Listening To Reason...

Fox Hunting and Building Trust

2010-02-05T13:06:00.000-05:00

One of my dad's friends was an old dairy farmer named Archie Mayle. Archie had several sons and grandsons who all lived close by and helped out with milking and the farm.

The two activities that my dad and Archie had in common were fox hunting and making hard cider (think - apple moonshine).

Now understand that fox hunting in southern Ohio in the early '70's consisted of three or four farmers and their sons going out into the woods on a Friday night, building a big bonfire and turning the dogs loose.

For the next several hours we'd all sit by the fire and listen to the dogs as they picked up the scent of a fox and then trailed him.

You could tell if the dogs had picked up a scent and you could tell when they lost it - all by tone and length of their bark.

Each farmer knew the sound of his own dog and each would stand around the fire and brag about how he knew his dog was out in front because of the urgency he heard in the dog's howling.

Of course the consumption of large quantities of homemade hard cider had no influence whatsoever on a farmer's hearing!

One Friday night after a late hunt I ended up in bed at Archie's house instead of my own. The next morning, after the milking, nine of us sat down around the long table in Grandma Mayle's kitchen. Grandma Mayle's greatest joy in life seemed to be cooking for her extended family.

On the table were fried and scrambled eggs, ham, country sausage, the homemade biscuits with red eye gravy, crisp bacon, heaps of fried potatoes and buttery grits. Mrs.. Mayle always had fresh sliced tomatoes and home canned peaches on the breakfast table as well. It was a feast for the senses and one of my favorite childhood memories.

I was able to share in that experience because there was a sense of trust between our families. My family trusted theirs and they trusted ours. And that sense of trust existed between our families because we did things together.

It was the early 1970's in rural southern Ohio and there weren't many black and white family friendships like ours.

My dad and Archie did not see themselves as anything special, just farmers who were friends.

As a young person, those experiences of building "social capital" that crossed cultural lines had an important impact on my life and the way I would interact with people later in life.

Throughout our lives it is important to keep ourselves open to relationships with others different from ourselves because those relationships build trust.

Strategic Abandonment. - Repost From 2005

2010-01-28T11:55:00.000-05:00

Growing up on the farm was not all hard work. It was a lot of hard work - but not all work.

My closest buddies were the five Bennett brothers who lived on the farm behind ours. We would meet on Saturdays after our chores and play 3 on 3 football, King of the hay loft, Army and anything else we could think of until well after dark.

To get to their house I had to cut through a couple of our pastures, through some woods, cross Buckeye Run (a stream), then hike through their pasture. Most of the time that could be accomplished in about 20 minutes. If you walked to their house by the road it would take you the better part of an hour.

One Saturday I took off for the Bennett's house without knowing that earlier in the week Delbert Bennett had rented a bull and had placed said bull in their pasture with the usual ten or twelve cows.

The Bennett house was in sight when I climbed over the fence into their pasture and started walking toward the farm yard. I saw the guys outside finishing their chores and they started waving at me - I waved back and kept walking. I saw the usual group of harmless cows to the right of me and did not pay much attention until I noticed that one significantly larger "cow" was looking my way.

The bull lowered his head and kicked dust up with his nose - and I suddenly realized why the Bennett boys were still waving at me! I turned and burned back over the fence before the bull got any angrier.

In the corporate world... that's called Strategic Abandonment.

Sometimes you have to recognize that no matter how hard you try, no matter the effort you put into it... the bull is going to get you if you keep going forward.

The key: Act decisively : 1) recognize the situation, 2) get back to a safe position and 3) figure another way to your goal.

Hiking along the fence and out to the road took some additional time and effort - but it was clearly my best course for success.

A few visits shy of 10 grand....

2010-01-19T19:49:00.000-05:00

When I started this experiment in 2004 this blog served as an outlet for me. For most of those 5 1/2 years I have enjoyed sharing my opinions and recipes and thoughts on living life. There have been times when it has been troublesome having a blog because I felt like I had to feed it.

The times when I enjoyed it the most were when I hit on something the resonated with others and the hits went through the roof. Mostly it has been for a ham glaze recipe that still gets hundreds of hits at Christmas and Easter. And the lyrics for "While on the Sea" gets hits. That hymn resonates with folks.

I am not stopping...while I have been neglectful... I will continue this experiment for a while yet.

If you miss my photos then "Friend" me on Facebook and you'll see some great photos of VT.

Poverty in America

2010-01-04T09:34:00.000-05:00

People need this kind of help now more than ever before...

"About six million Americans receiving food stamps report they have no other income... In declarations that states verify and the federal government audits, they described themselves as unemployed and receiving no cash aid — no welfare, no unemployment insurance, and no pensions, child support or disability pay."

A warming winter meal

2009-12-13T17:56:00.002-05:00

3 or 4 pork chops bone in
2 fresh brats cut in two
2 chicken and apple sausage cut in two or 2 knockwurst cut in two
small head of cabbage sliced into 1/4 inch slices
large onion sliced
3 apples peeled, cored and sliced
1/3 cup white wine
1 can of concentrated apple juice OR two cups of apple cider

Season the chops with pork seasoning or salt and pepper and a little ancho pepper
Brown in a dutch oven in a ltlle olive oil and remove
Add and brown all your sausages and remove
De-glaze the pan with the wine or some cider, leave the liquid
Add cabbage, onion and apples to the pan and under medium heat cook them down to reduce moisture and bulk by half, season with salt and pepper
Add concentrated apple juice or cider
Add meat back to dutch oven

Cover and braise in a 350 oven for 1.5 hour

This is a savory/sweet way to serve some old favorites...Serve with whipped potatoes and peas.

We enjoyed this today on the snowy afternoon...

Johnson, Gorbachev, Obama

2009-12-03T11:29:00.000-05:00

As always - Nicholas Kristof has some thoughtful words...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/opinion/03kristof.html

Happy Turkey Day - Best Turkey Ever!

2009-11-23T14:32:00.000-05:00

Ingredients

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:

1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Directions

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine. Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Experimental Theology: The Bait and Switch of Contemporary Christianity

2009-11-09T10:04:00.002-05:00

This is a provocative article - I would encourage my friends who are believers to give it a read...

By Richard Beck @ ACU

To start, a story.

A few years ago a female student wanted to visit with me about some difficulties she was having, mainly with her family life. As is my practice, we walked around campus as we talked.
After talking for some time about her family situation we turned to other areas of her life. When she reached spiritual matters we had the following exchange:

“I need to spend more time working on my relationship with God.”
I responded, “Why would you want to do that?”
Startled she says, “What do you mean?”
“Well, why would you want to spend any time at all on working on your relationship with God?”
“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”
“Let me answer by asking you a question. Can you think of anyone, right now, to whom you need to apologize? Anyone you’ve wronged?”
She thinks and answers, “Yes.”
“Well, why don’t you give them a call today and ask for their forgiveness. That might be a better use of your time than working on your relationship with God.”

Obviously, I was being a bit provocative with the student. And I did go on to clarify. But I was trying to push back on a strain of Christianity I see in both my students and the larger Christian culture. Specifically, when the student said “I need to work on my relationship with God” I knew exactly what she meant. It meant praying more, getting up early to study the bible, to start going back to church. Things along those lines. The goal of these activities is to get “closer” to God. To “waste time with Jesus.” Of course, please hear me on this point, nothing is wrong with those activities. Personal acts of piety and devotion are vital to a vibrant spiritual life and continued spiritual formation. But all too often “working on my relationship with God” has almost nothing to do with trying to become a more decent human being.

The trouble with contemporary Christianity is that a massive bait and switch is going on. “Christianity” has essentially become a mechanism for allowing millions of people to replace being a decent human being with something else, an endorsed “spiritual” substitute. For example, rather than being a decent human being the following is a list of some commonly acceptable substitutes:

Going to church
Worship
Praying
Spiritual disciplines (e.g., fasting)
Bible study
Voting Republican
Going on spiritual retreats
Reading religious books
Arguing with evolutionists
Sending your child to a Christian school or providing education at home
Using religious language
Avoiding R-rated movies
Not reading Harry Potter.

The point is that one can fill a life full of spiritual activities without ever, actually, trying to become a more decent human being. Much of this activity can actually distract one from becoming a more decent human being. In fact, some of these activities make you worse, interpersonally speaking. Many churches are jerk factories.

Take, for example, how Christians tip and behave in restaurants. If you have ever worked in the restaurant industry you know the reputation of the Sunday morning lunch crowd. Millions of Christians go to lunch after church on Sundays and their behavior is abysmal. The single most damaging phenomenon to the witness of Christianity in America today is the collective behavior of the Sunday morning lunch crowd. Never has a more well-dressed, entitled, dismissive, haughty or cheap collection of Christians been seen on the face of the earth.

I exaggerate of course. But I hope you see my point. Rather than pouring our efforts into two hours of worship, bible study and Christian fellowship on Sunday why don’t we just take a moment and a few extra bucks to act like a decent human being when we go to lunch afterwards? Just think about it. What if the entire restaurant industry actually began to look forward to working Sunday lunch? If they said amongst themselves, “I love the church crowd. They are kind, patient and very generous. It’s my favorite part of the week waiting on Christians.” How might such a change affect the way the world sees us? Think about it. Just being a decent human being for one hour each Sunday and the world sees us in a whole new way.

But it’s not going to happen. Because behavior at lunch isn’t considered to be “working on your relationship with God.” Behavior at lunch isn’t spiritual. Going to church, well, that is working on your relationship with God. But, as we all know, any jerk can sit in a pew. But you can’t be a jerk if you take the time to treat your waitress as if she were a friend, daughter or mother.

My point in all this is that contemporary Christianity has lost its way. Christians don’t wake up every morning thinking about how to become a more decent human being. Instead, they wake up trying to “work on their relationship with God” which very often has nothing to do with treating people better. How could such a confusion have occurred? How did we end up going so wrong? I’m sure there are lots of answers, but at the end of the day we need to face up to our collective failure. I’m not saying we need to do anything dramatic. A baby step would do to start. Waking up trying to be a little more kind, more generous, more interruptible, more forgiving, more humble, more civil, more tolerant. Do these things and prayer and worship will come alongside to support us.

I truly want people to spend time working on their relationship with God. I just want them to do it by taking the time to care about the person standing right in front of them.

Experimental Theology: The Bait and Switch of Contemporary Christianity

I am troubled when people speak with such certainty.

2009-10-26T10:06:00.002-04:00

Our knowledge is always imperfect and hazy.

Even well meaning Christian people deeply disagree about what is right in any particular situation. Even when we come close to God’s viewpoint on justice, we find that when we claim to speak for God, we can’t help inserting a few lines of our own.

But to act justly there must be a willingness to embrace those who differ with us, who disapprove of us. When people disagree —what is called for is a broader view of thinking about things. The ability to change perspectives, the willingness to reason from the other’s point of view, even to see ourselves as they see us.

What is needed is the sensitivity and desire to seek out and listen to others and, if necessary, to re-adjust our own viewpoint as we take into account their perspective in hopes that our conflicting ideas of justice might converge.

Otherwise the harder we struggle against the injustice done to us, the blinder we become to the injustice we do.

Locavore

2009-10-17T19:47:00.005-04:00

The Locavore movement is increasingly important in the United States and elsewhere as interest in sustainability has become more prevalent. Those who are interested in eating food that is locally produced, not moved long distances to market, are called "locavores".

In the early 1970's when I was growing up in southeastern Ohio we were all locavores.

Today I had the pleasure of cutting up my own pig. My pig was raised by a friend and farmer who took good care of it all summer long. No antibiotics, no stress, just apples, pasture and grain. As natural as it can be.

I know that my pig (that I split with my neighbor) was killed humanely and since we processed it, I know how it was processed. We cut the roasts, hams, bacon, chops and even ground the sausage. We wrapped everything and it is now in the deep freezer in the garage. The hams and the bacon we are taking to Barre, VT to Vermont Smoke & Cure to be smoked. The Smoke & Cure guys have been here for over 20 years and do a great job.

Tonight, I took a chop and pan fried it with salt and pork rub from Urban Herbs and it was tender and delicious. Now, I know that not everyone can do this or would want to do this but for me it was a privilege and I am grateful for the opportunity.

Trains....

2009-10-14T13:21:00.003-04:00

I like trains. I enjoyed HO scale trains when I was a kid. In 1984 I took the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles and back. It was a fun way to travel and see the country. There are three more trains I would like to ride some day - my "bucket list" of trains.

The Rocky Mountaineer - Across Canada -
http://www.rockymountaineer.com/

The Blue Train - Across South Africa -
http://www.bluetrain.co.za/

The Ghan - Across the middle of Australia -
http://www.gsr.com.au/our-trains/the-ghan/the-journey.php

I liked sharing meals with people I did not know, watching the scenery roll by, reading while traveling at eighty miles an hour and the whole idea of traveling in a relaxed fashion.

"Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown. Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them, alas, we return!" - E. M. Forster

15 years since a New England Fall

2009-10-09T15:09:00.005-04:00

It has been 15 years since I spent an Autumn in New England and I am enjoying this one for all it's worth.

In a number of ways I feel reborn with the coming of Fall. I recognize that most people reserve these feelings for Spring, but for me, Fall has always represented thoughtfulness, rebirth and morning.

Maybe it is the theological notion that in dying to ourselves we are reborn again. Perhaps it is the fact that the trees demonstrate a beauty and grace that is only seen in the changing and falling of the leaves.

Elizabeth Bowen wrote, "Autumn arrives in early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day."

I am thankful for this morning season where every tree is a bright bouquet against a blue sky.

Ode to Fall

2009-09-29T10:04:00.005-04:00

A Fall Song -by Ellen Robena

Field Golden and red trees

Nod to the soft breeze,

As it whispers,

"Winter is near;"

And the brown nuts fall

At the wind's loud call,

For this is the Fall of the year.

Good-by, sweet flowers!

Through bright Summer hours

You have filled our hearts with cheer

We shall miss you so,

And yet you must go,

For this is the Fall of the year.

Now the days grow cold,

As the year grows old,

And the meadows are brown and sere;

Brave robin redbreast

Has gone from his nest,

For this is the Fall of the year.

I do softly pray

At the close of day,

That the little children, so dear,

May as purely grow

As the fleecy snow

That follows the Fall of the year.

Obituary: John W. Walton

2009-09-23T18:39:00.002-04:00

April 8, 1937-Sept. 22, 2009

Utica - A funeral service for John W. Walton, 72, of Utica, will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, September 26, 2009 at Law-Baker Funeral Home, with Pastor Ken Kelley and Tori Front officiating. Burial will follow in Owl Creek Cemetery.

John died September 22, 2009, at his residence surrounded by his loving family. He was born April 8, 1937, in Mount Vernon, Ohio to the late John P. and Madge M. (Clutter) Walton.

John was a longtime farmer and self employed truck driver. He was a 50-year member of Morgan Grange #829 and Ohio Lodge #199 F&AM in Bladensburg.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Jo Ann (Pierpont) Walton, of Utica; son and daughter-in-law, Bob and Brenda Walton, of St. Louisville; daughter and son-in-law, Cindy and Ned Campbell, of Newark; grandchildren, Jennifer (Steven) Langton, J.R. Walton and Austin Campbell; brother, Michael E. Walton, of Chillicothe; sisters and brother-in-law, Marvel and Don Wilkinson, of Yulee, Fla., Karen Kashner, of Utica.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Uncle Sunny was a soft spoken man of few words. But when he spoke you knew to listen to him. My sister and I spent several summers with Uncle Sunny and Aunt Jo Ann on their farm. We loved being with our cousins Bobby and Cindy, playing on the farm and going to the county fair. Helping Uncle Sunny work on his truck or feed his cattle was everything I wanted to do as a kid. I saw him in July of 2008. He was the same then as he was 30 years earlier. I know his family will miss him.

A Socialist?

2009-09-15T20:10:00.001-04:00

From Terence Ball a professor of political science at Arizona State University:

To many Americans “socialism” may sound vaguely “foreign” and “un-American.” Those at rallies protesting health reform now may be surprised to know that “socialism” and “socialist” have a long history in American political thought and that those terms weren’t always terms of censure.

For the anti-socialism protesters, here’s a quick quiz: The author of the Pledge of Allegiance (1892), was A) a conservative, B) a liberal, C) a socialist. The answer is C. Francis Bellamy was a socialist and a Baptist minister. (Yes, there actually were Christian socialists, then as now.)

The “Pledge to the Flag,” as it was originally called, was not descriptive of then current conditions, but it was aspirational: “One nation, indivisible” invoked a nation undivided by differences of race, class and gender. And “with liberty and justice for all” it envisioned a nation in which women could vote and African Americans need not fear rope-wielding “night riders” of the KKK.

Contemporary “patriots,” I hope, agree with such aspirations, despite their distinctly socialist provenance. It is historically false that the only “real” Americans are conservatives and that people of other ideological persuasions are not or cannot be “real” Americans. After all, what’s more American than the “socialist” Pledge of Allegiance?

Fall Is Nearly Here

2009-09-14T11:02:00.003-04:00

Fall is my favorite time of the year. I am so glad to be back in New England for this one. This last week color started appearing in the trees around the pond and on the road home as you start to climb in elevation.

In Vermont there were lots of folks that planted orchards or singular apple trees on their farms and then as the years have gone by those orchards were abandoned. This weekend we traveled some back roads and picked apples along the side of the road. One variety that I had never heard of until this fall were Yellow Transparent. Juicey and slightly tart - they make great applesauce.

There has been a chill in the air the last few days... and the yellows, reds, orange and golds of fall are well on their way.

Out of the loop for a bit

2009-07-01T10:10:00.003-04:00

I am going to be even more out of the blog loop over the next few weeks than I have in the last month. Work and personal efforts are going to keep me pretty busy.

Please check back in at the end of July and I should be able to devote some time each week to writing and photographs of life on Coles Pond.

Thanks for stopping by...

jeff

Living in paradise....

2009-06-14T15:08:00.002-04:00

I know that some people think I am crazy. I live on the edge of a vast forest, in the middle of no where. If you want to see me - you really want to see me. The last ten miles are dirt road all the way.

But when you get here... you understand why I want to live here. Life on the pond is a visual feast most days.

The weather is always changing. Don't like it? Wait a minute, it will change. Today the sky is blue between patches of steel gray cumulus clouds. There was a shower a bit ago that watered my tomato plants nicely.

I was working down on the dock today and the black flies finally drove me in the house. As long as there is a breeze they can't bother you. But when the air gets calm - be prepared for an attack. By the end of June they will be gone.

Late July, through August and September are some of the best days here. Warm days and cool nights.

Today it is 63 degrees. The sun is shining through the clouds. It is glorious.

Two Moose A Swimming

2009-06-05T11:45:00.002-04:00

On Wednesday morning as I was getting ready for work I looked out the bathroom window to the pond and I saw the loons swimming in the distance. I glanced out a few moments later and I saw what looked like two kayaks moving across the water near the loons.

I thought it was strange for two folks to be paddling on the pond at 5:45 AM so I picked up my glasses and putting them on realized that it was not two kayakers. I reached for the binoculars and sure enough...two moose were swimming across the pond. Bulls, their racks were sticking up out of the water.

I watched them as they reached the opposite shore and wade into the shallows. Beautiful creatures.

Normally I would have been completely fascinated by the loons... but this was something special.

A Gentleman Farmer

2009-05-18T13:45:00.006-04:00

There are lots of things to admire about Thomas Jefferson.

One of the things I am fascinated by is Jefferson's home, Monticello. I have been three times through the years and hope to return again some day.

Monticello has the most amazing restored gardens. Late spring/early summer is the best time to visit - flowers are in bloom and the vegetable gardens are started. Jefferson grew everything.

I spent Saturday morning planting blueberries (4), raspberries (10), elderberries (2), and lilacs. I felt a lttle of what Jefferson must have felt turning the wilderness of Virginia into a gentleman's farm.

It was a really glorious morning and I felt very fortunate to have been enjoying myself so much.

5:15 AM...Looking out the window...Where's my glasses?....What's that?

2009-05-11T09:28:00.005-04:00

So I am looking out the window and I see the beaver cruising along and then he stops. Something has his attention... what is that out ahead of him? Hmmm.

It's an otter. An adorable, playful otter.

It was fishing, playing and having a ball.

Over the weekend I saw three white tail deer near the pond. On my way back from Burlington on Sunday I spotted a cow moose in front of the Ben and Jerry's plant in Waterbury.

Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-05T10:05:00.001-04:00

According to a paper published by the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture about the origin of the observance of Cinco de Mayo in the United States, the modern American focus on the people of the world that day first started in California in the 1860s in response to the resistance to French rule in Mexico.

The 2007 paper notes that "The holiday, which has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863, is virtually ignored in Mexico."

I am not ignoring it...

Wild Blue Phlox

2009-04-30T15:22:00.000-04:00

Botanical name: phloxdiva

Commonly called: Wild Sweet William

Sunny and ice...

2009-04-27T08:53:00.004-04:00

On Saturday afternoon it was 78 degrees on Coles Pond but as I stared out from the deck chair I did not see blue water but white ice....

Yesterday the ice finally went out and open water appeared everywhere... and no time passed before the loons appeared... apparently they were close by patiently waiting when they got a call from the Mallards that the ice was gone.

The same thing happened last year, the day the ice went out the loons appeared on the pond.

I saw a grouse and two beavers this morning on the drive into work.

The speech I would love to hear...

2009-04-27T08:49:00.001-04:00

“My fellow Americans, I want to speak to you about a new economic law. You’ve heard of Moore’s Law in information technology. I’d like to speak to you about the ‘Law of More’ in energy technology. Americans, Indians, Chinese, Africans, we all want more — more comfort in our homes, more mobility in our lives, more technologies with which to innovate. But there is only one way all 6.3 billion of us can have more and not make this an unlivable planet, and that is by living our lives and running our businesses in more sustainable ways and properly accounting for it.

“Right now we’re paying a huge price — a tax — for everyone trying to achieve more in an unsustainable way. But the ‘More Tax’ is not imposed by the U.S. government. It is a tax imposed by the market and will continue rising indefinitely as more and more people want more and more stuff. It will steadily drive up gasoline prices, home heating prices and factory electricity prices. But because this ‘More Tax’ is set by the market and not the government, many opponents contend that there’s nothing to be done: ‘Oh, $4.50 a gallon gasoline — that’s just the market at work. We can’t do anything about that.’ And then all that tax money out of your pocket goes to enrich oil companies and petro-dictators.

“My proposal is that today we fix a durable price on carbon-based fossil fuels, but set it to begin only in 2011, after we’re out of this recession. Every home builder, air-conditioning manufacturer, gasoline refiner, carmaker will know that it’s coming and will, I believe, immediately look for ways to profit from and invest in more energy efficient systems. Yes, the cost of gasoline or kilowatt hours will rise in the short term. But in the long term, your actual bills and expenses will go down because your car, appliances and factory will become steadily more productive and give you more power for less energy.

“I call it the ‘Carbon Tax Cut.’ You won’t receive the dividend in the first week or month, but you will get it soon, and it will be a permanent tax cut, a gift that will keep on giving.

“So those are our choices, folks — an escalating ‘More Tax’ forever, premised on immediate gratification and short-term thinking, or a ‘Carbon Tax Cut’ forever, which is exactly what you’ll get from establishing a carbon price signal that shapes the market in favor of American interests and not those of our adversaries and competitors. If you’re with me, write your member of Congress and senator today.”

- From Thomas Friedman's NYT column on April 25 - Moore’s Law and the Law of More

The Forest Awakens...

2009-04-20T08:48:00.002-04:00

In the last few days the wildlife have started to "wake up" around Coles Pond...

I spotted the beaver down by my dock on Saturday. He has been busy over the winter months.

I spotted deer track on my muddy road early Sunday morning that was not there Saturday evening when I was out for a walk.

Over the weekend my neighbors spotted three bears in a field about 2 miles away... a mother with an older cub and a brand new cub.

On Sunday four blue heron flew over the pond in a diamond formation and two mallard ducks have taken up residence nearby in a spot where the ice has melted away from the shore.

Finally, one night last week I heard a great horned owl very close to the house hooting away for about an hour after dark.

For all intents and purposes the pond is still iced over, except for a few places around the edges. We are expecting considerable rain this week and so I suspect that will change significantly by Friday.

The return of the birds....

2009-04-03T09:03:00.001-04:00

The last couple of months it has been relatively quiet on the pond.

You could stand outside in the evening and listen for several minutes and not hear a sound.

Then last evening I went for a walk around my place (where the snow had melted away enough) and I noticed there was a substantial increase in the noise level. There were robin's singing!

That got me to looking up and there were lots of birds in the trees around me that just a month ago were not any where in sight. The chickadees were there all winter but now they have companions. nuthatches, sparrows, red polls and even the grackles have returned.

I purchased a bird feeder this week in order to "help" them out until the snow completely melts.

It was nice to hear the beginnings of spring.

Because this is my first spring on the pond there are many things that I am seeing and appreciating for the first time.

Next up... mud season.

Week Four In A New Job

2009-03-18T08:49:00.001-04:00

The days seem to fly by here - I think that is a good sign.

A little about my new responsibilities - Weidmann makes high density board used in the manufacture of municipal and manufacturing electrical transformers in the United States, Brazil and Mexico.

I am primarily responsible for the Plant manager and his direct reports.

I also have a dotted line to the Regional Production manager for the Americas. He is over each of the Plant managers here in St Johnsbury and Mexico.

We take a raw pulp material and produce a finished board product. Some of our customers build their own transformers and they just want the board product. Other customers want a portion or all of the interior components of a transformer fabricated for them. So we fabricate parts for them, or engineer and design whole transformers for them. For some of our customers we are their engineering and manufacturing department.

We have a sales staff and a small customer service call center.

So there you have it...

I still have 3 - 4 ft of snow - so I went snowshoeing Sunday morning. I saw some folks ice fishing on the pond - but with temps in the high 40's I chose to keep my considerable bulk off the ice...

Change

2009-03-05T21:12:00.002-05:00

I am in a new place.

Literally and figuratively.

I am in a new place with a new job and a whole new group of co-workers.

I am learning new stuff.

It's an adventure...

I am sorry that I have not been more attentive to the blog. I don't have internet access at home and so I have limited opportunity to post. I will be back to posting soon.

So spend some time in the archives... read some old stories...

Thanks,

jp

New Glasses

2009-02-10T13:34:00.004-05:00

For the last couple of months I have been squinting more. It's become harder and harder to read ahead.

I went to the eye doctor last Saturday and sure enough, in the last two years, my eyes have changed to the point that I needed a new prescription. New lenses with a new frame.

Reading ahead. It was becoming harder and harder to see myself in the new organization that was developing since my company was purchased by another. Then in November I got a call from a career doctor and he had a new prescription:

A new job. In Vermont. Matching my skill set. In a forward-looking company. With nice people.

And so the adventure begins...

John Updike – on “Going to Church” - from Pigeon Feathers and other stories

2009-02-02T16:25:00.007-05:00

There was a time when I wondered why more people did not go to church.

Taken purely as a human recreation, what could be more delightful, more unexpected than to enter a venerable and lavishly scaled building kept warm and clean for us one or two hours a week and to sit and stand in unison and sing and recite creeds and petitions that are like paths worn smooth in the raw terrain of our hearts?

To listen, or not listen, as a poorly paid but resplendently robed man strives to console us with scraps of ancient epistles and halting accounts, hopelessly compromised by words, of those intimations of divine joy that are like pain in that, their instant gone, the mind cannot remember or believe them; to witness the windows donated by departed patrons and the altar flowers arranged by withdrawn hands and the whole considered spectacle lustrous beneath its patina of inheritance; to pay, for all this, no more than we are moved to give—surely in all democracy there is nothing like it.

Indeed, it is the most available democratic experience.

We vote less than once a year.

Only in church and at the polls are we actually given our supposed value, the soul-unit of one, with its noumenal arithmetic of equality: one equals one equals one.

Mixed Blog

2009-01-29T10:21:00.005-05:00

Some weeks having a blog is such a burden. And at other times it is so easy.

I understand now though why people give up on keeping a journal or a diary.

Most weeks I can think of something to say, protest or crow about. But now and again I hit a dry spell and it is just easier not to write anything. Sometimes I don't write because life is just too crazy.

I was busy celebrating last week. I could not be more happy with our new President. And the results of a week in office have been pretty cool. The policies he has reversed, the work he has done has been pretty significant. I know he will keep up the good work.

We have had about 11 inches of snow here in the last 48 hours. I have gotten to know my snowblower intimately again over the last couple of weeks. This has been the snowiest January in about 20 years in Cleveland.

My XBOX is in the shop so I have been catching up on my movie watching. I thought Gran Torino was good entertainment. I saw Defiance last weekend and really felt it was a better movie than Grand Torino.

The Inaugural Address

2009-01-23T16:46:00.004-05:00

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.

I thank President Bush for his service to our nation as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.

The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.

Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.
It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.

Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died in places Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed.

Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth.

We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.

We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality... and lower its costs.

We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.

All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long, no longer apply.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.

Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.

And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched.

But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.
Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.

Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.

And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.

They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We'll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace in Afghanistan.

With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet.

We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense.

And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, "Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.

And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.
To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.

And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service: a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.
And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.

It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.

It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old.

These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.

What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence: the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall. And why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day in remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.

In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river.

The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood.
At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words; with hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come; let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you.

And God bless the United States of America.

From the larger poem by John Greenleaf Whittier, The Brewing of Soma...

2009-01-16T10:56:00.004-05:00

When one is experiencing a bit of anxiety sometimes a simple hymn can restore one's soul. This one always comes to mind when I am anxious.

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard
Beside the Syrian sea
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow Thee.

O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
The silence of eternity
Interpreted by love!

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

A New Beginning

2009-01-06T14:49:00.005-05:00

His critics said he was unimpressive looking. He was mentally tough, and emotionally he was passionate and intense. He was an apostle.

He was born both a Jew and a Roman citizen in the town of Tarsus. He was a Pharisee. He kept the Jewish law. He ate the right foods. He observed the Sabbath and he associated with the right people. He was committed to stamping out heresy in any form, but especially the followers of the carpenter Jesus of Nazareth.

Then one day everything changed.

He was on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus to find Christians there when suddenly a light from heaven overpowered him. He fell off his mount and was struck blind. He knew—in an instant—that it was the risen Christ! And three days later, he was baptized as a believer in Jesus.

For nearly fifteen years, he pondered this experience.

He knew almost immediately that Jesus was the resurrected Messiah. But he came to understand more. God’s love had irresistibly called him even when he was doing all the wrong things. If his life could be turned around, why, anyone’s could. If he could be called anyone could.

As he began to understand Gospel, he began to teach it.

He traveled through Cyprus and Galatia and he established Christian communities in Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth and Ephesus. He gave up his career for his faith, and it seems he lost his family for doing the right thing. He trudged the roads of the empire, carrying his own meager possessions in a sack, often not knowing where his next meal would come from, sleeping out in the cold or the rain, easily victimized by robbers. He ended up in prison often just for proclaiming what he believed. He was flogged severely, exposed to death again and again. Three times he was shipwrecked; once he spent a whole night and a day adrift in the open sea. Five times —five— he received from synagogue authorities the forty lashes minus one. Three times he was beaten with rods.

He almost died at Lystra where he was stoned and dragged outside the city, and left for dead. Then he did the most remarkable thing! He got up, and walked back inside the city. He even revisited the city a few months later. But he probably never looked the same again. Not after a stoning! Was his nose broken? His jaw? His cheekbone? Did he walk from then on with a limp? Did one arm hang looser than the other? Paul would write later, “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus."

What kept him going?

The evidence of his own writings suggests that he had discovered a love that went far beyond anything he had previously imagined.

He felt “taken over” by Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12).

With awe he exclaimed, “The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2008-12-24T09:35:00.003-05:00

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us today.

My Top Five Favorite Christmas Hymns

2008-12-22T12:23:00.004-05:00

I grew up in a church tradition that sings a-cappella. In high school I participated in performance choir and a small group called the Madrigal Singers. In college I was in the a-cappella chorus for three years. I have always enjoyed singing and music.

My favorite Christmas hymns are, in order:

1. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

2. O Little Town of Bethlehem

3. O Holy Night

4. We Three Kings Of Orient Are

5. What Child Is This?

But my favorite piece of Christmas music is Handel’s Messiah.

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon his shoulder.
And his name will be called
Wonderful,
Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and his peace there will be no end.

Holy Is His Name (The Magnifcat) Music By John Michael Talbot

2008-12-16T09:58:00.011-05:00

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord.
Any my spirit exalts in God my Savior.
For He has looked, with mercy on my lowliness.
And my name will be forever exalted.

For the mighty God has done great things for me.
And His mercy will reach from age to age.

And Holy, Holy, Holy is His name.

Holy, Holy, Holy is His name.

And Holy, Holy, Holy is His name.

(You can listen to this version for free by clicking on the link above and then Disc #1 Track # 9)

Very early in the Gospel of Luke, after Gabriel has announced the birth of Jesus to her, Mary breaks out into “My soul glorifies the Lord.”

This section (1:46-55) is called a song, and the song is called the Magnificat from the opening word in the Latin Vulgate version for “glorifies.”

In this song, Mary draws from Scripture.

It’s reminiscent, for instance, of Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, but these are not direct quotes.

Instead, it’s what comes out of a heart immersed in Scripture and Mary begins to understand the most important thing of all...

Nothing is impossible with God.

And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me- holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers."

The Joy of Preaching

2008-12-10T11:36:00.000-05:00

Occasionally a congregation that is in-between ministers will allow me to bore them to sleep for a few Sundays. I like for congregants to go away revived or wake up refreshed from my sermons - either is fine with me since I recognize the importance of a good 30 minute nap. My latest victim has been the West Akron Church of Christ.

This church has been in a minister search for a year or more. They have signed a contract with a new minister and he should arrive mid January and I will recede into the background until I am needed again.

This time that I have spent studying and preparing for these sermons has been great for me. It has allowed me to rethink foregone conclusions about the text and look at the Gospel with fresh eyes.

I love the freedom that comes from not being financially tied to a church. There is a freedom that comes with that. Not a freedom to behave or preach irresponsibly but a recognition that my livelihood does not depended on preaching “correct” sermons.

I am a firm believer that the Gospel can be preached in a challenging way without being deliberately offensive and to any audience – liberal, conservative, those entrenched in tradition and those not. And I have tried to do just that. So far they keep inviting me back.

But a break will be nice and I am glad that Westside has found a new minister.

Eggs over easy and four tortillas

2008-12-04T11:22:00.005-05:00

I have seen Lyle Lovett several times in concert. He is one of my favorite singer/songwriters. You can tell from his music that he is a man that enjoys breakfast.

His song Nobody Knows Me is a striking tune and the first stanza is one of my all time favorites…

And I like cream in my coffee
And I like to sleep late on Sunday
And nobody knows me like my baby
And I like eggs over easy
With flour tortillas
And nobody knows me like my baby

Eggs over easy and four tortillas. I love a warm tortilla in my hand for breakfast. I really enjoy huevos rancheros.

One of my favorite breakfast dishes that I enjoy preparing when there’s company in the house are breakfast burritos.

You could probably assemble the dish the night before, wrap in plastic wrap and bake it off the next morning like an egg strata.

The Burritos

Dozen eggs
1/2 cup of whole milk or half & half
green/red pepper and half an onion (small dice)
8 large flour tortillas
Shredded cheese (Colby Jack)

Sauté the diced pepper and onion till soft. While that is cooking - in a mixing bowl add the eggs, a cup of milk or half & half and 1 tsp of salt – whisk together. Soft scramble the eggs until they just come together – remember they will firm up in the oven. Warm the tortillas and place the eggs and some cheese in each one and roll up. Place them in a buttered baking dish.

The Gravy

1 lb of your favorite breakfast sausage
1 TB spoon of flour
1 1/2 cups of whole milk or half & half - more if needed

Crumble and cook the sausage, pouring off all but 1 teaspoon of fat. Add the flour and continue to cook the sausage until the flour browns a bit. Stir in the milk or half & half a little bit at a time. Simmer, stirring till it thickens. Do not let it come to a boil. If it gets too thick just thin it a little.

Then pour the sausage gravy over the egg burritos and add a sprinkle of cheese to the top. Bake in a warm oven at 350 for 30 minutes or until things look bubbly. Serve with sour cream and a couple of salsas of varying heat on the side.

That, and some fresh fruit and you are all set.

Urban Herbs Gift Sets

2008-12-01T22:06:00.007-05:00

My pal Dion Tsevdos owns a spices and herbs business, Urban Herbs, that has just the most wonderful products. His gifts sets make great holiday presents for the budding chef, the kneady baker or just someone who wants to cook with great spices.

His grill sets and chili sets can't be beat. I use his prime rib rub for every Sunday roast.

So if you are wondering what new utensil to get the cook in your life... get them the best herbs and spices you can find. The link to his website is in the title above.

Happy Turkey Day!

2008-11-26T10:05:00.004-05:00

I hope you have a restful, thankful holiday.

"Did somebody say, 'Thanksgiving?'"

Thanksgiving...

2008-11-24T08:51:00.008-05:00

By anyone’s classification, Psalm 103 is a psalm of thanksgiving.

A thanksgiving psalm is written explicitly in the tone of praise, acknowledgment, and celebration. In them, confidence becomes realization, anticipation gives way to fulfillment.

Psalms of thanksgiving were probably used in public worship to praise God and to testify to his goodness.

They were testimonies to the faithfulness of God to his covenant community.

The frequency of these psalms tells us how important they were in Israel’s worship. God is glorified when his people give him public praise and thanksgiving when our laments are answered.

Psalm 103 celebrates David’s experience of the Lord. It is a soaring song of praise that begins with these beautiful words:

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s (vs. 1-5).

As you give thanks this week, forget not all his benefits.

As you give thanks this week, articulate:

- your personal prayers of gratitude to God for his material bounty,
- for the people in your life,
- for his presence in your trials,
- for his continued power in your spiritual life,
- and for the grace he has given you in Jesus.

What To Do When You Notice That Water Is Inundating Your Man Room…

2008-11-18T08:24:00.006-05:00

Set down your game controller.
Yell for help.
Move laptops, remotes and other wireless devices off the floor!
Leap to the electronics stand and make sure the X-Box 360 and the 5.1 Surround Sound receiver are off the bottom shelf of the stand.
Yell for help.
Move all soft objects, pillows, comforters, rugs to a safe, dry place.
Wood! Get all wood objects off the floor.
Know where your shop vac is and have it pre-assembled for sucking gallons and gallons of water.
Call the RotoRooter Man!
Prepare for a few weeks of dislocation. Set up temporary “Man Room Headquarters” in the formal living room.

What I am listening to right now….

2008-11-13T11:14:00.006-05:00

http://www.thehighkings.com/

A few months back I was listening to NPR on a Sunday morning and an Irish group called the High Kings were singing the most exquisite harmonies. I finally sent off for the CD and it is really wonderful with mostly traditional Irish tunes and a couple of modern ballads thrown in. These guys are going to be around for a while. Their rendition of From Galway to Graceland is perfect.

http://www.emmylouharris.com/

At the same time as I ordered the High Kings I picked up Emmylou’s newest album, All I Intended To Be, and on first listen found it to be as engaging as anything she has ever done. I still rank Cowgirls’ Prayer as my favorite album. But I think after a few more sessions with All I Intended To Be its going to be a close second. She is one of the greatest singer songwriters of our time.

Sweet Rivers...

2008-11-10T09:09:00.002-05:00

Sweet rivers of redeeming love
Lie just before mine eyes,
Had I the pinions of a dove,
I'd to those rivers fly;
I'd rise superior to my pain,
With joy outstrip the wind,
I'd cross o'er Jordan's stormy waves
And leave this world behind.

The group Big Smith does a lovely rendition of this hymn.

I can almost hear Kenneth Branagh speaking the words...

2008-11-05T10:38:00.002-05:00

"This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day. " - William Shakespeare, Henry V

I was overwhelmed last night that America the beautiful elected a black president that is patient and kind and qualified to do the job. I will always remember this day.

I will suggest that our standing in the world changed over night. I have heard from people in Australia already today who are rejoicing in our good news.

The American people did the right thing.

VOTE!

2008-11-04T08:50:00.003-05:00

I was first in line at the polling place this morning.

I arrived at 6:10 AM and the polling place opened at 6:30 AM.

Within a few minutes there was a crowd of 60 – 70 people behind me. I went in and showed my ID and got my two page ballot.

I filled it out and then put it through the scanner.

I was out in 15 minutes. It seemed as if the line was only getting longer...

******************
Apparently there was a woman in Grosse Point, Michigan who was denying Trick or Treat candy to people who voted for Obama!

"No doubt, parents of both candidates must have thought that they were being tricked when they read the sign that Nagel posted outside of her home that read “No handouts for Obama supporters, liars, tricksters or kids of supporters”. She actually opened the door with candy in her hands and asked the parents if they were voting for McCain and if they were not she would not give them candy and said that “Obama was scary” and when kids actually started crying because they were turned away, she stated ‘Oh well, everyone has a choice’. "

I think she is officially the dumbest person in the world!

The Change We Need

2008-11-03T08:03:00.002-05:00

By Barack Obama from today's Wall Street Journal

This is a defining moment in our history. We face the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression -- 760,000 workers have lost their jobs this year. Businesses and families can't get credit. Home values are falling, and pensions are disappearing. Wages are lower than they've been in a decade, at a time when the costs of health care and college have never been higher.

At a moment like this, we can't afford four more years of spending increases, poorly designed tax cuts, or the complete lack of regulatory oversight that even former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan now believes was a mistake. America needs a new direction. That's why I'm running for president of the United States.

Tomorrow, you can give this country the change we need.

My opponent, Senator McCain, has served his country honorably. He can even point to a few moments in the past where he has broken from his party. But over the past eight years, he's voted with President Bush 90% of the time. And when it comes to the economy, he still can't tell the American people one major thing he'd do differently from George Bush.

It's not change to come up with a tax plan that doesn't give a penny of relief to more than 100 million middle-class Americans -- a plan that even the National Review and other conservative organizations complain does far too little to benefit the middle class. It's not change to add more than $5 trillion to the deficits we've run up in recent years. It's not change to come up with a plan to address our housing crisis that puts another $300 billion of taxpayer money at risk -- a plan that the editorial board of this newspaper said "raises more questions than it answers."

If there's one thing we've learned from this economic crisis, it's that we are all in this together. From CEOs to shareholders, from financiers to factory workers, we all have a stake in each other's success because the more Americans prosper, the more America prospers.

That's why we've had titans of industry who've made it their mission to pay well enough that their employees could afford the products they made -- businessmen like Warren Buffett, whose support I'm proud to have. That's why our economy hasn't just been the world's greatest wealth creator -- it's been the world's greatest job generator. It's been the tide that has lifted the boats of the largest middle class in history.

To rebuild that middle class, I'll give a tax break to 95% of workers and their families. If you work, pay taxes, and make less than $200,000, you'll get a tax cut. If you make more than $250,000, you'll still pay taxes at a lower rate than in the 1990s -- and capital gains and dividend taxes one-third lower than they were under President Reagan.

We'll create two million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and laying broadband lines that reach every corner of the country. I'll invest $15 billion a year over the next decade in renewable energy, creating five million new, green jobs that pay well, can't be outsourced, and can help end our dependence on Middle East oil.

When it comes to health care, we don't have to choose between a government-run system and the unaffordable one we have now. My opponent's plan would make you pay taxes on your health-care benefits for the first time in history. My plan will make health care affordable and accessible for every American. If you already have health insurance, the only change you'll see under my plan is lower premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of plan that members of Congress get for themselves.

To give every child a world-class education so they can compete in this global economy for the jobs of the 21st century, I'll invest in early childhood education and recruit an army of new teachers. But I'll also demand higher standards and more accountability. And we'll make a deal with every young American: If you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford your tuition.

And when it comes to keeping this country safe, I'll end the Iraq war responsibly so we stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq while it sits on a huge surplus. For the sake of our economy, our military and the long-term stability of Iraq, it's time for the Iraqis to step up. I'll finally finish the fight against bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us on 9/11, build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century, and restore our moral standing so that America remains the last, best hope of Earth.

None of this will be easy. It won't happen overnight. But I believe we can do this because I believe in America. This is the country that allowed our parents and grandparents to believe that even if they couldn't go to college, they could save a little bit each week so their child could; that even if they couldn't have their own business, they could work hard enough so their child could open one of their own. And at every moment in our history, we've risen to meet our challenges because we've never forgotten the fundamental truth that in America, our destiny is not written for us, but by us.

So tomorrow, I ask you to write our nation's next great chapter. I ask you to believe -- not just in my ability to bring about change, but in yours. Tomorrow, you can choose policies that invest in our middle class, create new jobs, and grow this economy so that everyone has a chance to succeed. You can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo. If you give me your vote, we won't just win this election -- together, we will change this country and change the world.

Ambiguous About Ambiguity

2008-10-29T10:09:00.003-04:00

If I profess a belief in trusting the Creator I had better be prepared to do just that.

Like spices in a warm pan of cider - I am mulling that one over in my head these days.

Reminding myself that I am someone who can deal with ambiguity. That I am confident enough in my relationship that the way ahead can be murky, hazy and covered in fog but I, in fact, know what is out there.

Now and again the fog has covered the pond to the point that you can’t see the other side. You can only see three or four feet in front of you. The pond is the same length and the safety of the far shore is still out there. I just can’t see it at that moment in time.

If I struck out in my boat and paddled through the fog I would eventually come to the far shore. It is there.

Not knowing at what point the fog will lift and clarity will be restored is the trust/faith/challenging part.

How comfortable are we with ambiguity?

I have a natural desire to want to know what is going on. Particularly when it involves my job or home or life - all of the above.

I want to be able to plan. To see my hopes and dreams come to fruition. Ambiguity seems to prevent that. And the very least it slows the process down. Forces me to spend some time staring at the fog.

Maybe I should consider other alternatives.

I am ambiguous about ambiguity.

PNC to buy National City

2008-10-28T10:50:00.000-04:00

Pittsburgh-based PNC to acquire struggling regional bank for $5.6 billion and will get government capital injection; bank stocks still get crushed Friday

By David Ellis, CNNMoney.com staff writer

Last Updated: October 24, 2008: 4:21 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- PNC announced Friday it would acquire regional bank National City in a deal worth about $5.6 billion.

The sale, which values National City at $2.23 per share, would create the nation's fifth-largest U.S. bank with $180 billion in deposits. PNC is exchanging $5.2 billion in stock and paying an additional $384 million in cash for National City.

"We believe this strategic combination will continue PNC's efforts to build capital strength and shareholder value," said James Rohr, PNC's chairman and CEO in a statement.

Making the announcement before Friday's opening bell, PNC said it would also get a capital injection from the government by selling $7.7 billion worth of preferred stock and related warrants as part of a federal program aimed at propping up the nation's banking system.

"We are pleased the Treasury selected us," Rohr said in a conference call with investors, adding that it won government approval late Thursday.

The two firms said the combined company would be headquartered in PNC's hometown of Pittsburgh, while the merger would broaden PNC's footprint in other key parts of the upper Midwest such as Indiana, Michigan and National City's home state of Ohio.

The deal, which is expected to close by year end, concludes what has been a painful period for National City.

Shares of Cleveland-based National City have been hit hard over the past year as investors speculated about the bank's health due to its exposure to the deteriorating U.S. mortgage market.

That was apparent as recently as this week when National City reported a $729 million third-quarter loss and detailed plans to eliminate 4,000 positions, or 14% of its workforce, over the next three years.

As a result of the merger, PNC said Friday that it estimated it will write downnearly 18% of National City's loan portfolio going forward. That's significantly larger than the loss forecasts that National City executives provided just days earlier.

My Meat & Mushroom Sauce…

2008-10-21T17:16:00.001-04:00

Ingredients –

2 cups button mushrooms sliced

½ a large onion diced

½ lb ground pork
½ lb ground beef
½ lb group veal

3 or 4 roasted garlic cloves minced

1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp red pepper flakes
Salt to taste

2 cups good red wine
1 cup beef broth
1 cup whole milk

1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 28 ounce can of tomato sauce

1 Tbsp of brown sugar

Instructions -

When I was in college I spent a couple of summers in the northeastern region of Italy called Friuli-Venezia Giulia. I watched some wonderful Italian cooks use some spices and ingredients that were not so common in other regions of Italy. It was there that I learned the basics of a meat sauce that I make to this day during the fall and winter.

In a very large hot stock pot or sauce pan with a teaspoon of butter quickly brown the mushroom slices and set aside.

Add the diced onion and sauté quickly – do not brown - just soften.

Turn the heat down to med-low and crumble the ground meats into the onions little by little making sure that all the meat is broken up in small pieces of equal size.

Turn the heat to medium.

Add the minced garlic.

Add the next 5 seasonings distributing throughout.

Sauté the meat until there is no longer any pink and it is lightly browned.

Add the mushrooms back in.

Add the wine and simmer over a low flame, uncovered, until the wine has almost evaporated. Do not let the pan go completely dry.

When the wine is almost gone add the broth and the whole milk together and stir to mix well. Simmer over a low flame, uncovered, until the liquid has almost evaporated. Do not let the pan go completely dry.

Add the diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce. Simmer over a low flame slowly for a couple of hours checking and stirring occasionally.

Taste for acidity and add the brown sugar to sweeten a bit. Adjust salt.

We like this with any kind of pasta – especially angel hair - and also grilled polenta.

Seven Thousand Hits...

2008-10-17T14:23:00.004-04:00

Thanks goodness for my ham glaze recipe!

Why do people end up at my blog?

Well from the stats alone most people come to find the glaze recipe for an Easter ham. I know it sounds bizarre but I get a few hits each month and at Christmas and Easter the blog gets several hundred hits. This past Easter the blog was the #2 hit on Google for a ham glaze recipe!

I get a lot of hits about food, Cleveland, and Vermont.

And then there are the sweet friends that read my railings regarding politics, religion and anything else I decide to prattle on about.

Lots of folks this last year checked out the building project.

Finally the outdoor pictures snag a lot of people.

Follow Me...

2008-10-06T09:02:00.004-04:00

A couple of months back on a Sunday morning I was driving down to Akron to preach.

I was just getting on the interstate near my home and I had driven down the entrance ramp. I was preparing to merge when I noticed a white car in the lane to my left coming up on me fast.

Now I could have punched it and tried to pull ahead of this guy or backed off the gas and pulled in behind him. Since I was quickly running out of room I opted to slow down and pull in behind him.

As the elderly gentleman passed me by he sternly looked my way and wagged his finger at me like I had done something wrong. I was a little surprised because I thought I had done the right thing by not forcing him to slow down or change lanes.

I noticed as he pulled ahead that there was a bumper stick in the rear window of his sedan. It looked vaguely familiar to me. I moved over to his left and started to pass him. As I got closer to his car the bumper sticker became clear.

“Follow me to a Church of Christ.”

I laughed out loud. Like there was any chance anyone would follow him to church after he scolded them.

And since I was going to preach at a Church of Christ that morning it made a great opening illustration of how faith and life intersect.

From the NYT - Rescue the Rescue - Thomas Friedman

2008-10-01T11:25:00.001-04:00

I was channel surfing on Monday, following the stock market’s nearly 800-point collapse, when a commentator on CNBC caught my attention. He was being asked to give advice to viewers as to what were the best positions to be in to ride out the market storm. Without missing a beat, he answered: “Cash and fetal.”

I’m in both — because I know an unprecedented moment when I see one. I’ve been frightened for my country only a few times in my life: In 1962, when, even as a boy of 9, I followed the tension of the Cuban missile crisis; in 1963, with the assassination of J.F.K.; on Sept. 11, 2001; and on Monday, when the House Republicans brought down the bipartisan rescue package.

But this moment is the scariest of all for me because the previous three were all driven by real or potential attacks on the U.S. system by outsiders. This time, we are doing it to ourselves. This time, it’s our own failure to regulate our own financial system and to legislate the proper remedy that is doing us in.

I’ve always believed that America’s government was a unique political system — one designed by geniuses so that it could be run by idiots. I was wrong. No system can be smart enough to survive this level of incompetence and recklessness by the people charged to run it.

This is dangerous. We have House members, many of whom I suspect can’t balance their own checkbooks, rejecting a complex rescue package because some voters, whom I fear also don’t understand, swamped them with phone calls. I appreciate the popular anger against Wall Street, but you can’t deal with this crisis this way.

This is a credit crisis. It’s all about confidence. What you can’t see is how bank A will no longer lend to good company B or mortgage company C. Because no one is sure the other guy’s assets and collateral are worth anything, which is why the government needs to come in and put a floor under them. Otherwise, the system will be choked of credit, like a body being choked of oxygen and turning blue.

Well, you say, “I don’t own any stocks — let those greedy monsters on Wall Street suffer.” You may not own any stocks, but your pension fund owned some Lehman Brothers commercial paper and your regional bank held subprime mortgage bonds, which is why you were able refinance your house two years ago. And your local airport was insured by A.I.G., and your local municipality sold municipal bonds on Wall Street to finance your street’s new sewer system, and your local car company depended on the credit markets to finance your auto loan — and now that the credit market has dried up, Wachovia bank went bust and your neighbor lost her secretarial job there.

We’re all connected. As others have pointed out, you can’t save Main Street and punish Wall Street anymore than you can be in a rowboat with someone you hate and think that the leak in the bottom of the boat at his end is not going to sink you, too. The world really is flat. We’re all connected. “Decoupling” is pure fantasy.

I totally understand the resentment against Wall Street titans bringing home $60 million bonuses. But when the credit system is imperiled, as it is now, you have to focus on saving the system, even if it means bailing out people who don’t deserve it. Otherwise, you’re saying: I’m going to hold my breath until that Wall Street fat cat turns blue. But he’s not going to turn blue; you are, or we all are. We have to get this right.

My rabbi told this story at Rosh Hashana services on Tuesday: A frail 80-year-old mother is celebrating her birthday and her three sons each give her a present. Harry gives her a new house. Harvey gives her a new car and driver. And Bernie gives her a huge parrot that can recite the entire Torah. A week later, she calls her three sons together and says: “Harry, thanks for the nice house, but I only live in one room. Harvey, thanks for the nice car, but I can’t stand the driver. Bernie, thanks for giving your mother something she could really enjoy. That chicken was delicious.”

Message to Congress: Don’t get cute. Don’t give us something we don’t need. Don’t give us something designed to solve your political problems. Yes, Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke need to accept strict oversights and the taxpayer must be guaranteed a share in the upside profits from all rescued banks. But other than that, give them the capital and the flexibility to put out this fire.

I always said to myself: Our government is so broken that it can only work in response to a huge crisis. But now we’ve had a huge crisis, and the system still doesn’t seem to work. Our leaders, Republicans and Democrats, have gotten so out of practice of working together that even in the face of this system-threatening meltdown they could not agree on a rescue package, as if they lived on Mars and were just visiting us for the week, with no stake in the outcome. The story cannot end here.

If it does, assume the fetal position.

This Is Not "Gotcha" Journalism

2008-10-01T08:46:00.002-04:00

The question being asked by Katie Couric is on the subject of Sarah Palin’s reading habits. Here is the exchange:

Couric: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand the world?

Palin: I’ve read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.

Couric: What, specifically?

Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.

Couric: Can you name a few?

Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn’t a foreign country, where it’s kind of suggested, “Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?” Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.
_________________________________________________

When I first read this I had to ask myself, is this Tina Fey doing a Sarah Palin impression???

Community Supported Agriculture

2008-09-22T10:27:00.001-04:00

There is one sure way to know exactly what you are eating and where it is from...

Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production.

Typically, members or "share-holders" of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production.

Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing.

Community Supported Agriculture is becoming more and more popular around the country. I support local agriculture through our local farmer’s markets. And I would encourage you to do the same through a CSA or your local farmer's market.

The Importance of Being Right

2008-09-08T12:03:00.001-04:00

The desire to have and know the truth and be right is an overwhelming desire for some of us.

I don’t know if it goes back to the Scot-Irish side of my family or growing up in a Christian tradition of always wanting to be and do what was right with God. Wherever it comes from I recognize this desire within me to want to be right.

One of the ways that I “prove” I am right is to ‘speak with authority’ and to state something like it is a fact. When I might have only read it in the NYT.

It’s ridiculous!

When I think about it, it reminds me of a guy I knew in college named Ray who was too smart for his own good. In order to impress his professors with his intelligence he would attempt to phrase questions in the wordiest manner possible. It was always an adventure listening to Ray ask a question in class. You were never certain where it would end up.

But there was something preposterous about Ray’s questions and statements…something that ate at his credibility.

I see some of that in myself and it troubles me. I don’t want my credibility to be eroded.

I also see it in most of the rhetoric being bandied about in this election climate. In some of the television commercials on both sides - claims are made and positions represented that are, in fact not true.

And yet the information is presented as factual, reliable information. Consider the source and the motives of the source.

With regards to Sarah Palin's snarky comment about how being a mayor was like being a community organizer, only with “actual responsibility”.

2008-09-05T10:49:00.002-04:00

“Jesus was a Community Organizer, and Pontias Pilate was a Governor.” - Mudflats

Yesterday Morning....

2008-09-03T09:47:00.005-04:00

About 6:05 yesterday morning I had donned my crocs and was headed out the door and down to the dock to hop in the guideboat for a morning row on the pond. No matter how many times I see a moose I am still awe struck.

She was standing about 20 feet from my neighbor's dock.

Then she moved closer

And then she looked at me.

A few moments later another, younger, moose came to the edge of the pond and the two of them moved up into the woods. It was pretty incredible.

Here and There

2008-08-27T09:38:00.002-04:00

I talk a lot about food in this blog…

Here are some of my favorite places to eat right now in Cleveland and in Vermont:

Cleveland –

Momocho in Ohio City - www.momocho.com/
Tartine Bistro in Rocky River - www.tartinebistro.com/

Vermont-

Positive Pie in Montpelier - www.positivepie.com/
River Run in Plainfield - www.riverrunbbq.com/

Have a great Labor Day weekend...

Amazing what six weeks of rain will do for your lawn...

2008-08-14T14:46:00.004-04:00

The place looks so green

Vermont has had an abundance of rain the last few weeks

We put gravel around the perimeter of the house to dissipate runoff

Side deck

To him who is able...

2008-08-13T10:57:00.003-04:00

This morning I read through an online journal of a college friend who was diagnosed this past spring with breast cancer. Her courage and faith really strengthened me.

In the last few months it has become more and more evident to me how tenuous our life really is.

Our hold on life is made up of a slender thread of blood, sinew, organs and bone. And even those people credited with the best of physical health can succumb in a few hours under the right (or wrong) conditions. Such was the case of the mountain climbers on K2 last week.

The key is knowing that, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

And then living my life in such a way that I recognize that I don’t hold things together…but in him all things hold together.

I don’t have the power or the personality or the strength.

Live my best today. Love my best today.

Make as many memories as I can.

Moonlight In Vermont

2008-08-08T10:26:00.004-04:00

Pennies in a stream
Falling leaves a sycamore

Moonlight in Vermont

Icy fingers waves
Ski trails on a mountain side
Snow light in Vermont

Telegraph cables they sing down the highway and travel each bend in the road…
People who meet in this romantic setting are so hypnotized by the lovely….

Evening summer breeze
Warbling of a meadowlark

Moonlight in Vermont

You and I and moonlight in Vermont

I love cured salmon...

2008-08-01T09:08:00.004-04:00

I love salmon and one of the things I have come to enjoy is curing my own and making a version of gavlax. Its an easy and fun appetizer to make for friends coming over for dinner.

1 16oz piece of fresh salmon, skin removed
1 large bunch of dill
3 tablespoons of sea salt or Kosher salt
2 tablespoons of white sugar
1 tablespoon of crushed peppercorns

Remove the pin bones from the salmon with needle nose pliers or tweezers. You can feel them by running your fingers the wrong way along the fillet.

The sugar and salt draw water from the salmon. The weights are traditional, but you can just wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and lay it on a platter in the fridge, turning once. White sugar is traditional, but brown sugar also has interesting possibilities.

Spread this mixture over the fish then wrap in plastic wrap tightly. Use a weight to press for 24 hours in the fridge, turning once.

Wash off the salt, sugar and dill, pat dry, slice across the grain, fairly thick (1/8 inch). Serve with Dijon mustard or sour cream and crackers.

Time flies whether you are having fun or not…

2008-07-28T16:24:00.001-04:00

It’s the last week of July already. Just like a red sports car the summer is cruising by and I feel like I am standing beside the road watching it pull away. The days and weeks of summer pass so quickly.

I was weeding the garden last night and wishing I had been more diligent in the spring to keep the weeds down and get some annuals in the ground. But the more I weeded the more I realized how nice the evening was and how much I was enjoying the summer light.

As a kid I spent the better part of my youth wishing time away. “Enjoy each moment to the fullest,” sounds like such a platitude – but I am really trying to just live for this moment – and embracing what life is offering me right now.

And what life is offering me tonight is more weeds to pull and some ½ price, pot bound, annuals to free from their restrictive black containers and get into the earth. Let them bloom and grow. May we all bloom and grow!

It is finished...

2008-07-23T09:39:00.000-04:00

It took nearly a year from when we started it to complete it. We are grateful for a number of reasons that it is finally finished. First and foremost being that some normalcy can reign once again.

At times it is like having a second job that did not pay very well. It was a source of stress, frustration and a few pointed conversations.

The result is stunning. It is more than we hoped for and we feel blessed. It has already become a retreat.

Now we just need to figure out a way to work there… year ‘round. A way to make a living in Vermont.

We have some great friends in VT and New England and we want to be closer to them.

It took a week....

2008-07-14T22:24:00.009-04:00

More kitchen than we bargained for...the island 10 feet long!

From the other end

From the living room

Home from Vermont and why I will be going back...

2008-07-14T22:03:00.004-04:00

The view

The Girls

The View
The House The New Kitchen

As of Last Friday

2008-06-23T07:33:00.004-04:00

This is what it looks like from the pond. We selected the colors so that it would "blend in" as much as a two story behemoth could.

New oak floor looking out to the front porch.

The Ikea Kitchen waiting for it's Master!

Porch off the upstairs bedroom.

Exterior shot from the neighbor's yard.

We will be headed up soon to install the kitchen and take care of some details.

Some additional exterior shots

2008-06-06T11:18:00.003-04:00

Entrance and Garage

Deck on the pond side

Standing near the pond

This is the view from the master bath window

Mallards enjoying an afternoon nap in front of our place - can you see the female? Double click on the picture to expand it.

New Pictures

2008-06-03T19:54:00.004-04:00

The front of the camp from the water

The railing on the loft - the blue is a protective plastic on the plexiglass

The railing from below and the Big Beam boxed out in pine

Looking out the front porch from the kitchen

The window seat in the loft

Building a house of trust....

2008-05-20T09:31:00.002-04:00

It seems like it has been months since I have written anything thoughtful.

I spend most of my days writing on work related projects and for some reason by the time I get home it is just easier to post pictures of the camp progress than it is to try and write something meaningful.

Serving as the general contractor on a project such as ours is a lot like taking a second job, what with keeping track of the details, following up phone calls, tracking down materials and arranging site visits. It seems as if you never stop making decisions. You never make anyone happy unless you are sending them a check. You are relying on subcontractors who are working on 2 or 3 other jobs as well as yours and are stretched thin themselves.

But the people I have hired have rarely let me down. I have met some good folks who have worked hard and taken great pride in their work. It has been a pleasure to have them on the project.

It has been a learning experience for me too. You can never ask too many questions - chances are you are never asking enough. Sometimes you have to go with your gut and trust the genuine goodness of people.

Trust that people have good hearts and want to do their best and will come through in the end.

The siding continues....

2008-05-12T11:04:00.004-04:00

First floor

Entry

Garage down, bedroom up

Garage and entry

Front porch and deck

Pics from last week's work...

2008-05-07T08:10:00.008-04:00

Tile is down in the foyer and the baths - it has cardboard down to protect it....

My Bro-in-law Pat - check out the knotty pine ceiling above him....

The ceiling almost finished in the great room...

A visitor for breakfast on Friday morning...

As soon as the ice melted - the loons showed up...

Sizing up the Siding

2008-04-21T22:55:00.005-04:00

I decided early on that I wanted to use James Hardie Siding on our camp.

It is a cement-fiber product that is already painted and has a 50 year warranty. It's like armoring your house against the elements and it is virtually no maintenance. Good stuff. There is a link in the title above.

Here are a couple of pictures of the siding that is finally going up this week.

The window trim is a preprimed product that will eventually get painted brown. For now it is white.

Adoramus Te, Christe

2008-04-15T11:21:00.001-04:00

Christ, we do all adore Thee
And we do praise Thee for ever

Christ, we do all adore Thee
And we do praise Thee for ever

For on the holy cross hast Thou the world from sin redeemed

Christ, we do all adore Thee
And we do praise Thee for ever

Christ, we do all adore Thee
-------------------------------------------
Theodore DuBois penned perhaps one of the most beautiful chorales of all time as a closing to his oratorio "The Seven Last Words of Christ."

Spring

2008-04-10T14:47:00.006-04:00

With temps in the 60's it finally felt like spring this week in Cleveland. By the way, the first day of spring was THREE weeks ago!

But finally this week it has warmed up enough to get out the rake, clean up flower beds and pick up the winter detritus. I have been poking around the yard while I have been stripping some woodwork I intend to use in the camp. After you apply the stripper you have to let it set for 15 minutes before you remove it. You can do a lot of yard work in 15 minute intervals.

The snowdrops have bloomed and the maple trees are budding. In the front beds the crocus, tulips and daffodils are all through the ground.

My bluebells are also poking up too. They bloom early and then dy away for another year. In a couple of weeks they will look just like those pictured below.

Stop and smell the flowers where you find them...

More Pictures

2008-04-02T21:20:00.003-04:00

Doors leading out to the deck from the front porch

Door leading out to the screened porch from the master bedroom

Master bedroom looking to the loft through the center door, the door on the right leads to the bath and a closet

Dining area off the kitchen

Pictures of a Work in Progress

2008-04-01T21:54:00.005-04:00

We were in VT over the weekend and checked out the work. Picked out some flooring, and ceiling for the loft and master bedroom. Here are some pics of the progress.

This is the view from the porch off the upstairs bedroom

This the new garage door

Standing in the kitchen looking out to the front porch

This is the window seat in the loft

Looking down into the living area from the library/loft

Real Leadership

2008-03-27T12:53:00.001-04:00

A friend of mine is always saying, “Play the hand you’ve been dealt.”

It does not do you any good to wish that you had been dealt better cards because its not happening and wishing will only keep you from facing the reality of the situation and playing the cards that are in front of you.

That said, I wish Hillary Clinton would play the hand she has been dealt. I wish she would recognize that there is only a 5% chance that she will get the nomination and - for the good of the party - bow out gracefully.

People would be pleasantly surprised. Grateful for her demonstration of leadership. She would secure a place for herself in the new democratic administration or a senior leadership position in the US Senate.

If she bowed out she would not split the party. She would not give the Republicans additional ammunition for the fall race for the Presidency. Right now her people are writing the Republican commercials that will eventually be used against Barack Obama.

She does not have a real chance at winning the nomination.

My fear is that for the sake of that 5% she will inadvertently destroy the Democratic Party and bring John McCain to power – which will lengthen the war and crush what is left of our economy.

Play the hand you’ve been dealt.

---------------------------

Barack's speech on race last week was one of the most articulate speeches given on the subject. I loved this passage from that speech...

Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.

This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either "too black" or "not black enough." We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.

And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.

On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.

I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country - a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.

As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.

Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way.

But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor. He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

In my first book, Dreams From My Father, I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:

"People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the rafters....And in that single note - hope! - I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones. Those stories - of survival, and freedom, and hope - became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about...memories that all people might study and cherish - and with which we could start to rebuild."

That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety - the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.

And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright.

As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect.

He contains within him the contradictions - the good and the bad - of the community that he has served diligently for so many years.

Easter Ham...

2008-03-23T22:38:00.004-04:00

Over the last several days this blog has had over 100 hits for my ham glaze recipe. If you google "cook Budaball ham" my blog comes up as the first or second hit!

Cook the FRESH ham uncovered in the oven for 18 to 20 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F on a meat thermometer.

The glaze is easy - 1 jar of french brown mustard, 1 jar of orange marmalade and 1 cup of brown sugar. Cook the ham according to the instructions and glaze the ham the last 30 minutes of the cooking.

I am amazed at how people end up at my blog. I started seeing an increase in hits on Wednesday and each day it grew more and more. Today by 10 AM the site had 70 hits alone.

I hope someone used the recipe!

Wise words from Henri Nouwen

2008-03-19T15:23:00.001-04:00

"When suddenly you seem to lose all you thought you had gained, do not despair. Your healing is not a straight line. You must expect setbacks and regressions. Don't say to yourself, ‘All is lost. I have to start all over again.’

This is not true. What you have gained, you have gained.Sometimes little things build up and make you lose ground for a moment. Fatigue, a seemingly cold remark, someone's inability to hear you, someone's innocent forgetfulness, which feels like rejection -- when all these come together, they can make you feel as if you are right back where you started. But try to think about it instead as being pulled off the road for a while. When you return to the road, you return to the place where you left it, not to where you started. It is important not to dwell on the small moments when you feel pulled away from your progress. Try to return home, to the solid place within you, immediately. Otherwise, these moments start connecting with similar moments, and together they become powerful enough to pull you far away from the road.

Try to remain alert to seemingly innocuous distractions. It is easier to return to the road when you are on the shoulder than when you are pulled all the way into a nearby swamp. In everything, keep trusting that God is with you, that God has given you companions on the journey. Keep returning to the road to freedom."

Matters Current

2008-03-10T09:47:00.006-04:00

I heard it asked this week - "Is Obama the anti-christ?" Follow the link above for Nick Kristof's article on religious bigots.

Has there ever been any institutionalized racism in the church?

Has anyone ever seen vestiges of discrimination in the church?

Has anyone ever witnessed a church abandon its mission of lifting up Christ to adopt a political agenda?

I have to tell you that I can understand why some people are suspicious of the church.

Christians are guilty of all these things.

We do harm in the name of doing good.

Can I offer a distinction?

For many people, religion is that set of humanly controlled institutions, which have hurt people in the name of God.

On the other hand, spirituality might be defined as personal openness to the working of God’s power in one’s life.

This is the kind of distinction that groups like Alcoholics Anonymous make between the two words to separate their negative feelings toward religion from their spiritual yearning for God.

I think this distinction can help all of us keep our focus on seeking God.

So where does religion fit in? It doesn't.

There is no role for religion because the Gospel leaves none.

Christianity is not about religion; it is the end of religion.

Religion consists of all the things that humans have tried to do to get right with God.

None of those things has ever worked. Everything religion has failed to do - has been done, once and for all, by Jesus.

Tizzy Tuesday

2008-03-06T09:46:00.001-05:00

I had myself worked into a tizzy on Tuesday. I was following the polls, reading the online news reports, watching MSNBC when I got home until after 11:00 PM.

By Wednesday morning I was pounding on the keyboard, formulating a response to the Clinton win.

After about 30 minutes into a haranguing diatribe I realized that I needed to focus on something else for a while, something other than the democratic nomination.

“My kingdom is not of this world....my kingdom is from another place”

Things can get out of control so quickly. Next thing you know you are scolding and sermonizing and ranting on about something that does not amount to a pile of petrified pony poop.

“My kingdom...”

God does not need Barack Obama to be President of the United States in order to accomplish his will. God does not need a Democrat to be President of the United States in order to accomplish his purposes.

“My kingdom…”

Keeping perspective. It’s hard. You invest time, money, conversations, emotions and thought to something and you want it to be right. You want to be right.

“My kingdom…”

Lord, help us all to keep perspective over the next nine months.

O-HI-O

2008-02-28T13:41:00.004-05:00

Next Tuesday is a big deal here in O-HI-O.

It is hard to miss - from the media - that it's do or die for one of the democratic frontrunners.

I am an advocate for change. I think "hope" is a good thing. I think if you inspire millions of people to press for change then the tide is much more difficult to stop with "business as usual."

We want/need to elect a leader who has a real mandate for change. It's been so long since we had a leader with a mandate from the people of this country that we are not sure what that looks like.

For the first time in a long time we are giving a candidate a mandate for change. We are telling Washington - we back this guy and don't stand in his way or the tide will rip the legs out from under you.

I am not making any predictions, the race is too close, but I feel that this is right. My hope is that my friends and family will be as inspired as I am and for good reason. Obama is the real deal.

Is The Surge Working?

2008-02-22T15:48:00.003-05:00

It's time we stopped and asked the question...

Micheal Kinsey writes in his Washington Post opinion column: "The test is simple, and built into the concept of a surge: Has it allowed us to reduce troop levels to below where they were when it started?

And the answer is no.

"In fact, President Bush laid down the standard of success when he announced the surge more than a year ago: 'If we increase our support at this crucial moment, and help the Iraqis break the current cycle of violence, we can hasten the day our troops begin coming home.'

At the time, there were about 130,000 American soldiers in Iraq. . .

"Today, there are still more than 150,000 American troops in Iraq. The official plan has been to get that number back down to 130,000 by July, and then to keep on going so that there would be about 100,000 American troops in Iraq by the time Bush leaves office.

"Just lately, though, General Petraeus has come up with another zen-like idea: he calls it a 'pause.'

And the administration has signed on, meaning that the total number of American troops in Iraq will remain at 130,000 for an undetermined period."

Let's just be honest...

Pictures from Vermont

2008-02-20T12:07:00.002-05:00

I took these last week...

See the snowmobile track on the pond....

These were taken early Sunday morning... just as the sun was rising over the mountain

The deck gives you an idea of the snow that has fallen just in February

Fire on the Mountain

2008-02-19T12:39:00.005-05:00

There has been over six feet on snow this season on the mountain in Vermont where we are building.

Since I last wrote, we have made a trip up and checked on the activity.

The electric is done and the plumbing is coming along. We ordered a couple of showers for the baths and talked about locations for appliances and fixtures.

The radiant heat is going in now. The house is completely insulated - in some places it's fiberglass and some places - sprayed on - foam insulation, kind of like the stuff that comes in a can.

The boiler is supposed to be in on Thursday and we could have heat in by the weekend.

The house will need a week to warm up enough to start hanging sheet rock. Once it is up, hung and dried then my brother-in-laws (3) have agreed to make the trip and help me prime and paint the place.

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

While I was there, I went on a short snow mobile trip on the VAST trails (Vermont Association of Snow Travelers). It is a huge interconnecting system of snow mobile "highways" that cross private and public lands. It really is remarkable.

I went out right after a snowstorm and there was at least 8 inches of powder on top of about 4 feet of snow. The trees formed a cathedral over the trail everywhere I went. Everything in the backwoods glistened and sparkled.

We are fortunate that one of the VAST trails passes within a quarter mile of our camp.

After Sunday's ride, I suspect that we will have a snowmobile or two at our disposal once we are there fulltime.

ONCE

2008-02-06T11:51:00.000-05:00

I don’t believe that I have ever watched a film and then turned around and immediately watched it again until just recently. I just did this a few days ago.

The movie is called “Once” and if you’re are reading my blog then you need to watch this movie.

It’s a wonderful 88 minute story of how a boy and a girl meet and make some really incredible music together.

Set in Dublin – mostly on Grafton street – it is witty, sweet, and believable. Mostly because the actors are not actors but musicians.

I don’t want to say too much more about the movie except that I bought the sound track a few days ago and it’s at the top of my play lists right now.

Go to the official movie website (link is in the title above), leave it on the opening page and the soundtrack to the film will start playing. You can listen to the whole soundtrack this way as long as you have speakers in or connected to your computer.

Why Obama?

2008-02-04T09:34:00.000-05:00

Because I want to move towards an end to absolutism and polarization.

“The traces of our long journey to this juncture can be found all around us. Its most obvious manifestation is political rhetoric. …Bill O’Reilly’s nightly screeds against anti-Americans on one channel, Keith Olbermann’s “Worst Person in the World” on the other; MoveOn.org’s “General Betray Us” on the one side, Ann Coulter’s Treason on the other; Michael Moore’s accusation of treason at the core of the Iraq War, Sean Hannity’s assertion of treason in the opposition to it.” ~ Andrew Sullivan

It’s a miserable country we live in. Too much extreme. If we are going to survive we need to end this divisiveness and mean-spiritedness. We need someone who will draw people to himself and not shove them away because of his rhetoric. I believe Obama will do everything in his power to change this dynamic.

Because I believe what he believes in regards to faith….

“One Sunday, I put on one of the few clean jackets I had, and went over to Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street on the South Side of Chicago. And I heard Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright deliver a sermon called “The Audacity of Hope.” And during the course of that sermon, he introduced me to someone named Jesus Christ. I learned that my sins could be redeemed. I learned that those things I was too weak to accomplish myself, he would accomplish with me if I placed my trust in him. And in time, I came to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world and in my own life.

It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice and not an epiphany. I didn’t fall out in church, as folks sometimes do. The questions I had didn’t magically disappear. The skeptical bent of my mind didn’t suddenly vanish. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt I heard God’s spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to his will, and dedicated myself to discovering his truth and carrying out his works.” ~ Barack Obama

I think he completely changes the way the world views us for the better if he is president…

“I think Obama’s face, background, and identity, as representing America, reintroduces the country in a way—re-brands it in a way, that no other candidate’s could.” ~ Andrew Sullivan

We need radical change in the way we are perceived in this world. Right now we are not perceived appropriately. We are perceived as aggressors and imperialists.

I believe he offers real change…

There has been a Bush or a Clinton in the White House for the last 20 years – the two families have had a strangle hold on the country and the Presidency – do we really want to continue this for another 8 years? No more of the same.

It’s time for hope and change…

Checking The Facts

2008-01-23T11:38:00.000-05:00

There is one thing I like and that is a real Presidential Race.

It has been a long time since we had a race for President where it is not a forgone conclusion about who is going to be the nominee for one or both parties.

This year so far has been fun and interesting to watch. Maybe you are tired of a the whole thing already – but I am enjoying every minute.

What I have not appreciated has been the “swiftboating” of candidates on both sides.

Last week I got an e-mail forwarded from a friend that questioned Barack Obama’s Christian faith and whether or not he was some kind of undercover Muslim spy sent here to infiltrate our government from the inside out.

Now, this friend is someone that I have known for almost 30 years. He’s a school teacher. He’s bright and intelligent – and yet he forwarded this e-mail filled with lies and half truths designed to plant suspicion in the minds of its readers. After all it has to be true – it is in writing!

Why do we do that?

Why do we suspend all the normal rules that we use to judge whether something is believable or not just because it comes in our inbox and we see it in writing?

It seems as if critical thought goes out the window.

I don’t have an answer – but I think it goes back to our human nature that always seems to expect the worst in people.

Not the nature of Jesus who always looks for the best in someone.

It also goes back to fear - fear of change and fear of the future.

The site in the link above will help you to check the facts on Obama.

Happy New Year

2008-01-12T20:32:00.000-05:00

I am have been away for a week or two...

The past two weeks have been pretty full with learning my way around a new job. There are people, processes and programs to learn.

I met with the regional executives on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. One of the great things about working with this group of people is that I have built some great relationships with these folks over the last four years in my previous position. They know me and I know them and there already exists a level of trust and sense of respect. Mostly because we have worked through some serious and delicate issues together.

Over the next several weeks I will meet with the rest of the organization, spend some time in the field, and learn a whole lot more about banking.

We are moving on to the next stage of construction at camp. Heating, plumbing, insulation and siding. The weather is a big factor in the whole process. But it's getting there.

Real Clear

2008-01-07T08:49:00.000-05:00

I know that some of you hate it when I talk politics - but I must point you to one of my favorite sites. Real Clear Politics is a great site to see both parties in an unbiased manner, consider the issues and see if the candidates are sticking to them.

I would encourage you to check out the link above.

Work on the "camp" is at a halt during snowmobile season. We should be starting back up in a week or so. The "weather people" are predicting a warm February. That would be such a bonus it is comes true.

Have a great week...

New Year – New Job

2008-01-02T13:30:00.000-05:00

It is a new day. Starting today I have a new job in a new office 19 floors above my old one.

I have moved from being an Employee Relations Consultant to a Retail Line of Business Consultant. While it may not sound like much of a move – it is a pretty huge move for me.

Before I helped individuals and the impact I could have was based on the number of folks I could physically come in contact with each day. Now I am working with a particular Line of Business and the activities and consulting I will do has the potential of impacting many people across the Line of Business.

One of the things that I will not be doing any longer is notifying people that their job is gone. I will not miss it a bit.

So today I am unpacking into a new office and I am following up on issues that were still unresolved from the end of last year. But it is good to be doing something new, different and challenging.

A SHORT CHRISTMAS SERMON

2007-12-28T09:44:00.000-05:00

In the previous entry I directed you to Maureen Dowd's column where she reprints a small part of a Henry van Dyke quote. I did some research and found his entire sermon. It is very short and well worth reading.

KEEPING CHRISTMAS
ROMANS, xiv, 6: "He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord."

It is a good thing to observe Christmas day. The mere marking of times and seasons, when men agree to stop work and make merry together, is a wise and wholesome custom. It helps one to feel the supremacy of the common life over the individual life. It reminds a man to set his own little watch, now and then, by the great clock of humanity which runs on sun time.

But there is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas.

Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you; to ignore what the world owes you, and to think what you owe the world; to put your rights in the background, and your duties in the middle distance, and your chances to do a little more than your duty in the foreground; to see that your fellow-men are just as real as you are, and try to look behind their faces to their hearts, hungry for joy; to own that probably the only good reason for your existence is not what you are going to get out of life, but what you are going to give to life; to close your book of complaints against the management of the universe, and look around you for a place where you can sow a few seeds of happiness—are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you can keep Christmas.

Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and the desires of little children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you, and ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to try to understand what those who live in the same house with you really want, without waiting for them to tell you; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts, and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open—are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you can keep Christmas.

Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world—stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death—and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas.

And if you keep it for a day, why not always?

But you can never keep it alone.

This Dowd is for everyone...

2007-12-26T15:01:00.000-05:00

I understand that Maureen Dowd is an acquired taste. I have always enjoyed reading her column because I see eye to eye with her on most things and occasionally she really gets it right and hits it on the head.

Today's column is one of those columns - and it's witty too. The link is in the title above...

Enjoy!

Jeff

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-24T08:38:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It is my hope that your holidays are happy ones surrounded with family and friends.

Building Update...

2007-12-19T08:39:00.000-05:00

The roof is on and the electrician is roughing in the wiring. The garage door has been ordered. The hole for the cellar stairs has been cut and the exterior cellar door is in place. All the windows and doors are now in and we are getting close to a complete button up.

There is 30 inches of snow there right now and snowmobile season began last Sunday.

There is a neighbor 100 yards directly behind our place that has a web weather cam. His camera actually points in the direction of our place. We can always see how much snow we have and what the current conditions are like... also some great shots of birds... the link to the Coles Pond webcam is embedded above and also in the column on the right.

Have a great day!

Rest In Peace Dan Fogelberg, Rest In Peace

2007-12-16T22:27:00.000-05:00

Only The Heart May Know

Silent sea
Tell this to me:
Where are the children that we
Used to be

Silent sea:
At picture shows
Where nobody goes
And only the heart can see.

Starry skies
Soft lullabies
Where do they go when their
Melodies die?

Starry skies:
To a day
Far, far away
That only the heart may know.

Friends we knew
Follow us through
All of the days of our lives
Love we shared
Waits for us there
Where our wishes forever reside.

Falling tears
Memories mirrors
Where are summers
Oh, where are the years?

Falling tears:
Carried far
To a wandering star
That only the heart may know.

Friends we knew
Follow us through
All of the days of our lives
Love we shared
Waits for us there
Where our wishes forever reside.

Starry skies
Soft lullabies
Where do they go when their
Melodies die?
To a day
Far, far away
That only the heart may know.