It was a retro kind of week . . .

A couple of weeks ago I discovered a new television station on our cable system, from a small town in Eastern Colorado. Somehow this station has gained access to some of my all time favorite drama shows from the past four decades. I have been recording way too many of them for future watching. Way too many! Dragnet, Emergency, Magnum P.I., Quincy, Ironside, Rockford Files, Simon and Simon, Macmillan and Wife. It is fun to watch the acting from so long ago, especially Dragnet. It is amazing to see the change in technology in the last 20 years. It's been fun, but I have to get control!









Because of our schedule, Kristen and I have switched off days taking the big girls to swimming lessons. Why is this in a retro post? Because this is the very same place where I took Kristen and Kevin for swimming lessons for many summers when they were kids. I also took them back to the same pool many afternoons each summer where they spent the time playing in the water and I spent the hours sitting in the shade with a good book. (So what's new, eh??) I have good memories of those days.

Care Bear has turned into a little fish . . .







. . . while Feisty, in her first set of lessons, is having trouble getting her nose wet (like her grandma there). But she's having fun, and that's what it's all about at this point.

The littles are having fun, too - it won't be long before they're in the pool, too.

Thank you for coming over to my 4th anniversary of blogging. My second post was about how much music plays a role in my life. It was written when we got home from the Walker Hymn Sing, which we attended again last night.



It was the 7th annual gathering last night and this one had perfect weather, if somewhat hot in the pure sunshine. There were over 1100 people there. Another retro part of this story is what I wore. I was playing the organ this year, so I wanted to dress not too casually, but with slacks, since I was up on a high platform with an open organ between myself and the audience. I chose to wear a polyester pant suit that I haven't been able to wear for several years. I had forgotten that wearing polyester is tantamount to dressing in Saran Wrap. I was thankful to get up on that elevated platform, where a breeze and shade cooled me off. I can't imagine why this type of material was ever popular for summer clothes.

So - I'm down to 3 pounds from my goal. These last 3 pounds are hanging on for dear life. I have to ramp up the exercise or something - I have to reach my goal. Many people tell me to be satisfied, that I look fine. That may be, but I have to reach my goal. Understand? This picture is one that I chose to represent a time in my life when I was happy with my weight - to be used as an incentive. I'm holding my grand nephew, who was born 4 months before Care Bear - he must be a couple of months old here.

Yesterday I dug into a drawer and found that, sure enough, the shorts were still laying in the bottom, under a pile of clothes that should have probably been sent to Good Will or ARC a long time ago. Hope Springs Eternal!! Eight years later, I put the shorts on, (and the same t-shirt, believe it or not), posed with a prop for the baby, and asked DC to take my picture. What a great feeling!!

Well, hopefully soon I'll be able to report that I've reached that goal - in the meantime, have a wonderful week!

Whether You Like the Weather - or Not

I'm glad you all enjoyed the update on the littles - they are just so much fun and we are so blessed to have them in our lives. I forgot one thing I meant to say in that post. Every time Kristen or I go anywhere with the girls - whether just the twins or with all four, we hear the same thing over and over again. If we had $5.00 for each time we hear this comment, we could send them all to college. Everybody says, "You sure have your hands full!" I think they think they're being really original. I often respond with "Yes, indeed, full of blessings!"

I've lived in Northern Colorado for about 38 years. We talk about the weather a lot, because it's such an interesting topic. Winter is usually fairly mild, with the snow disappearing pretty quickly, save the occasional blizzard. Autumn is fabulous - usually long, mild, colorful, with wonderful fresh air. Spring is crazy - it is more likely to bring heavy snow than winter. It suddenly heats up and summer is here. When I first lived here, July would be hot, with cloudy mid-afternoons and a cooling shower. On occasion, we would have a gully washer which would cause flooding of the underpasses on the interstate. Often it would be accompanied by hail, which would destroy roofs and cars.

But then came the drought - 5 or 6 years of incredibly dry winters and summers. This year, when the old weather patterns have returned, we don't remember that it used to be this way. Not watering the grass and gardens is wonderful. God does such a better job than we do. But it's hard to plan anything outdoors in the evening, because chances are it's going to be rained on and/or cancelled.

Case in point: remember our annual Hymn Sing held out on the grounds of Walker Manufacturing? Last Saturday night was the 6th annual event. The first year it was so cold that those of us who ventured out dressed for winter. Even so, there were around 700 people there. The next four years we enjoyed beautiful evenings, watching the sun set over the mountains as we sang those glorious songs. There were around 900 last year. At least one year it was really hot.

Saturday was a rather cloudy day all day, but there was no rain. Until - just a few minutes before the 6:00 start time. As I came out of the dinner supplied for those of us who served as staff, it sprinkled a few drops. Thankfully we had brought our umbrellas, which most people did. I was sure it was going to clear up miraculously.

It got worse and worse as the evening wore on, but we stuck it out. Unbelievably, there were around 800 in spite of the inclement weather. Quite a few older people left about halfway through. DC sang with his quartet, and as he took the stage, I discovered that the umbrella had been dripping cold drops on his right leg - his pant leg was drenched.

I can tell you one thing about singing under an umbrella - the sound of your voice hits the umbrella and all you can hear is your own. Bob Walker, who is responsible for the event, and who leads one of the sets of songs, said that the sound from the platform was great - the umbrellas served to send the sound up to him.

I call this "Seriously Soaked Singing Saints."

The song leaders were not under any cover when they were directing - I still think we should have sung "Showers of Blessing!"




The pages of the books were sticking together --

Some poor folks didn't come prepared for rain, but they were really good sports.

By the time 8:00 arrived, I was shaking with cold. It felt so good to get in the truck, turn the heat up, and head home for a hot shower. I know one thing for sure - God was pleased with our voices being raised to Him in praise. And please, Lord, let us have sunshine next year!

BTW, Care Bear has started a blog and would love to have some visitors - her address is http://the-cupcake-store.blogspot.com/

Have a wonderful week-end!!