Pull Up a Chair!

I usually do a "Good Things Out There" on Sunday, but a)I didn't spend any time this week squirreling away good things, and now I've forgotten where all they are and b)I don't have a voice, so I have nodded and 'hello-ed' in a very deep, throaty, Kathleen Turner-esque way, but "chatting" is way too much effort for me or my listener. So I feel like chatting. Go ahead -- have a seat. I'll pour the Diet Coke -- we do have tea or water if you'd rather. Oh, absolutely! Put your feet up -- it will be the closest that coffee table has come to getting dusted in weeks!

Irony: our family rarely is able to go to church all at the same time on Sunday mornings (and lately Wednesday nights). Troy's singing requires him to be at practices on Sunday mornings before the kids are out of bed. Today, probably for the first time in 6 months, we could all go to church together. Are you hearing the 'hallelujah chorus'? Yeah, well, I did for about 27 seconds -- until I realized that my vehicle was getting worked on and the only car we had at the house was Troy's pick-up that has one bench seat. Period. Which is one too few seats for the 4 of us. So, woo-hoo! We can all go to church together!! Only woo-hoo! We don't all fit! Then, John W., my good and faithful mechanic, brought my car to me at church. And we left in two separate vehicles anyway. *sigh* It was fun while it lasted (if not a bit squishy).

We have been having gorgeously amazing weather lately! I am SO thankful! We rarely have anything that feels like transitional seasons here. We usually go from 92* days, then a blue norther blows through and it's 44*, rainy, with 100 mph winds from the north the next day. *BAM* Winter. But the last week has been glorious picture-perfect weather. Not one cloud anywhere. It was QUITE cool Friday morning, but made for an even better afternoon. Just such wonderful weather to play outside in! I hope you are having beautiful weather where you are!

This afternoon Troy and I took advantage of the glorious weather and went for a motorcycle ride. I get really tickled -- there's an unwritten "cyclists code" for how you a) MUST wave at each passing motorcycle and b) MUST use the cool- cycler wave. Now, the cool- cycler wave makes sense from a wind-resistance standpoint. If you were to throw your left hand in the air, a-la Gomer Pyle, you might throw your shoulder out of socket or smack your passenger in the face as the 60 mph winds hit your hand. So you simply extend your hand out toward your knee/ the pavement -- about 8:00 on a clock face. If you're uber-cool, you extend a finger (a polite one) or two: like giving the 'peace' sign on the down low. Here's the deal: EVERY motorcyclist is in on it.

Some folks still are surprised that I "let" Troy get a motorcycle and that we have one AND that I will actually get on it. (I really don't like the idea that I "let" Troy do anything -- we pretty much make joint decisions -- and if one of us doesn't care any iotas, the other gets to decide. End of story.) My dad is a motorcycle rider, and I know that the many, many miles he has logged with my mom have given them mostly great joy (and a few hair-raising, bonding-by-missing-death-together moments). Today it was a fun way to experience this glorious day -- until you pass by a freshly-squashed skunk. Then it is a little too outdoorsy. Before Troy got his new job, we were facing the possibility of him being a part of some of the personnel cutbacks that were taking place. We were trying to prepare financially for the possibility of him losing his job and were thinking of what that would look like. At one point he said, "It's going to make me really sad to get rid of that motorcycle." To which I replied, "Good! 'Cause I've got news for you: you'll get rid of that gas-guzzling 10 year old truck before you'll get rid of the sipping 2 year old motorcycle!" (but that would have been a joint decision, of course!) Thankfully, we still have the gas-guzzler AND the motorcycle. Thank you, Lord, for taking care of our needs AND wants!

Oh, I have kept you too long. I haven't even broken out the chocolate yet! I know, me too -- so much left to do this evening. Thanks for stopping by. Let's do this more often! Oh, yeah, if you found any "Good Things Out There" feel free to tell us all about them!