Oh, Dear. What Now?

 I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather all week. Like I was coming down with a cold – that congestion in the back of the head, sore throat, a slight cough, a little more tired than usual.

We had fired up the furnace in the new camper last Saturday, so I thought at first it was from that. The blowing around of stale air with who knows what kind of germs that had been dormant all winter and now were rudely awakened and out for vengeance.

I tried not to think about it as these symptoms dragged on all week.

Driving home from work last night, though, I kept yawning. And every time I yawned, it felt like someone was slicing open my throat with a serrated knife. When I got home, I finally looked in the mirror, a flashlight shining to the back of my opened mouth.

Yikes. It looked like the stump of a freshly severed limb. (Too graphic? Accept my apologies. I’m just stating the most obvious description.)

I loaded up on every kind of drug I had around the house (which isn’t much), gargled with salt water, drank some warm lemon juice, ate supper, and went to bed.

First thing this morning, with the throat still looking the same (but otherwise feeling fine), I did the responsible thing and took my temperature. I don’t have an ear thermometer or a forehead one, or even a digital one that goes under the tongue. If you know me at all, you may remember I am old-school. I dragged out the old mercury thermometer. The ones they pretty much banned a few years ago when they discovered how dangerous mercury is. Another thing the younger generation has to miss out on – playing with those mercury beads after the thermometer broke. I was raised in a simpler time and I’m grateful for that.

Also, grateful that my thermometer has a blue tip on it. For those who don’t know, if it has a blue tip and thinner end, it’s for use in the mouth. If it has a red tip and is more stubby on the end, it’s rectal. Good to know, right? In case your old thermometer has seen some action.

Anyway, my temperature was 98 degrees. Normal. But it’s time to do one more responsible thing. Call the clinic to talk to one of the providers about my “condition.” I could maybe tough this out, but I did, after all, work at that clinic all week, so my co-workers should know what I might have exposed them to, though our masks were all on and we social distance as much as we can.

I’ll try to keep you posted.  

After we ditched the boy at the hospital . . .

Today, my son goes back to his orthopedic surgeon for a recheck on his broken leg and torn-up ligaments. My apologies to him for not posting any updates, but there hasn’t been much to say (and truthfully, he hates that I’m writing about it all).

To refresh your memory, he broke his left fibula and pulled some ligaments off his ankle bone back on March 6. He had surgery to repair all of that on March 16 and returned to his surgeon on March 31 to have the cast and stitches removed.  

I can’t believe that whole odyssey began seven and a half weeks ago! The poor kid! Because he lives in a small town not too far outside of Milwaukee, I have only seen him twice in that time – after he broke it and when he went in for surgery.

Which is the actual reason for this blog post. Pictures!

While he was in surgery at Froedtert’s in Milwaukee, his sister and I went out for breakfast at Café Hollander in Wauwautosa and then took in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, after an unseasonably warm month, it was freezing cold out that day, with a fresh layer of snow.

Being from the Northwoods, though, we toughed it out. After all we couldn’t just drive around in my warm car the whole time, as we had my son’s dog with us. A long story and I won’t share it here coz you will think my kids and I are totally nuts.

So, here’s the area around the café, at the corner of W State Street and Harwood Avenue, along the Menomonee River. 

I love the little plastic huts. Yes, they are heated. 

And the ridiculously gorgeous neighborhood of Washington Highlands Historic District. Which has its own Wikipedia page.

Below is the only house I was able to identify. Which according to Wikipedia is: The Wittenberg house at 6614 Hillcrest Drive is a Spanish Colonial Revival-styled house designed by Hugo Haeuser and built in 1927. It has dramatic asymmetry, interesting bays, a red tile roof, and some stylings like the parapet borrowed from Islamic architecture.

Not sure what’s going on with this house, hopefully just some remodeling.

And now, I’ve spent a half an hour on Google Maps trying to figure out where this was at. I’m pretty sure it was next to Neumann Family Field, which is next to Rabbe Stadium. Just out driving around trying to find someplace to walk the dog. (Did you find him in one of the pictures above? Not the one below.) 

What I pray for Day by Day

  Day by day,

  Dear Lord, of thee three things I pray:

  To see thee more clearly,

  Love thee more dearly,

  Follow thee more nearly,

  Day by day.

 Last week I started sharing with you the songs from one of my favorite movies, Godspell. If you’ve never seen it – either the movie or a live version of it – you still may have heard this song, if you were alive in the early seventies. In July of 1972, it reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Stephen Schwartz wrote the music for that version for Godspell, but the words date back much further.

Richard of Chichester, also known as Richard de Wych, lived from 1197 to 1253 and was named a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. The following prayer is reported to have been written by him:

  Thanks be to Thee, my Lord Jesus Christ

  For all the benefits Thou hast given me,

  For all the pains and insults Thou hast borne for me.

  O most merciful Redeemer, friend and brother,

  May I know Thee more clearly,

  Love Thee more dearly,

  Follow Thee more nearly.

The words would later be made into a hymn.

My research on these beautiful lyrics took me down quite the rabbit hole, and I’m going to leave it up to you to pursue that as you choose. What always strikes me is the order of the pleas in the prayer.

We ask first to know Jesus more clearly, then to love Him more dearly, and lastly to follow Him more nearly. My thought has always been (and maybe I’m off base, but I’m gonna tell ya anyway) that these petitions go from what we need the least help with down to what we need the most help achieving.

With enough motivation, we can get to know Jesus better – by following His word, reading our Bibles, and attending worship services. With all that under our belts, we find we can readily love Him. But do we follow Him as nearly as we should? Do we lead lives that aren’t so Christlike? Do we deny that we know Jesus? Do we let our priorities get messed up?

I don’t know about you guys, but I admit that I need the most work on following my Lord and Savior as I should.

Dear Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit into my life so that I might live more closely to Your Son. Amen.  

The river baptism at Mosiro, during my first trip to Kenya in 2006.

 

Another COVID update

 It’s been two months since I posted about COVID19. There hasn't been much to report. People are getting vaccinated at record rates – data shows 36% of Americans have had one vaccine, and 24% are fully vaccinated. At my clinic, we have met our waiting list. Anyone who tells us now that they want the vaccine can get it within one or two business days if their schedule allows. Our schedule has openings. Last night, we did the last covid vaccine clinic which we had scheduled. They are talking about doing more of them, but I’m not sure the patient population requires it. And, honestly, our staff is getting burned out.

Sadly, many people are still refusing to get it. I know there are risks, but you have to realize it’s still better to vaccinate when weighing the pros and cons.

There is no conspiracy theory, the vaccine doesn’t change your DNA, the shot doesn’t carry a microscopic tracker so that the government now knows where you are at all times, there is no anti-Christian juice in it, it’s not going to cause the mark of the beast to suddenly sprout on your forehead.

Yes, you might get sick for a few days, you might be one of the tiny percent of the population who develops some weird long-term effects. You might say, I rather get COVID; I’m young and healthy, and I’ll recover from it as quickly as I would from this vaccine. Or you might get COVID, end up in the hospital for weeks, need a ventilator, and die. The coronavirus is one of those diseases which is not picky – there’s a word for it, but you know what I mean. It doesn’t care who you are. We’ve had ninety-year-olds sail through it and forty-somethings who end up that vent.

Here's the other thing – in many places, the pandemic is ramping up and seeing record number of cases. Probably because people are letting their guards down, sick of staying home, sick of their masks. But along with nearly everyone I’ve talked to, I want this thing to be over with. So, once again, I’m going to say (or write), wear the mask, keep the distance, be safe.

Have a good weekend, Chris

Just like spring flowers, the end of the pandemic will happen. Some day. 

Alice's Lake

  I haven’t written anything about my home town in quite a while. The first Friday in April, I had to drive to Rhinelander for my mammogram (too much information?), and on the way home, I decided to take the back roads – Hwy 17 to A to H (short H) to D.

I stopped where short H meets D and shot a few pictures. It was a beautiful day for early April, a thin layer of ice still on the far east end of Lake Alice.

In 1911, just east of town, a dam was built on the Wisconsin River to power the electric generators to run the pulp mill. Legend has it that some construction workers were working on the new dam, when some young women were fishing nearby, including one named Alice. The men overheard them refer to the lake as “Alice’s Lake.” Evidently, the name stuck.

Lake Alice is just under 1,400 acres and boasts various fish - musky, pike, bass, walleye, and panfish, including perch, bluegills, and crappies.

I didn’t see any fish that day. Just this red-winged blackbird.

And this loner, which looks like it could be a Common Goldeneye.

Then there are these, which I am guessing are Buffleheads. I’ve never heard of them before, but it’s the closest duck I could find, and they should be migrating through my neck of the woods (or lakes) this time of year.

I pretty much can only correctly identify loons and mallards. Oh, well, a lake is, at least, still a lake.

Let me know if you know what kind of ducks those are.

Thanking God for all the Good Gifts

  We thank you, then, Creator,

for all things bright and good,

the seed-time, and the harvest,

our life, our health, our food.

Accept the gifts we offer

for all your love imparts,

and what you most would welcome:

our humble, thankful hearts.

All good gifts around us are sent from heav’n above.

We thank you, God, we thank you, God, for all your love.

(From “We plough the fields, and scatter”; Author: Matthias Claudius (1782); Translator: Jane M. Campbell)

 Over Easter weekend, Hubby and I watched one of my favorite movies, “Godspell”. I still have the songs running through my head, so when I decided to write today about being thankful, this song came to mind.

In the movie, the song’s title is “All Good Gifts,” but it is taken from the German hymn, "Wir pflügen und wir streuen" which translates to we plow and we sow. I’ve only included the third stanza and the refrain here, but you can sure look up the full lyrics.

Anyway, it’s getting close to planting time, followed by the tiny shoots of new life pushing out of the ground. There is so much to be thankful for this time of year. If only that we made it through another winter!

With each passing day, we are also getting closer to the end of this pandemic and a return to normalcy. Without my faith in a loving Father in heaven, I am pretty sure that I would not mentally and emotionally have gotten through the past fourteen months.

I’ve got a new (used!) camper in the yard, waiting to take us on new adventures. I’m surrounded by a loving family and caring friends. I have a stable job, a beautiful home, and so many more things that I cannot list them all.

Thank You, Lord, thank You for it all, and mostly thank You for Your Love. Amen

Carlton the Camper Comes Home

 

    As you may already know, on Saturday, we brought Carlton the camper home. We had bought the used travel trailer the first of December but had left it in storage at the dealership until the snow melted and the yard was dry. I’ve spent the last four months planning a myriad of camping trips and picturing how to make all the new gadgets work. Our pop-up camper only had the basics, and we never even used the heater or the water in it.

Of course, the biggest worry I had was just getting it home and backed into its spot in the yard. Hubby parked it like a champ. Helpful hint – instead of shouting at him and using all sorts of hand motions which he probably couldn’t see anyway, I called him from my cellphone to his speakerphone in his truck and very quietly and calmly told him which was to go and when to stop.

Though the weather the last few weeks has been unseasonably warm and sunny, it is springtime in Wisconsin. Shortly after we got Carlton set up in his new home, it started raining. And has been cold and rainy ever since. We had a layer of fresh snow on the ground this morning! Typical.

It will eventually warm up, and the sun will return. And the open road will call, and we’ll be ready.

Just getting it on the road. 

Backed into place. And it doesn't take up as much room in the yard as I had thought it would. 

Time to unhook it from the new hitch assembly. 

Looking good. What does Dino think? 

I wasn't sure if Dino would find a bed for himself. 

But he did. 

And didn't want to leave. He's ready for camping too. 

We'll figure out all of Carlton's bells and whistles in due time. 

Repeat the Story

    Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29, New King James Version)

 A couple of weeks ago, I had a dream where a former co-worker called me up out of the blue. She was doing a radio show and wanted to interview me about my faith. In my dream, I was driving in my car and told her that sure, I had the time and would love to tell her about why I believed that Jesus Christ was my Savior.

I thought she meant she wanted to interview me on the phone right then, so I went into my spiel about having been born and raised in the Christian faith, going to church and Sunday School every week, praying at every meal, getting confirmed.

Then I told her about the time, back in 2005, when I was feeling sorry for myself and feeling very distant from God. Suddenly I felt a warm, strong hand under my chin, turning my face to the heavens, and heard a voice, rich and loving, tell me that I was His precious child. When I opened my eyes, there was no one there, well, no one that I could see. But I knew how real He was.

And then, in my dream, after sharing all of that with this woman on the phone, she said, “oh, that’s great, but I wasn’t recording it, so can you repeat all of that?”

I was like, “no, I’m not going to repeat all of that!”

And that’s when I woke up, wondering what that dream could possibly mean. All I know is that I hope when given the chance, I’ll joyfully repeat my faith story as many times as I need to.

Lord, Jesus Christ, thank You for coming into my life and for always being with me, for holding me when I am lonely, for lifting me up when I am falling. For being my eternal Savior. Amen

No, my daffodils aren't up yet; this picture was taken April 20, 2012. If you read my post on Friday, you realize that some years the flowers are farther behind than others. But we keep the faith. 

The Bipolar Months of the Year

 I have a friend who says that April is her least favorite month, that the weather all month is like a bipolar woman with PMS – cold and snowy one day, sunny and warm the next, and then a whole week of nothing but clouds and rain. I know we are only a week into the month, but we sure can’t complain this year. 

April 1, 2021

Other years? Oh, yes we can complain. Or maybe I just need to stop planning for vacations this time of year. 

April 4, 2014, getting ready to drive to Missouri on vacation.

Back home again on April 11, 2014. Lost a lot of snow that week. 

March 9, 2018, leaving for another trip to Missouri, this time we met up with the kids along the way. Not quite as much snow, for March anyway. Didn't get a picture when we got home though. Darn. 

April 11, 2019, when we left for Virginia that morning, it wasn't too bad around our house. Yet. But we ran into blizzard conditions just down the road. It was memorable enough to get its own blog post.

April 19, 2019, again pretty surprised by how much snow melted in a week while we were gone. Unfortunately, that year, it flooded our basement. 

 

April 11, 2020, thanks to the pandemic we canceled our spring vacation last year. And look how nice the April weather was! Until two days later. 

April 13, 2020. Oh, well. That's spring weather in Wisconsin. 

Jesus on Easter Morning

 Matthew 28, Good News Translation of the Bible

 The Resurrection

 After the Sabbath, as Sunday morning was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a violent earthquake; an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid that they trembled and became like dead men.

5 The angel spoke to the women. “You must not be afraid,” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has been raised, just as he said. Come here and see the place where he was lying. 7 Go quickly now, and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from death, and now he is going to Galilee ahead of you; there you will see him!’ Remember what I have told you.”

8 So they left the tomb in a hurry, afraid and yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Peace be with you.” They came up to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to them. “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

 Jesus Appears to His Disciples

16 The eleven disciples went to the hill in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him, even though some of them doubted. 18 Jesus drew near and said to them, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”

At the Mirador Turistico at Ayacucho, Peru, when I was there the week after Easter in 2009.

Jesus on Good Friday

 From Luke 23:32-49, Good News Translation of the Bible

 32 Two other men, both of them criminals, were also led out to be put to death with Jesus. 33 When they came to the place called “The Skull,” they crucified Jesus there, and the two criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Forgive them, Father! They don't know what they are doing.”

They divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice. 35 The people stood there watching while the Jewish leaders made fun of him: “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah whom God has chosen!”

36 The soldiers also made fun of him: they came up to him and offered him cheap wine, 37 and said, “Save yourself if you are the king of the Jews!”

38 Above him were written these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”

39 One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: “Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

40 The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, “Don't you fear God? You received the same sentence he did. 41 Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong.” 42 And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!”

43 Jesus said to him, “I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.”

44-45 It was about twelve o'clock when the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the whole country until three o'clock; and the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father! In your hands I place my spirit!” He said this and died.

47 The army officer saw what had happened, and he praised God, saying, “Certainly he was a good man!”

48 When the people who had gathered there to watch the spectacle saw what happened, they all went back home, beating their breasts in sorrow. 49 All those who knew Jesus personally, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance to watch.

 Scene from the Mirador Turistico at Ayacucho, Peru, when I was there the week after Easter in 2009.