King of the Bootleggers

I am learning so much about Cincinnati history by watching the documentary series Prohibition by Ken Burns on PBS. Tonight they aired the second episode and I was amazed at how much Cincinnati was at the center of bootlegging activities during prohibition in the United States. Much of this was due to it's location.
At the top of the bootlegging food chain was a man by the name of George Remus. Remus found loopholes in the law whereby he could buy distilleries and pharmacies to sell liquor to himself under government licenses for medicinal purposes. Remus would then hijack his own liquor so he could sell it illegally. Remus moved to Cincinnati where 80 percent of America's bonded whiskey was located, and bought up most of the whiskey manufacturers. In less than three years Remus made $40 million, with the help of his trusted number two man George Conners. He owned many of America's most famous distilleries, including the Fleischmann Distillery, which he bought for $197,000, a price which included 3,100 gallons of whiskey.
Remus was eventually arrested for bootlegging and spent two years in prison. While he was in prison, his wife began an affair with a prohibition agent. The two began to hide Remus' money and liquidate his assets. After his release from prison, Remus shot and killed his wife. He was acquitted of the charges on an insanity plea. Remus later moved to Covington, Kentucky right across the river from Cincinnati and lived a quiet life until his death.
You can learn more about the amazing rise and fall of Remus and Cincinnati's prohibition days at:
http://cincinnati.com/blogs/ourhistory/2011/08/01/king-of-the-bootleggers/
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

TGIF

Thank you God for Friday. Thank you for the end of a work week. Thank you for the privilege of having a job when so many people in America are unemployed. Thank you for having a job that brings me joy and that brings honor to your name. Thank you for work that makes a difference in people's lives.
I know that there are some days, even some days this past week, when I felt like I was just spinning my wheels. I wondered if I was really making a difference. It feels like there is so much more need out there than I or Habitat are able to address. There are so many people in TriState Habitat for Humanity's service area who will sleep tonight in some deplorable conditions. It honestly overwhelms me at times God.
Remind me that I am not Superman and my job is not to rescue everyone. You already sent a Savior to the world. My job is to trust in Him and in your unending grace. My job is to use the gifts that you have given me to serve families living in poverty in the best way that I can.
Thank you also God for a week that marked a milestone in my parents' marriage. It's hard to believe that they have been married for 47 years. When half of all marriages end in divorce, their love and relationship has endured. I'm grateful for the example of the love that my parents have displayed and lived out in their lives.
God, help me to find rest and renewal this weekend. I feel like I need to recharge my batteries. I want enjoy Sabbath time and also some play time. I hope to enjoy this wonderful region to which you have led me in some way. I don't know exactly what that means yet, but I trust that you will guide me.
God, most of all, thank you for your love that remains steadfast. You have led me to this place at this time and it has blessed me beyond anything I could have imagined. I am enjoying my work. I'm a part of one of the most gifted teams with which I've ever worked. I attend a church that inspires me and serves the city in some truly amazing ways. I have a family and friends who love me. I am filled with humble gratitude for your faithfulness in the midst of my life.
Thank you God for Friday and every day that are all gifts from you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Abandoned Churches, Broken Communities

The Cincinnati Enquirer published an article about aging empty church buildings in Cincinnati. You can read the full article and see photos of some of the churches at:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110918/NEWS01/109180338

As someone who supports historic preservation, it was a difficult article for me to read. I was glad to see that some churches are in the process of being "repurposed", but unfortunately there are many that are falling apart and in danger of being condemned and eventually torn down.
I was reminded of the similar story City Methodist Church in Gary, Indiana. (see photo above) Once one of the flagship churches of Indiana Methodism, City Church is now a decaying skeleton. Located at 577 Washington St in downtown Gary, Indiana, City Methodist was built in the 1920's to hold a congregation that had grown alongside the newly built City of the Century, with U.S. Steel covering $385,000 of the construction costs. The sanctuary could hold 950 including a choir. The building also held a church school, a gymnasium and an auditorium - Seaman Hall - named for the pastor who helped raise the $1 million to pay for the construction. The auditorium was used for musical and dramatic presentations, community meetings, and various social and educational events.
In its heyday, City Methodist boasted a membership of 3,000, and the church was home to one of the largest Skinner organs in the state of Indiana. By 1970, Sunday attendance had dwindled down to about 100 as suburbanization and white flight emptied Gary of its working class population. In 1975, the church closed its doors for good and City Methodist Church began its long decent into disrepair. Over the decades, various proposals have been floated to resurrect the building, including a center for the performing arts. Those plans were crushed in the Great Gary Arson of 1997. More recently, it has been suggested that what's left of the building could be turned into a European-style ruins garden. In the meantime, the City of Gary owns the property, but lack of funds, if not will, have left the structure to crumble in the brutal Midwestern weather.
In many ways, what's left of City Church stands as a monument to white flight, racism, and the inability of the church to adapt to its surroundings. Like so many churches today, it is an empty shell that seems irrelevant to its neighbors who desperately need to know the love of Christ in their lives. In fact, I think one of the messages that a congregation sends to a neighborhood when it leaves its empty building behind is that it doesn't care about that neighborhood or its people.
I know that the people and not the building are the church. In fact, the church did just fine for the first three hundred years of its existence without church buildings. Those early Christians gathered in people's homes for worship and fellowship. At the same time, church buildings can be effective tools for ministry and a visible sign and symbol of the presence of the church in a community.
I'm not sure what the answer is. I wish more churches had the faith and vision to adapt to their changing neighborhood demographics. I wish change was easier for church members. I wish more church leaders would help their congregations boldly step out in faith to reach outside their comfort zones. I wish there was a way for the church to remember our first love - Jesus - and share his love with all the world. Maybe in that love-transformed church, there would be fewer broken neighborhoods and fewer abandoned church buildings.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

A Walking Advertisement

I stopped a local restaurant this evening on my way home from work to get some dinner. As I sat down at my table, a woman sitting at a table nearby said, "There's someone from Habitat." I wondered how she knew I was with Habitat for Humanity and then I realized I was wearing a shirt with the TriState Habitat for Humanity logo on it. Duh!
Anyway, I went over to the table and the woman introduced herself and her husband who was sitting with her to me. I introduced myself. We then talked for several minutes and I discovered that this couple volunteers with the Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity affiliate. They are very active construction volunteers and have been volunteering with Habitat for a number of years. In fact, they met for the first time as a single people on a Habitat job site and are now married.
After our conversation, I went back to my table and said a prayer of thanksgiving for running into these two dedicated Habitat volunteers. I was so glad that I was wearing my shirt. I am proud to be a walking advertisement for Habitat. I am passionate about our mission and the work that we do. I want the world to know the difference that Habitat is making in the TriState region, the United States, and around the world. I am so proud to be able to represent Habitat and to be able to connect with others who share my passion for bringing an end to poverty housing in the world.
I also got to thinking about how I am not always the best walking advertisement for my faith. I don't always represent Christ to the world in the most positive manner. I only need to look to my morning commute to recognize this. I am too often filled with road rage and certainly don't offer much grace to the drivers around me who I am convinced are all on the road driving stupidly just to make me mad.
I also am not the best ambassador for Christ when I remain silent in the face of the injustice I see in life. I often times would rather just not make any waves rather than stand up for what I know to be right in God's eyes. I take the easy way out by often people are led to believe that I accept the injustice that is taking place because I am silent.
So, tonight I'm giving God thanks for the opportunity I had to be a witness for the mission of Habitat. I am also praying that God will give me the courage and peace to be a more faithful witness for Jesus in the world.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Rookwood Pottery

On Sunday afternoon, my friend Mari and I went to the Cincinnati Art Museum which is in the beautiful Mount Adams neighborhood of Cincinnati.
My favorite exhibit that we got to see during our museum visit was the display of art pottery. In the late 1800's through the early twentieth century, Cincinnati was a major producer of art pottery. Rookwood Pottery was one of the major art pottery manufacturers. I think I have seen some examples of Rookwood Pottery before or at least Rookwood-like pottery and it is absolutely beautiful. Much of it has a very organic look to its design. It seems to have been heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau movement in art and architecture. However, there were also pieces that were really modern looking especially when I noted their date it seemed as if they were really ahead of their time. Along with this, there are some specialty Rookwood pieces that are hard to categorize. They seem to be almost novelty pieces. I was also totally amazed by the architectural works in the museum's collection including a fountain and a fireplace mantel. I've included a photo of a Rookwood vase that is part of the Cincinnati Art Museum collection.
Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Rookwood Pottery:
Maria Longworth Nichols Storer founded Rookwood Pottery in 1880 as a way to market her hobby - the painting of blank tableware. Through years of experimentation with glazes and kiln temperatures, she eventually built her own kiln, hired a number of excellent chemists and artists who were able to create high-quality glazes of colors never before seen on mass-produced pottery.

Each era of Rookwood work has its own unique character:
The earliest work is relief-worked on naturally-colored clay, in pinks, greys and sage or olive greens. Some were gilt, or had stamped patterns, and some were carved. Often these were painted or otherwise decorated by the purchaser of the "greenware" (unfinished piece), a precursor to today's do-it-yourself movement.
After this period, Storer sought a "standard" look for Rookwood, and developed a number of very common treatments: the "standard glaze," a deep gold, red and orange over dark brown fired in such a way as to effect a very high-gloss finish, often in leaf or flower motifs. A series of portraits - often of generic American Indian characters or certain historical figures – was also produced using these particular glazes. Next was the "matte glaze," a flat but textured glaze developed by Artus Van Briggle, often painted on soft colored clay, which used "sea green" for aquatic and floral motifs. This pale blue-green glaze was usually applied over a soft yellow, bluish or red base. Another common Rookwood style of this period was the "vellum" glaze, usually a matte light blue, put on top of a very lightly colored clay. This was most often used for landscape scenes.
Other popular styles that came out through the lifetime of the Rookwood factory included the "iris" glaze, a high-gloss white over pinks, blues, and yellows and usually used for floral motifs, and the less-common but very collectible "tiger eye" which left gold streaks from ingredients in the glaze. This last glaze was unstable and it is not clear whether it was abandoned for reasons of chemistry or popularity.
One of the last styles of Rookwood was the "ombroso" glaze, not used until after 1910. Ombroso, used on cut or incised pottery, is a brown or black matte glaze.
In 1902, Rookwood added architectural pottery to its portfolio. Under the direction of Watts Taylor, this division rapidly gained national and international acclaim. Many of the flat pieces were used around fireplaces in homes in Greater Cincinnati and surrounding areas, while custom installations found their places in grand homes, hotels, and public spaces. Even today, Rookwood tiles decorate Carew Tower, Union Terminal (Cincinnati) and Dixie Terminal in Cincinnati, as well as the Rathskeller Room in The Seelbach Hilton in Louisville, Ky. In New York, the Vanderbilt Hotel, Grand Central Station, the Mayo Clinic, Lord and Taylor and several subway stops feature Rookwood tile designs


If you ever get a chance, I encourage you to check out this great collection of Rookwood Pottery at the Cincinnati Museum of Art. You won't be disappointed.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Answered Prayers

I have previously asked for your prayers for our family recruitment efforts at TriState Habitat for Humanity. We have done several mailings and had an insert in the utility bills in Hamilton, Ohio. Since we did these things, we have received a steady stream of requests for applications for home ownership. We also have been receiving more applications - especially from the city of Hamilton. In looking back at our application statistics for the past month, I was pleasantly surprised. In the past month we have received 120 requests for applications and 18 applications came back to the office.
I feel like this is a real answer to prayer. I feel like we are reaching out to our target group more effectively. I have known that there are families out there who qualify our program. I finally feel like we are making progress.
I also realize that in order to increase our capacity to serve more families, we need to keep up these kinds of focused recruitment efforts. There is a lot of work yet to do. We have really only begun to reach families who need a safe, decent, affordable place in which to live. I am excited by this challenge and I look forward to offering a hand up to families living in poverty.
I ask for your continued prayers for our family recruitment efforts. I also ask for your prayers for families who are struggling from day to day in poverty in the Cincinnati region. Hopefully, some of them will step out in faith and submit applications to become home owners.
Thanks for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

An Evening of Music

One of our Habitat volunteers invited me to attend a concert of the Cincinnati Civic Orchestra. I learned that they are the oldest civic orchestra in the country. They have been going strong for 82 years.
They did some wonderful numbers including Copland's Variations on a Shaker Melody, a West Side Story medley, a Disney movie music medley, a Brigadoon medley, and a Star Wars medley. It was fun. Even better, it was free! It was a great way to end the day. Now, I've just got to try to get those show tunes out of my head and try to get some sleep.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

It's Hot!

Today was really, really hot here in Cincinnati. We are under a heat advisory for today and tomorrow. Officially it got up to 96 degrees. The Weather Channel website said the heat index was 110 degrees. It looks like tomorrow will be more of the same.
For a short time the air conditioning went out at our office. I'm not sure what happened but they got it fixed pretty quickly. However, just knowing it was out for that time made me whine. I'm sure my co-workers were ready to strangle me.
I am staying inside and trying to stay cool. I hope you are as well.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Feeling Nudged

I've been feeling nudged lately. I think the nudging is coming from God but I'm not quite sure yet. I know that I have been feeling a bit restless and that usually means that God is at work some way in my heart and life. I think I need to pay attention to this nudge. If I don't, it will drive me crazy.
I think this nudge has something to do with a sense of calling to be more involved in my church's ministry in some way. There are a lot of really cool things going on with my church and I guess I have kind of been sitting back and not really participating as much as I could. I know God has ministry for me to do through my church and I need to put my spiritual gifts to work.
The other part of this is that I need to expand my circle of friends. I think my visit with my friends Vickie and Patty last weekend brought this to light for me. They have been such wonderful friends who have loved me and journeyed with me through some challenging times. They have prayed for and with me. They have been sounding boards and signs of God's grace in my life. I also know that there are these kinds of spiritual friends for me here in the Cincinnati area. However, I can't meet them if I stay home and watch Netflix all the time. So, I guess I've got to get off the couch and out in the community.
Of course, I could be totally off about this nudging going on in my life and heart. That's why I also need to spend some time in prayer. My prayer time needs to be more about me listening rather than talking. I long to do God's will with my whole life and the only way that's going to happen is for me to pay attention to times like this when I feel nudged.
I would appreciate your prayers during this time of discernment. Thank you for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

A Call to Ministry

Today we had a guest speaker at my church. Alesia Smith is the Principal of Rothenberg Preparatory Academy in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. If you don't know, the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood is considered a high-crime neighborhood and many of its residents live below the poverty line. While there is some redevelopment taking place in Over-the-Rhine, it is in many ways a very under served neighborhood. Many people in the Cincinnati would be afraid to travel to Over-the-Rhine out of fear of the crime that takes place there. I have been to Over-the-Rhine and while there are certainly signs of urban decay but there are also some really wonderful things about Over-the-Rhine. It has a rich history and some beautiful architecture. Also, one of the things that I have learned over the years is that no matter where you go, people are people.
Principal Smith challenged my congregation to pray for Rothenberg Academy. She also called us to pray about what we might do. She said that they don't need money. What they need is time. They need people to spend time with their students. They need mentors and prayer partners and after-school program leaders. They need people to be present.
Principal Smith's challenge spoke to my heart. I'm not sure what God is calling me to do. I don't have to make any decisions now since school is almost done for the summer. However, in the fall, my church is asking for 35 volunteers to serve as mentors for the second graders. I am going to pray about this. I have served as a mentor in the past and really enjoyed it. I know that it would be really rewarding and I would learn much.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

13.1 Miles

I did it! I finished the Flying Pig Half-Marathon in Cincinnati this morning. I can't believe it. I walked 13.1 miles! I don't think I've ever done that before.
I'm giving thanks to God even as I soak my feet. It was a good day and a major accomplishment in my life. More later.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Mudslides and Record Rainfall

I saw on the news today that the Cincinnati area is experiencing a lot of mudslides. I didn't know that this was a mudslide area. I thought they just happened in California. However, as this article in the Cincinnati Enquirer http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110427/NEWS01/104280320 says, the silty soil and the excessive rain are a perfect mix for mudslides. The television news showed roads that had washed away. There is even a church that is in danger of having its foundation washed away.
As of today, we are on course to break the all-time rainfall record set back in 1937. If the rainfall predictions hold true, we will have received over 14 inches of rain in the month of April. Rivers are rising and everything is wet.
I invite you to join me in praying for all of those impacted by all of this rain. There are many who live near rivers whose homes are in danger of flooding. We have some of Habitat homes located in some of these area flood plains. I know those home owners must be feeling anxious.
Thanks for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

Visit with Family

My parents are in town this week. They are staying over at my sister Stacey's house. I went over to visit with them today. It was good to see them. I realized I had not seen them since they went to Texas last fall. They are not liking the cold weather here in Cincinnati. We got snow last night.
I have the morning off tomorrow from work. I plan to take my car to the Volkswagen dealer. I have a light bulb out and you need a PhD to change the bulbs in a VW. That's the one thing I have not liked about my Beetle.
I am really looking forward to getting back to work. I was really inspired by what I learned and can't wait to begin implementing some of the new practices. I am still riding high on inspiration from the Habitat for Humanity Conference in Atlanta. We also will be getting ready for the arrival of our new Executive Director next week at TriState Habitat for Humanity. It is definitely going to be a time of transition and change. I would appreciate your prayers for our affiliate during this time.
Thanks for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

Fiddler on the Roof

As I type this blog post, it is way past my bedtime. It's about 11:45 PM and I am going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight because I just got back from a wonderful performance of Fiddler on the Roof at the Aronoff Center for the Arts in Cincinnati.
Attending this play was not on my agenda for this evening. I was invited by one of our wonderful Habitat volunteers late this afternoon. She has season tickets along with a group of friends. One of her friends was not able to attend and was willing to give the ticket to anyone who would take it. I didn't hesitate when offered a free ticket to a Broadway musical.
Amazingly, I have never actually scene a stage production of Fiddler on the Roof. I have seen the movie before a long time ago but that's it. I really loved tonight's performance. It was great to hear the songs that I know well like Tradition, Matchmaker, Matchmaker, and Sunrise, Sunset. I also loved the dancing. The dance sequence in the wedding scene were wonderful. The bottle dance was superb.
I found this little bit of trivia on Wikipedia about the origin of the title:

The musical's title stems from the painting "The Fiddler" by Marc Chagall, one of many surreal paintings he created of Eastern European Jewish life, often including a fiddler. The Fiddler is a metaphor for survival, through tradition and joyfulness, in a life of uncertainty and imbalance.

I thank God for the opportunity to experience this evening of entertainment. I'm so glad I was able to go. It was truly a blessing. To life!
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Prayer Request

I'm asking for your prayers for my half-marathon preparation. I'm having a hard time staying on track this week with my walking. I have not been feeling good all week and I am really tired. This makes me really crabby. It's also been really cold here and I find myself just wanting to come home and cocoon. Saturday is a six mile day and I need to be prepared for that. So, I'm asking for your prayers. I seem to have hit a motivation road block this week.
The good news is that it's supposed to warm up into the 40's this weekend here in the Cincinnati area. It will be good to get back outside and walk. I may even be able to walk the six miles outside on Saturday. That would be great.
Thanks for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

Ice, Ice, Baby

We've got hit with the ice storm here in the Cincinnati area last night. When I woke up this morning to attempt my morning walk, I stepped out of my apartment building and nearly fell on my backside. It was a sheet of ice. Everything was covered in ice: the sidewalk, the parking lot, and my car. I decided to go back inside before I fell down and wait for a while until things warmed up. I made it into the office around 10 AM after spending about twenty minutes chiseling the ice off my car.
The roads were fine but many of the sidewalks and parking lots were skating rinks. I stopped at Wal-Mart after work and I nearly did a double axel getting out of my car. I came home and have been keeping an eye on the weather ever since. The temperature is supposed to go up over night but we may actually have thunderstorms later on tonight.
Thankfully the ice will melt in a relatively short time. It sounds like it will take a while for all the snow that the South Bend, Indiana and Chicago areas are getting tonight. With a blizzard moving through the area, they are expected to get up to two more feet of snow. While Cincinnati has had a rough winter, it's been nothing like Northern Indiana. I am grateful I am not there and having to dig my way out of that.
I'm feeling much better after being sick for the last few days. I finally got a good night's sleep last night and hope to do so again tonight. I was not able to walk today. I'm not sure if tomorrow will be any better. It looks like I may have to condense my three days of walking on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The weather is supposed to clear up a bit by then.
I hope you are staying warm and being safe during this huge storm that is whipping across the country. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Four Miles Accomplished

Yea!!!! I made it! My friend Karen and I walked 4.3 miles this morning. We decided to go back to Wal-Mart and walk there. We started out a bit earlier and it was pretty deserted. I was worried about feeling tired or having to take a break but we kept up a pretty good pace and finished in about an hour and fifteen minutes. I didn't think that was too bad for too people who are not regular walkers.
It really helped to have someone to talk with while I walked. It really made the time go much faster. The same is true when I listen to music. I kind of get lost in the music and forget about the time.
I was breathing a bit heavy when we were done but it wasn't too bad. In fact, four miles didn't feel much different than three miles. We'll see if this holds true next Saturday. The training schedule says that I have to walk five miles next Saturday.
We are expecting another winter storm this week here in the Cincinnati area. I'm not sure how that is going to impact my walking schedule. It's nice to know that I can go to Wal-Mart to walk if I need to. I had thought about joining a gym on a month-to-month basis during the training season but I really don't want to spend the extra money. I guess Wal-Mart is my health club for now.

ANSWERED PRAYER: I asked this past week for your prayers for my recruiting efforts to find new Habitat Partner Families in the city of Hamilton, Ohio. Well, the next day I got a call out of the blue from one of the leaders of the Head Start program in the city of Hamilton. She invited me to come and speak to the Head Start parents' meeting for the morning class. She called me a few days later and asked me to do a second presentation to the parents of the children in the afternoon Head Start program. I'm grateful to be able to do this and to hopefully families.
In addition to the Head Start opportunities, I found out that one of our Family Services volunteers works at a technical school in Hamilton. I have been meaning to figure out how to get the word out to students at this school but didn't have a clue where to start. This volunteer said she would make some phone calls and see if we could distribute fliers to the students. This is just another way that God answered our prayers.
I would appreciate your continued prayers for family recruitment in Hamilton. While these are some really good leads, families still have to take the step to fill out an application and return it to the Habitat office.

Thanks for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

Good Day

Today was a good day.

• I started off with my morning walk. It has warmed up a few degrees here in the Cincinnati area. However, when I walked this morning, the wind was blowing pretty hard. I found myself in some places feeling a bit frozen. I only walked two miles. Next week I start my full training schedule for the half-marathon. The shortest distance I walk during this time will be three miles so I am really going to have to step it up if I'm going to be prepared for the half-marathon.
• I then ran some errands and then came home and did laundry and cleaning. I knew that if I didn't at least do some cleaning and laundry it would not get done. One of my New Year's resolutions was to try to keep myself on a cleaning routine and Saturday seems to work best for me. So, before I got on with the rest of my day, I decided to get as much done as I could.
• After lunch and watching an episode of the series Alien Nation through my Netflix subscription, I headed off to my nephew Cameron's basketball game. Cameron did well. I can tell that he is getting better. I met my sisters Stacey and Shelly and my nephew Michael at the game. Shelly and Michael are up for the weekend.
• After the game, Shelly met her friends John and Lisa and their son Hank at Ikea and I went back to Stacey's house and played a few rounds of Wii bowling with my nephews. I must brag about my nephew Cameron. He is a very good bowler. Both nephews beat me pretty badly at bowling.
• Shelly and her friends returned to Stacey's house from Ikea and we had a shrimp boil dinner. It was quite delicious. Then we did our Christmas gift exchange.
• After dinner we played some games. John and Lisa are big board game players. They always have new and innovative games to play. I was lost through the first game but got into the second game a bit more.

Tomorrow after church we are getting together for lunch before Shelly, Michael, John, Lisa, and Hank leave town.
I took Monday off from work so I have a long weekend. I need to get a few things done and I'm hoping to maybe take in a movie.
Today was a good day for me. Time with family and friends. Good food. Games. Life is good.
I hope you are having a great weekend. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Frigid Morning Walk

Today was my day to walk this morning. I had a hard time prying myself out of bed. When I did finally make it outside, it was cold. Part of my walking route includes an area that is all open fields. When I got to that spot this morning, it felt like the icy winds were going to blow right through me. I only walked two miles and got back inside as quickly as possible. It's been hard to walk this week with the snow on the ground because they really haven't cleaned the streets very well. There's still a lot of snow in some places where it has blown out onto the pavement. The sidewalks are not cleared at all.
I am really grateful that I was able to buy an iPod Shuffle with a gift certificate I received for my birthday. I've loaded it up with music and it really helps my walk seem to go faster. I've got an eclectic collection of songs and I kind of like not know what song is going to play next. A Christian praise chorus is followed by Elvis singing Hound Dog followed by John Mellencamp's Peaceful World. Digital music players are truly marvelous inventions.
I'm looking forward to the weekend. My sister Shelly and nephew Michael are coming up to Cincinnati from Tennessee tomorrow and will be staying at my sister Stacey's home through the weekend. We are going to have our Christmas gift exchange that got postponed a few weeks ago. I also think playing games will be in my future. I am really excited about that.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Snow Day

We had a snow day in the Cincinnati area for most schools today. I'm not sure how much snow we ended up getting, but it didn't seem like much to me. Of course everyone was hoarding food again at the grocery stores last night. The weather people seemed all in a panic because the snow moved through the area later than they had predicted it would. They kept showing the radar for Indianapolis and saying "It's coming! It's on it's way! It's almost here!"
This morning, I started the day with my morning walk. It was a bit cold in the wind and the snow was just starting. the roads were not very good when I was headed to the office but on the way home they were fine. They simply don't have the equipment to really get out and get ahead of the snow.
The same thing is true at my apartment complex. I think the maintenance staff got a new snow blower. However, they didn't get around to removing the snow in front of my building until just as I was getting home from work today.
Work was pretty quiet today. Karen and I were the only ones to make it in. Of course, the Northern Indiana people who are used to a lot of snow were not fazed by the snow storm that scared everyone in Cincinnati. It was kind of nice. The phone didn't ring too much at the office and I got a lot done.
I'm not sure what tomorrow will be like. There is a possibility of more snow. I don't think it will be anywhere near what they are getting on the East Coast.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!