Sunday Nite Shots

Deb was gone for a couple of days at the Junior High retreat, and she was very tired by the time she showed up at church this afternoon. All the kids looked tired, but very happy. They had a great time. And they all wanted to go home and take long naps.

After she got up from her nap, she was ready to work on some writing, which explains the laptop on her lap. My laptop.


Erin and Alfred were hiding most of the afternoon because we had friends over from church (for a very lively discussion of various fun topics). So when our guests departed so that their young son could get ready for the coming week of school, the cats came out and re-claimed the comfy chairs.


Adam spent many happy moments playing piano after lunch. He loves to sit at the piano and work on various scores, and we like to hear how he is improving with time. Our guests were quite pleased with the impromptu performance.


He switches between classic and contemporary pieces, including Queen, Trans Siberian Orchestra, and various movie scores (e.g. Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean).

Snowing in New York, Sunny in Michigan

Honestly, we don't know what is going on with the weather today. While it was apparently a cold and wintry day in the Northeast, we had it easy in Michigan. Blue skies with occasional puffy white (or grey) clouds, almost fifty degrees, very comfortable to be outside doing fall kinds of things.

Like shooting high-pressure air through the water irrigation pipes in order to remove all the water out of them before they freeze.

That's one of the 'benefits' of living in this neighborhood where practically all of the houses came with built-in irrigation systems. At least once a year, the homeowner must hire someone to come in and attach a high-pressure compressor to the lines and blow all the water out. Otherwise, when the ground gets to the point of a "hard freeze" - typically mid-November - ice will form inside the pipes and burst them. Not fun.

But this savvy homeowner rigged up his own little compressor and spent an hour or so pumping air into the pipes and getting rid of most of the water without going to the trouble of hiring someone else to come in and do it for him.

Kinda stupid, actually, considering that we only had the irrigation water turned on for a grand total of about two hours during the entire summer. What happened to Global Warming??

That was only one of the exciting 'plumbing' jobs for today, though. The most fun was un-clogging the sink, which had been subjected to an attack of overcooked pumpkin seeds en masse. You probably know that the garbage disposal output pipe feeds into the main drain pipe underneath the sink; but did you realize that there is a backflow device inside the pipe which keeps drain water from the other sink from backing up into the garbage disposal? And did you realize that this backflow device reduces the diameter of the outflow pipe by a factor of 2? Which means that if you overload it with a bunch of chopped-up, overcooked pumpkin seeds, the pipe jams up.

It didn't take much to unclog the pipe, but it did take a bit of clean-up when the sudden rush of water behind the seeds decided to jump the bucket and land on the floor instead. Nothing a dozen towels couldn't solve, of course. Or a mop, if I'd had one.

Did you know that wet, chopped pumpkin seeds are very sticky, and very hard to clean off of a dozen towels?

Oh, well, there were more fun things to do out in the garage. It was time to work on the car!

There are three spots on the Subaru which have sufficient rust to warrant special treatment; unfortunately, the largest one required removal of the rear bumper. That was fun! Not. Took me a couple hours to pull it off, de-rust the spots, apply the appropriate chemical sealant, then put the bumper back on. Because Cheryl was about to come home after dropping the boys off at their Youth Group activity and picking up groceries. And I needed to clean the debris off the garage floor and re-park the Subaru so it was out of the way.

After all that fun activity, it was time for me to sit down and watch The Bourne Identity again. With a bowl of chips and some salsa. Love me some Jason Bourne!

Concerts & Scout Projects

Picked up a nasty cold over the past week or so, but didn't have time to rest up much. Got too much to do, what with winter coming on and the car making funny noises and holidays sneaking up behind me like that. Then there's all the weeknights that are plumb over-scheduled. Like tonight.

Had the middle school choir concert tonight, and Mary was going to be singing so there weren't no excuse for missing out. But there was also Scout meeting, and Eagle Scout Project reviews, and being as I'm the one what opens the building up so the Scouts can get in, don't you know I've gotta be there right about the time the concert is fixing to start up. So with a wave of my magic wand, I've gotta be in two places at once.

Actually, we figured it out that I'd drop Mary off at the school early-like, since the choirs have to get all arranged and warmed up and everything, and while they were doing all that carrying on, I'd nip over to the church and let in the Scouts and the Eagle Scouts so they can get started - I wasn't going to be able to hang out with them, not with a kid in the choir.

Took me a bit longer than I'd figured to get everyone squared away, though, so my departure from the church was delayed til nearly twenty minutes past the concert start-time. Luckily, there was a number of choirs from other schools participating, and they got in first on the program, so my wandering in half-way through the first hour didn't affect my ability to witness my nearly-teen-aged daughter's performance.

Naturally, she was awesome, even though it weren't possible to pick her voice out of the ensemble of other voices. If it were, it mighta messed up the whole thing anyway. But the sight of her nearly took my breath away because - my goodness! - she's looking so grown up and everything. Like a big girl, practically an adult. Maybe it's the glasses. Maybe it's the way she carries herself. I dunno.

Kinda makes a dad feel proud. And old. All at the same time.

Got back to the church (after stopping by the house for some celebratory ice cream and apple pie) to make sure everything was locked up, and the Eagle Project reviewers were just leaving. Turns out my Eagle Scout - the one I've been "coaching" - made his presentation and is nearly approved now. Just needs some final signatories and he'll be ready to start. Just in the nick of time.

Looks like November's going to be a busy month, too.

Sunday School

This is why I do what I do.

Sick Day

I've been looking forward to a day off for a very long time. That is, a day off where there was nothing to do but lie in bed and write, because there wasn't any energy in my body to do anything requiring extreme physical effort.

Unfortunately, most sick days actually involve feeling bad enough to sleep instead of write; such is the day today, at least for the time leading up to the present moment. My head is still aching and my throat is still aching and if I get up and wander around the house looking for other things to do - and trust me when I tell you that there are plenty of other things to do around here, starting with the basement - my bones and joints will begin complaining loud enough that I will soon crawl back up the stairs to the relative comfort of my bed.

The boys have had two half-days this week (Thursday and Friday) owing to teacher conferences; since today is a half-day and a Friday, Adam invited a group of friends over to hang out and play on the computer and do whatever it is that teenagers like to do when they are facing the prospect of winter followed by spring followed by graduation followed by the Great Unknown Post-High School Mystery.

James disappeared in the direction of his friend's house around the corner.

The girls didn't have half-days this week, so they're still in school.

Cheryl is putting together a grocery list so that she can go to the store in a little while to try to compensate for all the food which will disappear over the course of the next few hours during the Teenager Onslaught.

And I'm monitoring my work email on one laptop while reviewing a Boy Scout Eagle Project on the other.

Last night, we had one of the Scouts over for the evening to help him finish his Eagle Project plan. We've been working on The Plan for several weeks now, trying to get it honed and ready for the review committee. It's a simple project, merely a set of standalone storage shelves for the church, each measuring 4 feet wide by 2 feet deep by 7 feet tall. Made of 2x4s and plywood. It's really a snap to build them. The only complication is that the Scout doesn't get to build them himself; instead, he must act as the project manager and direct the group of volunteers to build the project according to his specifications.

It's not something that most high school kids are used to doing, which is why it takes an Eagle Scout to accomplish. I think this particular Scout is learning a lot about handling projects while going through the planning process. Mostly, he seems to be learning how easy it is to get distracted from the planning process by anything and everything around him. Radio, Internet, television, cell phones - they all distract him from his purpose.

Seeing how he was struggling with this, it reminded me of how we all suffer from the same malady: an overabundance of external input, blinding us and distracting us and deafening us to the things that really matter. Realizing this has caused me to drastically reduce my presence on Facebook and other Net-related entities. It's nice to see what all my friends over the years are up to, but at the same time, it adds to the noise and fuzzes my brain. And with all the things going on in our lives, all the things that need to get done, its imperativeness diminishes. It's difficult to find the time to just sit down and surf anymore. There are things that need to be done, and critical relationships that need attention. With very few years remaining before all the kids have left the house and struck out on their own, there just isn't time to waste.

This Scout has about two months before he is too old to complete his Eagle Project. This writer has about one month before the winter snows arrive with a vengeance, locking him down to mostly indoor activities. There are many things still left to get in proper order before that day arrives, and none of them are on the Internet.

Recovery Weekend

Marching Band season came to an end on Saturday, which meant that Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest and recovery. But that wasn't quite the case. Perhaps it was the early-morning phone call. Perhaps it was the aches and pains from overstressed muscles and joints. Perhaps it was the kids who were far too hyped up from something to sit still during Sunday School. Or maybe it was the headache which just refused to go away.

Whatever the reason, Sunday evening came and it was time for a complete shutdown by ten-thirty. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and possibly free of the after-effects of a migraine.

We hope.

Adam and I attended the Writer's Group on Sunday afternoon, which was highly enjoyable. One of our favorite authors, Steve, read three chapters of his hilarious and very engrossing story about - well, I can't really tell you what it is about, but if you've ever seen "Moonlighting" or any other movie/show with witty banter between members of the opposite sex, you will understand why we find it so entertaining. (It's so funny that, even though he was really only supposed to read the latest chapter, we made him go back and re-read the first two chapters as well!)

The best part (or worst part, if you are another author envious of his ability to write funny material) is that this is his 'filler' material. You know, the mateiral an author writes when taking a break from the novel. He's afraid that readers may find his 'fluff' stuff more compelling than his main body of work. But that's the risk you take when you're talented!

Adam read a new work which centers around a couple of escaping prisoners who are tied together with a magic chain, similar to the movie 'The 39 Steps' (which, if you haven't seen, you must immediately stop now and go watch. Done? Good.) It is an interesting premise, but very difficult from the writer's standpoint in that one has to consider all the possible ramifications of such an arrangement without letting it get caught up in the logistical details. And keep the main story going.

Lucky for him that he was surrounded by so many amateur writers willing to give lots of advice!

I read my latest, which was intended to be a guest blog entry for Susie's so that she could focus on finishing her novel (which is currently in rewrite).

We stayed far longer than we had intended, but the conversation was interesting and there was much to discuss with regard to the upcoming Writer's Conference in April (mostly about how to justify the $195 cost). I'm not sure that it will be justifiable with regard to our particular situation, considering it's not the main focus, and with so many other things going on in life, all of them requiring serious financial investment (house, kids, college, etc.), it's difficult to see how it could be - but it is an intiguing thought, to spend three days surrounded by the world of reading, writing and publishing.

We had to stop by the office supply store on the way home to pick up some ink for the printer. Can't figure out how we go through it so quickly! And by the time we got home, we had to turn around and head back to church for the High School group. While the boys were engaged in that activity, I spent an hour or so repairing some shelves in the library, replacing the 'emergency' supports (someone attempted to replace broken shlef supports with screws, but the screws had merely collapsed under the weight of all the books), then went home for a while to relax before going back to church with Cheryl and picking up the boys and stopping by the store to grab some milk (an entire gallon had mysteriously disappeared between Sunday morning and Sunday evening - immagine!) and coming home to have our Family Meeting and then -

Well, by then, my head was feeling like a grenade had gone off inside, so I said my good-nights and crawled into bed and disappeared into La-La Land, hoping that today would dawn bright and sunny and pain-free. But, alas, I'm nearly fifty, so that ain't gonna happen any time soon. Too many achy bones and breaky joints.

Last Home Game, then Invitational

Tonight is the last Home Game, which means we're almost done with Marching Band season. Tomorrow is the big Invitational. Then I can finally rest!

James, unfortunately, will not be able to rest. He has to keep playing with the band. Inside. In the Band Room. Every day.

And we will go back to having our traditional Friday night pizza/movie night.

Maybe.

The weather has turned cold, and that means it's time to hunker down and get everything winterized. Out there in the upper Midwest, it's important to remember that it's going to get very cold for a very long time, which means that there won't be any opportunity to do anything outside for awhile (unless you seriously like to go play out in the snow in your front yard), and you don't want to be trying to get all your insulation and weather-stripping done when it's already cold. Those jobs are best done right before it gets really cold!

I was hoping to complete my third bay project before things got really cold, but that didn't happen. Too many Saturdays got tied up with other things. And everyone keeps scheduling things in the middle of the day, which means that none of the all-day projects (which means most of mine) can even start, because there's no point in starting them early on a Saturday morning when they won't be completed by Sunday night. I need my Saturdays completely free if anything is to be accomplished.

Yes, I'm slower than Christmas when it comes to getting projects done.

Tomorrow, I'll have a few hours to get some of the minor house projects done (hopefully), but when two o'clock rolls around, everything will have to be stopped so we can get ready for the Band Invitational, and that will take the rest of the day, right up til 10 p.m.

Time for a nap now!

Up on the Roof

Some days your children will drive you crazy; other days they amaze and astound you.

Today was supposed to be a day of rest and meditation and quiet focus on spiritual matters. After a raucous morning with a "billions and billions" of little kids in Sunday School, some of whom were just not in the "church" mood, I was exhausted and ready to spend the entire afternoon in the quiet confines of my bed, napping.

But with the good weather only scheduled to last for a few more days, these fake-summer days (75 degrees in October?!?) must be utilized as best they can to make up for all those real-summer days in which nothing was able to be accomplished. There is a list of "Things To Do" a mile long, including some outside painting.

Up on the Roof.



We had already painted the front porch yesterday, but as we were painting it, we noticed that the trim boards up on the second floor near the bedroom windows were dull and dirty. So, today I was hoping to get up there and finish the job.

But she beat me to it.

Mary, that is. Not only did she go up on the roof and stand outside the windows and paint the trim, she also volunteered to wash the vinyl windows while she was there.

What a trooper!



She enjoys being "at altitude". Kinda reminds me of my brother, Craig. She admits to some nervousness when she's up there -- and she's is adamant about using a safety rope -- but is not afraid of it. In fact, she just seems to enjoy going up ladders and stairs and anything else she can climb.



After we had finished all the painting and cleaning up there, she was hoping to sit out on the roof and watch the world go by. Unfortunately, the wasps and the mosquitoes were getting more active as the sun started to go down, and we opted for the safety of the indoors instead. It's not a good idea to be out on an inclined roof when the bugs start distracting you from things like maintaining your balance.

I'm glad she had a fun time up there. I'm really happy that she was so willing to help out, and even volunteer to do more. Perhaps if we had a climbing tree out in our backyard, she'd be up there all the time. Maybe we should build an indoor jungle gym.

It was a good day.

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Post Script
Happy Anniversary to the Meyers in Texas!

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Apple Orchard

James has been looking forward to the Apple Orchard all week long, which is no surprise considering the fact that it will be time spent with his girlfriend. Oh, and his family is invited along as well.

There was only one stipulation in the deal, and that was the timing: we had to get out there early in the morning, about the time they were opening up, so that there would be plenty of time to come back home and get some chores done. The weather has been so nice lately - in the upper seventies and lower eighties - and there is so much outdoor cleanup to do in preparation for the coming winter (like painting and yard work) that we can't afford to spend all of our time playing in the fields of apples.

But we managed to get everyone up and out the door in plenty of time to pick up our guest passenger and head up north to the orchard fields, find the correct one (there are a lot of 'em up there!) and start the fun.

The kids started off by going through the corn maze, which was really made for younger kids, but they had fun anyway. Meanwhile, Cheryl and I looked around at the little farm to see what was going on. They had a store with lots and lots of apples - many different kinds - and apple products in it. They had lots of vegetables for sale, too, including pumpkins and squash and peppers (I was a bit jealous of the peppers). They had a large pen full of peacocks, too. Which explained why they were selling peacock feathers inside the little store.

When the kids were done with the maze, we grabbed our buckets and jumped up on the trailer behind the tractor and took a ride out to the orchards. The driver asked us as we went along which variety of apple we wanted to pick; we went for the SpyGold. The route through the orchard was chosen accordingly. First he dropped off all the other passengers along the way (for the Golden Delicious, Ida Reds, and Fujis), and we were last. Which also meant that we were closest to the exit! So we were able to pick a bushel of yummy SpyGold (for apple sauce and pies) - and some HoneyCrisp for our guest - and then walk 'em back to the store to pay for 'em, then jump in the car and head home.




After all that apple-y fun, it was time for some hard work, so the kids helped me paint the front porch for the afternoon, and then it was time to head over to Lowes for various little hardware items. More projects to work on.

Saturdays are always such fun!

Steve Jobs Quote

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on." - 2005

Waiting at the Coffee Shop

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Live ... from our Remote Coffee Shop Commentator

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Twice a month, I sit here at the coffee shop on a Sunday afternoon, sipping my mocha and reading stories written by some very talented people. Novels, short stories, blog excerpts ... it's all good. We're all here to help one another in our quest to Write Well.

(And Get Published)

Adam is wandering around downtown with his friends, looking at art work and enjoying a beautiful, warm, sunny day. I dropped him off on the way down here. He was very excited about his forthcoming adventure. Ordinarily, he would be with me here at the coffee shop, drinking a non-caffeinated soda and joining in on the stimulating conversations regarding character, plot, theme and meaning, but sometimes the good of the many must be sacrificed for the good of the one. I hope he has a wonderful time!

Meanwhile, I've got a story idea to discuss with the group, and am looking forward to reading some excellent writing. And it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. But I forgot my sweater.

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Later that Same Day

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Only three of us showed up, but we still managed to hang out til nearly five o'clock. Some of us inherited the chatty gene, I suppose (namely, me). But we had fun. The other two authors had very good stories. Susie actually had two stories: Leaving and Implosion. Steve had one of his hilarious stories (which I can't find anywhere on the web, but that's normal when you're hoping to eventually publish the story elsewhere). And I had my Six Days Seven Nights knock-off, which is the type of story that gets written when I find an interesting nugget of a good premise buried in a forgettable, lackluster movie. Which was, in this case, Harrison Ford as an aging pilot and Ann Heche as his romantic nemesis, crash-landing on a deserted island and destined (?) for romance.

I never bought the idea that they would have a romance. Nah, he's way too old to be her lover. Instead, he should be her mentor, teaching her how to survive in the wild. So when the inevitable Crisis occurs (hurricane, wild animal, head-hunters, pirates, whatever), she responds by demonstrating how much she has grown and matured.

I'm always wanting to fix stupid movies. But no one wants my re-writes. Oh, well.

After a rousing afternoon of literary achievement, it was time to head home so that we could get the boys to their high school devo. And I needed to get over to our friends' house for dinner. And then go pick up the boys from devo. And then have our Family Meeting. And then do our Homework Check. And then make sure the house is ready for Monday morning. Ah, Sundays are always such busy days...