Rained yesterday. Yep. Very refreshing. Wasn't a lot, but we'll take what we can get. However, there's a catch. Supposed to get even hotter over the weekend.
~106 for a couple of days. Don't look forward to that at all. 102 been's plenty hot enough. Oh well, it's not like we get to vote on the weather conditions. Prayer is more like it. Been praying for rain lately. The poor ole farmers and ranchers are taking a beating from the adverse weather conditions. Coworder flew into Houston Tuesday. Said the whole Houston area was brown. Hopefully, the rain will help restore some green to the vegetation.

Still studying the life and teachings of Jesus Wednesday night at Bible study. Last study was on the Lord's Supper. Thursday evening. Night before Jesus' death on the cross.
Learning so much ... even though the class is being taught by someone who ... well, let's just say someone who tries to do the best he can with what little he had to work with ... as in yours truly.

Brian caught a big black drum in Galveston Bay. 44 incher. Per the regulations, he couldn't keep it. No pictures. So ... no fish ... and no pictures. Sounds like another big fish tale to me. :)

Joyce started back to school. She's still in kindergarten. You've think after all these years she'd graduate and go on to grade school. Bless her heart!

Alyssa spent about a week with us. Funny thing ... she had a tee shirt that said, "Girls Rule." However, after playing Wii with Pawpaw, she learned a different lesson: "Old Guys Rule." Funny ... I don't think she enjoyed the lesson near as much as the old Hillabilly did. :)

Hurricane Irene is about to "visit" the East Coast. Predicting some areas may get as much as 14+ inches of rain. Uh oh. Snorkel time. Been there ... done that. No fun a tall (Hillbilly lingo). For those that don't know, the hurricane season extends to about mid-November. That's about when the grass stops growing for the southern "winter." You may recall me saying this before, but here goes once again: "We do have four seasons here along the Gulf Coast: there's December, January, February, and summer. "

Later.

UPDATE: Saturday 8/27/2011 - Record temperature today for Houston. Ready? Sure? Really sure? Absolutely sure? Okay ... here goes ... 109. Whew.

I know ... it's been awhile. They say time flies when you're having fun, but I know for a fact time flies even when you're not having fun. Back in early June, Joyce's dad, Jim Atkins, underwent bypass surgery. Joyce went to WV for the surgery, and I waited to go later to help with the anticipated lengthy recovery. However, about 1 and 1/2 weeks after surgery, Jim still wasn't out of the woods yet (so to speak). So, I drove all by myself to be with Jim and the family. To give you an idea of how things were going ... during the drive Jim appeared to be improving, so we thought maybe I should have waited longer to come ... to just after I crossed the Virginia border Jim developed a bleeder and concerns were that he might not make it. Whew. He did, but it was like a roller coaster ride. Yep. Up and down. Slight improvement ... another setback. One step forward ... two steps back. Those of us who knew Jim knew there was no quit in the man. Don't know that I've ever met someone as mild mannered as Jim with as much determination (and I mean that in a totally respectful and good way). However, as we become more acutely aware as we age, the mind and the body can only do so much. After reaching one of those highs where it appeared Jim's recovery looked somewhat optimistic, his condition worsened again the next day. And worsened. And worsened. Until it was just a matter of time. Liver shutting down. Family was there with Jim to the end. Looking back, it was like a blur ... even though weeks went by. John Gibson, brother-in-law, best summed it up: "Don't know when I've been this sleep deprived for this period of time." "Amen, Brother," I wasn't there for the whole time, but I was there long enough to share in the deprivation. Anyway, like I said, time went by like a blur. We all knew Jim's health had been fragile for years, but he always bounced back somehow when things got serious. So, given his track record, it was hard to count him out. However, it finally became evident that he wasn't going to make it. As painful as it was to watch him slip away, we went with him as far as we could. Dead tired ... we were with him to the end. I rode back home with Brian, Melissa, Carson, and Landon after the funeral while Joyce stayed with her mother. Tried to get some things done around the house. Flew back to WV later and Joyce and I drove home. It seems the whole summer has been a blur. Phrased differently, you might say time flies.

I miss Jim. In his absence, I took care of some of his annual cleaning chores around the house. It felt awkward trying to figure out his "system" of storing tools, nuts, bolts, etc. But, it needed to be done for Mawmaw's peace of mind.

Been hot here. No, make that HOT. No, make that HOT, HOT, HOT. Getting to dislike records. Especially heat records. 100+ degree days just burn me up. Hah, funny huh? Actually, it's not. Just downright miserable. Actually, week's forecast predicts a "cool front" next Sunday. Temperature is predicted to drop to 99. Time to get out the long sleeve shirts and sweaters.


Trying to remember. Isn't "rain" that liquid stuff that falls from the sky? Not sure ... it's been so long.

Did get a new storage building installed in the backyard. Tore down the old building. Quite a chore. As if the heat wasn't bad enough, found out the bugs can bug you more. Nope, not skeeters. Suspect I got into some mites in the old buiding. Understand they look for a new host after you kill off the old one (as in a rat or mouse). Carried the bite marks on my body and itched for a couple of weeks. Never could figure out exactly what the problem was, but can honestly say it was so bad there for awhile I didn't want to go to sleep at night. Okay, enough is enough. Exterminators couldn't find any concrete evidence of the exact problem, so I finally declared war on the bugs myself. It took awhile, but I can finally get a good night's sleep again. Nice.

Anything bugging you?

Almost forgot. Got a new "toy" during the summer ... an Amazon Kindle. Like it. Nice toy. Bought a few ebooks, but mostly downloaded freebies. Currently have 3 Bibles, the 5-volume ISBE Bible Enclycopedia, and some westerns, mountain man, and frontier books. Nice portable library.

Make that ... H O W D Y! How ya' been? I be good. Me thinks. Still breathing. Joyce still breathing. Breathing is good, you know.
Checked obituary this morning. My name wasn't it in. Should be a good day. Checked pulse. Heart still beating. Yep ... should be a good day.

Still studying life of Christ on Wednesday night Bible class I be teaching. We are at Matthew 20 ... with Jesus in Perea making last trip to Jerusalem. Amazed with things I've learned in this study. For instance, the 10,000 talents in Matthew 18:23-35 was an enourmous sum, which may have had a first-century value of ~ 100,000,000 denarii = 100,000,000 days' pay. Hmmm ... that means servant #1 owed the king an enormous amount of money (100,000,000 days' pay), and servant #2 owed servant #1 a significant amount (100 denarii = 100 days pay) - but much smaller that what servant #1 owed the king. It helps me keep things in perspective. In context, the parable relates to forgiveness. In essence, every sin we commit is against God - and the debt we owe is huge. But God is willing to completely forgive the debt ... conditionally! The condition is that we are willing to forgive those who sin against us. If so, we are indeed forgiven that huge debt we owe. However, if we can't forgive others, God no longer forgives that huge debt we owe - and demands full payment. The shame is, God's mercy was extended, but just not accepted on His terms. Therefore, it was lost. The parable is a stern warning for those who want forgiveness, but are not willing to extend it. In addition, the parable shows the folly of the "once saved, always saved" doctrine.

What are you studying? What is an example of something new you've learned?

If someone says, "A penny for your thoughts," and you give them your two-cents worth, what happens to the other penny?

Why is an investor called a broker?

We say cheese when we get our picture taken, right? So ... what does cheese say when its picture is taken?

Man and guy are synonyms, right? So ... why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites?

Imagine FedEx and UPS merging. Would the delivery truck's logo be "FED UP?"

Why do croutons come in airtight packing? Got to keep that stale bread fresh, right?

The lady that lives in the GPS ... what was her favorite school subject: history or math? Obviously, it was math -- because she's always "recalculating."

- I live in my own little world, but it's okay. Everyone knows me here.

- I don't do drugs. I can get the same effect by standing up really fast.

- If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the "terminal?"

- No one ever says, "It's only a game," when their team is winning.

- The length of a minute "depends" on which side of the bathroom door you're on.

- "Depends" is a key word in the previous point. Keep it in mind. It might come in handy.

- I used to talk to myself, but after being at a loss to carry on an intelligent conversion, I quit.

- Actually, I still do talk to myself. It's a little one-sided, but I'm an optimist.

- Later ...