Super cold this morning with the wind chill! Yow! Surprisingly, it was colder this morning than it was late last night. Just depends when the cold front blows through.

Always learning new words.

Progress!

OYB!

Español!

I recorded my 1,000 episode of Verbal Surgery today called, “The Answer.”

I calculated that if you listened to one after another straight you would be listening for over three weeks without stopping! What?!

The neighbor’s tree fell and hit his house and deck. Today I saw that it also hit his car. Ouch.

Listened to radio from Spain.

I had heard this word but never was exactly sure what it meant.

I’ve done well this week but doubt I’ll beat the #1 guy. I just like to come in the top 3.

Crazy weather!

In the winter it’s typical for me to do a whole lot of nothing physically. Glad I’ve been walking instead!

I’ve really been enjoying Star Wars Rebels as well as Bad Batch. They are both the brain children of Dave Filoni. What a great writer!

OYB!

Español!

This is the third time in two days I’ve gotten this message. An hour ago, I decided just to do the regular 15 minutes and it worked fine.

Cold weather blowing in.

I bring my carnivorous plants in when it gets below freezing.

Walked 1.10 miles. Forgot to hit start. Oops. The wind was really cold.

Had a good talk with my brother Jim. I’m hoping to do that more regularly in the future.

I went to Marietta to visit my friend Lester in the hospital. He had a stroke. I stopped in to Sabor do Brazil for lunch before going to see him.

I always take pictures of where I park to make sure I can find my car.

Lester seemed to be doing way better than expected. Thank you, Father!

Listened to radio from Spain on the way home.

It was a pretty long trip.

More study when I got home.

Sad news this week of the death of one of my favorite guitarists ever, Jeff Beck. I got to see him play twice. Both times he was great! Loss to humanity.

I’m afraid we’re going to get a lot more of this “super-rare” weather.

One of my favorite Japanese words.

Stamets is a hero of mine.

Always learning. I was pretty sure I knew this one.

OYB!

Español!

I got this message twice today. Cost me over 2,000 points. In the grand scheme of things it’s meaningless, but it still irritated me.

If you’ve been following my blog, you may remember that I took pictures of this leaning tree that looked like it was ready to fall. Well it did. Barely hit this house, lucky for them.

Mild today. Very powerful thunderstorms blew through later.

Walked 1.81 miles while I was studying.

Listened to Spanish radio.

Repaired the collar of one of my shirts.

I haven’t been taking vitamins for the last several months. After reading an article, I decided to make more of an effort to make sure I’m getting what I need.

This happened to me twice. Not zesty.

This is what the full blown storm looked like as it passed over Atlanta. Wow!

It left the whole sky a weird fire color. Incredible!

The whole sky was awash with color. Fabulous.

Just keep going. I should have been way ahead of the other folks. Oh, well.

Everly was teaching me some American Sign Language. I showed her this chart.

OYB!

Español!

I walked 1.81 miles while I studied.

Beautiful morning. Cool and crisp.

Saw this house on my walk.

Had a fun talk with my buddy, Anthony.

I got a sad text about my brother Lester who had a stroke. Please pray for him as the doctors decide what needs to be done.

We played together in the band Cruz.

And my brother Tito.

I finished the editing of our new Donor 2023 spreadsheet.

Good chat with my brother Bennett. I hope to get together with him and a few other of my friends soon.

Went to the Post Office to mail my Mom’s calendar that Ashley made for her for Christmas. While I was there, I helped a lady mail a package. She was so grateful. I just wanted her to get finished.

Deposited checks.

Took the left over supplies from the Middle School Xmas party yesterday to our storage area.

A neighbor shot this picture of a Bald Eagle by the river at the bottom of our hill. WOW!

Went by Dunkin’ Doughnuts to get goodies for the younger kids today. I had a really interesting chat with a young Bengali man named Nur about my work here in Chamblee.

Always great to hang with the grandgirls.

Warmed up pretty well.

Helped the kids at the mission with their homework. Big crowd today.

Listened to radio from Spain on the way home.

Made progress.

Español!

Cold morning!

One of my resolutions is to reach out to my best friends. I did a lot of that today.

Refilled my quart of oil bottle with my big container as well as my windshield wiper fluid reservoir.

Walked 1.65 miles while I studied Spanish.

Listened to radio from Spain.

Helped the kids with their homework.

Had the Christmas Party for my Middle School kids. We had pizza and doughnuts. They loved it.

Gorgeous sunset.

Checked the mail at my office.

Picked up my groceries.

Tough group. It’s the finals. Second, third and fourth places keep swapping.

Released one of my best podcasts ever called “The Present 2.0.”

Did well last week. I learned a lot.

I just ordered this book. Teddy Roosevelt is one of my heroes and perhaps my favorite president after Jefferson.

OYB!

Español!

Had a good walk while I studied.

Always great to talk with my Mom!

Listened to Tito’s bilingual sermon.

Gassed up the car. Made it to Birmingham and back on 3/4s of a tank.

Added some oil.

Always great to see the grandgirls!

I liked this sticker we saw on the way to the Post Office to mail Nana’s birthday card.

The girls helped me enter information on the computer, in particular the zip code.

Then put it in the slot!

Went to my office to check the mail.

Put all my supplies from the mission conference back into my storage area in the church.

The apartments across the street continue to rise up.

Listened to radio from Spain.

Helped the kids at the mission with their homework.

Beautiful sunset.

Kanan is one of my favorite Star Wars characters. SW Rebels is a terrific show.

I found this article interesting. All in Spanish!

OYB!

Español! Walk!

K and I listened to Tito’s sermon on the way to Alabama.

We had a fun trip, although the driving got tiring.

I liked this art in our hotel room. It has pitcher plants!

We didn’t sleep that well although the beds were good.

Español!

I got a very warm reception from my buddies Ben and Liz Birdsong and the members of Christ Church in Birmingham.

I got to the church at 7:45am. Greeted people for two services and then gave a presentation to the folks who are planning on visiting us in Atlanta. Amen.


I thought our display looked great.

Kathy wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed at the hotel until I picked her up around 2PM. We went for a late lunch at Pablo’s. So good.

I couldn’t spend quite as much time today studying as I normally do. The conference had priority.

Still did well considering I’m competing with the best students in all of Duolingo. I thought I was only against fellow Spanish students. I actually compete against ALL the diamond league students throughout all the Duolingo languages. Wow. No wonder it’s hard.

My goal is 10,000 per week.

I’m tired. I drove about three hours in the rain, most of it in the dark. That sucks.

I like this.

Did some research on mission trips offered by Georgia Baptists and NAMB.

New words!

Cold morning.

OYB!

Español!

I studied Spanish the entire time I was walking.

I have listened to every sermon my buddy Tito has preached that was on his church’s website. I’m back to listen to the new ones. Always fun as well as a learning experience. He preaches a few sentences in English then translates into Spanish. I like translating while he’s preaching and seeing how close I get to how he puts it.

K and I are going to Birmingham tomorrow to take part in a conference for Whirlwind. I worked on cleaning the inside of the car and the windshield and windows.

Ate at Hot and Cold buffet. Haven’t been there in a while. It was really good.

Came home and talked with Jessi for a long time. Fun.

Had a good rest. My back is still bothering me but it’s better. I’ve been trying to walk regularly and sometimes that makes it worse. So it goes.

New words!

Colder.

OYB!

Español!

Set up a meeting with my buddy, Tito!

Cleaned the front glass door.

Brought the distilled water inside from my car.

Walked while I studied Spanish.

I always enjoy shooting pictures while I’m at Stone Mountain.

I like lichen and moss.

Fixed my outdoor clock.

Recorded a new podcast of Verbal Surgery. While I was there, a coyote walked past my car.

On the way home I picked up an order of birdseed and dog food. Put it in my storage bin.

Swept the kitchen.

Watered my upstairs plants.

Had a fun Christmas Party for the kids. We decorated Christmas cookies. I told the story of baby Jesus and we let the kids pick out toys.

Helped the kids with their homework.

Beatiful sky!

Just keep going.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery “Mistake Fear.”

I was a Republican for over forty years. What the party has become now is unrecognizable and just stupid.

It rained almost all night long. Over 3.25″.

Always learning new words.

OYB!

Español!

Watered my indoor garden.

Studied Spanish while I walked 1.78 miles.

Mileage.

Had a good talk with my buddy Ben Birdsong about the conference I’m going to this weekend. Hopefully, K will feel well enough to come with me. It’s about three hours to get there.

I followed a garbage truck that leaked oil on the wet asphalt. I thought the patterns were interesting and beautiful.

Broken mirror on the side of the road.

Cleaned out my trunk so I could store the supplies for the conference.

I put all the Christmas gifts and supplies in garbage bags and put them in my storage area at the mission.

Got the newsletters folded and stuffed and in the mail.

I’m starting to listen to my buddy Tito’s bilingual sermons again. I’d listened to them all months ago. Going back to catch up with the ones I haven’t heard. He preaches a few sentences in English then translates them into Spanish. It’s interesting to see how much closer I am now to how he translates and what I think he’s going to say.

Both he and his wife had Covid over the Christmas break. Fortunately, the symptoms were mild. His son Sammy, however, had to have emergency surgery. Glad they are all ok now.

Sunflower.

Gassed up my car on the way to the mission. Checked the fluids.

Had fun with the girls at the mission. I told all the kids getting off the bus that the party will start as soon as they get home tomorrow. SO glad that Kathy and Ashley will both be there to help me.

We had a good FaceTime with my Mom!

Took the girls to McDonalds and then to the park for a picnic. I told them over Christmas break that my goal was two words: Fun and Excitement. We are continuing the tradition.

Listened to Tito’s sermon as well as radio from Spain.

Full Sun Moon.

On the way home, I stopped at Walmart to pick up some distilled water. It wasn’t available at the Walmart near my house where I pick up my groceries.

Just keep going.