Making Progress

Things are up and running at the condo. I forgot what it was like to sleep in my own bed. It's nice. There are, however, still many things that need to be fixed or even replaced. It has become a time of planning.

I have been looking at a new washers and dryers. How much does a single, senior citizen need to spend on such appliances? My laundry is minimal. Three loads a week max. Even so, I would like it to be the last laundry equipment I ever buy. So should I spend some bucks in the hope of getting equipment that will last for 20 years or should I go cheap? There are washer and dryer units available for less than 300.00 each. I hate making decisions like this, but I'm thinking about a step up from those units. We will see.

I have also been looking at smart TV's. Again, the options are all over the board. My townhouse living room is small. A big screen would make it very theater-like in there.

Next year, maybe granite counter tops, a new dishwasher, glass top stove and fridge. I'm thinking stainless steel finish on all of them. Wood floors in the living and dining areas and new carpet upstairs.

For the more immediate future - like right now, I will be getting a new kitchen faucet and garbage disposer. The plumber will be here next week. Apparently they are backlogged with the frozen pipe situation here in the mid west. Or maybe I just need a new plumber. I have been looking at doing it myself, but really, I kind of want it done right and I want to be able to complain about it after.

I also need to get a small dumpster and clean out the accumulated junk of my life to make room for the junk that I want to keep from my parents lives. They do have items that I like, some of which I have coveted over the years. I don't really like their furniture, but some of the wall hangings, dishes, pots and pans, silverware, books and sundry nick knacks have value to me. I also have to make a decision about the grandfather clock. I could find a place for it here, but do I really like it that much that I would move it. It's a delicate and monstrous piece of furniture that would require disassembly and reassembly. It's also very loud when it chimes and this is a confined space. I guess I could turn off the chimer. This will require more thought.

I have also been storing my Mom's car here at the condo. It currently has two flat tires and probably needs a new battery to get it going and then an oil change. 

Once I have this place in order, I will be able to start work on the parents place. That will take some time and even more dumpsters(;^) There will be things I will miss about that place. It was wooded to the north and east. All kinds of wildlife passed through the property. I won't be able to shoot the squirrels or see the deer, wild turkey, raccoons, opossum or coyotes anymore. But then I won't have to ride a lawnmower for three hours or pull weeds either.

Some have suggested that living on the south side may not be safe. I have to tell you that I hear more gunfire out at my parents house than I do here. Actually I have heard none here. Even so, I will probably keep the guns I have inherited and I may purchase a side arm.

This is a very diverse neighborhood and I like it. There are seniors, singles, Hispanic and African Americans here. I believe there are also many like me, but then there were many like me in Altoona so the move will not be a big deal in those terms. So onward into the fog!

Life In Transition

We humans always seem to be moving on or out or up or down. Life is always in flux, even as we age, in preparation for that final move on. It seems that God or circumstance or random chance forces us to get up and get out. Like Cain, God makes us wanderers upon the earth, though hopefully, not for the same reasons.

I have spent the last 10 months in befuddlement, not sure what to do since my parental care duties came to an abrupt end. I have also been overwhelmed with maintenance issues in my parents house. As much as I like the property it sits on, I wish the house would just collapse so that I could build something more suitable on the property. I do not think that will happen and I really do not want to spend all my time mowing lawn, moving snow and fixing sagging infrastructure.

With that in mind, last week I ventured over to my other condo property on the south side. It's a two story townhouse with attached garage. I went inside and it was as if time had stood still for the last six years. Everything was as I had left it when my parent's lives began to fall apart in the spring of 2011. There were even two 2011 calendars on different walls. There were still cans and jars of stuff in the fridge and in the pantry. No biology experiments, but definitely an archaeological study. The only thing that I really had done to the place in the last six years was to change the furnace filter a few times.

The place has minor dust build up and many cobwebs, but otherwise it seems beautiful and reasonably new. It felt like home. After about ten minutes of being there, I said, "Lord, this is where I want to be". So I began cleaning and straightening up things. I dumped the fridge contents, though I was tempted to try the six year old can of Coors Light that I found. I tested the appliances. The stove worked. The microwave worked. The dishwasher worked. But other things did not work.

The three toilets had not been flushed in six years. They will need some work. The hot water heater is out. I hope it's only a thermocouple issue. The garbage disposal needs something, maybe replaced. The motor will not budge, even with the manual crank. The kitchen faucet needs something too. When I flip the handle, water comes out the sprayer nozzle. Something is not right.

But even with all these repairs facing me, I believe I want to live here. They are minor issues that are easily resolved and not costly. I can live here and begin preparing my parent's place for sale. It will be like going to work every day. I vaguely remember how to do that. Once that's done, I can decide if I want to move again or stay in the townhouse or whatever.

I am no longer a young man. Downsizing will be a good thing for me. Please pray for my progress. Maybe my last home should be a single story condo? The stairs in the townhouse can wear an old guy out. It will be worse when I'm 70 if I live that long.

Faith and the Southpaw

An interesting story from the Telegraph:

Left-handed people are more likely to be atheists, a study has found, as it says belief is passed on genetically.  The study suggests that religious people have fewer genetic mutations and are therefore less likely to be left handed or have conditions such as autism or schizophrenia.
British academic Edward Dutton, a professor at Oulu University, Finland, said that in pre-industrial times religiosity was passed on like other genetic attributes because it was associated with greater stability, mental health and better social behaviour. But modern science means many people who would not previously have survived are making it to adulthood and reproducing - leading to a greater incidence of atheism.

Lack of belief in God is connected to genetic mutations which cause attributes such as left-handedness or autism, the paper argues.

I know lefties that are believers and I know some right handed atheists. That said, the study is interesting. You should check out the link above.

Another left handed item of interest from the Guardian:

There is also research which purports to show that left-handers are more likely to be homosexual. So does that mean my son is more likely to, as they say, dress to the left ? 'That was a very small and badly conducted study,' says Lauren Milsom. A recent article in Psychological Bulletin disagrees. Collating many different studies, it concluded that gay men are more likely to be left-handers - at least in America, where the research was concentrated.

As a right handed American gay man, I can say I am the exception to the rule. I have known many same sex attracted individual and strangely, more often than not, they were left handed. I have also found this to be true among lesbians. Odd no? Why this would be, I cannot imagine, unless it's all tied up in genetics.

So the next time you spy a southpaw, check them out. There is a good chance he/she will be an autistic, atheist homosexual.

Not sure I'm buying what they are selling, but it is interesting.

Merry Christmas

It snowed on Sunday morning, just in time for Christmas. It was a nice, light coating and then it got beastly cold after. The temp got down to 9 degrees last night and it's headed for -2 by Tuesday night with two more chances for snow later in the week. So, I guess it's going to be winter after all. The only thing we can due is pray for April. At least the sun is out today.

With most Christmas blog posts we get the Christmas story from the gospel of Luke. I prefer to look ahead.

Revelation 1:7 New International Version (NIV)

7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”[a]
    and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”[b]
So shall it be! Amen.

The Day is coming and coming in soon. The shofar will announce it. The eastern sky will open up and all who have not believed will then know and that knowledge will be damning. But to us of the Faith, the hope that came as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes will be returning to claim His own.
That great gettin up morning.

Come on back Lord. The times are ripe. We are anxious. Bring it! Let justice be done, let the mighty fall and raise up your children victorious. It's time. Maranatha!

"Lips That Have Touched Alcohol Will Never Touch Mine"

This is what my paternal Grandmother would say, most especially to my Grandfather. Alcoholic beverages were, to them, the Devil's brew. They were believers in prohibition. As Christians, it was their view that the use of alcohol, for any reason, was a sin. This was also tradition in our family for generations. It was not negotiable. Never mind that even Paul said to take some wine for your stomach's sake or that Jesus raised a glass of wine at the last supper or even made gallons of the stuff wedding feast at Cana. To hear them tell it, none of this wine was alcoholic. As to where the apostles got unfermented wine in April for the last supper/Passover is beyond me. Perhaps it was an unmentioned miracle. Whatever.

Gramps used to tell a story about enjoying some 3.2 beer with some other farm hands on a hot day. It nearly ended in his divorce. Grandma was apoplectic. She did not really understand the difference between being drunk and having a beer or two. Not many in the old fundy and evangelical churches did understand this. Needless to say, Grandpa did not go there again. He did, however, keep a bottle of the liquid version of Geritol in the laundry room on the top shelf. I walked on him taking a few serving spoonfuls more than once. Back in the day, this kind of Geritol was about 50% alcohol even though the label said that it was for "iron poor tired blood", whatever that is. Gramps also liked him some chewing tobacco and he would smoke a cigar if someone gave him one. Grandma would let him get away with these things as long as no one else heard about them.   

The lines we evangelical Christian types draw around things that we think approach sinful behavior is sometimes amusing. In this day in age, most evangelicals will have a drink or two, but there are still some that keep to the old ways and you never really know who you will offend with your presence in the liquor store check out line. Old ways die hard and sometimes, even though I think it's OK to have a toddy or two with dinner, I feel like I'm sneaking around when I go to make my alcoholic purchase.

I went to the liquor store on Wednesday to buy some beer. I like craft beers and I was bored with what was in the refrigerator so I went to buy something different. When I got there, in the parking lot I spied one of the church elders waiting in his car. I supposed his wife was inside shopping and thought nothing of it. This particular elder had seen me there before. He knew I was a "consumer" of such things. Again, I thought nothing of it. I went in and went about my business. It took me awhile. There are many choices and I wanted something I had not had before. When I finally made my decision and was pulling it off the shelf, I heard a very, very loud female voice speaking to me.

"Hi Jeff, it seems like we see other here more than we see each other at church". This was trailed by loud and obnoxious laughter as she wheeled her cart out the door. It was the elder's wife of course. The elder had seen me go in and texted his wife to have her exit through the liquor store and have a bit of a joke at my expense.

It worked extremely well. I felt my face flush as I turned, 4 pack in hand, to go to the check out. She was laughing all the way out the door. It was funny and it proved to me that I am still conditioned to feel guilty about alcohol consumption. I'm a sixty year old man. When am I going to break the restraints? Not sure.

It was funny though. I would buy her a beer if she wanted one.   

Thoughts on Rudolph

After decades of hearing the song annually everywhere I go, I have concluded that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is a metaphor for something else.

You see, I have come to believe that Rudolph was (is) a gay ginger. It explains so much about him. It's why the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. It's why they never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games.

It's also very odd how his disabilities lead to advantage when circumstances dictated the need. All it took was a bit of fog for everyone to see Rudolph in a different light

Then how the reindeer loved him....he went down in history.

Looks pretty gay to me....just sayin'

Winter Soltice 2017

December 21, 2017 - the winter solstice. The sun reaches its lowest point in the southern sky creating the shortest day and longest night of the year. In ancient times it was celebrated as the Saturnalia, the time of death and rebirth of the sun god. The ancients would party for a week. Slaves were allowed to do as they pleased.

On December 25th, the rebirth of the sun would become more obvious. Days would grow progressively longer and the nights shorter. In four months time, the earth would begin to recognize this and respond by once again producing life after a long winter of discontentment culminating in the vernal equinox.

And so it has gone, century in and century out, for millenia.

As to exactly how the birth of Jesus Christ came to be recognized as occurring at the same time as the rebirth of the sun (god) - well that's a simple matter really. Or not. Some blame Emperor Constantine. Others blame the ancient church that wanted to display their victory over the pagans by taking over their holidays. Whatever the case, I find it very doubtful that Christ was born into this world on December 25th.

Even so, as a Christ follower myself, I find I must cling to Him at this time of year because the darkness is so great, I fear it will overtake me. Many that live in the northern hemisphere would agree with me. The darkness and cold are too much to bear. Perhaps I should move to South America. If only I spoke Spanish.

Whatever the case, we do live in interesting times. Many of the heroes of the social justice wars are falling and continue to fall. There is the scent of real justice in the air. They have been foisted on their own petards. Pray this continues. The outlook is bright. May God bless the efforts of the Emperor.

You see, despite the darkness, I have hope. A light burns in me that was placed there by the Nazarene. His Father is in control and His plans work even now to the ultimate good of all who have this Light and love Him. So let the dark come. It will soon pass away

Victory is at hand.

Not sure what all that was about, but I needed to write something. Thanks for sticking with me as I plow through the darkness.