I’m in the big tournament in the highest league in the largest language learning community in the world. In the semi-finals I came in third.

N. Carolina got hammered by Helene. I could have been us!

Friends of ours from our Pooler, GA days that lived in Boone, NC. I hope they’re OK.

Big chlorine gas fire in Conyers, about thirty miles away from us. Fortunately, the prevailing westerly winds blew almost all the chemicals in a different direction.

I always enjoy reading this blog by Eric Barker.

OYB!

Had a good talk with Bradley Isbell from Servant Life this morning. His organization organizes mission trips for churches. I’m in the process of being one of the locations they send teams to.

Before I talk to someone, I do research on their background. I like to know what they’re interested in, if they have kids . . . stuff like that. I do a similar research on the organization. What are their core values? What are they really interested or into?

My buddy Ben Birdsong introduced them to me and basically set up Bradley to call me. I had a nice chat with Ben today, mainly about fund raising.

Also talked with Steve Parr about the meeting on Thursday. He told me that all the ministry tables were booked, but he was fine with me going from table to table with photo cards letting them know what Whirlwind Missions is all about.

Made PBJ sandwiches for J.

Checked on tickets for the Hives concert I’m going to on Wednesday night at the Tabernacle. So cool because my Father in law used to be the Pastor there when it was a church.

Took the girls to the Dragon Wok. I thought it was pretty good. I liked the blue light in the bathroom.

I noticed what must be a type of network antennae on the end of the building at Azalea. They have what looked to be very sophisticated cameras attached to them.

Helped the kids at the Mission.

Penelope’s facial expressions were cracking me up.

It was busy, but not overwhelming.

Talked with friends of mine in Georgetown, TX. They were concerned for us after the storm.

Keep going.

It’s been cloudy most of the times I’ve tried to see it lately.

Love this quote.

Chat GPT said this is a picture of how it sees humans and AI.

Really?

This sounds good to me.

Shots from Horizon Forbidden West.

OYB!

Español!

My lightning tattoo Ashley gave me at the party.

Fun chat with my buddy, Anthony.

Big pine tree fell over at Stone Mountain from the storm.

Watered my plants.

Recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery called, “A One. The One.”

Helene was so destructive!

Español!

OYB!

Sent a text to a friend of mine. I’m trying to set up a meeting with him. He’s super famous and very busy. He’s had over a billion views on YouTube.

Had a great time at Everly’s party!

She and Penelope got wrapped up like mummies.

Lots of presents!

I saved all my presents till everyone had left.

I called my health insurance man to set up a time to have our conference about coverage for 2025. Aetna is out of the Medicare business.

Cleaned my back door area.

Keep going.

Got in touch with Steve Parr about the Gwinnett county metro meeting of churches. I hope to be able to represent Whirlwind Missions there.

We made it through the night with no loss of power! Helene veered off to the East and missed us!

We got seven inches of rain in two days. Wow. Over 4″ yesterday.

I got my Covid shot today. Also ordered tests from the government.

Here are my favorite apps for tracking weather. Zoom Earth and Ventusky.

I learned how to record from my phone today. There’s a button you can push from the control panel.

Here’s what I recorded from Zoom Earth.

I thought this was funny. If the Waffle House closes, then everyone evacuates!

Such a grifter.

OYB!

Español!

I beat Horizon Forbidden West today. One of my favorite games ever. So beautiful. Here are some shots from the end credits. You get to ride dinosaurs!

Cool little polypores.

K and I went to her sister Ann’s house to take her some food. Her power is out. That’s not zesty.

I put my plants back out in the yard and cleaned the driveway and deck. Lots of leaves and branches.

Cleared off the street in front of my house as well. Blew the leaves in to my yard.

Kathy didn’t have the right card to get her Covid shot. I generated some info for her.

Just keep going.

Hurricane Helene sounds like it’s going to be bad news.

It’s getting close to land and we’ve already had over 3″ of rain at my house.

I moved all my plants up against the house so the wind wouldn’t hurt them as much or blow them off the railings.

I covered my in ground banana plants.

OYB!

Español!

I tried to order groceries, but the pick up method was full. Never seen that before. There really weren’t many cars either. I went to Walmart and got some snacks to eat myself.

Maybe I overdid it?

I also filled up my car with gas.

Went to the Post Office to buy stamps and get the newsletters in the mail.

Hard competition.

Enjoyed playing Horizon Forbidden West today.

These big storms are really problematic. Hurricane Helene is headed straight for us. Thankfully, we are three hundred miles inland.

Heavy rain here already.

OYB!

Called my buddy Ben Birdsong about his one year streak and some mission opportunities.

Español!

Checked the oil in K’s truck and added 1/2 quart.

Blew the garage and part of the driveway.

There’s a guy riding a super loud motorcycle around our neighborhood. Time for that to stop. County said we need to get the police involved.

Poured down rain in Doraville.

Saw this word on the back of a truck. Never seen it before.

K and I picked up the girls at the bus and took them to DQ for lunch and ice cream cake!

Don Cheto.

Even with the bad weather, I still had a good group of kids show up for help. I did the labels for the newsletters and stuffed the envelopes while I assisted them. I still need to get stamps on them tomorrow and get them in the mail.

While I was at the mission, we found out that school was closed on Thursday and Friday. Ashley said she was taking off to be with the kids. I’ll see them again on Saturday for the birthday party.

Just keep going.

Looks like big weather developing in the gulf will bring us some much needed rain.

OYB!

Español!

After studying Spanish, I wrote my newsletter.

Made sandwiches for J. She’s not feeling well.

Refilled hummingbird feeders.

I had a couple of chips in my windshield. I tried to repair them. Didn’t work very well. It works better for cracks than chips. Still looks pretty good. Cleaned up with super glue solvent.

Blew leaves from the driveway and deck. It’s that time of year!

Don Cheto.

Picked up the girls from the bus, took them to Taco Veloz. It’s Everly’s birthday week, but I give both of them at least one present each.

We enjoyed the churros!

Everly made a beautiful bracelet with the kit that my Mom gave her for her birthday.

Helped the kids at the mission. The middle schoolers were acting pretty crazy.

Picked up checks at my office, processed them and deposited them on the way home. Thank you, Father!

Talked to my Mom on the way home. I thought this little cart might help her with her groceries. We’ll talk about that soon.

I’ve enjoyed wearing my $100 shirt. I resewed the top button. They put it on the wrong side of the fabric to hang correctly.

Produced and printed my newsletter and the labels. I’ll take it to get copied tomorrow on the way to the mission with Kathy. We should be able to do all the labels and get the letter in the mail tomorrow if all goes well.

Keep going.

Came in #1 last week in the Duolingo leagues.

I had no idea.

Interesting.

Ordered balloons for making animals for Everly’s party this Saturday.

OYB!

I had a great time with the leadership team for the Senior High and Middle School youth groups from FBC Trussville, AL today. I took them on Safari to the Buford Highway Farmers Market, China Town and Plaza Fiesta.

One of the guys got a haircut. They did a great job for him.

Ate at my favorite place, Taco Veloz.

Processed and deposited checks. Thank you, Father.

It’s the start of Everly’s birthday week. My Mom said she could open her presents early, so she opened one of hers as well as one from me. I got a couple for Penelope as well.

Took the girls to Cici’s for pizza. They gave us a whole cinnamon roll tray for her birthday! Awesome! We had our fill and shared the rest with the kids at the Mission.

Helped the kids with their homework.

Talked to Ashley about getting her final paycheck from Whirlwind squared away.

Got K a new phone case. Her old one was worn out.

New week, new competition. Pretty much always new people.

I thought this was interesting.

I love the sound of this.

Time is the essence of life.

Time for a new season.

The girls have been talking a lot about this movie.

How many of these words do you know?

What is wrong with this guy?

I was telling my buddy Anthony that this may be my favorite album ever.

OYB!

Español!

I had a fun chat with my friend Amit in England today. He’s doing well.

Listened to Don Cheto while I rode my bike 12.56 miles. I was understanding big chunks of the conversation.

Got a new case for K’s phone.

Part of the game I’m playing has to do with getting parts so I can upgrade the robot dinosaurs.

Went to the Dollar Tree to pick up supplies for the party on Saturday and get some balloons.

Pumpkin season coming up! Blue pumpkins? What?

Went to Walmart to pick up some bananas and treats for K.

My water hose burst this week. It has a lifetime guarantee. I’ve replaced it eleven times. It happens so often that I use 50 ft hoses instead of the 100 ft I originally bought. That way I only have to replace half of it. The one I originally bought was super heavy duty. It still burst after about a year.

The new one I got today is contractor strength. Hopefully, it’ll last a while.

Santa already? Crazy.

Wrapped presents for Everly’s party. Also got three things for Penelope.

I’ll come in #1 this week.

One of the fun things about playing Horizon Forbidden West is riding robot dinosaurs. This is one of my mounts.

Español!

OYB!

Don Cheto!

Gassed up my car and checked the oil.

Interesting sticker.

Ate Mexican food with K and got gifts at the Dollar Tree for the grandgirls.

Went to GoodWill to get a few more things.

Pretty hot today.

Watered my outdoor plants. One of my little rosebushes had died because it’s been so dry. Made me feel sad. Hardly any rain the last couple of weeks.

Ran the sprinkler on the grass I transplanted to the front yard.

Also watered the plants on my deck.

Cleaned the bird baths and refilled the hummingbird feeders.

Recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery called, “Anti-Anxiety” and put it on Facebook.

Don’t stop.