Tomorrow between Christmas and New year.

Christmas continues with us for a few hours. Then we transition from the sacred to the celebration of time!

New Years Eve and New Year's Day are days where we adjust. Out with the outdated calendar and in with plans (hoped for plans).

We are gifted with a finite number of years and months. Weeks, days, hours and minutes remain countable.  Seconds of life need scientific notation. 3 x 10 to the eighth.   Some readers enjoy running the numbers as above.

A muse. My seldom here but at times muse.

In 2014 in Omaha, Nebraska Ms. Adair gave brief comments about the creative process.  Omaha has a summer writing camp and Ms. Adair brought her dancers to this session.

In her comments she related times when her muse rushed in and forced her to create whether in dance or writing or photography.

Full disclosure, two of the dancers were then younger granddaughters.  In the last four years each girl has advanced.  Very graceful back walk overs ten days ago in front of her widely cheering school mates ( the younger now near fifteen years old).  And a twenty year old in her second year of college level dance.  Chorography.  Years ago I knew the word but now I see beauty in dance created by each granddaughter.

For each, their dancing muse shows up more often than my writing muse.

Status - We started over visiting fifty states.

Check back please to our August 2015 comments.

Back then, we set foot in the last state of fifty states to visit. Immediately we started over sleeping in and eating in Idaho, Oregon, California and Washington.

By early September, 2015, we had collected the first four of fifty states. Now in 2018 we have collected Kansas, the twenty seventh state since 2015.

Twenty three states to go.

Maine to MD to Kanas shortly.

This afternoon we flew to Baltimore and now will continue to Kansas City.

Cold returned in Maine and will be with us in the Midwest.

Rose dances.

Another all day rain.

My daily walk clears my mind.  I said I will walk at 2 or 3 but soon darkness arrived. The rain continued on and on.

End of the month!

The sky is clear now.  This last day of November ends a month of snow and rain. Here in Westbrook we have had four storms with three snow events.

Walk now, run in the past.

Now I walk. For all my jogging years I always had a choice of distances.

Methodist Road four mile and three mile routes were favorites. In  younger days in Alaska I had short term ten mile training routes.

In Nebraska I would jog to work or home. Because I worked shift work some jogs home were in both dark and cold.

A winter day.

When I was at my first college in Brookings, South Dakota, winter would arrive on November 7, 8, or 9.  Cold wind and snow. We have that today.  Gusting winds all pre dawn hours sounded like a train.  In the dark hours we sensed a roar of wind.  It continues now in middle afternoon.

A storm will move in on Friday late and Saturday.  Cold air in place will mean snow later changing to wet snow.

A written forecast is fun for me.  I enjoy watching where the forecast is right on and where it is wrong.  I have no problem admitting I am wrong.  Give credit where I am correct.

Tonight I reviewed my prayer notes from 1997.

Kathy has a health issue since that time.

I also had a skin problem. Dry air demands lotion, nothing else.

November 2018

Rain has been with us for days now. In addition the rain is forecast to continue for days.

Day

Today. We have this one day each day.

Some days are labeled as Mother's day, Father's day, Thanksgiving day and more.

Recent as well as ancient writers left us their musing. Once this day is gone we don't get it back.

Sleet in the grass.

I first saw white in the roof V- notch. Then on careful observation I saw the sleet in the grass. Tonight cold air invades to an even greater depth.

Winter!

Sloppy baseball tonight.

Boston gave up many walks and hit by pitch then various home runs.

The announcers said Boston handed the game away.  Correct!

Red Sox score

At the moment a ten run lead should hold.

If not the Yankees will have momentum.

Various October birthdays.

Niece, son and granddaughter all have birthdays this month.

Happy Birthday.

A true accomplishment.

This morning I took out the water (system). This is a twenty step process including draining a water heater and removing the inlet valve and plastic pipe from the brook. Lake water temperature was cool. I waded in to my knees and quickly pulled the support and the anchor to the dock.

The expansion tank is now in the garage one hundred miles away.  Next May I reconnect everything and pray for only small leaks.

All summer the pump, expansion tank and plumbing under the camp give us lake water. Two years ago in October we lugged about ten buckets of water each day to flush and to replace the washing water typically from the faucet. The system can freeze in early October so all components need to be drained.

Two hot days at camp in middle September

Sunday and Monday swimming in mild water and then getting out into warmer air. That is rare.

Shadows are missing.

As I walk for thirty minutes, I observe the clouds and the sky.  How many cloud layers, amount of blue sky visible, and location of the sun and the moon.  With sharp shadows I turn my body in order to look directly at my shadow. By physics and by common sense, my back is facing the sun.

No shadow the last few days.

Arrive. Visit. Depart.

A  three day visit has ended.  Pleasant conversation and memories.  Now in this fall season,  we will be back to a schedule.

The schedule includes a daily walk, Thursday volunteer driving, and Sunday worship.

If months had color pick a color.

It is September. The earth is approaching the north pole south pole alignment that allows equal daylight equal night everywhere.

Shortly after the north pole points away from the sun more and more each day.  You've got it, winter.

Thirty degrees at camp!

In fact 39F this morning and by 8AM up to 46 F.

I do have the wood stove humming.

We expect some what warmer than the low 60s yesterday.

Between visits - one family and two friends.

Sunday concluded an enjoyable adult visit.  Now we prepare for a friend visit. Relax and enjoy.

Weather wise the current days feature humidity. No jacket, no gloves.

This day years ago!

My voice cracked as I said, I do.

1971!

Maine State Music Theater 2019

Later this month the 2019 Maine State Music Theater shows are announced.

If you check msmt.org and like a show let me know!

News from right now as follows.

The Rangeley library wifi service is on as early as 0730L.
I am in the car on the street talking to you.
THE END. dlj 8/11/18

dlj/8/3/18 My first August week post!

We saw a bit of an adult musical with our three Connecticut granddaughters last night.

The dancing however was, as always,  great.

A seven hour drive!

To spend time at camp, my son and family must travel seven hours. This year we brought the three granddaughters to camp early. Pleasantly mild summer air is the norm here at 1500 feet up in the mountains.

A new week looking back 29 years!

The end of July, 1989, Kathy, Alex and I drove from New Hampshire into Maine. We were driving an RV and a Dodge sedan. The RV or motor home gave us a place to sleep. We did not know where we were going to live in Maine. I seem to recall that we always intended to be in the Portland area.

Following we were to live in a huge rental house for one year, build and live in our rural area for twenty six years and end up in Unit 20. The summers of 2016, 2017, and 2018 Kathy has been at camp for over twenty days each month.

Camp gives us mosquitos, cooler mornings, and a water view all the time.

Time away from biting mosquitos!

At camp I'm bitten daily.  My body reacts with an allergic reaction.  Each bite takes a few days to subside. 

I weekly drive to our condominium to check mail and do a trash day run.  In that time away from the camp bugs I heal.

Each third Thursday - MSMT

Last night we saw Beauty and the Beast in Brunswick, Maine.  The Maine State Music Theater presents four musicals each summer. We have seen about fifty preformances since 1999.

Season tickets since 2005 put us in a routine of great shows.  Stand out individuals last night were a front flipping young man doing so in a flowing costume. The other comic relief dull character did hand stands and amazing hand walking. Skinny build is an asset.

The candle stick character with a beautiful baritone voice had superb crowd connection.

Slippery slope!

To transition from land to a floating dock demands a ramp.

We have one steep slope and one shallow.  I rebuilt the ramp for the shallow slope days ago.

Yesterday I cobbled together a heavy frame to hold a heavy platform.  The ramp to finish the transition is still steep!

More later.

Cabin on the lake!

In Maine camp is a place on the water (lake or river).

Here at camp the heat has been hot. Bugs are around but fewer than typical for this time of year.

Having talked about mosquitos, black flys, no see ums I still have my three bites of the day. I swell up always.

The month of June 2018!

On June 1, 2018 we were on a bus going into Denali National Park. We saw bear, caribou, dall sheep and a couple of Chipmunks.

Later on June 10 we left the Westerdam after seven days aboard to fly from Canada back East.

June 13, I put in the water at camp and since we are busy repairing or burning rotted wood. The pace has slowed.

Library

Haines, Alaska
Rangeley, Maine
Westbrook, Maine

Offutt AFB with my sons.
South Dakota State University
St Louis University

South Portland, Maine
Boise, Idaho

The Idaho library shares a strip mall parking lot with Baskin Robbins. Ice cream on a hot late August day in 2015.

In Haines I walked to the library in rain and returned to the ship in dry conditions.

Library memories!

dlj/6/25/2018

Writing on the fly from the Rangeley library!

Ten foot pressure treated walkways are in the van.

My task is to rebuild one dock approach and design a second one.  WIFI here is handy so I'm able to combine shopping and electronic letter writing.

After our early summer travel!

Each year one of my accomplishments stands out.  Specifically getting the water in at camp.

Some may say big deal, what is so difficult?

Crawling on my belly under two sections of camp to reconnect water lines is easier for the young. Also wrestling an expansion tank (light) and a siphon pump (heavy) is required.

Priming the seventy foot intake line and anchoring the intake valve in chest deep water are added tasks. Finally plugging in the pump and opening and closing hot or cold faucets to allow the system to pressurize is the last tension filled check list item.

For me all the above is high drama and high reward. What can go wrong? Cracked plastic lines, failed pressure shut off solenoid, or a two year old leak where head space is less than two feet are examples.

Alaska return and now home.

From a Tuesday in May to yesterday, we were in or near a portion of Alaska.  We had early summer calm weather at every stop.   To be able to see Denali for hours is oh so rare!

Haines I am wet after a walk to the library!

We walked, rode the shuttle bus and walked again. Now I am wet after a final walk away from the ship.

Haines has an excellent library.

Haines, Alaska about 2500 miles straight line distance to Unit#20.

Alaska first 1980-84

Second, 2018. We have returned.  Daylight bright all night. The north pole points towards the sun in northern hemisphere summer.  The result is the sun continuously above the horizon north of the arctic circle.

Summer

Sun and wind from the west allows warmth near the coast. Sea breeze off 51F ocean water is always uncomfortable. 

Words words

A fountain of words.

He mentioned he had received letters with great detail. But not for some time now.

I did not respond to say, "I saw limited of the same."

Frequently my check list includes a monthly or seasonal newsletter but over forty years I only succeed in writing each Christmas.

We traveled.

Thursday was a three stage day of travel! Bus, plane and car moved us to Minnesota and later across Iowa to Omaha.

We now visit family for the days before flying back east.

A very good Saturday!

I bought a drill most likely in 1977 in Virginia.  Sounds like a forty year old drill. 

For the last few years the insulation sleeve near the handle was failing.  Either for that reason, or for an internal connection reason, the drill would fail to engage. I needed to bend or twist the cord.

Yesterday on a mild Saturday, I sat outside in the sun and  took everything apart.  The green connection clip failed so I was able to pull through more green wire and make a connection without the clip.  As always the reassemble process took a few tries but soon the switch and handle were flush and tightened in all the correct places.  On my initial three tests the drill seems repaired.

The switch mechanism reads Made in the USA.  This old drill is repaired and my Saturday was good.

Maine's summer!

By June 20 expect summer. May will ossilate, pleasent followed by harsh temperatures.

Conditions are the same each year.

Firm but fair!

I am dealing with a minor issue involving a company commitment.  At a minimum there is a level of unresponsiveness.

In the long run all should be fixed. Dearest Lord, please give me patience. Thank you.

This week's word - enthusiasm.

Today, Kurt had this to say.  Many or most of us have had an individual time of great joy. Joy beyond bounds.   We felt a connection to something we knew was not of us. 

I had one such time where I was alone in the Methodist Road computer room and I had a couple minutes of belly laughing.  I do not remember the specifics, but I think I was laughing at myself.

A more powerful time was on a 2009 November drive heading north in Michigan.  Interstate 75 was divided by a median of trees so the traffic southbound was hidden.  I was listening to classical music and no cars were visible on my side of the road.  The classical music was on a CD and I was familiar with it. As I listened to the music and felt the solitude I absolutely knew I was not alone. I had this rush of joy. 

Kurt in his message talked about these brief super natural moments and then asked how we (humankind) can reject or deny the six or seven billion other super natural connections with our Creator.

John Wesley who lived into his eighties in early 1700 to late 1700, asked his brother in a letter,
do we agree or disagree, if so wherein?

Kurt's point, most all have seen the super natural power of God.  And I say if in no other place than the birth of a child.  And I have a third story of Kathy, myself and our oldest son. Ask sometime.

Spelling and the message!

My spelling word is Ecclesiastes.

Our Sunday teacher cautioned all to read to the end of the book. Ecclesiastes seems filled with gloom and doom. But I'm planning to read the whole to include the end each reading!

Last Saturday and Sunday in three gatherings, the teacher spoke to four thousand. Yesterday roughly half that number heard words as above ending with my summary of Christ alone the cornerstone.

The glasses have come off!

In the late 1950s I first put on glasses. As I was milking the cows I looked down and I saw straw. The straw had texture. I could see. Today I did not wear glasses. My left eye was implanted yesterday. Now with the excess pupil size shrinking I can see. My left eye has corrected distance vision. Later I will lose close up vision in my right eye, but for now I can see both near and far!

April 2, 2018 I walked in snow.

Snow fell in a small area near the coast.  Gutter snow or better grass snow remains.  In four days more may fall.  Will we see an inch then?  Temporary snow in April happens often. Without a long driveway to maintain I do not need to start preparing for the first snow in December.

Run or walk?

We play pickle ball. To retrieve a ball, running is one option. However age inappropriate running is often silly. Stumbling onto my face is not age appropriate!

AMEN AND AMEN.

A few words

Proverbs 17:28.

Days away; now en route back.

We drove to the Atlantic coast of Florida.  Cool mornings each day and north wind from cool air up north.

Now we are about half way back to snow and cold.


We also collected two states, Georgia and North Carolina.

First hyped then verified.

I walked up to a neighbor last Sunday. Acknowledging he was allowed to doubt, I said we would have a twelve to fourteen inch snow stalled and accumulating into Thursday.

It is Thursday and the snow continues to fall. How much?  Well over twelve inches.

a dictionary editor (the entry on prayer) 1963

subtitle -  IS IT IN THE BIBLE?  NO, IT IS IN THE DICTIONARY.


In various writings I have seen the letters  A  C  T  S used as a reminder of how to pray.

A  A -  adoration ( of God our creator and Father)

C C - confession ( very personal and individual)

T T - thanksgiving (thousands of thanks)

S  S - supplication ( humble asking )

In copyright 1963, Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary a portion of the  prayer entry follows: to address God with adoration, confession, supplication or thanksgiving.

DID you note all four are right there in the dictionary.

When in doubt look it up (in the Bible??? )? 
No, look it up in the dictionary. 

"May God our Father give you grace and peace",  as written by Paul in many of his letters.

Romans, Ephesians, Galatians.
dlj/3/3/2018

Music

The University of Southern Maine has a noted music program. Last night the cello was in three duos plus a solo opening. The voice portion of the evening was not my cup of tea. The lyrics however were from a 1688 lady poet. She had a hard life. House burning down is next to impossible for most of us to fathom.

The evening ended with double bass and cello. Fun fun dueling back and forth.

WE ARE CALLED

WE  ARE  CALLED

We are called to take a phone call or respond to a text.  Someone has a need.

We are called to make a phone call,  someone has a need we had not yet heard about.

Who is calling?  Who speaks silently and nudges us to respond.

Someone has a need where work is better left to the professionals.  It may be costly.

What do we  ( I ) do?  Make a decision.  Risk a potential high dollar amount or say,  "sorry not sure who will be able to help."

Once the decision is made and the cost will happen,  where will the money come from.  Once I reached a certain gray haired age, I fully understood that all money is God's money.  Use God's money but be cautious about being stingy later.

WE  ARE  CALLED

New York City (X2)

Last May in mild but wet conditions we stayed the night near the World Trade Center. This February we did the same in mild but wet again.

Back in Connecticut right now we are chilling!

Longer days and slow warming all the way to summer.

More light later into the afternoon brightens the mood.  So many of us have so few concerns.  We are blessed; feel blessed.

And now February.

Portland,  Maine airport recorded over three inches of liquid precipitation in January, 2018.

Average minimum temperature was 12F.

Too many?

How many bagels are too many bagels? One small coffee black, one plain bagel toasted with plain cream cheese please. That has been my order at twenty local Dunkin Donuts and in the airports in Boston, St Louis, and Baltimore.

I now have a random number generator set up to revisit the local locations.

Check back in one year. We flew to the middle of the country to see a two minute eclipse, why not randomly order coffee and bagel?

Florida mild now Maine typical!

The coolest days in Florida were middle 60s. Here on return we see middle 30s most days. Keep hat and gloves handy always.

Trip report!

Our previous time in Florida was in the spring, 1984.  We just returned from a seven day return visit.

Walks on the beach in calm and wind, a fine arts visit all unique and brain stimulating.  Snow greeted us in Maine on return.

The highlight was gentle conversation.

Vitamin D from the sun!

An electric boat ride followed by walking on the beach. Sun and high 70s give a mood lift. AMEN AND AMEN.

Four days of shoveling!

I assigned myself a task. Select a couple fire hydrants and clear the snow away.  Done.

The Thursday snow was fluffy so I was able to use my grain scoop. However, banks left by the plow always give me a workout.

Forty eight pounds of honey

Twenty four pounds each times two yields the number above.

Purchased near noon today, eighty miles away. Enroute home we stopped at one of our breakfast places for lunch.  I ordered and ate a chocolate cream pie (slice).