Listened to Radio Garden from Madrid for at least an hour last night and nearly two hours this morning. Kind of slipped in and out of consciousness at times!

Studied, you guessed it!

Reviewed a couple of lines from Do Not Go Gentle this morning.

Met up with Miles and the girls for lunch, then went over to Good Will at Perimeter. Rainy, traffic heavy day.

Always have fun with them!


We had lunch at the Buford Highway Farmers Market. Such an interesting place, full of languages and other people groups.


Fun to take my Mom around. She loves this place.

The girls love Good Will. Everyone is so chill there with the kids.



Took my Mom over to White Windmill for treats.
Went to FBC Doraville to check on the mail.
Thick traffic coming home, although we beat the worst of it.
Came home to work on the checks and get everything ready for the bank tomorrow. I need to get a new debit card. My chip in the card has stopped working properly. Bahd luck.

Got a text from a dear friend of mine having a hard time. Immediately got fired up and went out and recorded Verbal Surgery -620- “What If Land.”

Living in a hypothetical future can drive you SAD. Turn on the HYPERthetical side of your brain and feel good, NOW!

Uploaded to my server.

Link on Facebook.

I just finished recording and uploading the newest edition of Verbal Surgery. This was near where I parked the Mobile Studio.

You should have seen their Halloween display.
Beautiful, foggy night.

Admin duties now.

Listened to radio from Madrid over an hour last night.

Studied Spanish this morning.

I especially liked this line.

Had a great lunch with all my girls and the Barringtons. What a terrific gathering!

I helped the Barringtons get their car jumped off. A guest of theirs had left the trunk door slightly ajar and the light had run the battery down over a week. Glad it was an easy fix!

My Mom and I went shoe shopping. GREAT to get her a little something.
Came home to spend time with the girls. Awesome!

Went for a 6.86 mile bike ride. Took my time. I kept stopping to check the next line for Robert Frost’s poem “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.” Made good progress and a fun ride!

Beautiful!

Enjoyed hanging out with my Mom this evening.

Admin duties now.

Studied Spanish this morning.

I continue to make progress.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery -218- “BrainHeart”

Just click on the title and feel good, NOW! Find out what makes you tick and be better!

Uploaded to server.

Link on Facebook.

Took ALL my girls over to Global Mall to see the sights and enjoy Indian food at Ashiana’s.

Also went to Al Madina to get Ashley one of her favorite treats. Always trying to do something nice for MY little girl! Love her so much!

Got Penelope a little bouncing ball. We had fun chasing it around at the mall. She’d squeal with delight.

In all my time of cloud watching, I’ve never seen a “zipper cloud” that reversed its’ pattern. Down AND up. Wow.

Came home to rest.

Took my Mom over to Stone Mountain to see the lights. Beautiful over there.

Admin duties now.

Feel like I may be coming down with something. Tired.

Stayed up really late last night. Not sure why. Wasn’t sleepy. Slept in late. Isn’t that what vacation is all about?

Studied Spanish this morning.

Jesse found my knife! Weirdly enough it was upstairs in my chair. Bizarre, since I could SWEAR I saw it drop out of my hand, hit my bed, fall to the floor and make a “clink” sound.

Glad to have her back. And I have two new replacement knives coming in! Several years ago I had lost my knife and tried to get a replacement for it and it was impossible. Now, another company had 11 in stock! Smith and Wesson “Pocket Protector.” Love it.

They found my Mom’s bag and delivered it to my house today. Yeah!

I woke up hungry for Indian food. Ashley and the girls all said that was fine with them. I loaded up the destination to Mr. Google, and he said, “Closed Today.” Duh, duh, duh! So we went to Thai of Norcross instead. It was delicious.

After Thai we went to the new park that they’ve just opened at Mountain Park Park. Yes, two Parks in the title.

We had fun there. Shocked that I took no pictures at the restaurant nor at the park. Not like me at all! Ashley got some great shots. Still . . .

Good talk with Jesse and my Mom this evening.

Admin duties now.

Studied Spanish and listened to Radio Garden from Spain this morning.

Sent a Red Thread from Israel to Sarah.

Started working on The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.

Bills and gifts in the mail.

Went to Pho 24 to pick up some Vietnamese sandwiches to take over to Miles, Ashley and the girls. Great food. Excellent company.


Went to the airport to pick up my Mom.

I thought this bag was cool.

Then came back to Chamblee to visit with the girls and Miles.

Came back to Stone Mountain and met up with Kathy at Waffle House for a late supper.

Then home to see Jesse!

Went outside to feed the wild critters. Beautiful moon.

Admin duties now.

Friday, I spent time talking with my buddy, Anthony Jacquin.

Helped Jesse pick up the Mercury Grand Marquis that was given to us by the Barrington from T&G.
Recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Multiverse.”
The girls came over to spend the night around 5pm. We went to Wendy’s to eat.

They crack me up.

We spent a couple of hours last night at Goodwill. That’s always a super chill place to hang out and look for stuff.

Finally got them to go to sleep around 11pm. Pretty late! I was up about every couple of hours with them. I expect that. Still a huge blessing. Love them SO much and such fun!

We went to “Donald’s” this morning. We like their bacon/egg/cheese McGriddles. I don’t eat the bacon. But each piece of the sandwich they like.

I also took the over to the Dollar Tree before lunch. Then went to Jim and Cheryl Kendall’s house to decorate cookies.

Came home to rest and study Spanish.



Repaired this little guy I got last night at Goodwill.


Paid bills.

Sewed the leather back onto my gloves

Cleaned and refilled my birdbaths and feeders.

Suet and on the tree at the base for other animals and birds to eat.



Strung some Christmas lights.

Went to see Green Book this evening. Highly Recommend. Loved it.

Catching up on admin duties now. Don’t do them when the girls are over.
Weirdest thing happened this evening. I was taking all of the stuff out of my pants to put in my bag. My knife dropped out of my hand, bounced on the bed and fell to the floor. I spent about an HOUR looking for it and couldn’t find it. Super bizarre. Fortunately, Amazon had the same model in stock. I’d tried to find it last year and wasn’t able to replace it. FINALLY, found the lost one!

Studied Spanish this morning.

Lots more to learn!

Also used Clozemaster.

Recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery this morning called, “Old Year’s Resolution.” It’s a good one! I’ll release a new episode to the public tomorrow. I liked these “sunflower” shots.


I’m almost finished memorizing “Do not go gentle into that good night.” I think I’ll do this little piece next by Yeats.

I kind of had an “old school” day. After I had lunch, I went to Barnes and Noble and then to Best Buy. I didn’t stay in either place very long. Especially not Best Buy.

The lemon square at B&N was excellent.

Went to a couple of antique stores. Didn’t see anything I really liked.

I had the Mercury looked at by our mechanics. It was in very good shape, but still had to get about $475 worth of work on it. Not surprising for a car that old. But they thought it looked very solid over all. Glad about that!

Went to Lowe’s to check on some lactite for a screw in the bathroom. Decided not to go that direction. Just didn’t get a good feeling about doing it, even though that’s what the plumber said to do. I don’t do what I don’t feel good about.

When I got home, Ashley’s new replacement phone had been delivered. I jumped back into the car to take it on over to her. That phone is a critical part of our business as a ministry!

Went to FBC Doraville to check the mail.


Helped Fabiola with an essay.

Interestingly enough, I was just studying about the Trancendentalists, in particular Emerson, just yesterday.
Love spending time with the girls. They’ll be spending the night Friday.

After we got Ashley’s phone swapped out and the old one erased, we put it in a box and I mailed it at the post office.

Went to see Spider-Man tonight. I thought it was terrific.

Very creative.
Came home to work on admin duties.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery -617- “PROvict!”

Be the best you can be by being a great coach inside your head! Just click on the title and GROOVE!

Uploaded to server.

Link on Facebook.

Our plumber came over to replace the handle on our faucet.

I studied Spanish while he worked.


Keep marching forward!

Faucet replacement cost about $130. That’s common. Nothing’s cheap!

I lost my black knit hat yesterday. Went back to QT to see if it was there. Didn’t find mine, but across the street I found this one, nearly a match. Weird how that sort of stuff happens to me all the time.

This stump with polypores and lichens was near that hat. Beauty abounds!


Went by the office to check on the mail.

My goal was to get Ashley’s phone repaired today. Her speakers stopped working. Pretty much renders your phone useless except for texting. Picked up her phone where she left it for me at FBC Doraville in our office. Then went to Ashiana’s for lunch.

It was so good.

Went to ATT to get Ashley’s phone worked on. They showed me the protocol to get the insurance claim going. I called Assurance and told them what had happened. Ashley will get a replacement phone tomorrow or Friday. Amen!

Then to the bank to deposit checks.

Amen, again!
Went to the mission to talk with the girls and let Ashley know what I’d accomplished.
We checked out an antique place that was going out of business then on to Plaza Fiesta.

LOVE my girls!

I’m listening to a bilingual series on heroes in the Bible by Tito Ruiz while I’m driving. I’m learning a lot. And the messages are great.

Cold weather means no kids coming for help. I did help one of them with some math.

Sunflower.

Got gas at Racetrack on the way home.

Sat in on the last part of my friend Anthony Jacquin’s seminar when I got home. I’m impressed with the Zoom software.

Played some God of War. Incredible story and graphics.

Admin duties now.

Studied, you guessed it, Spanish!

It’s all about cumulative effort.

I think this is a high score in Clozemaster.

Cloze refers to learning words in context.

I had a fun and productive meeting with Jon Paul who served as our treasurer for nearly two decades at Whirlwind Missions.

We handled some financial things (namely our Christmas bonus!) and I sat in on a conversation with Paychex to have a smooth transition as he retires from the treasurer position. He’ll still serve as a Board Member.

We also had a tasty lunch!

My new thing is to make “Old Year Resolutions.” Why wait? See what worked and do more of that! So I’m starting to set up regular meetings with people that are important to me. I’ve really enjoyed my time with Carl Barrington, and I plan on expanding that strategy with other board members and close friends. What some Tim Time? Let me know! 770-490-1668.

I have three filing cabinets absolutely JAMMED with files.

At our last board meeting for Whirlwind Missions, I was told that we only have to keep files for the last seven years. So I went through all the files and put them in containers for long term storage. I’m not throwing anything away, but I freed up 1/3 of my file cabinet space. Amen!

Went by the office to pick up mail. Then went by the mission to drop off some documents for Ashley. I missed seeing them. They were at an art exhibit. I was jealous. I love that sort of thing.

Ashley is having phone problems. Hopefully, we can get it squared away tomorrow. I have the plumber coming over to work on the handle for a faucet on our kitchen sink. After that, I’ll be focused on Ashley and her comms.

School is pretty much out for the holidays. We are looking forward to our Christmas party! ESL Classes will resume next year. Everyone is pretty busy with family stuff now.

On the way home, I stopped by QT for some ice-cream. Been a long time since I’ve done that. I saw this little piece of art on the ground.

I put this piece of art in my mouth!

Then I saw this.

I believe it is the world’s oldest religious symbol.

I got home and realized I must have dropped my hat. Bahd luck. I have a couple of secondary hats. We’ll see how they work. Rare for me to do something like that.

Enjoyed playing God of War. Incredible art. Pretty hard game.

Admin duties now and more study.

I worked on memorizing “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas today. I have it “roughed in.” That means I know it pretty close, but now have to work on it being fluid and every word right. It actually took an emotional toll on me as I practiced it.

Do not go gentle into that good night.
Old age should burn and rave at close of day.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Though wise men at the close of day know dark is right
Because their words had forked no lightning
They do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in the green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild man who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn too late, they grieved along it’s way
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

I just checked it over and got it about 95% correct. Yeah, brain!

It’s a wonderful piece.

This year I’ve memorized “Tiger, Tiger” and “Did those feet walk?” (which is also a song) by William Blake, “Ozymandius” by Percy Shelley, “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carrol and “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas. And bits and pieces of other poems from Lord Byron and others.

I’ve also mastered lots of scripture including all of 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 in Hebrew! That was the hardest by far.

It’s a fun hobby. I spend about thirty minutes every day quoting it all.

Perhaps my favorite to perform is “Jabberwocky.” I go into full “interp” mode when I do it. Did you know I won the Chloe Armstrong Award at Baylor for best interpreter of poetry? My overwhelming humility keeps me from going on and on about how good I am at it.

I see myself doing more Dylan Thomas in the future. Did you know Bob Dylan took his name from his?

Studied Spanish last night and this morning. I listen to radio from Madrid and take down words I’m not sure about. Many times I know A definition but not the other meanings.

Studied grammar with Duolingo and Clozemaster.


One of the highest scores I’ve had in Clozemaster.

Spent most of my day at the Tax Office working on getting the title of the Mercury that was donated to us into the ministry’s name. It turned out to take me hours. The wait time wasn’t bad, but they kept finding small details that I’d have to go track down to fix

It took me three times to get it finally squared away.

On my second trip, I was sitting on the back row, and I heard a guy on his phone speaking Swahili! I had a great conversation with him and ended up with his contact number. I love the ATL for stuff like this.

One of my challenges was dealing with an error on the title. I had to track down Carl and get him to notarize a document. Turned out pretty easy to meet up and get squared away. Always GREAT to see him!

FINALLY got it all figured out! What a blessing!

I ended up with three of these. I started as 102!

The State of Georgia has made it WAY harder for ministries to help people with car donations. Lots more paperwork now. Oh, well.

We have a handle in our sink in the kitchen that isn’t functioning properly. Made a call to my plumber to get that fixed.

Got groceries on the way home.

It’s supposed to freeze tonight and tomorrow night. I bring the flytraps and pitcher plants in.

The sundews and the tropical pitcher plants STAY in

Admin duties now.

I’ll probably play some video games and study Spanish more this evening. That’s pretty typical for me.