We had an active weekend. Friday night was perfect for going to Glen Rose to see The Promise. One of the Waples UMC members is a member of the cast. The play is a local production by hundreds that portrays Christ's life from birth to ascension. The huge outdoor stage has a "river" in the front that starts the play as the Paluxy river in Glen Rose with two children looking for dinosaur tracks with their grandfather who then tells them the story of The Promise starting with Mary riding a donkey going to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, the wise men with outstanding costumes delivering the gifts from camels. The play takes a couple of hours and has beautiful scenery. Lazarus is revived. The river becomes the Jordan with John baptizing (by immersion), has the fishing boat for recruiting the disciples and the scene where Christ stills the storm. The scene where the Devil tempts Christ in the desert has unexpected scenes where they disappear in a flash at ground level and appear unexpectedly on top of a very tall column then back on ground level after another flash. The play ends with Christ being ascended to heaven in a dramatic fashion. The audience had several large groups that came in buses from churches, mostly Baptist, but one large contingent were United Methodists from Ardmore, OK.
Then Saturday we went to the lunch at the Abilene West Texas Book Festival where Jon Erickson was presented the A. C. Greene award. He is known for his books on Hank, the Cowdog. He has sold 8 million copies of his self published books, self published to maintain his integrity and philosophy. I know him because he published a book on the modern cowboy that was updated in a second edition where he added a chapter on the cowboy's newspaper The Livestock Weekly where he mentioned my column.
Then Monday night we presented papers for critiques at the Writer's Bloc in Granbury and got good comments to help us.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
PIONEER STATUE TO TWU
Yesterday Nancy and I took the Juan Dell statue of Pioneer Woman of the West to give to the TWU Library Lou Rodenberger Collection. They put the statue on a display table in the reading room in the back of the collection. We looked at the new display for Lou that they change every so often. They changed it on September 14 in advance of her birthday on September 21.
They took photos but I haven't received any yet to post.
I bought the statue at an art studio in Santa Fe NM in 1982 for $1500 and had it shipped to Lou at our new Abilene address. This was when I retired from A&M and had a lot of money for one month, drawing accumulated leave pay from A&M and also working as a consultant for General Dynamics in Fort Worth. We had looked at it sometime before and admired it because the artist was from Hockley County. She was from Littlefield and we were married in Levelland which is just south of there. She has many fine bronze statues of western themes. This one is of a pioneer woman holding a rifle in her right hand and using her left hand to put two children in hiding in a tree trunk. We liked it a lot.
They took photos but I haven't received any yet to post.
I bought the statue at an art studio in Santa Fe NM in 1982 for $1500 and had it shipped to Lou at our new Abilene address. This was when I retired from A&M and had a lot of money for one month, drawing accumulated leave pay from A&M and also working as a consultant for General Dynamics in Fort Worth. We had looked at it sometime before and admired it because the artist was from Hockley County. She was from Littlefield and we were married in Levelland which is just south of there. She has many fine bronze statues of western themes. This one is of a pioneer woman holding a rifle in her right hand and using her left hand to put two children in hiding in a tree trunk. We liked it a lot.
Friday, September 14, 2012
BLESSINGS OF RAIN
The Lord has blessed us with rain. Yesterday we had over 1" in about two hours starting at 10 a.m. Last night we had another .08". And the temperature is now Fall like and very pleasant. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get jumper cables to the pickup parked in the pole barn. The battery is dead this morning.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
CHOCOLATE BIRTHDAY
I really celebrated my 86th birthday with chocolate. Nancy made chocolate muffins for lunch. Mark took us to Mi Cocina in Fort Worth where I had the Asada Pollo con Mole (mole is a Mexican chocolate sauce) and Mark had the enchilada with mole. Then Kathryn served her famous chocolate cake with candles for me to blow out. They brought their 18 month old granddaughter who bumped over into Mark's mole sauce and had it on her nose. We failed to get a photo of that but it added to the evening.
Monday Bobbe and Yvonne bought us breakfast and gave me a bag of dark chocolate goodies, so I have really celebrated a chocolate birthday!
Monday Bobbe and Yvonne bought us breakfast and gave me a bag of dark chocolate goodies, so I have really celebrated a chocolate birthday!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
HEALTHY REPORT
I had my six month physical last week and they called with the blood work yesterday. I am amazingly healthy. My testosterone is up due to Androgel and my chloresterol and trigylcerides are down to normal. This is all due to the great diet that Nancy provides. I think that it help for breakfast to eat fiber in cereal, and to add milled flax seeed, prunes, dates, blueberries, raisins, dried cranberries, and fresh bananas with milk. I add honey and cinnamon and have been drinking special silver-tipped tea leaves that a friend gave us. I add mint from the pot in the front yard for flavor.
I am short on exercise. When it cools off I promise that I will walk more. I have put my chinning bar up and do a few pull-ups now. I don't pull my feet off the floor but do pick up a few pounds of my body. The doctor found that my weight and blood pressure were unchanged also. The dentist office checked my blood pressure before giving me anesthesia and measured it way low using a wrist device. The doctor said that those devices were not to be trusted, but I liked the idea of lower BP. So now with my teeth being super cleaned every time I eat with brushes in place of floss and rinsing with Listerine I should be healthy until another birthday!
I am short on exercise. When it cools off I promise that I will walk more. I have put my chinning bar up and do a few pull-ups now. I don't pull my feet off the floor but do pick up a few pounds of my body. The doctor found that my weight and blood pressure were unchanged also. The dentist office checked my blood pressure before giving me anesthesia and measured it way low using a wrist device. The doctor said that those devices were not to be trusted, but I liked the idea of lower BP. So now with my teeth being super cleaned every time I eat with brushes in place of floss and rinsing with Listerine I should be healthy until another birthday!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
POLITICAL CONVENTIONS
We watched to Republican convention and are watching the Democratic convention on CSpan. It was interesting how the Republicans invoked God as being in charge of our nation and that our nation was founded on that precept. Almost every speaker affirmed that belief. Today I watched the opening of the Democratic convention after commentators had observed that the Democrats had left God out of their platform for the first time in history. As they started today's program a Methodist minister offered two amendments to the platform. One accepted God and the other accepted Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. To be accepted for vote required a 2/3 majority. They got that. Then when they voted the chair asked for the vote at least three times and in my opinion half voted No but he gaveled the vote as Yeah. I was surprised that so many of the delegates objected to God in their platform.
It is interesting that the Democrats focus only on government programs as the answer to our problems. They don't mention how they will reduce the deficit or spending. They want to continue all spending and want to pay for it with tax increases. Taxes are paid by those who make a profit and we need more profit in our economy.
They are discussing the energy policies and point how how wind energy has generated 75,000 jobs. Of course the oil companies employ millions of people and are expanding where the goverment will let them drill. One speaker said Obama would support all forms of energy but failed to mention coal. We have enough coal for 200 years of electrical production but due to our fear of carbon dioxide, that provides food for plants, would cause global warming we are shutting coal use. Fortunately gas is now abundant and will provide electricity with less CO2.
Of course nuclear power generates no CO2 but the fear of radiation from a nuclear power plant drives the price way up even though we walk outside in the Sun that is a nuclear power plant and radiates the earth continually. My skin doctor insists I wear a hat outside.
Wired magazine had a great article about Amageddon scenarios that we have had since the DDT scare and how none of the warnings of starvation, cooling or heating of the planet, global warning or viral infections have come true. In every case our invention capabilities and new technologies have always saved us from the catastrophic predictions. I have always argued that we cannot predict technological innovations. But there is always someone who is predicting the end of the world including me. But I know that we will not know the day and it will be a day we least expect when Christ returns for a new earth and new life.
I am reading DECISION POINTS by George W. Bush. It is interesting to read all of the tough decisions he had to make and how he relied on his study of the Bible and advice from preachers as he made his decisions. I am up to the really hard decisions he made about sending troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. He suffered when any person was killed in war and wrote personal letters to each family during his time in office. President Obama has continued that tradition.
I finished the book SHIP OF GOLD IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA that told the story of applying modern technology to recover the gold treasure that was on a ship delivering gold from San Francisco to New York a few years after the gold rush in California. The ship had been on the bottom at 8000 feet depth for 136 years and the wood and metal parts had largely disintegrated but the inventor and engineers developed new and unusual machines that would work at that depth and recover the gold coins, dust and bars. They found that if the coins and bars were free from blemishes they are much more valuable, so they developed a method of pouring plastic on the gold and removing it without any scratches from the recovery tools. They are still carefully recovering from the wreck today. The book is largely about invention and engineering work. I appreciated Carol Walt telling me about the book. I have worked with inventors and related to the problems they had.
It is interesting that the Democrats focus only on government programs as the answer to our problems. They don't mention how they will reduce the deficit or spending. They want to continue all spending and want to pay for it with tax increases. Taxes are paid by those who make a profit and we need more profit in our economy.
They are discussing the energy policies and point how how wind energy has generated 75,000 jobs. Of course the oil companies employ millions of people and are expanding where the goverment will let them drill. One speaker said Obama would support all forms of energy but failed to mention coal. We have enough coal for 200 years of electrical production but due to our fear of carbon dioxide, that provides food for plants, would cause global warming we are shutting coal use. Fortunately gas is now abundant and will provide electricity with less CO2.
Of course nuclear power generates no CO2 but the fear of radiation from a nuclear power plant drives the price way up even though we walk outside in the Sun that is a nuclear power plant and radiates the earth continually. My skin doctor insists I wear a hat outside.
Wired magazine had a great article about Amageddon scenarios that we have had since the DDT scare and how none of the warnings of starvation, cooling or heating of the planet, global warning or viral infections have come true. In every case our invention capabilities and new technologies have always saved us from the catastrophic predictions. I have always argued that we cannot predict technological innovations. But there is always someone who is predicting the end of the world including me. But I know that we will not know the day and it will be a day we least expect when Christ returns for a new earth and new life.
I am reading DECISION POINTS by George W. Bush. It is interesting to read all of the tough decisions he had to make and how he relied on his study of the Bible and advice from preachers as he made his decisions. I am up to the really hard decisions he made about sending troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. He suffered when any person was killed in war and wrote personal letters to each family during his time in office. President Obama has continued that tradition.
I finished the book SHIP OF GOLD IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA that told the story of applying modern technology to recover the gold treasure that was on a ship delivering gold from San Francisco to New York a few years after the gold rush in California. The ship had been on the bottom at 8000 feet depth for 136 years and the wood and metal parts had largely disintegrated but the inventor and engineers developed new and unusual machines that would work at that depth and recover the gold coins, dust and bars. They found that if the coins and bars were free from blemishes they are much more valuable, so they developed a method of pouring plastic on the gold and removing it without any scratches from the recovery tools. They are still carefully recovering from the wreck today. The book is largely about invention and engineering work. I appreciated Carol Walt telling me about the book. I have worked with inventors and related to the problems they had.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
CLEANING OUT THE OLD, DREAMING THE NEW
This week the only excuse we had to get out and go past Braums was when we went shopping and routine doctor visits. It was Charles' week to visit the dentist and have his six month check up with his primary doctor. His smile looks good and he has his normal bounce in his step.
It was MK's birthday and we sent an ecard. Snail mail seems so inefficent now. I think of the pony express and the wonder of receiving a letter even in my lifetime. During the Second World War our elementray class made Easter pictures for the trays of hospital bound soldiers. We put our names and addresses on the back of the pictures. I received a few letters of thank you. I remember one where the boy that was injured had his eyes bandaged. The doctor came in to take the bandage off just as the breakfast tray, with my art work, arrived. He shared with me that they didn't know if he would be able to see or not. The first thing he saw when the bandage was removed was my Easter chicken. I have his letter yet in my cedar box. Maybe somewhere there is a picture of a baby chicken folded in a 'keeper' place.
We didn't plan much for the Labor Day week-end. But, we did have two dates this week, and on Labor Day we dressed up and held hands while we walked through the new mall in downtown Granbury. There was a large, nice looking, Methodist Church on the square a few years ago. The church sold the building and moved to a new area north of town. I could not imagine what they would do with that beautiful old church. They added a facing to the front, adobe with arches and patio where there is a large event space with portable air coolers, even outside. The inside is new, modern, glass with lots of modern art featuring heavy layered paint and bright colors and shapes. They are building a new restaurant that will be finished before Christmas and there are art shops, photo shop, trendy clothes shop, gift and gourmet food shop and THE REPUBLICAL HEADQUARTERS.
We explored there and admired the new restaurant across the street with an outside patio. Many were enjoying the cooler morning with coffee and conversation. It was biker week end and the square was lined with parked bikes. in the street and booths inside the court house square. It is looking pretty spiffy down town. The court house was renovated in the last few years and the old Opera House is undergoing renovation now. There are several new restaurants. Some of the older places are gone or going and some new, trendy ones have arrived. Changes, Changes.
We were home in time for dinner. We had planned a special dinner when we shopped for groceries and things turned out well. We had roast Rock Cornish hen, Coues-Couse with brocolli and cheese, yellow neck squash with tomatoes, pickled beets, and corn on the cob. Watermellon for dessert had to wait until after our nap.
We shopped one day and did lots of research, and made the choice to get a weed eater that was gas run, but had an electric starter. Neither of us can pull a cord and our electric 'eater' died this month. The grass is green and juicy and tall. One more good mowing and we can slide into winter. We redid the flower beds and put down red mulch. It looks neat.
The rest of the week was dedicated to the linin closet. Sorry, I'm back in the closet. Our church is having a rummage sale and we are dragging out the old. I have some old army blankets that are tough. Those will go to the night shelter with our coats we don't use. I predict a cold winter.
Our new office closet is wonderful. Somehow the wireless printers went on strike. Is it possible to have too many wireliess things in the house? We called my son John and he is checking it out. He is the best tech service. When he was teaching, his computer could look at all of the computers in class and he chould check their work and 'fix' things they were working on. I have the same thing and it is probably not as new as I think.
I found a new recipe for tomato wine. Anyone heard of that before?
Have a good week.
It was MK's birthday and we sent an ecard. Snail mail seems so inefficent now. I think of the pony express and the wonder of receiving a letter even in my lifetime. During the Second World War our elementray class made Easter pictures for the trays of hospital bound soldiers. We put our names and addresses on the back of the pictures. I received a few letters of thank you. I remember one where the boy that was injured had his eyes bandaged. The doctor came in to take the bandage off just as the breakfast tray, with my art work, arrived. He shared with me that they didn't know if he would be able to see or not. The first thing he saw when the bandage was removed was my Easter chicken. I have his letter yet in my cedar box. Maybe somewhere there is a picture of a baby chicken folded in a 'keeper' place.
We didn't plan much for the Labor Day week-end. But, we did have two dates this week, and on Labor Day we dressed up and held hands while we walked through the new mall in downtown Granbury. There was a large, nice looking, Methodist Church on the square a few years ago. The church sold the building and moved to a new area north of town. I could not imagine what they would do with that beautiful old church. They added a facing to the front, adobe with arches and patio where there is a large event space with portable air coolers, even outside. The inside is new, modern, glass with lots of modern art featuring heavy layered paint and bright colors and shapes. They are building a new restaurant that will be finished before Christmas and there are art shops, photo shop, trendy clothes shop, gift and gourmet food shop and THE REPUBLICAL HEADQUARTERS.
We explored there and admired the new restaurant across the street with an outside patio. Many were enjoying the cooler morning with coffee and conversation. It was biker week end and the square was lined with parked bikes. in the street and booths inside the court house square. It is looking pretty spiffy down town. The court house was renovated in the last few years and the old Opera House is undergoing renovation now. There are several new restaurants. Some of the older places are gone or going and some new, trendy ones have arrived. Changes, Changes.
We were home in time for dinner. We had planned a special dinner when we shopped for groceries and things turned out well. We had roast Rock Cornish hen, Coues-Couse with brocolli and cheese, yellow neck squash with tomatoes, pickled beets, and corn on the cob. Watermellon for dessert had to wait until after our nap.
We shopped one day and did lots of research, and made the choice to get a weed eater that was gas run, but had an electric starter. Neither of us can pull a cord and our electric 'eater' died this month. The grass is green and juicy and tall. One more good mowing and we can slide into winter. We redid the flower beds and put down red mulch. It looks neat.
The rest of the week was dedicated to the linin closet. Sorry, I'm back in the closet. Our church is having a rummage sale and we are dragging out the old. I have some old army blankets that are tough. Those will go to the night shelter with our coats we don't use. I predict a cold winter.
Our new office closet is wonderful. Somehow the wireless printers went on strike. Is it possible to have too many wireliess things in the house? We called my son John and he is checking it out. He is the best tech service. When he was teaching, his computer could look at all of the computers in class and he chould check their work and 'fix' things they were working on. I have the same thing and it is probably not as new as I think.
I found a new recipe for tomato wine. Anyone heard of that before?
Have a good week.
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