Studied Spanish.


Uploaded a new episode of Verbal Surgery -797- “Off the Leash!”

Ordered groceries.

Made the appointment to get my new iPhone 11 Pro Max.

I like going to the Northlake Mall store.

Seemed very health conscious. Everyone was masked as were all the customers. Plexiglass shields in place.

I took the line off for the iPad we had. We have four lines now of unlimited data. The new plan will actually save us about $30/month. That means adding my phone is doing to increase our bill each month by only $17/month.

I did the research before going to the store, so I knew what was available and what I wanted, which was the iPhone 11 Pro Max with 256 GB of storage. I also wanted to keep the insurance on my old iPhone 7+ which is going to Kathy.

We tried to set it all up at the store, but it was taking too long to download the current iOS 14. I took both phones home, downloaded the file, reset the phone, added the information from my old phone to my new phone. Quite a procedure.

Last job will be to zero out my old iPhone.

I thought Eddie was very helpful.

Listened to Harry Potter in Spanish.

First selfie with my new iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Getting all the networks to talk to each other is sometimes challenging. Still trying to get my earbuds to pair up.

Productive day. Will work on learning more about my new tech this evening.

I thought this was funny.

Beautiful sunrise!

Always great to see Ashley.

Started out the day making blueberry pancakes.

Blew the back deck.

Got a message back from my buddy Steve who is a coin dealer.

We did some work in the book. She’s doing really well.

I engage Everly all the time.

I thought this was very precise coloring. She was very focused.

Brush teeth time. Gargle mode.

Picnic time! It sprinkled so we didn’t get to go to the playground.

We went to Party City and Dollar Tree for halloween decorations.

Scary hands.

I had an hour nap with them.

Studied Spanish. It’s taking me longer to complete each level. I’m doing all the lessons now.

Kathy’s phone is messed up. I will go ahead and upgrade mine and give her my phone. Mine is completely paid off, which is always good.
Been studying the different models. Going for the iPhone 11 Pro Max 256GB. That’ll be my main job tomorrow.

I have cases and protective glass on order.

Beautiful sunrise with full sun moon.

Cool con trails.

Great to see Ashley with the girls. She always looks so beautiful and groovy every day.

Gassed up the car on the way back.

Saw this on the side of a house today. I think it’s my favorite halloween design ever.

Dr. Momo. Kathy plays doctor with them. They measure heart rate and O2 saturation. She also has a stethoscope.

An antique ankle bracelet from Mali.

The girls helped me clean the glass doors.

Fantastic clouds today.

Kathy went with us to our Stone Mountain campsite.

So beautiful.

Our hike wore the girls out.

Helped the kids at the mission. We had two major projects that suddenly came due. So it made what I thought was going to be a super easy day to a full on craft explosion.

After the mission, I took my car to get new tires put on.

Studied Duolingo while I waited for the tires.

Beautiful sunset.

They really went at it fast.

An apartment fire near the 285 highway caused a lot of smoke.

Deposited checks.

Enjoying thinking about the networks of friends in terms of mycelium growth in Mushrooms. The questions of what are the needs of the group come back to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

I have this type of sneezing.

Beautiful sunrise at Global Mall.

Looking forward to checkin the ISS out in a few minutes while I’m writing this blog.

Beautiful Full Sun Moon this morning.

Love me some Ashley!

We worked on adding gravel to the St. Frances shrine.




Sandwiches for lunch.


We went on safari to our campsite on Stone Mountain. Always beautiful.

Did mentoring at the Mission with the kids. Mainly math and social studies. I pretty much learn something every day that I’d forgotten. The Stamp Act and the Sons of Liberty. Dumped around $1 Million worth of tea into the harbor.

Went to my office to check my mail.

My tire guy said some used tires that fit my car came in. We got them mounted and they discovered that someone had stabbed them with a knife. Bummer. So, I’m going for some new ones. They should be tomorrow morning. I’ll go over there after going to the mission.

Listened to Harry Potter in Spanish.

Studied Spanish.

Saw the International Space Station for the 62nd time this evening.

Using Clozemaster again to study Spanish.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Electric Theatric.”

Also transferred the file I recorded yesterday onto my Mac.

Studied Spanish.

I got the oil changed in the PT Cruiser. Jason from T&G said that I was about due for new tires.

I sent pictures of my tires to my tire guy to see what he had in stock. I got used ones last time and they did great.

Had great conversations with my friends Amit and Anthony.


Listened to Harry Potter in Spanish.

Paid bills.

Got my absentee ballots in the mail. Groovy.

Blew the back porch.

Got some masks for Kathy.

Went to the mission to help the kids. Miles let the girls participate.

Kids have lots of work. We try to do as much as we can in while I’m there.

Great to see Ashley!

Beautiful evening.

Before the pandemic, this was always at least 45 minutes. Big change.

Picked up checks from our office at the church.

Went to the bank to deposit them.

Saw the International Space Station for the 61st time this evening. It was cloudy but had a clear spot right over my head. Great viewing.

I also saw a second, much smaller satellite while I was waiting.

And this super red object. Of course it’s Mars!

That’s the first time I’ve ever really seen Mars look that red. Horizontal viewing is the best for colors.

Studied Spanish and did my brain training.


Extra work on verbs.




Went to Stone Mountain to record. Saw this mushroom. I’ve been into the anatomy of mushrooms lately.

Recorded “Spike the Curve.”

Great call with my buddy Anthony.

Talked to T&G about getting my oil changed. Got the car over there last night to get fixed Tuesday morning.

Got my flu shot. Didn’t hurt.

Listened to Harry Potter in Spanish.

Went to Ingles to get more distilled water. Walmart has been out.

Reading the “Entangled Life” book.

Took some pictures of objects on my desk.

Took some pictures around my yard.

Had a good chat with my brother and his wife.

I haven’t been feeling 100%. Trying to get some extra rest when I can.

I did my blog Tuesday morning rather than Monday night.

Ordered and picked up groceries.

Spent extra time studying Spanish.





Enjoying reading Entangled Life.

Did my brain training.

Put the new edition of Verbal Surgery on my computer to release later.

Had a great time talking to my buddy Anthony and to my Mom. Also tried calling my brother, Jim, but he was riding his bike and wasn’t available.

Listened to Harry Potter in Spanish while I was driving and while I was riding my bike. I’m enjoying using the new Translate app on my phone to help me learn words.

I cleaned my shoes yesterday and let them dry out. Today I shot them with the spray paint. Sure does make a difference. The shoe on the left hasn’t been painted yet, just the cleaning helps a log.


These are just my work shoes. I also ride my bike in them. They get grease from my bike chain on them. The primer paint completely covers it up.

I enjoyed watching a family of blue birds enjoy the bird bath. It’s funny, I always kind of thought this was the “useless” bird bath because it kept so little water in it. You can notice how the middle section has a shallow dome. I never really thought how that could be a feature and not a deficit.

Rode my bike 6.07 miles. I haven’t been super enthusiastic about riding because it’s getting colder. But if I keep the ride shorter it still seems fun.

Went to sleep early. Caught up on my blog early Monday morning.

I like this picture of St. Francis.

I redid my little shrine.

Studied Spanish and did my brain training.

I like this band. Just heard about them today.

Rained a little over 1/4″.

Did a lot of work in my back yard.

Mowed, picked up limbs, weeded.

This one weed had taken over big areas. It was super easy to cut.

I saw lots of little fire ant holes. Spent time putting poison on those as well.


You can see where I applied the white powder. I have another jug coming. I need to get all the holes as much as possible.

Trimmed a tree.

One of my projects today was to plant the Wisteria that I’d been potting. I got the original plants from Chamblee.

She looks happy. Maybe one day I’ll see those beautiful blue flowers in my trees!

This one I planted about a month ago, I think.

New ones to the local environment.

Blew my carpet.

I continue to put limbs in this hole. Everything decomposes.

I saw these tiny plants. They almost looked like onions.

Scrubbed my work shoes. Tomorrow I’ll spray them with the flat white primer.

I’m enjoying my mushroom book.

Ashley sent me this picture

For the last fifteen months my hand has been injured and I have been using talk to text to do my blog. Tonight, I’ve started just typing again! It’s taken a long time to get back to nearly normal. I’m still doing physical therapy every day. I do hand stretches, massage, and squeezing exercises hundreds of times a day.

I’ve also cut my use of social media back to nearly zero. Facebook has just become too toxic for me.

I’m always happy when I’ve started a book I’m enjoying. I’m reading Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. It’s about mushrooms. It’s one of my favorite subjects! He’s a real poet and a fantastic biologist. Here are some pieces from what I’ve read so far.

Studied Spanish and did my brain training. Sometimes the lessons are really difficult. So instead of trying to test out of the whole thing, I’ve been taking my time and doing all the lessons.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Onward Through the Fog.” It’s a great one.

Did my brain training.

Got a notice from PNC Bank that they had approved the check for repairing my roof. That’s going to help a lot. I should get it in the mail soon.

I’ve read a lot about CBD oil. I decided to try some. I got it specifically for Kathy, but she doesn’t like to take pills and thought the oil smelled bad. So I’ll be taking it. I think it’ll help where I’ve injured my hip.

It’s been months since I’ve turned in a mileage report, mainly because I was just traveling so little due to the lockdown. So I turned in four months worth today!

I got ready to go to Stone Mountain to record and my car gave me a low tire pressure warning. Sure enough my front left tire was about 20 pounds low. I went ahead and aired that up. I highly recommend getting a small air compressor to leave in your car. It’s really helped me out a lot. Rather than having to take off the tire and take it somewhere. I just pump the tire up, drive it there, and let them deal with it! My tire guy’s in Chamblee. I also got to check the office take care of business stuff as well.

I gassed up my car and checked the oil.

I added nearly a quart.

When I went by the church to check the mail, I noticed that they were redoing the roof of the church. The same guys will be working on my house most likely.

I got in touch with my friend Steve who is a coin dealer. He’ll be coming to the coin show in Marietta on the 11th. I’ll go with my friend Selma and see about selling the coins that she has. She said she’d give our ministry half the proceeds so I hope he’ll give us a good deal!

Then went over to my tire guys to let them fix the leak.

One of the new things that iOS 14 has is a Translate app. I figured out how to go from listening to Harry Potter in Spanish to that app. I hit record and say the words I don’t know and it comes out with the English translation. That’s a great way to learn new words.

I stopped by Walmart on the way home to pick up my groceries. I love curbside pickup! I’m in and out of that place in less than five minutes. What?! And it’s FREE!

I got a big bag of dog food to feed the raccoons and opossums and other animals in my neighborhood. I enjoy watching them at night with the red light I keep on. I carried it to my door in my Gorilla Cart and then scooped out about half of it so I don’t have to lift something so heavy.

Picked up some sticks.

Checked the oil in Kathy’s truck.

Blew off the back porch and driveway.

Cleaned out my the vacuum filter in my little vacuum.

I vacuumed my house with my big vacuum cleaner and then cleaned all the parts.

Then cleaned the rest of the driveway.

Cleaned and refilled all the bird baths and feeders. I also took down all but one of the hummingbird feeders. They’ve headed back South, maybe all the way to Costa Rica!

Rode my bike 5.88 miles. It was a little chilly, so I didn’t push it.

Grand girls spent the night last night. We slept pretty well.

Had a good time with them this morning.

Met up with Jesse and Kathy at the park.

We had fun on the swings and play things.

Everly is really enjoying the little tea set I got her.

I am still working with Penelope on words using “at.”

I took them home since Miles is feeling better.

Helped the kids with their homework.

Went by my office to check the mail.

Listened to Harry Potter in Spanish on the way home.

I made a grocery order for tomorrow afternoon.

Studied Spanish. I stopped testing out each level because of the difficulty. I’m starting to do individual levels again to make sure I really understand and memorize each piece.