Next few days are gonna be COLD

On Sunday we got hit with about 6 inches or so of snow, which wasn't in the forecasts that I heard on Friday.  It got pretty cold here, and right now according to the Weather Channel website (weather.com) it's currently 5 degrees with a "feels like" rating of -9 degrees.  The high/low forecasts for today and tomorrow are 16/1 and 20/3 respectively.  But at least it'll be sunny!

Winter is finally setting in

Well it's getting colder here in Bend.  This weekend and the first part of next week is going to see low temps in the single digits.  Brrrrrrrr!


Woke up with a pounding headache this morning and popped a couple Advil, then about an hour later, I popped a third.  The worst of the headache is gone but there's still a dull ache under the surface.  I wasn't feeling great yesterday after work, either, so maybe my body is trying to fight something off.


The week before last, Shannon and I took a trip up to Longview over the holiday weekend to visit with some of my old Friends in the Cowlitz congregation.  We left Thursday and stayed until Sunday.  It was nice to catch up with the Friends at the Thursday and Sunday meetings, and to see some of my old stomping grounds again. 

A Week of Increased Activity

This past week we had the visit of our circuit overseer.  He's new to our circuit, having just come from the Everett area of Washington state.  We are his second circuit.  Among other things, he wanted to encourage as many as possible to get out in the field ministry on Saturday, as well as to be ready for the possible formation of a new congregation in the Bend area (which would meet in our Kingdom Hall).  It turned out that we had 100 meet for the field ministry on Saturday, wow!  Unfortunately I was working that day.

This week it appears that winter started in earnest, with much cooler temperatures and snow overnight Saturday and into Sunday morning and afternoon.  Time to get those snowshoes out!

Musings Over Morning Coffee

I'm up early this morning (thanks to the cats wanting breakfast), so I thought I'd do some personal study and preparation for our special service day today and post an entry on the blog.  Today is our congregation's monthly special effort to start Bible studies with those interested in learning what the Bible really teaches.  Those going out in the morning meet at the Hall at noon to enjoy some hot soup and regroup for afternoon activity.

We're hoping to go up to Longview to visit friends in the Cowlitz congregation over the thanksgiving holiday, but everything hinges on whether or not I will get Black Friday off or not.  There is a strong possibility I will not.  If I am allowed that day off work (which is an open day on my route), then I likely won't find out til the last minute.  This will be the last getaway we have this year, and since it's been seven months since we got to do something like that, we're feeling "getaway withdrawals".  Our last weekend getaway was back in April when we got together in Seaside with some good friends and went to the seafood festival in Astoria.  That was fun!

Next March we're planning to take a romantic weekend getaway to a more calm part of the Oregon coast, around the Pacific City area.  One of our favorite bed and breakfasts, the Sandlake Country Inn, is located just outside of Pacific City in the small community of Cloverdale.  We've been to this B & B a few times now, and it has proven to be the perfect place to relax, recharge, and do a little exploring.  Their website is http://sandlakecountryinn.com/    We always stay in the Starlight Suite.  They also have a blog here at this site:  http://blog.sandlakecountryinn.com/ 

Vacation's Over

Well it's back to work today.  Vacation time always goes by too fast! 

The week was definitely enjoyable, though.  I was able to spend time out in the field ministry with some in the congregation that I didn't know that well, and I got to know them a little better.  A good friend came over from Longview, WA and we enjoyed catching up and working together in the ministry.  We also went to the Sunday meeting over in Silver Lake, which is at the gateway to the Oregon Outback.  I'd never been in that area before, so that was a real treat!  We stopped off to take a couple pictures of Fort Rock, which was neat.  That's my friend Jim in the picture pointing at Fort Rock.  All in all it was a very good week.

Not quite the start I was hoping for

I ended up running late for field service this morning because I had to take Shannon in to work.  She was originally going to telecommute but unfortunately was unable to login on her work computer at home.  So I was able to contact Tony at the Hall and arrange to meet him and his wife at 10:30.


We had a very enjoyable morning in field service, calling back on some people to which he and his wife had previously spoken.  At noon we returned to the Hall and, hoping to go out in the afternoon also, I waited around to see who else would show up.  However, nobody appeared to be meeting, so I went to leave, and as I was driving through the parkinglot, I noticed something weird with my steering.  Turned out my driver front tire was flat.  I ended up having Les Swhab send out their mobile tire repair guy and he reinflated my tire so I could drive the two miles to the nearest Les Shwab.  They inspected my tires and told me I had pretty low tread on all four, although I could possibly get away with another couple months on the rear tires.  I chose to err on the side of caution, bit the bullet and bought four new all-season tires.


Today was an expensive start to my vacation/service week!

Vacation!

Today's my first day of vacation and I slept in til 7am, Woo-Hoo!  My secular job in pest control requires me to be at work by 7am, so this is a real treat for me.  I'm really looking forward to this week as I'm planning to spend most of it out in the field ministry with the pioneers in our congregation.  One of my favorite things is being outside during the fall season when the air is crisp and the leaves turn colors, fall to the ground and are blown around by the wind.  And being out in the field ministry with good Friends during that time is even more fun.

Going Away Party

Last night we had a going away party at Abby's Pizza  for one of our elders and his family.  Jeff and his family have been in the Parkway congregation for many years and have been a real blessing.


They are moving to Ecuador for a few months and will be working where the need is greater.  Their oldest son is already living down there and serves as an elder and a pioneer. 


The accompanying photo (ignore the date stamp) is of Jeff (on the left) and Darren, another brother who is good friend of ours.  As you can see it was a happy occasion and we wish Jeff and his family safe journeys and many productive Bible studies.  Oh, and Jeff, we want to see pictures of the fish!