A
BBtJ.Org
Site

Calendar

Newsletters

Journals

Virginia's Views

Mark's Musings

Reviews

Ministry
Stuff

Lawson

Rivkah

Art &
Prose

About Us

Links

HomePage
Bring Back the Joy --- B B t J . O r g

Updates for 2005Q1 can be found in   http://www.bolzern.org/journals/vj2005Q1.html

Updates for 2004Q4 appear below with the latest information at the top.

Friday, December 31, 2004, 7:29 am
The last day of the year!  Mark and I are taking the next couple of days off to enjoy being with each other.  So I don't plan to get on the computer.  Talk to you again next year!!!!

Thursday, December 30, 2004, 8:26 pm
Had a nice day.  Got another load of laundry done.  Went on my Thursday morning walk to see my friend at the Chamber of Commerce, only to find it closed for the holiday.  Hope Jack went somewhere.  I headed over to Gayle's to find out if they'd gotten back and found some other friends with her.  So that was neat to get to socialize a little on a weekday.  Gayle and Joseph's daughter Shayla who is visiting came over later for a short visit.  Gayle wanted to show Shayla the building so when they talk/write, she can picture it.  I thought that was a good idea, especially since we weren't having a service tonight.

Normally The Gathering Place has a service on Thursday evenings.  They decided to cancel it for tonight and have a New Year's Eve service instead.  Don't know how many people will be there since many probably already have plans for tomorrow evening.  

Gerald Minor and his children didn't get the phone call so showed up for services.  I went outside when I saw a car slowly driving past--figured it might be someone wondering why the building was dark.  So we decided to go inside and talk for a while. That was nice; I really enjoyed getting better acquainted with them.  And we got to have a good discussion about various scriptures--it was actually a pretty good Bible Study.

Chris recorded the Christmas Program; Mark fixed a file so you can click and listen to my speech, What Christmas Means to Me in the mp3 format.

Wednesday, December 29, 2004, 6:30 pm
We had a nice evening with Jamie and Chris.  Jamie fixed a wonderful lasagna (which I don't do) and sent the leftovers home with us.  I'm looking forward to the repeat meal tonight.  It was nice to relax with friends with whom we work.  I showed Chris some of the materials I've been working on for the brochure, newsletter, etc. for OFA.  We also did some preliminary planning for our next work party.  

Today was a good day.  I did some more work on my various projects and then took a nap.  I do pretty well and don't have to nap too often.  I've noticed that my naps are shorter.  We got up early yesterday and then didn't go to bed until after midnight.  We  then took a long walk over to the Hintons and several other places around town.  We calculated that our errands probably covered 3-4 miles.  I dare say we will sleep pretty well tonight.  We've been having a warm spell and it was wonderful outside.  We got hot in our jackets and had to take them off.

Tuesday, December 28, 2004, 7:30 am
Just came in from my morning walk.  I zig-zagged around the community today.  Saw that our friends, the Victorys still aren't back (no car in the driveway).  Then I went to search for a church that was listed in the newspaper list of churches.  Turns out to be an empty building now owned by the Hintons.  So the church list isn't correct.  The sunrises have been prettier this winter than they were in the fall.  We're having more early morning clouds which seem to contribute to how the sunrise does its thing.

This evening we've been invited to dinner at the Chris and Jamie Pritchard's house in Cleveland which is the next town south of Hominy.  Although I should do a yahoo maps search, I have a pretty good idea where it is from Jamie's description.  Jamie is planning lasagna which is one of Mark's favorites.  I enjoy it when I do eat it but it isn't something I make.   My mother never made it so I didn't grow up with it--but then I make other dishes that she didn't, so I guess that theory isn't correct.  

We're having a warm spell.  I talked to Daddy this morning.  In Lubbock, TX it was 33 degrees whereas it was 41 here.  It was nice to be able to wear my lighter jacket instead of my ski coat.  I couldn't find my hat this morning so I wore my sun hat to put something on my head.  That may have been corny but it worked; I only saw a few people anyway.  The locals seem to hibernate during the winter.  When I was a child, I never would have thought that someday I'd think 41 degrees was invigorating.  After Alaska and Colorado temperatures, anything above freezing isn't too bad.

Monday, December 27, 2004, 8:20 pm
I've been working on the mailing list for Outreach for America.  After Thanksgiving, Cindy gave me copies of various address lists, envelopes, etc. that she had dug up for me.  I'm finally getting around to verifying if they are already in the list--or not--which is what the majority turned out to be.  So my eyes are crossing from staring at various fonts and handwriting.  I have to say that I pulled out the bifocals that I usually don't wear.  That's mostly what I've been doing today.  Our neighbors were moving today so Mark helped carry some boxes.

Since we don't yet have a high speed internet line into the building, Mark had strung a cable across from our satellite in through a window.  Today, he did some additional cabling so the cable comes into our RV through a hole in the bottom rather than through our window.  Hopefully, we'll be able to get the building connected through a regular service shortly.  We plan to re-start the computer classes next week so need web access.

Our weather has turned warmer again.  So Mark dumped our sewer this afternoon.  I will plan to cut his hair in the next couple of days.  We always do it outside.  50 degrees is about the coldest we can do it.    

Saturday, December 25, 2004, 11:43 am
Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday!!!!

We're enjoying relaxing a little.  Yesterday evening when Mark stopped for fuel, I ran over to the video store and got some movies.  We haven't seen any movies in months so thought we could do that.

The good news is that I'm down to the book of Malachi in my Bible reading for the year--that will complete reading it through once again.  I hope to finish that up later today.

I've also been reading The Walk of the Spirit--The Walk of Power : The Vital Role of Praying in Tongues by Dave Roberson.  I do plan to review this book but wanted to go ahead to let those of you who wish to read it to do so. His overall premise that tongues is a two-way communication between God and man; this is commonly understood. He does provide many insights that I have never seen anywhere else. There are some religious traditions in this book used as premise which should probably be questioned further; I'll identify these when I do my review. Roberson does have a printed edition of the book but also provides free copies in pdf files.   Clicking on the link will open the file that we have added to our web site provided you have a pdf viewer installed (most people do).

Friday, December 24, 2004, 9:30 pm
Another long day.  We got up with the idea of doing errands (a really bright idea on Christmas Eve) while taking our diesel truck for a drive.  It wouldn't start.  So we played around for a while with that, trying to jump it.  Finally gave up and took the Tracker since we had to go to a business that was closing at noon in Oilton.  Did have a nice drive and the Tracker did finally warm up in the 18 degree weather.  Then drove back to Sand Springs so we could go to Cheapo Depo and (yes) Walmart.  I've been breaking my resolution to not go in stores until the new year.  Mark wanted to see if they had water hoses (a special kind for potable water); eventually we'll want to order a replacement for the one that broke the other night.  And one of our space heaters conked out yesterday; we found the current model of the same one so were happy.  As long as we were there, I figured I might as well look for a few things.  We decided to be unstressed and just go with the flow like we had all the time in the world and it didn't matter if we found what we were looking for.  We also loaded our arms rather than pushing a cart through the rat race.

When we got back, it had warmed up a little.  It hasn't gotten above freezing for the last two days but is supposed to go above it tomorrow.  Mark did get the truck started so we took off in it.  Drove up to Pawhuska, found the free RV dump at the community center.  We'd wanted to scout that out in case we ever need it.  On our way back, we did a curiosity thing and walked into the local casino.  We've been seeing the ads in the newspaper and wondered where it was.  It's not directly on the road.  We were there all of five minutes, maybe, talked to the security guy, walked around the room to see what there was to see.  Now we've seen it.  Hopefully our coats will air out in the near future.
 
Thursday, December 23, 2004, 11:47 pm
Bedtime.  Snore. It's been a long week.  And now Mark has been coping with frozen hoses because I turned the water off accidentally a while ago.  He hauled them into the building where it is warmer so they'd thaw.  Then we brought them back out and hooked them up again.   The expensive water hose ended up with a hole in it--now we'll have to figure out replacing that which won't be easy. This isn't something we can just slap Duck Tape on for a fix.

This evening was the Christmas Program at OFA.  I have to say I despaired the other day when we had practice.  Everything was so disorganized, the children were unruly and the singers couldn't remember the words.  I believe actors say that if the dress rehearsal goes poorly, then the real performance will be good.  I guess that's what happened.  There were some glitches but overall it went fairly smoothly.  We only had a couple of guests from the community.  My friends from Wynona didn't get to come; Ron's back went out so he isn't functioning real well right now.  Hopefully he'll feel better soon.

I don't know how much I've said about the program.  When asking for volunteers to sign up to do the program, Dave had said the program should give the meaning of Christmas.  So I volunteered to do a "What Christmas means to me" speech.  Some of you know that I didn't grow up celebrating Christmas.  The denomination to which I belonged believed in celebrating the Old Testament holy days.  (They had a major doctrinal shift a few years ago, tossed out most of what I believed all my life and have gone with mainstream religion.)  So it's been an interesting few years, sorting out what I believe.  Christmas to me is about Christ.  We wouldn't have this special day if He hadn't come to earth.  Although I spoke from an outline, you can read the prepared speech, What Christmas Means to Me in the Virginia's Views section.  At the beginning I said I started writing down all the things I could/should say--then I pulled out a big sheaf of papers (sermon notes, thanks, Pastor Lawson) I'd taped together and let it dangle.  They applauded when I said I had decided not to talk all night but to speak a few minutes from the heart.

Betty gave me a nice compliment.  She said that she liked my speech--that I said what she would have wanted to say if she'd been giving it.  As I greatly respect Betty, I felt honored that she thought we were of like minds on the topic.

My speech was the last thing on the program.  Then they had some "congregational songs" and Dave played a few songs while the women went off to the cafe to get the food organized.  Jamie was sent to buy beverages.  I changed shoes and ran over to the bus to get the bean dip.  It went over well although enough is left for us to enjoy for a couple of meals.  I'll need to go buy tortillas so we can have bean burritos.

The white elephant gift exchange went well.  Very few items were what I'd call "white elephants."  I brought one.  It was a toy that I'd been waiting for months to have an appropriate occasion to pass it on--the Hintons 17 year old son got it and had fun goofing around without big expectations.  A couple of the candles and some little wooden boxes got "taken away."  I got a tablet of writing paper so I was happy.  Cindy had decreed that one should spend a dollar or less.  My guess is that people frequented re-sale shops.  There are a number of those in the area.

Thursday, December 23, 2004, 9:23 am
Yesterday was our big day.  We got up in the morning and headed over to Christ's Cupboard.  The Ministerial Alliance sponsors that--it's like a food pantry for emergency needs.  One can get help up to six times per year.  And then they do a Christmas basket which I think was super generous.  People didn't just get food for one meal (like a turkey and all the trimmings).  They gave beans, rice,  potatoes, apples, flour, sugar, oil and other assorted goodies.  Mark and I could probably eat for a month on what they were giving away to 2 people families.  About the only thing that was missing was eggs and salad fixings--guess those were considered too perishable.

I took pictures of the staff working.  The newspaper photographer showed up at the end and then her battery died.  Mark put our pictures on a CD and I walked it over to the paper this afternoon.  It'll be interesting to see if they use any of the pictures I took.

After finishing there, we went to the local propane place and got to 40lb propane tank (plus propane).  With this cold spell, we figured we'd better not risk running out of fuel to run the furnace.  It's expected to get down to 8 degrees tonight.  Last night was cold but we were toasty and our water didn't freeze, fortunately.

We had a few hours before we were to leave for the Davis Correctional Facility in Holdenville.  That's pretty much due south of us a bunch of miles.  The heater didn't work on the bus so Dave thought he was going to have to leave some of us behind by just taking the van with 6 people plus equipment stuffed in.  Then Jamie Pritchard showed up and said she'd be willing to drive.  So we hopped in with her and we picked up Chris Cross who'd been left behind.  So we had a good time talking.

The activity turned out to be pretty low key and not too stressful.  Dave introduced the members of the team; we were given the opportunity to give a brief testimony.  Then he alternately sang and talked.  Sandra sang a couple of songs and then Catrina and Irenea joined her for a few more.  Catrina and Irenea did Silent Night as practice for the tonight's Christmas program.  Dave ended with an "alter call" and then there were a few minutes where the guys could greet us or ask for prayer.  It was 17 degrees when we left Holdenville.  Jamie asked Mark to drive home since the ice had only gotten worse.  It was only bad for about 20 miles although there were patches on the road where one needed to be watchful.

Tuesday, December 21, 2004, 2:59 pm
We've had a busy couple of days.  Sunday afternoon, Mark tackled the task of trying to get the mouse out of the windshield washer fluid on the truck.  There's no cap; guess it was looking for water and fell in. We discovered this several months ago but the way the reservoir was built, there's no way to take it out or suck it out.  Well, we went ahead and let it disintigrate in there, while not knowing what to do.

We've been cleaning carpets with our big wet/dry vacuum.  I did get that done. Mark finally came up with some smaller tubing which he attached to the vacuum cleaner hose and he poured water in bunches of times and sucked everything that would come out.  I thought he was quite creative.  But it wouldn't have worked while the mouse was still in one piece.  Gross....  We throughly washed the vacuum cleaner out.

Sunday evening was exciting.  Our friends RoseAnna and Leonard Ledage were in Lubbock for her nephew's graduation from Texas Tech.  Julia and I went to college with RoseAnna.  They'd wanted to go by Amarillo but the O'Dells were in California this past weekend.  So they called me to see if they could swing by here for an hour as they passed through.  I was thrilled that she cared enough to take a detour by Hominy.  They were headed to Kansas City but winding through the state on country roads isn't the best of travels.  It was great to see her again.  They unexpectedly took a kitten home with them.  A kitten was wondering around; it had just shown up that day and none of us had taken it in.  RoseAnna proceeded to fall in love with it.  So, with our assurance that it was a stray cat, they took it home with them.  I hope they made the trip okay with it.

We started one project yesterday.  We've been needing to work on sorting out our storage.  I decided to make bread yesterday morning and realized I was out of sugar.  You know you put a little sugar in to help the yeast rise.  So we started the task of getting things out so we could get to the sugar.  (We still have large containers of sugar, salt, etc. left over from the house.) But also, we discussed that there were some things that we had in there that probably shouldn't freeze.  Both of us were tired once we got the cab of the truck excavated and rearranged.  I did manage to eliminate a few boxes.  Now we need to start on the things in the back part of the truck.  That will be a big job.

One positive thing about our project yesterday was that we figured out the seats in the truck do recline.  Mark hadn't previously found the mechanism which was sort of hidden by a bulky seat belt thing.

I went to the grocery store this morning and stocked up on food and got things I needed for the OFA party Thursday night and Saturday for dinner at the Hintons.  Tomorrow is the evening we go to Holdenville Prison.  Dave said mostly we'll be listening to him preach.  However, there is supposed to be some one-on-one prayer time.  I'm hoping I can sleep some on the bus.
 
Sunday, December 19, 2004, 7:24 am
Not too many more days of 2004 left!  Yesterday was a full day.  There was an OFA work party which was supposed to start at 8:00 am.  Mark and I were there.  But most people rolled in mid-morning.  Cindy served lunch at the house about 2 pm.  The guys put up insulation.  So maybe it will be warmer at future activities.  Most of the women did cleaning.  Cindy had given me more information for the mailing list so mostly I worked on that.  Right now that not something we can assign others to do.

We didn't get any further on digging up the sewer line so to see if we can hook into it.  Cold weather is expected this next week.  Seems like there is one hindrance after another to doing something about hookups for us.  I don't want to blame it all on the devil but it's frustrating to us when promises keep falling through.  This time the digging equipment wasn't available after all.

Everything we do here is an adventure.  We met at 4:00 pm to leave for the Cowboys for Christ meeting in Nowata, OK.  All of us were ready to go--then the bus wouldn't start.  They pulled out the tractor (truck) and jumped it.  That was a sight.  Then we drove the hour (or whatever it was) to the activity.  We arrived about 6 pm before anyone else.  No lights!  Somebody finally did figure out turning on the lights--but not before most of us had used the outhouse in the dark.

We'd been told food started at 6:30.  The meeting was in an old schoolhouse with handmade benches.  The "writing tables" were boards on hinges that were let down (and held up by ropes from the back of the bench ahead.  It was so quaint. While waiting for others to show up, our group sat down and played "Name that Tune" while Dave played.  I wasn't quick enough to shout out titles to the few songs I did recognize.  I finally just shouted out Row, Row, Row your Boat before Dave got going on a song.  So he gave me a point and played it.

Gayle brought her crocheting along; she's making a baby blanket for a grandchild which is to be born any day now.  Arthritis makes finger activities rather slow so I did a couple of rows for her while we waited.  Fortunately, the one stitch she knows how to make is also the one of the three stitches I know how to make.  A friend sent me a pattern for a poncho; I'm hoping to tackle that some time this spring.

A friend from college is to come by with her husband this evening.  RoseAnna and Leonard have been to Lubbock.  Her nephew is graduating from Texas Tech and they hadn't seen sister Trisha's new house in the Fort Worth metro area.  RosaAnna was in my sister's class at college and was friends with my sister Julia and Ada (a long time friend of ours).  I was friends by association; then RoseAnna and I were both single for awhile which gave us common ground.  I'm excited that she wants to take the time to come visit as they head to Kansas City where other relatives live and then back to New York State.  

Julia and Sam left yesterday to drive to California to help Karen move back to Texas.  She's finished the classes she was taking this fall.  She had finished her undergraduate degree and was continuing with some education and music courses.    She's decided to get her Masters degree in Texas so she'll be closer to home.  The O'Dells hope to be home by Wednesday.  Please pray for their safety during this drive and moving stuff.

Friday, December 17, 2004, 5:12 am
Our friend Gregg Grobe's mother has finally been diagnosed as having cancer.  She has a growth inside her face.  I don't know why it's taken so long to figure it out.  But the bottom line is that they are expecting her to die.  Gregg represented the family to start making arrangements so it will be easier when the time comes.  

I sympathize with that since we had to do it all at once for Mark's mother.  She was an organized woman; if she hadn't suddenly passed on, I believe she would have had funeral arrangements made as well.  At least she specified burial in her will so we didn't have any burial vs cremation arguments and fortunately it was warm enough they were still doing burials in Anchorage.  (I never knew that if people up there die during winter, one must either opt for cremation or store the body until the ground thaws.)

I feel for Gregg and Sarah and pray they can be comforted and help the family through this time.

On a less morbid note, Jamie Pritchard confirmed that they wanted to have us over to dinner sometime in the next two weeks and I should look at our calendar and come up with a couple of dates that would be good for us and then we'll compare notes to settle on a day.  That's a nice activity for which to plan.  Next week is going to be pretty busy so I think we'll probably go for the week between Christmas and New Years.

Thursday, December 16, 2004, 8:30 am
 It's been a busy week.  The Hinton's invited us out for fellowship Monday evening.  Tuesday we went to the Ministerial Alliance meeting.  I also did some laundry that day.  It takes a while when doing laundry one load at a time.  I wanted to wash the "rug" we use just inside our door.  When we have rain, it gets pretty dirty.

Wednesday, the ministry had a morning meeting for leadership that lasted into the afternoon.  It's time to make some plans for the coming year and what we need to do to really get the ministry organized--from being a family ministry to something larger.  (Cindy is to work on a year end newsletter--then Mark and I will probably do future ones and train staff to help.)  After that meeting we stood around talking over some things with Chris who is kind of a general manager.  I finally dragged the guys back to our house for a late lunch before I totally faded away.  Once Chris left, I took a nap, getting up in time to take a walk and then get to another meeting for the general membership.

This evening was Praise & Worship.  Falecia and her brother, David, were having their mutual birthday today.  We were missing a few people.  Howard's mother is in the hospital; Chris had to work.  We just pray for everyone's safety, especially in this holiday season.

I've been blessed with gifts lately.  Rachel Hinton gave me a beautiful ring.  It's got light blue stones put on in the shape of a flower in a gold setting.  She made sure I knew it wasn't "real."  Not that I expected a 14 year old to be giving me anything expensive. But I appreciated the thought and enjoy having a new bauble.  

Monday, December 13, 2004, 8:30 am
Just came back from my morning walk and am making a list of all the things I ought to do today.   There's always more that could be done than hours in the day.  I have never understood how anyone could say "there's nothing to do."  I can always entertain myself when I have free time from the necessary things like housework and business work.

Dave came back from his tour.  Now will be the time for everyone to get busy.  We have a meeting with him tomorrow to discuss the things we've been working on.  Michelle Horton is organizing a Christmas program to which the public will be invited.  Mark and I hope to have a brochure finished in time for that.  I have a rough draft sans graphics ready to take to a meeting this evening.  I'd also like to get the partnership package done.  We've discussed it but don't have the documents ready for presentation yet.

I'm pursuing my personal reading.  Some time ago I received a letter from a friend saying that she didn't believe that God speaks to people today.  Since I believe the opposite, I've been reading various books on the subject.  I'm convinced that everyone should be able to hear from God, if only they are willing to believe in Him and learn how he speaks to us. I have written a review of You can Hear the Voice of God by Steve Sampson. I'm currently reading a book by David Roberson with additional insight on the topic.  I plan to review that at a later date.

Sunday, December 12, 2004, 1:35 pm
Yesterday evening we were invited to dinner at the Victory's house.  By coincidence, they moved here (also from Colorado Springs) two weeks after we did.  Although we didn't know each other, we find we share some acquaintances and events.  Gayle and I have been walking together some but we hadn't really done anything as two couples.  It was nice to spend an evening together.  Besides talk about the activities we're currently involved in, it was neat to exchange stories about what God has done in our lives.

I'm slowly working on carpet cleaning.  A container of liquid soap fell during our drive on Friday.  When Mark tried to pick it up, the lid came off.  Even with our Bissell Green Machine.  Mark sucked soap out of the carpet for quiet a while and still didn't get it all.  But as long as the machine is out, I might as well do the rest of the carpets.  No matter how hard I try, the kitchen carpet is a magnet for spots.  I'd rather have linoleum in the kitchen and bathroom.  But instead, we have beautiful carpet that I'm having trouble keeping clean.

So far I've made three things in the roaster oven: chicken barley soup, stuffing--and now I'm baking with a batch of corn bread as I write this.  Guess we'll see how the baking feature works.  Although I am using my glass pan.  They said metal ones work better for heat transfer.  The only metal pans I have are my loaf pans which are being used to hold "silverware" and other small things.  I kept pans that could be used in both the microwave and the convection oven (which doesn't work well--hence, the appeal of the roaster oven).

It's a beautiful sunny afternoon.  After this late lunch, I'll get started on the carpet cleaning.  Hope all of you who are reading this have a wonderful week.

Friday, December 10, 2004 5:25 pm
This was a long day.  We had decided to take Bussie for a drive sometime this week.  It rained heavily last weekend so we prayed for dry weather so the ground we need to drive across would dry out.  We're sitting on dirt with a little gravel.  Between us and the paved parking lot is ground that gets a lot of runoff from the hill to the north west.  So it stays pretty wet.  We did make some ruts as we drove through but fortunately it had dried out enough to keep us from bogging down.

I managed to cut my finger on something under the passenger chair (I was looking for something that had dropped on the floor).  Fortunately, I was able to slap a Band-Aid on it and go on.  Then when I opened the refrigerator after our drive, a jar of fruit cocktail fell out and hit my big toe bone.  So I've been feeling sorry for myself with these two injuries.

We did have a good drive.  Again dumped our black tank at the Hominy Lake and then went east to Skiatook.  We decided to risk going in Walmart and the grocery store since it was Friday mid-morning.  You will remember that a few weeks ago I swore off going shopping until after the holidays.  We were pleasantly surprised that both stores were almost empty so we were able to get what we needed fairly quickly.  Except for having my cell phone ring while I was asking a clerk about a specific item I'd seen at another Walmart.  

Since our cell phone signal is weak in Hominy, I try to call people whenever we go "out of town."  Also, it's analog roam since there are no Sprint towers nearby.  We can get digital signal in Skiatook.  So I was playing telephone tag with a friend who I hadn't talked to in a while.

As far as Walmart goes, they didn't have the item for which I was looking but we did see the roaster ovens were marked down.  We've wanted one for years; then we rejected the idea since "where would I put one on the bus?"  Cindy has two of them so I've seen how well they work.  Anyway, we decided that the price was low enough that we should go ahead and get one.

I had to rearrange the counter to get this oven on it.  The crock pot when under the sink; the juicer,  VitaMix, and baby food processor moved where the crock pot used to sit.  The paper towel holder is homeless at the moment; it's sitting next to the bread maker right now but can't stay there.  Needless to say, I am blessed with appliances that we've accumulated over the years.  We gave away the citrus juicer (that I wanted for years and finally found at a garage sale), Sunbeam mixmaster and the microwave.  There's always the question of what does one really use compared to how much room is available.

Thanks to anyone who sent up a prayer from Gretchen during her procedure on Wednesday.  She made it through safely with reassurance that no pacemaker is necessary.  What good news!  Gretchen will be flying to Anchorage with her son will on the 18th to join her husband for Christmas.  He has been working there; the family will make the move back to Alaska in July when their lease runs out and Little League is over.

Wednesday, December 8, 2004, 7:05 am
We were supposed to have a meeting here at OFA this morning but it was canceled because Dave isn't back.  They tried to notify everyone.  I told Cindy I'd keep an eye out in case anyone shows up.  Since I've got the curtains open, I'm enjoying a beautiful sunrise--orange streaks amongst dark blue clouds.

Today, my friend Gretchen Neeley is having a procedure done in her heart to reduce the size of the septum muscle where an obstruction has been growing.  She says it isn't serious.  Yet, certainly we request prayers on her behalf.  Gretchen and I are friends because our husbands have been friends since high school days.  

I never truly appreciated Gretchen until after I had been in the hospital in August 2002. You know how people ask how they can help--or whatever? When thinking over all my friends and who would I be willing to see my messy house (dirty stove, cruddy toilet, dust bunnies in the stairwell) , etc?...Gretchen was the name I came up with.  It surprised me that of all the people I know, she was the one I'd feel most comfortable asking for help.  Fortunately for her, Rose Marie Perman sent several casseroles and the dust could wait.  The doctor encouraged me to do what I felt like as long as I didn't lift over 5 lbs.  Mark helped and I was able to do things pretty quickly.

Mary Safranek of Boulder has had a time of it lately.  Earlier in the year she broke her leg.  Several weeks ago she fell and hurt her foot.  The doctors said nothing was wrong.  They finally x-rayed it from the top and found it was broken.  Yesterday was the surgery to put some pins in.  She is supposed to keep off her foot for weeks.  Mary also needs your prayers; it won't be easy to care for herself and her dog, especially these first few days.

Monday, December 7, 2004, 4:00 pm
Pearl Harbor Day! They had some pictures up in one of the windows on Main Street of Pearl Harbor after the bombing.  That was interesting to see. I'll never forget my father's story of being a teenager, lying on the couch listening to the radio when they interrupted with the report that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. He jumped up and ran over to his grandparents house where his parents were spending the afternoon. That day certainly changed a lot of lives.

We went to the Chamber of Commerce meeting at noon today in Simple Simon's meeting room.  We probably will join if we can find out the costs.  As a group of volunteers, they are all so busy.  The secretary has a full time job and is hard to pin down long enough for questions to be answered.  Today was the business meeting; mostly it was end of the year stuff such as voting on new officers.

The Ministerial Alliance was meeting right after that--to finalize the Christmas Basket plan.  Jack from the Friends Church (he's the volunteer at the Chamber that I often visit on Thursday mornings) invited us to stay for that meeting to get acquainted.  It's nice to see a town where the churches attempt to communicate rather than be in disharmony.  

Monday, December 6, 2004, 9:59 amAnother day!  It was a good weekend. I've got stew in the crock pot which should be good on an overcast day.  We'd planned to take the bus for a drive today.  But it started raining yesterday  so it'll be too wet to do it.  Tuesday is the Chamber of Commerce meeting which we missed on Nov. 9th while taking the bus for a drive.  So we'll probably go Wednesday or Thursday.

As you know, I like to read.  I've been focusing on Christian Lit these days. One of the most uplifting books that I've ever read is The Tongue: A Creative Force by Charles Capps.  I posted a review which can be accessed either from the Reviews bar at the side or by clicking on the blue title in the previous sentence.

Sunday, December 5, 2004, 5:15 pm
Today was the day for the Hominy Open House/Parade of Homes today.  There were 6 houses including the Drummond Home which was free.  It was $5 for 5 tickets which meant $1 per house if you wanted to see all of them.   The proceeds were for the City Park.  They've been gradually trying to build the park.  Right now there are four picnic tables under two "pavilions." Earlier this year landscaping was put in.

I'm glad I got to go.  Mark stayed home;  I don't think I would have enjoyed it near as much if I'd been worrying about him having a good time. The rain slackened up so it wasn't too bad out.   I parked on Main Street and then walked to the four homes that were near the center of town.  Then I drove to the two outlying homes.  Some were older homes so they blended antiques with the modern.  Most of the homes were overly decorated.  I kept thinking that a normal family would have difficulty living there.  Only one home actually seemed to have a child--so maybe that's the answer.  I met one teenage granddaughter.  However, it was interesting to see the various decorating schemes since it's something I've always thought I should learn about.  At this point my husband would say that I'm supposed to be describing some of the homes that I saw.  Forgive me for not doing so.  My idea here is to give impressions, not details.

One thing that was neat was that I actually saw some people I "knew" while I was out.  I saw the two ladies who work at the drug store.  Later when I had stopped in front of the library to return some books, a woman who had come by the building several weeks ago stopped to say hello.  I talked with Dana and her daughter Candace for a while.  I'm enjoying small town life where you see familiar faces--and they usually stop and talk.

Saturday, December 4, 2004  9:00 pm
This afternoon we went to the Christmas Parade.  The Hinton children introduced us to their mother's father.  Their family enterprise is to sell cotton candy at the various parades.  It was nice to see some people we know.  One of the teenagers from The Gathering Place came over to hug us and introduce us to her friend.  We also saw Vickie from the Hominy News Progress.

After we were back home for a while, I was feeling kind of jumpy so I asked Mark if we could walk down to the video store and find us something to watch.  He let me pick out a chick flick:  How to Lose a Guy in 10 days.  It got very stupid in spots but there were some good laughs.  More than some movies we've rented over the years.

Friday, December 3, 2004, 1:08 pm
This day is getting away from me like so many others. Mark and I to a walk to the post office to turn in a mail forwarding form.  Then we walked by the building that our friend Jerry is helping tear down.  If it hadn't been breezy out, it would have been quite pleasant outside--considering it was 25 degrees this morning.

I'm being a little nostalgic tonight.  In the last twenty-four hours I've received invitations for two holiday parties  in Denver that I won't be attending.  It's nice to have friends that want you and send invitations even though they know you probably can't attend.  Of course, last year we surprised the Wille's by arriving on their doorstep instead of still being in Salt Lake City.  (If you don't remember that, I'm sure you can go back to last December's journal.)  

However, there are a number of things already on our December schedule.  Tomorrow is the Christmas Parade down Main Street. The Parade of Homes is this coming Sunday; I'm looking forward to that.  Five homes plus the Drummond House will be Open to the Public.

The 18th we're supposed to be in Nowata at a Cowboys for Christ gathering.  And on the 22nd, we've signed up to be part of a Christmas program at the Holdenville Prison.   I really don't know what to expect but I'm sure God has a plan.  At this point Dave and Cindy have been asking for volunteers; I'm sure they'll supply details shortly.

In case anyone from CBC or South Carolina is reading this tonight, I'd like to mention that Dave will be ministering to Larry Romero's church on Monday evening, December 6th.   Click here for details.

The high point of the week was getting to spend a couple of hours with Cindy on Wednesday.  I've felt for some time that we should have some "girl time" to get acquainted.  We've hardly ever been alone together without family or husbands.  I invited Cindy to come over to "my house;" I enjoy having company here but that usually doesn't happen because of space.  I served her fruit cocktail with a little whip cream on it.  It was nice to exchange some of our life stories; how we met our husbands, etc.

Tuesday, November 29, 2004, 8:50 pm
We stayed at the Armstrong's house while we were in Denver.  Since the bathroom had linoleum, I figured I could sweep it so got out the scissors and cut my hair.  Remember, Patty Gooding had cut it for me early in September.   That was a very good haircut that still looked good after two and a half months.  But it was getting too long; I'm glad to say that my efforts turned out well.  My theory is that worst case scenario is that I need to find a professional if I butcher it too badly.  Actually, I've been cutting my own hair for years and I've gotten lots of compliments.  I did enjoy feeling pampered when Patty was able to cut it.

Why I felt motivated to tell you about, I don't know.  I am enjoying having my hair shorter.  It fluffs up better in the humidity.

Sunday, November 28, 2004, 5:06 pm
We met our new neighbors yesterday.  There is a building on the east side of Haines, more or less directly across from where we have our bus parked.  We see people come and go but hadn't really talked to them--only hearing the local gossip which doesn't compute when the names are unknown.  About noon there was a knock on the door.  A young man said they'd gotten stuck in the mud and wondered if we had anything we could pull it out with.  Mark went over to see what the situation was.  The wife of the family had been sent over to get their flatbed trailer and had gotten bogged down. Fortunately, Brooke had a long tow rope.  Mark started up our diesel truck which was the only things we had that could do it.  Jerry, our other neighbor, came along and was able to drive the stuck truck while Mark pulled forward.

In the process of doing this good deed, I got the scoop on who is moving in.  One family owns the building and intend to open a hunting and fishing supply business.  In the meantime, part of the building is being used by a mechanic whose roof caved in.  The Reeds are renovating a portion of the building to live in.

Then we had to take the truck for a drive.  We've been needing to do it but planned to go on Monday.  However, after starting it up, Mark wasn't going to just turn it back off.  We drove to Skiatook and back.  We didn't stop at WalMart.  Last Tuesday when we went to Owosso, we stopped at Walmart before coming home.  You couldn't "stir'em with a stick" in there--and it was before Thanksgiving!  I told Mark that I was/am swearing off shopping until after Christmas.  I may go to the local grocery store if I run out of something and can't "make do."

This afternoon after morning services, we took a walk down to Simple Simons where we met an acquaintance David Thennes.  He greeted us so we joined him; it was nice to get better aquainted.  Then we walked back along 1st Street looking for an RV park for which we'd seen a flyer.  We found the address; the owner's son came along while we were "casing the joint."  He explained what the set up was.  Although we like being at the building, right now we don't have regular hookups. (One of these days, we've got to get some.) During the winter, we are concerned with keeping Bussie warm and secure at times we have to be gone.  We have another trip we're trying to  schedule.

On our way back up Haines, we encounter Cindy, Catrina and Rachel driving from the building.  So they stopped and we talked for a while.  I've got to run over there tomorrow morning with a list of questions about Dave's schedule so I can update his itinerary.

Cookie hasn't been seen since Monday night.  We've been feeding Underfoot.  She was running around yesterday when we were pulling the truck out of the mud.  We could see her in our rear view mirrors as we drove off with our diesel truck.  She wasn't around when we put out food last night and this morning.  There are other wild animals to eat.  So we may be out of kittens for the moment.

Friday, November 26, 2004, 1:36 pm
It's a beautiful sunny day.  Nice after some of the cooler and wetter weather we've been having.

We had a lovely day yesterday.  In the morning, we puttered around finishing up the food to take and working on some forms for Dave.  He wanted to have new signup (for his mailing list) forms to take with him on an upcoming trip.  

We went to the Hinton's house just before noon.  We had to take the car because of too much stuff to carry.  Cindy was busy in the kitchen.  I mostly hung out there to help her.  Did take some pictures.  The guys played Fooseball (or however you spell it) for a while and then Rachel turned on the Princess Diaries--not sure I have that title right--the one with Julie Andrews playing a Queen mother getting the granddaughter to become the Princess of Genovia.  That kept the group busy.  When the food was finally ready, we all sat down and started shoveling it in.  I was so hungry; we hadn't had any formal breakfast.

On the way home we stopped in at the Petitt's to pick up a piece of the food processor that had rolled to the back of the cabinet.  So I tried it out last night and believe it will be a nice (small) addition to my kitchen.

Once we got home and put the leftovers away, we decided to take a walk.  We walked over to the Drummond House to see if there was a sign of when they'd be open during this holiday weekend.  I want to stop by some time to see Beverly.  Enjoyed sitting on the front porch swing.  I called my father while Mark rocked us.  Then we walked over to the Laundromat to see what their holiday hours would be.  We were walking during the sunset; it was a lovely sunset.  Not just in the west but one of the few times when the colors reflected off the clouds/skies in the north, east and south as well.  It was like walking in a 360 degree sunset.

I've been working on putting out Dave's itinerary on the Outreach for America web site.  Information is a little sketchy but I wanted to put up when I know.

Thanksgiving Thursday, November 25, 2004
Our friend Frank Neeley wrote a Thanksgiving poem.  It can be read in our Art & Prose section under Thanksgiving....2004 .

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!!!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2004, 5:09 pm
We had a lovely day.  Washed the car we'd borrowed for the trip, returned it.  We walked home, stopping by Margaret and Forrest Petitt's house.  They insisted on taking the time out of their busy schedule to feed us lunch.  It was so nice.  When we were discussing chopping up things, she gave me a small food processor.  That will be nice to have; I got rid of my big one when we moved.

Mark spent part of the afternoon doing stuff with the bus while I was cooking.  I made Rice Krispy Treats (with peanutbutter and chocolate chips) this morning.  I've cooked and skinned sweet potatoes.  Need to make the sauce for them.  I made cornbread.  Tomorrow I'll make fruit salad.  That sounds like a lot for just two people to take.  But she said bring our favorite things.  Instead of agonizing over which one to take, I decided to take them all.  

Tuesday, November 23, 2004, 5:56 pm
Howdy, friends. Mark and I got back yesterday evening.  I intended to write this morning.  Early this afternoon, we thought we'd make a quick trip over to the Home Depot in Owasso.  What should have been fairly short turned into an all afternoon affair.  We ended up going to Home Depot, Lowe's, Kerr's RV Country, and WalMart.  We got some of what we were looking far.  The big lesson was that apparently the same stores carry different items in different parts of thecountry.

We intended to wash and return the van we'd borrowed for our trip.  But by the time we got home, we were kind of burnt out.  Also, I went to introduce dry food to the kittens and Underfoot put her fangs into my finger.  I know she didn't mean to but that didn't it from hurting.  Obviously I'm going to have to try another method like putting warm milk with the dry food until they get the idea.  I haven't seen Cookie; I was hoping he'd like it and Underfoot would get the idea.

I've put the groceries away; guess we'll tackle other chores in the morning.  I also have laundry and Thanksgiving food to make.  I decided to make Rice Krispy Treats, fruit salad, cornbread and sweet potatoes and whipped cream.  I know that seems like a lot for just two people to take.  We were given Rice Krispys so that'll help use them up.  I'd already planned to make a fruit salad that Mark likes.  Then I (me, personally) think it's not Thanksgiving without cornbread and sweet potatoes so I'm doing that for me.  I probably wouldn't do the sweet potatoes except that Howard Bryant brought a whole bagful to prayer meeting; I need to use them up.  I can make everything except the fruit salad tomorrow so I don't have to spend the whole day in the kitchen.

About our trip...Dave had prophesied that we would have some divine appointments.  We did get to see a wide variety of people.  At the Gospel Truth Seminar we saw three sets of people from our past who happened to also be there.  I knew Mary was coming because we've communicated by email but the others were an unexpected surprise.  We also saw several CBC students, apprentices and grads.  The ones I remember off the top of my head were Ken and Linda Ziembo, Pam and Charlie King, Julia Penzenscham, Tom Boyd, Mike Meyers, Kellie Biel-Koutz, Mary Castillo and Linda Owen, Dan Fennessey, Leland Shores,  I do remember meeting a couple of first year students whose names I don't remember.

The main purpose of our trip was to go to my doctor appointments and both go to the dentist.  Teeth got a clean bill of health.  My cancer health is much the same; keep doing what I'm doing.  The blood pressure medication was changed (more of one and less of another); they still encouraged me to pursue proper diet, exercise, caffeine, salt and alcohol.

It's good to be home.  I look forward to further contact with you.

Wednesday, November 17, 2004, 7:50 am   
We're getting ready to go.  I'll be offline until probably next Tuesday.  Hope you all have a good week.  Until next time...

Tuesday, November 16, 2004, 9:23 pm
We just got home from the Hinton's house.  They invited us over so we wouldn't have to worry about dinner and dishes prior to our departure tomorrow.  At this point, we don't know what time we'll get away; there are still several things that need to be taken care of before we can leave.  However, I appreciated the meal and we were able to talk about some of the activities going on in the ministry.  

I just talked to my sister.  Their church was doing the Samaritan's Purse Shoebox gifts again this year.  She and a member were working on them tonight.  While I was on the phone (outside to get better signal), the small gray kitten which we've decided to name "Underfoot" climbed up my body, perched on my shoulder and nudged the phone with her head.  I told her that when she gets big, she won't be able to climb up so easily.  This kitten gets so excited about having attention that she has the tendency to get underfoot--hence the name.  In case you haven't figured it out, I'm enjoying these kittens.  I'm feeding them most of the time but since they are outdoor cats, I can shut my door and don't have to think about them.  Jerry is supposed to feed them while I'm gone.  They are supposed to be Mousers for the Lord at the ministry if they can manage to grow up.

I've been organizing the wording for an album cover for the conference CDs.  Hopefully Mark can put the graphic in and print them out tomorrow.  We only had a few orders so Mark made the copies.  We wanted to get that finished up before we leave so they can be delivered.

Sunday, November 14. 2004, 4:10 pm
Another front must have arrived.  Even though it's the middle of the afternoon, it is overcast and dark.  I took what turned out to be only a 30 minute nap.  When I awakened, I thought I must have slept a long time as it was so dark outside.

I verified with Cindy that she's still planning to have Thanksgiving at their house in the early afternoon--as close to noon as it can be ready.  She said she'll supply turkey, stuffing and ham.  The rest of the guests should bring a side dish of our choice.  I'm making a list of things I could easily make.  Actually, Cindy said to bring our favorite holiday dish.  We've spent many holidays with my family and several with Jim and Gretchen Neeley.  So we just go along with whatever they are doing instead of developing our own traditions.  Mark commented that we know the O'Dell family's favorite holiday dish is green bean casserole.   My niece's husband's Aunt Julia makes a fruit salad that Mark likes.  So those two items are possibilities to take.  When we get back from our trip, I'll call to see if Cindy knows what others are bringing.

I think I've told you that Mark and I are leaving mid-week to go back to Denver/Colorado Springs for doctor and dentist appointments.  The Denver Gospel Truth Seminar will be going on in Broomfield at the same time.  So we will be attending the Friday evening and Saturday morning sessions of that as well as the Partner Luncheon on Saturday.  We've been kind of up in the air as to if we'll be at Hosanna Christian Fellowship or Charis Christian Center on Sunday.

I'm sure I'll be online again before we leave.

Sunday, November 14. 2004, 12:30 pm
We slept late this morning after a fun evening "at the concert."  Jason De Long, a former Hominian, sang Sinatra-type songs.  Then Bill Holden did a Roy Orbison impersonation.  I recognized Only the Lonely and Pretty Woman.  Darrell Simmons was "Elvis."  I found out my rock and roll education has been very lacking.  Among the many songs that I didn't know, I recognized Blue Suede Shoes.  I was getting kind of depressed when he did In the Garden and Amazing Grace.   Then Sinatra's My Way and then the song that may be titled I can't help Falling in Love with You.   Even though I had a good time, it got kind of long on the hard seats in the auditorium. For once I was grateful that I haven't yet shed all my excess poundage. It was interesting and I'm glad we went and grateful to the friend who gave us the tickets.  We did walk to and from the Community Center; it took about 15 minutes to walk.  Of course, we did get a jump start in sprinting away from the kittens who tried to follow. (see Nov. 7 entry).

Yesterday was a full day.  We decided to go into Cleveland to the lumber yard.  Found it closed at noon and we arrived at 12:10 pm.  The day before we'd arrived 20 minutes after closing.  Too bad we didn't note the Saturday closing time instead of assuming it was open until 5 pm.  

Our next destination was to Margaret Haney's house.  She donated a computer to Outreach for America if we could come pick it up.  She was wanting to erase the hard disk before giving it away so Mark was able to do that for her.  I was ecstatic to find that I had Sprint digital signal on my cell phone at her house.  So I spent the entire time we were there talking on the telephone.  Since it was Saturday, I had free digital minutes.  Most of the time we have analog roam which uses up battery and counts as used minutes no matter the day/night/weekend.

I think I'd mentioned that we were going to do a mailing to the people who attended the conference a couple of weeks ago.  Mark helped me get that printed yesterday before we went to the concert.  I couldn't just do it because we had to come up with a letterhead and do the mail merge.  Mark is so good at that sort of thing.  Of course, he'd like me to learn how to do it. Betty Bryant helped me sign, fold n stuff and stamp today so they are all ready to go into the mail tomorrow, including the one to Canada.  I was able to verify the postage amount online.

Thursday, November 11, 2004, 11:15 am  
To our newsletter readers:  The October/November BBtJ newsletter has been posted.

The email notifications will go out shortly.  The postal copies have all been addressed and "stuffed;" I'll take them to the post office later today.

Thursday, November 11, 2004, 10:08 am
The cold front came in yesterday.  About 5:00 pm, Kevin knocked on our door to let us know that there was a storm warning in affect.  He invited us to join his family at his in-laws house if we decided we needed to take cover as some tornadoes had been sited as well.  That was real thoughtful.  We had rain off and on all day and throughout the night but we didn't have a bad storm (although we did have to put the satellite down because of the wind).  Mark and I are big on taking authority over the weather; we commanded the storm to go around Hominy.  Don't know if that's what happened but we do know that it wasn't bad here.  We're grateful to God for the lack of damage in this area.  It's still overcast and more rain is forecasted.

One of the local townspeople just gifted us with tickets to the upcoming concert that will be at the Hominy Community Center this coming Saturday evening.  The guest performer is Jason DeLong, a Hominy talent who recently performed in a state wide concert on Channel 6 TV.  The other performers are Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison impersonators.  We're really excited because we haven't been able to participate in the recent town activities because of conflicts.  We were out of town when the Kraft sale happened and the conference was going on during the Trick or Treat on Main Street.  

We also missed the Chamber of Commerce meeting on Tuesday since we were out with the bus.  We realized it and could have made it home in time to just park and rush over.  But then the engine would have cooled off and we'd been starting it up again trying to get parked.  Right now we're still having to figure out the location each time since we don't have a permanent pad we can pull up on. The ground is soft here.  Our leveling blocks keep sinking into the dirt.  We eventually hope to get some gravel brought in that might help. Also, because the semi and box trucks were parked behind us, we were going to have to back in which complicated matters since we couldn't just pull forward.

Tuesday, November 9, 2004 6:57 pm
We're trying to get our next newsletter done.  We'd hoped to get it completed yesterday but had a lot of interruptions.  One was kind of interesting.  Two Hominy citizens came by to ask a little about the ministry from the viewpoint of newcomers to both the ministry and Hominy.  If I understood correctly, they have a meeting with Dave and Cindy this evening. We answered their questions as best we could, being careful to not say anything that wasn't public knowledge.

Mark and I took a long walk yesterday to the last street in town and back. I managed to run to the end of our section of street which is three short blocks but further than I've ever run before.  We didn't get our walk in today yet.  

We got up this morning early to ready the bus for a drive.  As you know from past postings, we need to take the diesel out every few weeks.  It had been too long.  We had so much rain for a couple of weeks that we couldn't drive for fear of sinking.  As it was, the ground was still soft after drying out for a week.  We ended up not being able to park in our original tracks.  But finally did get it back into an okay spot.  Right now we are level but don't know how much our blocks will sink as the weight of the bus comes down on them.

We took the opportunity to drive to Skiatook and visit Wal-Mart since we had to go several miles to get the engine hot.  Skiatook is 23 miles from Hominy.  Hominy has several stores but one can't find everything here.  Our policy is to buy locally as much as we can and not make a trip to another town unless necessary.  Actually, our policy is to walk places when we can and not start up the car for such short distances.

We first dumped the sewer at the sanitation dump at Hominy Lake.  Our  maceratorpump died a couple of days ago; a replacement is on its way.  Which is good since we can't drive out to empty our tanks twice a week.  

Mark had a meeting with Dave and Chris about future plans for Outreach.  The board had met on Sunday so everyone's heads are whirling with ideas.  Now the guys need to sit back and mull over everything that has been discussed.  This gives Mark and me a better idea of how we can contribute time and energy.  We're going to continue working on updating the mailing list and help with getting out a partner letter and newsletter among other things.

It's supposed to turn cold in a couple of days.  We're still not totally winterized but should be able to make it through this first cold spell.

Sunday, November 7, 2004 6:05 pm
We've been playing "musical cats" around here.  Originally a part Siamese kitten showed up which the Hintons adopted.  They kept it at the building for several days.  Then someone brought a box of several kittens that had apparently been dumped.  Several were given away and two adopted for the ministry.  Rachel then took her cat home.  The gray kittens were here a few days; then a bigger gray cat started hanging around.  We didn't see the kittens for a day and then yesterday one came running over, obviously hungry and lonely.  I fed it and then we haven't seen it again.  A white kitten with spots that had been previously seen showed up again today.  Mark and I decided to take a walk and it followed us down the block.  So we brought it back and fed it.  Then took off running down the street so it wouldn't follow us.  I don't think anyone saw us but they would have wondered what two middle-aged people were doing running down the street.  I've decided I need to start jogging/running.  I'm being able to run further before I break into a horrible cough--so I'm making progress.

We walked to the other end of Main Street.  A woman, obviously on an evening walk, passed us several times and we exchanged pleasantries.  The last time I asked her where she worked as she looked familiar.  She turned out to be the wife of the mayor who also is the owner of the Pioneer Store.  We'd met the day in town when we were looking for parts so we could hook up our RV.

If you ask us about TV shows this winter, we'll be unknowledgeable.  There are a number of stations that should come in on the antenna.  However, most of them won't come in.  We're sort of down in a hole.  This morning we got three stations adequately, but in the evening when one would often watch TV, we get one (PAX) and sometimes get UPN.  So we won't be watching much television.

Dave is preaching at the Church of God of Prophecy church this evening.  Someone was supposed to pick us up but they decided not to go and we didn't get the message.  We recognized someone else's car driving by the building but they didn't stop.  By the time we got our shoes on, they were gone.  So guess we are missing it. We decided it was too late to get in the car and drive over ourselves.  And to be honest, I appreciate staying home this evening.  It was nice taking a walk with my husband.

The other day, Betty Bryant from The Gathering Place group mentioned that her computer man had expressed interest in meeting Mark.  She had told him about the classes that Mark is teaching.  While I was napping this afternoon, Kevin Borutski came over.  I appreciate that he sought us out.  He'll be teaching a class at the community center tomorrow evening and invited Mark to go over.  I need to make a note to remind Mark.

Friday, November 5, 2004, 12:11 pm
The City of Hominy has a siren that goes off at noon every day.  I like that about small towns.  I seem to remember that from my childhood in Brenham, TX.

Mark and I are working on our next newsletter.  We had hoped to have it out before the conference but it obviously didn't happen.  Mark is putting in the final touches and we have to get the mailing lists organized for prints/emailing.  So hopefully in the next couple of days it will be ready.

Yesterday evening just as our Thursday service was letting out a puppy showed up at the building.  It had a collar but no tags.  We tried to shoo it away, told it to go home, etc and hoped it would do so.  It came running when I went outside this morning to make a phone call.  (The cell phone signal is erratic in Hominy and is better when one takes the phone outside.)  I finally called the police; fortunately it was the dog catcher's day to be in Hominy.  Our neighbor, Gayle, came over this morning and asked about the dog.  I think she was relieved that I knew who to call.  We both just pray that its owner will come forward.  The doggie seemed to be a nice hunting dog with a good disposition.  But Mark and I don't need a dog.

Mark and I have been slowly making friends with people.  Gayle, who is also new in town, and I went for a walk yesterday.  We went to visit Jack at the Chamber of Commerce, waved at Roy the barber, browsed the Presbyterian Church rummage sale and then went to the Drummond House to see Beverly.  Since that's a local landmark, I've been encouraging people to visit.  Pretty soon I'll be able to give the spiel by myself. Beverly, the manager, would tell me that I need to volunteer.  I've enjoyed going over there to visit because it's talking to someone about different "stuff" than my every day activities.

This morning a conversation we had turned into a writing that we have posted in Mark's Musings under A Spirit Led Vision .

Wednesday, November 3, 12:06 pm
I just finished a review of the Outreach for America Conference.   Click here for the review.

Tuesday, November 2, 6:43 pm
Election night... I haven't turned on the TV yet.  I'm sure there is plenty of time for that before the final results are in.  

Mark and I have been kind of vegging out the last couple of days.  We were really wiped out after the conference was over.  So we've been napping some and puttering around.  Mark has been testing and reformatting drives from our array after upgrading the bioses.  He won't appreciate my phraseology but I'll say they've been messing up and dropping out of the system.  This upgrade should fix the problem.

I did four loads of laundry yesterday and did a few things around the office.  I need get the orders from the conference together so whoever is going to do that will have the needed information.  We had dinner yesterday evening with the Hintons.  And tomorrow we're supposed to go to a meeting to discuss future plans for the ministry.  

We took a long walk around town to all the businesses where we posted flyers.  Our policy is that if we put up a sign, we should take it down when the even is over.  About half had already come down (along with taking down Halloween decorations); but it didn't hurt to stick our heads in and wave.

Friday, October 29, 7:13 am
The conference is going swimmingly (moving along with occasional water in the eyes). Most of us are operating on less sleep than we need.  I did catch a couple of winks yesterday afternoon.  Attendance has been slow; I counted 76 last night.  However, I think that's pretty good considering the flyers weren't mailed out until the 4th of October.  People can't always drop everything and come a distance.  Many have called saying they wished they could come.

Mark and I have been working mostly with registration although he's helping some with ushering.  I prepare the announcements for Cindy.  It's really great having Larry Romero and the Grobes here.  They've been a blessing.  Larry got volunteered to work sound.   Sarah is helping us do registration (along with Betty Bryant) and Gregg is ushering and other things as they come up. We've had over 70 people register.  About half the people came from elsewhere and the other half is the local supporters of the ministry.  We keep hoping some of the local people will wander in to find out what is going on.

The article I wrote did get into the Hominy paper so the name is before the public.  We understand the Hominians are resistant to change.  So it will just take time and perseverance on our part to be friendly.

Wednesday, October 27, 2:52 pm  
I have 7 minutes before I need to be back over at the building to start registration.  We've been working hard to wrap everything up.  There are still a lot of loose ends but I guess we'll cope as the need arises.   It looks like one of the speakers may not arrive after all.

Yesterday we went to Tulsa to by the plastic name badge holders and make copies for the Welcome Packets.  Sandra Grier came over and stuffed them this morning which was a blessing.  We didn't do pre-registration this time so only God knows how many will be here.  I am looking forward to it.

We appreciate your prayers that everything will go smoothly.   That us local people who are coping with the glitches can roll with it and not let things get under our skin.  I'll try to give you an update before the end of the week.

Saturday, October 23, 5:16 pm
I've finally gotten slowed down enough to get on the computer.  We were up late last night because there was a birthday party for Cindy Hinton.  So I couldn't get up early this morning and missed my morning walk.  I volunteered to fix lunch today for the people working on the building.  I ran to the grocery store for spaghetti fixings.  I made enough to have leftovers for tomorrow.  Cindy usually gets burdened with organizing meals.  Or directing them even if one of the daughters does the cooking.  So I wanted to have one day where she didn't have to think about meals.

At the store, I ran into a woman I'd met the other day when picking up brochures for the Welcome packet I'm putting together for the conference.  She invited me to come see her at work.  After the majority of the lunch stuff was put away, Gayle volunteered to finish cleaning up so I put on my sunhat and walked over to the Drummond House to see Beverly, the manager. It was built in 1905.  The outside is kind of blah looking because it is built of brown stone.  But the inside is neat.  Mrs. Drummond lived there until '56 and then her brother lived there until he died in '79.  They were forward thinkers who kept things for historical purposes and willed the house and its contents to the Oklahoma Historical Society.  It is now one of 9 houses open to the public.

We're expecting Sarah and Gregg Grobe from Pueblo/Colorado Springs to arrive shortly.  They wanted to come early to be of some help before the conference.  We're looking forward to seeing them.

Well, I've got to get going.  I need to make up a form for conference registration.  We're going to try to set it up so we can type everyone into the computer and print name tags.  Mark is working on computer systems for that.  It's not simple because the computers need to be in the lobby so he's got to set up a server to network them together apart from the other computers.  At least that's what I got out of what he told me.

Wednesday, October 20, 5:56 pm
Mark and I have been going around town getting flyers posted for the upcoming conference.  Everyone has been so busy working on the building that we haven't done much local advertising.  We printed up a one-sided flyer that could be taped up in the store windows.  Some businesses have bulletin boards but others just tape things in the windows.  The bank and the post office said they don't post things but we could leave them on the tables where the customers take care of things before going to the service counter.  We had a number of interesting conversations with store personnel.  Everyone seems happy to have a group doing something at the sale barn instead of it staying empty.

Mark and I went to the Chamber of Commerce meeting yesterday; it was at Snider's Soda Shoppe.  I hadn't realized that business is only open during the warm months.  They close up when business falls off.  I never realized that people don't eat ice cream during the winter.  But then, one can always go to Sonic or the grocery store.  After the meeting, the newspaper editor came over and introduced herself.  We told her we had planned to come over--which we did with the copy of the flyer and a blurb I had written up.   They were working on the paper which will come out today and said they still had a little room on the religious page.  Although next week's paper is a little late for pre-planning, they said they'd be happy to put in an article and picture next week.  So I've got to turn to and write up an article, get it approved by Dave, etc. before next Monday.  It was really exciting to see the blurb I wrote in today's paper.  The headline was pretty large, too; hopefully the readers will see it.

The first computer class that Mark is offering started yesterday.  We had four people show up and expect more today.  How to fit them in on the second day is the question; I believe Mark has figured it out.  We've got a typing tutor and a tutorial for the program we will be using for word processing, spreadsheets, etc.  The students seemed enthusiastic.  We'll have to start a second class up after the conference; some people are involved in conference stuff and just can't break away at the moment.

This afternoon, I passed out more flyers.  That is, I invaded the barber shop to ask if we could put up a flyer.  I found the insurance man in but the beauty parlor people were at lunch, and the other two places close early.  So I'll have to hit those tomorrow.  We have started moving stuff out of the computer room and the bookstore into the storage area.  With help I got a lot of stuff moved today.  We have four large printers that I have to get Mark to carry.  The rooms are already looking better.  Tomorrow, Mark and I will start taking inventory of the stuff for the Book & Music store.   Someone is coming on Monday to build pretty shelves.

Friday, October 15, 2004, 5:52 pm
It's been an enjoyable day.  I took a long walk to the grocery store and then meandered up and down the main streets of town on my way back.

Being a part of the group in Hominy is like "coming home."  Everyone is so friendly.  I don't think I've ever been hugged by so many people that I really didn't know.  But it doesn't make any difference because we are all children of God.  Even the townspeople are friendly.  I went into the Pioneer Store for greeting cards (they have a clearance for 10 cents each).  I only found five that I wanted and didn't have cash; the elderly lady running the office told me to take them as she didn't want to ring up a credit card order for only 50 cents (plus tax).  I call that a blessing and will plan to do more business with them as we continue.

Yesterday I visited with Jack Core, a volunteer at the Chamber of Commerce.  He willingly offered to share copies of materials they have to include in the Welcome Packet I am putting together for the upcoming OFA conference.  He sent me down to Cha' Tullis Jewelry & Design since they were the ones that published the brochure on Hominy.  Cha' Tullis is Hominy's local artist.  Most of his stuff is Indian art but it's unique and interesting.  Their back room has a fountain in it; very pleasant.

Mark and I wrapped up yesterday afternoon by taking a microfiche reader over to the Library.  Even though the one the ministry had didn't include a printer, they were still glad to get it--especially for free.  I was able to add my testimony last night as to the contributions Outreach for America can make to the City of Hominy.

Things are coming along on fixing up the building.  A man has been making a rock "wall" around the stage  We had it in the cafe tonight with a couple of guitar players in the corner.  It was so nice to sit "at the bar" and sing along.  In the middle, we prayed for a couple of people and at the end, a number of us gave testimonies of what God has been doing in our lives.  I'm really enjoying the worship here even though I often don't know the words to sing myself.  I enjoy humming along and singing when I can.

Wednesday, October 13, 2004  6:18 pm Today was the day on which the local paper comes out.  Mark and I went over to the computer store in Skiatook and picked up a paper on the way back.  One has to purchase it from a vending box or the grocery store or have a mailed subscription.  The Public Library is wanting to buy a Microfiche Reader/Printer.  Outreach for America has a Microfische Reader we had already planned to donate.  Hopefully this will help with their needs.

Mark and I are slowly getting ourselves going.  I've been trying to figure out what I can tell you about our life here at Hominy.  There never seems to be a moment to spare.  The excitement this morning was that they trapped one of the racoons that has been running around the "attic" of the OFA building.  Shelly thinks it is the Mama Racoon.  Hopefully the rest of the family will soon be caught.

Things are slowly taking shape for the Outreach For America conference October 27-30 .  Cindy finished the brochure right before we left.  We took everything with us on the trip.  Mark and I had printed out the envelopes.  On our way there we stamped the envelopes.  Then stopped at Office Max in Salina, KS to have copies of the brochure made.  Cindy, Mark and I folded and stuffed during the remainder of the drive.  We mailed them from the Colorado Springs post office on Centennial.  If you think you would like to come to the conference, we can mail you a copy of the brochure.  The information is available at Outreach for America Conference .

We're continuing to ready the building for the conference.  They are building on a booth for the drums the other night.
  
Tuesday, Ocober 12, 2004 2:34 pm
We returned home this morning.  We didn't get away from Colorado Springs until late  Monday morning.  Our travels took us to Denver where we had lunch with our friend, Joe Brockmeier.  The rest of the day was fairly uneventful until we decided to pack it in for the night after 11:00 pm.  Rather than going to a motel for a short night, we reclined the seats and crawled into our sleeping bags.  We breakfasted at Cracker Barrell and headed home.  It was nice to get home to Bussie; everything was fine here.  

Sunday, October 3, 2004, 7:37 pm
Mark and I have spent the last couple of days working on a flyer about our ministry.  We wanted to have it to take with us this week to give copies to some people for input.  I'll let you know when we have it up on the web for your perusal.  That probably won't be until we after we get back from Colorado Springs.

My body is finally getting on schedule again.  I woke up this morning early (like I prefer) for the third day in a row.  I went out for a long walk down Main Street.  Hominy is pretty quiet at 6:00 am. I think I saw one car and two people in the diner.  The dogs did bark in the veterinary kennel; they seem to be awake no matter the hour.  

When we were out at Hominy Lake, we saw some beautiful sunsets.  I've been joking with Mark that we get to see the sun rise over the semi truck.  Dave Hinton's semi truck is parked about 75 ft to the east of us.  When the sun rises and reflects (or is it, refracts)  off the white trailer, it's almost blinding.  The evenings here are beautiful now that fall is arriving.  It's cool enough to be enjoyable.  

I freaked everyone out yesterday morning by appearing at the garage sale in my yellow shorts and purple t-shirt.  Well, the colors didn't have anything to do with the freaking out; just thought you could picture me better if I gave you colors.  The front that passed through had everyone wearing jackets that morning.  It was about 10 degrees colder this morning so I did wear my jacket for my walk but I still wore my shorts.  The tree leaves should be turning soon; right now they only appear to be thinking about it.  Everything is still green but looking a little weathered.

I doubt that I'll be able to post anything to the journal during this next week.  So until next time...

Friday, October 1, 2004, 1:18 pm
I'm busily printing out the envelopes for the Oureach for America mailing.  Hopefully Cindy will get the flyer and letter finished so we can get it stuffed and mailed tomorrow.  Saturday is the normal day to have a work party.  This would be something that people of all ages can do.

The ministry is having a garage sale today.  There's always something going on.  Several of us will be leaving Sunday to attend the AWMI Ministers' Conference in Colorado Springs.  We just left and will be back there again for a week.  We plan to pick up our the van and the truck.

After I finish the envelopes for this mailing, I need to go do some laundry.  I did washing in hot water at the Laundromat the other day.  But I do have a few odds and ends that I will do in the washer here at the building.  The hot water heater isn't hooked up so it'll be a cold water wash.  

Mark has been working on our sewer situation.  We didn't have any problem getting water and electricity.  However, we didn't have a drain where we can just dump.  He's bought a maserator pump and has hooked into a drain in the cow shed.  Hopefully this will work for a while; eventually Dave wants to put in regular RV hookups because others come through from time to time with  RVs.  Unfortunately, other needs come first so we'll have to make do.

Above is the Journal for 2004Q4. Here is the previous Journal
Virginia's Journal 2004Q3


> Click Here to find out about Partnering with BBtJ.Org

> Click Here for links to supporters who asked to be listed

Advertisements:
BBtJ.Org does not control the content of the following ads, please use at your own discretion If you come back to click here first every time you shop Amazon, it would be much appreciated. It won't cost you any more, but BBtJ.org's finances would benefit. Thanks for your support
Bring Back the Joy --- B B t J . o r g

Copyright © 2000-2005 by BBtJ.org, All rights reserved.