So much for Resolutions.

Well here we are more than halfway through January and it's my first blog entry for AD 2009. It seems that the hurrier I go, the behindier I get. Oh well, here's what you've missed. I'm back in class for the Spring semester. On Monday nights I have a class whose title seems to be an oxymoron these days. The class is "Business Ethics" and I have to admit that it is a very thought provoking class. I worry, however, that we might be teaching young people a poor lesson if 'ethics' in business differ from the 'ethics' in life. There seems to me to be too much compartmentalization in life these days. If we're suggesting to these kids that ethics are different in business than everywhere else I think we're missing something (but that's just my humbe opinion). On Tuesday and Thursday nights I have German class. It's quite humbling to be in a class full of people who are just coming off of four years of High School German when my most common experience with it is being yelled at by the "Dutchmen" in our community. Thus far I'm enjoying it. We'll see how I feel by the end of the semester. My hope is to be able to get enough hours in to get my BA by December of 2010. Keep your fingers crossed!
Good news from the Princess. She has "graduated" from her regular doctors appointments and will only need to go back if she experiences problems. We're all very relieved about that. On the flip side, I went for my regular checkup at my eye surgeon last week only to find that the bleeding has started again. Therefore I'll be going to St. Vincents in Toledo on Wednesday to get it "sealed" again (for the third time). In case you're curious about how they're doing it this time, I found a pretty good explanation here:
http://www.retinavitreous.com/treatments/pdt.html
I plan to be back to work and school on Thursday but I'll have to stay out of the sunlight for several days. To that end I guess I'm fortunate that it's January in Ohio. There's not much sun to stay out of right now. The other fortunate thing is that after Wednesday I'll pretty much have my insurance deductible taken care of for this year.
All of this "stuff" going on has me in a generally foul mood. I'm still very thankful for all of the great things that I have going on in my life, but I'm just disgusted (and tired out) by all of the 'crap' that life is throwing my way over the last year. This too shall pass. I just needed to vent a little. Well, I should get back to my homework.
Check back soon (and often)
Dave and (the ever patient Princess) Julie

Tempus Fugit

I find it difficult to believe that the holiday season that was upcoming when I last updated this blog is now almost over. For that matter, 2008AD is almost over. It seems that for the last few months the Princess and I have been running really hard but not really making any forward progress. We’ve had to run that hard just to keep up. Here’s a quick recap:
The Princess has had several more appointments with several physicians. She continues to heal very slowly (but surely) for unknown reasons.
We hosted the family Thanksgiving in November and it was a rousing success (as usual)
We lost a neighbor and longtime friend to a freak accident in November. We will miss him and his willingness to help out.
I bottled the first run of “Tomorrows Promise Red”. It looks nice and shows promise for great things to come from the winery.

The family was all here on Christmas morning. I think a good time was enjoyed by all. If not, at least I had a good time.

Today we go to the Princess folks place for Christmas festivities there. I’m eagerly anticipating eating WAAAAAAY too much. I think for New Years I will resolve to keep up on my blog. School starts in 2 weeks. I hope my brain will be ready. I’ll keep you fully informed (unless I break my resolution). We’ll see how it goes.

Check back soon (and often),
Dave and (the ever patient Princess) Julie

Ugh!

That’s about all I can say about that. I snapped this picture of the vineyard when i walked out to get the mail yesterday. Once again we are reminded of what it’s like to live in northwest Ohio. Snow and wind are part and parcel of living here between November and April. Personally, I’m never really ready for it these days. The only real good thing it does is get me ready in the mood for Christmas. I enjoy the family get togethers that occur around the holidays and regret that we don’t make time for them more often. As we all grow older, I know that the number of holidays we can all spend together is growing very small. With this in mind I resolve to enjoy each one to the fullest. To paraphrase what the sermon series at church has been about lately:
“Life is kind of like a board game. When it’s over, everything goes back in the box”.
I’d like to leave the world better than I found it before I have to get put ‘back in the box’. I guess I’d better get busy then.

Check back soon (and often),

Dave and (the infinitely patient Princess) Julie

The Julie Report 3.0

Well as you can probably guess from the title of today’s post, the Princess got to go “under the knife” yet again. Fortunately this time it was relatively minor and I’m pleased to report that all went well and the Princess is now sleeping soundly at home in her comfy jammies. Without going into too much gory detail I’ll tell you that this surgery (like the last) is a direct result of her not healing correctly from her surgery in June. Hopefully this will be the last invasive procedure she’ll have to undergo. The question that remains to be answered is why it’s taking her so long to heal. Her doctor has ruled out the most common (thyroid, diabetes, etc.) reasons for not healing so the Princess has yet another physician who is looking for any other potential problems. To this end she went in for lab work last week and had about EIGHTEEN vials of blood drawn all at once. With luck they’ll find something that is simple to correct. Thanks to all for your thoughts, prayers, well wishes and offers of support as we work through this time of rather annoying health issues.
Now, on to the happy news. The Princess is looking forward to a trip to the Big Apple this upcoming weekend. While there she’ll be spending some quality time taking in the sights and sounds of Manhattan with her friend the Naubinway Queen. I’m sure she’ll give a full report upon her return. And things won’t slow down for the Princess when she does return. She’ll have to go into high gear in her ‘occupation’ as a party planner and hostess. With the Thanksgiving Holiday fast approaching she’ll be scurrying about making preparations for the Rettig family gathering here at the farm, and she’s also taking on a new “chore”. The Princess will be preparing for a Thanksgiving feast for her ‘adopted granddaughters’, twins Cora and Kate who currently have their mother bedridden until they arrive. I’m sure the Princess is looking forward to it far more than either of the girls. And once that’s behind her she’ll go ‘full bore’ into the Christmas season.
Holidays are times filled with gatherings of communities made up of family (the people with which we share DNA) and friends (the family God gives us to sort of make up for what we got with DNA). Either way, community is what it’s all about. I had an interesting conversation with a friend lately. What came out of that exchange was the thought that ALL conversations are either agenda driven (what can we GET from it) or community driven (what can we GIVE to it). I’ve started trying to be mindful of the motivation of my conversations. I won’t tell you what my ‘batting average’ is, but I will tell you that I working to improve it.

Check back soon (and often),

Dave and (the sleeping with ‘Prince Valium’ Princess) Julie

Red Letter Days

Last weekend brought several red letter days to the farm. The Princess was overjoyed to be able to hang the first laundry out on her clothesline.


To me it seems to be the ultimate irony for a city gal to have had a dryer all these years and wanting to dry clothes hanging on a line outside. Now mind you, I’m not complaining. Any time we can do something without electricity, I’m all for it. I’m happy to report that I can now dry myself with scratchy towels in the morning. And all this just in time for winter.
Another red letter event was the first pressing of grapes this season. I put Andrew to work squeezing the life out of some Concord grapes. He seemed to enjoy it. I’m pretty certain the Princess will enjoy it when I’m finished with it.



Thanks to everyone for their comments and compliments on the Digging Deeper video. I’m pleased that it is serving its intended purpose. We’ll try to keep the good things going. Until then…..

Check back soon (and often),

Dave and (the scratchy laundry producing Princess) Julie

Digging Deeper

Last Sunday the Princess and I "starred" in a video vignette to support the theme of the day at Gateway EPC which was “Digging Deeper”. The movie is a spoof of our life here on the farm. Lately I’ve been trying to dig deeper into some of the good habits I’ve picked up in my time at Winebrenner Seminary. Someday I’ll tell you all about it, but until then, enjoy the movie (the watermark goes away after the first minute).
Check back soon (and often),
Dave and (the misplaced Princess) Julie

Would you eat chili prepared by this man?

Last Saturday we hosted a chili supper for the Gateway EPC Worship Ministry Teams at the farm. It’s the first time we’ve ever prepared 10 gallons of chili in one batch. I say that it wasn’t ‘quite’ as good as our usual small batches, but it was still really yummy. I think it’s safe to say that a good time was enjoyed by all. It also gave me the opportunity to reflect on something a friend told me recently. “A community places it in context”. He wasn’t talking about a chili supper, but it still fits whether it’s a national election, a community celebration, or raising a child. Fall is the perfect time to come together on the farm. As the growing season comes to an end and many plants prepare to go to sleep for the winter, it’s the perfect time to kindle new friendships and rekindle existing ones. Here’s to relationships!

Check back soon (and often),

Dave and (the domestic goddess Princess) Julie