Got such a nice message from my Italian buddy Elia who spent the weekend with other students and my good friend Anthony. Always makes me feel worthwhile.

I think this is going to really help Miles and Ashley.

Español!

Sometimes Spanish structures just don’t make sense to me. It’s the exact opposite of what I expected. It seems like Duolingo doesn’t always get the English translation correct.

OYB!

Jessi made a major decision this morning to let his company stop running. She never made any money with the company, although she’s created a lot of good content which she can still use to benefit people. After that conversation with me, she wanted me to talk to Andy who is another of the board members. Our talk was a real blessing to me.

Made contact with Justin Caton today. He’s a youth director that another of my partners thought I should contact.

Went to the bank to deposit checks.

Chilly today. Really cold sitting outside at the mission. I helped a couple of the 7th graders with their map of Georgia before and after the French and Indian war.

Went by my office to check on the mail.

Picked up groceries.

Seem to have a mouse in the house. Got some glue traps. Unfortunately, they didn’t send me the correct size. I needed the target ones, but I think these smaller ones might work.

Having a strong start on the week. I’m studying hard and find talking to the kids in Spanish every day at the mission easier and more fulfilling. It’s amazing how different the kids are. Some only want to talk to me in Spanish, others really prefer talking in English. That includes them talking in English to their other Latino friends!

Came in second place in the Diamond league of Duolingo last week. It’s a competition with the best students.

Good start for the week.

Worked on a letter to my credit card company about a fraudulent charge from the reservation desk of the hotel where we stayed in Tennessee. Not sure whether I’ll ever get my money back.

Still sore from my long ride on Sunday.

OYB!

I’ve found this funny.

Gassed up my car. Checked the levels. When I got home I added some more windshield wiper fluid.

Talked to the manager at Azalea Place about some tagging that’s been going on around the complex.

Beautiful weather.

It was super windy today. Usually whenever it’s like that we can expect major changes in weather. Cold front is pushing in.

Had a good talk with my Mom. We chatted about orchids. I let her know the kind of fertilizer I’m using on them and on the African violets.

Missed seeing the grandgirls! Glad to be back with them.

Everly and I enjoyed looking through a family photo album that Ashley had put together.

Helped the kids with their homework.

The kids brought some big rocks over to our table where we work. Everly and I put them back in the drainage area.

Fifth graders are studying different kinds of cells.

Penelope did some art (color by numbers) on her tablet. I thought it was lovely.

Cold weather blowing in.

Listened to Harry Potter in Spanish on my way home.

Put all my cold weather clothes for the girls back in my car. I’ll let them look through them tomorrow.

Put a new battery in my outdoor clock. It hasn’t been running well. As you can probably tell, it’s been dropped and the glass broke. I have no idea why it wasn’t made out of plastic.

I ordered groceries. Although I usually pick them up after 7 PM, I made it for earlier. I’ve been having to wait around thirty minutes the last couple of times. Decided to give them more time before I get there.

I had a good chat with my friend Larry Lawrence last night. He gave me a couple ideas for teams to contact and then wrote them a little note of introduction. Can’t beat that!

Español!

OYB!

Went to Rockbridge BC with K to hear our friend Pat Barrington give a report on her mission trip to Brazil.

They let a dog hang out in the sanctuary. It was scratching fleas a lot. I thought that was pretty weird.

Also saw Pastor Greg who is another board member of our ministry. He preached from Timothy. Most of the sermons sounded like it was aimed towards me. It was about the difficulty of being in ministry and how many people want to quit.

Went for a long bike ride. 17.16 miles. Lot of hills. I’m tired.

Español!

I liked Seth Godin’s blog today.

Cold this morning.

OYB!

K and I went to eat Indian food today. The Indian community was getting ready to observe Diwali. I find learning about different cultures fascinating.

Beautiful weather for a bike ride. Felt strong. Rode 12.95 miles.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Bleach Stains.” So clean!

I like these art puzzles that my buddy Anthony did with the help of Dalle-2 AI.

This word popped in my head when I was thinking about people with two different eye colors. It wasn’t exactly right, but I still thought it was interesting.

Cold this morning. At least to me. Anything under 50 degrees, I’m wearing pretty much all my heaviest gear.

OYB!

Español!

Took J to the laser hair removal place. She said it really hurt. We also went to Walmart to get some soil and planters.

Full Sun Moon. My Indian name.

Deposited checks.

Listened to radio from Spain and Harry Potter.

Pumped up my bike and went for a 12.92 mile ride. Beautiful weather.

Finished biking and blew the driveway and deck.

K and I are hungry for Indian food. The place we used to always go to at Global Mall, now only does catering. Did some research on other places.

I’ve been studying Spanish a lot and been making a lot of improvement. Takes time, no other way. I’ve been in a competition with a woman who is working very hard as well. I really have no problem with not being #1. This is the final round of the tournament with the hardest competition.

To take the tree down in my front yard will cost me over $3,000. I decided to wait till after I get my tax return and can pay down my credit card before I put that much more money on it. If something did happen, my insurance will cover it.

Español!

OYB!

I added another light to the plants that I brought inside. Had to get another extension multiplex in order to plug in that extra cord.

Swept the kitchen.

My tree guy came over to my house to talk to me about taking down a tree. It’ll cost $3,000. Very expensive, but the job will be hard. I’m going to have Miles come take a look for his company as well to give me another estimate.

Had a great lunch with my buddy Jon Paul. He’s such a blessing to me. He’s our treasurer. I needed to talk to him about doing the financial report for our meeting in December.

I had my tire guy put on the new front left tire. Put the spare back in the trunk.

Never seen this sticker before.

Helped the kids at the mission with their homework. She sure seems like the miss me when I’m gone for the weekend.

Kathy came with me today to help with the grandgirls. Great to see Ashley, too!

Talked with the apartment manager about some tagging that’s been going on at the complex. Also about having a meeting with the residents about any social problems they might have.

Went by my office to check the mail.

Started studying Español around 4:30 AM. Went back to sleep around 7:00 AM for an hour or so. I’ve been going to sleep around 10:00 PM

OYB!

Made my annual donation to Wikipedia.

Took Jessi to the ENT doctor. He said J had a “severely deviated septum.” He reckoned she has less than 5% capacity to breathe through her nose. Hopefully, she’ll have her operation to correct that condition soon.

I was also interested in the pictures of the ear because of Everly’s ear ache last week.

J and I met up with Kathy at El Toreros. On the way home, my tire went flat. Never good. I managed to pump it up with my little compressor enough to get it over to T&G. My mechanics took the tire off and put on the spare for me. No way I could have made it into Chamblee like that. It would’ve gone flat in about five minutes of driving.

Rained a lot so I didn’t help the kids. Went over to talk to my tire guy about getting a replacement. He had to order it for tomorrow. I like going there because we only speak in Spanish.

Went to my office to pick up checks and process them. I’ll get them in the bank tomorrow. I don’t like doing the ATM in the rain.

Rained the whole way home. Took nearly an hour. My leg was so tired of pushing the brakes over and over again. Glad I had them repaired this week! We really need the rain.

Español!

OYB!

Went to PNC bank first thing this morning to get the mortgage payments squared away. I’ll still have to make one more payment in person, and then it should be automated to the bi-weekly payment system.

Beautiful day!

This was dried mud. Weird. Looks like fabric.

Went to T&G to pay off the brake job and oil change for the Mercury.

Trimmed some bushes in my front yard.

Called my tree guy to come take a look at a couple of tree limbs that need to be cut before they land on my roof.

Took Jessi to the dentist to get her cleaning.

Paid bills.

Listened to radio from Madrid and some Harry Potter.

Read an article on Merrick Garland. Learned some new words and others I needed clarification about.

Got food from Taco Veloz from the girls and enjoyed playing with them.

Helped the kids at the mission. Wasn’t too much homework today, which surprised me.

Everly and I liked these leaves.

Checked mail at my office. Processed checks and deposited them.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Dawn and Sunrise.” So good!

Came in #1 last week on Duolingo. It’s the hardest competition with the best students.

I thought this article was interesting on what people keep secret.

OYB!

I dropped my car off last night for an oil change. Turned out it also needed a brake job. I thought that might be possible because it had a slight vibration whenever I applied the brakes. Running great now. Amen.

Had a fun chat with my buddy Anthony.

Beautiful weather.

Terrific bike ride. I’m really getting stronger.

Got a package in for Ashley.

Recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery called “Puzzle Pieces.” Excellent.

Set up an appointment to pay my mortgage with a check. Soon it will be back to auto debit. It’s been a real hassle to change over to the bank from the third party I’ve been using for the last five years. This will be the fifth time I’ve had to go in.

Getting ready to go pick up my groceries in a few minutes. Gotta eat.

I’ll also get gas and check the fluids while I’m at Walmart.

I thought this was an interesting take on therapy.

How to develop more awe in your life.

A great article on one of my favorite artists: MC Escher.

OYB!

Glad I have all my plants in. Got in the 40s last night.

Español!

Watered my inside garden.

Fun chat with my buddy, Anthony!

Ordered groceries.

Swept kitchen and some of the living room where leaf matter had gotten in.

Signed up for AI art Dalle. Still trying to get the 2nd version.

Dropped off my car at T&G to get oil change and other levels checked.

K and I went to the bank to get some money from her account and put it into mine. I’m paying two big bills within a couple of weeks of each other.

Checked K’s oil level in her truck. Looked fine.

Recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery call “The Solution is the Problem” and downloaded it onto my Mac Air.

Enjoyed watching Andor and the last of Thor Love and Thunder