I don’t see this very often.

This just makes so much sense. What is wrong with our country?

Exciting to see our little drone work on Mars! Wow!

Studied. You know what.

I am in the Diamond League in Duolingo. That means that I compete against a random group of 30 people each week in Spanish with the highest level of experience. Our competition ends each week on Sunday. So briefly on Monday I was #1! Usually, I end up about #12 or so. But it was still fun to see.

OYB!

Kathy is getting ready to back to work at her day care place. That means she has to go through all the background checks. I helped her get organized for her fingerprinting. Some UPS stores are now certified to do that. This one was in Loganville.

Had a good talk with my buddy Anthony today. We don’t get to chat as much as we like because of our schedules. Usually, Monday is a good day to connect.

I left voice mail for my Mom. Sorry I couldn’t talk with her today.

Recorded an episode of Verbal Surgery called “Pain and Gain.” Downloaded it onto my Mac for future release.

Another gorgeous day.

I enjoyed seeing my good friend Jon Paul today! I had ordered him some exercise equipment and a new cane. I told him it’s great to give people gifts they actually WANT!

We went to a late lunch together. He’s always a blessing to me.

Part of getting the child care job back for Kathy is doing some certification work. I help her with that. She’s not super good with computers, especially if she can’t do it on her phone.

Picked up my groceries. The order was ready about an hour late, and they forgot to put in my potato chips. Not zesty. I had planned on riding my bike, but by the time I got them put up it was too late. I was tired anyway.

I learn new English words, too!

One thing I enjoy about Sunday mornings is that I have a subscription to a blog called Brain Pickings. I’ve had a great time reading her blog. It’s loaded with links to other subjects and one of those links talked about William James who I consider to be the father of modern psychology.

He had some interesting quotes about attention which is an area that I’m fascinated by. How do we keep someone’s attention? How can we focus our own attention for longer periods of time? After reading this, I went to Stone Mountain and recorded an episode of Verbal Surgery which I called, “Attention Intention.”

I thought this was beautiful.

I liked this poem. I receive two poems every day from different email lists.

Studied Spanish.

Brain training.

Another gorgeous day in the ATL.

OYB!

Ordered my groceries. I’m back to picking them up.

I went to Stone Mountain to record and make calls.

One of the email subscriptions I get is called the Magnet. I read something today that I thought would interest my son-in-law, Miles. It did!

Gassed up my car. I used my new Murphy gas app and got ten cents off per gallon. I don’t think I’ll get that every time, I’ll just have to see. I don’t completely understand the program.

I checked my oil and cleaned the windshield while I was getting gas. I noticed that my radiator fluid was a bit low in the reservoir. Chryslers use a specific kind of fluid that I have to get at an auto parts store. Picked some up at O’Reilly.

Went to the bank to deposit checks.

Ordered flash cards to use with Penelope.

I brought all my aloe vera plants back inside. I was glad to see Jesse’s plants beginning to recover from the cold weather outside. They were turning brown and mushy.

I went for a bike ride today. Rode 5.89 miles. I tried to take it easy and not go too far. It was one of my first rides since having Covid.

I need to do more yard work, but my arm has been bothering me from the extreme effort I used last week.

I listened to this while I rode.

Always something beautiful to see.

I even find mold on bread interesting and lovely.

Cleaned my carpet outside.

And my shrine to St. Francis.

Watered my inside garden.

Uploaded the new episode of Verbal Surgery onto my Mac.

I remember going to Philadelphia and seeing Ben Franklin’s grave. He’s one of my heroes! And a great day to have the N. Gwinnett Church team in town!

Studied Spanish.

After our singing and prayer time, I took the team to the Buford Highway Farmers Market for lunch and a tour.

Then to the missions!

Fun Day!

I dig Emerson!

Studied Español.

Beautiful day!

The new school year will be upon us before we know it! Penelope will start Kindergarten!

I pass Rock Bridge BC every morning that I pick up the grandgirls. I pray for my dear friends Bill and Piper Cordrey who are studying Spanish in Costa Rica.

One of our favorite movies is Moana. It’s set in Polynesia. Today, we had a Moana party with tropical fruits and a coconut. It was fun.

I’m constantly teaching the girls something. I got out some of my saws. Two types of hack saws, a mitre saw (my favorite!) and a wood saw.

I explained to them what each were for and what they cut.

Then I asked them, “What two things do I need before I start cutting?” They immediately replied, “Safety glasses and gloves.” Yeah, baby.

While we were downstairs getting what we needed to open the coconut, Penelope found some stickers that a friend of ours had sent us. She went a bit crazy with them.

It’s not easy to cut a coconut.

I scored it all the way around.

Then banged it with a hammer to crack it open evenly.

Then sawed off the top to pour the juice out. The girls thought it was super gross.

We tried some pieces, not too bad.

Then to Zoo Atlanta! We renewed our annual membership.

The girls got to feed the giraffe! I only shot video of the feeding.

Two of my favorite cities!

So much to see!

I talked to my tax guy while the girls saw the naked mole rats. Not one of my favorites! Looks like everything is ready to go to be sent in!

The pandas were a big hit!

They pretended they were petting him.

We love llamas.

This represents about half of what we walked. We were really tired.

For some unknown reason, not all the pictures I took with my Canon camera got onto my iPhone. Bahd luck. I had some great pictures of gorillas.

Went by my office to check on the mail.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery “Cautiously Optimistic.” So good.

Just found out today that our next door neighbor will be moving. They are the ones that built the big fence next to us. Although I didn’t like him burning leaves, overall they were good folks and will be missed. Never know who might be next. I’ve had four different neighbors on the south side of my property and three different neighbors on the north side.

Fascinating!

Try and wrap your mind around this.

Not good.

Exercise!

Thought this was interesting.

Studied, you guessed it.

I’ve tried Calamine Lotion on my poison ivy. Today, I switched to hydrocortisone cream.

Love the girls!

OYB!

Cooler today.

I’m trying to cut Everly’s nails. No luck so far. Showed her where one of her nails had cut her.

Cleaned birdbaths and filled feeders. Saw my first hummingbird today! But I don’t think that one was “mine.” She didn’t stay around.

The girls are so creative.

We had a great time visiting with my good friend Jon Paul and his dog, Bella. She’s my favorite dog.

We brought Jon his mail. The girls were impressed by the size of his box!

Beauty!

They conked out on the way home. We parked in the shade at the church until they woke up.

Picked up the mail.

Transported a squirrel.

Helped the kids with their homework. Had a table full.

Had a fantastic time with my friends Ian and Ruthie North and their sons Jack and Andy. How I love them!

I found this interesting.

This factoid helped us have fun today!

I set this up to help save me some money on gas. I’ll see if it works!

Studied Spanish.

Love my girls!

We had fun at the grocery store.

OYB!

The girls had fun playing with play dough while I was studying.

Did research on which places we wanted to see on our safari to Downtown Atlanta. Decided on the Westin and its 73 story restaurant called the Sundial, and the Marriot with the 41 story indoor glass elevator.

I decided we’d go to FBD Doraville and park my car, then take Marta to Peachtree Center station and walk to the hotels from there.

Gassed up my car, checked the oil, and cleaned the windshield. I’m hoping to get the discounted gas price soon.

We had fun riding the Marta downtown, although we did have one crazy guy who was acting kind of scary that frightened the children. I didn’t like that, but it happens. I’ve actually seen it happen twice in all the times I’ve ridden the train.

We’ve been used to escalators at Global Mall. This was an entirely different level. Literally!

Atlanta is a very beautiful and clean city. Didn’t see any homeless folks at all. That’s a huge difference from my experiences in other major cities such as Houston and NYC.

Sadly, the Westin Sundial restaurant was closed except for Fridays and Saturdays. We’ll go back specifically for that in a few weeks.

The 41st floor of the Marriott was incredible. The ride up in their glass elevator was intense. We officially call this spot “Campsite 3.” We could see Campsites 1 and 2 on Stone Mountain from our perch.

We drank some cokes and ate peanuts as a snack before we went to eat lunch at the Metro Cafe.

Here’s the Western view. Kathy said that she remembers going to that blue dome with her Dad when she was a kid. At one point, it was the tallest building in the city. That was back in the 60s.

We had a great time at the Metro Cafe.

They loved the hamburgers.

And the “Chocolate Suicide” cake!

They were pretty tired on the way home. I know I was!

Helped the kids at the mission with their homework.

I worked on my tax guy’s questions and got the documents and information he requested.

Good talk with Jesse this evening.

Start of my week with the grandgirls. What a blessing!

We stopped on the way home for some nature observations. Turtles on a log and a magnolia flower.

Studied Spanish.

The girls helped me pump up the tires on my Gorilla Cart. We stopped by Ingles on the way home to pick up some distilled water as well as fruits and vegetables. The water was heavy so I used my cart. I’m always teaching them something useful, like how tires and compressors work.

And how much easier it is to use a cart rather than carry stuff!

I let the kids pick out the pieces of corn that we cooked.

My tax guy told me I needed a couple of documents to finish my taxes. Still working on it. Called Ameriprise today.

My azaleas have been stunning this year.

Another beautiful day.

I finally got Everly to let me trim her toe nails. That was a job!

They know the Tooth Fairy. I told them there was also a Toe Nail Fairy that left money under their pillow after they got their nails cut. The Toe Nail Fairy cut their nails when they were asleep. Everly’s response? “I’m afraid of the Toe Nail Fairy.” I told her that I was the Toe Nail Fairy. She was like, “What?!” The stuff I make up.

I bought this beautiful miniature orchid today when we got the fruit and vegetables. So beautiful!

The girls enjoy playing with Playdough. I liked this little man by Penelope.

Went to the mission to check on the kids. Hardly any homework these days, especially since most of my kids are going to physical school two days a week. I still go by all their apartments and check on them and see how everyone is doing.

Then to my office to check on the mail and my Ficus. Such an outpouring of love financially for the situations we have been facing: especially Covid and the septic tank repair.

Deposited checks.

Had a good chat with my treasurer Jon Paul. He’s been having a rough time physically lately.

Also called my Mom to check on her.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Fact Axe.” So good.

My poison ivy has still been bad. I’ve changed strategies now and instead of Aloe Vera I’m using Calamine lotion. Seems to be more effective.

Studied Spanish, although not quite as much as normal.

Beautiful weather.

Brain training.

OYB!

Still suffering with this poison ivy. This evening I tried calamine lotion rather than the aloe vera. The rash seemed to be healing, but also spreading to other areas. That’s not zesty.

Paid bills.

Talked with my tax guy. I need to get a one document as well as answer a couple more questions related to giving and the stimulus payments.

I’m still drying out the carpet. Most of the house is complete. I did extra on the living room so it was a bit wetter than the rest of the house.

I made a LOT of calls today.

Talked with Paul about mission work and helping folks get a job.

My Mom is dealing with some high blood pressure issues. Had a good talk with her.

Talked to my buddy Dan about doing an interview with him on his new podcast as well as being interviewed for his new book. I had some ideas about doing podcasts that I hope he’ll take to heart.

Talked with Anthony. He’s grieving over the loss of a close friend who was only 36!

I had a series of calls with buddies from Africa and Baylor. Started with my good friend Rollin Hooper who I grew up with in Kenya. Also good chat with my friend Eucled Moore, another MK. And Bob Hearn who I played soccer with at Baylor and worked together with in Houston.

Also got in touch with Doug Smith and Joe Dickey, other life long friends. I hope to talk with them soon.

Spent time doing yard work. Super hard. Involved mulching leaves which is no joke.

After mulching it looks almost like soil.

I watered it down to settle the dust and speed up the assimilation process.

Raking was also very hard. I broke my stiff rake.

I worked till after dark! Even raked the street. I got tired of seeing the leaf litter.

That was a LOT of work. Glad the hardest part is done. Still need to do more raking and edge the middle section as well as mow the other part of the front yard next to the driveway.

Then begins the BACK yard which will probably be a three day job. If I take my time I usually don’t hurt myself. I try not to do it for much more that an hour or so. Went over that today. Hope I’ll feel ok tomorrow!

Studied Spanish. Un poco cada día!

Brain training.

Beautiful day!

OYB!

My poison ivy, continues to heal. I’m primarily using aloe vera to treat it. Plant based medicine vs plant based attack! Plus a cocoa butter lotion.

With the dry weather, I decided to work on cleaning the carpet. Hard job!

First, I do a deep scrub. I mix hot water with some Oxyclean and pour a pattern on the carpet. Then scrub it in with a stiff broom.

It looks way better after the deep scrub.

Then I go to Lowes to rent the Bissell carpet cleaner. It sprays product onto the carpet then vacuums it up. Or at least most of it.

I used my sister-in-law’s machine last time, but it didn’t get near the dirt out that this machine does. It looks pretty gross.

Finished product. I save about $100 and do a WAY better job than the “pros” do. Mainly because they don’t take the time (1.5 hours) to scrub it properly.

I picked up a lot of carpet fibers that get sucked up.

I didn’t even measure the scrubbing part! I know how long it took, however.

I worked on the carpet from about 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM without a break. The trip to Lowes to get the machine and then again to turn it in usually takes about 45 minutes in all, if not more.

Transported two squirrels today. Doubt it will ever end.

Picked up the groceries. It’s no big deal for me to go get it. It’s about a twenty minute job in all since I don’t have far to drive.

After I dropped off the second squirrel, I cleaned out the bird baths.

I really miss my hummingbirds. I hope they come soon.

I thought this was interesting. This is what I’m using most of it for.

The girls and I look looking at new plants.

Always something new to learn!

Great to hear new music from Glass Animals.

It’s been mild.

K went with me to pick up the girls Thursday morning.

OYB!

Studied Spanish all three days!

To Stone Mountain to play!

Wrote thank you notes.

Some of my new wysteria is doing pretty well. Others not so much.

Took my plants outside.

Redid my hummingbird feeders. Still haven’t seen any hummingbirds. Sad face.

Birdbaths are popular now.

I mowed for over an hour yesterday. It was super hard.

I forgot to turn Runkeeper on when I started.

Before sleep.

Scary.

Got some rain. Not too heavy.

Playdough cafeteria.


Penelope and Everly’s art.

I like to help people get fresh water.

Everly got a booboo on her knee.

Had to put some tape on it.

The heating element for baking in my oven burned out. After watching a video on You Tube about it, I decided I could handle it. I ordered the replacement part about a week ago.

Turned off the breaker for the stove. Fortunately, it was actually labeled on the breaker box. I knew it’d be a 50 amp breaker, but there were multiple of those. Unscrewed the old element and held onto the wires with vice grips so they wouldn’t slip back into the insulation. That’s what those YouTube videos warn you about.

It was pretty easy to install, but I was still glad when it powered up the element so I could cook my brownies which were excellent.

I cancelled my Walmart+ account. I got a free two weeks which worked out perfectly for when I was in quarantine with Covid. I’d just as soon go pick it up as to feel bad for not tipping someone well.

Got a little over .5″ of rain today. After taking this picture, I completely cleaned out my rain gauge. Looks a lot better now.

Ashley picked up the girls around 3:15pm. We had a marvelous time together.

I vacuumed the house. I need to clean the carpet. Maybe Monday if it’s weather’s dry.

Released Verbal Surgery 843 “Problems and Soblems.” It’s all about how you describe what’s going on!