Last Thursday, I bought a 1971 MGB GT, British racing green with overdrive and Rostyle steel wheels.

I drove the MGB GT from the seller's house to my house, then my wife Jane drove it back. She told me that I'd like driving her Taurus to work. It was strange driving back home in my Toyota Solara as the only thing we could hear were the tires. There seems to be a lot of mechanical noise produced by the MGB GT. On Saturday, we took a nice drive to Oxnard, then down Highway 1. We ate at a nice little place called the Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market and Patio Cafe. The prices are good and the fish is fresh and the ocean was a deeper blue than usual.

The car does need some work but it has been fun for my wife and I these last few days. Chuck said that I'd get to be very close with All Car Parts Ltd in Canoga Park, CA and I'm already getting to know them. The MG mechanic Darrin that I'd like to bring the car to was on vacation but will be back Monday. Since the car sat for a long time, I think it should get a major maintenance. We did discover that the floorboard can get very warm after driving a while. I may buy a MGB heat shield which is supposed to lower the temperature of the floorboard by about 30°F, making the car more comfortable to drive.

When a co-worker asked why I'd buy a car that leaks oil, with lights that only work in daylight and windshield wipers that don't work when it rains, I told her, “It's my mid-life crisis”, which seemed to satisfy her curiosity. I'm not sure why that explained it just as when people ask me about my name and I tell them that my mom is an artist. They go okay, and don't ask for more information, it just seems to explain it.

Last month my family and I took a vacation. We visited my wife's sister and brother in law. My son picked us up from the Atlanta airport and with my Garmin GPS for directions, we drove to our sister and brother in law's new house in Alabama. As we came up the driveway we glimpsed their new home.

The house is big, much bigger than they thought it would be from looking at the plans. It is a beautiful home and they are gracious hosts. They live on a small hill right next to the lake.

Continue Reading "I Finally Took a Vacation in 2008..."

My land line cost around $60.00USD a month and I was tired of paying that much money for a service we rarely used. We wanted a "family" phone but didn't want to pay what we had been paying. I have been using Skype on my computer for about three years and have been happy with the improved quality of the service, so we decided to go with Skype. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a Netgear Skype phone.

The Skype web site is pretty easy to use if you're going to download their software or purchase Skype Out. However, if you want to find out what you need to setup a Skype phone, you're in trouble. The information is very difficult to find. I finally bought Skype Pro for $36.00USD that gave me a $30.00USD credit for Skype In. I bought Skype In with the credit for $30.00USD and finally bought Skype Out for $29.95USD for a total of $95.95USD for a year of phone service.

The service is very good with excellent voice quality. I can't make 911 calls, but I can use my Cell Phone if I need to make a 911 call. So far the only problem I've had is accidentally hitting the off button when on a call.

My grandma Ethel contracted breast cancer in the 1970's. She decided that she wanted to use natural healing methods to cure the cancer and went to Mexico to get Laitril treatments. When she finally came home it was too late because the cancer had spread throughout her body. I visited her three weeks before she died. She faded in and out of consciousness while I talked with her. The problem is that she could have lived longer if she had surgery instead of going to Mexico.

With that in mind, I'm taking Natalie Jost's encouragement to go Pink for October. In October this site will be very pink. I decided that I wanted to retain the current theme, but change the color to pink.

Continue Reading "Pink for October 2006..."

On October 27^th of this year my car was broken into in front of my home. The thief left a beer bottle and took the leather jacket my wife gave to me as a Christmas present last year, my digital camera, iPod, Motorola Blue Tooth headset, and my check book. My check book contained a few checks, department store credit cards, health insurance cards and my Social Security card.

I called my credit union and put a stop payment on the checks but I had forgotten about the store credit cards. They charged a bunch of stuff at Robinsons-May including gift cards. Then they had Robinsons-May pay for the bill with an electronic check from my checking account. Robinsons-May has not been very helpful. I did get my card canceled but they did not return the funds to my checking account. I contacted my Credit Union who was very helpful and at least they are investigating the unauthorized transaction and the funds have been returned to my checking account.

We now park our cars in the driveway. Even in a nice neighborhood bad things can happen, so don't leave anything out in the open in your car as it may be too much for some people to ignore. When I was a child (not that long ago, I'm only 49), we never locked the doors to our home. Now it sometimes seems that we have to live in a fortress.

We've moved into our home and it is very nice. It cost a lot more than I thought with the termite damage and the additional plumbing to the guest room attached to the garage, but it was well worth it. I'm very happy with the result. We have a beautiful home that is warm and comfortable. We love having company and we're looking forward to the new year and all the changes it will bring.

As soon as I get another camera, I'll post some pictures.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and give you wisdom.

The contractor for our remodel, Bob Martin had moved from a house to a condo and felt that it would be better if his dog lived where he could run around. So welcome Yogi to our house. He is absolutely the friendliest dog I have ever met. It's been around 40 years since I've had a dog, so this is new to me. This little dog has a lot of love to give and I'm glad he's a part of our family.

After my wife and I got married last August, we decided to move into a rental property that we owned. It has been rented for at least 15 years, the last ten years to the tenants who just left. They are out of the house but still have property in the garage and back yard and we hope that it'll be gone soon.

We have now started the process of remodeling. The architect and contractor have been to the house, a design is being worked on and we should start pretty soon. As you can see the front of the house has a lot of foliage in front of it, so much that you can't even see the front of the house from the street.

I took this picture from the front yard moving back as far as I could, it's pretty overgrown.

There's a lot of work to be done. The house is going to be gutted, doors are going to be moved, wood floors are going to be put in, and lot and lots of paint. The adventure begins and we hope to move in by mid-July 2005.

I was married on August 7^th, 2004 and it's wonderful! Please take a look at the wedding photos, we had a great time.

I know it's been a long time since I last posted. I've been busy preparing for marriage. In preparation, my fiance and I have been reading Helping You Start Again by Bobb and Cheryl Biehl. It has been great! Here's a start.

If you ask enough of the right questions before you remarry, your new marriage will start on a much more solid foundation.

The questions my fiance and I have read from this book have stimulated conversation between the two of us and have caused us to think of things we would never have thought. I've provided just a sample of questions out of the first three sections.

Financial

1. If we inherited a million dollars, what would you want to do with it?
2. What percent of our income would we give to the church we attend? Why? What percent of our income should we give to charitable organizations?
3. How much income would you like us to make (together) this next year?

Marriage and Family

1. What are some activities that you'd like us to do together?
2. How do you best communicate your feelings about something?
3. When we disagree how should we settle it? How did your parents settle their disagreements

Personal Growth

1. If you could sit and chat with any person in the world, with whom would you talk? What three questions would you ask that person?
2. What do you consider your three greatest strengths? What is your single greatest strength?
3. A year from today, in what three to five areas of your life would you most like to be stronger than you are now?

The other four sections are Physical, Professional, Social, and Spiritual. I'll provide more questions later. This book has been replaced by Getting to "Really Know" Your Life-Mate-to-Be and can be found at Master Planning Group International. Check out some of the other titles, they look good. Maybe you to can write a book...

I took my fiance to see my Mom. She lives in Oakhurst which was beautiful. There was snow, the air was clear and we had a good time. In the picture my Mom took I think I look like a racoon. Jane looks great! She actually likes my crazy family a lot.

This is the second marriage for both of us. Jane is a widow and I was divorced June 1996. We both have children and we are learning how to blend our two families together. Dr. Dobson of Focus on the Family has said that only one in five blended families succeed. I hope we succeed. We have already taken pre-married's class at the church we both go to and are in counseling with a pastor who is familiar with blended family issues. I really want our marriage to succeed.

It took me a long time to discover Jane. I have been careful and thoughtful in the process of choosing a mate for life. I have not been swayed by passion (maybe just a little bit) or just a desire to be married. This may seem cold but I don't want to experience the failure and pain of divorce a second time. It wasn't good for me and it wouldn't be good for Jane. If you are planning to get married, I heartily recommend taking pre-married's classes as they are very helpful and will help you to preserve your marriage.

January 3, 2004

I'm so thankful this year. God has supplied my needs. I've been healthy and have finally reduced my debt down to one bill. No more credit card bills. Yeah! I received a promotion at work and I find work enjoyable. My two boys are doing well and growing way too fast.

May the Lord bless and keep this season.

Beside the rather nebulous feeling of love, which from talking to long time married couples is not always there. I believe that singles should think of marriage because that's how God designed us.

Gen. 2:18 And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."

From the commentary:

2:18 A helper indicates that Adam's strength for all he was called to be and do was inadequeate in itself. Comparable to him denotes complementarity. The needed help is for daily work, procreation, and mutual support through companionship.

Gen. 2:24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

From the commentary:

2:24 Leave connotes a priority change on the part of the husband. Be joined has the idea of both passion and permanence. One flesh carries a number of implications, including sexual union, child conception, spiritual and emotional intimacy, and showing each other the same respect shown other close kin, such as one's parents and simblings. This is enhanced in the NT where it is clear that Christian mates are also each other's brother and sister.

From my thoughts:

It's interesting to me that after five days of creation "God saw that it was good" ^{Gen. 1:21b}, but after creating man "It is not good that man should be alone". It's interesting that after creating man He said that is was "not good", but after creating woman as man's partner the Word says "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good." ^{Gen 1:31a}

It was good before man was made, not good after man was made and very good after woman was made. I don't think that we were made to be single, but that we are made for companionship.

Eccl. 4:9-12

Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls.
For he has no one to help him up.
Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.