Posting in cooperation with:

The last two hours of sleep last night, I spent in the recliner with the heating pad on my back.  The wind chimes were playing a raucous symphony in a heavy wind that was punctuated by heavy gusts.  Rain laid down the beat.  I slept well.

Despite the excellent insulation in this house and the double glazed windows, I felt chilly when I arose to start the day.  The thermostat is set at 68 F, but will later be dialed back to 67 and perhaps 66 F as our bodies adapt to cooler conditions.  We’ll be comfortable in jeans and sweatshirts with a few layers underneath.  (There’s no desire on our part to use more LP than necessary.)

As I write this I’m sitting in the office, which is located on the protected side of the house.  The blinds have been lowered and closed.  It’s amazing how much lower the heat loss is this time of year with blinds closed.  In the summer it lowers the heat gain.  The price is subdued natural light.  Here in the office, an LED bulb adds light to my work space.

The announcer on a radio out of Grand Rapids summed it up precisely.  After the 8 AM news summary he started the next segment with, “Today, the forecast is for yucky weather.”  This time, he nailed it.  Give him an A+.

I need to refill my coffee cup.  It’s a great day for enjoying a steaming cup of joe.

With hurricane Sandy about 700 miles east of here about to make landfall, I was curious if this monster storm would impact west Michigan.  An online check revealed this picture:

Sandy sets sights on east coast  (We live near the red dot.)

A look out the windows here in the office confirmed the satellite picture.  I took camera in hand, donned my winter coat and went outside.

That’s the sun over the barn

While I was looking ESE, the sky was completely cloud covered.  This is not unusual for winter skies in Michigan.  Yes, I know that it is still autumn.  But it is beginning to feel like winter.  At times like these I remember living where palm trees grow.  It was very nice.  Or at least my memory tries to convince me of that.

I turned right and walked about 30 feet.  I was looking down the driveway.  And there was the beautiful blue peeking in under the edge of the monster cloud cover.

That looks better, doesn’t it?

The big question now is, will the outside temperature reach 40 F before noon?  Forecast says it should reach 47 F this afternoon, but that may be optimistic.

Yesterday, I was vegging in front of the TV–just as I said I would.  (Sylvia was at a women’s meeting at church.)  While I was checking my eyelids for leaks, I was interrupted.  Huh!?  It was the doorbell.  Who could it be?  I’m not expecting anyone, am I?  I went to the door and found Doug.  He was making a delivery.

While I carried a couple of his tools, he brought this into the house:

Oak shelf unit built by Doug McPherson

Some time ago, we had to replace the control unit in our shower.  This required cutting an access hole in the wall behind the shower stall.  We put the chunk of drywall back in the hole when the plumbing project was finished.  It wasn’t pretty.

We decided that a small shelf unit would cover the hole and provide a little more storage space in the bathroom area.  A friend suggested slide-out shelves so that mounting screws could be placed behind.  Great idea!  When I asked Doug if he could build something for us, he agreed that he could.

Shelves slide out to reveal mounting screws

The workmanship is first class!  The shelves and the lip on the front are a single piece.  They won’t come apart.  And isn’t that beautiful oak?  Doesn’t it look great?

It didn’t take long for us to mount the unit to wall studs on either side of the hole.  Doug was on his way home from work, and soon left.  I returned to my eyelid-checking project in front of the TV.

Later, Sylvia returned from her meeting.  As she walked in, she greeted me with, “What’s that piece of drywall doing on the dryer?”

I replied, “You’d better investigate.”

She did, and the next thing I heard was, “Oh WOW!  That is so much nicer than I expected.”

What a pity that Doug wasn’t there to witness that scene.  She is thrilled with the unit.  We both are thrilled.

You can see more of Doug’s creations at his website.  Why not take a bit of time and check it out?

Yesterday, was a beautiful day.  We celebrated that afternoon by hauling natural fertilizer from the neighbor’s to our garden.  Seven times we filled the front end loader and seven times I dumped it into piles on our garden.

I sure hope that results in a good harvest from the garden again next year.  Otherwise, I’m going to feel worse about these aches and pains that I’m feeling today.  All I’m saying is that I want the results to be worth it.

I didn’t sleep well last night.  Fortunately, Sylvia woke me up in time to get to my dental appointment this morning.  Now, I’m having trouble staying awake.  I think I’ll wrap this up and go take a nap.  See you tomorrow.

Posting in cooperation with:

Check it off from the To Do list.  The garden is nearly done for this year.  It is almost hard to believe, but only last month (seven weeks ago) it looked like this.

Everything was so green.  Those squash vines were going crazy!  We harvested over three dozen butternut squash this year.  Sylvia will be happy to not see a tomato in the near future.  We ate and will eat well from this year’s bounty.

Yesterday, we had a little relief from what has been a very rainy pattern.  The morning brought sunshine and mild temperatures.  Sylvia donned her work clothes and when I took a break for a fresh cup, she was out prepping the garden for winter.  This morning, I looked out the window to see this sight.

Looks dreary, right?  Only asparagus and rhubarb remain.  Yes, dreary.  And damp.  After a late lunch yesterday, I retrieved the mail and went to put it on the kitchen table.  That’s when I heard, splat.  Splat.  Rattaty tat tat tat, etc.  Within seconds we were in a deluge.

This morning I found 1.3 inches of rain in the gauge.  We are getting caught up on all the rain we missed earlier this year.

One more task remains.  I’ll go to the neighbor’s and return with a load of natural fertilizer, which I’ll then apply to the garden.  What will my lady plant next year?

There are three types of tracks in the photo.  Can you identify them?

The weather front passed, and my hand and wrist are doing better.  Nevertheless, I still have to limit the time I put in here at the computer.  So this will be brief.

Saturday evening, we enjoyed ourselves at a gathering at the home of and organized by friends of Sylvia.  The couple had been on the mission trip to Honduras.  We sat outdoors around a bonfire and enjoyed a lot of talk and a pot-luck supper.  One of the attendees was a teen in a Bible study that I lead over 30 years ago.  He still remembered the study and still has the notes.  (I have them too.)

My friend went on to a Master’s degree in Christian ministry and was a pastor for several years.  These days, he teaches in a local school, but is ready to return to a pastoral ministry now that he and his wife have become empty-nesters.

He is the second member of that group that has told me how much it meant to them.  At the time I wasn’t all that encouraged.  It seemed that not much was happening.  At least it seemed that way to me.

Now I understand that on my journey I left tracks.  Tracks across the path of others.  Even as others have left their tracks across my path.

Where are you leaving your tracks? :think:

Perhaps it’s the weather.  I’d like to think that it is.  The arthritis in my hand and wrist has flared up again, and I need to minimize my time at the computer.  Please excuse me, and I’ll see you next week.

Before I go, let me leave this thought with you.  It comes from John Wesley, who had this to say 238 years ago:

Good advice!  What could be more timely in this day?