Keanna makes the day

Dear Friends and Family,
This has been a good day. Short walk this morning as Ken was be forced to assist with a huge garage sale with proceeds going to Leukemia Research. They made over $700 and I thought there was a riot when I left for SS there were so many cars. Keanna and I arrived early and enjoyed a learning experience at SS. Then lunch at Olive Garden, Loren and Emily had invited us to join them but we were getting hungry at 11:30 and Keanna could not wait. I managed to tip over a full glass of water at the table and Keanna told me it was OK, accidents happen. Just to cute for words. Then a quick stop at Burger king, not for food but they have indoor slides so Keanna played for awhile there. Then home to use a new toy which was so cute, you put this fiber stuff in the top, turn the crank and it fills little teddy bears. So well made that Lucas and Keanna were able to fill a bear on their own. Then to the park with the dogs and then Nikki arrived to take Keanna home.
I left for Lodi since I love Highway 4 so much but wanted to hear the Christian Edition. My friend from college and fellow singer in the Fellowmen Men's chorus at PUC is the director. As a group they've had quite a run, Dorothy Chandler in LA, a huge venue which is often used for the Oscars, Andy Williams Christmas Special, concerts in over half the states of the US. They were as good as any choral group I have ever heard and they managed to make the concert much more, a heart touching call for love of the Lord and a reminder that soon this world will be history and we will be with Him in Heaven. I sat alone but saw a fellow choir member of the Adoration Singers a row ahead and then Clair Johnson, fellow tenor from the choir found me afterwards. He has recovered nicely from his carotid artery surgery and is driving again. He and Beverly are incredibly kind and sweet people so we talked grandchildren and better times.
Afterwards I went and found Calvin, the director, we bear hugged which is no simple process since we both have many extra pounds between us literally. He was very kind and it was good to see him after all these many years.
Now its time once again to sleep.
For those of you who are single by choice or other reason you know how tough it can be to enter anyplace alone. I was warned about this years ago by those who had lost loved ones and were suddenly alone and trying to cope. Just the comfort of sitting with your spouse, your loved one, your family places you in a far different place than sitting alone in a world dominated by couples. I'm delighted for the couples and remember vividly being a part of a couple for most of my life. I'm just saying it is a vastly different experience to be alone.
Keanna was telling me this morning as we drove to Sabbath School that the other day she was crying when she was thinking about her Grammy. I told her I do that sometimes too.
I had hoped to see friends who live in Lodi at the concert tonight but there were hundreds of people there and it was impossible to spot them. Yet I knew about the concert thanks to their letting me know.
On the way home I spoke with my brother, helps make the trip home shorter and more fun. He continues to enjoy being retired and is staying busy with lawn work, he has over an acre, work in his garden, get his rototiller working, fix this, fix that. He is a very resourceful guy and I wish I lived nearer to him so I could learn more things. I moved away from my father when I was about 10 or 11 and never really lived with him again for very long of time. He was the original fixer, very clever and could make something out of nothing. He was amazing but I lost out on the learning teen time with him but Jerry was home with him during that time, we lived on an 80 acre farm in Washington near Mt Saint Helens, it was an active farm with tractors, hay to be mown, cows to be milked, chickens to be cared for, angora rabbits, a huge garden with rows of beans, rasberrys, strawberrys, every vegetable that could be grown. It was a good way to live in spite of being very poor. I don't think we knew we were poor growing up since everyone else riding the school bus was in the same boat financially. Our phone was a party line and my mom took her turns listening in to the neighbors conversations, everybody did it, like an early Oprah.

Well enough history, thank you Lord for a good day! Spoke briefly to Jo a couple times and they are doing well, Timothy continues to crawl and pull himself up so soon he will be reaching for the car keys!

Love to all,

Tim