A Day at Muir Woods

Up until today it's been much warmer than normal for this time of year. One day last week they set a record for this date in Oakland at 85. That's warm for Oakland almost any time of the year. Well, warm weather makes for great outdoor activities, so Saturday we met our good friends, Jon and Jan Florence, at Muir Woods for hiking, sightseeing and conversation. Jon was out in SF for a conference and Jan flew out Thursday, so they had already done a little of the tourist thing even before we met them Saturday. It sure was fun to get to spend time with them, and Muir Woods is just awesome... I could hang out there pretty often.

We even look fairly fresh after a day on the trails, but looks can be deceiving!

Of course the main attraction at Muir Woods are the amazing Coastal Redwoods. They, along with their cousins, the Giant Sequoias, are among the oldest and most massive living things on earth.

There are also some other interesting living things, including this 6 inch slug...

... this really cool flower...

... and this one.

It was a great day. I'll post a few more Muir Woods pics another day.

New Grandkid Pics

Jen posted some new pics of the kids and family. Here's a sampling; for more check our her Flicker site.

This girl seems to love hats.

Come to think of it, as much as she smiles, maybe she just loves life... and her mom!

I think she also loves her dad!

Kaleb seems to have gotten this ice skating thing going pretty well. That puts him well ahead of his Papa.

Cool third grader!

And what looks to be a cool science project.

Pretty special relationship between this brother and sister I'd say.

Spring Blooms

Spring has really shown up big time in our neck of the woods, and things are blooming all over. Anyone who reads this blog very often knows that I'm no expert on flowers or plants in general, but I do appreciate color and beauty. These bushes with the daisy-ish flowers bloom most of the year, but they're really going to town right now. I need to trim them back, so I decided to take some pics before I trimmed. Here are some other blooms in the yard.

The ice plant on the hill just south of the house blooms this time of year... lots of purple flowers.

We have several rose bushes, two we've planted and three larger ones that have been around for years. The roses on this one are sort of a mottled color, really pretty, but they don't hold their shape long.

Another of the mature bushes has these beautiful peach colored blooms. This one was just about perfect, with a little brother right next to it ready to burst into bloom.

We see these bushes/trees all over the city, and they're in full bloom right now. Sometimes they're like this one in our yard, but people also often train them into hedges.

Along the little hillside just north of the house, Virginia's wildflower patch is off to a good start. The mature shrubs in the background put out these purple blooms each year, and the bees love them.

Finally, here's the apple tree. Not as many blooms as last year, but enough to insure at least a few apples later in the year. Hope you have some color to enjoy this spring as well.

Quotables

I got to thinking about what makes certain things we say memorable and others... well, less than memorable. I decided that sometimes it's because the saying contains wisdom at some level... sometimes the saying is funny or clever... maybe most often it's because (wise or clever) the saying speaks to us, at some level, where we live. Here are three quotes that spoke to me... at some level.

"Never knock on Death's door: ring the bell and run away! Death really hates that!" - Matt Frewer
Not sure this one qualifies as wise, but it is pretty funny. Also, in the last couple of weeks there have been several people we know touched by death. They were not all able to "run away" from death's door, but they certainly left legacies that spoke of life.

"People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up." - Ogden Nash
When I read this one, I assumed he was saying something like the banker and the executive get paid more than the guy with the shovel or the one waiting on tables. Then I thought about it and decided that a big part of my work life (teaching, ministry) has involved a lot of standing up on the job... maybe he was at least partially right for me as well.

"I'm thirty years old, but I read at the thirty-four-year-old level." - Dana Carvey
Pretty funny, but to me it also is a reminder that when you stop learning... well... you just get calcified as new ideas pass you by (creak).

Oasis

This evening at 6:00 is the first of four special Wednesday nights we call Oasis. Folks come at 6:00 or so instead of 7:00. We eat together in the fellowship hall... we dedicate a little time to worship right where we are... then we split off in groups. The kids do their thing with their teachers... the youth group has a special activity... the adults get to choose from one or three discussion groups. After about 30 minutes in our groups, we all wrap up at 7:15 so families can get their young kids home while it's still early. Some hang around and talk for quite a while longer, just enjoying the fellowship.

The latest group is the praise team. Our practice doesn't get started until 7:30, so we're home a bit later than usual... but not bad.

Hope folks enjoy!!

High Efficiency

Our house was built in 1978, and the furnace and AC we've been using are the originals. The units have lasted well beyond usual life expectancy, but there was rust in places where rust isn't helpful and the system needed several hundred dollars worth of repairs to keep functioning. Solution... get a new high efficiency system!!

We checked around and went with a family owned company with a really good reputation. Two guys, Sal and Hector, wonderfully professional installers, were here a good part of the day Saturday, and the system is in. We'll have to live here quite a while for the savings to pay for the new system, but I figure we were on the road to have to replace the old one anyway. Plus, our monthly bills will be less and we'll be "reducing our carbon footprint," as they say on the news.

Here are a few pics I took Saturday.

Here's the old furnace from the garage after they pulled it out.

According to this tag they were pretty proud of their work back in '78. I guess they were right since it lasted 30 years.

Here's the old outside unit.

This is Sal, the lead installer, a very knowledgeable and courteous professional.

And this is Hector, who installed the outside unit and did a lot of the electrical work. He's also a good guy with a great sense of humor.

Here's the new high efficiency outside unit...

... and the new furnace and inside part of the AC. Don't expect we'll be here 30 years from now, but we plan to enjoy the savings and comfort of the new system for some time. Come by for a visit and you can enjoy it as well. :)

Jen Goes to Napa

Our friend Jennifer Edwards (who's been visiting with us this week) had never been to California wine country, so we decided to use Saturday afternoon driving around and enjoying the beautiful views in the Napa and Sonoma valleys and the Carneros region. There are, of course, lots of vineyards, but this time of the year, when the hills are so green, the vistas can be quite breathtaking. The view above and the next two pics below are at the Vianza Winery. We like this one because of the views and because of all the wonderful sauces and jams and pestos and such that they have out for tasting and, of course, purchase. Good stuff! They also sell grilled meats and deli sandwiches which you can eat at picnic areas on the grounds.

The next two pics are at the Sattui Winery in the middle of Napa Valley. We're not big wine drinkers, but I've always thought the process is fascinating... how the final flavor of the wine depends on so many things... kind of grapes, soil, temperatures and moisture at different times of the year, the kind of barrels used to age the wine, and so many other things I know nothing about. This winery is also one people enjoy for picnics, as you can see below.

We wrapped up the afternoon with some yummy Italian food at a restaurant in Calistoga before heading home. It was a good day, even with what seemed like half the Bay area enjoying the beautiful weather with us.

Zeke Time

Brice and Neisha were able to schedule a couple of days away to SF, and they asked us if Zeke could stay with us while they were gone. We, of course, were more than willing to keep Zeke, our only concern being not knowing how he would react to staying with us with his mom and dad gone. He did great! And we had fun as well.

In the picture above Zeke is sitting on a rocking horse that Virginia's grandfather, Wilbur Dillman, made for Jennifer when she was born. Our kids had fun with it... Kaleb has rocked on it... and now Zeke is enjoying it. He got the "yippeee" down pretty well also, something I'm pretty sure his Grandpa Smith would like. The one telling thing about "these times" is that when he first got on it, Zeke wanted me to turn it on. However, he quickly caught on to the "rock it yourself" thing.

Of course, having Zeke here also made us even more eager for our trip to Idaho in about a month for some kaleb and Claire time!!

Hair Today... Gone Tomorrow... or Last Week

A while back I decided that when John DeDeaux, who had been in the hospital following serious complications following knee replacement surgery, was able to return to church, I would shave off the beard I had started last fall. Well, March 9th John was with us in worship for the first time since before Christmas. It was soooo good to see him!! It also meant it was time to shave. I decided to do it in stages over about a week. Here are the steps.





Reactions have been mixed. Virginia didn't mind the beard, but she says I look 10 years younger without it. Don't know about that... that last visage above has lots of wrinkles. My mom isn't out here, but I'm guessing her comment when she sees this will be something like, "About time." On the other hand, some of the teens at church say I should grow it back because I looked more distinguished with it. Not sure about that either, but I think I'll keep shaving for a while.

Quick Week

This week just started, and it's already winding down. Our friend, Jennifer Edwards, flew in from Houston Monday evening for a visit during her spring break. She's an English teacher, so she's been grading papers some of the time. She's also getting into screen writing, so I think she's been at least letting the creative juices flow a bit. She gets to stay with us through Easter before she heads back to her students in Houston.

Zeke is also staying with us while Brice and Neisha get away to SF for a day or two. It's fun having a little one around, and Zeke's a special little guy. He ate a really good dinner and went to bed without any fussing at all. Having him here is certainly making VJ and I really look forward to our April trip to Moscow... Kaleb and Claire need some Nanna and Papa time!!

I have a dentist appointment tomorrow to replace a filling. It seems that some time in the past I've had dentists layer one type of filling over another type, and now there's some separation or something, causing the beginnings of a cavity. So, tomorrow I get it taken care of. Need those teeth!!

Weekend

Great youth rally this weekend. Lots of people at the house... more tonight. Many good things happened the last couple of days, and I pray lives were shaped and changed.

Here's our new church logo. Will write more about our process later. For now, just take a little time to look at it. What does it tell you about Eastside?

Right Turns

In recent sermons Brice has been exploring qualities or values of a church who is trying to let the Spirit lead, a church who wants to be the church God wants them to be, a church whose members encourage one another and encourage accountability, who value relationship and unity over being right, the kind of church we want to be in ever increasing measure.

To that end GK Chesterton once wrote, "To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it." Lord, help us to want what is right without having to be right above all else.

On This Date...

March 9 seems like it would be a pretty ordinary, run-of-the-mill date. I mean it's too early for Easter, too late for Valentine's, and, well, just to mundane to be exceptional. Yet, it seems that this seemingly commonplace date has some special qualities after all.

On this date...

• in 1959 the first Barbie dolls went on sale at the American Toy Fair in New York City



• in 1964 the first production Ford Mustang was assembled in Dearborn, Michigan



• in 1943 Robert "Bobby" Fischer, World Chess Champion from 1972 to 1976, was born in Chicago



• in 2000 John McCain suspended his presidential campaign... guess that's turning out differently this time for him

Finally, I love this quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson, "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."

Claire de la Neige

Moscow has had more snow this winter than any time in the last 20 years, so, even with the weather warming up a bit, there's still snow around. The teachers at Claire's day care on campus took the shots below, and Jen posted them today before they headed off on a spring break trip. Such a smile on our cute little snow girl!!

Hitting the Right Notes

OK, I know that selecting a national leader... a president... arguably the most powerful single person in the world is serious business. For that reason alone it's important to try to find the best person available. The problem, lots of really smart and experienced people disagree totally... always have... about who that person should be. Many of them spends insane amounts of money to convince the rest of us that their candidate is the best choice... and it's only beginning. It looks like John McCain will be the Republican candidate, but the Democrats are still duking it out to see who will remain standing, Clinton or Obama.


I know it's important to choose, but, hey, a sense of humor about it all may be just as important. That's why I just love the songs at the links below. Some of the news room folks at one of the SF news radio stations (KCBS) formed this little "singing group" dubbed the Not Ready for Drive Time Singers and shared some songs about the candidates.


For a lively tune about McCain, click here.


For an easy listening piece about Huckabee, click here.


For a soulful ditty about Clinton, click here.


They promise a song about Obama soon. I'll be sure to post a link when they do. In the mean time, I think you'll enjoy the ones above.

Six Months Plus

OK, Jennifer is now our hero... she posted more photos of Claire. These are 6+ months, and I'm thinkin' I'm seeing some personality. What do you think?

Guess Claire got a new hat... the sporty look.

And a great outfit... I'm guessing from her Grandma Leung.

I think this is the "I'm driving this exer-saucer, so where do you want to go" look.

The "I'm so cute when I'm sleeping" look.

And, finally, the "I'm looking forward to seeing my Nanna and Pappa in April" look.