I was super tire and slept like a baby for the longest time. Albeit we got overnight snow, I am thankful that the driveway and walkway remain dry and the snow was evident only on roof tops, the back deck and on the grass. I would have hated to have to go out into the cold to shovel the snow. It was just as we were expecting, another stay at home day and resting. Surprisingly I didn’t even spend time reflecting on this past year. I’m hoping to be reenergized again by tomorrow. I toss in pineapple chunks and reheated the leftover fried rice and it made it taste a lot better. I'm off to bed early and have no intention to see the stroke of midnight. Hard to believe another year has come and gone so fast, another reminder just how brief our time is here. Thanks be to God for all the blessings known and unknown this past year. May our Lord continue to protect and provide.
30 December 2023
I woke up shivering in the morning when I get out from under the covers. It isn't until I have a cup of hot coffee, oatmeal and raisin toast in me that I begin to feel better and functional. A big part of my morning ritual is clearing my sinuses passages. Sigh, talk about the weather app being off and the forecast being revised, it was in the low 20s this morning it did eventually work its way above freezing and it is now forecasting snow for tomorrow. It's never a God this whenever we get a winter advisory. After pouting for a bit, thanked God for his gift of food and shelter. I am thankful to be able to layer up warmly to overcome the cold dreariness of the day as be headed out this morning to Alex's. It was weird to be about in the frosty fog. We were there only briefly and I made us beef and broccoli for lunch. We made it home in time to watch the Orange Bowl. The game was so ridiculously a lopsided game that I fell asleep watching the game some time during the third quarter.
29 December 2023
"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens" (Psalm 8:1). Today the church remembers David. I love praying the psalms. The psalmist asks, "what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8: 4). I noticed that I like talking about food and the weather, today is no different, it started out with oatmeal and raisin toast with my morning coffee before layering up for my doctor's appointment. It was mostly in the upper 30s lower 40s today. I look at the long range forecast seem to unbelievably project likewise for the week ahead with more rain. These cold gloom and doom looking days are getting old. I can hardly wait until spring. My ideal time of year is when it is 72 degrees Fahrenheit out and fifty percent humidity with a mix of sun and clouds. I'm really happy with the specialist, not only is his background and training impressive, he was very clear and decisive with a course of action. Clearly, one of the biggest drawbacks of aging is all the different, what ails you. It is a constant reminder that our days are numbered. I was a couch potato this afternoon watching the Sun Bowl. Congratulations to the Fighting Irish Sun Bowl Champions. Notre Dame 40 - Oregon State 8. Mike Denbrock OC! Looks like ND is getting serious about being playoff contenders next year. I love how my Cutco Santoku knife was able to slice the ham off the shank so close to the bone with so much ease. I made us ham fried rice for our dinner. It was disappointed that it tasted only so-so to just alright.
28 December 2023
Initially I started penning a long rant about the cold damp weather and about the true harshness of winter that is yet to come, but I deleted it because I think that it is detracting from the Christmas joy in my heart and from the blessings of the day. Char sui boa and joong need I say more? Good eats to start off the day, that for sure. Soo dropped back off Carl's car this morning, so we picked her up from there and drove her back to Alex's and stayed there for and visited. I swear, I've noticed that since the pandemic that one has to really really drive more and more defensively, not because folks are making mistakes, but they recklessly driving with total disregard to the regulations and rules to the road. I made us beef with bitter melon over rice for lunch. It's been a while since I made that dish. It was just a tad spicy, but was still pretty good. I wish we could come across good bitter melon more often, because I like the taste of this dish and the health benefits are good for me. We went over to my sister's house for a small dinner party. Our niece made pho. Once upon a time, Jennifer brought home an order of this popular Vietnamese soup and I tried a small cup of it, but I didn't really care for it. The soup I had today was leaps and bounds better. I think it was because it wasn't a takeout and I was able to put in and leave out whatever I wanted. We were blessed and enjoyed out small family gathering. Thank be to God from whom all blessings flow. Anyway, off to bed, I have a doctor’s appoint first thing in the morning.
27 December 2023
Mama changed it up this morning with cold cereal with strawberries and blueberries, so refreshing. Albeit was in the mid 30s, I opted to layer up as though we were having sub zero temps and I was comfortable. We went out briefly for groceries at Aldi and the Chinese supermarket. Mmm, I made us spinach and scrambled eggs for lunch, delicious. I think its funny how Popeye comes to mind every time I eat spinach and how I start singing the iconic, I'm Popeye the Sailor Man, theme song in my mind. I was looking at the weather forecast for tomorrow and it looks like in will be the same temperaturewise and that is a good thing because we are expecting rain. Rain snow, I chose rain over snow every time. Thanks be to God for his grace, mercy and forgiveness.
26 December 2023
I was thinking just to say it was a stay at home do nothing day and leave it at that. We were pretty late last night and by the time we got back home, I was in no mood to login to Blogger to cut and paste what I have been penning in notes on my phone throughout the day. Brr, albeit the temps dropped before freezing again over night, it warmed back up into the low 40s which is remarkably warm for this time of year. I like the pair of workout glove that Jennifer got me. It helps me get a better grip on the dumbbells, so I was able to a few more reps. Mash potatoes and ham for both lunch and dinner. I cut back on my portion sides today because I've been eating way too much these last few days. Learn something new every day, I continue to be amazed by technological advances, I'm pretty sure that message video calls is not something new, but today Rob called me on the communication app that he recently installed on my phone and it was pretty good. I saw a headline that said that it looks like it is going to be a 2024 showdown between Trump and Biden. Anyway, keeping it short and wanting to just relax before heading off to bed. I thank God for loving kindnesses, his love and mercies endure forever.
25 December 2023
Merry Christmas! It was a joyful day celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. The day began with heading over to Alex's for a noon time meal. I made us beef with pea pods over Cantonese pan fried noodles. I love cooking for family and spending time with our family. After lunch was the best, Peyton took me by the hand to go play with her in the basement. I felt so blessed to have a lot of lone time watching her ride her electric scooter and playing toss the ball in the bucket. Later in the day, we gathered with Fawn's siblings and their family, the only one missing was our Jennifer. I was asked if I still write in my journal. I answered yes, but the entries have become a lot shorter with the same sameo. One thing for sure is that I'm tending to pen my entries on notes on my phone throughout the day and then cut and paste to blogger whenever I take the time to login to it instead and penning it directly to at night as I look back reflecting steam of consciously at the day. Oh wow, talk about good eats, better than a buffet. There were grape jelly barbecue meatballs; green leaf salad and fruit salad; ham, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, Korean bulgogi with steamed rice, and lasagna; brownies, cookies, and chips. I got two more jigsaw puzzles as Christmas gifts in addition to the two that I have already that I have been able to get to for quite some time. All in all, despite it raining all day long, it was a very good day. Just imagine if it had snowed all the long.
24 December 2023
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon[a] his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Thanks be to God this most holy night for Mary, the mother of God, for boring our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Albeit was another foggy day, it was nowhere as dense as it was yesterday and it completely dissipated by early afternoon. It was crazy to be in the mid 50s again today, last year we were facing subzero temperatures. Happy haircut! Thank you mama for doing such a great job. I've enjoying afternoon tea a lot now ever since late autumn, but there is nothing like a nice hot cup of coffee to kick off the day. It's been a while since played sudoku. I played an extreme game and albeit I was able to still complete the game under ten minutes, I found the game not to be challenging and rather tedious because my strategy is systematic, no wonder why I don't play it anymore. Since Fawn's sister is staying at Alex's, we went there and I made us pan fried pork chops and stuffing for our supper. We couldn't pass up getting gas on the way over for $3.759 a gallon. We have been doing a lot of driving so often to Alex's. Go team Lee! Alex and I completed the thousand piece puzzle! That bad boy had a lot going on and also had rather complex shaped tabs, but we gotrdun. I was bless with a fun time working the puzzle with my son.
23 December 2023
Thanks be to God that our grandchild is back to her resilient self and Rob was able to bring Andrea and our grandkids down for a visit. We started out with simply with scrambled eggs and breakfast sausage links. It was like Christmas morn with the sound of children's laughter. How can you not let them open a few presents, Isaac got a go cart and Peyton a balance bike. I was happy that Peyton want to play hungry frog with me and love she laughs the entire time. Rob gifted me a nice black and red protective case for the phone they got me. I love that I see the Spiderman phone now from across the room! Fawn's brother brought his family over and we steamed dim sum for our afternoon meal. I really like the shui mai and the bean curd rolls. Sandy did an awesome job decorating Alex's home for the Christmas party, the lights and garland looks so festive! It was a strange looking day with a very dense fog. Thanks be to God soon flew in safely and will be here for a week. Our drive home in the fog and light rain was eerie. Today was a very good Christmas like day. May there be many more joyful days filled with laughter like today.
22 December 2023
You got to be kidding me, we woke up to sound of rain. I looked at the weather app and it was forecasting rain for each of the next eight days. What was more striking was that stay above freezing the entire duration with several day in the mid to upper 50s. I don't like being out in the rain any more than I like being out in the cold, so I decided to stay in another day and changed up the getting up and walking around routine to four minutes every twenty minutes and found this better than fifteen three that I was doing yesterday. I finally felt well enough to start doing a little light resistance training with my set of five pound dumbbells as well as the resistance band. It gets annoying to have more than a few friends that don't like the idea of confederate statues being taken down and removed. I really don't get that. What does removing what I see as an abomination have to do erasing history? I just learned that Peyton might have a ear infection, prayers for comfort and healing.
21 December 2023
Today is the winter solstice and finally we can start looking forward to the days getting longer and having the sun moving away from the horizon. I'm truly not a fan of the winter season and could never embrace the season's attributes. I stayed indoors the entire day and Fawn had me up every fifteen minutes and walked around for three. I am clueless where that is coming from. It’s not good to learn that people you know personally catching covid as well as it showing up on the news cycle again as a new variant JN.1 Lord, help us in our time of need.
20 December 2023
We woke up to a bright shiny day. It was good to see the sun out. Besides the shortness of the day, it is more times than not hidden behind the complete overcast for days on end. Albeit I am able to fall asleep sitting upright on a recliner, last night was the first night that I slept in a bed since I fell under the weather and today I felt well rested. Alex is hosting Christmas this year and so it made it easy for Fawn to bring gifts and wrap them there. On the way to his house we stopped for gas and we were surprised to see that the price of gas has fallen back under three dollars a gallon under this presidency. We got gas for $2.799! I was initially dismayed to see a totally reckless driver on the road that happened to pull in the shopping we went to. Clearly all road regulations were of no concern to her. I didn’t give much more thought other than a eye roll and thinking what an idiot until she pulled out a stroller and placed her infant baby in it, totally incomprehensible behavior. I heated up the tang yuan soup for our lunch. I don't think that this soup is a healthy soup by any means, but it sure is hearty and tasty when the weather is cold. It was nice to spend a little time working on the puzzle with my son. He really likes getting into it. Whenever I work on the puzzle with him, I like using the term "team." I know Rob, Andrea and Isaac love doing jigsaw puzzles too. Facetimming with them and getting to see Peyton in her new outfit was a blessing. Thanks be to God for this outstanding day.
19 December 2023
Wow, the last time I posted a journal entry here was on the 6th. That was because I got really sick and wasn’t I n the mood to log in Blogger to pen. Instead I just penned my journal entries on notes on my phone with the intent to cut and paste it here. After doing that, it looks really weird, but it is what it is. It was another cold day, but at least the sun was out and the temperature got above freezing. We met up with my brother and did lunch at Baker's Square. We'll sort of, it is funny how we eat chicken fried steak as a breakfast item it the Midwest. Mmm, our niece baked us an assortment of Christmas cookies that we had with our afternoon tea. It was the first time I tried an earl grey green tea blended tea and I thought it was pretty good. I thank God for this day and wait.
12/18
We woke up to the sound of the howling wind and a light dusting of snow. Brr, it's bad enough that the day started out already below freezing, but the temperature continued to drop throughout the day. I am thankful that I am able to layer up to stay warm. Thanks be to God who provides for us. I am feeling much better today and thank God for my wife who nursed me while I was under the weather. While out and about, we stopped at Alex's to feed Nala and to let her out. I thought for Alex was done for going in to the office this year, but they had send off party for one of his friends at work was transferred to a out of state location. It is so sad that corporations subject employees to such working conditions that I personally believe are unnecessary. We got a call the other day from Sue, she wanted to stop by and gift us with some of her homemade dim sum! We decided that it would be easier for us to stop by her home instead and to drop off gifts for their grandchildren since we were going to the Sam's Club and Oswego area away. I especially liked the tang yuan soup and taro cake. I think that traditionally Chinese people make the the soup for the winter solace. I can't wait until next week, because she said that she is making joong.
12/17
Today was a good day! The ongoing rains didn't dampen my spirit. Thanks be to God, today was the first day I was not only the first day I was able to move comfortably around the house, it was the first time I stepped out since Monday to go see the doctor. We went to Alex's for lunch and mama bought over spaghetti sauce, Alex was happy to see that. We were supposed to see Andrea, Rob and our grandkids today, but they were under the weather, prayers for health and recovery. On the way over to Alex's, we drove past the CosMc's and saw the super long car line, people are insane to be sitting in a car for hours to get fast food. Alex handed me a HUADADA Little People's World Party 1000 pcs puzzle and said that he wanted to work on it with me! He has no idea how much joy that bought me. Spending time with my children and grandchildren is my greatest joy. God is good.
12/16
Hmm, I woke up pre dawn to the sound of sump pump kicking in. This morning I could see and hear sound of December rain. Crazy how it was raining throughout the day, I'm so thankful it wasn't snow. Just because it is December and it has been raining most of the day, I typed, "december rain" on the Google Search Bar and this YouTube Video came up, December Rain – Tracy Pruitt. I think that this country song is exceptional... Mmm, mama made her spaghetti! Her sauce is out of this world good!
12/15
Thank be to God. I am feeling much better and seem to finally on the road to recovery. Mmm, Fawn got me hot and sour soup for lunch from Gong Ho Restaurant. It was a blessing to get a wellness call from my brother. It was awesome to see North Central at the Stagg Bowl defending their NCAA Division III title. It was interesting that North Central opted to go for two for the win with 1:12 in the fourth quarter and failed. I've been sick since last Friday and only been out the out on Monday to see the doctor. Lord, heal our infirmary.
12/14
I thought for sure that after I started taking the amoxicillian yesterday, I would be feeling way better today than yesterday, but it is about time the same. I opted to sleep last sitting up on the easy chair, so I did ended up getting a decent night's sleep. Oh no, we learned this morning that another person we know just tested positive for covid prayers for health and recovery. I took another covid-19 test today and am thankful the results were negative.
12/13
It is hard to believe that I have been under the weather since Friday. Not only didn't I feel any better, I was gasping for air in the middle of the night. Thanks be to God for the prescription inhaler. It wasn't until I propped myself up with the pillows to help relieve nasal congestion and improve breathing, was I able to fall back asleep. I am glad that my doctor faxed the pharmacy a prescription for antibiotics. Thanks be to God for amoxicillian. I think these daily huge temperature swing are insane. It get down into the low 20s overnight and into the mid to upper 40s during the day.
12/12
I am continuing to slowly improve. The use of a prescription albuterol sulfate inhalation is proving to be most helpful. It's not clear to me why Notre Dame likes turning to the transfer portal, but nice to see them able to nab Riley Leonard, Beaux Collins and Kris Mitchell. This transfer portal thing makes it tough for high school football players that aren't the best of the best. I'm not thrilled about going to the Sun Bowl, but am happy for Steve Angeli getting a start in a Bowl game. The highlight of my day was facetimming our the kids and our grandkids.
12/11
Today I am feeling much better and am not hacking as much, but I am far from being well. I have to be careful not to be spreading my heebiee jeebiees. I really hate winter; folks immune system are weaken people become ill. Here I am whinning and have been neglecting my intercessory prayers.
12/10
I was hope that I would have woke up good as new, but clearly a little more time for rest is needed. The temperature dropped below freezing, not does it really matters. Albeit I'm feeling slightly better, I am thankful for cough drop. I am thankful for my wife for all she is doing to care for me.
12/9
I'm guessing that I have a flu and am spending most of my time laying in bed and drinking fluids. Heavenly Father, strengthen my body and immune system and restore my health, through Christ our Lord. Amen
12/8
Mmm, coffee candy! Every time I suck on them, I think about my mother, it was one of her favorite candies. So sad, today's temperature soared up into the upper 50s and I was home in bed under the weather. Crazy how I tend to think about covid-19 first even at the slightest sign of illness. Thanks be to God the covid test kit revealed a non positive result.
12/7
Oh wow, what a nice sunny December day in the mid 50s, unbelievable! We went to Alex's and made us hamburger peas over Cantonese pan fried noodles for lunch. On the way there, we pasted by the newly opened CosMc's in Bolingbrook. It was stunning to see their super long drive thru line. Nala was a happy camper getting to eat hamburger for a change, routinely eating dog food must get old. I'm still in learning mode with my new smartphone and just figured out how to turn on the menu assistant. The controls allows me to do things like power off the device, take a screen shot and etc. Yes sir, drum roll please! I predicted that the thousand piece Disney puzzle would take about 12 hours to complete, this bad boy took close to 15.5 hours to complete, gotrdun! I looked at the weather forecast for tomorrow and it promises to be much like today! Thanks be to God for the blessings of the day.
6 December 2023
I'm feeling every bit of my age this morning, but remain thankful to be alive. Funny how the cold and dreary winter months want to put you down. I thought it was weird that the sun finally came out from under the complete overcast an hour before sunset. I am grateful that I can do a few stretching exercises to work out the stiffness before doing my daily exercises and resistance training. We went out and about this morning for a couple hours and I was able to get quite a few steps in. So yes, whoo hoo, easily a ten thousand plus steps day! I haven't been able to do that in a long while. I'm sure I at one time or another said, "It's the most wonderful time of the year", referring to the festive holiday season, because in reality in my mind springtime is the most wonderful time of the year. I am so distracted right now, trying to pen this journal entry and watching the GOP Presidential Debate. It’s clear in my mind that I hate want see Biden or Trump on the November ballot. What is wrong with people in this country? Lord, guide our hearts and mind.
5 December 2023
Whew! We got about a quarter inch of overnight snow, but it only stayed on the rooftops, grass areas and my backyard deck. Albeit started snowed again later in the day, thankfully it didn't accumulate on the walkways either. I'll take rain over snow any day. It's takes effort to not let the dreary grey skies bring you down. Alex went in the office, so we went over to his place to give Nala her noon time meal and let her out. Initially I was surprised, but then realized that he most likely went in to see his workplace friends before they move. I'm definitely not a fan of cold weather, so I made us pork and bok choy rice noodle soup to warm us up. I spend a little more time on working on the puzzle and I am so close to completing it! Oh wow, it's crazy that one has to keep an eye on the ever changing prices of prescription drugs from all the different pharmacies. I see now that you really have to keep an eye on the every month, because we found the cost of one of my prescriptions substantially cheaper the Osco Pharmacy. Thanks be to God, his goodness endures forever.
4 December 2023
Prayers of Thanksgiving and blessing, Thanks be to God for our daughter’s safe travel, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26). We went to the dentist again this morning because I had a filling the fell off and needed repairs. Yet another early Christmas present. I was gifted a Samsung Galaxy 5G phone. Not only is the technology on newer smartphones amazing, the mindfulness of a gift with a larger screen allows for a larger font to aid this aging old man's eyesight. What is going on with all these great early Christmas gifts that I have been getting this year? Why am I posting them? Why has God blessed me so? Why am I surrounded with the blessings of loving and mindful family and friends? As I began to muse, my mind just wanders off to so many different tangents and to some of the less than pretty parts of my life and reminded of how undeserving I really am. I tend to focus on being thankful for the tangible blessings I enjoy, but inadvertently forget to be thankful for the intangible blessings that God has offered, like grace, hope, mercy, forgiveness and eternal life. Now I get to have fun learning how to navigate my way around the new smartphone. I can’t believe this bad boy even implements finger print technology as well as facial recognition technology. Mary’s birthday celebration last night was very festive and yes, I over ate again. That’s it, I truly need to go back to go back to eating normal, I have gained more than a few holiday season pounds.
3 December 2023
Today is the first day of Advent and is a time of waiting, and a time of prayer. All of God’s creation cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus!” I know it's easy for me to say that five days is way too short of time for a visit. I can't help but to wonder when we will get to see our baby girl again. The drive to the airport was a little taxing because of the ongoing road construction on the toll way, especially when we came across an unexpected ramp closing. At the time of this early journal entry Jennifer already in the air, prayers for godsspeed. I'm penning early because we'll be out the door again soon to go to a party to celebrate Mary's 60th birthday.
2 December 2023
I was a total awesome day from start to finish. I went up to Peyton’s 3rd birthday celebration and enjoyed the company of family. What joy to see all the three generations of family enjoying time together in a gathering.
1 December 2023
I woke up early this morning to the sound of the pouring rain and it was music to my ears. Crazy how it continually rained all day long. It would have been buried under a ton of snow if it was colder. Happy December! I made us bagel bacon and egg sandwiches for brunch and gon chow ngau ho for dinner. Mama went out and about with Jennifer and Alex was working from his home office, so I had another fun day working on the puzzle. The puzzle board is magical.
30 November 2023
Yum cha, well almost. Since Jennifer is staying over at Alex's, we went over this morning and steamed some frozen dim sum and had it with our morning coffee. I have to say, dim sum is one of the best eats ever. Dinner wasn't shabby either; I made stir fry pork riblets with green peppers, onions and black bean sauce. I worked a little more on the puzzle and gotta say, the puzzle board is a dissectologist's dream come true. Talk about fluid weather, literally. I guess you have to look at the weather app daily. I had no idea that it was going to rain this evening. Today was a good day, thank you Lord for your gift of grace.
29 November 2023
We went out early this morning and I did an hour long indoor walk in Target. I was thinking how cold it has been, but it finally got above freezing this afternoon and a lot of the snow melted. We went to O'Hare to this afternoon to pickup Jennifer and I was glad that traffic was light and thanks be to God that she arrived safely. We stopped by the Burrito Parrilla Mexicana on Route 59, because Fawn, Alex and Jennifer want food from there. I'm not ready to get food from there because we got sick from the food there a while back. I regrettably opted for the spicy chicken sandwich and seasoned french fries from Popeyes, I must have been sitting under the heat lamp for several hour, terrible. Oh wow, I got another early Christmas gift. Fawn got me a swivel puzzle board with drawers! Thanks be to God for the blessings of the day!
28 November 2023
I was too lazy to login and pen a journal entry last night. The only thing I remembered about yesterday was beginning taken by surprise when mama said we were going out this morning, so much for cyber Monday. I remembered making us hot dogs yesterday, albeit I didn't have the stuff to make them Chicago style, the poppy seed buns, a bead of mustard and sports peppers were enough to satisfy. I also tossed in shoestring fries and frozen onion rings in the oven. I used the new pizza pan and the fries and onion rings came out nice and crispy. I am thankful that I am able to layer up with thermal clothing. Prayers of thanksgiving that our daughter and her family family is back safe. We got up early this morning for my semi-annual dental appointment for teeth cleaning. I made an appointment for next week to have a filling repaired. We went to grocery shopping so that we could drop off groceries for Jennifer's upcoming visit. It's been over a year and a half since we last saw baby. We got a Chinese takeout from Lucky Wok for our lunch, bitter melon beef and taro chicken. Whoo hoo, I got an early Christmas, Fawn got a thousand piece puzzle and Alex got me stacking sorter trays! I am so excited about tomorrow, prayers for safe travel.
26 November 2023
We woke up to a little more than a dusting of snow, but it wasn't anything that needed immediate attending to. I waited until close to four o'clock before I went out to tackle a little over a inch of wet heavy snow and to treat the driveway and walkways with ice melt. It was best to getrdun before it turned dark. We are less than a month away from the shortest day and I can hardly wait until the days begin to lengthen and these subzero temperatures are behind us. Mmm, today's good eat was wonton noodle soup, good stuff. Happy haircut! Needless to say, mama gave me an awesome haircut and I that I always feel great afterwards. The Irish had a slow first quarter start last night, but by the time the game was over, it was Notre Dame 56 - Stanford 23. The Fighting Irish finished 9 - 3 in what I initially thought would a 12 - 0 one. The only thing left now is waiting to see which bowl game and opponent. Fawn bought me a new pedometer and it seem to be working much better than the one I have. Feeling great and relaxed, God is good.
25 November 2023
I'm penning a little early so the I can go to bed right after the Notre Dame vs Stanford game. I hope Notre Dame get a bowl game, especially the ReliaQuest Bowl against a SEC team like LSU or Ole Miss. Eww, looks like we are suppose to get some overnight / early morning snow. So far all we had to deal with is dressing warm enough for the cold. The coldness called for me wear my winter coat and winter hat with ear flaps. Thanks be to God for warm clothing. I am so not looking forward to dealing with the snow on top of that. We had a few errands to run this morning, so we went out and about super early so that we could make it home by eleven o'clock to watch the #2 Ohio State vs #3 Michigan game! I wasn't cheering for any particular team and just wanted to see two great college football teams go at it, and this game did not disappoint. Congratulations to the Wolverines for their at home victory and advancement to the Big Ten Championship against the Hawkeyes. We went to the Sam's Club pharmacy for our meds and got tier one gas across at the Shell for $3.199. I'm pretty sure that is the cheapest gas price in a long while. I did my walk in the Target and was surprised that there more people there than I anticipated, guess folk are trying to get in their holiday shopping for the snow move in tomorrow. We bought a new pizza pan that makes a crispy crust. Mmm, we topped pineapple chunks on Supreme Red Baron frozen pizza for our game time food, so good. I am happy to be alive and grateful for the blessings of the day. #GoIrish
24 November 2023
Dang, dumber than dirt. When will I ever learn not to over eat? It was so bad that I had no desire for anything more than coffee this morning. I truncated my exercises and even had several slowmo goes on the elliptical. I actually surprised myself that I was able to do any exercises at all this morning. Praying that I will return back to normal by tomorrow from ODing on food.
23 November 2023
I gotta pen early and keep today’s journal entry quick. "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthian 15:57). Thank you Lord for keeping us in your grace. I made us gon chow ngau ho for lunch and intentionally kept my portion reasonable, because the plan is to indulge myself later tonight at the Thanksgiving party with the traditional Thanksgiving dinner feast with all the trimmings and sides. Way too many blessing come to mind to pen them all, but the Lord knows and it is to him I offer my thanksgiving prayers.
22 November 2023
We woke up to a phone call from my brother who was in the city early this morning and he wanted to know if we wanted him to buy us some frozen dim sum. Talk about asking rhetorical question. Brr, it's time to break out the winter coat. We stopped at the Walmart and got in a short thirty minute walk around the interior parameter of the store before visiting my brother to pick up the frozen dim sum. He steamed up some bean curd rolls and before we knew it, we yapped so much that it was almost noon time. I am so blessed to be able to spend some time with my brother twice in one week! Great, the city broadcasted a notification that the public works will do another curbside leaf collection sweep cycle around town due to this year's late falling leaves and current snow free forecast. I climbed up the ladder to inspect the rain gutters and clean up the few leaves in them and cleaned the dryer vent for the last time this year. Prayers for a clean and grateful heart on this Thanksgiving Eve.
21 November 2023
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” (Psalm 103:1). I rarely watch a NFL football game before the playoffs, but since this Monday Night Football game was between the Chiefs and the Eagles it was like a Super Bowl rematch. Dang, KC needs some folks that can catch a football big time. I am so glad to slowly be getting back into a morning exercise routine. What was I thinking to have moved away from that? The city drove by and made their third and final curbside leaf collection. There is nothing quite like seeing and hearing a humongous vacuum truck with a shredder going down the street. This is first year I ever wore a noise reduction headphone for mowing. I can't even begin to imagine working on a crew along side of the curbside leaf collection truck. Albeit the temperature was in the 40s, it seemed a lot colder with the wind chill. I got in a decent indoor walk in the Target and Walmart. I’m glad Fawn remembered to bring my back brace, I got two forty pound bags of eco-blend ice melt from the Walmart. Nice, I came across a throwback from a simpler time, Could It Be I’m Falling In Love – The Spinners.
20 November 2023
Blah, blah, blah, I finally got off my butt and actually did some off the needed instead of yapping about it this morning. I placed the lawnmower next to the lowest setting and managed to mow all the grass and I swapped out the sump pump discharge hose. I think mama is trying to tell me something, she took out a pair of ten pound dumbbells. I don't why I stopped doing resistance training, but I think it was because of the surgery I had done on my finger to remove a ganglion cyst. Anyway, it's good to start it back up. I made us spareribs with bell peppers in a black bean sauce for dinner, so good! The rain moved in and it looks like it’ll continue raining overnight into tomorrow morning. I’m so glad it is rain that we are seeing instead of snow. That reminds me, I need to buy a bag of driveway salt. Prayers of thanksgiving and God’s speed to holiday travelers.
19 November 2023
We are about a month or so from the shortest day and it is really noticeable in the morning as well as in the evening now. After worship we went to the Oswego area for gas and to do a little seasonal shopping. We made a pit stop to get a carryout from Portillo's before heading over to Alex's to finish off the two thousand piece puzzle. Whoo hoo, gotrdun! There was no way I could have come close to completing this bad boy by the end of the year without help from Alex, Fawn, Andrea and Isaac. Alex sent a picture of me with a smile standing by the puzzle to his siblings. I was happier to talk with Isaac and Rob on the phone than completing the puzzle. I am blessed with such a caring and supportive family. Achoo! Dang, I feel fine, but I’ve been achoo sneezing all evening. I hope to get to a few of outdoor tasks around the house this week. I definitely need to swap out the sump pump discharge hose and give the lawn a final mow for the year. I need to take a peek at the gutters and hopefully they won’t need to be cleaned again. Gobble, gobble. I’m so looking forward for Thanksgiving. I've been musing more and more about gratitude as the Thanksgiving Holiday approaches. I find it fascinating that we have a Christmas/christmas we have a secular day of Thanksgiving. I think it is great that all people be thankful, but it raises the question, "To whom are you grateful for?" For Christians, our thanksgiving should ultimately be directed toward God. My cup overflows will grace upon grace and my countless blessings are so undeserving. I thank god for his deed, favor, word and his goodness in all circumstances. Day in and day out, I thank God for our salvation found in Christ Jesus, for the gift of family, friends and for Saint John, for his daily provisions. I has dawned on me that it is one thing to post something publicly on social media, but the bible emphasizes prayer as the way God has given us to communicate with him and perhaps we could be spending some extra time in prayer thanking God for the blessings in our lives.
18 November 2023
Brr, I hate subzero temperatures. I am so thankful for being able to layer up with warm clothing and stay warm. It is easier to deal with the cold than with seasonal allergies. I am thankful for antihistamine eye drops and nasal sprays, God is good. We had a joyous morning meeting up with my brother to do breakfast at Baker Square! Yep, we went to Alex's again and we all worked on the puzzle. We couldn't believe believe Fawn insisted on leaving when we were so close to completing the two thousand piece puzzle. I think were were around thirty tabs away, unbelievable. Big win, Notre Dame 45 Wake Forest 7. I hope they can do the same next week against Stanford. I'm clueless why the Irish struggle against the Cardinals.
17 November 2023
Albeit the forecast called for the return of cooler weather, I woke up hoping that the forecasters would be wrong, no such luck. It looks like winter is here to stay as the temperature will continue to drop during the week ahead. I was totally ready today the cold and layered up. I had even had on my thermals, scarf and gloves! "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). I never looked forward to wintertime as an adult and especially now as a senior. Our immune system in down and people tend to more likely get sick. As the season begins to transform from autumn to winter I off muse about the difficulties we face during these cold harsh bitter times. I definitely don't look forward to shoveling snow. Anyway, at my age, I feel like its late autumn and winter is right around the corner. Prayers for good health for my family and friends as the cold weather weakens our immune system. Yessir, I was thrilled that Fawn went to Menards and bought a 3 panel LED light bulb that was perfect for us to see more clearly to work on the puzzle. I had quality family time with Fawn and Alex working in puzzle. We are so close to completing it and it is clear to me that is no way that I could have even come close to completing the puzzle anytime soon, there is light at the end of the tunnel! Today was a very good day, I am thankful for God's blessings.
16 November 2023
What a pleasant surprise! While having our morning coffee, we got a text message along with photos from one Jennifer's school friend who is visiting her in California. I am happy that Jennifer is blessed with good and mindful friends. Receiving her shot out and most respectful well wishes was such a joyful blessing. I am excited a out Thanksgiving and gathering with family a week from now. We were out and about right after morning coffee and got to enjoy the great weather. Sorry to see that the temperatures will drop overnight back to what is seasonal. The leaves are falling at a rapid pace now, but are most likely too late and will continue to keep falling after the third and final curbside collection. Albeit we didn't any covid symptoms, with the recent up tick on covid cases, we decided to take a home covid-19 test and thanks be to God we still never tested positive for covid. Alex is on vacation this week and next, so we stopped and visited. He made fried chicken tacos with all the fixings. Wow, time flies when you’re having fun. Alex and I were on a row and ended up working on the puzzle for hours. I made us Cantonese pan fried noodles and chow ngau ho for dinner and then went back at it. Lol, Fawn eventually gave us the eye and it was time to leave. Alex invited us back again tomorrow and asked if I would make him chicken fried rice with the leftover fried chicken. I just might take him up on it. Prayers of thanksgivings for the blessings of the day and for health and safety of friends and family.
15 November 2023
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken” (Psalm 62:5-6). I wrote up this morning to a beautiful morning with a sense of peace and well-being. I did a little more leaf raking, between that and the elliptical; I've been getting a pretty good cardio workout lately. I had an appointment to see an ophthalmologist about my cataract and to explore my vision options. I couldn't believe the number of different eye testing exams preformed just prior to my consultation. Dang, once again the days are rapidly becoming shorter and shorter.
14 November 2023
Man O man, another beautiful autumn day, but being out and about in it required the use of antihistamine eye drops and nasal sprays. It’s my understanding that this string of beautiful autumn days in the 60s will continue for two more days! I got smart and only raked the leaves a few minutes at time. It is definitely giving me a heck of a cardio workout. It was so nice of the day, we decided to spend most of it out and about doing what not and ended up easily getting in another ten thousand plus steps day in. We ate lunch at Culver's and split their Reuben sandwich basket meal. I like it that they cook their food to order, it is so noticeably much better that way. I see a lot of cranes and a lot of new construction going on in the Fox Valley Mall, but I don't think that it was anything to do with retail stores. I made us pepper and onion hamburger for dinner and had to fight off my urge to eat a second sandwich. It is sad that covid-19 is here to stay. I read that heart disease, cancer, and covid-19 remain the leading causes of death among adults in the United States. Prayers for my family and friends. All glory be to Christ.
13 November 2023
"Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!" (Psalm 89:47). I was looking over Medicare coverage for cataract surgery and it reminded me that I’m heading to or am already in the last decade of life and can no longer ignore the internal and external aches and pain that comes with aging. Knowing how short life reminds us to honor the preciousness of each day we are blessed with. You got to love flipping between wearing a coat one day and then a light jacket with our crazy roller coaster weather. I never would have guessed that I would be getting to do a nice outdoors walk again this year. According to the weather app, there are a few more opportunities to do it this week. Yessir, got a easy ten thousand plus steps day in. Wow, what a deal, we got one pound bags of pistachios on sale for $2.99 each at the Jewel. We did a matinee and watched, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. It is hard to believe that Tom Cruise still does his own stunts. I am grateful for the blessings of the day. Prayers for thanksgiving, good health and happiness for my friends and family.
12 November 2023
Saint Augustine in his wisdom advises us to, "Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever; and take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow." Mmm, I made us wonton soup. It’s hard to believe that the soup still tasted good, even though I forgot the soy sauce and the sesame oil. There was some political news that had musing about 2024 and I penned some of those thoughts only to delete it and felt is best to leave it unsaid. Lord, have mercy. Prayers for family and friends.
11 November 2023
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea" (Psalm 46:1-2). Be present, O Lord, your people need your loving touch to heal our infirmities. I am sad to learn that covid-19 is on the rise again. Lord, have mercy!
10 November 2023
Watching and spending the day Isaac is hoot. Now that is a kid loaded with energy, who needs aerobics? Ha ha, I can't believe he plays and dance to the song, Cha Cha Slide - DJ Casper, over and over. Hmm, I couldn't get Isaac to do him reading until I told him we couldn't go out, but once he started reading the Scholastic graphic novel of, Wings of Fire - The Lost Heir by Tui T. Sutherland, He just went on and on. Brr, we out to the toy store section of Target and Ross. It was in the mid 40s and it was windy and cold. Lol, the kid was a happy camper in his element. Isaac is so smart, we bought a Rubrics Rainbow Ball pair set and of course he finished it before me and ended up teaching my how to solve challenge. The past two days were a most joyous days.
9 November 2023
Cleary I am getting lazier and lazier and have decided to pen my journal entry on notes on my android phone and will log in to blogger and cut paste it on a later date. We went up and stayed overnight to watch Isaac because his school is closed to observe veterans day tomorrow. We thought it easier to drive up this afternoon before the rush hour today than to get up early tomorrow morning. I always had issues with dry hands in the winter that required the use of hand creams to keep them from cracking, but because I have been constantly using hand sanitizers all year round still the outbreak of covid-19, my hand are in terrible shape. It's good that the city collected the curbside leaves. The bad news is, the third and final collection will be in a couple of weeks and there are still trees with tons of leaves on them. There is no way all those leaves will fall by then and find their way curbside by then, hopefully the weather will cooperate and the city will schedule a fourth collection like last year. Mmm, I made us egg drop soup for lunch and a sausage spinach pasta dish for supper. Nice, I got to read a few scholastic books to Peyton. She can follow along pretty good and could tell what I was going to say by the pages in the book. We had fun singing Old McDonald Had a Farm and The ABC Song. Isaac treats his grandpa great by giving me a much needed tapotement massage. My heart was overflowing with joy when he recited the Lord's Prayer.
8 November 2023
I was musing about this Veteran's Weekend and am grateful for all the men and women who have and are serving in our armed forces. "Lord, bid war's trumpet cease; fold the whole Earth in peace." —Oliver Wendell Holmes Lord, have mercy. I'm not much of a believer on the benefits of ginseng, but Fawn finds it to be anti- inflammatory. Who am I to doubt her? Every time she brews some, she brings some to her sister. I'm guessing they grew up with it. Today was a special stop to wish Bob a happy birthday, Fawn is always so mindful of remembering to wish friends and family well wishes on their birthday. We went to Alex's and made us beef with peapods over Cantonese pan fried noodles for lunch. It's was so good, if I say so myself. Time to stop and watch the GOP primary debates, I still so frustrated that there are no DNC primary debates.
7 November 2023
It was a lot cooler today than yesterday, but was normal for this time of year. It isn’t clear to me why ranking leaves is so strenuous for me. I can only do it for a short while before I begin huffing and puffing and gasping for air. I felt a great sense of accomplishment getting that done and for cleaning out the gutters and downspouts. As we get older and older, you become more and more limited on what you can physically accomplish. I'm sure that I will need to do both again in a couple of weeks as well as give the lawn a final mowing for the year. I also still have to swap out the sump pump discharge hose on my 2do list. Anyway, we rewarded ourselves with fried chicken and potato salad from Jewel. One of my older Facebook friend posted how thankful she was for her fond Christmas childhood memories of going to Marshal Fields and other stores on "State Street that great street" in the 40s and 50s. It bought back many great childhood memories for me too. It is sad how crime in Chicago has become. Downtown is so out of control that I never took my children down there. I am clueless if it even magical during the Christmas holiday season any longer, so sad.
6 November 2023
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). I was too lazy to pen anything in my journal yesterday. All I remember is that it was a lazy day and the food that I ate. LOL, it started with mixing in chili with my oatmeal. It was so good; I did it again this morning. I had rigatoni noodles with mama's pasta sauce for lunch and for dinner; I tossed a frozen pizza in the oven and add pineapple chunks to it. I don't understand the controversy; of course pineapple belongs on a pizza. I watched a few minutes of the Bears Saints game and of course the Bears loss again. It was nice out temperaturewise, but it was quite windy. We went to the Sam's Club for our meds and to do a little shopping in the area. I did quite a bit of walk while Fawn was in the store shopping. I tried to do my walk outside, but it was way too windy. A lot of trees are completely bare while others just seem to want to hang on to their autumn beauty. Initially, I didn't think that I was going to get in my ten thousand plus steps day in, but the wind died down and as I walked, I thought to myself, if autumn is a seasonal must, today was my kind of autumn day, hovering around 70 degrees! Albeit we got gas at the Shell across from the Sam's Club for $3.239, it consistently remains to be the cheapest gas price for tier one gas in our area. Even though the gas prices will most likely not be anywhere I would like it to be, at least it is seems to be stable and hopefully our economy won't tank any lower. Albeit I didn't come anywhere near a ten thousand steps day. I finally got around to turning back to the time on the car and on my watch, what an annoying bite in butt. I made my own garden salad for dinner and threw everything in it except the kitchen sink. I emptied the refrigerator with whatever I could find; grapes, blueberries, raspberries, pineapples chunks, rigatoni noodles, chili, and a hardboiled egg, French dressing and croutons! Thanks be to God for his faithfulness and endless mercies.
4 November 2023
The mnemonic, "Spring forward, fall back" always comes to mind whenever we have to set the time on the clock. Our nation is so lame to observe daylight savings time. I always like to make a big breakfast whenever we gather, today I made us, bacon, sausages, corned beef hash and scrambled eggs. What can I say, today was awesome. We got to spend time with the kids. Peyton brought me so much joy wanting spend time playing with grandpa. She is talking so much now and is excitedly telling me about this and that. I sat with Isaac watching Pokémon. I'm glad he wanted to watch that because it would have been painful to watch Notre Dame loss to Clemson. Clearly the Irish is not as good of a team that I thought it was. I am grateful that Rob is willing to bring the kids down as often as he does and for giving me my much needed neck and shoulder massage. We had the usual spinach and cheese manicotti with mama's pasta sauce and toasted garlic bread. I lost count on how many puzzle pieces manage to connect, but I'm pleased with the progress even though I spent a lot of time just resorting tabs into groups. OK, I’m good, the clocks in the house are turned back an hour and it’s time to go to bed.
3 November 2023
Mmm, chili, two way! Alex is the only one that will eat chili without beans whenever I make it. I tried eating a little chili without the beans and I don't get it. I also boil some ditalini pasta to make the chili stretch a little. Mama made her pasta sauce and I boiled a box of rigatoni noodles, but I guess that all for tomorrow's good eats when gather. Fawn joined in on working on the puzzle and we made a lot of progress. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thanking God for today and looking forward to tomorrow!
2 November 2023
Thankful…Grateful…Blessed. Today was very good day. I gave muse to these three words early this morning. Oddly enough, I tend to use the words thankful and grateful interchangeably without giving the two words much thought. But there is a subtle difference, when we are grateful, we are appreciative of what we have received and when we are thankful, we express our gratitude for what we have been given. To put it another way, gratefulness is about acknowledging all of the good in your life already and thankfulness is focused on being appreciative of what you have at this very moment. We are thankful for a God who loves us. We are grateful for a Savior who gave his life. We receive countless blessings day, but our ultimate blessing is salvation through Christ Jesus. We went to Alex's to let in the furnace guy in to tune up his furnace, so that he could continue to work without being disturbed. I made us beef with peapods over Cantonese pan fried noodles. While driving, I noticed that in addition to the days becoming more and more shorter, it has also become very noticeable how low the sun is working its way toward the horizon. Alex and I had some fun working on the puzzle together. Boy he is really good at identifying puzzle pieces. Since he is planning to take a day off and kick back, we're planning to make chili together and work on puzzle a little more. For sure we have plenty of ground beef. And since I'll be browning hamburger meat, she'll make her pasta sauce for the weekend when we'll get to spend some time with our grandkids, I am so looking forward to this weekend. I was listening to Adele and just realized that I haven't posted a song for day in a while, so here you go, When We Were Young - Adele. The verse of the day is, "Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!" (1 Chronicles 16:34). Amen.
1 November 2023
I woke up thankful for the blessing of warmth of my home and the smell of hot coffee. I started to say, “brr,” but I was properly dressed when we layered up and headed out the door to mama hair appointment. The subfreezing weather felt every bit of cold as it looked. It was a good thing that I had on my thermals, gloves, hat with ear flaps and my non slip winter shoes. It was able to shred some of the layers off once it got above freezing temperatures. It was nice of Peggy to invite us over for lunch. Wow, talk about whipping up a feast. We truly enjoy spending time with family. The time just flew by and before we knew it, it was four o’clock. Thanks be to God for the gift of family.
31 October 2023
I couldn't decide whether the word of the day should be cold or snow. We still have another month of autumn with leaves continuing to fall, but it sure feels like winter. We stayed indoors waiting for the furnace guy to come and give the furnace its seasonal tune-up. I ended up using the elliptical to get in cardio for the day. It looks like times have changed and will most likely just spend less time walk and more time on the elliptical until the weather cooperates. I and grateful for the gift of life and to be able to continue to strive toward a sound godly mind, body and spirit. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). The good eats of the day was the delicious salad that Fawn made us for lunch and steak and eggs sandwich dinner and a movie, Maybe It's You. Thanks be to God for central heating.
30 October 2023
It just keeps getting colder, it even dropped below freezing overnight. Albeit today was colder than it was yesterday, it felt better out and about with the sun out and a wind down. We went to the Jewels again and bought more of pub burgers while they were still on sale. I’m glad we have a old second refrigerator in the basement with plenty of freezer space. Good eats, we got a ribeye on sale and had that bad boy for our dinner and made boiled carrots for a healthy side dish. I didn't get in much of walk in the grocery store so I had an extra go on the elliptical. We got some good news and we will be seeing our baby girl this year after all. God is good, his love endures forever.
29 October 2023
Glory be to the Father, the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Amen. Brr, we work to a darkness to cold and gloomy looking morning. That is the problem with abstract words like cold. I thought yesterday was cold and it certainly was, but today was even colder and the added wind chill only made things worst. I was thankful for the hot coffee morning coffee, oatmeal and eggo, which warmed up this old body. I'm thinking we may have to set the thermostat up a notch or two while we acclimate to near freezing temperatures. I'm not saying nah to the possibility of snow. We layered up and went to Mass to celebrate Reformation Sunday. Truly the church repeats what Jesus himself repeats in word and her sacred music. Naturally there was full blast worship with the Saint John Brass and Kantorei, We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God and A Mighty Fortress is Our God spoke more beautifully. To I watched Adiós, Sabata, starring Yul Brynner. It was just an ok Spaghetti Western.
28 October 2023
Dang, she's getting colder. It's hard to believe that I was chirping in 80 degree weather a couple days ago and was in the 30s when I went to the Jewels this morning to buy pub burgers for 99 cents each. The grim reminder that we live in the midwest dawned on me, as the song, You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, came to mind. It won't be long before we'll be needing to break out our full winter coat and full blast winter apparel. I could have used a pair of gloves today. We went to Alex's for lunch and to watch the game. Mmm, I made us stir fried vermicelli for lunch. Normally, I just make it with green onions, eggs and Chinese sausage, but had some Chinese roast pig in the freezer that I sliced up into small pieces that added a ton of flavorful deliciousness to the dish. Of course I made the pub burgers for the game. Talk about not showing up for a game, Irish 58 Panthers 7. I wonder if #14 Notre Dame will move a notch in the rankings because #13 Utah, loss.
27 October 2023
I enjoyed a very peaceful morning listening to classical music. Since we stayed around the house all day, I hopped on the elliptical more than a few times having short goes on it at a faster pace than usual. Mmm, dinner and a movie! Fawn prep the tomatoes, ginger and eggs, and did the stir frying. Wow, it has been a long while since I watched a western, and a black and white one at that. Albeit I have watched, Red River before, John Wayne westerns never get old. It looks likes #20 Duke vs #18 Louisville is the only top 25 are going at it tomorrow, too bad that game is going to take place at the same #14 Notre Dame is taking on Pittsburgh.
26 October 2023
"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). Today was one of those green banana days were Fawn had me try on a size small pair of short that she bought as an end of the season clearance sale from Old Navy. Crazy how much weight I have loss, but still have a belly bulge. I think that knowing and embracing that our days are numbered helps to guide a life of love, gratitude, good intentions and kindness. Lol, my curry potato, pepper and onion dish keeps on evolving. Yesterday I added chicken to it and today I added that dish to a bowl of ramen noodle soup! The highlight of my day was facetiming with the kids and our grands. God is good and grants us peace as we lie down to sleep.
25 October 2023
We had a contrasting day today compared to yesterday; it was twenty degrees cooler and rainy. Thankful for a cup of hot coffee and bowl of hot oatmeal. We went to Alex's to let Nala out; I am really surprised that he went in the office today given the weather conditions. I don't particularly like rain and complain about it a lot. Often times have the Carpenters song lyrics, "Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down," in the back of my mind whenever it rains. Nowadays, I muse about the symbolism of God coming to us in rain and the Holy Spirit comes to the forefront. May the Holy Spirit lead us to prayer and repentance. I did most of my morning walk inside the Target store as well as under the long strip mall canopy. I couldn't help but notice that the store is getting ready for the holiday gift giving season. I added chicken to the curry potato, much better. There isn't much to do on rainy days. I just relaxed and enjoyed working a little more on the huge jigsaw puzzle and am totally flabbergasted at the level of difficulty I seem to be encountering with a two thousand piece puzzle. For sure, it is far more challenging for me than I expected. Well at least I'm 43 tabs closer to completing the jigsaw puzzle. Thankful for the blessings of the day, may the peace of the Lord guard our hearts and mind in Christ Jesus.
24 October 2023
You got to be kidding, I don't know if it ever got below freezing this autumn yet to be able to call it Indian summer, but wow talk warm late October day. It was so nice to be out and about seeing all the beautiful autumn colors. It was so nice out during the morning hours that this walking fool easily got in a ten thousand plus steps day. Albeit I had to pick up my pace every now and then to prevent myself from doing a Slowsky. We're learning from Rob and my brother and are now eating more salads; I swear mama makes the best salad. After lunch, I got ambitious and went to buy a third of a gallon of gas for the lawnmower and did the grass in front and back with only a short five minute break. Despite that our days are numbered, being old and slow with the occasional aches and pain, I am grateful for my each and every day that has been afforded me by grace. The world wants us to fall prey to the messages that aging is something we are supposed to dread. It is nothing short of a miracle that we are alive every year. Think of all the foolish thing little boys and young men do and somehow we are still alive. From time to time, I think about young people who lives were cut short for one reason or another. As I look back at my life from birth, I have been blessed with loving parents and siblings. There is a reason I call like calling my wife Fawn, "Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe" (Proverb 5:18-19). Boy, was I wrong when I thought life couldn't get any better, we were then blessed with three of the greatest kids one could ever hoped for. All three brings us so much joy, but our blessings don't stop there. John 1:16 says, "For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." This passage tells us that Jesus’ fullness is the never ending source of grace. Proverbs 17:6 states that, “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged.” That significant statement speaks to the incredible value of grandchildren. Interestingly, it is not wealth, health, or accomplishments, are the crown of your life. Grandchildren are a good gift from God who are to be embraced and I would have never thought that grandparenting gives life meaning. Mmm, I bought a three pound bag of yellow potatoes for 69 cents from Pete's on Sunday! I made a potatoes, peppers and onions skillet dish with half the bag of potatoes and I made a potato, bell pepper and onion curry dish with the other half for dinner. Is it too early to start thinking football? It's too hard to call it a rivalry between the Irish and the Panthers because more times than not the game is one sided. Once again Notre Dame are heavily favored to win this match up. #GoIrish ☘ Feeling blessed, today was a very good day.
23 October 2023
Déjà vu, we spent the morning doing chores and mama made us a garden salad again for lunch. I love how creatively she puts together the salad with different fruits and vegetables. Mmm, frozen pot stickers! We usually get the the pork and vegetables one, but for some reason brought a package of frozen pork pot stickers this time around. Either way, I still like them better than the ones you get from a restaurant. Albeit the day was just so-so, I thank God for it. I am a little surprised at myself for using the term so-so to describe day that Lord has made.
22 October 2023
Hmm, my thighs were a little sore and stiff, when I woke up this morning. I think that I might be over doing it on the elliptical. Brr, the temps was in the upper 30s this morning, but warmed up into the upper 50s by mid afternoon. We had had to layer up before heading out the door. Awesome start, char sui bao and oatmeal with my morning coffee! My hearing aids are such a blessing; I was able to not only hear the sermon, but also the hand bell choir. I love my church family! We stopped at the Pete's and Aldi on the way home and were thinking that was a time I didn't even flinch going out to eat or shopping for groceries, those days are long gone.
21 October 2023
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going" (Ecclesiastes 9:10). What another peaceful morning. I totally submerged myself into tending to stuff I have been neglecting while listening to the classical music we had on playing as background music. I completely agree with Fawn that it was the hardest I had worked around the house other than mowing the grass or shoveling snow. Upon my request, mama made me a taco salad for lunch, olé! We tossed a frozen pizza and French fries in the oven and just kicked back to watched #7 Penn State – #3 Ohio State, #17 Tennessee – #11 Alabama, and #14 Utah - #18 USC. Now I’m all tired out and ready to go to bed.
20 October 2023
"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all" (2 Thessalonians 3:16). I'm not sure why, but even in retirement, life seems to be still a tad hurried. I am glad that we slowed down and had a peaceful day just hanging around the house relaxing! Since we didn't go out, I made use of elliptical in lieu of taking a walk. I really need to make use of the elliptical more often just to get a decent cardio workout. With winter just around the corner, that will surely be the case. I finally got around to cleaning out my email folders. Sometimes I wonder why I don't just delete the clutter from the get go. We were blessed with good eats again today, mama made one of her delicious all out garden salad that was super loaded and I made us a pork and diakon stir fry over steamed rice for dinner. Today was a very good day and thanking God for all his blessings.
19 October 2023
"For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams" (Isaiah 44:3-4). It started to rain last night before I could row the trash container curbside. I didn't expect it would continue to do so throughout the night and into today. It's no fun tending to the needed early in the morning while it's raining. It rained off and on all day long, between that and the poor air quality prevented me from do a walk. I find it interesting that I am reminded of the transforming works of the Holy Spirit in my life and my love one more often than not whenever it rains. Thanks be to God in the third person of the Trinity. We went to Alex's and made us grounded beef tacos for lunch. I intended to set aside a little of the hamburger that I browned for Nala but I totally forgot and mixed in the taco spices before doing so, it was a good thing mama brought a apple for her. Actually, we did a fusion lunch, because we had a taste for pot stickers and crab rangoon appetizers and stopped at Lucky Panda on the way. Today was a terrible jigsaw puzzle day; I only managed to connect eight puzzle pieces. Gobble gobble, thirty-five days before Thanksgiving!
18 October 2023
The day started off a tad nippy, but it warmed up quite nicely into the mid 60s by mid afternoon. Alex went into the office again this week. Albeit is quite a drive for him, I think he likes going in the office every now and then to have camaraderie with his workplace friends, especially now since the office they made available to employees in the area is near the Yorktown shopping mall where there are a lot stores and restaurants. About half the trees are showing autumn colors and the leaves are beginning to fall. I think that it is going to be like last year, when we needed a fourth curbside collection and was lucky that it didn't snow until later in December. The breathtaking hues remind me that sometimes death can be beautiful, especially for those who are in Christ. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). I think that atheists view death as the opposite of life. But reality for a Christian is that it is the end of mortality and the beginning of life and the day of their greatest joy. Mmm, talk about good eats; we indulged in, A Wreck® sandwich from Potbelly. I had an opportunity to work on the jigsaw puzzle again today and managed to connect thirty-seven tabs. I know that isn't very many pieces, but sadly that is more tabs I have completed on the puzzle in a long while. Alex saw me struggling and sits down and bam, he knocks off four tabs in a row! Every little bit helps, but it's very telling seeing how younger minds having at it.
17 October 2023
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). Albeit totally out of context, this bible verse came to mind as I am noticing how noticeably short the days are rapidly becoming. Jesus is a guiding light in our world of darkness. He provides us clarity and direction amidst life's temptations and challenges, towards eternal life. It was nice of enough of a day to go out and about to the nearby Bolingbrook area and do a little shopping. The sky was blue with a nice mix of fluffy white clouds. It seems the best we can hope for this year is for fair and air quality as the massive Canadian wildfires continue to shrouds our planet. I was comfortably layered up to walk outdoors along the storefronts of the strip malls. The only sad thing to see was all numerous vacant storefronts. It seems like every time a new store opens another closes. Anyway, I got in a ten thousand plus steps day. Mmm, farfalle noodles with mama's pasta sauce; it was a struggle not to go for seconds. Funny how the mind works, we were just sitting down enjoying our afternoon coffee with biscotti cookies and my drifted back to fond childhood memories of my parents doing likewise. This past weekend, we ate some awesome almond cookies that my nephew made and some decorated sugar cookies that my niece made. Then I started musing about all the different and delicious store bought cookies throughout the years and how some of them I haven't seen in the longest while, but Oreo have stood the test of time. Clearly, I think about the weirdest things. I love cookies; it's too bad I can't eat a lot of them anymore. Be our guide, O Lord. May your precepts burn brightly in our heart.
16 October 2023
Brr, albeit I laid up and it was in mid 50s when we were out and about, it felt nippy because it was quite windy. We went to the Sam's Club for our meds and got tier one gas across the street for $3.299 a gallon. That has to be one of the lowest gas prices since this POTUS has taken office. Between the Sam's Club and the Target store, I got in a decent indoors walk. I forgot my pedometer, but it didn't matter because it is doubtful I got in a ten thousand steps day. I finally finished the last of the potato dish for lunch and mama made me one of her spruced up garden salad, blessed not only to always have food on the table, but also to have delicious foods of my choosing. Today's verse is, "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). I don't know if this holds true, but most people in the United States think staving is an hour late for a meal. I saw a posting on the Cantonese Food Recipes Group of Canadian Thanksgiving. I thank God that my personal experience with hunger is only limited to a twelve hour fast before drawing blood for lab testing analysis.
15 October 2023
Now that's what I'm talking about, Notre #21 Dame 48 #10 USC 20. Great company and great game food from Firewater BBQ! Too bad the Trojans didn't show up to play. Oh wow, I was thinking that Pittsburgh will be a easy win for the Irish in two weeks but I just learned today that Pittsburgh knocked off Louisville Cardinals 38 - 21. Notre Dame loss to Louisville last week. With yesterday's win, Notre Dame moved up to #15. I am doubtful even with all wins with their remaining games that Notre Dame will be a top ten. Losing to Ohio State was heart breaking and the loss to Louisville was a nail on the coffin. We were surprised to get a text from our niece who flew in town from California and needed a ride to the party. What an awesome celebration that felt very much like a huge family reunion. It must be over twenty since we stepped in Gong Ho Restaurant. I thought half the food wasn't very good, a couple dishes were so and so, and a couple of the dishes were very good. The restaurant décor completely changed and not for the good. I was happy to see a Chinese whole crispy roast pig. I haven't eaten that in a very long time and it was every bit as good as I remembered it to be. There is nothing many things as special as celebrating with your siblings and three generations of family. Growing up, I remember celebrating with four generations on family, but nowadays, people are waiting longer to get married as well as waiting longer before having children. My cup is full with the gift of family and overflows with God's grace and blessings.
14 October 2023
"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!" (Psalm 103:1). Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe. Oh wow, not only did it rain all day yesterday, we had a torrential overnight downpour that beat on the roof loud enough to wake me up. Happy happy haircut, its remains unclear to me way I feel so good when mama give me a fresh haircut. I am penning this journal entry early because we are about to go to Carl and Sandy's for dinner and watch the greatest football rivalry between Notre Dame and USC. #GoIrish. It was good to see Gloria and Lucia in town visiting. Lol, a friend posted a childhood story about a kid play car and the enthusiasts start for love of cars, which brought back memories of when Alex was happily in his and told us he wanted to become a truck driver. Yeah, I'm still eating the potato dish and kicked it up another notch by chopping up and adding hot chili peppers to the mix and the sport peppers are yet another welcomed addition. What can I say, five pounds of potatoes is a lot of food for two people. The family will be joining together to join a huge red egg celebration for Atlas. Mama made her infamous pasta sauce for the kids. No kidding, it is literally the best sauce ever. It is ashamed that the kids aren't learning and watch her make it, especially Alex, because he seems to like to cook. Slowly but surely, we're eight tabs further along with the puzzle. Sigh, all this time I was getting mad thinking that something was causing my mobile data was being turned on by an outside source like a software update, but now I think that it might be accidentally turned on by my thumb. Anyway, time to stop penning and get ready to head out. God is good.
13 October 2023
"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). Thanks be to God for daily joy. It rained the entire day so we ended up hanging around the house all day long and peacefully had classical music playing as background music. I got in a good cardio workout by making use of the elliptical. The plan was initially to have four short goes on it today twice in the morning and twice again in the afternoon, but I ended up hopping on the elliptical six times instead. I thank God that I am healthy enough to still exercise. Good eats today, I made us beef with bitter melon over rice for lunch and I turned yesterday's potato dish into a scrambler dish that was leaps and bounds better! I have been thinking about the rivalry between Notre Dame and USC all week long. Initially, I thought about hitting the pandemic button Monday morning and by midweek I was saying to myself that it's only a game. Today was all fired up and think that not only are the Trojans just waiting to get beat, the Irish are up to the task. It is hard not to be somewhat discouraged seeing not only evil and wickedness, but seeing people in protest supporting it. I see now that world peace means different things to people. Prayers for God to intervene and bring these days of violence and wickedness to an end. Come, Lord Jesus.
12 October 2023
It started raining last night and finally stopped near the noon hour and the sun popped out! Albeit, I went to bed around the same time as I usually do, I woke up later than usual and was tire. However, I was expecting my arm to be sore where I got my flu shot, but there was no stiffness or soreness, wow! Mmm, mama made me oatmeal with blueberries and sliced almonds, so good. Fawn bought a five pound bag of yellow gold on sale for 99 cents, unbelievable. I glad she took the initiative to do all prep work of cleaning and peeling the potatoes. I diced up the potatoes along with green bell peppers and yellow onions and made us a potato skillet of sort for lunch, it was just OK. I think that I’ll try to spruce it up and turn it into a scrambler by adding Italian sausage and scrambled eggs to it tomorrow. I prayed for the God’s presence in the world because there is a whole lot of evil craziness going about.
11 October 2023
"Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!" (Psalm 96:9). Let us rejoice and be glad. Brr, I only wore a short sleeved t-shirt and didn't bother to layer up before heading out this morning because we went to get our flu shots. If my memory serves me right, I can expect my arm to be a little sore and stiff tomorrow morning. On the way home we picked up some vegetables from the Chinese supermarket. Albeit most of the vegetables looked pretty good, we only bought bitter melon and diakon, because there was already plenty of food in our refrigerator. Nice, it warmed up into the mid 60s and actually felt pretty good while we were out and about. It’s not clear to me why Fawn bought bone-in strip steak instead of our usual go to ribeye. Mmm, I was taken by surprise just how tender and flavorful the strip steak was. It made for an outstanding dinner. Well I just heard the rain moved in, even without my hearing aid on.
10 October 2023
Every year on October 10th I have memories of my parents celebrating Double Ten Day. It is the anniversary of the Wuchang Uprising which led to the Xinhai Revolution in which revolutionary forces overthrew the Qing Dynasty and the Manchu rule over Han Chinese. Once upon a time, I gave muse to, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment" (Romans 13:1-2). I think that people have viewed Romans 13 wrongly and have responded to evil and oppressive governments passively in light of it. For example, Saint Paul himself was incarcerated multiple times for preaching the gospel, yet upon his release, each time he continued to do it over and over again. I am so surprised that Alex when in to his new office location again, because it is relatively quite a ways to drive considering he is allowed to work from home and has a real nice home office set up. I'm pretty sure he likes to go in the office just for get-togethers with co-workers every now and then to break up the monotony. OK, $3.359! At least the gas prices are somewhat dropping. Drop a dollar more a gallon and I'll stop whining about the high gas prices. It was a big mistake on my part ordering a spicy chicken sandwich from Portillo's. It was the first and last time I'll ever do that again. I was disappointed that the $$$ spicy chicken sandwich wasn't all that. No doubt in my mind that Chick-fil-A beat Portillo's hands down when it comes to making chicken sandwiches. I worked a little bit more on the puzzle and connected 16 more tabs, so slow. It's really getting dark so soon now. It will really be something when we will roll the clock an hour back off daylight savings time. Yes sir, got in a ten thousand plus steps day in! Thank you Lord for the blessings you bestowed and forgive my unexercised faith.
9 October 2023
Of the Father's love begotten ere the worlds began to be, he is Alpha and Omega, he the source, the ending he, of the things that are, that have been, and that future years shall see evermore and evermore. Amen. What a beautiful prayer of adoration to wake up to hear in the morning. Whoo hoo, Andrea called this morning because the furnace guy came first thing in the morning and so they were able to come down. Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples' Day, whatever. It's not clear to me if a lot of folks actually celebrate or just look at today as a day off for some, but it appears to be important to some. We were so thrilled that Rob came down with our grands after all. I started to muse about my son-in-law, and began to admire how well he wears his many hats and can give attest to his selflessness as a husband, father, son-in-law and brother-in-law. I wanted to work on the puzzle with Isaac, but that wasn't going well, we managed to connect ten tabs before quickly losing interest. After everyone left in had it again and connected another five tabs. Because we were catch off guard on the food front, it was only blueberry muffins for a late breakfast and a Olive Garden carryout lunch. I looked at the weather app again today and a long string of rainy days are now forecasted for the week. I was sadden and supper disappointed to see that Notre Dame isn’t the powerhouse football team that I was hoping for with Sam Hartman, after Saturday’s loss Louisville, I am surprised to see that they are still a ranked team (#21). I wonder if they even have a chance agaist #10 USC this week.The verse and muse of the day is, "He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler" (Psalm 91:4). Our lives are filled with countless many uncertainties. We live in a broken world with hate and terrorism where horrible atrocities seem to routinely occur. Thanks be to God who has promised to bring us to himself no matter what may happen and place my trust, my hope, and my future into and loving care of my family under his wings. I thank God for this day and rejoiced in it. It is such an easy thing to rejoice when one is surrounded with the presence of God’s gift of family.
8 October 2023
It’s good to be alive, hallelujah! Thanks be to God for his grace found in Christ Jesus. I really hope my body will acclimate to the coolness of the fall season. A day in the 40s and 50s doesn't even remotely suits me well in the faintest, but I imagine that by mid winter I'll be doing the happy dance if it got above freezing. Crazy how relative abstract things are perceived. I didn't think that thermal underwear and wearing my Bronson looking knit hat and fall jacket was a overkill, brrr. I hate it when I stay up late just to watch Notre Dame get their butt whipped and not being able to stay in bed. After a cup of hot coffee and a bowl of oatmeal with jalapeño peppers, I was good to go. I'm glad Fawn laid out a nice flannel dress shirt this morning, brrr. Mmm, we bought a ton of grounded beef thinking that the kids were going to be around this Columbus Day weekend. Oh well, we went to Alex's and made hamburgers stuffed with peppers and onions for lunch as well hamburger peas over Cantonese pan fried noodles! I had a little fun working on the puzzle and connected twenty more tabs. I am flabbergasted that I am progressing so slowly. Tonight my prayers extend to my family and friends for God’s peace and good health and for world peace.
7 October 2023
"Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:14). I'm so happy that we turned on the furnace yesterday. Albeit was a cool brisk day, we woke up cozy. Albeit I'm still mumbling about derailing off the twelve O and how the Irish choked against the Buckeyes, its time continue moving on the eleven one. I am very confident that the Irish have been working on miss tackle, but I still don't get what is up with the penalties. Are the Irish that undisciplined? So much for taking it a game at a time, is it wrong to be more fired up about the Notre Dame - USC rivalry next week than taking on Louisville tonight? Albeit it’s a college day, the highlight of the day is facetiming with all our kids together. Life is good, God is good. Time to stop penning this journal entry got to make supper and get ready to rumble.
6 October 2023
Brr, it was only in the upper 40s when we woke up this morning and it only warmed up a tad briefly to around sixty degrees Fahrenheit before the temperature gradually took a nose dive. It cooled down below the normal for this time of year that I couldn’t hold off any longer turning on the furnace. I had to start my day off with a cup of hot coffee and a bowl of oatmeal with jalapeño peppers. Talk about being out and about in a cool crisp autumn day, I layered up in thermals and sweats and was so glad that I opted to wear a windbreaker to boot. Looking ahead on the weather app, looks like autumn has arrived and will be here and staying around for a while. I made sure that I picked up my walking pace today, because there was no leisurely walk in the cards under this type of condition until I can acclimate to the seasonal change. Chirp, chirp, ten thousand plus steps! For our good eats, I made us egg fried rice with Chinese sausages! I praise God for his gift of grace in Christ Jesus, alleluia!
5 October 2023
I must have been sound asleep, because I realized that we had overnight rain until I looked the rear window having our morning coffee. Mmm, I made us tacos for lunch. Life just seems to be so much better with tacos in it. It's been a while since we gone to IKEA. We met up with my brother there because he needed to buy a small storage cabinet, $$$. Hmm, I thought IKEA is supposed to be reasonably priced. We sat a little while jawing over their delicious freebie coffee, before picking up the storage unit. A mouse maze always comes to mind whenever I walk around in that store. I estimated that it would take us about minutes to assemble the unit, but it end up taking two old dudes almost two hours to put it all together. Today we were double blessed, because we had dinner with my brother and sister! I enjoyed this time of year and getting to eat moon cakes.
4 October 2023
"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). Rejoice always, it is always easy whenever I'm around family. We went out and about running errands and getting in my morning walk before going over to visit my brother and did a lunchtime carryout. Mmm, good eats Panda Express, what can I say? We're ABCs. Once upon a time I worked in the telecommunications sector in various capacities for AT&T, T-Mobile, Lucent and Nokia and yet I am amazed on how well the FEMA and FCC Nationwide Emergency Alert Test went without a hitch today, bully. It was a good day visiting my brother and getting in ten thousand plus steps. God is Good.
3 October 2023
"I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad" (Psalm 34:1-2). We went to Alex's to let Nala out, because Alex had to go in to the office to move all his personal belongings out because the company is completely closing down the facility. Personally, I am surprised that he even goes in the office from time to time at all. We stopped for gas and paid $3.659 Albeit it wasn't as cheap as the gas in Montgomery, it was the cheapest gas price on our route to Alex's. I don't know why I am obsessed with high gas prices anymore. Now that everything is costly across the board, there is little chance of anything turning back. One of Alex's kitchen recessed lighting LED light bulbs started flickering, so we went to Menards to buy replacement bulbs. It is weird that I never noticed Feit brand light bulbs on the selves before until now. I did my walk indoors at the Target and Menards because we are back to having poor air quality. Mmm, I got me Tuesday's gyros special from the Doggie Diner. I’m a happy camper, good stuff. Fawn got her carryout from the Burritos Parrilla Mexicana. I haven't eaten food from them in years because I got ill for days from their food at our last go there. Fawn thought the carne asada was very good, but the price went up a lot and the portion got a lot smaller. I worked on the puzzle and today and it was the best go I had on the puzzle in a long while, we are now 53 tabs closer to completion! The days have become noticeably shorter and the day is almost over. Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
2 October 2023
I looked at the weather forecast this morning for the week and was surprised to see that the extraordinary warm weather we have been getting will extend until Thursday. We went to the dealership to get an oil change, and it was time for the rare brakes to be replaced. Yeah, I know $$$. Well at least we were able to get a courtesy ride back home and they dropped the car back off at our home when they were done servicing it. We spent a little time cleaning out the dryer vent and tidying up the garage. I like to get the lint out of the dyer vent pipe every spring and fall.
1 October 2023
"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). I'm glad we got to sleep in late this morning, because there was only one service at 11 a.m. today so that our congregation could install our pastors and partake in the Eucharist together. We blown away by the reverent full blast worship. With a joyful noise I boldly sung with the best of my ability, Of the Father's Love Begotten and tearfully sung the recessional hymn, We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God. Because we are a blessing large parish with one Divine Service, we got to see friends that we got to see friends that we hadn't seen for a while in the pews and in the commons. God continues to bless us with most learned pastors that show us our Beautiful Savior. Watching Fighting Irish football the last two games late on Saturday nights has been very frustrating and taxing, albeit Notre Dame didn't choke and came back this time for the win. I'm am surprised with last night's win, the penalties and missed tackles continue to plague them. Last night's win was enough to place Notre Dame as a top ten in the rankings again. Undefeated #25 Louisville is up next and #9 USC the following week. The Irish have their work cut out for them. I have to talk about our crazy weather; it was a hot and muggy one again in the upper 80s. Crazy how the dehumidifier in our basement is working overtime in October. Rejoiced in outstanding day, God is good. I lift my love ones to you, O Lord. Thanks be to God, who knows our thoughts, desires and the intent of our hearts.
30 September 2023
I woke up this morning and the old tune, "In my heart there rings a melody", came to mind. It is like forever still the thought of that song crossed my mind. I'm not sure, but perhaps remnants of my evangelical childhood past. The joy in my heart is found in Christ and the grace that he showers us with. We saw the super full moon this morning. It is so weird to see the moon and sun on the horizon at the same time. Dang, talk about a huge temperature swing, it was in the upper 50s this morning and by mid afternoon, it soared up to the mid 80s and the humidifier was working overtime. It is in insane that we are experiencing summer like weather on the last day of September. The morning started with us gathering around the table with fusion good eats, scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage links, turnip cakes and char sui baos. Aah, I could barely wait to get a hot cup of coffee in me. I think sriracha is just OK as far as hot sauces are concern, but it really tastes super good with turnip cake. I think Nala loves when the family gets together, because gets to eat a little scrambled eggs for breakfast and a little hamburger for lunch. I'm pretty sure that regular sameo sameo dog food gets really old for her day in and day out. And she gets a lot of attention playing with the kids. "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish y the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!" (Psalm 90:17). I'm not sure how I became the needle and thread sewer of the family, but it is good to feel needed. It's funny how I always feel a great sense of satisfaction working with my hands even with the smallest of accomplishments. I was happy to be able mend back his stuffed animal tiger that was about to lose its neck. Lol, my reflexes were so bad, I got demolished playing sword fight with Isaac. I enjoyed listening to his countless riddles as much as he enjoyed telling them. I don't get to play with Peyton as much as I would like because she likes to go out to the stores with her mama and grandma. I think it is great that she talks a lot now and is able to communicate and articulate as well as she does. I think that has a lot to do with having a older sibling. Normally, I thought that Alex's area had way to much bird bombs because most of his neighbors have bird feeders and lots little birds are all over the place like a bird sanctuary. I was wondering why there weren't any birds were around lately. I saw a hawk perching on his fence and now I know why. Mmm, mama's meat sauce over pasta with garlic bread was our lunch. The highlights of our time together were the huggies and the love yous and the much needed neck shoulder back massage I get from Rob. Albeit I don't need to message my finger that often anymore and can squeeze my hand, I am disappointed that I haven't made any progress with fully bending my middle finger, so close. One would think I could get my full range back in a matter of time. I worked on the puzzle again today. Albeit I had another poor showing, I did manage to connect twenty more tabs in place. There was an area in the puzzle I thought that I was going to make great strives that was surprisingly a total bust. Anyway, stopping now to watch the #11 Notre Dame vs #17 Duke. Notre Dame better not choke like last week…
29 September 2023
I had an awesome and most peaceful morning doing prep work and cooking this and that while listening to classical music. I boiled several boxes of penne and made hot dog fried rice and browned the hamburger for mama's pasta sauce. We also decided to make the turnip cake and breakfast sausage links ahead of time to save time tomorrow, because the grandkids have to leave early to go a birthday party to. So we a gathering earlier than usual and gather around the table for breakfast and eat lunch a tad earlier too. The only cooking I'm expecting is to make scrambled eggs in the morning to reheat the breakfast food and to make toasted garlic bread to go with the pasta for lunch. It was such a nice day and the plan was to mow all the grass in one sweep. I managed to easily hit the front and about four fifths before running out of gas. If that isn't bad enough, I think that I will still need to cut the grass one or two more times before we are done with cutting the grass for the year. Normally, two gallons of gas is enough gas to cut the grass each year. I just realized that because I took pride and done a Rob and over lapped the passes on occasions this year, that I used more gas than in previous years. We facetimed with the kids and that made our day joyfully complete. I am grateful for the wisdom from above and to know that each hour is grace. May the Lord continue to shower our family with grace upon grace. Anyway off to bed, big day ahead for us tomorrow.
28 September 2023
We woke up to a bright sunny zip-a-dee-doo-dah day with the bluest of skies that I had seen a long while. The nice mix clouds made for a picturesque morning day walk. Mmm, a notable quick stop in the Chinese supermarket to get some char sui bao and Cantonese egg tarts before heading out and about to the Sam's Club pharmacy and shopping in the Oswego area. No way were we not going to pass up the opportunity to get gas for $3.599 a gallon! I'm pretty that was the lowest gas price we had for tier one gas in a long while under this POTUS. I got in a good amount of steps while Fawn was shopping in the Kohl's and Target. I especially like taking a walk on the walking path in the subdivision just south of the Plainfield Target. We then stopped at the Jewel to buy a couple more things on the way to Alex's for this weekend as well as buy food to Celebrate National Son Day. I make us bone in pork chops and store bought bake scalloped potatoes that only needed to be nuked in the microwave. It was a weird day weatherwise, we had a complete overcast move in around the noon hour. After lunch, I relaxed and worked on the puzzle and managed to get 31 tabs in place. Sweet, I got in another ten thousand plus steps day! Thanks be to God for this day.
27 September 2023
Rain, rain, and more rain, thankfully we only had to endure scattered showers throughout the day. I'm finally getting around to taking my new prescription! I noticed that taking a diuretic makes you drink a heck of a lot more and urinate more often, that somehow sounds so counterintuitive. Anyway, out the door early to shop and running errands. First stop was at Panera to pick up my promotional freebie pastry. Then we were off to the Wheaton Target and to the strip mall area in Bloomingdale. I tend to forget just how long the strip mall is. I and I really really love walking under their built in front canopy like a centurion listening to smooth jazz playing over their piped in sound system. Because it was raining, I just walked back and forth on west end of the mall where the store they had the continuous built in store front and that alone was about one thousand five hundred steps from end to end. On easy peasy days like today when I get in well over ten thousand steps, I begin to wonder if I routinely average over ten thousand steps in a day walking because I don't put on my pedometer on first thing in the morning and take it off most days when I noticed that I reached my ten thousand steps. I suppose that it really doesn't matter, because I just use the pedometer to motivate me on to get in a minimum of seven thousand steps on lazy days and to get me off my butt at least every hour and a half instead of just sitting around like a couch potato. Oh nice, there was a Red Lobster across the street from the strip mall and I got to finally use the Red Lobster gift card the Emma gifted me for my birthday back in June. Normally, I would order fish and chips, but I couldn't pass by trying their endless shrimp promotion. I had it mind that I was going to at least sample all eight different choices thinking that the portions were going to be small, boy was I wrong. I ended up only ordering six of the eight items and taking home the untouched bake potato side and boxing more than half the food because I couldn't pass up having a couple of their biscuits. The autumn leaves colors are really coming in and the trees have already begun shedding their leaves. We went grocery shopping because we are seeing the kids this weekend. So far I know that I am making hot dog fried. I started to say for Isaac, but all my kids including myself like this fusion comfort food. I'm clueless to why I had the song of day in my head and have been humming, Crystal Blue Persuasion - Tommy James and the Shondells, all day long. One would think that I would be chilling to Eric Clapton or Adele songs. I started a spreadsheet to track to do some tracking some data for the next two weeks. Surprisingly, it was like riding a bike. Today was a very good day.
26 September 2023
"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving" (Colossians 4:2). I decided to begin my journal entry throughout the day today and will do a cut and paste to blogger tonight, because I am restless here sitting in the waiting room of the Gastroenterology outpatient care center. Talk about rejoicing over a cup off piping hot cup of coffee, we only got in a few hours of sleep and were out the door pre dawn, because Fawn scheduled herself the first appointment of the day which was 6 a.m. "He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler" (Psalm 91:4). I found comfort in knowing that our Lord is our refuge and fortress and guides the mind and hands of the medical team during her medical procedure.... It was a total lazy sluggish day for me. I just did a whole lot of nothingness and listened to music from the distant past like, Since I Don't Have You - Skyliners and about to fall asleep.
25 September 2023
Happy Daughter's Day! Whoa, we woke early this morning to the ongoing loud rumbling sound of thunder that was shaking the house along with the torrential down pouring that was beating on the roof. After the thunderstorm passed the rumbling sound continued for quite some time and prevented me from falling back asleep. Good thing I had the pot of coffee all to myself this morning. Since Fawn is on a special diet today, it made no sense to make a pot of oatmeal, so toast it was. Anyway, I'm going to pen a short entry and go to bed early because we have to be out the door super early for a colonoscopy appointment. Albeit the prep and seeing a gastroenterologist is never something to look forward to, it can potentially be a life saving procedure. Prayers for a safe procedure and good results. We stayed indoors today, so I didn't bother with clipping on the pedometer and did all my cardio for the day in the elliptical. I had four goes on elliptical doing intervals and was huffing and puffing. I'm not sure if that was a wise thing to do. I gave muse to a post by a friend that that have been doing some maintenance and said, "Everything old is “like” new again except for me!" Thanks be to God who continually makes us new. Every moment of every day brings a fresh beginning. "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self[d] is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
24 September 2023
C'mon man! I can only describe last night loss with one word, "choke." We did a quick in and out at the Jewel this morning to pick up our freebie salsa while we were out and about. Albeit I got in a nice walk, it was nowhere near the number of steps I was hoping to get it. I guess that is what happens when you just do leisurely walk. It is just as well; because that forced me to make sure that I get up off my butt more often and step in place for a few minutes. I was determined to get in a ten thousand plus steps day in because I didn't even bother to take a walk yesterday. Mmm, asiago bread tastes so good; it’s ashamed that one can only eat it in moderation. I thought about mow the grass this afternoon, but that was about the extent of it. It was just way too sunny and muggy in the low 80s. Haha, what a hoot, Fawn showed me video of Isaac with Halloween back scratcher. There are so much pain and suffering and as we get old our friends and family become more and more in need of intercessory prayers. I am thankful that God knows our hearts and minds and accepts our sigh as a cry for his mercies and that being in his presence on the behalf of self and others in silence before the throne of grace need not be burdensome.
23 September 2023
"I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me" (Psalm 13:6). I woke up rejoicing in Lord. Bless the Lord my soul. I'm penning super early and am getting ready for the big game between Notre Dame and Ohio State. I've been fired up all week waiting for this showdown. Albeit was a only in the low 80s, it was so muggy because of the high humidity. I’m surprised at myself for not complaining about how quickly the dehumidifier fills up until now this year. We went to Perry and Ashley's home to celebrate PJ's 2nd birthday. There is so much joy when I see these little toddlers. "One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts" (Psalm 145:4). Anyway, time to stop penning…
22 September 2023
Woke to a dark sky with drizzling rain. Mmm, in addition to our usual oatmeal with our morning coffee, mama also heated up a scone. Scone for breakfast? Works for me! I always thought that a scone tasted like a cookie, but when heated up, it tastes more like a biscuit, delicious! The rain was supposed to have cleared up by mid morning, but that didn't happened. We went to wish a friend a happy birthday; she lived near the Yorktown shopping mall so that worked out great for me, because I was able to get in nice mall walk. After lunch, we drove to the Sam's Club pharmacy to pick up my new updated prescription. Even though the doctor prescribed a minor tweak, it's never a good thing whenever a course of action is required. I couldn't believe the price of my new generic medicine cost so much, so ridiculously outrageous. Albeit the sun never came out as forecasted, it did stop raining long enough in the afternoon that I was able to take an outdoor walk and got in another ten thousand plus steps day. My brother likes all sorts of different types of sandwiches with pork in it, so we stopped at the Jewel to pick up some pork chops before visiting my brother, so that I could fry him up a home cooked meal for our supper. I think that he eats out way too much. Thanks be to God for the blessings of the day and for blessing us with the gift of siblings.
21 September 2023
OK I get it; it rains a lot in the autumn and in the spring. Whenever it rains now, I tend to think and reflect on the outpouring and filling of the Holy Spirit and that's a good thing. May the Holy Spirit open our hearts to the word, goodness and beauty of God. Nice, I got a email this morning from Panera notifying me that a freebie treat is waiting for me. Hmm, gon chow ngau ho. We did the prep work at home before heading out to Alex's for lunch, mama cleaned and cut up the bok choy and I sliced up the rice noodle and marinated the flank steak. I love stir frying on Alex's high btu gas stove top because it creates the wok hei that I can't get with mine. I can't say enough good things about this classic Cantonese comfort food dish. Plan to kick back and go to bed early tonight. Bless my family and my loved ones keep us safe from all harms and heal our infirmities.
20 September 2023
"Blessed is the man who a walks not in b the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD and on his law he meditates day and night" (Genesis 1:1-2). Albeit the sky was a hazy grayish blue, it was nice to be out and about and made for an enjoyable weatherwise walk. I was determined and made an concerted effort from the get go first thing this morning to get in a ten thousand plus steps day in, mission accomplished! I looked on Google Map for the cheapest gas prices before heading out this morning. It seems like the gas station across the street from the Sam's Club continues to routinely sell their tier one gas at or lower than everyone else in town. I was expecting to pay $3.799, but was pleasantly surprised to see it was $3.729 a gallon. Then when I saw the fill up was $31.62, the inflationary reality set in. Apparently, I can't be ever fully happy. I have been researching information about the updated covid vaccine for fall 2023 that is based on XBB.1.5. I believe that WHO, CDC, and the FDA have lost all credibility and that my family can no longer trust them for sound medical guidance. Crazy weather, we went later in the day for my appointment with my nephrologist, by mid afternoon it was hot and muggy in the low 80s. I had imagining done on my kidneys several months ago and finally able to see the specialist to go over them. “Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you” (Psalm 116:7). Today was great day filled with countless blessing.
19 September 2023
“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams” (Isaiah 44:3-4). Thanks be to God for his provision of physical and spiritual sustenance. What does one do on a rainy morning? Muse and get all fired up about the top 10 matchup this weekend between #9 Notre Dame and #6 Ohio State of course! Albeit neither team have been really tested, this year's level of confidence in winning a big game is different and off the charts than in past years because the Irish finally has a top echelon quarterback. Every time we heavy rain, I wonder how the heck we have ongoing uncontained wildfires that continue burning for months on end. Given the circumstances of the day, it proved difficult to meet my seven thousand steps day, but I gotrdun. Intercessory prayers for my family and friends.
18 September 2023
"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). This is an awesome reminder of our Lord's steadfast love and faithfulness to start off the day. Mama was up early and had oatmeal and coffee waiting for me. Mmm, a fresh pot of oatmeal with sliced almonds and blueberries. We went out and about in town in relatively nice autumn day; there was a nice mix of sun and clouds. Albeit the air quality was only fair, it is as good as it gets because ongoing Canadian wildfires. I was surprised that I in close to nine thousand steps in during this morning's walk. It is amazing; I guess that is what happens when one decides to pick up a pace instead of just taking a leisurely walk. Both have its benefits. Getting a ten thousand plus steps day was breeze after that.
17 September 2023
"And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing" (Ezekiel 34:26). Our Lord showers us with abundant blessings of grace upon grace. We woke up early to the sound of the pouring rain. I was better dressed properly for the cool autumn day than I was yesterday. It was good to catch up with a few friends in our church family, continued prayer for comfort and healing. "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:3-4). We went to Nancy's to celebrate Bill's 75th birthday. "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases" (Psalm 103:2-3). I think that we become more tuned to and more aware of our mortality and that our days are numbered when we be become elderly and the passing of love ones giving in to our weary earthly bodies as we age. I am grateful for big brother. He’s a Chicago Bears fan, so we ended up watching the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. How can Bears fan stand the frustration and stress this team creates? Sigh, I was so happy when the game was over. I was looking at the 10 day forecast to look at the rain possibilities for the week ahead, but was pleasantly surprised to see the possibility of a few nice days temperaturewise later in the week.
16 September 2023
"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). We were up early with joy in our heart, our Lord is faithful. We shared a char sui bao with our morning coffee before heading out to meet the kids at Alex's. Its autumn and the exceptional good weather we have been having had to eventually give way to the changing of the season. Naturally I am musing and about to pen all the good eats we are blessed with we our family gathers. We always celebrate our time together around the table with delicious food from our Lord's bounty. Often times I like praying the common grace prayer that many folks have prayed before meals for centuries, "Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord." Amen. This short prayer offers gratitude, supplication, praise. I made us scrambled eggs and sausage links for breakfast. And we did a fusion lunch, I heated up store bought spinach and cheese manicotti in the oven with mama's pasta sauce and Alex made his signature beef enchiladas. Albeit a joy seeing our kids, our grandchildren are a greater joy. How is that even possible? Perhaps it may be because we see them at the best of times. I and grateful that Rob is willing to give me a much needed a neck, shoulder and back massage. Outside of Rob, Isaac is the only other person willing to help me out in this department. Hmm, too bad the Notre Dame vs Central Michigan game was streaming on Peacock. What the heck is that? Weird that I ended up listening to the game via live radio. Congratulations to Notre Dame 41 - 17 win over Central Michigan. Albeit there remains plenty of work before next week's show down, I believe the Fighting Irish has the ability to take down the Buckeyes. That Sam Hartman is looking really good. I spent a total of about thirty minutes working on the puzzle and we are fifteen more tabs closer. The day remained a cool one and with a little bit of rain toward the end of the day. I was in Facebook a came across the an impressive Fleetwood Mac cover that I have seen/heard quite a few times in the past, Dreams - Lanie Gardner. Her voice is as beautiful as Stevie Nicks. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, thanks be to God for the gift of family and friends.
15 September 2023
“I lift up my eyes to w the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who a keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:1-4). Our help come from the Lord. We were up and out the door early for Fawn's annual doctor's appointment with her oncologist. Thanks be to God who watches over us and heals our infirmities. I enjoy walking at the Edward Hospital campus, especially near the waterfall. There is something about the calming sound of moving water. The temperature swing during this time of year is much like how I remember San Francisco is, cool in the morning and warm by mid day. I stepped out of the house wearing a sweat shirt, sweat pants and a light jacket when it was in the low 50s and by the noon hour it was already in the mid 70s. Crazy how the day starts out in the mid to upper 40s this time of year. Thanks be to God, I am glad that we are still getting days in the 70s. While out and about we stopped at the Chinese supermarket for fresh Chinese vegetables. Talk about salivating at the sight of freshly made char sui bao. It didn't take long after we got back home for me to toss that bad boy in the microwave to nuke and devour the char sui bao. I had it with an egg tart and my watered down ice coffee. I've only been drinking a half cup in the morning for some time now and putting the rest in the refrigerator and filling it back up with chilled water to drink cold later in the day. Fawn went shopping at Ross and Burlington and I got in a second long walk. This time it was like a centurion pacing up and down in the shaded area along the storefronts of the strip mall. During thing walk, I started musing about the Rev. Dr. Kleinig's Bible Study class about Spiritual Warfare. I learned a lot about myself. There were moments of joy as well as things that are better left unsaid that crossed my mind. May the Lord grant me the wisdom to see things through his eyes. Before I knew it, this walking fool got his ten thousand plus steps in before the noon hour. My Skechers walking shoes are the best, so comfortable. Whoa, talk about angry people living in a broken world, during my walk, I thought a woman started shouting profanities at me, but it turned out that she had a blue tooth and was on her phone. Prayers for our brokenness. I made us beef and peapods and am really liking the taste of the Momofuku brand soy sauce. I thank God for his enduring and steadfast love. Ongoing prayers for family members and friends.
10 September 2023
9/10 "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). Happy haircut, feeling good! Sometimes it's not clear to me if I pray this psalm because it was a beautiful day or because this verse encouraged me to see the beauty in each and every day. Perhaps it is a little of both. I mused on some of the captivating glimpses of heaven that Holy Scripture offers into the nature of heaven as a place of joy and beauty in the eternal presence of God. Thanks be to God for the gift of eternal life. Strengthen us, O Lord, in our times of doubt and hardship and to live our life in faith and obedience. Alex flew out to Dallas this afternoon, so we are watching Nala. Lol, when he is away on his business trips, I think of and use his house as our vacation home get away. Prayers for safe travels and protection. I'll be penning my journal using, notes, on my smartphone and appending random entries throughout the day while away and will cut and paste them to Blogger when we go back home later in the week. I had a fun working on the huge jigsaw puzzle. Thanks be to God for small victories, I managed to fit about a dozen more pieces. I keep telling myself it is only a matter of time. For sure, I'm learning a thing or two about the virtues of patience. Thanks be to God for his faithfulness. Prayers for healing and hope... 9/11 we woke at dawn to the sound of the pouring rain. My morning prayers included a moment of silence which gave way to a muse on the evil that exists in this world and to our brokenness. For some, the tragic memory of what happened 22 years ago today has become even more faded and fuzzy. May we never forget. Lord, forgive us and strengthen us. I struggled to get out bed this morning, is it time to turn on the furnace? Thanks be to God for hot oatmeal and coffee. It stayed cool and rained off and on literally day long. I can't ever recall it has ever continually raining for so many hours at a time with only a few short periods of it not. Mmm, I made us egg drop soup for lunch. "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy" (Psalm 103:2-4). Prayers for healing for my family members and friends. 9/12 "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:14). Albeit we went to bed early, I struggled to get out from under the sheets because it was so cold. Fawn had the first dental appointment of the day to have her semiannual teeth cleaned. It was only in the mid 50s when we stepped out the door. Brr, it was way too cold for me to take a walk with the clothes I had. So I just sat and read excerpts from, The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis, which is downloaded on my phone. I read and mused on, "The Death of Man" and "Appreciating God's Grace". Lord, strengthen us in our weakness and heal us according to your will. "To you, O LORD, I o lift up my soul" (Psalm 25:1). I am surprised that on the way back, I had a taste for a McDonald's sausage and biscuit breakfast sandwich. For some reason, I was expecting a more satisfying taste, but all things considering, it was ok. The sun finally came out and it warmed up near 70 degrees mid afternoon. So we went out and I got in a really nice long walk. Yes sir, I got my ten thousand plus steps day in! Persistently I lay my petitions before you, O Lord, that you will place your healing hands on my family members and friends. Thank you for the blessings of the day. 9/13 Déjà vu, it was tough getting out from under the covers in the morning at the start of another day to let Nala out. I hate to imagine by the start of winter, the 50s will be a blessing. What am I say? Each and every day is a blessing. "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love that we may rejoice and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:11-14). With the changing of each season, I often begin musing about the changing seasons in life. Once I put on the proper autumn attire and had a nice hot cup of coffee and a char sui boa, I was a happy camper and good to go. The sun was out and it warmed up into the 60s rather quickly, so I got a nice early morning in. By mid afternoon, we were in the low 70s. I've said it countless times; that I think that 72 degrees Fahrenheit with 50 percent humidity is ideal, I can't that it wasn't like that in the Garden of Eden. We went out and about to an awesome looking day where the sky was picturesque blue with a nice mix of fluffy white clouds and easily got another ten thousand plus steps day in! During the summer month walking in the cool of the day was pleasant, now in autumn it is nicer in the afternoon in the warmth. I don't think that there is anything special about ten thousand steps and think seven thousand steps is what is needed over a course of a day with a 30 minute walk included and best not to be sitting for not more than 90 minutes without getting up for a stretch. We stopped by our house to row out the garbage to the curbside. Talk about timely, we were discussing what we were going to have for dinner when the phone rang and Sandy told us that she made her Columbian chicken for us and Alex! I was totally surprised that Sandy brought me a crucifix necklace from Vatican. I always wanted one to wear as a reminder of what love truly looks like. Albeit I looked several times, I never took the time to make it a mission to seek one out. The highlight of day was facetiming with Andrea, Rob, Isaac and Peyton. They encouraged me to work a little more on the puzzle, so I spent about 15 minutes working on it and got more pieces. It'll take forever to complete the jigsaw puzzle at this rate. I need to come up with a different strategy moving forward. I do have a plan that might help. Mmm, first time I ever tasted an almond joy cookie, so tasty! The day is almost over and am penning the last time tonight. My thoughts and prayers are for my family members and friends, for safe travels and grant us good health, safe lodging and holy rest. 9/14 "Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!" (Psalm 113: 1-3). Praise be to God! I started to say that it was my turn to let Nala out in the morning, but the reality is that Fawn is usually gets up way before I do. Brr, it felt so cold that it didn't surprise me that it was only in the upper 40s. I drank a cup of hot water and climbed back in to bed. I love my hot morning coffee, especially when the weather starts getting a tad nifty like this. I just realized that I haven't made a pot of coffee since we bought the new coffee pot this year. It is just as well, because mama brews a better pot than me anyway. We waited till mid morning to go shopping for the groceries for our weekend gathering, thankfully by then it was already up into the mid 60s and was in the low 70s by the noon hour. I am happy that it was much like yesterday with the return of blue skies and white clouds. We are so blessed that Rob is willing to drive our baby and grandkids down for a visit. We can't ask for a better son-in-law and thank God for him. Now that's what I'm talking about, I was able to do about twenty jigsaw puzzle pieces and laid down a lot of identifiable tabs in the proximity near where they belong. This made the puzzle very cluttered but it was helpful. Slowly but surely, it is a good thing I have a puzzle mat and a area where I can spend a little time to enjoy the challenging puzzle. The autumn colors are already beginning; it is hard to believe that we are able to see beauty in wilting death. Thanks be to God for Alex's safe return. It's the third day in a row that I got in a ten thousand plus steps day in. It is amazing that I can easily get in so many steps in on days like today and seemingly struggle to get seven thousand steps in on others. There you go, my journal entries for the time we spent at Alex’s watching Nala. She was excited and happy to see him back and so were we. God is good.
9 September 2023
"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:3-5). Fawn has been feeling some pressure on her ear for several days. We were surprised that we were able to get in and she our doctor when we called, especially on a Saturday morning. It turns out to be sinus related and was she prescribed antibiotics. While she was in the doctor's office, I got in a nice long peaceful walk on Bay Scott Circle singing praises. I love making a joyful noise singing, "We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God." I tossed Italian sausages on a frying pan and sliced it up, then nuked the, Five Cheese Ziti, take home deal from Olive Garden. Mmm, it made for a mighty fine Notre Dame vs. North Carolina State game time meal. What's up with all these penalties? Notre Dame 45 - North Carolina State 24 #GoIrish After the game, we went to the Sam's Club pharmacy to pick up Fawn's prescription, so I was able to get a second walk in, else it would have been questionable whether or not I would have gotten a ten thousand plus steps day in today. Of course we gas, albeit we really didn't need to pull in for a fill up, how can you pass up gas when it is selling for $3.799 during these inflationary times? Oh wow, song of the day, Venus in Blue Jeans - Jimmy Clanton. I must have worn out that vinyl 45 playing that record so many times back in the day. Thanks be to God for blessing us with your overflowing grace.
8 September 2023
"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy" (Psalm 103:2-4). I had an appointment this morning with a dermatologist for a full body skin exam. Thanks be to God that there were no concerns. Afterwards we went to the Olive Garden for a sit down lunch. Albeit we've order takeout from there, it was the first time we ate in an Olive Garden restaurant since the onset of the pandemic, the food and service was spot on. The chicken parmesan is so much better in the restaurant. I can hardly wait until Notre Dame take on North Carolina State tomorrow. The Irish are a +7.5 point favorite, but I'm hoping for a way better showing than that. Achoo, what is going on? My sinuses have been acting up and it seems like I've been sneezing several times a day all week long. Most of the strip malls still have several empty store fronts, and every time this time of year, halloween costume shops occupy them and then Christmas themed toy use them. Well at least some of the store fronts are used four months out of the year. Will our poor economy ever fully recover? Thank be God who watches over us and carries us from our birth to our old age.
7 September 2023
"Remember h how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!" (Psalm 89:47). I know that this is a usual psalm to pray in the morning, but the aches and pain of our elderly frail bodies reminds us that we are approaching the last decades of our lives and reminds us to honor the preciousness of each day. Fawn had the first appointment of the day for her haircut this morning. Albeit was in the mid 60s and drizzling this morning I put on my sweats and went out with her and did my morning walk under the strip mall canopy like a centurion. It’s been a while since I have gotten in a ten thousand plus steps day, so I went for a second walk after the rain cleared and got in over eight thousand steps before the noon hour! Yessireebob, I got my ten thousand plus steps in today, good for me! The ten day forecast reveals the autumn has finally arrived. Thanks be to God for his faithfulness.
6 September 2023
Kaboom! I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of thunder. The loud rumbling sound along with the howling winds and the torrential downpour beating on the roof kept me up for a while. Thankfully, when the storm finally subsided, I was able to fall back asleep. Albeit was a dismal day, the rain did take the temperature down quite a bit. Mmm, I made us char sui with wide rice noodle soup for lunch. A five year old Facebook memory popped up today that bought back a fond memory. I love interacting on Facebook with my friends, but admit that I have to spend more time than I like on blocking garbage that come from people that I do not even know. The song of the day is, My Heart Will Go On - Céline Dion. Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.
5 September 2023
I couldn't believe we faced another dog days of summer. Traditionally they are the 40 days between July 3rd to August 11th. Hello, were in September already. I looked at the ten day forecast and was relieved to see the temperatures will take thankfully take a nose dive into the 70s in a couple of days. It got in a nice walk in the cool of the day before the temperature soared up into the low 90s. It is so sad when we begin to think that when the is a good day when the air quality is fair. It is also so sad that we are beginning conditioned to think that whenever we can find gas under four bucks, we found a deal. It is hard to pass up $3.869 when most filling stations are about 40¢ more per gallon. We found comfort today praying the psalms before attending a memorial service for our friend Mary. "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints" (Psalm 116:15). How can a friend not be a gift from God? Rest in peace, Mary. Thank you, Lord for blessing us.
4 September 2023
Woke up this morning well rested and feeling blessed. My Labor Day psalms is, "Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you" (Psalm 128: 1-2). Mmm, along with my morning coffee I ate a Cantonese egg tart along with my usual oatmeal. I love this quintessential part of Cantonese cuisine that is derived from the Portuguese pastel de nata, so good. We didn't step out until the afternoon when it was already in the 90s to go my sister's house to gather with family. Because of the extreme heat, this weekend felt more like a 4th of July than a Labor Day weekend. On the drive over, I felt optimistic. The air quality was fair again and the sky was blue with beautiful white fluffy clouds. I love jigsaw puzzles and got to do a couple of Berenstain Bears puzzle with our grand niece Nora. Good time with good eats, God is good.
3 September 2023
Nada Te Turbe Nothing can frighten, nothing can trouble those who seek God, they shall never go wanting. God alone fills us. A most beautiful and comforting prayer. I tried getting in my step, but walking in the heat was just too uncomfortable and doing a lot of steps at home proved to be too daunting of a task. Finally, Fawn found Skecher walking shoes advertised on sale. Looks like we’ll be heading to Target tomorrow to take advantage of their Labor Day Sale. I saw in the margins of our worship folder, “To Repent means both to lament the sins we have committed and to refrain from the sins we lament.” St. Gregory the Great. This led to my verses of the day, From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17). “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). Ongoing prayers for prayers, comfort, and recovery for family and friends.
2 September 2023
"Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do" (Ecclesiastes 9:7). God take pleasure in our lives and approves of it. Our life is a gift from God. May the way we live our lives be a gift to him and bring him glory. We were up super early and the holiday good eats started with a yummy oatmeal concoction. I had it with a few splashes of hot sauce and small pieces of raisin toast tossed it along with my morning coffee. Then we went to Alex's and made the usual bacon, sausage links, and scrambled eggs breakfast. Lol, normal when we do fusion, we have Chinese in the mix, but we reheated Alex's beef enchiladas, good stuff! I like! I hate having to stop for gas. Grr, back up over four bucks a gallon again, $4.089. We’re back to star wars and sword fighting with lightsabers. Funny thing see Isaac and Alex watch a Pokemon cartoon together. I had to tease Alex about whether or not that show brings back childhood memories. According to Alex, these shows are not new but rather are remastered with better graphics. We had five cheese ravioli with the barbecue drumsticks for our noon time meal. Yes sir, apple pie for dessert, what is an American holiday without a slice of good old fashion apple pie? You know it, Rob gave me a back and shoulder massage, now my day is complete. I went to the basement and work a little bit more on the two thousand piece puzzle. Clearly the puzzle is way more challenging than I could have imagined. I only got five more pieces and Isaac found one, good for him! Hmm, Peyton ignored me most of the day, but I got a big huggy and a bye bye before she left! Albeit Notre Dame blew away Tennessee State today 56 - 3 and blew away Navy last week 42 - 3, the question still remains, how good does the Fighting Irish stack up against the big boys? I only see three teams on this year's schedule that can answer that question: Ohio State, USC and Clemson. I think ND should steam roll all the other team, but how can you chirp when the Irish lost to Stanford last year? The verse of the day is, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 17-18). Truly our days are numbered and there are only so many tomorrows. I gave more muse about death and dying with regards to our Coram deo and our daily reconciliation with God. Thanks be to God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, our Lord. I’m tire so off to bed. I love days like today, where we get to spent part of it with our family, family is an awesome gift.
1 September 2023
"Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long" (Psalm 25:4-5). I woke up this morning with thanksgiving for another day. Lord, guide me and teach me your ways. What an outstanding starting day the Lord has made. It was so peaceful listening to classical music playing in the background. We started a low and slow fall off the bone oven bake barbecue chicken mid morning that didn't turn out exactly the way that I envisioned that it would turn out. Albeit was a little bit more tender then what I usually made in the past, it wasn't fall off the bone tender. I think that I will cover the pan with foil next time and see if that will help make it moister and fall off the bone tender. I sure not everyone will like it that way, so I'll experiment with it that way with one of the three pans on my next go. I normally just use a blend of Open Pit and Sweet Baby Rays and glazed it with honey, but today, I set aside one small tray and brushed on Stubb's Spicy Bar-B-Q sauce just to try something new. We bought the bottle a while back and am just around to trying it out today. The Stubb's sauce was just OK and not very spicy to me. I had to adjust and kicked it a notch with some additional hot sauce. After lunch we went out and I got in a decent walk. We had sunshine and fair air quality much like yesterday, but it was much warmer. I enjoyed my walk, especially whenever I was in the shaded areas. I wasn't expecting to get in another ten thousand plus steps day, but here I am chirping about doing it four days in a row! The high temp was in the 80s today, I'm shaking my head seeing that we can expect tomorrow's high to be in the 90s. Lord, have mercy. I started to say that I made hot dog fried rice and steak for the little man, but Peyton seem to like these two comfort food dishes too. Mmm, I made us tomato omelette dinner, so good. I have Jim and Mary on my mind; I’m guessing it has to do with my muse on the frailty and brevity of life and with Mary’s Memorial coming up just after the holiday weekend. Lord, teach us to number our days. Heal us, O Lord, you are the healer of our souls and our body bodies.
31 August 2023
Unbelievable, I looked at the weather forecast for this holiday weekend to see if we can expect rain and saw that the temperatures will climb back up into the mid 90s! It looks like summer isn't giving up without a fight. But enough talk about this weekend, today. I can't say enough about what a drop dead gorgeous day today was. We finally had a day with a blue sky. The fair air quality we got was the best air quality we seen since the wildfires began and the temperature was in the low 70s! It was so nice to be out and about. Thanks be to God, my sister's procedure went well and is good to go for five years before another exam. I'm not planning to watch the Notre Dame vs Tennessee State game live on Saturday and will watch the game on Sunday when Fawn will most likely be a couch potato watching a nfl football game. I have no doubt Notre Dame will be in a bowl game but I would love to see them ranked in the top ten. Looks like beating Ohio State, USC and Clemson can place them there. They also have a chance to redeem themselves against Stanford at the end of the season. I wonder if there will be a lot of media hype for the game against Wake Forest. Amazing, today was the third day I got in a ten thousand plus steps day in!
30 August 2023
Time flies; it’s already the end of another month. As time moves on, our bodies becomes weary as we age. Thanks be to God who is with us and carries us throughout our lifetime. Wow, I was taken by surprise how cool today was, the high temperature for the day was in the low 70s. Albeit I wore long pants and my hooded flannel shirt out, I could have still use a windbreaker to deal with the cool breezy early autumn like day. I was sneezing away fighting sinus issues related to allergies. I'm a walking fool, got in ten thousand plus steps two days in a row! We went to my sister's for lunch, my brother treated us a Panda Express family meal. What can we say, we're ABCs, well except for Fawn, she's a CBC. Poor Nancy, she missed out and on a semi special diet because she's up for a colonoscopy tomorrow. I hate when that procedure is due. Clearly a senior exam that no one enjoys getting. Since the temperature was ideal, I took to mowing the grass and was able to get to both the front and the back. I probably could have managed it all just taking a one five minute break, but decided that it was best to take two. I thank God that I am still healthy enough to still cut the grass as part of getting in a workout. I am still amazed that I still work up a sweat in cool weather using a self propelling lawn mower. I'm pretty excited about this Labor Day holiday weekend and getting together with the kids and our grandkids. I'm going to make barbecue drumsticks for us to feast on. Today was a very good day and I am thankful for the time we spent with my siblings and pray for good test results and for their good health.
29 August 2023
Achoo, sinuses issues again from the get go. Mmm, I broke off a small piece of leftover cod from yesterday and flaked it on my oatmeal. With a splash or two of hot sauce, it made for a delicious breakfast. After breakfast we went to Alex's let Nala out before going to the Sam's Club for my meds. Naturally we got gas; it was $3.949 a gallon. I consider that a good gas price whenever we can find gas for under four bucks a gallon given this administration's policies. Yes sir, I got in a ten thousand plus steps day!
28 August 2023
"O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch" (Psalm 5:3). My morning prayers were filled with many petitions for my family and friends. We can go on and on with our requests in our broken world, given our sinful nature. Lord, have mercy. I'm loving the weather we are having in the 70s and 80s. Autumn is just right around the corner and I have no doubt in my mind that I will be complaining about the cool weather. Our niece from California is in back in town and has something going on with my brother so we got together for a late lunch at Patio in the Fox Valley mall area. We went early to do a mall walk. I was surprised how cold it was in mall. It is so hard to believe that we ended up talking for hours catching up. Thanks be to God for the gift of family. Another day filled with joy and good eats. God is good.
27 August 2023
"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). Rejoicing and was glad indeed. We stopped at Panera for pastries on the way to Nancy's and had fusion pastry brunch with shuimai. It was great to sit around the table with my siblings and our niece's family. Nancy made an outstanding pork bone soup with napa and fish balls, so flavorful and delicious. The time flew by so quickly that next we knew, we were ordering a ton of carryout food from the New Chinese kitchen for supper. Mmm, I especially like their Hunan Delight. Ongoing prayers of thanksgiving and for healing and good health.
26 August 2023
Sweet, Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers. We were up super early and had a great start to the day with spot on temperature to do a morning walk at Edwards Hospital grounds while Fawn was getting exam. We stopped at the Jewels on the way back to pick up a few grocery items and for our weekend freebies. This weekend's giveaway was their Signature brand name pretzels. It is somewhat surprising that they are noticeablely giving away worthwhile freebies more frequent nowadays. Alex wanted me to made my Cantonese style bean thread noodles call fun see. So we stopped by there to make lunch. I did know that mama also bought a ribeye steak the Jewels this morning too. I didn't go in because I wanted to make sure that I got my ten thousand steps in for the day. Anyway, I also pan seared that bad boy Hong Kong style and we had good eats for lunch. We didn't stay very long because Alex had on the US Open and I want to be home in time to watch the Fighting Irish take on Navy. Whoo hoo, Notre Dame came close to shutting out Navy and ended up blowing them out 42 to 3. Tennessee State is next on their hit list. But I’m excited for the September 23rd match up with Ohio State. I think game will be the first test to see just how good Notre Dame really is. Thank you Lord for keeping and blessing us this day.
25 August 2023
Thanks, be to God! My sister called us this morning and told us that her eye procedure went well. Prayers for healing and recovery. My sinuses were acting up again this morning, I am thankful for antihistamine eye drops and nasal sprays. I actually a sort of surprised, because the air quality was fair and the pollen count was moderate as well as the sky being more blueish than gray. The temperature was in the low 80s all day long and it was especially nice in the shade. Everything is relative, temps in the low 80s during the summer months is awesome, especially after a few days of temps exceeding a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. We hit three stores this morning: Walmart, Target, and Park and Shop. I don't think there are any plans to see our grandkids this weekend, but now that I know Isaac and Peyton like eating butter noodles. I bought the needed to try to duplicate the Noodles and Company recipe. I'm excited to have my first go at it and make it for them the next time we see them. What the heck, it's not the first time the settings got all out of whack, sigh. Last night we heard some noise coming from the back yard, but when we turned on the porch light, we couldn't see anything, because the light bulb was burned out. I replaced the bulb when we got back from running errands this morning and rewarded myself with a meager meal. Albeit it wasn't a Chicago style dog, a Vienna hot dog on a poppy seed bun with a bead of French's mustard and sport peppers is still pretty tasty along with a can of Van Camp's Pork and Beans that I add Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce to. Mmm, Cantonese egg tart for dessert! It's funny how much satisfying it is to even get even get the smallest of things back in working order. The highlight of the day was calling Rob on FaceTime to wish him a happy birthday. We got to go to bed early, because Fawn has the first appointment at Edwards for her annual mammogram, prayers for good test results. I think the list of annual and periodic exams for males and females is amazing. Lord, heal our infirmities and grant us good health.
24 August 2023
Thank you, O Lord, for this new day. Lead us and guide us in what we say and do. I got a good night's rest, our Lord sustain me. Ooh wee, today has to have been the hottest day of this year, topping one hundred degrees Fahrenheit again. We hid indoors all day yesterday and because it also topped one hundred degrees, thankful that our home that is equipped with central heating and air conditioning. We went out to run a few errands and stopped by Alex's and made us hamburger peas over Cantonese pan fried noodles for lunch. We got gas for $4.229 a gallon... I then went on a blah, blah, blah rant here that I just deleted. Nasty, it was already hot and humid in the 80s when we stepped out the door morning from the get go. Crazy seeing a cloudless grayish blue looking sky as we continue to be breathing poor air quality. I even drank the ginseng tea Fawn made in desperation. I am skeptical about the health benefits of ginseng, but nowadays I'm guessing it couldn't hurt. I didn't pen a journal entry last night because I watched the first Republican presidential primary debate. I wish that the Democratic Party would be holding debates, because they definitely need an alternative to Biden. Albeit, I really don't care much for either party, it looks like if the Democrats are only going to put up a Biden - Harris ticket, it is a sad turn of event for America. The DNC is, agrr... I'm guessing Democrats will be voting in Republican primary. Hmm, maybe that will keep Trump from being the Republican nominee, wouldn't that be something? We watched the US Open qualifying on tv and I can't believe that the athletes and fan are out in extreme heat. Albeit I’m enjoying tennis, in the back of my mind, I’m asking, “Is it Saturday yet?” I can hard what for the college football season to start. Notre Dame will be playing Navy in Ireland! Time for bed, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).
22 August 2023
We went up to watch our Isaac (Monday and Tuesday) because he doesn't start school until Wednesday. We drove up Sunday (8/20) in the evening to so that we wouldn't have to wake up super early pre Monday morning rush hour traffic. Even the first half of our drive up was horrendous because of the road construction. But I have to say once we got pass O'Hare the completed roadway was magnificent. Word of the day: SAUNA. I decided to just pen my stream of consciousness journal entries on my smartphone though out the day and will cut and paste it to blogger when we get back home. I did a big cook so that we can just heat up a couple of meals while we were up there. I made Cantonese pan fried noodles and bok chok chow fun because I'm sure the grands love anything noodles. And I stir fried beef with bitter melon and spareribs with black bean and garlic sauce. Personally, I would have used the beef on the rice noodles and made gon chow ngau ho and stir fried the spareribs with the bitter melon, but I aim to please. Regardless, you can't go wrong with Cantonese food. With thanksgiving we ask that we be showered with countless blessings... (8/21) Joy, happy Monday! Wake up grandpa! I forgotten about how early kid get up in the morning. It is truly a blessing to wake up to the sound of children laughter. Ah, delicious, first meal of the day was a cup of hot coffee and a jalapeño bagel with walnut cream cheese! I learned something new about Isaac today. I can tell that he likes eating pistachios more than I do. He can break them open and eats them way faster than I can. I am surprised that he doesn't choke on them. We went out for a couple hours and stopped at the Target so that I could do my morning walk while Isaac and grandma went and look at toys, then it was my turn to watch Isaac. He knew exactly were to take me, we went to where there was big screen tv that had a Nintendo Switch. He is pretty good at the Super Mario and Kirby games. I just walk in place and watched him play a few games. For lunch we stopped at Noodles & Company and got Isaac a bowl of buttered noodles. Wow, $$$, talk about a big profit margin, but I will say, it looked and smelled delicious. I went the Jewel and got croissants, deli meat, to makes sandwiches and got coleslaw and potato salad for our side. After lunch, we got to watch Isaac play the keyboard, we were surprised how far along he was in the piano lesson book. We played Pokémon Battle Academy. It was a board game that had so many things going on that I never really got the gist of what was supposed to a straight forward game. Before today, the only Pokémon I was familiar with was Pikachu. I learned that many years ago, when my son Alex was a little kid. Its funny how Isaac was rattling off all these Pokémon names and how I could only remember a few names like Eevee, Rainer, Squirtle and Bulbasaur. It was easily a ten thousand plus steps day when you get to spend the day with our grandson doing this and doing that the entire day. Going to bed early, one because I'm all tucker out and two, no doubt we're going to have to be getting up super early. Thanks be to God for this magnificent day. Our cup overflows with blessings... Happy Tuesday! Thanks be to God, who is still with me. I is such a joy to wake up to the sound of children laughter. (8/22) "And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” (Genesis 21:6). Funny, how totally unrelated the bible verse with regards the birth of Isaac comes to mind. Because of the hot weather, it was an indoor activity day reading, Scholastic books! Wow, I remember reading those when I was a kid. Isaac is pretty good at sounding out words, but there is still some room for improvement. Lol, talk about typical high Asian expectations, jk, he's fine and his prosodic reading and fluency skills will continue to improve over time. Yeah, he's gets another gold star for today! It wasn't all business, we had a a little play time with Pokémon action figures. Lol, we wore belts that held a bunch of Poké Balls, lucky for me that the adjustable belt fit me. It would have been so embarrassing it it couldn't fit around my waist. Funny, we battle played for about half an hour and was clueless to what I was saying and just shouted out Pokémon attacks commands that I was reading off my smartphone that I Googled. What a tremendous blessing to have spent a couple of days of lone time with Isaac. It was ashamed that we didn't have that same opportunity with Peyton because she was in preschool. We left just before evening rush hour and took Rob's advice to go home taking I-355, it was smooth sailing all the way back. It was way too hot and muggy of a day to consider even cooking supper, so we stopped for a carryout Los Burritos Tapatios and ordered tacos. I just deleted my muse about Biden and Trump… God is good.
19 August 2023
Red is not good, I looked at the weather app. There is an heat alert, starting tomorrow the temperature will start climbing up to around one degree Fahrenheit with verbiage about dehydration and heat stroke. Albeit was a sunny day, It wasn't pleasant to see a hazy grayish blue sky and deal with the poor air quality. My allergies wasn't helping the cause whatsoever either. Ok, I got my whining out of the way now. Lord, have mercy. I can't wait until autumn comes around, not just because of the summer heat, but also because our youngest will be coming back home for a visit. We went to Alex's and I made us hamburger peas over rice for lunch. Too bad we couldn't wait to gas up again at the gas station in Montgomery and ended buying gas for $4.339 a gallon. "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us" (Psalm 62:8). Trust is hard, because bad things still can happen. But resigning ourselves to God's care we will find rest. Lord, giver of life and health, heal our infirmities. It’s a tough when we get old, especially now when my siblings and I are seeing doctors and are being tested for this and that and being treated for this and that.
18 August 2023
We out and about this morning running errands and what nots. I still don't get the Park and Shop brand name for the Chinese supermarket. All I can say is that I am glad that they opened one, because they have just about everything that you can find in a Chinatown. The small mom and pop stores that we were accustomed to in the burbs are very limited. And the only other large Asian supermarket in town is a Hmart. I always thought that place smelled gross. The weather was super nice and I got in nice mix of indoors and outdoors walking while listening to sacred music, this time I remembered to bring earbuds. Once again, it was no hay problema to get a ten thousand plus steps day in.
17 August 2023
"God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend" (Job 37:5). Kaboom! I woke us to the sound of thunder that shook the house and to the sound of the pouring rain beating on roof. There was no going back to sleep because of sound of ongoing loud rumbling and torrential downpour, now I'm glad that I got the mowing out of the way yesterday. I easily got in my ten thousand plus steps today when I was walking aimlessly listening to the sacred music on my smartphone. Mmm, good eats, I made us char sui chow fun for lunch! Albeit cutting back on the soy sauce and oyster sauce made the dish less flavorful, it was still good. I have to watch my blood pressure. Rice noodles and Cantonese pan fried noodles are among my favorite comfort food from childhood. Prayers for my brother as he meets his physician tomorrow to go over the results of ordered blood lab work and for my sister who will meet with a eye specialist this weekend. Physical aging and what comes with it, what can you say?
16 August 2023
"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). Naturally, all days are a blessing, especially day whenever we get to spend a little time with any of our children. I think when people get older and it begins to sink in that our days are truly numbered, the gift of life is precious and that it becomes easier to rejoice and give thanksgiving in all circumstances. I love that most of day was in the 70s and that the high was only in the low 80s. I heard what Fawn heard that it will be be back to experiencing the normal 90 degrees plus summertime temperatures by this weekend going into the week ahead. We stopped over at Alex's and made lunch. Our niece Julie gifted us A-sha noodles, it was the first time I ever tried this type of noodles. Momofuku is on the package, I'm guessing that is the brand name. Hmm, this taste just like e-fu noodles. After we got back home, we thought it would be best to tend the mowing of the grass today because it will get warmer and warmer as we move closer to the weekend. I was able to do all mowing in the today and it looks really good because I took the time to overlap the front and back yard with the rear bagger on and tossed all the clippings along the back fence. Hopefully I can get to the weed whacking and takeout the edger, I don't recall giving a manicure out front this year at all. And I guess I should add spraying the insect killer along the perimeter of the house to my 2do list. I think in a couple of weeks I will need to finish off spraying the last of weed and feed too. The air quality was so bad today that I end taking, not one, not two, not three, but needing to take four short breaks before getting all the mowing done with a self propelled lawn mower. So sad, between getting old and having to deal with the huffing and puffing. Albeit my finger no longer feels stiff in the morning, it continues to be slightly swollen. I surgeon did say it will take a long time before that all goes away. I still need to wear a finger compression sleeve over the finger and message it often. I'm a so disappointed that I still can't clasped the down 100 percent, it is so close and not really a issue other than me wanting both hand to be the same, mainly because my dexterity was never all that to start off with. Thanks be to God for the day the Lord has made.
15 August 2023
O wow, crazy weather. It's mid August and I stepped out of the house wearing a flannel shirt. I couldn’t believe that it that we got another breezy day in the mid 60s this time of year. Fawn said that forecast called for temperatures to be back into the nineties again next week. The forecasters can't predict … even for the same day, we got caught in the rain that was predicted to move in at noon at ten this morning. Whoo hoo, got in a ten thousand plus steps day in, good for me! The verse of the day is, "Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered" (Proverbs 11:25). May soul be generous, blessing and forgiving people like our heavenly Father. I was struck by the song, The Sound of Silence, on how it resonates even more so now than when it was released sixty years ago.
14 August 2023
"Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul" (Psalm 143:8). This verse is by far one of my favorite verses to pray when I wake up in the morning. It was nice to get in a nice morning walk in the cool before the thunder storm moved in. Thanks be to God for his steadfast love.
13 August 2023
I'm glad I remembered to bring my Skechers with me to change into, so that I could get a little walking in. But the bad thing was that I forgot my pedometer with me. After we got back, I finally got around to taking out my new hedger that I bought about month or so ago to tend to the front of the house. I'm pretty sure Fawn and my neighbors appreciated that, looking good! We went out to Target store after lunch, which was a total surprise to me. However, it came as no surprise to me that the store was jammed pack and that would be hard to get in an indoor walk. I'm guessing that there was a lot of back to school shopping going on. I ended up taking my walk to the far end of the parking lot. I ended up with close to nine thousand steps on the pedometer, so I'm calling it a ten thousand plus steps day, whoo hoo! I don't expect to achieve that every day, but will try my best to get in at least seven and give myself an attaboy when I get in ten. It is amazing that some days ten thousand plus steps are so easy to achieve while others day seven thousand steps requires.
12 August 2023
"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118;24). It's so easy to rejoice and be glad on days when we get to spend them with the family. Our Lord's love endures forever. Up early to go to Meijer to buy breakfast links and to stop for bagels from Big Apple $$$. Wow, talk about inflation, no wonder why we haven't been there for a while. But I will say that I love their jalapeño bagel with honey cream cheese. Whoa, as soon as we stepped you can definitely feel the heat and high humidity. Life is good, the first thing Rob did was give me a much needed unsolicited neck and shoulder massage. Now I know why Rob came down, he helped Alex with the yard work and remove the other bee hive that we weren't able to reach. It was way too hot and humid for this old man to be out so while Alex and Rob were working and Andrea, mama and the grands out shopping, I went down to the basement and worked on the puzzle. I had a pretty good go this time around compared to the last time where I only managed to fit only a few pieces. Whoo hoo, good eats, Alex got us from Olive Garden, I had the Tour of Italy. After lunch, summer fun, the kids were playing on the back patio with their super soakers water blasters. I went out briefly to watch them play, but it became dangerous, so I went back in and watched them though the patio door. Thank you Lord for all the blessings to me and my family.
11 August 2023
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1: 1-4). I am reminded of "Of the Father’s Love Begotten” each and every morning. I love the smartphone that I was gifted by my son-in-law Rob a while back for many reasons, but I especially love the feature that allows me to not only store and listen my sacred music play list, the phone also has a feature that allows me to set up a morning alarm that extract stored music. May we all be continually be reminded of the wonder and mystery of Christ’s coming for our salvation, given from the love of our Heavenly Father and well as the divinity and coequality with the Father and the Spirit. It was one of those stay at home indoors kind of day, so the pedometer came in really handy. I got my cardio exercise in by getting my ten thousand steps in by walking in place and by hopping on the elliptical twice. The highlight of my day was getting a FaceTime call from the kids and wanting to get together again this weekend. That will be so awesome, because the summer is rapidly coming to an end and the school year will be starting and the kids with be soon back in the classroom.
10 August 2023
Mmm, good eats from the get go. Mama was up early and made a fresh pot of oatmeal and she served it with strawberries and cinnamon raisins toast. We went to Alex's for lunch and I made us hamburger and steak tacos! I liked how I build built my bad boy with a soft flour tortilla as the outer layer and inner layer a hard tacos dorados then I put a few small slices of ribeye steak, hamburger with taco seasoning and rice. Mmm, good stuff. Interesting, mama took out my pedometer and wanted me to start using it again, I wonder why I stopped using it in the first place. Anyway, I got in my ten thousand plus steps for the day. "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Psalm 23: 2-3). I found myself ranting and piling on to a social media posting, it is so easy to make noise. I'm glad I deleted it. There is no sense getting worked up on things that are out of my control. Thanks be to God who restores our weary souls.
9 August 2023
Busy, busy, busy, looking over the calendar and setting up appointments this morning. I still can't believe that there is little to no progress with my finger for the last two weeks. I finger range of motion is the same and I still need to message my finger. This is taking way longer than I anticipated. We had to go out to the Comcast store to to return outdated equipment for new updated one, that is how long we have been a customer of them. I am surprised that Fawn likes staying with cable tv. I think it has something to do with their Xfinity basic tv and sports package. The primary and additional tv boxes were both factory new and the swap out for the primary box was easy as abc, but we couldn't say the same for the second cable box. Sigh, after spending about a frustrating hour or so trying to get it work properly with a service representative and not getting a clear picture. Whoo hoo, on a hunch, Fawn plugged the new cable box straight to the wall outlet and it began working fine. Mmm, chicken fried rice! We're not big fans of chicken breast, but it seems to go well when diced up for fried rice. So that is what I did with the leftover fried chicken breast to make our fried rice dinner. I’ve noticed that I’ve been talking to my siblings more and more able health and medical stuff. I guess that what happen when you do when we get older and weary. Thanks be to God who is with us and carries us when we are old. Oh no, we learned that Mary, our friend and sister in Christ pasted away this afternoon...
8 August 2023
I was surprised that I was so energized and had a go on the elliptical so early in the morning. I even got in a really nice long walk, but because I chomped on fried chicken, I thought it was wise to get in two extra goes on the the elliptical this afternoon. I'm not under the delusion that that was enough to offset the calories from my lunch time indulgence, but it sure doesn't hurt. Achoo! Man, am I getting tire of of my seasonal allergies and the poor air quality. I was shocked that the grass pollen and ragweed pollen was only moderate, because I squeezing away. I was musing about our daughter Jennifer and I still worry about her living in San Francisco. Last week I was even more worried, I prayed for safe travel as she had to fly to Pittsburgh for a week for work. Talk about working in American hell holes. In my mind, most big cities in America are hell holes crime and depravity.
7 August 2023
Achoo! Thankful for antihistamine eye drops and nasal sprays. It was a nice day temperaturewise in the 70s and peaked at around eighty degrees. I got in a decent morning walk at the Romeoville Kohl's. I love that this store is so huge, clutter free and clean. I think that pricing is a remarkable thing as the summer items are being substantially marked down while the new fall item seems to be ridiculously overpriced. I finally got around to mowing the grass out back. I didn't do any fancy overlapping nor did I bother to bag the clippings and just mulched, I just wanted to get that chore over and done with. I am grateful for this day and pray for the well being of my family and friends. May our Lord protect them from illness and injury.
6 August 2023
“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! (Psalm 119:1). May we follow our Lord’s righteous path. We welcomed Lucy Nelson in the name of the Lord this morning. It is amazing the number of infant baptisms each year at Saint John. I have the Canadian wildfires on my mind almost daily; because the smoke emissions are so noticeable. Seems like every time it rains, I begin wondering why it doesn't rain enough in Canada to extinguish the fires. I know I rant about the Canadian wildfires a lot this year and have been neglecting placing blame on the green house gases from the annual wildfires from California, so stupid.
5 August 2023
"It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8). Thanks be to God for being present and close by, may our coram deo bring glory and honor to God. Albeit there was rain showers from the get go, there was sunshine in my heart as we gathered around the table to celebrate Rob. Albeit his birthday is weeks away, everyone knows how we celebrate. I agree, Lord, create within me a clean heart. I was only kidding myself counting calories, because it didn't stop me from eating more than I should have. It was more than likely (definitely) a two thousand calories plus day. It started with a fusion breakfast: scrambled eggs, sausage links, radish cakes and taro cakes. I normally like a splash or two of Cholula hot sauce, but this time around I tried it with salsa verde since Alex had some. The green didn't look appealing on the yellow scrambled eggs, but it sure tasted pretty good. It was fun and very entertaining to watch Rob Peyton and Rob singing karaoke and playing with their new keyboard while Alex, Andrea, and Isaac went to the Barnes and Noble Bookstore. The Joliet store is Andrea's favorite because she goes to that one every time she comes down. I got some one on one play time we Peyton and we played stacking cups. My Isaac time was watching him explain the different features that he the keyboard had while he was exploring the buttons on the instrument while banging on the keys. If he catches on playing the piano like he seems to do with everything else, I suspect we'll be going to attend piano recitals in the near future. We did the Italian thing again with mama's pasta sauce over rigatoni with Italian sausage and garlic bread along with the oxtails! Life is good. After lunch Alex and Rob baked a chocolate birthday cake with chocolate frosting! It was an awww moment went Peyton wanted to help make daddy's birthday cake, Rob measured out all the ingredients and let Peyton pout them into a mixing bowl. I love how both the grandkids like to help blow out the candles. It is my understanding the origin of making a birthday wish came about sometime during the end of the 18th century when the Germans began celebrating Kinderfeste. This celebration involved placing one candle for each year of life and the birthday child would blow out the candles while making a wish. I gave muse to the English writer, philosopher, Christian apologist, GK Chesterton that said, "The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul." Mmm, warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream! I ate so much food today that I dozed off in the car on the way home and then took a afternoon nap to boot. Thanks be to God for this most joyous day.
4 August 2023
We were out the early for my ultrasound imagining, prayer for good test results. My brother went in for a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy procedure this morning, prayers for good test results. Man oh man, my siblings and are being test for this and that, no fun getting old and falling apart. Thanks be to God who carries us and will not forsake us. I did a lot of boiling today for tomorrow's good eats. I boiled rigatoni and a big pot of oxtails for tomorrow's celebration. It is a two day process when I make oxtails and we just wanted to get the rigatoni noodles out of the way ahead of time. I like to think of our family gatherings around the table as a way as glorifying God, after all, food is a good and perfect gift from God. Besides the good food we surround ourselves with love and share in each other's life journey. Go figure, we got an invite to my sister's tomorrow, our niece is in town for the day with her family and it was also a opportunity to see my brother. Crazy, how our busy lives interfere with our different commitments. One would think that we would have time for just about everything that comes our way after retirement, may the Lord grant us more opportunities. Happy haircut, feeling good!
3 August 2023
I decided to pen this journal entry super early this evening because I intend to go to relax and prepare to fast and go to bed early. I have an early appointment at Edward Imagining and Radiology of 95th Street. Mama has the tv on and is watching the start of the New York Jets vs. Cleveland Browns pre season game. I just looked up the Notre Dame football schedule and see that their season with start on August 26th against Navy. It did not surprise me to see that Notre Dame is in the Top 25. It looks like they will have to prove they are a Top 10 team. For some reason I think that it should be cooler in August, but then I realized that we are actually in the middle of the summer. I was planning to finish mowing the grass out back, but... The cool out the day wasn't cool and the sun was blazing. I'm a man with countless excuses, but they are actually valid ones. "A man's got to know his limitations." We did some consolation weatherwise though, baby blue sky contrasting against a few white clouds was picturesque and our air quality was 'fair'. Mmm, we got a taro with spare rib takeout from Luck Wok for our lunchtime meal. It was just as tasty as their spareribs with bitter melon. Too bad they don’t make a Cantonese taro duck dish; I can really go for that. Hmm, Andrea sent us several video clips of the grand kids. The first one with a, "I miss grandpa" from Peyton melted my heart. Later a second video clip came with a, "I miss grandma" from Peyton and Isaac. Lol, am I reading too much in that? As much as that grandchildren are our crowns, I pray that we are blessing to them as well. "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety" (Psalm 4:8). God is good, feeling blessed.
2 August 2023
"Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long" (Psalm 25:4-5). It is good to pray the morning psalms and keep from following the ways of the world. Following our Lord's precepts and not relying on our own wisdom which is at times destructive because we are by nature sinful and unclean. Albeit I don't sing very well, I love to sing (or should I call it making a joyful noise?), 'Of the Father’s Love Begotten' and 'We Praise You and Acknowledge You'. We went out this morning to pay the second installment of our property taxes. I'm not one who likes paying taxes, because there are appropriations set aside for things I don't care to be supporting while others are outright evil. Federal taxes and sales taxes are no fun either as far as I am concern. While out and about, I did my morning walk in the Walmart and at Whole Foods. Needless to say why I am doing my walks indoors nowadays, but I need to rant about the poor air quality. Never mind heat and humidity, this has been an exception year that governments just seem to be failing to go all out to extinguish the wildfires. I am surprised that I haven't been whining about my finger. Albeit I can very close and think that I will eventually regain my full range, I am disappointed that hasn't already happened and that the swelling hasn't completely subsided. And after I do my physical therapy exercises, the pain level remains a one or two on a scale of ten and still requires the I continue to need to massage my finger afterwards. Whoo hoo, good for me. I managed to increase another minute to to my go on the elliptical. I like that I am doing intervals more often now. I am thankful for this day and for God’s mercy and truth.
1 August 2023
"From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD" (Isaiah 66:23). Another month had gone by and time keeps chugging along. There is something about the August moon appearing to be the biggest and brightest moon of the year; I think it has something to do with it being closest to the earth. This year just so happens we will have be a blue moon so we get two super moons. Nasty weather today, it was hot and humid along with the smell of smoke in the air. Needless to say, I did my morning walk indoors. Agrr, I try my best not to get upset and complain about the high gas prices under this POTUS, but when I have a four buck threshold. The gas price weren’t correct on Google Map and was higher than what was shown, but even then, it was still over $4. Most places we pasted were around $4.299, but it was what it was and that was what we eventually bought it for. Just to be clear, I don't want to see either Biden or Trump as presidential candidates in 2024. I went got a carryout from Lucky Panda, it’s been a while since we got their shrimp egg foo young. I especially love gravy over rice.
31 July 2023
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever" (Psalm 136:1). Thanks be to God. I was able to mow the grass out front and about a quarter of the back yard doing a Rob overlap, looking good. I thought that I would be able to hit the front and back because it was nice and cool this morning, but the poor air quality had me huffing and puffing. We went out early to go to get my annual eye exam at American Best so that I could get in a walk. Albeit the temperature was only in the low 80s, the humidity was high and I really didn't care to be outdoors, there isn't any fresh air to be found. I’m glad to say farewell to the month of July. Since I had an ass appointment to see a eye doctor that specialized with cataracts in November, I was surprised that Fawn insisted that I have my eye examined anyway. The eye exam revealed that my prescription remained the same and that cataracts definitely worsened, but the good news now we have the peace of mind that it isn’t something else new. Developing cataracts is very common as we age. I made us beef with bitter melon for dinner. I personally think that eating bitter gourd is an acquired taste. I am glad that I have acquired a taste for this beneficial vegetable. Thanks be to God who sustains me with his love and goodness.
30 July 2023
"Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul" (Psalm 143:8). I woke to a most beautiful morning. I'm glad I went to bed early, because I feel pretty refreshed after a full night's rest. I hopped on the scale again this morning and it appears that counting calories does have its dividends, it keeps me from overindulgence. Funny how all my daily routines are about the same except on Sundays, I have to remember to wear my hearing aids and to bring a pair of walking shoes to change into. Albeit dress are comfortable, they are not made for taking walks. I did my morning wall in the Kohls and stopped to look at a pair of Skechers D'lux Walkers, I was sticker shock to see that they cost $80.00 a pair. I am grateful for our Lord's grace and mercies.
29 July 2023
She was a booming late last night into the wee hours with high winds and a torrential downpour. I went out first thing this morning to do a inspection on the exterior of our house and found some the aluminum sliding got loose during the storm. Thanks be to God for how2 YouTube videos and that the repairs was only a few feet above the rear patio door. Wow, wow, wow, albeit there was a complete overcast, it was welcoming to be able to step out to temperatures in the low 70s. I always thought that 72°F with 50% humidity was ideal! It eventually worked its way into the low 80s, but even then, that was a lot more tolerable than being the upper 90s for sure. We went to Menards to purchase a siding removal tool. Albeit it costed a few more dollars there, at least they had it in stock. Once I was on the ladder and after going through all that trouble, it turns out that in this particular instance, the siding removal tool was even needed. Anyway, mission accomplished, gotrdun. We have all seen a spike in outright recklessness on the road these past few years, but today took the cake. Agrr, we saw a car that floored the gas pedal in the parking lot with a fair amount of car and pedestrians. It is incredible that the nitwit didn't hit anyone or a parked car. The highlight of my day was facetiming with the kids, especially with the grands. Whoo hoo, Peyton hit another milestone today, but ... let's just say she gets a gold star for her accomplishment! I'm grateful for all the blessings of the day.
28 July 2023
Sigh, I know, I know, it's July, but this string of days with heat advisory is really getting old. I think it is astonishing that people of antiquity were able to survive the summer heat and the winter's cold. I can't believe that I can hardly wait until next week, when the temperature is expected to be in the 80s. I told Fawn over morning coffee, that it must have rained overnight. She told me that we had a loud booming thunderstorm. I apparently slept through the entire ordeal. It was in the upper 90s again today and would have mostly gotten over 100 ºF if it wasn’t for the overnight rain. The sun was out and blazing hot all day, but now I can hear the thunder rumbling off at a distance and I am expecting it to begin showering soon. It has been Russian roulette with gas prices all over the place lately, in fact you can't even trust the posted gas prices as it continually fluctuate all over the place throughout the day. What is considered a high and low gas price is relative. All I know is gas prices were a heck of lot cheaper before this POTUS took office. We got gas for $3.899 a gallon for tier one gas this morning. Wow, we have been wanting to try the food from the, Station One Smokehouse, in downtown Plainfield for quite some time, today we made it happen, we stopped in and got a carryout order. Albeit, I thought it was rather pricey, the food was outstanding. We got the, chopped brisket, pork ribs, corn bread, mac & cheese, and french fries. I'm just guessing I ate at least a one thousand calorie lunch. Needless to say, I ate a light dinner; I just had a bowl of cold cereal. I keep learning about my friends and family members new and ongoing health issues that comes along with aging and pray that God will heal all our infirmities. I am grateful and trust in our Lord's steadfast love who not only understands our afflictions, but himself suffered in our place, his mercies endures forever.
27 July 2023
"Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need" (Hebrews 4:16). Thanks be to God who loves and care about us and invites us his into his presence. I felt pretty good this morning when I hopped on the scale and saw it moving in the right direction. I'm not on any diet and am counting my daily calorie intake just want to make sure that I am not over eating. We stopped at the Target on the way to Alex's house so that I could get in a morning walk. On top of the poor air quality, it is way too hot to be outdoors. It was already in the mid 80s when we stepped out the door this morning. Clearly the cool of the day is a relative term because the temperature climbed to the upper 90s with a heat index well above one degrees again today. We went to Alex's to help him knock down a small bee hive that was starting to form. We used the same ingenuity that we used in previous years. We used a telescopic pole with a foam water noodle attached to the peak of his roof. There was a second hive that was a little more difficult to get to and was definitely a Rob job for another day. Mmm, I made us bone in pork chops, spinach and stuffing for lunch. Tell there isn't a need to count calories. I've been wanting to mention how crazy green everything is looking for a couple of days now. I'm not very good with science, but know that it hasq something to do with all the thunder we had that produced nitrogen in the atmosphere. I wish it would rain in Canada and put out those wildfires. Thanks be to God for the blessings of the day.
26 July 2023
"For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation" (Psalm 62:1). I love praying the psalms. I have come to know that God hears even my slightest sigh as loud as my cries. I also learned that I praise God in my silence as I unclutter the noise that comes from our brokenness. Kaboom, the ongoing thunderous roar of God's voice was really loud and intense this morning and at moments, the torrential down pouring was insane as being doused by huge buckets of water. "The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your a arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook" (Psalm 77:17-18). The storm kept me from doing a walk this morning so I had a few extra goes on the elliptical. Mmm, albeit we didn't have the needed to build Chicago style hot dogs, my grilled Vienna hot dog on a S.Rosen's Mary Ann Poppy seed hot dog bun with a bead of French's yellow mustard and Marconi hot giardiniera, wasn't a shabby sandwich for lunch. I'm glad that it stopped raining by the noon hour, because the last time we went to the Northwestern Medicine Primary Care, it was pouring and the sloped parking lot literally had several inches of rushing water. After lunch, we went to see my hand surgeon. One would think that the heavy rain would have cooled things down. It actually did just that briefly and then the temperature shot back into the 90s and with the humidity, it felt like it we were well above a hundred degrees. With the heat index so high along with the poor air quality, it is a very dangerous to be out and about for an extended period of time. Lord, have mercy. The surgeon said that my finger was healing back fine and that it may be a while before the swelling completely subside, but that I could resume all normal activities. After examining my finger, he thought that the ganglion cyst would most likely not come back, but there remained a small one to five percent chance that it may.
25 July 2023
Thanks be to God for another. There was no escaping the heat and humidity during this morning's walk, not even in the shade. Lord, have mercy. How some people can honestly say that they enjoy the summer season is beyond me. It was like being in a sauna. There were tears of joy when I made it back and entered got back in our air conditioned home. Children are a blessing; we enjoy hearing from them all the time. They are so all so mindful of us and call almost every day. I was really surprised last night to get a call from Jennifer, because 99.9% of the time our kids calls mama and I might happen to be around all drop in on the calls. I'm guessing Jennifer was be getting home sick and wanted to know how I made steamed tilapia. She sent us a snap of the dish and it looked like RJ's had a pretty good first go with it. Albeit I think I'm doing pretty good with the hand strengthening exercises, I confess that I am a little disappointed at how little I progressed I have made this week in getting back my full range clutching my fist. I am that my orthopedic hand surgeon will say that is common and that will eventually completely come back when over time, when I see him tomorrow. It is so close that it is not the end of the world if it doesn't. Fawn made us a ham and hard salami sandwich. She always plates fancy, this time she had potato salad, cantaloupe and blue berries. I made us hot dog fried rice for dinner, comfort food. I am glad that I am back to counting calories to keep myself on track.
24 July 2023
Yikes, it's been a while since I hopped on the scale. It is clear to me why I did, because I have gained back more than just a few pounds. I got on 'notes' to start logging and counting calories again. I went through an entire thought progress of what changed and came up with I'm still doing my walks and time on the elliptical and thing that my eating habits are about the same. Funny thing though was it really didn't matter because there will need to be some adjustments that will be needed to be made. I finally got around to making an appointment for cataract consultation; I have been contemplating doing that for several years now. I was surprised that the earliest appointment they had available was in November. We had very warm day from the get go and it only got hotter. It is my understanding that it will be up in the 90s most of the week. The verse of the day is, Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. (Ecclesiastes 7:10). I love this verse, it is so true. I am so guilty of being overly distracted by the nostalgic glorification of the past, grumpy about the present and even more cynicism about our future instead of opening my eyes to the joy and blessings of each and every day of our lives.
23 July 2023
I just knew it was going to be another awesome day ahead of us from the get go as we celebrated, The Feast of Mary Magdalene. We also went to the Freight Harbor Tools in Elmhurst after Mass to buy a 22 inch Portland hedge trimmer. I've been manually pruning everything back using a hand pruner for many years like a Mr. Miyagi, because I found it very therapeutic. But with the poor and unhealthy air quality we are having this year that is caused by the out of control Canadian wildfires, it not a good thing to be exerting myself outdoors for a long period. I always seem to forget to bring my walking to with me to change out from my dress shoes, I was so glad that mama remembered this morning, so I was able to do my walk inside the Walmart on the way home. I spent a little time researching and reading up about cataracts and cataract surgery. Mmm, I still can't get over who good mama's pasta sauce is, we had it with ziti noodles for supper. Triumphant in redeeming grace, I am most grateful for this day.
22 July 2023
We were out and about early in the Fox Valley Mall area. I don't know why I was kind of surprised to see that the mall still has relatively few people, given that it Saturday. That works for me, I am here just to do a mall walk anyway. There is still a lot of construction going on outside of the mall. I is hard to believe the slow construction progress being done on luxury apartments and senior living center. I finally got around to mixing and applying my diy salt, water, dish soup and vinegar, weed killer on the driveway. While I was out, mama asked if I would spray the outside perimeter of the house with ORTHO Home Defense insect killer. To which I replied, "I already did it this for this month," I got back a "I DON'T CARE, DO IT AGAIN!" To which I replied, "Yes dear." Lol, why didn't I just say, "yes dear" from the get go? Kaboom, wouldn't you know it; of course we're getting a heavy downpour now, even though it wasn't in the forecast. Guessing I need to mix another batch of weed killer and reapply again. Albeit, I was instructed by my physical therapist to do the hand strengthen exercises twice a day, I find myself almost doing it as many times as I do finger and hand flexibility exercises, because I find do the exercises using the putty both physically a mentally therapeutic. Albeit I can readily clutch a fist, the finger that was operated on does not have full range yet, so close. It was such a relaxing day listening to classical music playing in background music. The highlight of my day was getting a most welcomed FaceTime call today, family is our joy. As a final thought, in his, The Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis said, " ... in the evening examine yourself on what you have said this day, what you have done and thought, for in these things perhaps you have often offended God and those about you."
21 July 2023
Sweet, no more soar arm! Now it's back to whining only about the finger l had surgery on three weeks ago. We got up a little bit earlier than normal, so that I could relax and enjoy my oatmeal and coffee and still be able to tend to the weed whacking in the cool of the morning. Sigh, hopefully I'll do a better job spooling the line on the weed whacker next time, what a bite in the butt it is to stop to untangle the stuck line mid way. How in the world that happened is beyond me. Away, gotrdun. Thankful for antihistamine nasal spray and eye drops. Every time I do work outdoors, I have admiration for folks who are physically fit enough to do that type of work for a living. "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward" (Psalm 127:3). We went to New Chinese Kitchen for takeout to bring to Alex's for our lunch to celebrate his birthday! We didn't buy cake but did stop in Bakers Square and got him a slice of his favorite French silk pie! We are so very blessed by our children, they are all are precious gifts from God.
20 July 2023
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Aging often brings a host of limitations of one kind or another. This doesn't mean life has to be bad, it just means that we had better put our priorities in order before we become old. In our Coram deo, can live as positive examples for those who come down life's path after us. Thanks be to God, I had a good night's sleep last night. Albeit, my arm remains sore, at least I can massage it a little now. I am surprised that it is taking so long to recover from my shingle shot. I'm guessing it'll be another day or two before it'll be back to normal. I have my post surgery doctor's appointment next week. I hope everything with check out fine and that I can resume my resistance training with the dumbbells. I am surprised that albeit I can clutch both my hands tightly, I can tell the difference between the hand that had surgery on the finger still can’t bend all the way, so close but no cigars. I suppose if I keep at it with the physical therapy exercises and the swelling is completely gone, it will be back to 100 percent over time. It became way too hot and humid by the time I was going to do some yard work, so the plan is to get up early and do the weed whacking in morning, during the cool of the day.
19 July 2023
Thanks be to God, I had a much better go with sleep last night, far less pain and no shivering. I still woke with some shoulder soreness, but I still can't believe how tender to the touch the area where I got the shot still is. I got in a nice hour long walk and am thankful for shade that the trees were providing. Funny how I can appreciate all the trees in town one moment and think the overgrown forestry in town is insane. I was glad that I was motivated enough to interval walk and picked up the pace about one third of the time. I'm progressing well with my finger flexibility and started on the hand strengthening exercises with the level two putty. The verse of the day is, “The words of a man's mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook” (Proverbs 18:4). It is so easy to be a blessing to others with kind words, yet often times I fail to do just that. Lord, grant me your wisdom from above.
18 July 2023
Whoa, what a rough night. I had a tough time falling asleep. My arm became sore with moderate pain and body started shivering. Déjà vu weatherwise, I initially only intended to move half the backyard, but I took a short break and gotrdun. All that remains now is to o the weed whacking. "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16). I was talking with my brother of the inevitable that we all getting older and are seeing the doctors more and more as the effects of aging becomes more pronounced.
17 July 2023
"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life" (Psalm 143:8). This is one of my favorite psalms to pray in the morning. There is nothing like starting off every morning praising God, the devil is active all the time, placing obstacles on our path to make us stumble and fall. We went to the Sam's Club this morning to get our second shingle shot. I how hope it doesn't stiffen up and become sore tomorrow morning. I am happy with the post surgery progress of my finger, it is coming along fine. Every day I am feeling less stiffness at the start of the day. I decided to exercise both hand with the resistance putty and have abandoned using my Gripmaster™ hand exerciser for the time being. It is crazy how the sky looks. Albeit the sky is cloudless and the sun is out, the sunshine remains hazy and the sky appears to be a light blueish gray. Temperaturewise, we are having an outstanding day. It stayed in the 70s most of the day with a awesome summer breeze. I can't believe temperatures we are blessed with a day like this in July. The cool weather allowed me to mow the grass out front, but the unhealthy air quality stopped me from tending to the grass in the back yard. The need for, antihistamine eye drops and nasal spray and to routinely wear a cold mask on a daily bases is very telling. I initially contemplated on doing a Rob by doing a overlap to make the front yard look super nice, but it was in the cards. I am thankful for the blessing of the day, his love endures forever.
16 July 2023
It was the first time we ever been to Seager Park. Christopher and Rachel hosted their son’s first birthday outdoors at the pavilion. The temperature was spot on but I can't say that for the unhealthy air quality. After the party, I want to get in a little yard work, but after 15 minutes, I had to call it quits. I think I’ll relax a tad and go to bed early. It was a most wonderful day the Lord has made.
15 July 2023
Whoa, another storm moved in last night and the tornado siren started blaring again. The rain temporarily cooled things briefly before the temperature started to soared and it became a hot and muggy day. Thanks be to God for another day. It felt good to be back to waking up a little later. Initially it looked like it was going to be a gloom and doom looking day, but by eight o'clock the sun came out! I can't help but to muse about the ongoing unhealthy air quality brought about by the Canadian wildfires. How can extinguishing the massive wildfires in Canada and wildfires in California in general not be a major world concern and priority? We went to Alex's this morning to celebrate Alex's birthday since Andrea, Rob and the kids came down. We didn't go all out with breakfast and only made scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage links and store bought blueberry muffins. Alex requested mama's infamous pasta sauce and we had it over rigatoni noodles along with garlic bread. I use to always toast garlic bread in the oven, but I found it to be a zillion times better toasting the bread on the stovetop. Whenever this family gathers, it gathers around the table with good eats. Today was a very good day. Love the time with family. Albeit is still early in the evening, I need to sign off and just relax and go go to bed early. I still need to recover from this past week of getting up so early.
14 July 2023
Wow, it has been a busy week for us getting up pre dawn to watch over our two active niece and nephew. It is kind of surprising how taxing it is to get up so early in the morning despite going to bed super early. This leads me to believe that changes to one's sleeping pattern is similar to jet lag and or is it just psychological. I didn't even wanted to even take time in the evening to login and pen a journal entry; I just wanted to relax a short time before preparing going to bed. There was whole lot of running around between swimming, tennis and taekwondo all week. I went for physical therapy on Wednesday and I'm glad that I don't need to go in for it anymore. The physical therapist gave me two tubs of resistance putty along with instructions for at home hand strengthening exercises. Some on the exercises were easy on the level 1 therapy putty while others proved to be a little bit more challenging. I'm supposed to gradually work my way to doing the exercises using the level 2 putty which I'm guessing will offer more resistance. Thanks be to God for continued healing. Wednesday was actually a very weird and turbulent day with swinging back and forth between sunshine and intermittent heavy downpours. It got really spooky when the sky suddenly blackened and the tornado siren started blaring. So far, Jennifer's new chapter in life is transitioning well, perhaps my concerns about life in a city and just living in California in general isn't warranted. I'm not saying that my neck of the woods is crime free, it is far from it.
9 July 2023
Happy birthday to my darling wife. I met the love of life 42 years ago and have been married for 39 years. Now that is amazing, how things are in this broken world. It was supposed to get into the mid 80s today, but I’m not sure if it did or not, because it felt comfortable being out and about. I’m guessing if it did, the humidity must have been super low. My finger looks very close to be completely healed and the swelling is almost all gone. Just by wearing the finger compression sleeve and by messaging my finger, I have totally eliminated the need for the any type of pain killers whatsoever. I'll be surprised if my hand will not be in the exact same working order as my other hand near the end of the month when I see my hand surgeon again post surgery. On my, I knew that we would be spending a lot of time watching on niece and nephew this week, but I’m just learning now that we have to up super early. Oh my, not time to pen, I need to go to bed. Mercy me, so chaotic…
8 July 2023
Thanks be to God for this outstanding day the the morning rain couldn't even dampen. We were up super and on the road to the northern burbs. Fawn went shopping with Andrea and Peyton and the boys stayed behind, so I had the opportunity to play chess with Isaac, but I chose to opt out and just watch him play the board game with his dad instead because his Super Mario Chess Collector's Edition game pieces would have been challenging to me in itself. Oh my, I really didn't want to pen this, but Isaac actually beat me playing checkers. My original intention was to have fun and just go head to head exchanging jumps to remove as many checkers as possible and then let him win or tie, but I was caught off guard and didn't realize that he actually was quite good at the game and was very capable of coming up strategic move offensively as well as defensively, I also saw that he was still capable of making erroneous moves, but was still to get the best of me. So am I that bad at checkers or is he that much better? Regardless Isaac is way beyond being able to just move the game pieces accordingly to the rules. I was initially a little disappointed that I didn't get see Isaac ride his bicycle because of rice, but after we were done playing the board games, the storm blew by and the sky cleared. Now that I've seen him do that and cart wheels, I can't wait for the opportunity to see him swimming. I saw videos of him progressively learning to swim in a very short time. He is either was naturally a fast learner or the Goldfish Swim School in Mundelein is that good. Andrea came back with a large takeout from Olive Garden. It was a nice feast to celebrate Fawn's birthday. Rob and Andrea also bought a nice tiramisu cake, I love how our grands love singing the happy birthday song and help blow out the candles. But the day celebrating wasn't over, we went from there to Northbrook for a party for Marcus complaining eighth grade! I love it when my side of the family throws a party, because our family is large and there are so many kids. It is hard to define the highlight of my day with so many blessings, but my much needed message that Rob gave me deserves more than a honorable mention. The passage of time is an amazing journey from loving our parents and growing up loving and playing with our siblings to starting families of our own and watching our children playing with all their siblings and cousins. And now to watch all the nieces and nephews to have children and the second cousins playing together is mind blowing. My day was completely, thanks be to God for the gift of family. Good wife, good life.
7 July 2023
Thanks be to God for the gift of another day and for continued healing. So far I'm loving my compression sleeve. There was some improvement of the air quality to 'fair', that is a huge improvement from 'poor' and 'unhealthy' and you can't beat the temperature being in the 70s all day long, especially in July no less. We could not have beaten the awesome mix of sunshine and clouds to boot. We went to the Aurora Outlet Mall and I got in a outdoor walk. I hope there won't be a price to pay for doing that. I was a taken by surprised that there was quite a few people at the outlet mall. The mall piped in music was better, but there was still plenty of room for improvement. Hmm, this bible verse was the verse of the day earlier in the week, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). I find this bible verse so encouraging under all circumstances in my walk back to Eden. I am most grateful to receive this gift that was paid for by the passion our Lord and savior Christ Jesus. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, so it is best that I stop penning and go to bed early.
6 July 2023
Albeit there was a nice mixture of sun and clouds and the temperature this morning was in the low 70s. In fact, we finally had a bluish looking sky, but our air quality continues to be unhealthy. Since Fawn had a ten dollar JCPenney coupon we went to the Fox Valley Mall. It's been a long while since I did a mall walk there. The mall wasn't very busy and that made wonder how the place can survive much longer. Perhaps with all the new developments surrounding the actual mall will keep the mall afloat or perhaps even turn the mall around! I went for my physical therapy session at the Naperville Northwestern Medicine Outpatient Rehabilitation Center which is only a few minutes away from our home. I was correct, my finger is healing well and the physical therapist was please with my process and predicted that the after the session scheduled for next week, I would most likely be done with physical therapy. Although I wasn’t given any new exercises to do at home, I was told to continue with the ones I’ve been doing and was given finger compression sleeves to reduce the swelling. We ended up eating a late lunch and wanted something we could make quickly, so I made us hot dogs with canned bake beans. "blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin” (Romans 4:8). Justified by faith we can live the blessed life by contemplating the lavishness of God's grace. Thanks be to God for the gift of grace.
5 July 2023
"Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:14). This is a beautify morning prayer to start the day. Dang, it was already in the mid 80s in the morning when we went to Alex's to help him cut back the ornamental fountain grass shrubs along his patio, because there were rabbits taking up residence. Sigh what a klutz, I cut the extension cord with the hedger and we had finish off the job in manual mode using a pair of shear. We had to go to Menards buy plastic fence to put around the bush to keep Nala from attacking the new born baby rabbits. Anyway, gotrdun. It seems that the temperature is staying steady now, because the afternoon high was in the low 90s. The unhealthy air is so bad; being out in it is so taxing on my poor eyes. I can’t say enough good things about Alaway ® antihistamine eye drops and my cold mask. Whoa, right around 6 p.m. the sky suddenly turned dark and then we all of a sudden there was a loud thunderous ground shaking kaboom. Lo and behold it was followed by a torrential downpour accompanied by more loud thunderous rumblings. The way the heavy rain is pouring, I'll be surprised if there will be so flooding in our area. Surly, this will provide us with some type of relief from the heat. We chatted with Jennifer, all our children routinely talk to their mama on a daily basis, but I just happened to be in the car. This must be an exciting time in her life to be doing what she went to school all these years for and completing her three years of residency. It’s been a while, but since this was a four day holiday weekend, I naturally googled and looked for the headlines today about shootings in Chicago. It came as no surprise to me that at least 73 people were shot in the city and 11 of them died. The one year anniversary of the Highland Park parade shooting was all over the news yesterday. It is hard to believe that the gunman got off 83 rounds killed 7 people and left 48 others wounded in such a short time. Unbelievable, I was stunned to learn that there was a boat load of mass shootings over this holiday weekend, it is my understanding that there were at least 22 mass shootings across 17 states. It will be interesting what my physical therapist with have to offer me when I go in tomorrow for my weekly sessions. After my initial appointment they wanted to schedule me twice a week for four to six weeks, but I did all my exercises for a week and did well on my second therapy session and changed my schedule to once a week for five more sessions and gave me a few more challenging exercises to work on. I don’t think there is much more that can be done as I am almost back to normal and should be 100% over time when the swelling is completely gone. The verse of the day is, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Albeit, I think faith in Christ alone and good works go hand in hand, prideful men have imagined a variety of ways and invented many paths to get into heaven. But God determined that there would only be one way to be forgiven, to be redeemed and to be declared righteous. To Saint Thomas, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 4:6). As always, I am grateful for each and every day and for the love shown me day in and day out by my friends and family. Truly my cup overflows with blessings.
4 July 2023
Happy 4th of July and God bless America! It was a hot day in the 90s. It seems like the only good and bearable time to go outdoors is in the early morning. We went to the Jewel because today was the last day that the zucchini and mushrooms were on sale and I was thinking that I was going to getting either hot dogs or hamburger meat but couldn’t past up getting the fried chicken that just came out of their pressure cooker. We Mmm, we celebrate the holiday with, fried chicken and a side of American potato salad. Funny how Fawn shakes her head whenever I eat chicken at home. I have to admit that I do suck the meat pretty clean of the bone at home. I made zucchini, mushrooms and onion stir fry over rice for dinner. The highlight of the day was our brief facetiming with the kids. Peyton called and wanted to do a virtual pretend tea party with grandma. I’m not going to complain about the sound I’m hearing of folks setting off fireworks in the neighborhood. I don’t get it, but that’s what people do of the fourth of July and New Years Eve.
3 July 2023
Grr, I'm guessing that there were more than just a few stupid out late last night in the neighborhood last night setting fireworks. One would think that I would be use to the sound growing up in Chinatown and near Comiskey Park. The loud explosions are so annoying to hear when you are trying to go to bed. Yep, I knew it, they started early this evening, but it’s already a little after ten and it’s still going on. There, I got that off my chest with kinder words than I had last night. Albeit, I was cranked up last night I woke up thankful for another day. There was joy in my heart, because I knew that we were going to Alex's for lunch because we left a bag of pea pods there on Saturday and we took out a few pieces of char sui out of the freezer. Alex made barbecue fried rice and his fried rice is actually better than what I fry up. The air quality improved from poor to fair, but it got pretty warm and made it up into the upper 80s. I guess that is better that being over 100 degrees Fahrenheit this time of year, because it is common to be at or near that during the first week of July. We are no stranger to being in the 90s in our neck of the woods in July, so why am I complaining? It is my understanding that it may be still be months before they have a few of the major wildfires under control. I am continuing to see improvement with my physical therapy exercises, especially doing activities like picking up marbles. I'm glad that I can massage my finger to bring relief to my finger whenever I feel some pain and don't require taking Tylenol. Today was another was another day filled with blessings abound.
2 July 2023
I am thankful for the gift of another day. It is becoming pretty weird now to be waking up to an ongoing string of rain filled, days. It’s too bad that it isn't raining like this Canada to put out those wildfires. I learned today that Pr Bruzek is going to officially step down as Senior Pastor to a part time pastor position this autumn. I am thankful for my family and friends. Prayers for their protection and healing over their lives.
1 July 2023
Happy July! I woke with joy in my heart, despite waking up early to warm rainy day, because we got together at Alex's and did a huge fusion breakfast. My thighs were a little stiff and sore. Clearly, I over did on the elliptical yesterday by doing a thirty degree incline on one of the goes. It was a good eating day which we kicked off by the usual scrambled eggs and sausage links. We also steamed frozen dim sum dumplings and fried up radish cakes as well as boiled joong that Peggy made. Albeit I don't know much about the dragon boat festival other than joong being the traditional food for celebrating this festival. We later made tacos for a late lunch and it was the first time I tried queso dipping sauce with my nachos, delicious. It was enough to carry us over before heading over to celebrate Zach's 12th birthday, crazy how time flies by so quickly. Albeit gathering around food has always been a big part of celebrating life, that's enough talking about food. Indoor activities ranged from playing hide and seek to Star Wars saber fighting. There is nothing like as wonderful as the sound of children screaming with laughter. It was so nice of Rob to give this old man a much needed neck, shoulder and back massage. When the clouds finally gave way to the hazy sun, we went outside briefly with our grandkids to play catch the ball. Despite the air quality being upgraded from very unhealthy to poor, my eyes became very itchy. I was so glad that we stopped home on the way to Zach's birthday party, to put eye drops and calm my eyes with the cold mask. The final good eat of the day was Sandy's signature Lasagna. The party ended up being a huge celebration there was cakes celebrating Zach's, Fawn's, and Alex's birthday, as well as cakes for Mauri & Mary and Ken & Anna wedding anniversaries! Thanks be to God, his love endures forever.
30 June 2023
I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust” (Psalm 91:2). The world seems to be be totally insane and people seem to be living only for the moment without direction. We need to move away from the cynicism of our age and call upon the Lord and make him our resting place. I’m so glad that June has come to an end; social media has been so cluttered with noise. we stayed indoors all day, so I had three goes on the elliptical. I did all my physical therapy exercises throughout the entire day and am seeing continued improvements. The highlight of my time was fametiming with the kids. I’m looking forward to a big day celebrating tomorrow.
29 June 2023
The month of June is almost coming to end, how quickly time goes by. The heat of summer is clearly upon us, but the very unhealthy air quality from the Canadian wildfires continues to compound an added burden. The has been a lot of unkind back and forth going on this month with regards to the LGBTQ community on social media. I continue to fail to understand any of this. I know so little about this community that I even had google to make sure I got the spelling correct. I was flabbergasted this morning seeing a Facebook posting about a church community confessing, "The Sparkle Creed." We went to shop for a few items at IKEA, and was able to do a leisurely walk in the maze like big box store. We then got a carryout to take over to Alex's for our lunch. I was so happy Fawn want to get a carryout from there, because the food was really really good. I've been working really hard on my home physical therapy hand exercises and hope to gain back the full use of my hand soon.
28 June 2023
Whoa, achoo, achoo, achoo. The air quality alert went from 'poor' to 'very unhealthy'. I never seen that before, but then again I never noticed the air quality index before on the weather app until the recent Canadian wildfires, even though Accuweather stated started publishing the air quality forecast and alert notifications since mid 2020. You don't look up at the hazy sunshine, it is telling enough just to look ahead and smell the air. Talk about a highly unlikely place, we went to the Jewel-Osco to buy a battery for my Casino watch, because it was the cheapest place that sold that particular battery, $2.47! This was the third time I've installed batteries for this bad boy. Unbelievable, I think that I bought this watch about thirty years ago. Fawn has been doing all the cooking for over a week now. I am thankful for all her delicious meals and care. She took a break on Tuesday and ordered a Chinese takeout and ordered. I was disappointed that the spareribs with black bean sauce was only just so-so, because the last time we got it from Lucky Wok, it was pretty good. Wednesday was a busy day; we went to see our doctor's office to check my blood pressure and home blood pressure device. Later we went to the have my stitches removed. With the stitches out, I was able to clutch my hand pain free. I'm glad that I don't require bandaging or need to use a finger splint any longer. Right after, we went to my second physical therapy session in the same building and was given new set of additional hand exercises to work on for the week. Our words and praises to our Lord are understatements and are more than our words of praise can possibly declare. So we reverently join the psalmist and reverently declare: “Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise?” (Psalm 106:2). Of course the question is rhetorical, but the doesn’t stop us from offering thanks and praises. Thanks be to God for continued healing. It was nice of my brother to give me a wellness call.
26 June 2023
"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22 - 23). We are never without the Lord who brings us peace each and every day. I went for physical therapy and when they changed out my dressing, I was surprised to see that the cut was lengthwise. The physical therapist walked me though four different hand exercises and made a custom splint for my finger. I will have my stitches removed next week and my next physical therapy appointment is a couple days after that. In my mind I should be able to meet the gripping goal. My wife is an amazing women that tending to and nursing me. What would I do without this good woman? It was a very relaxing week and I got had plenty of opportunities to leisurely work on the puzzle. The puzzle that Isaac picked for me is so huge, I am thankful for the puzzle mat to be able to move the puzzle around. I got another awesome puzzle with a Father's Day theme from Andrea, Rob and the grands too! Not to mention the puzzle I got a year and a half ago for Christmas! I'm having a slower go at the huge two thousand piece puzzle than I anticipated. What a blessing to have Andrea with us for most of the week. Rob deserves more than a super dad award of some type. Shamefully, I can't be trusted to watch the kids even for just a few hours. It's been very hot and muggy. Ugh, most days were in the upper 80s to mid 90s. Willis Carrier is my hero! The hazy sky and heat along with the poor air quality that we have been getting is really getting old. This is definitely not a good thing. However, I did get in a few good days of walking, but it was all indoors in the big box stores. Thanks be to God for my cold mask relief. Jewels have been giving away a freebie sample product on weekends for some time now, but I never seen anything that have caught my fancy until this week when they offer a Signature Breakfast Bowl. It's not clear to me when I will get a chance to try it out though. To say we had a torrential rain Saturday night would be an understatement. It's be a long while since we had loud thunder claps, high wind and heavy rain fall at this magnitude. The rain didn't provide any succor and only added to the humidity, but the rain clouds moved back in late Sunday afternoon and the second rain cooled things down from the low 90s to the mid 60s in a heartbeat. Best eats by far during the past week was feasting on the frozen store brought dim sum that we steamed. It's Monday morning and the day ahead looks to be a dreary one. I can hardly wait till the stitches are removed from my finger mid week. Hopeful most of my dexterity will be back when that happens. I don’t intend to pen another journal entry until after that. Prayers for good health and the healing of all of infirmities.
15 June 2023
I was surprised that there was little to no pain after the local anesthesia numbing wore off last night. This morning I rate the pain level at a one or two on a scale of ten, so I took some extra strength Tylenol with my morning coffee just in case. Today was a most joyous day. I love that we were able to go to my sister's house and did a dim sum brunch with her and brother. Mmm, steamed shuimai, har gow and bean curd. I think I'm going to just take a hiatus from penning here for a couple of weeks until I get the stitches removed and I use of my right hand again.
14 June 2023
"Chili Today, Hot Tamale." Weird the childhood things we remember saying as kids that we thought were clever things to say. We have been having crazy temperature swings. It finally got back up to normal temperatures, and now I'm hoping it doesn't get any warmer now. We went to the Northwestern Medicine Surgery Center in Warrenville this morning. I was surprised see the road was being widened both directions for new bicycle paths along the street. In my mind, that only creates a dangerous situation. This journal entry is providing to be more difficult for me to pen poking the keys with my left hand.
13 June 2023
"It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your h faithfulness by night" (Psalm 92:1-2). I love to pray God's words back to him. This is one of my favorite morning prayers. One of my morning rituals is to look at the hourly forecast for the day so that I could dress properly for day ahead of me. I would have never guessed that I would routinely look at the weather app to see what the air quality is for the day. The air quality was fair today. We went to IKEA this morning to use my $10 birthday gift coupon! LOL, you got to love walking around in a maze. After I got in an hour long walk, I just sat in the car with the seat reclined and my eyes closed. It was a little windy but I guess it was enough to be blowing the pollen, because I was sneezing a lot and just wanted to keep my eye closed. I was clueless that it was going to rain today, with all the modern technology, one would think that the next day weather forecasting would be much better. Now I'm glad I mowed the grass yesterday. I finally remembered to wear the noise protector I got from Freight Harbor yesterday and it worked great. I need to get a good night’s rest, because I’ll be going in to have surgery to remove the ganglion cyst and its root that connects it to the joint or tendon sheath. It is my understanding that the recovery time is between two to six weeks with physical therapy.
12 June 2023
I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning and just wanted to keep my eyes shut, not because I was tire or anything, but because my eyes felt itchy and irritated. I haven't been using my antihistamine eye drops I wasn't sure if I should be. I had to stop a lot of medications this week prior to my finger surgery that I will be having in a couple of days. So I have been relying on the timely cold mask that Fawn got me. It was another cool day with the high around 70 degrees. I was comfortable wearing my hooded flannel shirt as a light jacket and it was the first time I ever wore a pair of men's joggers. It initially felt weird putting them on, but they were very light and comfortable. We went to the Sam's Club pharmacy again and to the Oswego area to shop. I love that there is a gas station in that area that we have been able to routinely get gas for about 40¢ to 50¢ cheaper than everyone else. I still can't figure out yet how they are able to do so though, in my mind, the price on gas needs to go back down another dollar and half to get our economy back on track. Anyway, we got the gas for $3.719 this time around. I'm guessing that the Canadian wildfires must finally be under control, because the sky is back to looking blue like we are normally accustomed to seeing today. It was another déjà vu eatingwise day, but we finally finished off all the leftovers barbecue ribs. As far as eating is concerned, there is nothing quite as satisfying as suckin the meat of the bone. After lunch, I went on the mow the grass front and back! Thankfully it was nice and cool with enough cloud cover. The bad thing was that all that grass pollen only added to my misery. Nice, Fawn gave me a haircut before going up to shower. Mmm, our neighbor came back from vacationing in Hawaii and gifted us with a gift box of Honolulu Cookie Company premium shortbread cookies! We are blessed by their generosity and mindfulness of us. The highlight of my day was facetiming with the kids, that always bring me great joy.
11 June 2023
Man o man, my cold mask was a life saver last night and again this afternoon. My eyes are so itchy. It got a bit cooler than I would like today, but am thankful for the much need rain we got.
10 June 2023
Happy is the day! I decided I would pen throughout the day my journal entry for today on my smartphone and will cut and paste it to blogger tonight, because my heart is busting with a joy that I can't contain. I love it whenever the family gets together. On the way over to Alex's, we picked up cupcakes. That would be a good nickname for Peyton because she really loves eating cupcakes. We also stopped at Panera for my birthday freebie and I picked a bear claw pastry and bought a loaf of asiago bread. Go eats, sausage links, scrambled eggs and Cantonese dim sum style radish cakes and taro cakes for breakfast, delicious. I finally got around to work a little more on the big jigsaw puzzle and got some help from Andrea while Rob helped Alex with the needed yard work. The weed whacked along the fence and pulled all the weeds out of the patio perimeter before laying out all the mulch. Wow, they did great work on the entire property, so aesthetically pleasing. I initially thought that I was going to work on the puzzle a little bit every day, but that clearly ain't happening. The good eats didn't stop at breakfast, it was summertime fun. Barbecue ribs along with the fried chicken that Rob bought went well together, everyone knows I love chicken this and chicken that, especially when it's batter fried. What a spread, salads, fruit, chips and dips, and desserts. My favorite dessert was the Tiramisù cake. We celebrated Rob and me because it is good to honor fathers, but sometimes I feel unworthy. For sure, my parenting contributions pales to that of mama. Albeit all of our children are fully grown and have turned out to be model citizens despite having me as their father. One of my jobs was to motivate our children to reach their full potential in character, discipline, and spiritual growth. Aah, I always look forward to Rob giving me a neck, shoulder and back massage. I always fell so much better afterwards. We are so blessed to have his as our son-in-law. We are so grateful that he come down and allow us time to spend with our grandchildren. I gave muse about this young while he was giving a massage, he wears many hats well: son, brother, uncle, cousin, brother-in-law, husband, and so on … but I think that he puts on his dad hat, he wears it well. Well, I’m here doing my cut and paste and wanting to wrap up this journal entry by saying what an awesome day this was. I took a quick peek at tomorrow’s forecast and it looks like a good chance for some much needed rain that will provide us some succor from the summer heat. "Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you" (Psalm 116:7). My soul rejoices in the Lord.
9 June 2023
Happy Anniversary! Unbelievable, 39 years. "An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life" (Proverbs 31:10-12). I am truly blessed. Aah, not morning coffee, it's kinda funny hot I like my morning coffee hot and how I like to safe some in the refrigerator to drink cold later in the day. Brr, I needed to wear something warm before heading out the door early this morning to go to Alex's to let the air conditioner maintenance man do the annual tune-up check. I didn't realize that the day still starts off in the mid 50s before rapidly warming up 35 degrees later in the day. I wore an interesting Old Navy flannel shirt that had a hood that served as a nice light jacket. The shirt is something the younger generation would more likely wear, but off season clothing sales marked down to bargain basement prices. I wonder how much longer it will before the combination of tree and grass pollen along with the poor air quality from the smoke from all those wildfires improve. Sitting here with my cold mask penning my journal entry is weird. We went to Menards twice because our SUV only had room for ten bags of mulch each trip for a total of 40 cubic yards. Mmm, good eats, I made us beef with peapods over Cantonese pan fried noodles. We went to the Jewels and bought potato salad, two kind of macaroni salad and coleslaw to go with the barbecue baby back ribs that I gonna made for lunch tomorrow. I made hamburger peas and Cantonese pan fried noodles for the kids to have later in the week. I was happy that I found Isaac a nice ribeye steak that was marked down. It has to be well marbled and marked down. It is hard to find both, but even then the absorbent inflationary marked down prices nowadays still make me cringe. LOL, we stopped at, Nothing Bundt Cake, for my birthday freebie, but ended up buying the BOGO free, because today was the last day of the promotion and I still had a week to redeem my birthday freebie bundt cake. Saint Vincent de Paul encourages us t0, “Read good and useful books, and abstain from reading those that only gratify curiosity.” I agree that we should all discriminate more of what we choose to read and watch, especially from the media which I think is in many ways toxic. The noise they generate is often times divisive and keeps us distracted in our walk. This is starting to get longer than I like, so I need to wrap this up and call it a day. What an awesome day, so full of joyful blessings. Thanks be to God for the love and commitment that has bought us to our 39th anniversary. May the Lord continue to guide us on our journey back to Eden.
8 June 2023
Corpus Christi, Latin: the body of Christ. How can I not take Jesus at his word, "This is my body..." and "This is my blood..."? May we confess his real presence in the Eucharist. It is not clear to me the difference between Corpus Christi and Maundy Thursday. I could be wrong, but Corpus Christi seems like a reiteration of Maundy Thursday. We went to Sam's Club to pick up meds and took a detour to the Geneva area. I love my Skechers walking shoes, they are so comfortable. Man o man, talk about itchy burning eyes and sinus issues. Even with the aid of antihistamine eyedrops and nasal spray, I still need to rely on my cold mask to bring about some relief, mercy me. I heard the kids are going to be around this weekend, I’m up for a summertime barbecue.
7 June 2023
I thank God for each and every day. I started to pen that he showers me with grace upon grace from sunrise to sunset, but that would be short changing his continue steadfast love. Albeit the air quality is moderate, I wish the smoke from the Canadian wildfires would dissipate. I've been using my cold mask everyday to soothe my itchy eyes after we have been out and about in the morning, today was no different. I'm kind of surprised that that the air quality alert has been lifted. It has been so weird to lately seeing grayish skies along with sunshine. We gassed up for $3.759 a gallon this morning. I don't know why I continue to complain about the high gas prices, because nothing will change under this POTUS. We will need to brace ourselves for another inflationary blow, because Saudi Arabia recently announced cuts to oil production.
6 June 2023
Now that's what I'm talking about, it was a beautiful day and the air quality alert for the past week has finally been lifted. I always thought we only experienced the toxic air from the California wildfires, but this massive wildfire originated in Canada. We gave muse this morning over morning coffee to d-day and went on to shaking our heads in disbelief that there is actually a war going on in Ukraine, when will we learn? I went for a morning walk and concur that the air quality has improved, but you couldn't tell by looking up at the hazy sky that remains. We went grocery shopping at the Chinese supermarket and then went to Portillo's for my freebie birthday cake and to take home their new rodeo burger sandwich for my lunch. I thought the burger tasted really good but was a little pricey. The last time we took Peggy’s joong from freezer and reheated them in the microwave, but this time I toss them bad boys in a pot of boiling water and they were super good. We ate it for dinner with the steamed char sui bao. It was nice that family and friends are mindful enough to still call or text me belated birthday well wishes. The verse of the day is, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22–23). May we keep in step with the Spirit.
5 June 2023
Happy birthday to me! I'm glad that Alex is OK with us stopping by his house so often. I enjoy visiting him during his lunch hour and making lunch there. I always joke that his house is my vacation home. It was nice to just kick back and enjoy Alex’s new backyard patio. I made us a nice well marbled inch and a half bone-in ribeye steak and a french green bean stir fried side. Fawn found the huge steak marked down half price! Steaks are so expensive nowadays, no wonder it was marked down from not being able to be sold over the weekend. The highlight of my day was facetiming with our children. I do not take for granted the priceless and precious gift of family and friends from God.
4 June 2023
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet" (Psalm 8:3-6). O Lord, how wonderful is name in all the earth. I absolutely love full blast worship on feast days. Holy, Holy, Holy, was our processional hymn. May we grace of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
3 June 2023
"Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:14). Open my heart, O Lord, that I may take in your unfailing love. I had an exceptionally good night's rest and am grateful for this day. Mmm, what a great start for the day, I had my oatmeal with strawberries and blueberries! Wow, talk about dusting off an old CD, Fawn popped in, Singers & Songwriters Volume 1, and had it playing as background music during her daily workout. Chirp, chirp, tasty pork chops with a spinach side. Of course Popeye came to mind, synonymous. Yesterday was a huge day our youngest, she wrapped up her residency and got engaged, we are so happy for her. It was so good to FaceTime with all our children and future son-in-law this afternoon. I was shaking my head about Naperville. When we first got married and built our house in Naperville, the population was about 55,000 and never thought that our quite town population would increase three folds, sell cannabis, and are now courting the Chicago Bears to build their stadium here, what happened? I really am really hoping that it is only a leverage play on the part of Chicago Bears organization. We went to Sara's high school graduation party hosted by her parents. It didn't seem that long ago when she was Andrea's flower girl, how time flies. It was really nice the weather was cooperating to boot! The biggest problem I have at gatherings is keeping myself from overindulging on all the delicious food being served. Thankful the day filled with joy and laughter.
2 June 2023
Complain, complain, complain, I'm clearly a grumpy old man. First, I complain about the outdoor pollen that is keeping me from do an outdoor walk and then I complain about how cold the air conditioning is the big box stores. Anyway, I did over a hour of combined walk time in between all the stores. I cleaned out all the leftovers in the refrigerator and had summa for my lunch, summa this and summa that. I so happy mama got me the cold eye mask to give relief to my poor itchy eyes.
1 June 2023
I am thankful for the start of another new month and think the changing of seasons is quite remarkable. Living here in the midwest, the weather conditions are profoundly extreme during each season, the temperature gets over one hundred degrees Fahrenheit in the summer and below zero degrees Fahrenheit in the winter. I have a wandering mind as I muse from one thing to another literally about time and seasons and brief time and the metaphoric vastness of seasons in our lives. Man O man O man talk about high pollen, achoo, achoo, achoo! How bad was it? Bad enough that Fawn was mindful enough to hunt down a few different brands of cold eye masks for me to choose from. Thanks be to God for my good wife. Albeit is comfortable enough temperaturewise in the early morning, I had to take my hour long walk inside the Target store. Yummy, I prepped everything at home this morning and went to fire up char sui chow fun at Alex's for our lunch. I really like cooking on his high btu gas stove that produces the wok hei that I can get from my gas stove. I watched a short documentary about, The Little Rascals (TV Series 1955) . I loved watching that show as a little kid growing up. Funny how Alex became confused when I said that, because he thought I was talking about, The Little Rascals (1994 Movie), he watched a little kid. It got into low 90s again in the afternoon, so the leftover refrigerated cold coffee from this morning was most welcomed when we got back home. I tried on the mask after I had it in the refrigerator for a few hours and area around my eyes felt instance relief from the cold therapy! I’m a happy camper and give the mask a five star rating.
31 May 2023
We woke up at the crack of dawn, had breakfast and was out the door super early for Fawn's doctor's appointment with a Dermatologist that was recommended by our primary physician. I was glad we were out early this morning when it was nice and cool, because the temperature soared up into the lower 90s, summer. It was only a matter of time when we would get the high humidity along with the heat. Ooh wee, after climbing up four flights of stairs, it became clear to me there was a lot of room for cardiovascular improvements. I initially thought when Ford brought back the Broncos, I thought it looked terrible. But today I saw a new full size gas guzzling one like I had forty years ago that looked awesome. We went to visit my brother Bill and he insisted on buy us lunch to celebrate me, so we feasted on Chinese takeout from, New Chinese Kitchen. We are so happy that he progressing so very well with his post surgery physical therapy. Thanks be to God for the gift of family. Song of the day is, Fly Me To The Moon - Lady Gaga. I thought Old Blue Eyes was the only person that sung this song, beautiful. I love the way she sings this song.
30 May 2023
"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:23). Thanks be to God for this day, his unfailing love endures forever. I forgot that I needed to prune back the branches off our tree in the parkway this weekend, so I was up super early to prune back the branches and lay them curbside. Whew, I gotrdun in the nick of time just moments before the city to came by with the wood chipper. We went over our calendar and it looks like we are going to have a super busy summer. I got in a nice long walk. Albeit it got into the mid 80s again today, the humidity was low again like yesterday. But the air quality was horrid because of all the cottonwood seedlings blowing about. Ahh, refreshing, I love sipping on ice coffee. Mmm, dinner was awesome; I made us beef with peapods over Cantonese pan fried noodles! Whoo hoo, I’m starting to get my annual birthday freebie notifications via email! It’s time to kick back and get ready for bed, need to up super early tomorrow morning. Grateful.
29 May 2023
Remembering with gratitude those who gave their lives for us and the cause of freedom. We went to Alex's and celebrated Memorial Day with some meaty barbecue pork spareribs. Fawn had a taste for a tender Chinese hoisin style rib. It was the first time I tried making them bad boys that way. The tenderness was spot on, but I feel there is room for improvement to make the ribs more flavorful even though Fawn and Alex thought it was fine. Perhaps next time I'll add a little honey to sweeten it up a tad. Albeit got up to the mid 80s, it wasn't muggy at all and I able take a nice long walk. The day is almost over and we mourned the reality of war while remembering with thanksgiving the sacrifices of those who gave their lives to preserve our liberties. Our fallen may be gone, but they shall never be forgotten.
28 May 2023
I woke up to a beautiful morning and looked at the weather app to see how I should dress to go celebrate Sunday Mass. Dang, summertime and it'll be in the 80s all week long, but I am thankful that it will remain cool in the 70s during the a.m. hours and there is no rain in the forecast for the time being. I love the new light and cool summertime dress pants mama got for me the other day, they are a very nice fit and timely. It was very fitting to witness the naming of Robert Grierson on the, Day of Pentecost. I finally got around to swapping out the sump pump discharge line and sprayed the Home Defense around the perimeter of the house. A single application of the bug barrier is supposed to be good for twelve months, but I apply it once a month from early spring until late autumn. Knock on wood, so far no ants in our house. I did a matinee and watched episode 6 of, The Chosen!
27 May 2023
Albeit it was super nice out at the crack of dawn. It was destined to be a great day regardless, because not only did we gathered as a family, we also celebrated me. What a great honor it was that my family is so mindful of me. I was gifted a new wallet, gift cards and a 2000 piece jigsaw puzzle! Andrea knows I like going jigsaw puzzles and thought a thousand pieces was a good fit for me, but Isaac had faith in me being able to handle a 2000 piece puzzle. I hope I'm up to the challenge and don't let him down. Mmm, it good eats, scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon for breakfast and store bought spinach & cheese manicotti with mama's pasta sauce, spaghetti and garlic Texas toast for lunch. Déjà vu, sort of, I played Mario Brothers with Isaac. I remember playing Mario Brothers with Alex when he was a kid like it was yesterday. Isaac told me that I was very good at it, lol nothing changed. I'm not forgetting the neck and shoulder massage Rob gives me every time he brings his family down to visit us. I am so thankful for that, because it is really quite a long drive to be doing that so often. What a crazy day on the road with folks rowing down their windows playing rap music with that vibrating low bass that drives me bonkers. How could they not be nearing deafness with brain damage? I don't get it. Wow, I don't get. As I look back on this day and reflecting on what a empty and meaningless life it would be if we didn't follow St. Paul's example as he awaited his execution in prison. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:7-8). Saint John Baptiste de la Salle said, "God gives you the power to perform miracles by touching the hearts of those entrusted to your care. This is the greatest miracle you can perform and one which God expects of you. Frequently ask him for the grace to touch hearts." May our Lord shower us with grace upon grace.
26 May 2023
Albeit the air quality was fair today, it am grateful for antihistamine eye drops and nasal spray. Fawn had me make stir fried pork riblets with green bell peppers and garlic black beans sauce as well as hot dog fried rice as take home food for the kids. She also took out two quarts of her signature pasta sauce from the freezer. Hmm, mama had me tried on two new pairs of dress slacks. I find it strange that the waist size on pants are in two inch increments. Size 36 is too loose for me and size 34 is too tight, good thing the inseam sizes are in one increments. I was hoping to fit a size 34 by now. God willing, perhaps some time this summer. Thanks be to God for his perfect faithfulness.
25 May 2023
"Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you" (Psalm 116:7). O how I love the Lord, he hears my voice and his love endures forever. Nice, springtime is still hanging in there! I had a cramp in my leg this morning. It's been a long while since that happened. I think spasm was caused from muscle fatigue from the long walk I took yesterday. I just took a short walk this afternoon, because we had to wait for our annual air conditioner service maintenance guy to come and do the needed. I had one of would've, could've, should've moments when I was up on the ladder removing the lint from the dryer vent louver. I had the opportunity to do it several days ago when I had the ladder out cleaning the gutters. Anyway, gotrdun. Well sort of, I still need to clean the dryer vent itself. It was crazy how the wind was blowing as though it was the month of March. Mmm, mmm, mmm, Sandy came by and gifted up with her signature Columbian Chicken dish. Wow, we got gas for $3.529! Gas has been so high for so long, I thought we were getting a good deal. While we were out and about, we saw a crazy motorcyclist go around the lowered railway crossing gate. We facetimed with the kids and it looks like we're going to have get together this holiday weekend, sweet! Guess we'll need to do some grocery shopping tomorrow. I saw a puzzle challenge that Rob posted on Facebook to find how many ways you can spell RADAR. I found 80 ways and believe that I found all the possibilities. Anyway, it was a good brain exercise.
24 May 2023
Now that's what I'm talking about, zip-a-dee-doo-dah, what a wonderful day! I did a super nice peaceful and leisurely walk on Bay Scott Circle in the cool while Fawn was in the doctor's office for a follow up visit. Yes sir, spring was in the air. I'm not sure, but I think that it's been a while since we got a takeout from Portillo's. Their combo sandwich was as delicious as I recollected. Song of the day is, Always On My Mind - Willie Nelson. We schedule my appointment for my surgery and the initial appointment for the physical therapy to follow. The day is almost over and I thank God for the blessings of the day.
23 May 2023
We were up and out the door early for a doctor's appointment at the Northwestern Medical Surgery Center in Warrenville to tend to a ganglion cyst on my finger. My primary physician drained the cyst about a year ago, but it came back. So we went to see a Orthopedic Hand Surgery Specialist this time around. After getting x-rays and consultation, my options were that I could opt to do nothing because ganglion cyst was not cancerous or I could have the cyst drained again, but he felt that there was a high probability that it come back again like before. My third option was to have surgery done to my finger with physical therapy to follow and a low percentage of 1 to 5 percent that the cyst will come back. I'm going to take the surgical option and hoping for a better outcome. Mama loves her babies, Alex was under the weather, so we went by to drop off throat lounges and lunch from Panda Express. It is sad that suspicion of possible covid floats in the back of my mind with every little sniffle that people get. The weather was outstanding this morning and I went for a nice walk in the cool of the day, before the temperature soar into upper 80s. Ugh, it already feels like summer. Talk about lazy summer days, I fell asleep midday and ended up taking a short afternoon nap! I'm surprised that on more than a few occasions, lately I have been only drinking half of my hot morning coffee and saving the other half in the refrigerator for ice cold coffee later in the day. I learned yesterday that Tim Scott from South Carolina has entered the 2024 Presidential Race and think that is a huge step up from Trump and DeSantis on the Republican side. I don't understand why Pence and Haley aren't doing better in the Republican polls. I really hope a few Democratic candidates join in the Democratic Primaries. I would hate to see Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic Presidential Nominee. There is much joy in my heart, God is good.
22 May 2023
Looks like two days of summer before we return back to spring. Thanks be to God for central air conditioning. It was a very peaceful and relaxing day. This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and we will be also be celebrating, The Day of Pentecost. I don't know very much about the Holy Spirit and spend little time studying pneumatology, but I do spend some time reading about musing about the Holy Spirit. Whernever I think about the Holy Spirit I think about, "Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven" (Matthew 12:31). For some strange reason Pentecostal/Charismatic church also come to mind too.
21 May 2023
There was no way I was getting on the scale this morning, because I'm pretty sure that the calories from the carbonara sauce and bread sticks I had yesterday are going to stay with me for a while. We didn't have time to make oatmeal this morning, so we went with cold cereal. I think it is funny how we put together a medley of Total, Cheerio and Captain Crunch. Too bad there were no fresh strawberries or blueberries to be found. I am glad that I have moved on from my fear of covid to the point I can proceed to move about with some sense of normalcy among my fellow man. We celebrated the Feast of Accession. The fact that Jesus' followers witnessed him ascending into the clouds leaves no doubt that our Christ not only rose from the dead but lives in Heaven with the Father and is no longer limited to living on Earth. May this ascension be our destiny. Albeit we intend to leave immediately after the Divine Service, but I'm glad that Dave reached out to us and that we were able to speak to each other face to face instead of over the phone. I love our church family so much. The verse of the day is, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:25-26). Since it was still in the cool of the day, I decided to cut the grass in the front and Fawn helped me clean the gutters and downspouts. It's always a good feeling to be able to tend to some of the needed.
20 May 2023
"Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds" (Psalm 36:5). I woke up this morning with a grateful heart that was overflowing with joy. Thanks be to God for the gift of family, especially for moms. My siblings and I were blessed with loving parents. I think that our children are blessed with the same love extended the same nurturing we has growing up from their mom and I see the same being afforded to our grandchildren from their parents. We went to Alex's to celebrate the Fawn and Andrea, the mamas. It was nice of Alex to order Olive Garden and to pick up the tab! Most of the time I opt for the, Tour of Italy, but I decided to change it up this time around and order the Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I tried to play, Minecraft Heros of the Village, with Isaac. The game is designed for family fun, 7+. The operative word was "tried". It proved to be too complex for me to pick up how to play the board game on the fly. Peyton is really growing up fast, she is singing with Disney songs. After lunch we enjoyed time sitting on the patio, I even got a nice neck and shoulder massage from Rob. Today was a very good day, "For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace" (John 1:16). May we continue to grow in grace and knowledge in Christ Jesus.
19 May 2023
I went with Fawn to have her haircut. She had the first appointment of the day, so here I am sitting in the car starting to pen my journal entry on my smartphone which I'll cut and paste later onto blogger this evening. Mmm, I ate a savory oatmeal this morning with a splash of hot sauce and a piping hot cup of coffee to start off the dreary day. I can't decide if I like sweet with fruit or savory taste better, both are so good. Albeit a rainy day, it's my understanding we should be getting nice springtime weather for the weekend before the hot summerlike weather move in during the week. I have different moods on rainy days. Sadly, sometimes, well most of the time I tend to complain about it and need to view rainy days from a positive perspective like the rain bringing about growth, cleanliness and new beginnings. A good downpour on the earth washes away the dirt and grime. It makes me think of thing the Great Flood and Baptism, and our need to be cleansed. Rain makes plants grow and our bodies depend on water to survive. Christ is our living water, let us thirst for him. I went to bed pretty early last night, so I woke up pretty early and prayed Psalm 90 early this morning while lying in bed and had a chance to muse. "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long? Have q pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:12-14). I watched a video the other day of my grandson already riding a bicycle and starting to swim. We watched our kids grow up in a blink of the eye and now the same is happening with our grandchildren. I was stuck by these verses in particular. It is a prayer asking for guidance to make use of our time and in the brevity of our lives a cry for God to return and restore us. In our brokenness we view and chase satisfaction in our day in personal accomplishments as well as satisfaction through approval of others. In our request to be satisfied in the morning with our Lord's steadfast love we are granted his unfailing love in found in Christ Jesus, that we may rejoice and be glad not until the end of each day, but for eternity. Thanks be to God for the forgiveness of sins and for the opportunities to glorify your Holy Name...
It stopped raining after her appointment, so I went for a short walk listening to sacred music. It was nice to smell the fresh air and be finally be able to breathe. The air quality the past few days have been terrible from the smoke in the air from all those west coast wildfires. I ended up cooking hamburger peas and plenty of Cantonese pan fried noodles for the kids, steak and gon chow for the grandkids and a hamburger patty for Nala. Of course I saved the bone from the bone-in ribeye steak for myself to gnaw on and enjoy on another day later in the week. It was Nala's fourth birthday several days ago and Fawn bought her some new toys and a lot of dog treats. For relaxation, I binge watched the remaining episodes of tv series, The Ark, the finale was awesome. Wow, I surprised myself on how much I mused and penned earlier while sitting in the car while my beautiful wife was having her cut. Anyway, the day is almost over and it's time to get ready for bed. Glory to God in the highest!
18 May 2023
"Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul" (Psalm 143:8). I can not think of a better way to start the day than praying the psalms. I can't say enough about how good strawberries and blueberries are with oatmeal, so delicious. The temperature swings on any given day is crazy this time of year, we need to wear a light jacket early in morning and by the noon hour we are down to our shorts and tees. The pollen was high and I am grateful for antihistamine eye drops and nasal sprays. This week I took another huge leap toward normalization by going in the grocery store without wearing a mask, but I am still finding myself trying to keep my distance from other folks reasonably as much as possible. We went to Alex's and made us char sui chow fun for lunch. When it comes to Cantonese comfort food, noodle dishes are amongst the dishes on the goto list. It's been a while since I last watched, The Ark, because they were on a hiatus of some sort and I didn’t realize that they came back on air with the remainder of the seasons shows, so I am behind on the episodes. I watched episode eight and the latest episode aired was twelve. I think this sci-fi is a pretty good show to watch; even the acting isn’t all that good. It kind of reminds me of the original Star Trek television series.
17 May 2023
I woke up this morning with a grateful and repentant heart singing praises, evermore and evermore. Mmm, I had today's oatmeal with strawberries and blueberries, life is good. Since it was cool in the a.m., I took the initiative to weed whack the needed in the back yard as well as finish mowing it. It is looking rather smart if I may say so myself. What was really sweet was that it was one of the few times that I didn't work up a sweat to the point where I had to peel off my tee shirt off my back because of the perspiration. Well it's that time of year again; we're getting a flurry of whirlybirds from the huge maple tree across the street. I guess I'll need to add cleaning the gutters and downspouts to my chores list. Mmm, I was rewarded with a summer fruit medley green salad! It was loaded with iceberg lettuce, apples, blueberries, strawberries, polish ham, salami, hard boiled eggs, gouda cheese and croutons!
16 May 2023
I went to bed super early last night and was completely rested. Since I woke up a earlier than I anticipated and was fully energized, I did the exercises that I have been neglecting. We had a huge thirty something degrees temperature swing from the time we stepped out the door to the peak high. I wore sweatpants over my shorts when we left the house, because we went to Aurora Outlet Mall after my dental appointment. While Fawn went to a few stores at Geneva Commons, I reclined the car seat back and peacefully listened to sacred music. By the time we made it to the outlet mall, it was super nice out and l took an hour l long walk in my tees and shorts. The temperature and humidity was spot on during the a.m. when we were out and about. By mid afternoon, it felt like a hot and muggy summer day. Thanks be to God for air conditioning. I finally got around to watching the season finale of, The Rookie, that aired two weeks ago. I love YouTube TV, because it records my show and store them for up to nine months. I had a very peaceful day. It’s my understanding that we will have a cooler day tomorrow.
15 May 2023
It was a nice peaceful day. Mama love her babies, she had me dice up some of the char sui to make bbq pork fried rice and sliced up some char sui to stir fry it with pea pods and Cantonese pan fried noodles so that we could bring it over to his place for our lunch, mmm. I also learned that we will be celebrating Mother's Day this coming weekend and although the kids will be treating us to takeout food to celebrate the occasion, mama will be having me cook up something for the kids to take home for them to bring home. For sure I heard steak for Isaac and there was a mention of Cantonese pan fried noodles as well as stir fried hamburger peas. Since I have plenty of char sui, we're thinking perhaps some gon chow char sui ho fun. I think that Isaac and Peyton will do cartwheels over that. Temperaturewise, it was spot on in the low 70s, but the humidity was a tad higher than I would like it to be, so I only did a thirty minute walk. I saw a video of Isaac swimming unassisted do a dog paddle! He seems to be is progressing pretty fast with his lessons. From what I can tell from the videos, the place he is taking classes is outstanding. I think that Isaac is going to have an awesome summer in stored for him between swimming and riding his bicycle. I think that our kids grew up way too fast, but the reward I guess is that we get to be blessed watching our grandkids do likewise. Now that I have learned the first two verses of, Of Our Father's Lo e Begotten, by heart, I began learning and musing on the third verse. O how I love praising God with sacred music. I am glad that we has returned going to the Holy Mass on Sundays. I need to stop now and go to bed. We need to get out of the house early tomorrow morning, because I have the first appointment of the day to have my teeth cleaned. Grateful.
14 May 2023
I woke up to a cool damp day, but with a grateful heart nonetheless. With repentant joy, I am glad that I have finally gotten over most of my fears of contracting covid. I just hope that we will not become complacent and continue to take reasonable precautions. Talk about a meat shop, I fired up the oven and made barbecue spare ribs and eight pounds of char sui from a Boston butt! It was a way to warm up the house and have good eats to boot. Many people from the Cantonese Food Recipes Facebook Group have been giving the Lee Lum Kee Char Sui Sauce two thumbs up, so I decided to give it a try today. I only thought that it was just so-so and that mine to way better. I'm not bragging, I'm just more disappointed because using a readymade store bought sauce would be a lot easier. On the other hand, my barbecue ribs were nice and tender, finger licking good! There is something to be said about satisfying our primitive nature by gnawing meat off a bone. I love to cook and continue to improve only because my family is a brutally honest lot.
13 May 2023
I am grateful for another day. I woke up this morning with allergies issues, but once I administered some antihistamine eye drops and nasal spray to myself, I was good to go! Albeit was cloudy all day, thankfully at least it didn't rain the entire day like yesterday. First stop was at the new BMO, to make the first installment on our property taxes. This is where I would normally carry on a rant, but the shaking of my head will sadly suffice. I love wearing shorts with cargo pockets; it is the greatest idea as far as pant pockets are concern. It was good to get in a walk this morning before the rains moved in, especially after staying indoors all day yesterday. It was my first hour long walk I took in quite a while, good for me. Spring is officially over, Fawn put away all my sweats. I'm finally getting to wear some new clothes that I wasn't aware that I had. I can now get rid of some old clothes that are way too big. It's hard to believe that I let myself go that bad. I finally got around to restringing my dual line trimmer and tended to the needed out front and along the side of our house, so that I could spray Home Defense Insect Killer along the outside perimeter of our house. I got ambitious and mowed the grass completely out front and along the fence line in the back yard before calling it quits. It is good for me to do my chores in moderation, after all, "a man gotta know his limitations." I learned the first verse of, Of Our Father's Love Begotten, by heart a long while back. Today, I spent a little time learning a musing on the second verse. Whenever I ponder and confess that Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, sometimes the notion of the Theotokos being "ever virgin" comes to mind. The "ever virgin" dogma meant Mary was a virgin before, during, and after Christ's birth. Why would it even matter if Joseph knew Mary well after Christ's birth? Mmm, mama had a great idea; she had me make us Cantonese stir fried ketchup shrimp for dinner! Life is good! Prayers for health and healing, especially friends and family.
12 May 2023
It was a stay in place kind of day because it rained and rained and then rained some more. Mmm, I made myself a spinach omelet. It is kinda funny that Popeye comes to mind whenever I made anything with spinach. I made us gon chow ngau ho for dinner, do I need to say more? I saw a video of Isaac happily riding his bicycle in the street. He was going pretty fast and it is not clear to me when he learned to ride. Prayers for many fun and safe rides. Song of the day is, Only You - The Platters. Keep us Lord and thank you for the blessings of the day.
11 May 2023
God is good, life is good. I am loving this string of drop dead gorgeous days we are having. we are expecting the rains to move in overnight and well into tomorrow, but how can I complain? Alex called that the umbrella and the stand base for his outdoor table set came yesterday, so we went to his place again to help with the needed. Now that's what I'm talking about, we we able put that bad boy in a very short time. After we set up the umbrella, I stayed out and enjoyed sitting on the tablet and watched the third episode of, The Chosen. Mmm, I made us a beef with broccoli stir fry for our lunch. After lunch, we went to the Sam's Club to pick up our meds and bought a four pound package of flank steaks. I sliced the two flank steaks ahead of time and then freeze them in five ounce portions for my stir fry dishes. We stopped for gas because it was $3.759 a gallon even though we didn't really need to and managed to get three and a half gallon. A Facebook friend of mine posted that he is trying to curb his opinion posts about our government and have deleted most of them as well as apologized for any offence. I sympathize with his frustration, but apparently there are many people who voted for president and his policies. I really enjoyed today a lot because we went back to Alex’s for dinner, I made hamburger peas and he made the Cantonese pan fried noodles, now that was some good eating.
10 May 2023
God is good, it was another bright beautiful day that our Lord has made. We went to Harbor Freight and bought ear protector and a package of assorted shrink tubing. The adjustable ear protector is a little late for me, but I guess it will still protect against further hearing loss due to sound of the lawnmower. The shrink tubing was for going over the toilet chain clip. I finally had it with chain for flapper getting all tangled up the clip. I will be completely stunned, if my solution doesn't resolve the problem at hand, gotrdun. Since we were in the area, we stopped and visited my brother Bill. I am thankful that he is doing well with after surgery rehab progress. Today was definitely not a good eating day. I can't remember the last time I ate a McDonald's anything, but there was a BOGO deal for a their quarter pounder and sadly I thought that it didn't even come close to being something worth diving into. Bill is going to have to up his takeout food game; if he expects us do lunch with him. But look who is talking, I ate left over Domino's pizza for dinner. On the way home, we stopped at the Market Meadow Jewel and I went for a short walk in the plaza area while Fawn picked up a few grocery items. I am so thankful for all the blessings of the day.
9 May 2023
Woke to a beautiful bright sunny day. The morning start was a tad on the cool side, but eventually made it into the low 70s, perfect. We went to Alex's again today. We are so blessed to have a great relationship with him. I know all our children especially love their mama and that is so reassuring to me. Albeit I am very limited on what I am to do, I like working on small projects with Alex. I helped him assemble a few of his new patio furniture. I have been neglecting to download load photos and videos onto the laptop for quite. Alex is so bright; I did not know that all the photos and videos on the phone that Alex gifted Fawn was a Goole Pixel smartphone automatically get backed up on the Google cloud drive. That made the task of importing files to my laptop a whole lot simpler. Alex got us Domino's pizza and their honey bbq wings. It was my first time trying out their chicken wings, and they get two thumbs up. "For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations" (Psalm 100:5). Today was a very good day that we got to spend with our son and to FaceTime with our daughter and granddaughter. We heard Peyton spelled her name for the first time, it was music to my ears! Life is good and more than that, God is good.
8 May 2023
I woke several times in the middle of the night to use the washroom because of all the water I have been drinking and each time I heard the sound of distance thunderous rumblings. It was a rather cool gloom and doom looking day all day along with off and on rain. I stayed warm by drinking up all the leftover soup throughout the entire day. The hearty soup was good to the very last drop. I watched episode two of, The Chosen! There are only eight episodes for season three and once again I had fight the urge to binge watch the show and am finding it difficult to pace myself. Tomorrow should be busy day for us, if the weather will permit. Thanks be to God for the blessings of the day.
7 May 2023
Whoa, I dosed off for more than a few hours and was awakened by the thunderous voice of God the shook the entire house, so here I am penning my journal entry. I’m a guy that fortunate enough to think that starving to death is an hour late for dinner. There haven’t been many days in my life that I have skipped a meal, today was one of them. And that was only because I overindulged at lunch and went into a food comma when we got back home celebrating Emma’s sixth birthday with Rosati's pizza and Jewel fried chicken. I am thankful for gift of faith. Today was the first time we attended Holy Mass this year. It was a huge step for me to overcome the fear of receiving communion because of covid-19. There is a lot to say about the familiar catholic mass where everything that surrounds you reverently speaks to you. Thanks be to God for his grace and mercies. Today was the first time I wore a belt in a long time and my face lit up with a smile because surprisingly I had to pull it in a notch. I waistline is still bulging, but at least that is encouraging. Today was a good day, a very good day indeed.
6 May 2023
Ha, we all know that we can't trust a weather forecast for beans, but we tend to anyway. Today was supposed to be a mix sun and clouds day, but we had a completely overcast sky and early morning rain. But why am complaining, when I got the grass already mowed. Hmm, I made a pot of napa and silken tofu soup with pork chop bones and store bought frozen wontons, so good. I'm so happy that I finally got around to watching the first episode of season three of, The Chosen. I had to fight off the urge to binge watch the show, because the show is so captivating.
5 May 2023
It's good to be alive and I am grateful for the blessings ahead of me each and every morning. Fawn gave me a haircut today and I feel great. This morning be were musing over the NYC headline news about a subway death and a divide, some are calling the choke hold murder and others an act of heroism. How do we know what is the heart of man? Wow, wow, wow, another gorgeous day that was hair warmer than I would like, but no complaints whatsoever. It was an out and about shorts and tee kind of day that was in the upper 70s, too bad it was too windy to go for a nice outdoor walk. It is clear to me that I am not going to have a flat stomach any time soon. I've been doing a lot of leg raises and squats to no avail, but will say that they have become a lot easier to do. Doing planks and lunges are also recommended, but I have yet to try. We went to the Chinese supermarket and bought a 25 pound bag of rice. Normally, we try to buy the Three Ladies Jasmine rice brand, but the last time we got the Three Horse Jasmine rice brand and it had a plastic lining in bag which I like, so we went with it again today even though it wasn't a 2023 new crop bag. I'm just learning that, Cinco de Mayo, is a celebration that recognizes Mexican American culture, learning something new everyday. I was planning to cut the grass tomorrow morning, but since the clouds moved in early evening, I decided to mow it in the cool. I talked myself into doing the entire job in one go with a two five minute breaks. I'm sure when I won't be able to mow all the grass in one day when the temperature and humidity will climb during the summer months. I still haven't weed whack yet and really looks awful. With a grateful heart, the Lord has brought me to the end of another day. My he continue to walk with me to eternity.
4 May 2023
What a beautiful day, low 70s, perfect! It feels good to be out and about doing a happy dance with just wearing a tee shirt. Albeit I don't allow less than ideal weather to greatly affect my mood, but when it is spot on, I'm a happy camper! Thanks be to God for a most beautiful relaxing day. We went to Alex's and made us pork chops for our lunch. We stopped at Angelo Caputo's on the way there because their produce section is pretty good most of the time. Today's finds were exceptional! Nala will be four years old this month and I'm just learning now that she is a plott hound and something to do with bears. I was talking to my brother Bill on the phone when the call dropped because I ran out of prepaid minutes. I am thankful that Rob was able to do all the needed to get the phone back working. Mmm, I made myself curry chicken for dinner. Song of the day is, Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot. I had a very good day and am grateful for all the blessings our Lord has bestowed on me and my family.
3 May 2023
"Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I t trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul" (Psalm 143:8). Thanks be to God for his steadfast love. Albeit started out as a rather cool brisk morning, the day eventually made its way up into the upper 50s with plenty of sunshine. I read an article today about the Louis Joliet Mall is being auctioned off this month. We went by that shopping mall earlier this year to the emission testing facility and was planning to go into the mall to shop afterwards, but didn't. Now I know why the mall parking lot looked deserted. Back in day when we had young children and we had a booming economy we would hit all the indoor malls in the area like the Louis Joliet Mall, Stratford Mall in Bloomingdale, or the Fox Valley Mall in Aurora. They are all now in a rather depressing state. I keep hearing that our American economy is strong, but still find that hard to believe. Albeit wasn't much of a walk, it was one none the less. Good for me, for trying to get back to my daily exercise routine.
2 May 2023
Thankful for this day and feeling grateful. There wasn't even the slightest thought of my foot until sitting down sipping on a hot cup of morning coffee. One more day, just one more day of below normal temperatures before are expecting climb to a normal early May day. According to the forecast the following days ahead is expected to be in the range where I feel most comfortable. I am glad that Alex opts to go in the office in the burbs every now and then instead of working from home 100 percent of the time. We are more than happy to stop by his house and let Nala out. On the way to Plainfield we were a delayed and saw the aftermath of a car collision at the intersection of Plainfield-Naperville Rd and Hassert Blvd. This was the aftermath of a second big time collision we saw this year so far. I understand that car accidents will occur, but this past year or so, I've seen a surge of outright recklessness on the roadways. I stayed and kept Nala company while Fawn went out and about. Mmm, she came back a couple hour later with a takeout from Panda Express for our lunch. God is good, the highlight of my day was facetiming with the kids. It is not uncommon to turn to turn to God in times of fear and uncertainty as we do in times of joy and celebration. I find comfort in praying the psalms. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2). May our Lord’s merciful heart of love and truth dwell within us facing the challenges posed by the coronavirus and place his healing touch on those who been exposed.
1 May 2023
Hmm, not a very good start for the month of May weatherwise. It was another cool damp day, but turning it around with a song of comfort. The song of the day is, First of May - James Taylor. It was a stay at home kind of day that I just sat around and relaxed a mixed it up by doing resistance training throughout the day. Looks like folks are starting to get anxious about 2024 as we are at the point where people are beginning to explore making a run as a presidential candidate. I personally think our country can do better than the likes of either Biden or Trump. Lord, have mercy.
30 April 2023
Wow, another month just went by at the blink of an eye. It was a crazy month weatherwise with huge temperature swings that encompassed all the seasons of the year. I really don't care for cold rainy days like today. Being a frequent flier to the washroom around the clock because of all water I have been drinking is getting old. I am glad that I did have to get up early this morning and stay up to take an antibiotic capsule. With the full rest, I decided it was time to start weaning my way back into doing my daily exercises with fewer reps and sets. Albeit my foot seems to continue getting better, I am still reluctant to resume taking long walks or hopping back on the elliptical again for the time being. The song of the day is, Always Remember Is This Way - Lady Gaga. Alex made hamburger peas over spaghetti noodles yesterday and send out snap with a chirp. I'm guessing that had Andrea asking if I would make her some, so I whipped her up some, but I think it was a tad salty, oh well. It was also a joy to fried up a steak for Isaac. That kid knows how to eat, but needs to be willing to expand his horizon and be willing to try more new and unfamiliar food. We went to celebrate our niece's 7th birthday. It is amazing to see the rapid transformation of young children. It is so nice to see the happy face of kids. Every time I put on my hearing aids, I wonder why I don't wear them all the time. Nice, I got a charging huggy from Peyton and an awesome massage from Rob. The verse of the day is, "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). May the Lord give me the eyes to see beyond my short sightedness so that I can delight in all of his graciousness.
29 April 2023
My first thought of the day was a prayer of thanksgiving. Morning prayer and the last prayer before going to bed is giving thanks with a grateful heart for another day. I took my last antibiotic capsule this morning and here I am still wondering about why it is taking so long for my foot to fully recover from whatever. I did some research on the prescription that the doctor’s office gave me for treat gout and I am reluctant to have the pharmacy fill it, so I think I will take a pass and just continue to just continue to wait and see. I got on the scale this morning expecting to have gained a pound or two, because I haven't been walking or exercising for two weeks now. But surprisingly I haven't gained any weight at all, if fact, I may even have loss a little. The highlight of my day was facetiming with the kids. Carl and Sandy is having a birthday party for Victoria and I thought that I heard Lou Malnati's being mentioned! Anyway, we'll see the kids there tomorrow, so I made them hot dog fried rice to take home. I'll also will fry up nice a steak for Isaac tomorrow for him to take home. I have to take care of the little man. Thanks be to God for the gift of faith.
28 April 2023
Hmm, I don't know why I was surprised that it was a cloudy day. I suppose it was because yesterday's forecast called for mixed sunshine and clouds. Anyway, the translucent sky later in the day was fine by me. My doctor's office followed up with me with a wellness call and I told them my foot was sameo sameo with my foot and I still had one more day of antibiotics to take, so they gave me prescription to treat gout. I'm praying that it will clear up what is wrong with my foot. This issue with my foot has been going on way too long and I think I have been drinking way too much water for the last two weeks. All those trips to the washroom in the middle of the night is starting to taking a tow on me. We got gas for $3.879 from the same gas station we got gas last week. Now I wondering why this particular filling station is all of a suddenly about 40¢ cheaper that everyone else in our area, especially when this gas station only has lower gas price by a few pennies in a blue moon. Mmm, I was so glad that Fawn took out a package of minced pork patty that I must have had prepped for steaming the last time bought a pork shoulder to make char sui. I'm guessing that I prepped enough for two patties and froze one of them. All I had to do was make and mix in the sauce before steaming it for our lunch! I enjoyed part of my afternoon listening to Adele. Fawn is in her element, she has been enjoying the NFL Draft. I was clueless how many days it is and just learned that there is still one more day left of it tomorrow. As a Notre Dame football fan, I was surprised the Michael Myers wasn’t picked up by a NFL in the first round yesterday, but then again, I know little about the NFL and the draft process. Today was a good day that the Lord has made. My thoughts and prayers is for healing of our infirmities, especially for my friends and family.
27 April 2023
Wow, wow, wow. Talk about a 30 plus temperature swing, we woke up to below freezing temperatures and by the noon hour, we were in the 60s. What a generous day that was in the upper 60s most of the afternoon hours. It's hard to believe that I am still whining about my foot. Albeit, my foot is so close to being back to normal, it is so annoying that it isn't. Bill called me this morning when he got back from his physical therapy rehab and said that be was doing well. Here I am complaining, when my issues pales in comparison. Prayers for good health, comfort and recovery for my brother and for my friend Dave. I won't exactly say that I finally did a walk this morning when we went out and about grocery shopping. Let's just say that I did at least got out of the car instead of just sitting in it with my legs kicked up while Fawn was in the supermarket. I'm so glad that I finally got around to downloading the Meijer mPerks app and didn't do years ago. In less than a month without even clipping any coupons or anything, we claimed and redeemed ten dollars off our purchase! I could kick myself in the butt for not downloading the app sooner. I sprayed Ortho® Home Defense® around the outside of our house. It was good to get another 2do off my checklist.
26 April 2023
We woke up to a beautiful bright sunny day. It is hard to believe that the day started out with below freezing temperatures and the made it into the low 50s later in the day. The crazy roller coaster fluctuating temperature is forecasted to dip below freezing again overnight and then soar into mid 60s tomorrow. Mama chirped this morning, she has been making our morning oatmeal for the last couple of weeks and yes, she makes it a lot better than me. It's been two weeks since I began having a issue with my foot and the it was felt about the same the last two or three days. I'm guessing that I'll never be sure if I had a minor gout flare up, infection, or a sprain. Whatever it is, it sure is taking the old body a long time to recover. Fawn took out two slices of Little Caesars from the freezer last night and we nuked them for our lunch. It is interesting how different pizzas fall from grace. I thought that the DiGiorno Three meat frozen pizza was a great standby pizza to have, but the size and taste of the pizza changed and I prefer to eat a Little Caesars pizza now. Of course these pizzas pale in comparison to pizzas from a sit down pizza restaurant. I got ambitious after lunch and mowed the grass in the backyard. I was so pleased at how nice it looked after doing a Rob. I surprised myself because I initially intended to only mow half the backyard and ended up moving the entire backyard doing Rob overlaps. The only reason I overlapped my passes was to prevent the tall grass from killing the lawnmower, but have to admit that doing a good job is really satisfying. Now I have to find some time to learn how restring my dual line weed whacker and do the needed. “Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!” (Psalm 119:12).
25 April 2023
I'm guessing that after reaching a certain age, most people are grateful each day and every day when they realize the gift of life afforded them by the grace of God, especially during morning and evening prayer. Alex left his house super early this morning to catch a train into the city for work, so we went to sit Nala. On the way to Alex's, we had the radio on in the car and there was a lot happening on the news. I thought that it was insane when Donald Trump announced that he was going to run for President several months ago and seems to still have a voter’s base. Today I learned that Joe Biden has announced his bid for a second term, really? Both cases are frightening. I actually cringe whenever either one of their names are brought up. I'm not a fan of cable news shows, and CNN or Fox news takes the cake. I learned that CNN axed Don Lemon and Fox News axed Tucker Carlson. Its my guess people who watch those type of shows are either furious or relieved. Mmm, Fawn bought herself a Panda Express and bought me a gyros! Dang, I haven't had one of those bad boys in a while, delicious! That wasn't the only good eat I had for today, my sister-in-law gifted us with a big batch of joong! We left four of them sticky rice dumplings and froze the other four. We were talking at the party the other day about all the different kind of wonderful food we liked growing up with and my brother and I was just telling Peggy how much we liked joong and haven't had that in a while. It was so mindful of Peggy to take the time to make and bless us with her delicious homemade joong, sooo good. Thanks be to God for blessing us the gift of family.
24 April 2023
I'm thankful for the blessings of the day. Albeit that my foot is still not 100 percent, I couldn't put off cutting the grass any longer and mowed the grass out front and along the side of the house this afternoon. I might as well get my rant off my chest now, every spring I hope our neighbor's tree is dead, because it looks like it is on its last leg with so many dead branches for the last decade. But every year it seems to keep hanging in there despite its poor state. I finally got my blood work lab test results back today and my uric acid was at the very high end of the normal range a week after my foot symptoms appeared. I was surprised to hear that I should continue taking all the antibiotics instead of getting a prescription to lower my uric acid level. Mmm, I made us beef with bitter gourd for dinner, delicious! I really really love this dish.
23 April 2023
Blah, blah, blah, all I do is complain about how is how long it is taking how my foot to heal and how cold the weather has reverted back to. Albeit I am grateful for this day even though I may not sound like it, it is becoming annoying to wake up to the sameo sameo foot problem. I guess it is because I still have got a call back from the doctor's office yet. I was expecting that call on Friday or yesterday the latest. I'm clueless what is going on with the antibiotic I've been taking. Lord have mercy. And as for the weather, well according to the weather app, we’re not expecting decent weather again until Thursday. Today was just another quite day spent at home. In fact we’ve been watching AI top 20 show which I am listerning to in the background while penning this journal entry. I think about half the singers I’ve heard sofar are extremely talented and the other half, well… kind of makes you think all the previous shows this season wasn’t all that. There was a time when I couldn’t wait until American Idol aired. Well, I guess I’ll stop penning now and join Fawn and watch the show.
22 April 2023
Mmm, albeit my foot feels about the same as yesterday, I am thankful that it doesn't feel tender at all when I stand on it at all. This need to go to the washroom three times in the middle of the night is for the birds. Brr, like a broken record calling the weather crazy, the temperature started out in mid 40s and stayed there all day. It may have been a slight over kill that I wore my winter coat out, but the cold winds along with the snow flurries and small hail at times said otherwise. It didn't help the dark overcast made it looked like the gloom and doom skies we had yesterday. This morning I saw a Facebook friend of mine posted a music video, You Are So Beautiful - Phil Driscoll, it made for a beautiful morning prayer. We took the Abbott COVID-19 at home test just before heading out to celebrate Nancy 70th birthday. I think this is best we can do to protect and be protected besides taking the vaccine against a deadly plague like virus. Not all the immediate family was able to attend the birthday celebration, but it was still nice to celebrate Nancy with the joy of the three generations of family. May our Lord continue to bless her with many years. Things have certainly changed with kids nowadays getting married later in life and having fewer children if any at all. There are few things in this world that are as the joyful blessing as spending time with family and our loved ones. Thanks be to God for showering us with grace upon grace, our Lord’s love endures forever.
21 April 2023
I'm glad that there was some improvement on my foot when I woke up this morning, because I was a little bit concerned after there was some digression yesterday. We went out to run a few errands in the Fox Valley Mall area and grocery shopped at Meijer and the Chinese supermarket. I just sat in the car like a teenager with my face glued to my smartphone while Fawn did all the needed and all of a sudden, lo and behold, I was so happy to receive a call from my friend Dave and hear from him. He is a good and most learned friend and is always in my thoughts and prayers for health and recovery. Saint Paul instructs, "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). So many of my friends and family members including myself are in need of prayer for our infirmities. Mmm, stir fried shredded pork and diakon, I wonder why I don't cook with diakon more often. We’re excited to be celebrating Nancy’s 70th birthday tomorrow at her home. I’m glad it’s not one of those big blowouts in a restaurant with a lot of people, because I’m still not ready to be gathering a large group of people and dine in. With regrets, we missed attending funerals, weddings and other celebrations since the beginning of the pandemic. It is a good thing that everyone going to the party is going to take a covid-19 before attending. It is a sad thing that covid will be here to stay. Most astonishing is my inability to get over the fear gathering with a large group of people even to attend Holy Mass and receiving Communion.
20 April 2023
We woke up super early to a gloom and doom looking day with grey skies and the sound of rumbling. It thunderstormed off and on throughout the day with gusty winds. It feels weird having 50 mph winds blowing on your face when the temperature is in the lower 80s and the sound from howling wind was so eerie. K, how about, Summer Breeze - Seals & Crofts, being the song of the day? Today my hooded windbreaker served me well. I always take pause whenever we have a torrential downpours wondering whether or not the sump pump can keep up rain and not flood the basement. Hmm, so much for daily improvements on my foot, it felt like I took a slight step backwards (no pun intended). I'm guessing that it had something to do with the nasty weather we got today. Albeit the day appeared to a gloomy weatherwise, there was joy throughout the day. Aah, coffee! That along speaks volumes. A fond childhood memory crossed my mind about my mom and dad enjoying their morning coffee calling it kafei in Chingish, that brought about a joyful smile. We took Bill for his post surgery physical rehab. There is a lot to say about the realization that our days are numbered as you age and wanting to near all your loved ones and caring for each other. We went to Alex's for lunch and made us a classic Cantonese comfort food dish, gon chow ngau ho! My stomach was doing a happy dance. We couldn't leave Nala out of the good eats, so I boiled her a couple of nice pieces of chicken thigh. We stopped at the CVS on the way home in hopes of getting my April medicare covid-19 home test kit provision, but they were out of stock and uncertain if they will be getting any more, so much for ending the home test kit program in May.
19 April 2023
I'm embarrassed about what time I finally rolled out of bed today, but I will say the rest was much needed. We were up super early yesterday and all this need drain a kidney in the middle of the night so many times have been taking a toll. Normally I make the oatmeal in the morning and Fawn make the coffee, but made she made both this morning. There was little improvement on my foot and I am grateful that I am not experiencing a full blown gout attack and am able to walk. I am more optimistic now that the tenderness on my foot is minimal I am so close to being able to being back to hundred percent. I can't be thankful and grateful enough for antihistamine eye drops and nasal spray, so that I could go out and join Fawn this morning outside of the house. Albeit I just sat in the car while she was out and about running a few errands, I got to enjoy the fresh air and nice weather. Aah, just listening to sacred music brings about the awareness of our Lord's presence and peacefulness to my soul, God is good. They drew blood at the doctor’s office to test for uric acid to determine if I was having gout. But they didn’t want to wait for the lab work results incase I had a foot infection, so they gave me a prescription for antibiotics. While Fawn went to the pharmacy for my med and grocery shopping at Jewel, the kids facetimed us. I think it was the first time I had lone time with the kids in a very long time. I can only hold off for so long from tending to the needed yard work. It was crazy nice spring day until late afternoon when the dark clouds rowed it and with a bright flash and a loud thunder clap, came a torrential downpour. I was happy to see that the storm blew by in less than an hour and everything was calm again. Albeit totally out of context, the story of, Jesus Calmed the Storm, came to mind. One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” (Luke 8:22-25). It took Amazon long enough to deliver my 18mg iron supplement capsules. Thanks be to God for the gift of life. May our faith in our Lord carry us though the storms in our lives.
18 April 2023
We woke up super early to go to the DMV to renew our license plate sticker before my doctor's appointment since both facilities are near each other. Albeit the temperature was below freezing again, it did eventually soar up to the average high which is in the upper 50s. I loved that it was a sunny day without a cloud to be found. It is crazy how unstable the weather has been. I was disappointed that there was no foot improvement this morning. One thing good is that my foot only briefly feels tender when I first put weight on it when I got out of bed in the morning, so I prayerfully remain optimistic that it will continue to improve back to normal some time week. I will know more tomorrow. Hmm, what is going on? Bill called this morning and said that he woke up this morning and he had a pseudo gout flare up. Alex went in the office today, so we went to Alex's to let Nala out. Gas is still so expensive, it was $4.299 a gallon again this week. Two years in office and this president has bought back inflationary memories of when Jimmy Carter was POTUS. My mind is blown by the scary fact the Biden and Trump still have substantial numbers of political supporters. I think Nala is like our grandkids, so happy to see grandma. Fawn is always mindful of Nala and prepares her sliced up apples as a treat. Song of the day is, Harlem Nocturne.
17 April 2023
Thanks be to God I woke up and there was finally some noticeable improvement on my foot. A possible minor sprained foot instead of possibly having gout came to mind, because of the comparable level of pain that I am experiencing. All my previous experiences with gout have been met with excruciating pain that I would never wish upon anyone. I am optimistic that my foot will continue to improve and that everything will be back to normal in a day or two. We woke to below freezing temperatures again this morning. It came as no surprise to me that the light drizzling rain last night would turn into a dusting of snow as the overnight temperatures dropped. I am thankful that by the grace of God, my brother's health and recovery continues to improve. It has improved enough that he didn't require physical therapy at home anymore. Fawn drove him to Good Samaritan for his physical therapy class. Albeit I just sat in the car, I was glad to out of the house, even thought I was bundled up with layers of sweats. We didn't expect it to start snow while we were out and about; thankfully there wasn't any accumulation on the roadways. I actually started penning this journal entry this morning while sitting in the car, it will be interesting to see how much I will end up penning by the end of the day. On the way back Bill had us stopped to treat us to a takeout at Panda Express. During lunch we had good time breaking bread. We talk about a host of things. As much as post open heart surgery physical therapy class was fascinating, I really love talking theology with him. This Lent/Easter liturgical season has been surprising in many ways. From time to time I've abstained from something trivial and failed, but interestingly I successfully gave up being on Facebook this liturgical season entirely by temporarily deactivated my account. Every time I grabbed my smartphone and had the urge to get on Facebook, I used that time to muse about my sinful shortcomings and the need to repent from wretched ways. Thanks be to for God, forgiveness has risen. The verse of the day is, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand” (Philippians 4:4-5). May we rejoice in the presence of our Lord and may the Christ in us reflect his presence in all that we do. Albeit my foot seems to be getting better, we made an appointment for a nurse practitioner to take a look at my foot on Wednesday to make sure that my foot is OK just in case. Well it's time to quit penning and go to bed; I have to get up early because I have my annual dreaded appointment with my urologist. I'm praying for good health and test results. Today was a very good day that the Lord has made, only by his grace we are so blessed.
16 April 2023
Hmm, sameo sameo. I thought for sure there would be some improvement on my foot after icing and resting it yesterday and drinking so much water yesterday. I had to use the washroom three times overnight again last night, so I ended up staying in bed until 9:30 to get enough sleep. Dang, we we are having crazy weather, the temperatures took a huge drop and fell into the 30s and it will continue to drop overnight to below freezing. According to the forecast, we can expect the temperatures to remain in the 30s again. An appropriate verse of the day is, "A good wife is a generous gift bestowed upon him who fears the Lord. Whether rich or poor, his heart is content, a smile ever on his face" (Sirach 26:3-4). Fawn got me a new pair of soft and comfortable house slippers. I am grateful for the blessings of a good and faithful wife.
15 April 2023
I know that I sound like a broke record, but I wake up each and every morning with a grateful heart living in God's blessings. How can one not wake with a joyful heart knowing that our Lord showers us with his lavish gifts of grace upon grace. Ha, I wonder if kids nowadays even understand what the simile "sound like a broke record" even means. I was hoping that my foot would be better today, but my foot feels about the same as yesterday, so I didn't go for a walk again and limited my time standing. I've been icing my foot and drinking a lot of water trying to flush out the uric acid buildup in my blood that I woke up three times in the middle of the night to use the washroom. I'm glad that this attack has been mild. All my previous experiences with gout has been so painful beyond belief, so this gout attack is like a shot across the bow.
14 April 2023
We woke to another beautiful day with a nice mix of clouds and sunshine and so the string of awesomeness continues. The only problem is I felt a mild onset of gout when I woke up this morning and decided not to do a walk. We got my labs back this morning and they were just so-so. It showed that I have a slight iron deficiency, so I'm going to start taking iron supplement pills every other day. My plans to celebrate with a nice juicy Portillo's Combo went out the window. We went to the Sam's Club pharmacy to pickup my meds. While out and about. I just stayed in the car with the windows down and my legs up with the seat tilted back feeding my soul with sacred music while Fawn went in a few stores to get all the needed. I started to pen "rowed" down, but I guess the correct wording should be "powered" down. LOL, talk about over thinking something. Today temperature was in the upper 70s and it felt much better than yesterday. The pollen has been high all week and I am thankful for antihistamine eye drops and nasal sprays to help relieve my seasonal allergies symptoms. Tonight’s dinner was outstanding, mama made her infamous pasta sauce and I boiled the farfalle, so good. I am grateful for this slow and relaxing day filled with God's mercies and graceful blessings.
13 April 2023
Wow, wow, wow, we were blessed with another gorgeous day, but... It got into the lower 80s and that is a hair warmer than where I would like it to be. But no one is complaining as long as the humidity stays in check, I’m good. Mama loves me, she surprised me with a brand new pair skechers walking shoe this morning and I was flowing like a butterfly. We found a couple ribeyes that were marked down and one of them well marbled bad boys was bone-in! I just gnawing on the meat nearest to the bone, it's so flavorful.
12 April 2023
Grr, $4.299, thanks Joe. OK, I got that off my chest. Albeit, I complain a lot and sound like an ingrate, I am actually grateful for each and every day. From time to time, I like splashing on a dash or two of hot sauce on my oatmeal, but this morning, I kicked it up a notch and tossed in a few jalapeño peppers in my oatmeal, mmm. It was a shorts and tee shirt day and we were out and about enjoying this string of early June like weather. Yessiree, got in a ten thousand plus steps day!
11 April 2023
Thanks be to God for a beautiful and most joyous day. I am thankful that Andrea is feeling better. Albeit brief, I am grateful for our time on FaceTime with Andrea, Rob, Isaac and Peyton. We went to visit Bill and he is doing well and is able to move about. Wow, talk about a rapid weight loss, he is the same weight as me now. Unbelievable, it was in the upper 70s! I absolutely love it when the weather is cooperating like this. We brought New Chinese Kitchen takeout over to Alex's for quick lunch. Thanks be to God for the gift of family.
10 April 2023
We woke up to beautiful sunny day. How beautiful of a day was it? It was nice enough this morning that we debated on whether or a jacket was even needed to wear a light jacket to go to the doctor's office for my annual physical. I opted to wear a light jacket, but it was actually nice enough of a day that I could have easily went without one. The normal high is around 57 ºF, we were in the low 70s today! Things were fine with me and all need now is to wait for the results of my blood lab work. If my numbers comes back good, there is a Portillo's Italian sausage and beef combo with my name on it. Well it's official, I'm an old man, not only Isaac and Peyton said that I am an old man; the doctor's office said that I hit the threshold where I am given a cognitive test as part of the annual physical. I got in a real nice leisurely walk in today while we were out and about, but I forgot to carry my pedometer. Today is the day after Easter and I had time to reflect on what it means for mankind. Christ is the reason for my hope. Thanks be to God thought Jesus Christ who delivers me from my wretched body of death. "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (Romans 8:11). Thanks be to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit that dwells within me. Prayers for health and a speedy recovery for our daughter, it is not easy for her and her husbands, who are school teachers. I think the student and teachers daily face a daunting health challenges in schools environment.
9 April 2023
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die." (John 11:25-26). Christ is Risen! Alleluia! We are Joyous Pascha! Yes sir, it was another gorgeous day! I love the fragrant aroma whenever we break open a new package of coffee ground, ah so good. I deactivated my Facebook account during the liturgical season of Lent and logged back in to it today. At least know now that I can and should curb my time on it moving forward. Albeit I went easy on myself, I finally got around to getting back on the elliptical. We went to Carl's today to celebrate his birthday. It was nice to be able to sit outdoors on their deck and enjoy the weather with family and friends. I was able to keep myself from overindulgence because I have my annual physical exam tomorrow and needed to fast for my blood work. The bad news was the barbecue pork ribs and all the sides were delicious.
8 April 2023
We woke full of joy to a beautiful spring day and looked at the weather app and saw that the forecast for the remainder of the week looked outstanding! If the forecasters are correct, we'll be out and about in tee shirts and shorts. Alex asked Rob to help him with some yard work so it was a good time for us to celebrate Holy Saturday, the eve of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, as a family. Well Rob didn't actually help Alex with his yard work, he actually did it. It is insane how nice the green lawn looks after he mows it, because he overlaps it. So in essence, it gets a double going over. We stopped at the Big Apple Bagel on the way Alex's. Clearly, a lot of folks had the same idea this morning. I asked Peyton it she want me to help her with assembling her new Easter toy. She said, "No, I got it! LOL, I love it. Later she took me by the hand so that I could take her to the basement to play. Grandma and I read with her, she is so book smart. We didn't get much time with Isaac, because he was getting along spending time with his Uncle Alex. However, I was able to offer Isaac a tip to improve the flight aerodynamics of his paper airplane. It is good to see him interested in experimenting with aeronautics. It is interesting to see how tries to balance trying to make his paper airplane look cool and yet able to fly. Rob's the man, I got my unsolicited neck and shoulder massage. Mmm, we feasted on food from Olive Garden! There is nothing like sitting at a table with fine food celebrating life together. I have to agree with our mailman, it was about time we got a drop dead beautiful day. "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:56-57). Death entered the world because of sin. On the cross, Christ suffered for our sin and made it possible for God to pardon our us. Thanks be to God for this mercies.
7 April 2023
Thanks be to God for the gift of life and for his countless blessings. Today is Good or Holy Friday, marking Jesus' willingness to endure his passion for our sins. Saint Paul said, "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Outside of creation itself, how can what happened this weekend not be most momentous weekend in the history of the world? Alex decided to take the day off, so we went back to his place to help him install drapes in his bedroom, because the blinds there aren't cutting it. Since we were going to Alex’s again, we stopped at Menards to pick up bags of mulch, gravel and concrete pavers. LOL, never mind all the mulch, gravel and concrete pavers, I was huffing and puffing just pushing the empty cart. Clearly, the wheels on the cart weren't working properly. Anyway it was good to see that Alex was able to do all the needed. We fried up a nice ribeye steak for our dinner. It's weird that the parable of, The Prodigal Son, always comes to mind whenever we have steak, because Alex is anything but that. All of our children have always been and continue be a blessing.
31 March – 6 April 2023
3/31
The plan is to pen my journal entries in notes as the week progress and to login to blogger to paste transfer it later. I thank God for all his mercies found in Christ Jesus. It's the end of another month and the temperatures are finally coming around to where they ought to be. Kaboom! Late last night I heard the loudest thunder clap that I ever heard in my life. It shook the entire house and l about jumped out of my skin. With all the thunder and rain, the grass is really beginning to turn super green and it won't be long before I will need to fire up the lawnmower. It’s crazy that we have been hearing the eerie sound of rumbling throughout the entire day. I always feel uncomfortable whenever we have turbulent weather. Thanks be to God the storm passed and my family is safe. Prayers for the people in Little Rock, where a deadly tornado touched down.
4/1
Ah, coffee, truly a morning blessing. Hmm, April 1st. There are two days that really found annoying when I was growing up. I’m not a fan of celebrating April Fools Day and Friday the 13th. I always found is to be poor form to prank someone or try to scare someone. I agree with the psalmist verse of the day about foolishness, The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1). Thanks be to God for the gift of faith. Crazy, the continual rumbling and ongoing rain, the ground must be fully saturated by now. What a hoot, I saw a hilarious video of Peyton reading a book with mama and she so animated. When the character was sad, she literally looked so heartbroken and when the character was happy she became all smiles and joyful.
4/2
Palm Sunday, victory and triumph! "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9). O, let us quite ourselves. "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Goes to show than you learn something new everyday, I always thought that the liturgical season of Lent ended on Palm Sunday, but it ends when the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday begins, because the Mass of the Lord’s Supper ushers in the Holy Triduum. Now that's what I'm talking about, today was a beautiful sun filled spring day that was in the upper 50s! My so happy that my brother Bill called to let me know how he is doing, I am glad that he is doing well and in good spirit. Achoo, achoo, achoo! Thanks be God for antihistamine eye drops and nasal spray. I'm really enjoying our mini vacation, babysitting Nala while Alex is away on a business trip. Lol, I call Alex's home my vacation home. I love that his home has a lot of windows a lets in a lot of sunlight. I heard so much a out pickleball but never seen it played before until today when I watched the inaugural 2023 ESPN Pickleball Slam, match between Agrass/Roddick vs McEnroe/Chang. It's a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping pong. It is stunning to see how the ball comes at you. It is amazing how physically in shape these retired senior professional tennis players are in. It's exciting and looks like a lot of fun cardiovascular sport to play. It was a blast watching these athletes enjoying themselves at a sport they are not professional athletes in.
4/3
Thanks be to God for another day. Spring is in the air and the seasonal transition is finally beginning to stabilize. I hope we done with the overnight temperatures dropping below freezing. It made into the mid 60s today and are you kidding me, it is supposed to be in the lower 70s tomorrow and Wednesday. It feels good to be wearing a light jacket over a hooded windbreaker instead of a winter coat. I picked my walking pace every now and then to get some type of cardio workout since I've been away from the elliptical machine. Sigh, talk about a persistent booger, the chipmunk is back and have dug another hole. We rolled out and uncoil some wire mesh to couple pieces and laid it down under some bags of sand and pea gravel so that it would flatten by tomorrow. Whenever the word persistent comes to mind, I always think about, The parable of Persistent Widow. We went to the Target in Shorewood this morning and there was no way we couldn't stop at the Portillo's to pick up one of their infamous big Italian beef sandwich to take back for our lunch. I actually wanted one their combo sandwich, but Fawn convinced me that I needed to watch what I eat. Perhaps if my numbers come back good next week when I go in for my annual physical exam, I can reward myself with one of the bad boys.
4/4
There are truly no words that can express the gratitude in the ancient man's heart for the grace given for another day other than thanks be to God for all his mercies. It's ridiculous, somebody must be praying for all this rain. What can I say, its April showers and nature is coming alive. Today was election day, the choices were crystal clear to me, I started to say that the outcome will be a clear indicator what direction we are heading, but the reality is I already know the direction we have been for some time. All that remains is whether or not if we are jumping off toward the deep end. One thing is certain; it is a good thing that Chirico isn't running for reelection. We have no need for cannabis pushing politicians.
4/5
Woah, it's a good thing that I can quickly back asleep, because I had a rough night and seemed that the loud thunder claps and the heavy torrential downpours from the severe thunderstorm kept waking me up. We looked at the election results and by the closest of the mayoral races in Chicago and Naperville, it is clear how divided and progressive people have become. The only reason I am concerned about Chicago politics is that we only live about 35 miles southwest of the city where daily violence is the norm and the weekend shootings are off the charts. It's funny how the mind works, piping hot cup of freshly brewed Dunkin' Donuts coffee and bowl of oatmeal with raisin toast seem to be so much better on a grey dreary damp morning. Today was the first time I listened to sacred music in a long while, beautiful. It was sweet to get in a ten thousand plus steps day in! Thanks be to God for health and protection.
4/6
We woke to a bright sunny day and it was nice to be out and about listening to sacred music. I can clearly see now that by picking up the pace a portion of the time how I easily getting was able to get in another ten thousand plus steps day. Today is Maundy Thursday; the word maundy is derived from the Latin word for "command," and refers to Jesus' commandment to his disciples. "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12). Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, which Christians consider the institution of Holy Eucharist. And he took bread, and h when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:19-20). How can the chalice not be holding the very blood of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, shed for the forgiveness of sins? All I can say is to read the the Holy Gospel according to Saint John, the sixth chapter. We finally got around to clearing the area and back filling the new hole before laying down a wire mesh on the ground and then pouring some pea gravel over it to hold it down. I hope that this will deter the chipmunk from attempting to set up residence here again. Jokingly, today was the last of my mini vacation. I made us a nice pot of rice noodle soup with bok choy, char sui and wonton dumplings to celebrate Alex's safe return home. Thanks be to God for his many blessings.
30 March 2023
"And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction" (Matthew 9:35). Thanks be to God, Bill was discharged from the hospital today. Prayers for a speedy recovery. Wow, talk about a temperature swing. We stepped out this morning to a winter day in the upper 20s and before you know it, it was in the mid 50s. We were in the Jewels and ran across one of my old bosses and his wife. It comes as no surprise how close you become with people that you work closely with over the years. We found a nice steak that was labeled a t-bone that looked like a nice porterhouse steak to me that was on sale. We fried up that bad boy for our lunch, so delicious.
29 March 2023
Happy birthday Isaac! Isaac: One who laughs or rejoices. Andrea sent up videos of his morning birthday surprise and his name fit him to the T! It's amazing to raise kids and to someday see them have children of their own. I am grateful for this day and for the gift of family. My bother called me from the hospital this morning and thanks be to God, he sounded strong and in good spirit. I'm looking at the weather in a positive way today and instead of complaining about it, I’m grateful for my nice and warm winter glove, scarf, hat and coat! The verse of the day is, "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isaiah 1:18-20). Well, with all the winter cast advisory that we have been getting and with no snow anywhere to be found, the brief snow flurries we got was the closest thing to a snow shower. These verses compels us to confess our sins to a faithful God who will forgive our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Though our sins are like scarlet to be washed as white as snow, though they’re red like crimson, he will make them become like wool by his grace. There are two options in life, either we turn from our sinful ways and trust God, so that we can experience his goodness and walk in his abundance or we can refuse to confess and repent of our sins and live rebelliously against God, to live in our sins and gravely be eaten by the sword. It was blessing to FaceTime with all the kids to virtual sing and wish Isaac a happy birthday. Albeit was virtual, it was nonetheless nice to spend time as a family.
28 March 2023
Thank you Lord for another day. With each new dawn our merciful God brings light the darkness in our lives and showers us with blessings upon blessings. I learned last night that Alex and Isaac liked the fried rice I made. It makes me feel good that they enjoyed the dish. I've always loved watching cooking show and enjoy cooking. Albeit, not all first attempts on new dishes turn out, I've always been surrounded by food critics that don't hold back their candor, which only helps me to continue to improve. Alex went into the office today so we stopped by his house to let Nala out and then we went shopping and ran a few errands before picking up a Panda Express for a late lunch and feeding and letting Nala out again. Grr, I saw a chipmunk hole in Alex's yard and I took the time to back fill the hole. I just deleted a long rant about the weather and the weather how far off the weather app was off, talk about a grumpy old man. Sometimes you have to laugh at yourself, because I have to struggle not to complain and often fail. But I'm not going to give up the opportunity to say, "Thanks Joe." All the gas stations were about the same, the cheapest gas we found was outrageously priced at $3.999 a gallon, so sad. Today was a ten thousand plus steps day, I don't know what makes a ten thousand plus steps special, but I celebrate it with a toot anyway. I think the ideal number of steps is to get 7,500 per day and stand and move around at least once every hour. Thanks be to God for the blessings of good health, daily provisions and daily protection to my family.
27 March 2023
I just guess it's it wishful thinking that the average temperature for this month should be warmer than it has been and that we have been experiencing more rain than normal. We can look at rain as a gift and blessing from God or as a burden and disappointment for our plans. I'm not sure why rain came to mind, because it was bright sunny day. We briefly stopped by Nancy's to drop off Bill's mail and then ran a few errands. I got in a pretty nice walk and albeit close, it was no cigars to a ten thousand steps day. Anybody that knows me knows that I love watching westerns. I did a matinee today and watched the movie, The Old Way. Is good to know they are still filming new westerns. I was surprised to see Nicolas Cage staring in his first western movie, two thumbs up. This evening we watched the battle round of, The Voice. I think this show cases a lot of up and coming talented singers.
26 March 2023
It's the 50th Anniversary of the, Dark Side of the Moon - Led Zeppelin. Wow, has it been that long since that album was released? I can see that this will be a slow go penning this journal entry while listening to one of the best album recordings of all time. Thanks be to God for another day. We got up early and went the Jewels to pick up the Minecraft birthday cake we ordered to celebrate Isaac's birthday. I think they always do a great job on their cakes and more importantly, they taste good. It crazy that we still need to wear our winter coats in late March. When our family gathers, we like to gather around the table and celebrate with food, so it was a good eating day. For breakfast we had scrambled eggs, sausage links, corned beef hash and toast. For lunch we heated up store bought manicotti and had it with mama's pasta sauce, spaghetti side and garlic bread. I like the look on kids face when it comes time for the ice cream and cake. Even Nala was happy with the Cool Whip mama got her this morning at the grocery store. "Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers" (Proverbs 17:6). It is always a blessing to be with and spend the day with family. Although children are proud of their parents, grandchildren are the reward of the grandparents. LOL, I guess Nala isn't too happy to see all the Minecraft birthday decorations, she initially growled at the Minecraft Creeper balloons, but seemed to be OK with the Creeper face after a while. One of the things I look forward to is when I get my unsolicited neck and shoulder massage from Rob. Rob told Isaac that grandpa's birthday is in a few months and asked him what he was going to get me for my birthday. He said that he was going to give a massage for my birthday. My heart melted when he proceeded to give me one and said that in fact I'll give him birthday present early! I think most parents and grandparents think their children and grandchildren are smart, but obviously every kid can't be above average. With that said, I still hold that both our grandkids are super smart. Today I listened to Isaac rattled off multiplication and Peyton all the colors in a box of crayons. Today was a good day, we facetimed with my brother. Thanks be to God for video call technology. It was so reassuring to see and speak with him. The doctor was stopped by his hospital room and told him that it'll be three or four more day before they will be able to discharge him. May our Lord grant him good health and a speedy recovery. Crazy weather, a hail, sleet, and a thundering freezing rain quickly blew by and within a hour, the sun was back out. Not only was it the first rainbow we saw this year, but it was a double rainbow! Thanks be to God for the blessings of the day.
25 March 2023
Wow, I must have been super tire last night, because I just laid down in bed and the next thing I knew, it was morning. "Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust" (Psalm 143:8). It is good that my soul thirst for God and grateful for his steadfast love. It is not clear to me if we dodged the overnight snow bullet again or if the meteorologists were totally wrong, but regardless, I was happy we didn't get any. Since we spent the day indoors, I doubled up on my daily exercises and made a home gym day. Mmm, it's always a good day when mama makes her pasta sauce. Spaghetti is one of my favorite comfort food, but we opted to have her sauce over farfalle noodles. This was more than fine with me, because this pasta is excellent for holding sauce. We're going to celebrate Isaac's 6th birthday tomorrow, so Fawn had me especially make him hot dog fried rice. But who are we kidding, the kids all seem to like that dish a lot and there was no way Andrea and Alex was going to let me get away without making them some too. Today's bible verse is, Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you (Proverb 20:22). There are no shortage of situations in our broken world that presents us with opportunities for revenge and payback. It is Satan's way of destroying both the innocent and the offender. We even laugh and joke that, "pay back is a bitch." There are a lot of conversation about policing and the justice system and contrasting ideas between the candidates in the local elections. We can clearly see that we will never find perfect and complete justice because we are clueless on what is rightly and what is just. Only God can bring about justice and deliver us from the poison of hatred. May God guard us from the poison of an unforgiving and vengeful heart. I thank God that Bill is continuing on the road to recovery. Anyway time to get ready for bed, tomorrow is going to be a big day.
24 March 2023
We went out and about to the Bloomingdale area. I was a walking fool while Fawn went a few of the stores in the strip mall. I easy got in well over my ten thousand plus steps walking up and down one of longest strip mall that I know of. It's ashamed that about a third store fronts were empty, because it looks like the mall investors spent a lot of money redoing all the store fronts, sidewalks and the parking lot. We finally got around to briefly visiting Mary who moved into the Covenant Living at Winsor Park in Carol Stream. On the way home we stopped for gas and paid $3.599 a gallon. It's hard to believe that this station was the cheapest Shell gas station remotely close in the whole area. I just looked at the weather app and we are expecting a coating to an inch overnight, so I guess the rain will eventually be change over to snow. I thank God that Mary is do well and that Bill’s post surgery recovery is coming along.
23 March 2023
I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of the pouring rain. I used to sleep though almost anything, but it doesn't seem that way anymore. It is a good thing I am able to quickly fall back asleep. What is wrong with me, I'm always ranting about the weather. When will I learn to be content with it? Especially when we are living here in the Midwest, the extreme temperature and weather conditions can change on dime. I suppose that the cold damp rain we have been getting in better than having the predicted snow we are supposed to be getting this weekend. It is promising to see patches of green grass coming in. I will be only a matter of time before I'm complaining about needing to mow the grass. We went to a few stores in the Darien and Woodridge area before picking up a carryout at the New Chinese Kitchen before heading out to Alex's for lunch. We always order way more food than we could possibly eat, but I suppose that having delicious leftovers isn't a bad thing. The weather this morning was far from being ideal for a morning walk, I zipped up and made the most of it the best that I could and got a fare walk. Under protest, I got in a little yard work in the backyard mending the wire mesh around the deck. Clearly, I could never have survived trying to earn a living as a craft worker.
22 March 2023
Often times we think about nice spring days and end up forgetting about the frequent number of rainy days that comes with moving away from winter, today was one of those days. This morning's prayers were that of thanksgiving and petitions with deep concerns for my brother. We learned from the heart surgeon this afternoon that his quadruple bypass surgery went well. Thanks be to God for guiding the surgeon's hands and for the entire medical time. My prayers are now turned toward for his comfort and speedy recovery. Happy birthday to our youngest! Hard to believe that it is her 29th birthday and she is just months away from finishing her residency. I knew we shouldn't have blinked. We all got together this evening on FaceTime and celebrated her the best we could, wishing her the happiest of birthdays. We were out the door early for Fawn's haircut appointment. I normally do a walk while she is getting her hair done, but this morning even though I was able to, I opted to stay in the car and nap. While out and about, we stopped the early voting polling place to cast our Naperville 2023 Consolidated Election ballots. When we got back, Fawn gave me my haircut, so happy haircut! A lot of people feel good after getting a haircut and one of them. That makes me wonder why I don't seek to get a haircut more frequent.
21 March 2023
"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). Thanks be to God for another day. What an outstanding start for a bright sunny day. What a huge difference it makes when the wind is cooperating, I easily got in a ten thousand plus steps day in walking in the quiet. Over nine thousand of it was during my nice long solitary walk this morning preparing for Easter by musing the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus and what it means to be "redeemed." For the last four weeks, I have been contemplating my inclination to and the need for confession, repentance, contrition, and on what it means to be a “new creation.” We have been paying high gas prices for so long now that I was happy to find a tier one gas station with regular gas for $3.379 a gallon to gas up the car, especially with most of the stations are selling gas for about $3.80 a gallon. Now that Fawn have concluded her research on candidates, we went the ballot and it was amazing that we were in agreement except for one of the open positions. After reasoning together, she convinced me that her candidate was more suited for the position. Prayers for my brother Bill who will be having major surgery tomorrow morning.
20 March 2023
I have so many things running through my mind. "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). Often times, I tend to become anxious and worry about things out of our control. I think that this verse is not necessarily about choosing not to worry or about needing to praying more, but is about trusting and letting our Heavenly Father know your concerns. Temperaturewise it was a good day for a walk, but the wind prevented me from getting in as many steps as I would have liked.
19 March 2023
Waking to peaceful and beautiful cloudless day is exhilarating. I'm a 100% back and able to fully resume my daily workout routines. Today was an awesome day filled with countless blessings. I'm grateful on this eve day of the spring equinox. "The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of d the turtledove is heard in our land" (Song of Solomon 2:12). This verse is one of my favorite springtime bible verses, especially on the 1st day of spring. I couldn't help but to muse on the renewal and getting ahead of this liturgical season with the resurrection of Christ. After a cold harsh winter, who doesn't love the season of spring? The barren trees will soon be filled with lush green leaves, a reminder that God make all things new again. By grace, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are blessed each day with an opportunity to refresh and renew our heart and mind in Christ. May the Lord bless and keep my brother Bill during at this time. Prayers for his successful surgery, healing and recovery.
18 March 2023
Now that's what I'm talking about! I woke up this morning with a grateful heart, mainly because I was given by grace another day and because the pain from the shots in each of my arms have completely subsided. Even though I was energized from a good night's rest, I opted for moderation and only did a small portion of each of my daily exercise workout routines. Even my go on the elliptical was abbreviated. Albeit it was a cold day that started out in the teens and the temperature didn't get into the twenties until later in afternoon, where it stayed at the remainder of the day. I suppose that could have moan and groan about the weather, but I'll give a pass this time around. After all, it is still winter and spring won't officially be here until day from now. It's crazy that it looks and feels like a December morn with the grey skies, fine snow flurries and the chill in the air. I can say with certainty that with my new winter hat and coat, this was the best prepared winter clothingwise I've ever been. The last few winter worked because my last winter coat became extra large for me because of my weight loss and I was able to don a lot of layers of clothe and jackets underneath. I'm praying that the March winds will subside and I'm looking forward to the warmer spring days ahead of us. I made more comfort food for us for lunch, thin pan fried pork chops and garlic spinach for a side. I am grateful for God’s daily provisions that he has faithful provided my family. I looked over the Naperville 2023 Consolidated Election Ballot and reviewed the candidates for Naperville Mayor, City Council, School District 203 Board and Park District Board of Commissioners as well as the College of DuPage Board of Trustees. It will be interesting to compare my findings with Fawn before going to the polling place to cast our ballots.
17 March 2023
Thanks be to God, I slept like a rock last night. I was finally able to stretch and most of my daily exercises that didn't involve any arm resistance training. God willing, everything will be back to normal. "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2 Corinthians 4: 16-17). I've been musing about physical exams and test results. Many of my friends and family members are getting their annuals. All we can do is our best to healthy as can stumbling back to Eden. Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I think this may have been the first time I didn't have corned beef on my mind leading up to the holiday. Without the kids being around, a corned beef brisket flat would have been substantially way too much meat for just the two of us. Overall, it has been a quite and peaceful day and my soul has been waiting in silence for my hope rests in God alone.
16 March 2023
Owww! I had a rough night, but did managed to get some sleep. I woke up still sore in both arms, but the side with the Shingrex was way more stiff and painful. I must be a big baby, because Fawn is faring much better than me. I nursed myself and made it through the day with comfort food. At things got a little better toward mid afternoon. Prayers for better rest tonight. I made us a real nice rice noodle soup with wonton dumplings, char sui, and bok choy for lunch and reheated the leftover hamburger peas over Cantonese pan fried noodles for dinner.
15 March 2023
Wow, today was a nice early spring day, I peeked at the 10 day forecast and with the exception of this coming Friday and Saturday, it looks like springtime is just around the corner. Ouch, we went to the Sam's Club pharmacy this morning to get our 1st shingles shot and I also decided to get my 2nd pneumonia shot. I hope I don't regret getting one shot in each arm tomorrow morning if I become super sore a stiff, because my left arm with the shingles shot has been pretty sore all day. So all that remains now is getting our 2nd shingles shot two to six months from now and we will be done with all our shots. Well unless there will be annual covid-19 shots like the annual flu shots. I’m so glad Andrea and our grandkids facetimed, we got to see Peyton do her coloring and quizzed Isaac in math. I love the big smile on his whenever his gives his answer, because he already knows that he is smart. I think it is amazing that kindergarteners are already doing math.
14 March 2023
Albeit was another cold day, at least the sun was shining and a few degrees warmer in the mid 30s. We went out early to Alex's to let Nala out and then went out and about in the area to run a few errands before going back there to eat the lunch that we bought with us, so that we could let her out again before heading back home. I think it is a good thing to go out and get some fresh air while getting in a ten thousand plus steps walk. It definitely beats sitting around the house all day. I've been praying for good medical test results and good health for Bill and myself, I have my annual physical about a month from now. Things get tougher as time pasts for seniors. The natural signs of aging deterioration are a constant reminder of our mortality. "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD" (Proverbs 18:22). I was reminded how blessed that I am with a good wife, but the reality is that I am daily reminded of that blessing each and every day. Thanks be to God that the, "Good wife, good life" idiom is so very true.
13 March 2023
"because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79). Thanks be to God for his mercies and the blessings of another day. Brr, the temps stayed in the low 30s all day, and the sky was a typical grey looking winter day. I was a little surprised that Fawn wanted to go out and run a few errands. With the wind, it was a tad too cold for me to do an outdoor walk, so I made the most of it best I could with a few steps here and there. I can't say enough good things about my new winter hat and coat. Mmm, we picked up a Panda Express three entrée meal for our lunch on the way home. That is great deal considering it costs less than ten bucks to feed the both of us and still have a little leftover to boot. Prayers for Bill for good medical test results. Facetiming with the kids was the highlight of my day. I think that Isaac is beginning to get excited about his upcoming sixth birthday. I am, that's for sure. I can hardly wait to celebrate him. Time pasts by so quickly.
12 March 2023
I suppose if you forecast measurable snow fall often enough, the winter forecast will be correct. We got about an inch of it, but it is only noticeable on rooftops, grass and the backyard deck. Whoo hoo, we only had wet pavement and there no need to do any shoveling! It is eight days until the first day of spring, hopefully by then we will be done with the below normal temperatures. Sadly, we do get the occasional dusting of snow in April. Complain, complain, complain, and being cynical, that is all I seem to do instead of being grateful for the day ahead in the morning. As we continue to move forward toward the first day of spring, the days are getting noticeably longer. And especially now with our clocks being set ahead an hour to daylight savings time, sunset is now close to seven o'clock. I always feel a sense of accomplishment even when I am doing the smallest of tasks like setting all the timepieces ahead an hour, so imagine the how joyful I felt yesterday sewing one of the ears back on Peyton's Mickey Mouse yarn hat. May my repentant prayer ascend before You, O Lord, and let your loving kindness descend and create within me a clean heart.
11 March 2023
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). It is a very difficult thing to rejoice and give thanks under all circumstances. One of those circumstances came about last night. It is encouraging to know that God is in control of my life and am thankful you for the Holy Spirit that works in me. I have my ear buds on and am rocking to, Gimme Shelter, I love it whenever Lisa Fischer sings with the Rolling Stones. Sigh, the weather app is forecasting another, "one to three inches of snow" overnight again, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
10 March 2023
"The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life" (Job 33:4). I woke up a happy camper because there were no signs of overnight snow. Whoo hoo, the meteorologists were wrong again! What a dork, my first waking breath should have been one of thoughtful gratitude to our Lord, who by his grace gives us life. We didn't completely scaved the snowfall, if you count the fine snow flurries we got late morning. I finally got around to begin educating myself for the 2023 Naperville Consolidated Election. There is a lot to be taking in, there are 3 candidates running for mayor, 11 candidates running for 4 open city council seats, 5 candidates for 3 open district 203 school board, 4 candidates running for 3 open seats for park district board, and 3 candidates running for 2 open seats for College of DuPage Trustee. We watched new videos the Andrea sent us of Peyton counting numbers and singing the ABC song, we are so very proud of her smart and adorable little cutie pie.
9 March 2023
"O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch" (Psalm 5:3). Praying the psalms first thing in the morning is an encouraging start to each day. On dark overcasted skies days, I tend to think about the brokenness of the world we live in. It is my prayer that I can at least try my best to be more than flicker of light and hopefully be in some way a blessing to my neighbors. Last night was the first time I listened to sacred music on Lutheran Public Radio in a long while. I'm not sure why it's not more of a common staple for me to feed on. It was too cold and windy to do an outdoor walk. Come on man, spring, where you be? We stopped by Alex's for lunch and heated up store bought pulled pork and made sliders with it using King's Hawaiian buns, yummy. With the help of Goggle Maps, we were able to get gas for $3.549 a gallon. Outrageous, thanks Joe. According to the weather forecast, we were supposed to start getting snow this evening, but so far all we got was rain. It will be interesting to see tomorrow morning just much snow we will actually will get overnight, if any at all. Grateful for the blessings of the day, God is good and his love endures forever.
8 March 2023
Last night I listened to Adele 25 before going to bed, her music speaks for itself. In my mind, she is arguably the greatest female vocalist of all time. I woke up early fully rested and thankful for this day. Nice that dawn is at 5:48 a.m. and there wasn't a overcast. Fawn had the first dental appointment for the day, so I was totally prepared for an outdoor walk in the 30s by donning a pair of thermal underwear and my winter coat. I also peeked at the weather app this morning for days ahead and saw that we can expect 3 to 6 inches of snow starting tomorrow evening into Friday afternoon. Lol, the initial winter advisory alert yesterday called for 1 to 3 inches and now it's calling for 2 to 4 inches. With the temperatures back in 30s during that time, I suspect that the snow may actually come to past this time around. I can still always hope that it don't snow though because the oddly enough, the snow storm stayed to the south and completely missed. How often do you here of a blizzard to the south of us? I was a walking fool walking in neighborhood while Fawn was in the dentist office; we then went to Geneva Commons strip mall. It was pretty easy to leisurely get in way over eleven thousand steps before the noon hour. So whoo hoo, ten thousand plus steps three day in a row! But I opted out on non interval endurance training day and just called it a cardio rest day. "Not that I have already l obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for o the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14). By our Lord's grace, may we continue striving back toward Eden with all his saints along the narrow path.
7 March 2023
"so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy" (Psalm 65:5). Christ First! Thanks be to God for the beginning and closing of each and every day. I've been going to bed early getting up earlier in the morning now that the days are beginning to get longer. We went to Alex's to let Nala out and since we were in the Plainfield area, we took the car in for the required emissions test. The testing facility is in the Louis Joliet Mall. I was going to do a mall walk, but since we had sunny decent weather, I opted to do an outdoor walk in the large strip mall across the street instead. It's nice to get in back to back ten thousand plus steps days! And if the weather cooperates again tomorrow morning, it could a trifecta, because Fawn has a dental appointment to clean her teeth and I usually walk around the neighborhood behind the dental office.
6 March 2023
"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned" (Romans 12:3). Thanks be to God for his gifts of grace. Whoa, mamma mia! I woke up to a loud thunder clap that shook our house in the wee hours followed by a heavy downpour. I'm glad that I was able to fall back sleep. The rumbling sound of thunder and rainfall stayed with us all morning. It was good to be able to increase a few more minutes to my overall interval duration time. It was like a gym day this morning because of the poor weather and I was able to get plenty of exercise. Albeit it is always easier to improve at the onset of achieving any fitness training goal I am still pleased that I am able to gradually continue to improve on my cardiovascular training. I am amazed how some adults can still run like they did as young bucks. I can move pretty good on an elliptical now, but wouldn't be able to distance myself on a high impact run from a snail. The best I've done is an imitation turkey trot for very short distances at a time. We briefly went out the house to get gas and run a few errands early afternoon. Gas was $3.269 a gallon, I wonder if the gas prices will ever come back down to something reasonable. Whoo hoo, the sun came out and it got into the mid 50s. I was able to take a nice walk and get a ten thousand plus steps day in. It is such a blessing whenever the weather is cooperating. Funny how weather can bad to good and vice versa on the drop of a dime here in the midwest. Yummy, Sandy came by and gifted us a loaf of her delicious banana bread. I made us beef and bitter melon for dinner. It has been a long while since I found the bitter gourd that was decent at the supermarket. I have to concur with Fawn that today's was one of my better goes at this particular dish.
5 March 2023
Thanks be to God for his mercies to this poor miserable sinner. I woke up super early and got in a few of my daily exercises before we headed out to Alex's to gather with family. It is important to me to stick with the core exercises to hopefully lose a notable amount of belly fat by the end April. Well, at least that is one of my overall fitness goals. Mmm, good eats this morning, scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon, breakfast sausages and toast! We didn't go crazy with the all out big breakfast this time around. It was fun watching Isaac's creativity while playing Minecraft and playing stacking cups and stickers with Peyton. Isaac had a lined journal that he uses to practice writing spelling. He did the "at" words: bat, cat, fat, etc. Peyton is at the level where she can talk up a storm now and I'm betting that it is great for mom and dad that she can sit and eat food all by herself with a spoon. The Chinese takeout food we got yesterday turned out OK, but I still contend that it tastes much better when it is cooked into order. I sat down next to Rob and subtlety turned my back toward him and to my surprise, he began giving a back, shoulder, and neck and back massage (wink wink), best son-in-law ever! Spending with family is one of the most important things in life; just being around them gives me great joy. I think Andrea and Rob are doing a great job raising our grandchildren and we are so glad they bring them down and let us spend time with them. Alex baked us gooey chocolate chip cookies in small individual baking bowls a top it with ice cream for dessert, it was delicious. Nala has a great time getting spoiled with a lot of attention and treats. I thank God for all the days’ blessings. I know there are so many countless hidden blessings that we can not even begin to fathom beyond the ones we know of and have taken for granted. My verse of praise today is, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and j the love of God and k the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14). Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Amen.
4 March 2023
I woke up humming the zip-a-dee-doo-dah. I have a tendency to feel exceptionally good about sun filled days. Whoo hoo, I even got a 10 thousand plus steps day in! The weather was excellent for a long Lenten solitude walk in grace and faith while reflecting on the path that I have been stumbling on back to Eden. In his, Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis said, “For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step.” My Lent verse of the day is, "Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes" (Daniel 9:3). I thought about all the different things we do for Lent, like fasting, the time of silence and stillness, even wearing some different clothes to help us do the inward things to seek God in Lenten prayers, asking for God's mercy. Thanks be to God for his comfort and healing, Fawn is back to her normal self from being under the weather. We went out to pick up a carryout from New Chinese Kitchen for tomorrow's lunch, when we will get together the kids. I was totally against it, because I don't it will be all that when we reheat the food back tomorrow, we'll see. I made pork spareribs in black bean sauce (stir fry) and barbecue pork fried rice as bonus dishes for the kids to have later in the week. It was supposed to be a cardio rest day on the elliptical, but since I'm not going to have an opportunity to do so tomorrow, I had a go on it today. Thank you Lord for this day. Anyway, time to get ready for bed; we've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.
3 March 2023
"This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). I woke up this morning with prayers of thanksgiving. As I continue my Coram deo self examination during this season of Lent, I think it is more than feeling sorry about my past sins. When Jesus began his ministry, he said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). I see my whole life of repentance and faith joined with the Holy Spirit in my struggle against my own sinful nature. May we wake each and every day with a grateful heart and embrace the Holy Spirit to guide us to produce his fruit in us; "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). I was up early and refreshed and whew, I was so happy to see that the weather forecast was revised from 6" - 10" of snow to 1" - 3". Thanks be to God, the snow storm stayed to the south of us and we completely scaped the storm altogether. So disappointing, not! I made us stir fried pork and diakon for lunch. I 'm not sure, but I think I might have had a go at stir frying a diakon dish before with Chinese sausage, because it turned out pretty good.
2 March 2023
"I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds" (Psalm 92:11-12). This morning's muse on the psalmist's muse brought about gratitude for God’s faithfulness. I'm only going to enter a short journal entry and going to relax and go to bed early to get plenty of rest for tomorrow, because the snow storm heading our way appears to be imminent and the only question that remains is, "How many inches will we get?"
1 March 2023
"It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night" (Psalm 92:1-2). Praying the psalms very day with a repentant and grateful heart is truly a blessing. I don't know if it is me so far this Lenten season, but my call to mind of my grievous sins isn't any remorseful than any other liturgical season, the shameful sense of the sinful state to which the Holy Spirit convicts me to the point of mea culpa. I've learned in my walk back toward Eden, to not wallow in my own brokenness, but rather to a true contrition to throw myself at the mercy of God so that I may become reconciled again with him and with my neighbors. I woke up early this morning super energized, so I did a ton of tuck and leg lift crunches and added the dead bug exercise to my workout as well as doubled up on my squats before doing intervals on the elliptical. I can clearly see improvement after taking a day rest off the elliptical. So I'm my latest cardio change up. I slightly increased my number of reps and did an additional set with light dumbbells. I'm not sure if Fawn was feeling well enough to be going out or if she felt we needed to, but we went out and about for a short while running errands. Today definitely looked and felt like how the first day of meteorological spring ought to be. It's ashamed that we are still expecting to revert back winter like conditions with cold and snow on Friday, but today was a jacket day and good for an outdoor walk in the windless sunshine! I absolutely needed that hit of fresh air. We went the Chinese supermarket and stocked up on some fresh vegetables. Mmm, we split a store bought joong for our lunch! Since spring is in the air, I started composing my outdoor 2do list of the springtime needed on our homestead. I can’t say enough of this most beautiful day, thanks be to him who takes away the sins of the world.
28 February 2023
The song of the day is, Hello - Adele. I playing her songs on YouTube now with my buds on while I begin to pen this journal entry. I kind of surprised that is had been a while since I’ve listened to her music, because she is one of my favorite singer. "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!” (Psalm 50:23). It is a good thing to wake up each and every morning greeting our Lord with thankful hearts and gratitude affirmations. Guide us, O Lord, with your loving hands. Aah, it the last day of month and the end of meteorological winter. I looked at the weather app this morning and was happy to see that today and tomorrow was going to be in the upper 50s before my bubble was busted. Really? We are expecting six to ten inches of snow on Friday? I am hoping the forecasters are totally wrong on this call. It is funny how the mind works, there were times when I found it hard to motivate myself to get on the elliptical, but today I found myself struggling to resist getting on it. I've reached my weight loss goals and have been able to maintain it for quite some time now, but the fact that I still have unwanted belly fat around my waistline is discouraging. Yeah, my waistline has come down quite a bit, but seem to have plateaued without any further weight loss and the subcutaneous fat have me shaking my head, but I am really more concerned about what havoc my visceral fat is causing which I am certain there is plenty of. So the question becomes, how do you lose belly fat without losing weight? There are quite a few articles about various core exercises that claims that you can do and just as many articles that claims it is impossible to target fat. According to Harvard Health Publishing, "In most people, about 90% of body fat is subcutaneous, the kind that lies in a layer just beneath the skin. If you poke your belly, the fat that feels soft is subcutaneous fat. The remaining 10% — called visceral or intra-abdominal fat — lies out of reach, beneath the firm abdominal wall... Although visceral fat makes up only a small proportion of body fat, it's a key player in a variety of health problems... Exercise can help reduce your waist circumference. Even if you don't lose weight, you lose visceral belly fat and gain muscle mass." So I guess the plan is to just stay the course and stick to my daily exercises and add a few more core exercises to the mix and see what happens. It seems like Fawn is getting better, but she is still coughing and sounds congested. Continued prayers for her health and recovery.
27 February 2023
I woke in the middle of the night to the roaring sound of thunder, but I managed to quickly fall back asleep only to later be awakened again by the sound of the torrent rain beating down on the house. The sump pump was working overtime all day long. I am so grateful that the rain storm we are experiencing isn't the prolonged wide spread winter snow storm that wreaking havoc across our nation all week. The sky turned dark this morning and tornado warning and the siren began blaring! There was brief tornado touch down near the Naperville North High School. Whenever I hear rumbling or a loud thunder clap, the voice of God always comes to mind. Today, I prayed and reflected on Psalm 29. This psalm of praise calls us to ascribe to the glory of the Lord that is due his name by submitting to him in humility and reverence. The imagery that David describes of God making his power and glory known in creation as his voice thunders from on above as he reveals himself in his creation. In our troubled times like these that are egged on by the news media and the internet trolls, it is all too easy for the storms of this life and the flood of noisy voices to drown out the one voice of the Lord that alone. May the voice of our Savior, Christ Jesus, bless all who call upon his name with his grace and peace. Instead of doing intervals today, I opted to do a steady state cardio workout for a longer duration on the elliptical. My cardio workout plan is to do two days intervals training, one day steady state training followed by a day of rest for now and see how it goes. Prayers for health and recover, I thank God that Fawn continues to daily improve from being under the weather and for keeping us safe from harm’s way.
26 February 2023
Joyous day! "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). For some unknown reason, I was humming the Lutheran hymn, Lift Up the Cross. It was processional hymn for our daughter's wedding mass, perhaps because it was a also a joyous day. "Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim; Let all adore and praise that sacred name." So how can the verse of the day not be, "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere" (2 Corinthians 2:14). I believe that the cross, especially a crucifix, best expresses the redeeming love of God in the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus for all humanity and motivates all believers to active faith and mission. Lord, show me how to live so that I may be a part of your triumphal procession proclaiming Christ’s love. I made us fried egg sandwiches and mac and cheese for lunch. I had the not so bright idea to put the mac and cheese over my fried egg sandwich and eat it with a fork. I had to kick it up a notch with some hot sauce to liven it up, but even then, I wouldn't consider doing this ever again. What was I thinking? How in the world two things so delicious not go fare well together? Looks like the pot is already being stirred on the news and click bait headlines on the internet about the 2024 presidential election. I pray that the American voters won't entertain the candidacy of both Biden and Trump. Wake up America, we can do better! The highlight of my day once again was fametiming with the kids. Our grands were happy campers chomping on the free Domino’s pizza Alex’s got them with their earn reward points. I am grateful for the blessing of family.
25 February 2023
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). Lord, have mercy. Thanks be to God for this new day. I was shocked this morning to see that we got about a quarter inch of overnight snow, because there was no mention of it in the weather forecast. It was good that it got above freezing mid morning and the dusting of snow melted away. Heck yeah, the sun even came out briefly late afternoon. I haven't been using my daily exercise checklist and it was high time that start doing so again, especially since we stayed hibernating indoors today because Fawn was under the weather. Keep us in good health, O Lord, strengthen our immune systems and help us to ward off infections and viruses. Today was a very good day. I didn't intend to or wasn't going to mention fasting, but I opted to temporarily deactivate my Facebook account. I think that overall, it may end up being a bad idea, but that remains to be seen. It has definitely given me more time for prayer and for muse. Today's muse was on the doctrine of original sin, the very reason "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).
24 February 2023
"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). What an outstanding and most beautiful bible verse to start the day. Albeit stayed in the 20s all day today, at least the sun was out this morning. Having our home built with the back facing east and having the sun shining in our dinette during morning coffee is a blessing. Instead of whining about the winter today, I decided to reframe my attitude toward it. I have doing a lot more intervals cardio training on the elliptical and am so glad that I continue to gradually cardiovascularly improve. I still do a little resistance training with my light dumbbells, but nowhere near what I use to, but I'm fine with that. I finally got around to running a full scan on my laptop last night before going to bed. It's crazy that it took 2 hours and 56 minutes to complete the scan. The good news is there was zero threats found. I enjoyed listening to a few songs from my youth, Gimme Little Sign - Brenton Wood and Oogum Boogum - Brenton Wood. It’s been so many years that I heard these two songs. I am grateful that I have seen yet another day pass.
23 February 2023
Today was a very good day, I woke up grateful that God has kept me though the night and has given us another day. It's alright that it was another windy cold cloud filled day in the 30s, because it was still above freezing and the season of winter will soon come to an end. I thank God that we dodged the bullet yesterday as the major band of winter snow storm across most of country stayed to the north of us. Until then, we just have to keep dressing accordingly. Fawn told me that I was a grumpy old man that always complained about the weather. What can I say, when only 72 degrees day with 50 percent humidity day with a mixture of sun and clouds agrees with me? We went to Alex's and I made him and Fawn, teriyaki chicken and mapo tofu for lunch. I was more interested in having a couple of slices of the leftover Domino's pizza that he had in his refrigerator. I learned from my brother the day that we can get free at home covid tests kits ever month from CVS through Medicare when he called the other day, so we stopped at picked up our test kits on the way home. We also unwillingly stopped for gas at $3.599 a gallon, grr. I watched episode 4 of, The Ark, this afternoon and still loving the show.
22 February 2023
Lord, guide me with your gentle mercies. Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent which gives us an opportunity to reflect and repent. We remember our sins and also remember what comes at the end of Lent: Our Lord and Savior's death and his resurrection. The verse of the day is, "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). We woke to cold dreary day and I was glad the temperature was warm enough to produce rain instead of snow, because we really got more than a good soaking and we would have ended up with a ton of snow. Our home was warm and cozy because I made us fresh pot of oatmeal for breakfast and Fawn boiled a pot gensing this morning and later I made a large pot of napa and Silken tofu soup with pork bones for our lunch time meal. One of my meat eating pleasures is gnawing meat off the bone. It was like a Flintstone moment with the huge pork shoulder blade bone. I got caught up with all the episodes of, The Way Home. The Hallmark family drama with a time traveling twist is so addicting, loving it!
21 February 2023
The days are finally getting noticeably longer and spring will soon be in the air, just not today. We were back to wearing thermal underwear and a winter coat again, as the temperature dropped back down into the 30s. While out and about, we stopped by Alex's and made us fried rice for lunch. The single Chinese sausage and single hot dog was a far cry from the big protein packed combo I slapped together the last time I made fried rice at Alex's. Nala was a happy camper with an apple Fawn got her and the egg I scrambled her. It was nice to get a call from my brother. Albeit our sister's 70th birthday is not until towards the end of April, we wanted to do something special for the occasion. Celebrating our sister can come too soon. We been talking about the new sci-fi series, The Ark, and he told me about the new series on the Hallmark channel called, The Way Home. The show is already 5 episodes in and I binge watched the first three episodes because it was that good.
20 February 2023
We had a great time celebrating Sandy yesterday. Great Colombian food and conversation. Mmm, carnitas tacos, lentil beans and tomato rice. I've noticed that everything that I've ever tasted that Sandy has made is very tasty. I made it a point to get in a ten thousand plus step day. How can I not do a long outdoor walk when the sun is shining and when the windless temperature was in the low 50s. There were a lot of people out and about because it was Presidents Day and all the schools were closed. I wonder who actually celebrates the day by remembering and honoring all their exemplary work in making America the great country it is today. I'm just wondering who actually think of this day other than being a day off work or school and actually celebrates the day by remembering and honoring all 46 for their exemplary work in making America the great country it is today. I can only think of a few Presidents worthy. We were blessed with facetiming with our grands again today. Love how Isaac is continuing to improve on his basketball dribbling skills.
19 February 2023
I decided to log on to my laptop pen my journal entry early today, because we will be heading out the door soon to celebrate Sandy's birthday at their home. Part of the reason for logging on is to download a few videos and to run a full scan and logging on turned out to be a big deal, because the full scan took forever and had I had to cancel it. I watched episode 3 of, The Ark, and I loving the show because the characters in the show are full of surprises. Wow, I woke up to a beautiful morning! I put a spoonful of hamburger peas in my oatmeal a couple dashes of Cholula hot sauce for a spicy and savory breakfast. I noticed that I always seem to have food on my mind throughout the day, but I don't think that I am alone, I just pen about it stream of consciencenessly, perhaps too much. We went to Jewels and Mariano's. I did my outdoor walk while Fawn was inside shopping. It is good to see that all the storefronts were being occupied in both the Market Meadows and Fox Run shopping malls. Anyone time to stop because Rob just pulled up the driveway.
18 February 2023
What an awesome start to the day facetiming with our grandchildren, we can feel the love. We recently saw a video of Isaac and one of friends dribbling basketballs, today we he showing us how much he has improved, impressive! He was telling us about wanting to learn to play the piano. That led me wonder and muse about the challenges of left handed people may encounter playing a piano. Peyton was also a joy. She is cute as a button. I am happy that she enjoys spending time with us, even though it was virtually. It is so amazing how she is a smart just like her brother at doing puzzles. I'm not very fast, but enjoy jigsaw puzzles too. She is like her mama and likes to sing. Kids are like a sponge and learn the lyrics to songs so quickly. She likes to sing all those Disney songs, especially from Frozen. Albeit I have a terrible singing vocal, I have fond childhood memories of watching and singing along with Mitch Miller with our parents. It is clear to me that I love sunny day during the winter months and a mix of sun and clouds during the summer months. I could be imagining it, but it seems that we have had more sun filled days this year than the usual gloom and doom grey winter skies. I love it when the sun is out and the temperature is above freezing as well as the wind is down and I am able to do an outdoor walk. I shocked the heck out of myself by getting in 8,500 steps this morning, so I was quite pleased with getting in a ten thousand step day and well as getting in a couple intervals in on the elliptical. The reason I am more focused on doing intervals on the elliptical to try to improve my resting and heart recovery rate and have been using a fingertip pulse oximeter to determine my Sp02 and pulse rate. Mmm, we found ground beef of sale but it was in big package, so I browned it and used half of it to make hamburger peas and mama use the other half to make a pasta meat sauce. There is one thing I found bad about her sauce, I also have to have a second helping. When folks start talking about the sounds of spring, Song of Solomon 2:12 always comes to mind. "The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land." I can wait until the season turns.
17 February 2023
I thought we skated by the snow storm, but we ended up with about an inch or so of it overnight. We had a power outage this morning a little after 5 a.m. It is rare nowadays and it has been a long while since we had an electrical power outage in our subdivision. I am reminded on how depended we are on electricity, even our gas furnace and gas stove needs it to operate. Worst of all we weren't able to make a pot of coffee. Thanks be to God the power eventually was restored around 7:45. I started doing intervals on the elliptical again yesterday, good for me.
16 February 2023
Albeit we are slowly inching our way to spring, winter is definitely still here. We had mixed precipitation and everything was pretty slick. I'm glad that I didn't have to do any shoveling, but I had to spread ten pounds ice melt on our sidewalk and driveway. It looked like the big blast of snow stayed mostly to the northern burbs.
15 February 2023
I woke to the sound of the howling winds. If the winds are this strong already, what will it be like in March? Dang, we're back to wearing a winter coat. I noticed this morning that the pedometer doesn't count the steps very well in the house if it does at all. I looked at the pedometer again when we got back home from being out and about and it read 7,708 steps. I did most of my walking at the Sam's Club and at the Target store. It is clear to me now that I can get in at least seven thousand steps in a day whenever we go out and that I need to only be concerned about making sure that I get up off my butt more often at home and step in place and to make sure that I get on and use the elliptical at least daily even if it for a little as five minutes. Fawn was right when I saw that I was already close to eight thousand steps already, I made it a point to get up at least once every hour and step in place. Whoo hoo, I got in a ten thousand steps day! It is good that I do some resistance training with my pairs of five, ten and fifteen pound dumbbells. We have a winter advisory for set for tomorrow and can expect snow mixed with sleet. I’m sure that the roads will be hazardous to drive on. Looks like we’ll be spending the day around the house and I will be doing some shoveling. There was a hazmat spill in Tucson, I am thankful that our daughter is safe.
14 February 2023
"We love because he first loved us" (John 4:19). Happy Valentine's Day! It was another day in the 50s. The sky was hazy and there was a little wind, but not enough to deter me from taking an outdoor walk. I wish it could have been more, but between the wind and rain that moved in, I managed to get in seven thousand steps for the day. We went to Alex's house to let Nala out because Alex went in the office for the day. We stopped in the Panera Bread to pick up my freebie pastry! Their bear claws are so yummy. It's ashamed that I can only eat a little bit of sweets. Talk about treats, Nala seems to like getting the apples Fawns brings her. Mmm, we pan seared the diakon cake dim sum style that Peggy gifted up yesterday for our lunch. I hope to give her recipe a go sometime soon. I was doing a little research to begin preparing myself for the local election and got sidetracked by Reuters poll of registered Republicans that was released today. I was stunned to see that, Trump received 43%, DeSantis 31%, Mike Pence 7% and Nikki Haley 4%, are you kidding me? I'm praying that this party comes to their senses. It’s not clear to me what is going on in the Democratic and I hoping Biden do not run in 2024.
13 February 2023
It's crazy that we got another beautiful sunny February day. The temperature was hovering in the mid 50s. Who could have imagined that we would be wearing a jacket taking an outdoor walk? I read an article about the pros and cons of walking vs elliptical and think it's best for me to balance the two. I got in another eight thousand plus steps day. We got a takeout order from the House of Emperor Restaurant and brought it to my Peggy's home to celebrate her birthday. I thought about taking her out for lunch, but I not quite there yet. We had a great time visiting and celebrating my sister-in-law, there is nothing sitting at a table and enjoy each other's company. Seems everyone have different opinions about Chris Stapleton’s rendition performance of the National Anthem during the Super Bowl yesterday. I personally didn’t care for it, but I do like the soulful country, Tennessee Whiskey – Chris Stapleton. Grateful for the blessings of the day.
12 February 2023
Although I went to bed early last night, I didn't get out of bed early. This morning I finally felt fully rested. I watched the Sunday morning news, but turned off when the political analysts part came on. I'm guessing it is a show not news. Albeit I did hear about a earthquake in the middle east earlier in week, I didn't realize the magnitude of earthquake or the high death toll. Prayers for the people impacted by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. I boiled an entire box of linguine noodles yesterday, so I used it in the char sui with bok choy noodle soup I made us for lunch. We watched, well I should say that watched Super Bowl LVII, Fawn don't miss too many sport games. I was rooting for the Chiefs for no particular reason other than to just root for a team. I always seem to struggle to stay awake during a nfl football game, but I did manage to sit and watch the entire game for the first time this season. It was a good game that could have went either way. Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Patrick Mahomes MVP!
11 February 2023
I'm not sure why I stayed up so late at night before going to bed again. What is even worse is that I gotten in the bad habit of late night snacking to boot. I made it a point to pen earlier and to get ready for bed back to the norm right after I'm this journal entry. It was another outstanding day. Most weekends, I prefer to stay around the house because the stores tend to be busy and I don't like being near so many people. Anyway, since it felt pretty much like an early spring day and it gave us a chance to start a little spring cleaning. I helped out, but Fawn did the bulk of the work by getting into places this old man is no longer capable to around the back of the washer and dryer in our tiny laundry room. We tidy up garage a little more and clear the dryer louver vent. I got on weather app and looked at the forecast outlook for the week ahead and outside of a few days with precipitation, it looks super amazing for this time of year. It was a peaceful day playing classical music in the background. Mmm, it was a good eating day, Fawn made one her outstanding salads that I really enjoy all the time for lunch and her pasta sauce with linguine for supper, life is good, God is good. The verse of the day is, "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever" (Psalm 136:1). The highlight of the day was facetiming with the kids and hearing about their day. Our grandkids were filled with joy from going to see Disney On Ice in Milwaukee. Chirp chirp, Alex said that he finally finished all the fried rice I made him several days ago. I got accolades on the fried rice that I made Alex by cleaning out his refrigerator. That's the beauty of homemade fried rice, you can toss in whatever. I made it by dicing up a KFC fried chicken breast, char sui, and a piece of steak.
10 February 2023
Wow, albeit we have had sunny days that have been cloudless, this morning's sun seemed to be the brightest. The temperature only made it into the mid 30s, but I was prepared and dressed accordingly when we stepped out and about in the Oswego area. Mama is on back to her exercise thing again, so now she got be tracking my steps again with the pedometer. Needing to keep a log motivationally helps, I did over 8,000 steps and got on the elliptical three times! I probably could have done an outdoor walk, but I didn't feel like dealing with the wind so I took indoors to several of the big box stores while mama was looking at the newest water filter pitcher designs. It's stunning how many Tesla cars I am seeing in town nowadays. I didn't think EVs in general would be selling would be selling so well in this area with the cold weather and pot holes. What is more surprising is one would think that living in the burbs, there would be fewer cars at the local strip mall parking lot charging stations. I'm not sure if they were pulling my leg, but it's my understanding that Peyton was asking for me on FaceTime. It was a joy to have Andrea, Rob, Alex, Peyton and Isaac all on the call, my day is complete. Thanks be to God for this day.
9 February 2023
Albeit I'm not much on rainy days, but I have no complaints about it raining in February. We definitely got more than a good soaking today. I am expecting to see reports of flash flooding in our area, because we not only got torrential downpours it rained for most of the day beginning in the wee hours. I am clueless about the impact of it raining instead of snowing during the winter months in our neck of the woods other than it bumming out people who like to ski. It was sad to learn that the Super Walmart on Route 59 in Plainfield will be closing on March 10, because it was convenient located for us. I also like it because the isles are large and the store wasn't super crowded. I suppose the stores need to be overly crowded to remain open nowadays. The only other Walmart I like is in Oswego. I really don't like shopping in Naperville because all the stores are so crowded and would rather shop in the Montgomery Oswego Plainfield area. Mmm, we went and got takeout order from New Chinese Kitchen and brought it over to Alex's for lunch. You can't beat getting a reasonably priced delicious meal! It also made for a great dinner (leftover) and a movie.
8 February 2023
We out and for short while to pick up a parcel from Target and to buy a few items from Meijer that were on sale, it was nice to take a short walk even though the sky was rather hazy. The sky was translucent enough to make me feel cheerful. When we got back, we were energized enough to take the time to cut down a lot of boxes for recycling that were accumulating in the garage.
7 February 2023
Albeit we didn't wake to a bright sunny day, but to complete gloom and doom looking overcast. It must of been a relatively warm night, because all the snow on the grass melted overnight and the temperature was in the low 40s. As the song goes, "You can't always get what you want." Achoo! My allergies was acting up this morning and I am thankful for nasal sprays and antihistamine eye drops. We went out to Alex's to let Nala out this morning and then did our shopping in the area. Since there wasn't any ice to worry about, I was able to wear my Sketchers walking shoes and was able to enjoy a nice indoor walk. It's too bad that had have strong winds that was preventing me from walking outdoors, but at least I was able to get in a decent walk with the right kind of shoes. We bought a Portillo's beef sandwich and ate it for a late lunch at Alex's to let her out again before heading back home. I think Nala has come to expect Fawn to bring her a apple now, because she gets pretty excited to see her. I am daily reminded of how mindful mama is of all her babies. Our family is truly blessed. There was a question on Facebook about a naming a popular restaurant that people go to that you don't like. Two quickly come to mind, Starbucks and Chipotle. Starbuck because I think its way over priced and the strong coffee has a burnt taste and I don't care for Chipotle only because they put cilantro in their rice. We sat and watched the State of the Union was actually surprised that President Biden looked more coherent and focused than his usual self. I really hope Biden and Trump don't run again. I don't think that our economy is strong and I don't like the idea of raising our debt ceiling. We also watched the Republican response given by the Arkansas Governor, Sarah Sanders. I don't know much about her other than being a former White House press secretary during the Trump administration, the daughter of Mike Huckabee, and now the Governor of Arkansas. I was struck by her saying that, "The dividing line in America is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal or crazy."
6 February 2023
I can't help myself, the only thing I have been talking about is the ongoing string of sunny days. We had to bring our car to the dealership for an oil change. Inflation is insane, a full service oil change cost us $79.65. I have no doubt in my mind that the POTUS will spin how well the state of our union is when he will give his State of the Union speech tomorrow night. Since we waited for service to be done, it gave me the opportunity to read from one of my favorite ebook, The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas à Kempis. That and the ESV are the most resourceful reading material I have on my phone as well as my sacred music library. Since we were in the Fox Valley are, we stopped by the Chinese supermarket and the Meijer grocery store. I give my outdoor walk a good go, but very time the wind picked up it was terrible and distracted from what would have been otherwise a nice walk, but it hard to really complain about the weather when the sun was shining and the temperature is above freezing during the winter months.
5 February 2023
It was pretty much a lazy do nothing day just sitting around the house. It most exciting thing I did was having my best go at making sliced Chinese barbecue pork (char sui) with peapods over Cantonese pan fried noodles for our dinner. Albeit it was another sunny day, we weren't in the mood to deal with coldness of winter.
4 February 2023
I woke to an overcast sky at dawn and I thought the string of sunny days was coming to an end, but the clouds broke up and the sun came out and stayed out! What was I looking at last night? I could have sworn that today's forecast called for the temperature to be in the teen, but this morning the hourly forecast called for it to be in the upper 40s. It sure didn't feel like it with the wind chill though. We had our morning coffee and were out the door by eight o'clock with being blessed with another bright sunny day. We stopped at the Jewel on the way Alex's to buy grounded beef to make mama's infamous spaghetti sauce. Everyone laughed at the answer to his riddle except me. I need to start watching cartoons in order to relate to our grandson's jokes. Q: Why can't you give Elsa a balloon? A: Because she will Let it go. I watched Isaac play the Minecraft game on a laptop computer and he offered to teach me how to go on a adventure! But I declined and told him that I rather sit and watch him play. It looked like the adventure that had something to do with collecting cows and sheep. Clearly I ate too much for lunch, because I fell asleep after relaxing to a nice neck and shoulder massage. When I woke from my nap, Andrea, Rob and our grandkids were nowhere to be found and I didn’t get to say goodbye to everyone. I remember getting a goodbye huggy from Peyton before dozing off. Nothing can beat spending time with family, Thanks be to God for this day.
3 February 2023
I have to agree with Thomas Merton, “Every breath we draw is a gift of God’s love; every moment of existence is a grace.” Thanks be God for his loving grace. We woke to another cold one; it was -1 ºF and stayed in the single digits all day. Enough already with this subzero temperatures. I started my day with a cheerful disposition looking out the back window over morning coffee. It is so unusual to be having so many sunny days strung in a row this time of year. I must be like a plant and thrive on sunshine. The haircut mama gave me this afternoon also added to the good feeling. We found creative ways to keep our home warm today by boiling a pot of oatmeal in the morning, roasting char sui in the oven in the afternoon and boiling spaghetti noodles in the evening. I just looked at tomorrow's forecast and at least it will make it into the teens, this deep freeze needs to go. I’m so happy that the kids facetimed us, our grandchildren are such a bundle of joy. I'm glad that Rob is bringing Andrea and our grandchildren down again for a visit tomorrow. Now I know why she had me boil so much noodles. The verse of the day is, “God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand who seek after God” (Psalm 53:2). God is looking for those whose hearts are yearning for his presence in their lives. May we in Coram deo strive to be pleasing in his sight. It was an awesome day full of good cheer.
2 February 2023
What another beautiful sun filled day! It is so nice to be getting a string of beautiful cloudless days. I'm glad we went and about grocery shopping and what not. It has been a while since we have been shopping in the Wheaton area. I was surprised that I was able to do about an hour long outdoor walk in the Danada area. My non slip shoes are terrible for doing walks. We went to Pete's to stocked up on the all the canned goods used to make pasta sauce that was on sale as well as the dry pasta noodles. It's a good thing we have a big pantry. It was nice that a lot of the organic vegetables were in sale to boot. We stopped in the HMart to look for Chinese sausage, but didn't buy it because they looked the same as the ones at Park and Shop. Now we are wondering if the recipe has changed for the brand we tend to buy. We stopped at the Outback for a takeout. The last time we gotten food from there was before the pandemic and we have been holding on to a gift card from there seemingly forever. I think that the grilled chicken sandwich is really good, but pricey. I wonder if I will ever get over dining in restaurants. Wow, we did a matinee and streamed season one episode one premiere. I liked the first episode and hope that the show has good writers and continue to be as exciting. It aired last night on the SyFy channel at 9 o'clock last night, way too late at night for an old dude like me. Looking back on the day, winter days aren't that bad when the sun is out, the temperature is double digit and there is no wind, but that seems to be asking a lot. We are expecting a humongous temperature drop again overnight and expecting to be in subzero temperature when we wake up tomorrow morning. I hate worrying about frozen and bursting water pipes. I thank God for the blessings of the day.
1 February 2023
Talk about foolishness, I stayed up late last night into the wee hours. I didn't get up until about nine o'clock. It was another one of those days where we opted to stay in. I sliced up the pork butt and Fawn putted all the pieces of marinated pork in large baggies. I was planning to watch the new outer space sci-fi premiere, The Ark, but forgot all about it. But that's ok, I'm sure that I'll be able to stream it on demand.
31 January 2023
It was -2 ºF when we got up this morning. Goodbye January, the end of January couldn't come too soon. I thank God for this day, warm clothing and for our home with central heating. I layered up with thermal underwear and thermal clothing before we headed out the door. I especially love the new winter coat and winter hat I got this year; it’s the warmest and comfortable. Being out in sunlight is so good for the soul. The baby blue sky was gorgeous. I did my walk at the Target and Walmart store. It is nice to be able to walk in the big box stores early in morning during the weekdays when there are only a few people out and about. It beats just sitting around like a couch potato all the time. I bought a nice big Boston butt to make char sui later in the week. It looks like Friday be a good opportunity to roast the meat and warm up the house. We stopped by Alex's to let Nala out to run a little in the backyard and to do her business. I didn't make her anything, but Fawn bought her an apple, so I'm pretty sure she was happy her. I am remained daily on how blessed I am with a good wife. What would I do without her? Whoa, we passed a big time car accident on Weber Road just south of Boughton Road by, The Home Depot. One of the car was completely flipped over and was on top of another car, that is insane. The song of the day is, Viva La Vida - Coldplay. I'm clueless what the song is about other than something about ruling the world and Saint Peter, but I like that tune has sort of upbeat sound to it.
30 January 2023
Brr, that was tough to look at sun as we hid indoors all day. This single digit temperature is for the birds and we are expecting for it to dip again and we will be waking to subzero temperatures. It looks like January isn’t going to give up without a winter fight. We were able to warm up our home by making honey baked barbecue drumsticks. Mmm, so delicious.
29 January 2023
I sighed this morning when I saw that we got another dusting of overnight snow. Today was the worst; it was a good thing that the shovel had a metal scraper on it. I finished off my first bag of salt. Before the championship games, I predicted that the Bengals would win the 49ers would take the nfc and that the Bengals take the afc even though I know zilch about teams or players. I also predicted that I would doze off during the games and I did so half way into the first quarter for a short nap. When I came to, it was clear that the 49ers were no match against the Eagles. I watched the fourth quarter of the Bengals Chiefs game and the game away that should have went into overtime. Yikes, looks like we're going to have temperatures that are subzero!
28 January 2023
Thanks be to God for this day. I am so grateful that Rob brings his family down and allow up time to spend with our grandchildren, because they don't just live just a short hop and jump away. I made us a simple breakfast this time around with just scrambled eggs, sausage links and Canadian bacon. Aah, earl grey is one of my favorite teas. The fragrant aroma is outstanding. Last time the grandkids came down, I was having fun mostly drawing with Peyton, today I learned a lot about Minecraft while playing with Isaac with the Aquatic Adventure & Survival Sticker Book. I love Isaac's ability to explain what he is doing and to elaborate on why he doing it in his adventure. Peyton is a hoot. Lol, she wasn't much into stacking plastic cups, but was good at knocking down off the table. The reason we went lite on breakfast was because of the dim sum brunch. Mmm, I streamed the frozen store bought har gow, char sui boa, lo mai gai, lo bak go, and the shuimai that my sister-in-law made and gifted up several weeks ago. I was excited to stir fry a bok choy dish for Rob using a vegetarian oyster sauce, which is made from mushrooms. It was the first time I ever cooked a dish using the ingredient and I thought the dish turned out very close to if I had use oyster sauce. After lunch I got my much needed unsolicited neck and shoulder massage! There was plenty of leftover food that we'll be eating for the next several days. Déjà vu, what is with all this snow? I guess that I shouldn't be complaining about having to shovel small amounts of snow on a daily basis.
27 January 2023
I was happy to see that we didn't get any overnight snow, but it didn't take long before it did start to snow and burst my bubble and I had to do some shoveling just like yesterday. Aah, been drinking green tea with fresh lemon most of the day. I cooked a few dishes for the kids to take home enjoy later in the week. I made them fried rice, steamed tilapia and ribeye steak. I'm so looking forward for tomorrow.
26 January 2023
I was taken by surprise this morning and had no idea that there was going to get some overnight snow. Albeit there was more than a light dusting that needed to be attended to, I was thankful that the shoveling only required a single pass. How can I complain today when it snowed 23 inches on this date back in '67? At least snowing a little bit everyday has been manageable. We went to Alex's and we were able to find gas for $3.469 a gallon. Albeit I still thought that was high, the next lowest gas station was selling gas for $3.799 a gallon for regular tier one gas. I was glad that we can search was gas prices on the Goggle Map App. After shopping for a few items, we got a Chinese takeout from Lucky Panda for our lunch. Mmm, I love their shrimp egg foo young. Fawn is really mindful of Nala and brought her an apple and some hamburger meat that is I browned for mama's spaghetti sauce yesterday. I feeling a little tire and going to relax and listen to classical music.
25 January 2023
Whoa, we were supposed to get a total of one to three inches of snow starting in the wee hours unto this evening, but we got about four inches of heavy snow overnight. The forecast this morning calls for three to six inches. The mantra of the day was, "I hate snow!" I was sound asleep and didn't hear a thing, but Fawn said that our neighbor did our driveway and sidewalk super early. It made it an easy go for me to shovel the front, but the deck out back was a nightmare ad required a slow but steady go. I get it how magical the snow and lights are in December. But sorry, but I'm a grinch when it comes to snow. I just thankful that it stopped snowing early afternoon and that the temperature was in the mid 30s and that was good keeping sidewalk and driveway clear. It was nice having classical music playing as background music most of the day, so peaceful. I must be bipolar when it comes to music, one minute I’m chilling to classic music and later in the day, I’m rocking to, Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones. Yessir, we facetimed with the kids this evening and my day is complete. Blessed be God forever.
24 January 2023
Whoa, I can't believe that I was sound asleep for so many hours. I woke beautiful bright sunny day and was totally refreshed and energized. We are expecting a snowstorm beginning overnight and again for this weekend, so we went out and about running all over place. Albeit the temperature was only in the mid 30s, I was able to do an outdoor walk like a centurion, walking back and forth on the sidewalk along the strip malls. It truly makes a huge difference without the winds. Mama said that I need to pick up my pace when I walk, but I prefer to enjoy taking leisurely walk. I suppose that walking at a brisk pace is a better cardio workout if I wasn't using the elliptical. I think today was the first time we ever filled a shopping cart in a Chinese supermarket. Most of the time we just go in the store and just shop for just some fresh vegetables and a few dry good items. I'm hoping that the weather this weekend will permit Andrea and Rob to bring the kids down for a visit this weekend. We have plenty of wonderful groceries to feast on. I had time in the quite to look back and muse about my journey back to Eden. Not everything was rosy and sadly, I often stumbled or opted not to walk the narrow path. I am so grateful for our Lord grace and for how blessed I am for my family and friends to make our journey not just a bearable one, but joyful. Fried chicken, now that's what I'm talking about! It's been a long while since we had that, which is most likely a good thing. Finally, the days are being to get noticeably long.
23 January 2023
We went out to the Bolingbrook and Plainfield area to run a few errands and stopped at Angelo Caputo's on the way to Alex's. I was happy to see hamburger on sale for $3.99 a pound, so I made us hamburger peas for lunch. Naturally Nala was doing the happy dance, because I fried her is a plain hamburger patty. My day is complete, how sweet it is that our grandkids wanted to FaceTime us to say goodnight. How can my heart not melt? I was compelled to kick back and play some Pink Floyd – Time. One our friend is in a Pink Floyd Tribute Band and our friends wanted to make it a night out and go see them in a concert in St. Charles, but that is too problematic for us, because we don’t do crowds.
22 January 2023
I got a good night's rest and felt at peace when I got up this morning. There was about an inch of overnight snow on the ground and the snow continued to fall most of the day. It was a good thing that it was warm enough that there wasn't any accumulation other than on the grass and not on the sidewalk and driveway. It looks like we're good until Wednesday, before we expect another snow day in the forecast. I was surprised that Fawn had me make e-fu noodles. Yi mein is a classic Cantonese celebratory noodle dish that symbolizes longevity. Albeit Fawn had the nfl playoff games on this weekend, I only glanced couple minutes towards of each of the games, perhaps I'll show more interest in the games next Sunday. I was reading about the mass shooting in Monterey Park, California as well as the comments from the readers. There was nothing said that hasn't been said before. I don't have the solution and what gun laws that could be put into place to prevent people from using a weapon to kill other people. It just dawned on me that I don’t bother looking at shootings in Chicago anymore, so I just did an internet search and it didn’t come as a surprise to be that the headline read, “Chicago shootings: At least 28 shot, 6 fatally in gun violence”. Lord, have mercy. I guess that I given up on the city and avoid that place like a plague.
21 January 2023
“Every moment is sacred moment. Every day is a Blessing.” I couldn't have thought of a better way to start the day off than to thank God for the gift of family. How does it get better than receiving a FaceTime call from all our children while having our morning coffee? We even got a bonus call this evening from Andrea and Rob. We can't get enough of seeing and talking with the kids. Actually, we got to talk longer with Rob today than usual because Rob was watching the kids while Andrea was cooking supper. I was asked today if I celebrated Chinese New Year and I answered, "no", but that's not entirely true. We do pass out red envelopes called "hongbao" or "lai see". Growing up I remember my parents would go all out preparing Lunar New Year meals.
20 January 2023
Brr, it was really tough to motive myself to layer up and head out the door this morning to the Sam's Club to fill a prescription. How in the world did people in the distant past managed the heat of summer and the coldness of the winter is beyond me. I did my walking for the day in the Sam's Club. It's nice to have a Plus membership there. We are so blessed to have great nieces that are so mindful of us.
19 January 2023
It was drizzling this morning, so we went to the Jewel to pick up a few things and for me to get in a short indoor walk. I ended up walking almost an hour and we walked out with a full shopping cart. I’m guessing a boat load of stuff was on sale. I am grateful for our Lord’s grace, who blesses us with family and friends who surrounds us with kind words and action.
18 January 2023
The back of my thighs were a little stiff this morning. Albeit it didn't take long to work out all the stiffness, I didn't expect that at all. I'm just glad that I wasn't sore. It must have been from the long walk and over exerting myself on the elliptical. We're so happy that our baby is feeling better this morning. With covid being around, our worries are only compounded. Thanks be to God I didn't see any exterior to our home. We went grocery shopping and the price of eggs really stood out. I thought $4.29 a dozen last week was high, we paid $4.99 for a dozen today, ridiculous. The reason given for high prices for eggs is because of the bird flu last year, but one would think that the industry should have recovered from that by now. We stopped by Alex's to let Nala out so that she can do her business. Nala was happy to see Fawn brought her an apple. It is truly remarkable that it raining again this month. I just looked at the weather app and it looks like it will continue to do so overnight.
17 January 2023
"If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me" (Psalm 139: 9-10). Thanks be to God for his abiding presence. I had a good night's sleep and woke up super energized. Despite the having gloomy weather, I can tell that my spirit is lifted when I am well rested. It was way too windy to do an outdoor walk, but I able to get in a decent indoor walk that was well over an hour and a half in Whole Foods, Target and Joann. I thought my mom while at Joann when I saw all the sewing stuff. I miss my parents; they were a blessing that I highly treasure. One can ask for better parents. The howling wind was something else today. It makes a lot of loud weird creepy sounds. I'm praying the shingles and siding will be alright when I go out to inspect the exterior of our house tomorrow. I try making cod for the first time and it was a disaster. I thought that I might be able to get away without first thawing the frozen fillets, but I was clearly mistaken and should have known better. Our oldest is under the weather, it doesn't matter that she is an adult with children of her own; we will always see all our children as our babies and continue to worry.
16 January 2023
Happy birthday to our first born! It's rare that I am thrilled that it's raining, but hey, it's January. But it seems like it hasn't been that rare this month. Imagine that winter rain. The highlight of my day was doing a virtual birthday party with the kids, I love FaceTime.
15 January 2023
It was a bright sunny day and albeit the temperature was reasonable, it was deceivingly cold because of the wind. I stepped out for a walk, but it didn’t take long for me to abandon that idea. We were only out and about briefly to run a few errands and to drop off some of the fried dumplings we made yesterday to Alex. Wow, the cheapest gas price was in town at $3.559 a gallon, not good.
14 January 2023
What a joyful fun filled day we had with my brother, sister and sister-in-law. It was a lot of fun enjoying each other company making gai loong. It bought back many childhood memories, we became our parents. This was the second we had at go at making gai loong. Besides trying out a few different recipes, we made a lot of small experimental batches of dough mixtures. It's really strange how time fly when you’re having fun, before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We ended up ordering Chinese takeout and enjoyed celebrating as a family with a nice dinner. Thank be to God for the gift of each and every day. Happy birthday to my sister in eternal paradise.
13 January 2023
I'm not sure why I stayed up so late last night, just restless I guess. I was surprised to see that we got an overnight dusting of snow. I looked at the weather forecast and albeit it was below freezing at day today the weekend did looked to be little bit more promising. I know that I complain about the weather a lot, but I also rejoice in it when it’s awesome out. I need to learn to rejoice always, but that is easier said than done. Today was a good day, and I am reminded of my many blessings.
12 January 2023
Thank you Lord for this day. Hello morning, hello day. Great, I didn’t feel any soreness or stiffness this morning. I had a good night's rest and woke up fresh and got in my daily exercises before heading out. Brr, talk about contrasting days, it looks like we are back to dark harsh cold winter days with howling winds. Its funny how our minds work, we tend to view the month of December as a magical wonderland of lights and by the time January and February rolls around winter just plains sucks. I ended up take my walk indoors. Mmm, looks like, New Chinese Kitchen is our new go to Chinese takeout. The food is good and the prices are reasonable. We ran a few errands and then stopped there for a carryout to take over to Alex's for lunch, as well as bring him a quart of the soup I made last night. Whoo hoo, we got an invite from my sister to make gai loong again this weekend, Chinese fried dumplings are the bomb! We're looking so forward to spending time with my siblings and making these Cantonese fried pastries.
11 January 2023
It was absolutely a drop dead gorgeous sunny day, considering its January. Not only was the sun out for the third day in a row, it got up into the mid 50s by noon. Dang, crazy weather, crazy good that is. We were out in the Bolingbrook area and while mama was shopping, I did my walk in the Target auxiliary parking lot. I wasn't able to listen to my sacred music because of the traffic noise on Boughton Road, but I was still able to zone out and walk in solitude. Albeit I limited my time to continually moving for a solid hour, I got in a good cardio by walking, doing step ups and squats. I hope I don't stiffen up and become soar tomorrow morning. The auxiliary parking lot was next to a Burger King and when they fired up their flame boiler, the smell was intoxicating. Genesis 8:21 came to mind: And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. Chirp, chirp, I can't help but to mention that I made a huge pot of delicious cabbage silken tofu soup using pork bones.
10 January 2023
Whoo hoo, back to back sunny days! I got in most of my exercises in before we headed out to run a few errands, so completing my daily exercises was relatively easy. I prefer to do them all in the morning, but it is what it is. It's was a little warmer out than it was yesterday! Aah, much better, I was able to do well over an hour long walk wearing regular walking shoes. It doesn't get much better than doing a leisurely walk while listening to sacred music. We Praise You and Acknowledge You (Te Diem) is amongst the most beautiful song of praise, dating back from antiquity. I was bored and turned off the CFP National Championship game a little bit into the 3rd quarter. By then, it was clear to me that there was no path for even a decent showing for the remainder of the game. This game was right up there with the Vrbo Citrus Bowl. Congratulations to the back to back Georgia Bulldogs, 2022 CFP National Champions! By God’s grace, he supplies my daily breath.
9 January 2023
It was a beautiful sun filled day. I've noticed that a lot Facebook friends are jubilantly noting that we the sun finally made a showing. I could be wrong, but I don't think there is any place in town where we can see the sunrise in the horizon in town. It doesn't matter because I'm always thrilled whenever it is a sunny day, especially during the winter months. It's only during the dog days of summer when I like a few clouds in the mix. We stopped at my sister's for a short visit on the way the Oakbrook Center. I really my outdoor walk there while listening to sacred music. The temperature was in the mid 30s this morning and I was extremely comfortable wearing my new coat and hat. On the way back we stopped at the Yorktown Mall and l did an indoor mall walk there. That is my favorite indoor mall to walk in, because of the sky lights and easy listening music they pipe. It's really tough to get my daily exercises in the afternoon and is way easier to do them in the mornings. Thankfully I'm using a checklist to motivate myself to do them. Today they helped us install chromecast over the phone. Whoo hoo, now I can cast the CFP Championship off my tablet to the flat screen in the family room! We are so blessed to have mindful children who call us every day. Anyway, game time... go dawgs!
8 January 2023
Since I was up pre dawn, I was hoping to see a beautiful sunrise. But all I saw was a dreary overcast. It wasn't until the kids and grandkids came and my demeanor changed because they tend to brightened up my day with their joyfulness. We didn't do the big breakfast thing and just went with scrambled eggs, hash browns and breakfast sausage links. But we did feast over lunch. I made pork chops and mama made signature spaghetti with meat sauce. It is a traditional to celebrate family with our Lord's bounty at the table. We were all fired up about the Hot Chocolate Bar package kit with all the goodies, but the Ghirardelli double chocolate wasn't all that. Everyone agreed that Swiss Miss is far better. Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob, Rob J. I know I tend to only mention my son-in-law whenever he comes and visits and gives my my much needed neck and shoulder massage. I could be mistaken, but I don't believe that I take his love and helpfulness for granted. He is everything I hope for our daughter and the family. I'm dying, is it Monday yet? Rob and Andrea left with kids around two, so I turned on the Bills vs Patriot game. Within a few minutes, all I saw was back of my eyelids. Clearly, watching nfl games means its nap time. I'm guessing that, only a TCU Horned Frog fan would be betting against a SEC team. Either way, I think it will be heck of a National Championship game. Will it be back to back championships for a badass team or will it have a fairy tale storybook ending for the Cinderella team? Happy haircut! I agree with all the folk who say that getting a haircut makes you feel better. Thanks be to God for the gift of family.
7 January 2023
"O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption" (Psalm 130:7). How can our hope not be with our Lord? God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Among my morning blessings is getting to say first thing is, "good morning darling!" I barely got a sip of my morning coffee before heading out to the grocery store and had to finish it when we got back, to beat the weekend crowd. We got a call this morning from Andrea and the grandkids that they were coming down tomorrow and needed a few groceries items to make a pot of her pasta sauce. After finishing our coffee we loaded up the car and went to my sister-in-law's for a brief visit and drop off gifts. I was nice to catch up chat with her and our nephew. Going to bed early so that I can be fresh and well rested for prime time with the kids and grands. Today was a rich and precious gift from God filled with his grace and mercies.
6 January 2023
Thank you Lord for the blessings of the day. One of the first things I read was a post from a Facebook friend of mind is still not feeling well in his third bout with covid-19. Abounding prayers for his health and recovery. Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities and stretch forth the hand of Your majesty to heal and defend us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. I googled read a few articles about how repeat covid infections contributes to adverse health conditions to multiple organ systems. Who really knows what is going on with covid? At times, I think that I am overly cautious and other times, I think folks take getting the coronavirus too lightly. We went to Alex's to drop off some of the pork patty we set aside for him. Mama love to bring her fruits like blueberries and apples. I really don't care to be out in the cold, but when the road conditions are ok, I think it it is better to get out briefly rather than to stay cooped up indoors all day. Oh how I long for late spring and early meteorological summer days.
5 January 2023
I woke up this morning like I should every morning, with a grateful heart. Being thankful from the get go and taking nothing for granted and embracing the precious gift of life. Thanks be to God. I shook my head when I looked out the window and saw that we got overnight snow, but when I looked out window downstairs, I was relieved that there was only about a quarter inch of snow on the rooftops, grass, and cars that were parked in the driveways. The snow on the driveways and sidewalks was melted. I put a piece of pork patty in my oatmeal with a dash of hot sauce this morning, so savory good. I took the time to salt just in case it got slick out because the temperature was hovering slightly above freezing. We went out briefly to return a few things to Target and Kohl's, so I was able to get in decent walk. Soo left a few fresh lemons at Alex's, so I took it have been drinking having my green tea with it all week and it has been growing on me. I drink it with every now and then with lemon juice concentrate, but there is no comparison. I'm feeling more energetic now with exercising again, so foolish to not to do it routinely.
4 January 2023
It feels good to be back to going to bed early and waking up at a reasonable time energized. I have been slacking off during the holidays and have been doing whatever exercises whenever; today I went back to using my daily stretches and exercise checklist. I think the list includes a good balance on all the basic needed to tone up. I was thinking about buying an electric hot water kettle like the one auntie Soo gifted Alex for Christmas, because I saw how fast it brings water to a boil. But while I was making a pot of oatmeal this morning, I thought it was nice how the house warmed up by the stovetop. We went out to run a few errands and to pick up a few grocery items. I was a little nippy and require wearing full winter apparel. I’m sure that my daughter and son-in-law will be glad to know that I really appreciate the warm and comfortable winter hat that they gifted me. I especially like the insulated ear flap. I’m trying to cut back about talking about food but how can I not talk about the tasty Cantonese steamed minced pork patty (yuhk béng) that I made us for dinner? I made it with minced and grounded pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, green onions and shiitake mushrooms. I read the following is excerpt from Jørgen Hansen's "Humanität" (Humanity), 1914. It was a memoir from 1944, reporting on Christmas 1915 and his experience of fraternization with French troops on December 29, 1915. What struck me most was the oxymoron of humanity in mist of the evil of war. Prayers for government leaders, so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by Godliness and dignity.
3 January 2023
I woke up in the wee hours to the sound of pouring rain, the word "yes" came to mind. I wasn't totally happy, but rain in January is good thing and a heck of a lot better than snow. Albeit was a grayish gloom and doom cloud filled day, I consider it was nice day that didn't require a heavy winter coat to stay warm. All I needed to wear was a thermal that was designed for layering and a Dickies work jacket, because it made it into the low 50s. We went to the Aurora Outlet Mall and to the Geneva Commons. It has been a while since I been able to do a nice leisurely outdoor walk. It is stupid how I let some small things bother me. I was annoyed at something said last night but I won't go in to details. But I am reminded about how truly grateful I am for police officers, firefighters and our men and women serving in the military. Prayers for their family and for their safety. May the Lord watch over us and keep us.
2 January 2023
We got up early and when to Alex's to spend the day celebrating Andrea's birthday. It's isn't clear why we are doing this a couple of weeks early, but hey, why not! We celebrated with good eats. When it came time for ice cream and cake, Peyton was a hoot. I asked her if I could have some of her ice cream and her shook her head no and held her mini cone far away from me as she could. My heart melted when I asked a second time with a please and she held the ice cream toward me. I asked which he liked better, summer or winter? He said summer, because winter is too cold and that he likes summer more because he liked going to a certain water park, but I forgot the name of it. I love how he was able to elaborate on details about what he liked about the water park. I jokingly told him that the water park sounded like a lot of fun and that I wish afford to go. He said that it was and not to worry about the money, because he had some money. That really touched me. It was like my birthday when Rob gave me an unsolicited neck and shoulder massage. Congratulations to the Mississippi State Bulldogs, ReliaQuest Champions and to LSU Tigers, Citrus Bowl Champions! The game against the Fighting Illini was a tie low scoring defensive game and the Boilermakers were no match against the Tigers. Thanks be to God for this day.
1 January 2023
Happy New Year! Wow, it was a major undertaking to merge my two 2022 journal pages into a single page yesterday. I do that because the file gets too large and becomes very slow difficult to edit and update. But that turns out to be a daunting task to merge the two files at the end of the year. I’ll need to be more terse in my stream of consciousness writing this year to avoid doing this again. I’ll also need to stop talking about the same o same o day in and day out. I ODed on three bowl games and food yesterday. Just as I predicted, #5 Alabama owned #9 Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl was a high scoring close game, congratulations to the TCU Horned Frogs. The third game I watched was the Peach Bowl that turned out to be another close high scoring game. I only watched the first half of the game before tiring out. I watched the second half early this morning. Congratulations to The Georgia Bulldogs. Mmm, the inch thick porterhouse steak for lunch with a side of white steamed rice was a fine meal. We're going to Alex's tomorrow, so I made fried rice for the kids with some of steak we set aside. I also made three servings vermicelli noodles and had one for our supper. I added curry to mine and made it into a Singapore noodle dish. Also made Cantonese pan fried noodles for Isaac and Peyton. I can't wait to see the kids and our grandkids again. Twice in less than a week, how awesome is that. Got to go to bed, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.
Happy New Year! Wow, it was a major undertaking to merge my two 2022 journal pages into a single page yesterday. I do that because the file gets too large and becomes very slow difficult to edit and update. But that turns out to be a daunting task to merge the two files at the end of the year. I’ll need to be more terse in my stream of consciousness writing this year to avoid doing this again. I’ll also need to stop talking about the same o same o day in and day out. I ODed on three bowl games and food yesterday. Just as I predicted, #5 Alabama owned #9 Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl was a high scoring close game, congratulations to the TCU Horned Frogs. The third game I watched was the Peach Bowl that turned out to be another close high scoring game. I only watched the first half of the game before tiring out. I watched the second half early this morning. Congratulations to The Georgia Bulldogs. Mmm, the inch thick porterhouse steak for lunch with a side of white steamed rice was a fine meal. We're going to Alex's tomorrow, so I made fried rice for the kids with some of steak we set aside. I also made three servings vermicelli noodles and had one for our supper. I added curry to mine and made it into a Singapore noodle dish. Also made Cantonese pan fried noodles for Isaac and Peyton. I can't wait to see the kids and our grandkids again. Twice in less than a week, how awesome is that. Got to go to bed, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.
