Vacation.

There is just something about that word that makes us smile. The Princess and I have determined that as of 1630hrs today we are on vacation. In honor of that thought, we went grocery shopping. Well actually we went to the SuperStore (the same one in which I ‘soloed’ in an earlier blog) so we got more than just groceries. I used a gift card I won at one of last seasons midget football games to procure an inverter for the car/truck to keep the laptop running while we’re on vacation, and not miss out on any opportunity to blog. So now we’re stocked up on snacks and drinks and ready for the road. An eight hour stint on the road awaits us tomorrow. We have books on CD and personal mp3 player to occupy us while we drive. And if that doesn’t work, we can always go back and do it the old fashioned way and have Julie read to me as we drive (like we usually do). I’m really looking forward to spending some time relaxing on the shores of Lake Michigan. The Princess picked up her antibiotics (forth round) from the pharmacy on her way home from work tonight. Her culture was ‘contaminated’ so the doctor prescribed an antibiotic she hasn’t yet been on (in hopes that will work on whatever is ‘eating’ the Princess).

I hope to be able to spend some time reading and reflecting on things to help develop my ideas surrounding what I’ve been calling the ‘deliberate’ life. I’m going to have to start researching that name. I don’t want to be accused of encroaching on someone else’s term. I recently saw a book entitled “The Deliberate Church”, so I’m concerned that I may have to find another word for my idea. But then again I guess I’m still developing the idea so I might as well develop a name for it too. Stay with us as I ramble on through the development of my idea.

Check back soon (and often).

Dave (and the uncontaminated Princess) Julie

I’m tired of being tired.

Well, yesterday ended up being a twenty hour workday so needless to say, I never made it here to blog. We’ll start with the Julie report. The Princess returned to her doctor to see how things were progressing. It seems the three rounds of antibiotics haven’t kicked the infection. So the next step is to have the Princess cultured (and I thought she already WAS cultured), in a lab to see which drug(s) will kill off the nasty bugs that won’t leave her alone. The very capable Dr. Doty-Armstrong anticipates having a treatment plan put together by the end of the week. This is a good thing since we’re leaving on vacation Friday to spend a week with my very good friend Jeff and his family in their northern home. I’m sure you’ll be able to read a full account of the shenanigans we get into on his blog (http://naubinwaynook.blogspot.com/).

Twenty hour workdays do not give a person time to devote to living a ‘deliberate’ life, so I’ll leave you with a few thoughts. From Dr. Steven Covey (I think): “The enemy of the best is not the bad. It is the good that is the enemy of the best”. When I have a place like this to come home to, how could life get much better?

Check back soon (and often).

Dave and (the newly cultured Princess) Julie

Kudos to my mom for pulling all the weeds and revealing these glorious flowers.

This belongs to you.

Well at long last I’m home from Washington DC. In addition to the education that I picked up, I had the opportunity to spend an evening walking on the National Mall. I snapped this picture with my cell phone camera. I had absolutely NO idea how large the Lincoln Memorial actually is. I was awestruck. I was equally moved at the thought that like the PBS commercial (the one with the Dances With Wolves music in it) says, I own part of it. I’ve heard it said that taxes are the dues we pay to live in a civilized society. After a week in a big city like Washington DC, I sometimes wonder if we’re getting our money’s worth of civilization. But then seeing something like this makes it all worth it. I’ve also heard it said that the living conditions in America may not be perfect, but it sure beats the heck out of whatever is in second place. I couldn’t agree more.

My hours of traveling lately have given me time to read (books on CD) and reflect. I’ll share my thoughts with you in upcoming blogs. For now I’ll close with a quote from Socrates “The unexamined life is not worth living”. I’ll be back to my ‘normal’ log style tomorrow.

Check back soon (and often).

Dave

“Warp Factor Seven, Mr. Sulu.”

They say “Time flies when you’re having fun”. That is of course unless you’re Kermit the Frog, in which case you say “Time is fun when you’re having flies”. Either way, it’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to document anything and I’m going to try to ‘catch you up’. Hold on tight, we’re gonna move fast.
Greetings from our nation’s capitol. I’m here for a training class (it’s work stuff. You’d find it boring). As I sit in my hotel room and look out over the Potomac (well OK, I’m looking out on a building that looks out onto Reagan National Airport which overlooks the Potomac) I think back over the events of the last several days.
As I was anticipating a quiet weekend last Friday, Julie’s younger brother Dave decided that re-roofing his house in the ninety plus degree heat just wasn’t any fun anymore so he thought it would be a real hoot to fall off the roof on his head. Well I doubt that it was a conscious decision he made, especially since he ended up with two broken arms, a fractured skull, a fractured back, a broken collarbone, broken facial bones and broken ribs (and other various and sundry injuries). If it weren’t for the familial trait of a hard head that he shares with the Princess, I question if he would have survived the fall. Be that as it may, the whole family got to make a ‘flying run’ to St. V’s in Toledo (actually Dave was the only one flying. He got airlifted there on a LifeFlight helicopter). But to the credit of modern medical science his doctors believe he should make a full recovery in due time. The Princess (in her ever pessimistic way) quipped to me on the way home that since things happen in three’s and since she and her brother were both hospitalized, there would have to be another. I told her that was just an old wives tale and that she was just being silly. Boy was I stupid.
In the midst of all THAT excitement, Julie’s dad decided he wasn’t feeling the greatest either. Thinking that he had a problem with his blood sugar, Julie convinced him to go to the Emergency Room on Saturday night to get checked out. Much to our surprise, Julie’s mom called a little later to say that they were admitting him to the hospital thinking he may have had a heart attack. He was eventually diagnosed with a condition called ‘total heart block’ (at least I think that’s what the doctor said it was called. It was REALLY late on Saturday night). That is a condition where the upper and lower chambers of the heart do not operate in unison and therefore do not supply enough blood to the body. At any rate, the doctors implanted a temporary pacemaker around midnight Saturday night to keep his ticker running correctly until they could implant a permanent one. He didn’t have to wait long though since he got his permanent one at 7:30 Sunday morning.
While that surgery was going on I was at the 9am church service that was being led by Miriam’s youth group to celebrate their mission trip to Arizona. The youth did a great job and I truly believe that great blessings await many of the youth in that group and the world at the hands of the youth in that group. I feel that The Spirit is strong in several of them.
After church and a quick trip to the hospital to check on Julie’s dad I set out for Washington DC. What should have been about a seven hour trip took almost eleven because I drove in rain (and some severe thunderstorms) through most of W.Va, PA and Maryland. It cleared up just as I was approaching Washington. After driving around for about an hour looking for my hotel (because my laptop battery had died, rendering my map, directions and reservation information useless) I FINALLY found the right hotel and got checked in. Apparently there were no rooms available in the Marriott hotel I had requested (the one where my training sessions are being held) so my overachieving Administrative Assistant (who routinely goes above and beyond the call of duty) took the initiative to book me at the closest Marriott hotel. She probably told me this and as usual I wasn’t listening. Anyway, this would have been all well and good had I taken the time to actually READ my reservation and see where a room was waiting for me. Oh well.
Monday had me learning a lot of stuff about radio waves and Julie playing food delivery girl to all the shut-ins. I think we’re all going to collapse in bed tonight and sleep VERY well.
I’ll blog more about a ‘deliberate’ life when I’m no longer moving at what Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise would call “Warp Factor Seven, Mr. Sulu”. Until then I’m just trying to hang on and I hope you do the same.
Check back soon (and often)
Dave and (the no longer the most unhealthy Princess) Julie

Some infections kill harder than others.

Well the Princess found out tonight that she still hasn’t completely kicked her infection. She learned this while at yet another doctors appointment unrelated to her latest surgeries (what are we gonna do when we get old?) and asked to have it checked just for safety. I guess kudos are in line for the Princess for listening to her body enough to know to get checked out. She still claims to feel pretty good though. Feeling good is not necessarily easy in weather we’ve had here. The temperatures were in the 90s outside today with high humidity My office building developed a problem with the A/C today and when I finally decided just before four o’clock that I’d had enough, it was 87 degrees in my office. I’m thinking about going in to work early tomorrow in order to ‘beat the heat’.
The Princess and I went for a walk in the vineyard this evening. It sounds romantic until I tell you that we were looking for re-infestations of Japanese beetles. We found a grand total of three beetles. That’s still enough to convince me that I need to stop by the garden store tomorrow and get some Sevin to spray in the vineyard. I’m also intrigued by things I’ve read about Neem oil. I may ask about that too.
A few days ago I wrote about an important part of the ‘deliberate’ life being the connection between thought and action. I’ve been meditating over what keeps people in general, and me specifically, from making the transition from thought into action. I think a lot of it has to do with health. We’ve been paying more attention to our health lately. I recently got a copy of the DASH diet book. Julie is reading through it now. I hope the health benefits to us inspires us to lead a ‘deliberate’ life. I’ll let you know how it’s going.

Check back soon (and often).

Dave and (the still infected Princess) Julie

Some days you’re the statue, and some days you’re the pigeon.

And then there are days like today where you’re both. But first, the Princess update. Julie seems to be tolerating the antibiotic well and I think it’s already helping. Her mood is good and I think she feels pretty good. She now almost ‘plops’ down into a chair and can cough without her eyes watering. She drove herself to work again today and got to take the car BACK to the tire place. I’m beginning to wonder about her driving habits (or if she has a thing for the tire guy). She took Ely along for a ride when she went to the market tonight. Here is Ely on our front porch pretending to be a watchdog.

Look real close, He's kinda short!

I sprayed for Japanese beetles in the vineyard tonight. I was amazed at the profusion of bugs. Since I mowed on Saturday some of the second year vines were almost defoliated. I think I’m going to have to spray again with Sevin or something like that. The beetles almost came out in clouds when I hit some of the bigger vines. Wow.

We’re now sitting here watching “Wipeout” on TV. It’s a funny show.

Julie’s turn:

Dave is correct. I am feeling better about the whole operation thing. I was beginning to think I did it all for nothing. I feel better mentally and physically (at least for today)

As for my driving habits, I feel I must defend my self. I have nothing to do with the valve stem or the nail. I am sure of this. I am getting to know the tire guy Dan. He seems to be real nice and soft spoken. I hope he has a good life outside the tire shop!

I am also learning the inventory of the Hardware store attached to the tire shop. They have a little bit of everything.. Just like the old hardware in Arlington had. Now for the tip of the day .I found the best glass cleaner. It’s called “Perfect Glass” Get some and love it!

Check back soon (and often).

Dave and (the increasingly frisky Princess) Julie

Monday Monday

Not one wanting to be bored, the Princess decided that her recovery was going along too smoothly and that an infection was in order (just to keep things interesting). A quick visit to the doctor (or Nurse Practitioner in this case) yielded a prescription for antibiotics which should kick the infection in short order. According to the health care professionals this type of infection is fairly common after surgery and at this point is nothing to be overly concerned about. So the Princess has yet another pill to take in the morning and evening for a while (as if she didn’t already sound like a maraca after her pills). The Princess is also pleased that she was able to drive herself to work today (and to the tire shop for a repair) for the first time since her surgery. I guess that means that I get to relinquish my role as chauffer now. I can probably do the same for the ‘chief cook’ role since she made dinner (delicious chicken enchiladas). So I guess life is getting that much closer to normal.

After my ‘day job’ I stopped off at a ‘night job’ client site to generate a little “billable time” before I went to the Garden Store to get some insecticide for the grapes in the vineyard (and on the pergola). The Japanese beetles are TERRIBLE this year. I hope to be able to spray after work tomorrow night. It’s too late to spray the raspberries, but I hope to be able to ‘save’ the grapes. Miriam should be back from her mission trip tomorrow or Wednesday. She called home and spoke to Julie briefly the other day. She says she’s having a great and Spirit filled time. I hope this trip continues to minister to her as well as the people she went to serve.

Mission trips and things like that are great examples of what I’ve been calling the ‘deliberate’ life. I’ve talked about the ‘deliberate’ life requiring thought. That is very true, but for a life to BE deliberate also requires action which is the result of thought. That’s where I’ve been ‘falling down’ lately. No matter how hard I ‘think’ something, it still requires me getting off my big fat backside and ‘doing’ something (I’m really having a tough time with being a mere mortal). A ‘deliberate’ life requires thought and action. And probably the MOST important element (and therefore the most difficult) is the connection between the two. I plan to focus on that aspect of it for a while. This upcoming weekend I have some extensive traveling to do and I plan to take the audiobook “Man’s Search For Meaning” by Viktor Frankl to keep me occupied on the trip. I’ll let you know what new thoughts spring out of this.

Check back soon (and often)

Dave and (the infected Princess) Julie

P.S. since I don’t have a recent picture of the grapes, here is a part of the raspberry crop from this year.