's Lutheran Church here in Spokane. Each and every day that I go in to work at the church I have to wonder about just what it is that I do. Eventually I will usually figure it out. Today I spent most of my time preparing the service for this coming Sunday, writing letters to the visitors that we have had the past couple of Sundays, and finishing a book report for my seminary class. This is the last week of my 3rd quarter, and there is a lot that has to be turned in by Sunday... including the final exam.

I arrived home this evening just before 7:00pm. My little buddy Brady was waiting for me out on the porch along with Kay and Beth. Today was another warm day so the front porch was the place to be. I soon learned that I wasn't the only one who was experiencing a rough day. Brady was proud to report that he had not been put in time out today in preschool, but he appeared to have been shortchanged on his afternoon nap, and his mood...shall we say...was a little testy. Due to an impromptu meeting of the neighbors in our front yard Brady was not the center of attention, and that didn't seem to sit well with him. It is really hard being 3 going on 4! I look forward to better days ahead...both for me and Brady!

Final note: I just heard a rumble of thunder...a real treat for a thunderstorm fan from the middle of the country. Bring on the lightning!

Trying To Settle In

Our first full day back off the road was one of trying to fight off total exhaustion. The trip finally took its toll yesterday! The morning at church was more hectic than ever, as all of the things that normally get taken care of during the week had to be dealt with in the morning, and when you throw in an annoying break down on the technological side of things it made for more stress than there really needed to be. After church we retrieved the dog from the home of our good friends Gary and Bonnie. They took good care of ol' Dixie while we were away. Once home I tried to take a nap...a failed attempt, caught up on homework for the week, and then tackled some of the yard work. The weather was great...kind of cloudy, but up into the low 80s. Our garden is not planted yet, and the weeds have had a "hay-day" in taking over the whole plot, so there was a great deal of wilderness that needed to be hacked out. Along the way Kay decided that the shed just had to be cleaned out and organized, so all of that pretty much took up the entire day. restful, huh? We did manage to get a pork shoulder roast grilled along with some corn casserole and green beans for dinner.

I mentioned the nice weather, and it is going to be warm again today, up near 80. There will most likely be some rain later on this afternoon, and we could have a little lightning and thunder. The weather pattern will be making a big shift this week. The warmth will shift eastward and a big cool area of low pressure will be dropping in from the North Pacific. As the warmth tries to hold its ground against the onslaught of the chill the battleground will be in our area through tomorrow, resulting in clouds and more showers. Highs Tuesday will drop back into the 60s. It will then be cooler than normal through the rest of the week as highs will only be in the 50s again from Thursday through Saturday, and maybe the low 60s on Sunday.

We're Here!

The family truckster rolled into Spokane just a little after 5 this afternoon at the end of a 1700 mile jaunt from St. Paul, Minnesota through the wilds of the Dakotas and Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and finally eastern Washington. When we hit home there was my buddy Brady out in the cul-de-sac to greet us. At this point he was fully clothed, but that didn't last for long. There is something about almost 4 year old boys and nudity that just has to happen. Brady's older sister Jillian had her 9th birthday party earlier this afternoon...before we arrived on scene...with a whole bunch of young girls in attendance. We rolled in after most had gone home, but there were still a couple of hangers on. The party had moved to the hot tub at the home of the hosts...our neighbors across the way...and Brady took the opportunity to bare it all. It just had to happen!

I mentioned that yesterday the weather was very nice for our journey on down the Spokane Trail from the heartland of the country. Today was pretty good too. We left Sheridan, WY with the sun shining, and it was pretty much that way through Billings to Bozeman, Montana. After that we drove through a few mountain showers, but it wasn't anything too annoying. There isn't much in the way of road construction going on yet (emphasis on YET) so we made very good time. The one thing that I did find a little surprising is that cows can fly. That has to be the case judging by the size of the splotches on the windshield that we encountered on the entire trip westward from Wisconsin and Minnesota. We stopped more frequently to wash the windshield than we did to add gas to the tank.

Report From The Road

This morning we are in Sheridan, Wyoming, at the home of Dave and Judy Schreibeis, getting ready to hit the road for home. Yesterday we enjoyed an easy day of travel under a sunny sky, and today is looking just as nice. We should be home by early evening, and I will have an update tonight.

More Rain...More Wind

Once again, I must apologize for my lack of internet availability, and the lack of consistent posting. Right now I am sitting in a chair (which is a little too small to be truly comfortable) in our room at the Holiday Inn Express in Mitchell, SD. I know that it may be difficult for you to contain yourself right now, as we all know that Mitchell is the home of the world famous "Corn Palace". That is, a civic arena that is totally covered on the outside with corn products, including leaves, husks, ears, kernels and silk. After reading this your summer vacation plans will probably have to be changed. I hope to have pictures for you soon.

Today was the day that we picked up Beth from school and began our journey westward. We left my parent's house in La Crosse, WI a little before 10:00am, and reached St. Paul, MN a little after the noon hour. After way too narrowly avoiding a grinding wreck on I-94 in downtown St. Paul while the weather was...you guessed it...rainy we safely but shakily arrived at Concordia University. The weather had been rainy all day up until that point, but things dried out quite nicely from there on. At the same time that the rain ended the wind reared its ugly head once again. The result was another very strong head wind that we had to drive into from southern Minnesota into South Dakota. We should finally catch a break tomorrow as the sun will be returning, the temperatures rising, and the wind diminishing.

On Friday we are going to be making our way to Sheridan, Wyoming, by way of the Corn Palace and Devil's Tower in northeast Wyoming. We will be arriving home late in the day Saturday.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride?

We have finally made it to Wisconsin! Actually, we arrived last evening but I have been unable to gain access to a wireless internet network until this morning. There is not much available in the Wild West town of Buffalo, Wyoming or at my folks house in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I am reporting to you today from the La Crosse Public Library. This place is booming! As I mentioned...we made it...but there was some question about that yesterday. We arrived in beautiful Buffalo at 10:15pm MDT on Sunday, after a relatively uneventful day of travel, and then hit the road again by 6:30am Monday. We rose to a steady rain, but undaunted, headed east. Maybe we should have been a little bit more daunted? The rain intensified as we drove eastbound on I-90, and a 25 to 35 mile per hour head wind soon developed. Now one would usually expect that you would have to put up with such stuff for an hour or two, and then you could reasonably think you might break out of it. Not so! I was in a battle with the elements that lasted for 10 hours and about 600 miles! It was like driving in a hurricane. As we pulled into Jackson, Minnesota, in the southwest part of the state...for refueling...I finally gave in and had Kay drive to give my arms, hands and teeth (10 hours worth of grinding) a break. Stop me if you have heard this before. As we entered the interstate for the last leg of the journey the rain almost immediately stopped and the winds died down. The pavement was dry all the way to the Mississippi River! Perhaps I should have had her drive all day. Today is not a travel day, it is a day to rest and recover, and for me to get my homework done for the week.

ONE FINAL NOTE: If you have been wondering where the Kiester of the United States is, and possibly the world, I have found it for you. It is located just a little west of Albert Lea in south central Minnesota!

Hittin' The Road

Today after our church service, at roughly 11am, we will be pointing the car eastward and heading for the homeland of Wisconsin and Minnesota. It will take us a couple of days to get there, and tonight's destination is Buffalo, Wyoming. The reason that undergirds our journey is the retrieval of our Sweet Little Babboo (Beth) from her first year of college. Amazing! She is already through a year of higher education. Amazing! I will only have to pay for 3 or 4 more years.

The weather this morning is bright and sunny, and it appears as if the conditions along our route today will be rather uneventful. The scenery should be beautiful as recent snowstorms in the mountains should have left a wonderful blanket of white over the middle to higher terrain. We should be setting down in La Crosse, Wisconsin sometime late tomorrow evening. Since my parents usually go to be be 3:30 in the afternoon these days, we probably won't see them until Tuesday morning. On Tuesday evening there will be a bar stool with my name on it at Schmitty's, one of the local bar and restaurant establishments that the heartland of our nation is so famous for. On Wednesday we will drive up to St. Paul to load up all of the junk that a college freshman can accumulate over the course of the school year, and haul it all back to my folks house. Then Thursday we make the trip back to the Twin Cities to load up Beth and her friend Kristen for the trip back toward the west. I hope that the family truckster can hold us and all our belongings, and make it safely again through the mountains.

Today is Mother's Day. I will be seeing my mom tomorrow evening...or more likely on Tuesday morning. I want to wish all moms who may be reading this senseless drivel a wonderful day!

St John's 500

The weather cleared today sufficiently for the inaugural running of the St. John's 500...inches that is. Our youth group got together for a burger lunch and some good natured competition with the remote control vehicles. Our official starter and flag man was the very Reverend Virtus Young, while the Race Director and chef was Jim Smith. Good times were had by all, and thank the Lord...no one got hurt. We did go through a lot of batteries though!

Gettin' Ready to Roll

We will be hittin' the road on Sunday to retrieve our Sweet Babboo (Beth) from her first year of college. I have spent most of this week preparing for the adventure. There is the necessary work to be done to the family "Truckster" (oil change and tire rotation), procuring the needed supplies, and...at least in my case...getting ahead on my schoolwork so that I don't fall behind next week. Its a darned good thing that we didn't leave today as a major snowstorm hit south central and southeast Montana along with northeastern Wyoming. Things should be as lot better in terms of the weather by Sunday. I have heard reports of some pretty impressive snow showers around here earlier this morning, but I didn't witness any of that personally.

Speaking of the weather, it has been pretty lousy all week long, and for that matter, for the past month. The outlook for the next several days is a whole lot better. Tomorrow, Friday, will be mostly sunny with temperatures topping off in the upper 50s. That is still a bit below normal but a lot better than it has been. On Saturday and Sunday we should get into the low to mid 60s so that won't be bad. We are having a huge garage sale at the church tomorrow and Saturday, and with the dry weather we should be able to haul lots of the stuff outside. There is certainly a lot of stuff...as the interior of the horse stable next to the church looks like an antiques mall. It will be interesting to see just how many people show up, and how much is sold. What will probably be more interesting is how much will be left over after the sale is all said and done!

I Survived the Great Hurricane of 2010

Yesterday was a pretty windy day. In fact, it was very windy. Up until this evening I didn't realize that we had all survived a natural disaster the likes of which has not been seen around here since the days of Noah. Thankfully I have been informed of this fact by the constant news updates from the local CBS TV affiliate this evening that I should be amazed that I am still alive! The other stations are very likely trumpeting the same message of doom, but I can only watch one at a time. On Monday there was a wind gust that reached 59 miles per hour as measured at the airport. Oh the humanity...one could not expect either man or beast to be able to endure such a calamity. Granted, there were a few trees that were blown over in the area...which happens every spring...and I must admit that we did lose a significant portion of a lilac bush, although it was due at least in part to a bad case of root rot! While this catastrophe was occurring there were a number of people who said to me; "I bet you are glad that you aren't working at the TV station anymore", and to that I replied, "You're darned right! By this morning that savage storm had abated, and we were left to assess the damage. Oh, I almost forgot, My hibiscus plant that I had placed in the planting bed in front of the porch had blown over as well, and I had to spend a good portion of the day getting it to stand upright again. That took at least 13 seconds.

All seriousness aside, I have to admit that the weather over the course of the past month has been really lousy. It hasn't been warm, and it hasn't been all that sunny either. What it has been, at least according to my friends who are involved in farming, is very beneficial. The soil moisture is in good shape, and the wheat fields across the Palouse to our south are in good shape, so all in all for early May we are doing pretty well...hurricanes not withstanding.

Blow Hard

There was no rain today...that is a first in a long time! We started off sunny, but the clouds took over, and it was another cool one by early May standards. Here in Spokane, today was "Bloomsday", the day when about 50,000 runners and walkers take to the streets to go 7 and a half miles just to prove to themselves and their friends that it can be done. For the first time in 9 years I was not a participant...I was rather busy. In spite of the many regular church members that were involved in the race we still had over 100 people present for this morning's service, so it was another good day.

We are just one week away from heading out in the family truckster...or more appropriately the family import, to pick up our "sweet babboo" from her first year in college. Next Sunday Kay and I will be leaving after our church service to head east to Minnesota and Wisconsin. The trip will cover 1,600 miles each way, but I am looking forward to hitting the open road and experiencing the thrill of Americana once again. Along our route will be the opportunity to visit the silver mines, or whatever else it is that they are digging up in Butte, MT, the Custer National Battlefield Museum, Devil's Tower National Monument, Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills, along with the Badlands. Outside of all of those wonderful attactions the best of the best will be "Spam World" in Austin, MN. If you have never been there you really need to experience the awe and wonder of what Spam has meant to this great nation of ours! Spam...Spam...Spam...Spam...Spam...Spam...Spam...Wonderful Spam...Fabulous Spam!

Once we pick up Beth from school it will be time to reverse course and head back in exactly the opposite direction. Realistically the trip should take three days each way, but we are not realistic people, so we try to do it in two. The reason is most likely related to the fact that we are too cheap to pay for two nights in a motel! Whatever the reason for our insanity we hope to be back in Spokane by the following Saturday night so that I can be back at my post in church the following Sunday morning.

One final note tonight...which most of you will find on Monday morning...I would like to wish a very happy birthday to my buddy John. He is turning a very young 80 years old on this Monday, May the 3rd. John is one of the "posse" that routinely kicks my butt at tennis each Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. I am a much better man for having come to know John in the past year plus...and to that I say "Thank you my good friend!"

Photo Phinish

Men's Breakfast at church started the day, while the rest of it was pretty peaceful...lots to do before tomorrow morning. Here are some shots of how our day ended...enjoy!