Approaching Spring

It's been a while since my last blog post, but really not too much has changed - a few minor health issues (i.e. catching a cold from every little kid that walks past me and the progressively worse back pain that comes from aging).  I actually like Indiana Jones' line: "It's not the years Sweetheart, it's the miles". But life still goes on, whether I drag myself out of bed early or late, or even at all.


I did see some posts on Facebook from an old friend I had not heard from in about a year, but since she has made it rather plain she does not want any contact with me I left it alone. It hurts to have lost this person as a friend, and especially so since I do not even know what it was I did to hurt her or make her so angry that she completely closed me out of her life, but I wish her well and I will continue to include her in my prayers.

Most of my projects have been on hold for one reason or another, and a couple only need a few things done to finish them; I just need the energy to get moving and get them done. The lawn side of the driveway is ready for the red lava rock, and I am about ready to form and pour the footings for the retaining wall on the other side of the driveway. I have the flytying desk ready for the final coat of lacquer and hope to finish it this week. Then maybe I can get a couple of flies tied before heading to the Keys next Thursday.

Enjoying the beautiful Spring weather in South Florida.

This time of year we have highs in the mid 70s to low 80s and lows in the low-to-mid 60s.  It's not too hot during the day, and not really cold at night - Instead of running the a/c I just open the doors to the screened-in front porch and to the patio  with the screen room over the pool each morning until about eight-thirty and again in the evening from eight until ten-thirty or eleven (whenever I wind up going to bed). 

At the same time, it has been warm enough with that (with the thermal cover and new solar panels) the pool has been warming up to 92 each afternoon so the heatpump doesn't have to run for it either.

The Wahoo (a type of fish) are running offshore, Pompano, Spanish Mackerel and Speckled Seatrout are in the inlets and intercoastal, and in the canals and lakes the Largemouth and Peacock Bass are beginning to bite.

In a couple of weeks I'm headed back down to the Keys for another camping trip; this time two nights :D

I really like this time of year in South Florida!!

Projects Progressing on and on

Today I finished up the drip irrigation for the planters, Palm trees and Oak tree in the front yard.  I still need to imbed the scalloped edging around the Oak tree, cover that area with landscape fabric and red (lava) rock.  On the other side of the driveway I need to set twenty-four feet of double forms and pour a concrete base for the staggered-block retaining wall, form a three-to-four inch drain-rock and landscape fabric layer inside of the wall and finish back-filling.  I already have about one-half of the fill from the red rock walk area on the house side of the driveway.  The rest of the fill will come from the area adjacent to the storage shed in the back yard – I need to have eight inches of footing exposed on the side for the inspection.  The ends will be OK with a concrete apron three-to-seven feet wide.  It will be nice to get at least one of my multiple projects completed; maybe some time I can actually spend some time fixing up the boat (25’ center console) to do some fishing and diving.

Finally looking like progress

Finally my backyard project is starting to look like I am making some progress.  Since I raised the first wall, it has taken me weeks to get the second wall up – some delays for rain and a couple of days delayed for winds.  Working alone I have been reluctant to take any chances that might result in one of the 26-foot long walls falling on me, or the fence, or the compressor.   But, finally, I am ready to begin the framing on the two end walls – since the two of them combined are 20% less than the length of either side wall, these should be relatively easy – I still do not have an exact size for the overhead door on the end by the Mango Tree and gate, but I can frame the end by the grapefruit tree.   I will spend most of today taking care of the “shiners” (siding nails that missed the studs) on the second wall to get ready for a partial shear and/or frame inspection on Monday.

Notice the Mango tree in full bud on the right :-)

Starting out - on which foot?

This past weekend I attended two weddings, both rather spur-of-the-moment affairs, each involved a returned missionary.


In the first wedding, necessitated by young couple who had let their feelings go too far, and wound up with a child on the way, I have hope. He is from the Bahamas, and she is from Haiti, and they are both trying to learn to “fit in”. They are both very naïve, and love and care for each other, but really do not have any idea of how much their lives have changed, and are about to change. They were both living with relatives, and are now trying to get out on their own – with nothing but their love and a baby coming. They will need a lot of help and prayers and guidance.

But it is the second wedding that causes me the most concern. This returned missionary, only 24 years old, had already been married once, and divorced, and now has a pregnant new bride. I am certain she is in love with him, and I hope this time he is really in love with his new wife. I am concerned that he may have no more respect for this marriage than he had for the marriage to his previous wife. I hope I am wrong, but the impression I get from this couple is that this young woman, only eighteen years old was taken advantage of by an older, more experienced man who has not been upholding his Priesthood. I do not think he has even told his parents that he was getting married.

This is one of many times that I am glad I am not the Bishop, and do not have to be the “Judge in Israel”; being one of his counselors shows me entirely enough of the problems, concerns and issues in our little Ward.

More Progress on Projects



Second Wall
Framed and Wrap installed



Cool nights and comfortably warm days have helped the project move along, except - - I really do not feel like getting started until it gets at least 60 outside (65 is even better). So, I try to run around and get my errands done early, while it still cold (sort of) and work on the project later during the warmer part of the day.  The rest of the week the low is supposed to be 58 or 59 degrees and the high 78 or 79.



Second Wall
Siding Going on



I finally started getting the Second Wall built this morning - I'd Already done the layout and installed the anchor bolts. 

I split up the plates and cut the studs, then began nailing in the studs.  I squared the framing and installed the “Building Wrap”, then I started putting on the siding.  It’s not done, but I should be able to finish shear nailing it up on Monday and get the first coat of paint on it.

Projects and Progress

I am finally making some progress on some of my larger projects, well, one of them anyway. Back in September I got the permit to build a storage shed in the back yard, on the opposite side of the pool from the house, but up close to the screenroom wall (about six inches way). I’d had the concrete pad poured two and a half years ago when the pool went in. It seemed like from that time forward, every time I could get some progress on it something would come up, either we had to make a trip to the west coast (Pacific coast, not the west coast of Florida), someone would get sick or injured, or we’d have visitors or bad weather.

First Wall Framing

The first wall to be framed needed to be the wall next to the screenroom, and because of the proximity it needed to be framed, sided, nailed off, and painted before it could be raised. Progress has been really slow; back in November my son, Joey, helped me finish nailing off the siding on the first wall, then I got a chest cold, or two or three- finally a friend of mine from Virginia came to visit and although we all had colds, including my friend Larry, with his help two coats of paint were put on that first wall. OK, actually Larry did most of the work, while I coughed.

Then, two weeks ago, just as I felt I was finally kicking this series of coulds, while getting ready for church, I had a sharp, stabbing pain in my lower back. And, I spent most of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on the living room floor with my lower legs up on the footstool. After Bishopric I asked Bishop Pedraza, Kenny Rider and Mike Kremkau to give me a blessing, and it eased the pain a lot, but I still had to be careful how I stood up, and reaching or bending over needed to be avoided. My back is still tender, and now, knowing that the problem is multiple degenerating discs, arthritis and some bone spurs all in the same place, I have resigned myself to moving carefully. However -

Now, warmer weather and just a slight breeze convinced me that I should be able to raise the first wall, and begin framing the second and subsequent walls.



First Wall Raised



Tomorrow I'll start framing the second 26-foot wall.

Memorial for a friend who has gone on

This has been another time for reflection as I prepared my talk for Carol Whiteaker’s memorial service this afternoon.  Carol was one of the Sisters that I was responsible for Home Teaching, from the time that she was re-baptized, about a year-and-a-half ago, until she passed away from cancer on January 7th.  In preparing for my talk earlier this week I found myself guided to speak on the Priesthood; and with Carol’s recent return to the church, how she had understood the power and blessings of the Priesthood and the need for the Priesthood to come into her home.  Her husband is a non-member, who has, in the last several months progressed a long way in his understanding of the church and its part in Carol’s life.  I don’t think he still fully understands the power of the Priesthood to act in the name of God, but as her cancer progressed there were several times that he stayed in the room while my companion and I would lay our hands on Carol's head and pronounce a blessing on her.  Early on there was a healing blessing, according to the will of Heavenly Father.  Later there were some for comfort and to ease the pain that she was going through.  it was hard to see Carol suffer though this, but as a friend it was always easy to visit her.  She always had time for her Home Teachers and friends.  As various Ward members, friends and a few of her family spoke, the picture began to fill out for him and her other family members from other faiths on how everything in the Church relies upon Christ and the Priesthood power, from an opening prayer, blessings that had been given, the blessings of the Sacrament, the spirit of revelation in preparing our talks, and even the closing prayer.  She was an inspiration for many, a good mother and wife, and a friend that I will miss.  I know that she now no longer suffers and I am sure that she is at peace with our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Missionary Moments



Papas con Chorizo



The second Tuesday of each month I have the full-time missionaries over for dinner and afterwards we go on splits. One of the dishes I fixed this evening is a common Mexican cold salad; Black Bean, Cilantro and Sweet Pea Rice. It makes a nice tangy counterpoint to the Papas con Chorizo I served as the main dish.

The Missionaries in our Ward are not Latinos, one is from California, and one is from Utah, but are both learning/teaching in Spanish. There are several Latino members in our Ward and quite a few Latino families within our Ward boundaries. But, I have noticed that although there is a large population of Latinos in Florida, very few are Mexican, many come from Guatemala, Argentina, El Salvador, Columbia and Panama as well as Puerto Rico and Cuba. 

Black Bean, Cilantro and Sweet Pea Rice



Sunday before last (5th Sunday in January) our Ward Theme was on missionary work, and the Ward Missionaries were the Speakers in Sacrament meeting, with Full-time Missionaries giving the opening and closing prayers. The youth speaker and the 2nd and 3rd speakers gave their talks in English. Our Ward Mission Leader (a Guatemalan) recently acquired US citizenship and his wife is going through the process now. His wife was our first adult speaker and gave her talk in both English and Spanish. He was the concluding speaker and gave his talk entirely in Spanish. I know some of our other members did not understand his words, but the spirit carried his talk to all in the chapel. The Full-time Missionaries had an investigator family in the meeting, both Latino, who expressed surprise and some amazement that our church would have Spanish speakers. So, the missionary 5th Sunday talks probably helped the missionary work in the Ward; now if we can just figure out a way to get all of the brothers to do their Home Teaching . . .

Florida late-winter/early-spring weather –

It’s 9:00 pm and it’s still a balmy 81 degrees with a slight breeze outside. I am trying to get in the habit of spending at least fifteen minutes in our hot tub each evening before bed. I had it built into the deck at the same time as the pool – about 2 1/2 years ago – but since I usually keep the pool at 89-91 degrees I really have not used the hot tub as much as I should- we had some cooler weather a few weeks ago (40s to low 50s) and my lower back has started bothering me again – probably hasn’t for some time because of the Celebrex I was taking for my arthritic right shoulder. With a total shoulder replacement almost three years ago it feels great, and I really do not want to be on Celebrex continually – too hard on the stomach, heart and liver. So, I am resolved to make myself sit in the hot tub and watch the stars, clouds and occasional plane through the screenroom roof each night. I really love living in Florida . . .

Salsa Prima Vera

Since we moved to southern Florida I find that I really miss the friends and acquaintances I knew in Alexandria, and some of the people I’ve met since then who, for one reason or another are no longer a part of my life.
I recently prepared a batch of Salsa from a recipe I’ve developed over the years and my thoughts turned to a friend and his family who have moved to Boston. I sent him a message that I’d fixed a batch of the salsa he had liked while they were here in Fort Pierce Ward and that we missed him and his family. He replied that they missed us too, and that I never did send him my recipe for the salsa (which I did right away).
He also wrote that they were enjoying living only fifteen minutes from the Temple, but that they did miss the closeness of our smaller Ward. Here in South Florida we are a bit over an hour-and-a-half from the Orlando Temple, and, when it finally gets built, we will be just about the same distance from the new Fort Lauderdale Temple.
My thoughts then turned to some of the special people for whom I have a particular fondness. Some of them I haven’t heard from since we moved, and others I’ve been able to follow on Facebook, Twitter or through their blogs. I hope their thoughts of me are as fond as my thoughts of them.

looking for better weather

Tough time getting out of bed this morning; not that I didn’t want to, rather that my lower back is once again acting up. I’ve been to the doctor before about it- diagnosis was multiple degenerating disks, several bone spurs and some arthritis. I’ve been on Celebrex for years for the arthritis, and as I checked online today, it seems the procedure for repairing the disks is still not available, and often surgery doesn't even help – maybe it’s time to see if having the bone spurs removed will help enough to let me get mobile again. Still, it seems like it only bothers me when the weather is cold (relatively speaking, we’ve been down into the 40s this past week in south Florida, the rest of the country has had much worse cold). Maybe I need to move farther south, like Panama or Guatemala or Belize – the lower the latitude the better the attitude?

A Season of Illnesses

I am really tired of being sick, I have had a cold or flu or both pretty much since the Saturday after Thanksgiving. A couple of days last week I felt like I was finally well again, but Saturday afternoon my sinuses started up again and I started coughing and have a sore throat, again. This past six weeks has left me feeling weak and vulnerable, and it seems like I catch a cold anytime someone in the room sneezes.
It has also been a time of reflection, not just the new year, but also my mother’s passing, and my sisters’ lack of respect for the dead. I have had a new calling extended and accepted, in which I would like to be very involved, but also do not want to be giving my cold to anyone else. I have also had plenty of time to consider old friends and past places. There are so many along the way that I miss, some from Alexandria and Crystal City, some now in Potomac Ward, and of course, one from the trip to China.

To Catch a

During the Christmas – New Years holiday I watched the old movie “To Catch a Thief” with Cary Grant, a pretty good show; amazing how much more entertaining most of the old movies are without a lot of blood and gore or explicit sex, violence or foul language. Now days most movies and even the animated cartoons are rather vulgar, even compared to the entertainment offered just a decade ago.

Projects, Projects, Projects

The weather is supposed to be nice for the next week-and-a-half, and I really need to get the shed finished. My second biggest project will be to get the boat emptied out and cleaned up so we can get it up for sale. I will need to spend some time, probably only one morning cleaning up and prepping the garden so Jeannine can plant when she gets back next weekend. And, when I have the rototiller going I might as well go ahead and make the trench for the retaining wall alongside the driveway. Then I will be ready to pour some concrete to set the interlocking retaining wall blocks, and move the soil from around the shed slab out to the wall area, and top it with filter fabric and red-rock. That should give me more room to park the Kia and I will be able to move the boat over about a foot-and-a-half. Then I have more room to park the Jeep in the driveway, but I am still thinking about making a red-rock area with stepping stones on the side towards the front door so people will be able walk around the vehicles parked in the driveway without having to walk in the grass.

Missing old friends

I would really have liked to visit some of our other friends while we are in Utah, but with the winter storm we did not get the chance. It would have been especially nice to see Bonnie Taylor, the Austins, the Wards, and the Smiths. My love to all of you, you are dear friends and I miss you.

Aspirations for the New Year

It would be nice not to start out the New Year heavier than this year, and then start a serious exercise routine. I’m thinking weights on Monday mornings, Tuesday evenings, Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings or evenings. That would give me four workouts a week, and I want to get on the treadmill or the strider the rest of the days- really would not hurt to do the treadmill M, W, F, and the strider on T, TH, S. That would work with the Bishop’s schedule for Bishopric on Wednesday nights and leave all of Sunday open. Even if I only do twenty minutes at a time, I need to get started, just watching my diet is not doing enough, I need to raise my activity level enough to get back in shape and weights are an easy way to start. Ideally would be to do the weights on the schedule, and get on the strider or treadmill a couple of times each day.

Mother

“Lois Louise (Wilson) Biggs March 14 1923 - December 5 2010 Beloved Mother, passed away in her sleep four o'clock in the morning on Sunday, You are loved and missed, Rest in Peace.”
In one year I can go to the Temple and do both my Mother and Father's work, have them sealed together and me sealerd to them.

Winter in South Florida

A couple of friends posted photos of snow in Utah last night, and I am again reminded of how nice it is to live in South Florida, especially during the winter. There may be a trip to Utah coming up between Christmas and New Years, so far no tickets booked, but maybe. I have been in Utah for Christmas before, and although I do enjoy the visit, the view of the snow-covered mountains, and the strong feeling of the Spirit I get whenever I am in Utah, I really do not think I could live there year-round; glad I have a paid for house in South Florida.
For the next week we have highs in the low-to-mid eights and lows in the upper sixties- while Utah was down to twenty-nine degrees last night and expected to be even colder tonight. I do enjoy the cooling temperatures in winter; I just like them to stay sub-tropical.

Sleepless Nights

It s another sleepless night- for some reason it is after midnight and I am up at the computer- I went to bed early enough- about ten-thirty, but gave up and got back up when it became apparent I was not going to be able to sleep, again. I haven’t had this problem for some time, months at least, but tonight, despite waking up before six this morning, I am awake, not necessarily alert, but definitely awake.
I bought an air compressor today and a pneumatic nailgun to use on the storage shed/exercise room I am building in the back yard, and I spent a few minutes getting it ready. Putting on the quick-connects for the hose, nailgun and tire inflator. Tomorrow afternoon, if the weather cooperates I should be able to start using it to nail down the siding on the wall that will be adjacent to the screen room. Right now that framing is lying flat on the slab, waiting for decent weather so I can complete it. I had put off getting the compressor and nailgun, trying to decide if it would speed things up enough to justify the expense, but, with Jeannine's urging I bought one. I hope it turns out to be as much a time-saver as we think it should be.
My thoughts these past few days have been a bit melancholy, remembering special people in Alexandria, and in Utah, that I miss. I keep thinking of the trip to China . . . and of the many Church performances that we had in Alexandria – I miss the choirs singing – the Ward I am in now is struggling to come up with enough people to act as a choir for Christmas – it would be nice to get a dozen or more, but last Sunday it looked like they only had six or seven.
I have been following a Blog every couple days, and seem to notice when there are no new posts for several days. I wonder if anyone will every find and follow this one? And, I wonder how my friend in Utah is- haven't heard anything there for several months now . . .

A couple of days in the Keys

Five months ago, in June, we went camping at Bahia Honda State Park in the lower Keys, I had read several travel reviews on Bahia Honda, some good and some bad- our own experiences were, for the most part, quite good. After a four-hour-plus drive, we arrived at the Park and began setting up our camp. One of the reviews I'd read mentioned encountering rather aggressive raccoons (ever see John Candy in "The Great Outdoors") so we had planned on keeping everything inside the Jeep overnight. we did have a pretty good thunderstorm with quite a bit of wind and a little rain, but I think the raccoons stayed safely tucked in somewhere, as we saw no sign whatsoever of any critters.
We plan to return to the keys again on October 8th, again, just overnight, but this time we should be a bit more prepared. It has still been hot during the days and quite warm at night, I hope by the time we are camping it will have cooled a bit. If not I just might pack along a window AC unit for our tent!
This coming weekend I am again going down to the Keys camping, this time I will be taking the Indian River canoe I bought, and I will be using it to snorkel and fish the famous "Flats" of the Florida Keys. Even if I don"t catch anything it should be a nice experience.
The Weather is supposed to cooperate - highs of 82 and 83 degrees and lows of 75 & 76, this time with sunny skies. hope to have more to post afterward, maybe with photos this time.

Friday afternoons

Once a month we travel a couple of hours to Orlando and spend the evening at the Temple. We always leave refreshed, recharged, and often reflective on the thoughts and feelings we've had. frequently these trips include a hotel stay and a day at Disney or Sea World (we have annual passes for both), and this has become our version of a "Date Night". We still ocassionally go out to dinner or a show in Port St. Lucie, but it has become less frequent, possibly because there are so few movies coming out that we are interested in seeing. I find some of the comments from friends and acquaintances' on the various movies they have seen to be rather disturbing - simply put- is this a movie that I would want to be seen coming out of by the Savior?

Seasonal Afternoon Thunderstorms

Here, in Southern Florida we frequently have summer afternoon thunderstorms - annoying things that develop in the afternoon from the convection currents of the warm, humid landscape. While they frequently interrupt plans, and occasionally dampen spirits, they do a decent job of watering what passes for lawn (mostly barely controlled weeds and undergrowth).

I was rather dismayed recently when I checked a friend’s blog, only to discover that the only things he had posted were the meaningless, petty things that irritated him and in great detail. With his job, I had thought he would have many insightful and interesting things to post. But, alas, a blog is really only written for the writer, anyone else is just an observer.

However, I did decide that this blog would be more of an introverted view (or perhaps his really is too?)