Raised in the Christian faith and brought to early understanding of what it means to be a person of faith in the context of a Protestant framework, specifically Presbyterianism, I understood myself to be a child of God, and, in particular, a follower of Jesus Christ. I was baptized as an infant and can remember … Continue reading Spiritual Journey →

In April, Janet, Bethany, Sammi and I undertook a singular endeavor: a trip abroad to see the sites and taste the food of Spain, reprising the many journeys that we took back when our nuclear family consisted of a mom, a dad and two dependent children. However, this was not a reenactment so much as … Continue reading Spain: The Original 4 →

One of the greatest joys of retirement is spending more time with your adult children and their families. After hanging up the shingle and leaving behind the demands of work life, you are blessed with oodles of time to spend at your discretion, and, if you are fortunate, some extra resources to spend in ways … Continue reading Operation Secret Mouse →

What follows is the shameless use of a blog post to simply record some instructions for the next time I want/need to prepare the King of Christmas dinner: Prime Rib. At least, I have come to associate Prime Rib (PR) with a December holiday meal akin to turkey for Thanksgiving; however, growing up this wasn't the case. My … Continue reading Prime Rib (for printing) … →

Prior to retirement in June 2021, just short of the minimum age at which to collect Social Security, I had piled up a number of inherited and lifestyle related medical issues. Among them, high blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol, and an enlarged prostate accounted for five of the medications in my daily pillbox. None … Continue reading What’s your type? →

Winter weather in the Willamette Valley promotes sobering moments of reflection. Back to back atmospheric rivers crashing over their banks into the Pacific Northwest turn the sky and ground into indistinguishable horizons sealed together with fog and unending drizzle. It's like the weather god died, rolled over and began decomposing. The stagnant air is trapped, … Continue reading Falling into gray … →

I feel like social media has already told me that soup season is back on again, but I don't need the prompt to get my taste buds in the mood for the treat that is home made vegetable soup. I am particularly anticipating the next iteration of this fall favorite because Janet is using filet … Continue reading Vegetable soup … →

In these pages, I have already divulged one of my guilty pleasures: Tik Tok. Well, here is another one of the time sinks that I have fallen into in retirement: watching the House of Representatives on C-SPAN. Ever since the 15-rounds of voting that it took to elect Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, … Continue reading Proposed resolution … →

I definitely have a morning routine. From letting the dog out, to grabbing the newspaper off the front lawn, to downing my meds with 8 oz. of Clamato, sharpening the #2 pencil in preparation for taking on the daily crossword, brewing a cup of Keurig coffee, microwaving and toasting an English muffin (to be overlaid … Continue reading It can’t be that bad, right? →