I was woken up this morning by a loud tapping on my window. It was one of my favorite birds, the Pileated Woodpecker. A real beauty! As big as a crow!

Fantastic weather.

OYB!

Español!

Walked 1.41 miles today.

I spent time talking to my dentist’s office. They told me that it wasn’t a problem to wait until July when Medicare kicks in. That will reduce the price of my implants drastically.

Big limb fell in my yard.

I will very likely keep my carnivorous plants outside this year. At least I’m thinking I might. Normally, the outside situation is just too rough on plants.

Scrubbed my shoes and my hat this morning.

Got the newsletters in the mail.

My brother Tito Ruiz was in the area today. We got to hang out for a while. What a blessing!

He waited for the grandgirls to arrive. Hard to believe that Ashley was Penelope’s age when we first started working together!

Little sweetheart!

Helped the kids at the mission with their homework.

Beautiful sunset!

Went by my office to check the mail.

Lovely evening.

Every week on Duolingo, we have a partner to work on a particular “quest.” We usually finish it in a day.

Push every day. Learn more. Get better. I talked to Tito a lot about learning from his bilingual sermons.

I always enjoy Eric Barker’s newsletters.

Did well last week. Studied hard.

Every morning as I wake up I record as much as I can remember about my dreams. It’s a fun exercise.

I’m enjoying reading Mountains Between Mountains.

OYB!

Español!

Walked 1.25 miles while I studied.

Ordered groceries.

Called my dentist’s office today. I was expecting my insurance to cover my implant. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. I was thinking I’d pay at most $1,500 for the procedure. Now I understand it’s closer to double that! Ouch. Now I’m seeing if I can put it off until I get on Medicare when I hit 65 in July. I can get insurance that WILL cover it. We’ll see what the doctor says.

Went to the Post Office to get stamps for the newsletters.

Listened to radio from Madrid.

Little bit of drizzle and VERY windy.

I had a good lunch with my buddy, Bennett today. We go back a long ways in ministry together!

Worked on newsletters.

Picked up the grandgirls from the bus.

Helped the kids with their homework. The wind kept blowing everything away.

One of my neighbors let me know I’m probably able to get some howeowner’s discounts from the government taxes.

Talked to my insurance guy about the situation with the implants. He advised me to see if they could hold off until my birthday and have it covered by Medicare.

Beauty!

Picked up groceries.

Push myself.

I’ve been reading Mountains Beyond Mountains. It’s a really great book. One of my best friends and mentors is Fred Sorrells. He’s had a lot of experience in Haiti. I think of him a lot as I read this book. He knew all about the hero of the book Paul Farmer. I sent Fred some info about where Farmer’s hospital was located. He knew all about it.

We have an air frier. Ours wasn’t this brand.

Can’t wait for this!

OYB!

Español!

Walked 1.35 miles while I studied.

We had a fun party at Azalea today. We even had a food truck! I made balloon animals which was a big hit.

I saw several of my kids from the old days that are now all grown up. Such fun!

Listened to radio from Madrid.

Went by my office to check the mail.

Processed checks and deposited them at the bank.

Looks like I’ll probably come in #1 this week.

I seem to be feeling better, although my ear is still stopped up. Last night it seemed to clear for a while.

Looking forward to this movie!

OYB!

Español!

Walked 1.25 miles while I studied.

K and I had a nice lunch together.

We discussed Nutella. Pretty much goes along with my theory that everything that tastes really good is definitely bad for you.

Spent hours working on labels for the newsletter. Got the newsletter printed out and ready to take to the the church to print tomorrow while I’m in Chamblee for the Outreach Event at Azalea.

Also printed the “Stay on the Team” page for those people who haven’t donated at all last year. Turns out to be fourteen. There are definitely people who when they receive that page decide to go ahead and donate. Those that don’t probably never would. Better to save the postage.

I edited the mailing list to show the changes. As I mentioned, there are usually a handful that reply that they want to stay on the list. They have to send that page back which means they have to invest in a stamp. March is usually my S/G or “Sheep or Goat” month. It follows the Tax Donation Letters that I send with the February newsletters.

Language learning takes work and steadfast effort.

I’m not surprised by this!

I found out some information on a friend of my from Junior High from Nairobi International School. Got in touch with her today. She’s living in Oregon now. Cool to be able to find old friends. She sent me a picture of her horse riding. She looked like this when we were friends.

Did some more study on slope/line intercept last night. I did a pretty good job of explaining it to them yesterday.

I finished the book River of Doubt last night. Man, was it ever good! What an adventure.

OYB!

Español!

Walked 1.26 miles while I studied. I take a 30 minute timed test after I finish a series of five lessons. I’ve figured out how far I can walk in that time.

I get my implant tooth in next week. I still don’t know exactly how much it will cost. I’m kind of uptight about it.

Mild with some drizzles today.

Kathy got her new sunglasses in today. I let them know we got it. They sent another pair which we never received!

I wrote my newsletter this morning. I’m still using my talk to text method, even though my right hand is completely healed up.

I had forgotten what this word meant.

Listened to radio from France.

Gassed up and checked the fluids in my car.

Recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery this afternoon called “Just Up There.”

Released “Lead From The Front.” One of my best efforts!

Produced my newsletter.

Once a year, I go through our donation reports. If someone on the donor list did not donate, they get this in the mail along with the newsletter. If they don’t at least send the paper back saying they want to stay on the list, they drop. Saves money, and they probably don’t care to get it anyway.

Just. Keep. Going.

Last night I spent about an hour on Khan Academy figuring out slope intercept so I could teach it to my 8th graders. I helped both of them today. I still need to do more study on it, but it was an excellent start.

OYB!

Español!

Walked 1.29 miles while I studied. It was cloudy and warm.

I contacted my tree guy this morning about cutting down the three branches over my roof. I sent him a series of pictures so he could remember the place and me.

I often check on Spanish Dictionary to make sure I’m getting the words right.

Swept the kitchen.

I saw two Pileated Woodpeckers in my yard today. One of my favorite birds. They’re almost as big as a crow!

Called my sister-in-law to see if I could help her with her TV problem. I haven’t gone over there recently because I haven’t been feeling well and didn’t want to get her sick. She told me the technician had come by yesterday to get it squared away. Turns out she had hardware problems.

Sent an email to the North American Mission Board about possible mission teams coming to our area. They used to send me teams regularly, now they have their own ministry centers that they try to fill during the Summer.

Had showers come through the area.

I need to update my iPhone this evening.

Helped the kids at the mission with their homework. It was hard and they had a lot of it.

Recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Just Be” this morning. Downloaded it onto my Mac this evening.

Went by my office to check the mail.

Every day. Keep going.

My ear is still bothering me. I’ve been trying to clear it today.

OYB!

Español!

Walked 1.42 miles while I studied.

Cleaned the bathtub.

I discovered a bill I had put in the mail box that had been shoved to the very back this morning! Dang! I took it directly to the Post Office.

Listened to radio from Madrid.

Mild and cloudy.

I like lichen.

I can’t get over how it’s February and the plants are blooming. Crazy talk.

I stopped at the Walmart in Stone Mountain to look for a carabiner for my keys. They didn’t have any. Got a few other small things.

I went to Walmart in Chamblee to pick up some more supplies for the party on Sunday. Mainly cookies and candies. Essential!

I found a caribiner that works. The spring in my old one had gotten kind of worn out and wasn’t closing so well. That’s not good.

I met up with the team leaders for Westside BC for lunch. We had a good meeting at the Buford Highway Farmer’s Market.

Weird.

I don’t really understand this slope stuff in 8th grade math. I need to figure it out so I can teach the kids at the mission. Obviously, their teacher has failed them.

Beautiful sunset.

Relentless.

I’ve really been enjoying reading the River of Doubt book about Theodore Roosevelt’s exploration of this river. I lived on the Amazon for a week. I had some of the same experiences of being bitten by things that really hurt, but I never could find what did it!

OYB!

Incredibly mild weather. Wetter.

Español!

Blew out the garage. I usually do the driveway and deck, but they were wet.

Dried out all the wet stuff and got the Pool Bag ready to go!

I got the word from the manager at Azalea that the party slated for Saturday will be changed to Sunday. That’s fine for me. I don’t really trust the forecast till it’s about two days from the date. Even then it’s not for sure. At least that’s my experience.

Alway great to see the girls!

Lots of people for homework. I stayed till nearly 7:30 PM. That’s usually not a big deal, but I’m still not feeling great and it takes more of a toll on me.

Two of the sixth grade girls had a hard time with the math problems. Honestly, most of the adults I know couldn’t have done it!

Listened to radio from Madrid on the way home. So fast!

Went to my office to pick up checks and process them. Then to the bank before I got home.

Keep pushing. I expect the guy under me to come back strong. The people who normally score a lot of points and work hard, usually keep doing that.

Did great last week. Excellent effort.

OYB!

Cool morning but gorgeous weather!

Got to the mission early and studied Spanish.

Grandgirls had boxes to open. They love that!

We enjoyed breakfast at Waffle House.

We went to Brook Run Park. Super good! We call it Monkey Bar Park. The girls love monkey bars. Today Everly did them for the first time successfully! Impressive!

Went to Chamblee City Hall to enjoy some gymnastic practice on their astroturf.

Good chat with Nana, Sadie and Harper in Georgetown, Texas.

Good walk with the girls while we chatted.

Loved the clouds today.

Took the girls swimming as an extra treat. It was such perfect weather! For February!! What?!

I got another pair of good goggles. Our other pair got ripped off at the Mountain Park Aquatic center. Bummer. I had a couple of others that I got from the Dollar Tree that suck but are better than nothing.

Getting ready for the next time!

Finished studying Español with another short walk. Adds up!

There are some excellent students this week, but I think I’ll be in the top three for sure. I’m just so consistent.

Still not feeling well. My ear doesn’t hurt but stopped up. I’m congested and tired most of the day. I’ve been taking the decongestants regularly, but not much change. Been resting almost the whole day.

I’ve been reading about one of my favorite presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and his journey along the Amazon. Wild! I loved my trip to the Amazon in Peru.

Ordered a couple of fire extinguishers. Just in case!

OYB!

Español!

Walked 1.25 miles while I studied.

Paid the gas bill. Over $250 this month. Ouch. It was mighty cold!

Loved Penelope’s check list. She’s so sweet.

I’ll come in second place again this week. The lady who beat me has the highest score in Duolingo I’ve ever seen, over 2,000,000 XP. Incredible. I should hit over 1,000,000 this year. About five months from now or so.