The Cat

This post will be to introduce our "new" cat. Maui came to us last Thursday. As you may know, we used to have 2 cats who were brother and sister, part of the same litter. They died a year or two ago mostly from old age, they were about 15 years old. We had decided not to replace them immediately due to travel plans but here lately I have been looking at cats. Our local animal shelter has many cats for adoption and I had been looking at some of them on the web when this cat became available. An employee at HPU where I used to work found that she needed to find a new home for her "baby" and we were there to help her out.

Maui (pronounced like the Hawaiian island of the same name) is about 6 years old and will be a mostly indoor cat. She has her own personality and thinks that the world must revolve around her. She had been with her previous owner for quite a while and is quite spoiled to say the least. We are still in a period of adjustment, she to us and us to her. She reminds me a lot of my old cat who also had white feet and was named Boots. He loved to lay in my lap but Maui does not do that yet. She likes to be close, maybe a foot away but is not quite ready to jump in the lap. We are hoping that she will adjust.

Over the next few weeks I will try to post a few of our "adjustment" moments. Stay tuned.

Spring Break

We did go to the creek on Spring Break and had a good week. Martha's sister and her husband came for a few days and helped us put down flooring in the kitchen. We also worked on several amaller projects. Next will be new carpet in the main room and the front bedroom. I had a contractor do some work on the pier and I have plans to do more work on it myself in the next few trips down there. I did spend some time getting a lot of mud out of the boathouse but it will return on the next flood. The weather wasn't bad but it was very humid and muddy due to the amount of rain they have had. Mosquitos were bad as well.

On the home front we are 6 weeks away from school being over. Our classes are going well and we are looking forward to summer.

Bible Reading

This year we have committed to read the bible through in one year. This plan is a little different in that it is chronological. That means we will jump around a bit and not read in the usual order. We are in Genesis right now but the next book will be Job. It has been a few years since I read all the way through in a year so I am looking forward to it.

I am also taking two courses at the University and one of them will also require a lot of reading. The intro to New Testament will most likely require reading the entire New Testament during the Spring semester as well as a textbook about the New Testament. In addition I am still teaching Matthew on Sunday mornings and will not finish that until Easter. The other course is Greek.

So as you can see, my reading and study schedule will be pretty full for 2012. I hope I can find time to write some things here on the Blog as well. Stay tuned.

Christmas at the Creek



We began our journey on Dec. 19th and went to Nacogdoches to visit Cory & Kelly and their children. We had a wonderful time visiting and opening presents. The grandchildren are growing up so quickly I can hardly keep up.



The grandkids and I



After spending the night at a motel there in Nacogdoches we travelled on to the creek on Tuesday the 20th. It was my 71st birthday and we stopped at several stores to shop on the way. We did buy one toy but mostly stuff for the house or supplies for the next two weeks. We spent most of two weeks there and really got quite a bit accomplished. Our big task was to remove the ancient carpet from the floor and get it cleaned up for putting down new flooring of some sort. We eventually decided on new carpet but we will wait until Spring Break or later to do it. We also had a chimney sweep come down and check out our wood burning stove and chimney. He had to replace the cap on the chimney but otherwise it only required a good cleaning. I also contracted with a man to repair the fishing pier and hopefully that will be done by Spring Break as well. I am really hoping to be mostly done with all the major projects at the house by next year this time. 

We took one day to travel to Dickinson to spend some time with my siblings, Tom and his wife Simone and Frances and her husband David. We had a great lunch and enjoyed getting to see them and catch up on what all of us are doing.



Us Siblings

 Martha had to return to work on the 2nd so we came home on New Years eve but since I needed to complete a few tasks and I needed to meet the chimney man to replace the cap on the chimney, I traveled back down there for a few more days on the 2nd. The weather was nice for the last week but during the first two weeks it was cold and rainy. That is all the more reason to get the fireplace working. 


The house from the street

 We will return to the creek at Spring Break and see how much more we can get done. In the meantime, classes resume at HPU and Martha and I are each taking two classes. She hopes to finish her degree by next Christmas and I am just auditing my two, (Greek and New Testament).  

Retirement has not slowed down much at all. We have finished another semester though and I think we both did well in our classes. My Greek final was today and I am pretty sure that I passed although I was auditing and I don’t really get a grade. Martha on the other hand was pleased to do well on her Algebra exam and is ready to go on to next semester. She hopes to get her degree a year from now.





I have put a few of her watercolors up here for you to see. She has really enjoyed that class.




Here is a nice sunflower

And to the right is a guitar player. I think they are very good
 
We are hoping that the Advent season is as joyful for you as it is for us as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour .

The first 6 weeks

Fall is here and cooler weather is on the way I am told. Tomorrow we will have been in classes for 6 weeks and time seems to fly. Unless of course you are in College Algebra and then it seems to drag. Greek for me is going well and I am slowly absorbing some of it. Martha is still struggling with math but enjoys the watercolor class very much. We are still hoping for a late 2012 finish.

We still have not had very much rain and the lake is getting lower every day. This could really pose a problem for 2012 if the drouth doesn't break. The fires are mostly out in Texas, or at least under tight control and we hear little about them anymore. The aftermath is still there however and many are suffering from the loss of homes and possessions. It will require many years to restore those areas that were burned if indeed they ever are.

When I started this blog I named it Slowing down but I think I should have called it Speeding Up. It seems that there is always something that wants to be done and with class, church and study I really stay pretty busy.

Texas on fire

Life is tough here on the frontier. Labor day weekend brought us the first break in the weather that we have seen all summer. But it wasn't all good. A cold front from Canada brought cooler temperatures and gusty winds from the north. Tropical storm Lee hit Louisiana and the wind spilled over into Texas. Wildfires broke out all over Texas due to the dry conditions, little or no rain all year, and the winds spread the fire faster than the crews could put them out. At last count over 1000 homes statewide and untold thousands of acres including most of a state park have been destroyed. We still are in the grips of the worst drought we have ever seen. Most cities are on some form of water restrictions, some are severe, and we really have no idea when this weather pattern will end and we might receive rain.

At the same time other parts of the nation have experienced epic flooding from torrential rains associated with hurricane Irene and tropical storm Lee plus other storms that passed through.

The answer is in the hand of God. He alone controls the wind and the rain. His voice commands the storm and it does His bidding. We must pray, and not just pray, but confess and turn from our wicked ways. Only then will He bless our land and send the rain we so desperately need.