So, where does one get a couple hundred cubits of gopher wood?

It's raining again. Which, it being this summer and north Texas, shouldn't really come as a big surprise.

I did manage to get my lawn mowed this afternoon. I was finishing up (literally running while pushing the lawnmower) as today's afternoon storm was getting started. I don't want to complain about the rain. It's helped keep the temperatures down and has meant that I haven't had to water my yard much this year. Both of those things are saving me money. But it is starting to get a bit silly. In previous summers Iearned not to leave home without a bottle of water (due to the heat). This summer, I don't leave home without one of my rain coats (yes, I have multiple and they've come in handy recently. One now lives in my car).

This weather reminds me of the summer of 1994 in Atlanta. It rained pretty much non-stop for 16 days, took a day off and then rained for another 11. To start with, I wore two pairs of socks, trying to keep my feet dry as I walked around campus. After a few days, I gave up, switched to sandals and kept a towel in my pack so I could dry off a bit when I got to my destination (I don't like to have wet feet, especially when in an air conditioned room. Makes me get very cold.). That was the summer I bought my big, Georgia Tech golf umbrella, realizing that with anything smaller either I got wet or my pack did.

But I'd rather be soggy regularly than bone dry and melting in the hundred-and-a-lot degree weather.

Mission Accomplished!

Racing darkness and dodging puddles, I managed to get my lawn mowed last night. It's a lot easier to see where you've already mowed when the height differential between the lawn that has already been visited by the grass munching machine of doom and that which hasn't is on the order of inches. It's times like those when I should really probably bag the clippings as I mow, as opposed to mulching. But since I don't have a bagging attachment, a blower nor a rake, that wasn't an option. At least I beat back the weeds before they were able to do any major damage.

Next mission, should I choose to accept it...mail Dad's Father's Day present. It will be late, but probably not as late as my sister's birthday present (starting Tuesday, for a period of about three weeks, she'll be four years older than me...provided you're only talking in integers). However, I still don't have much of a clue what to get her and she hasn't responded with any suggestions, so this one might be tricky. As always, should I, or any of my Present Sending Force, be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of the matter. This blog will self destruct in five seconds.

Or, well, maybe not.

I'm goin' in

While I can't really complain about the rain we've been getting (again), it has been messing up my Saturday chore schedule. Normally I deal with the yard while listening to NPR on Saturday mornings. Click and Clack usually accompany me while I weed eat and mow. If I'm doing anything more serious, or it takes more than about an hour, the team from Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me help me finish up. And that works out great. With headphones and ear protectors, my mind gets entertained while the rest of me keeps my yard from getting too overgrown.
However, between coming back from RYM and the rain, I haven't been able to mow since before I left and the weeds not only greatly out number me right now, but I think they're plotting to overthrown the nearby neighborhood associations (and tomorrow...The World!!!).

It's still a bit wet out there, but looking at the weather map, this may be the driest things get for another few days. So I'm going to at least get the yard mowed. I'll weed eat next week...if I survive. Nice thing is, I'm teaching Sunday school in the morning, so in about 13 hours, if I'm not at church, people will come lookin' for me. Wish me luck!

Pictures...not so hard to include here

So, I figured I would see exactly how it is that Blogger puts pictures in. Turns out it's not all that difficult.

Here's a few RYM pictures:

Brian and me by the sign at the top of the ridge on the Trail Ridge Road visitors' center in Rocky Mountain National Park.








Stepping out of the lodge where we stayed, this was the view. It's scenery like this that always makes me wonder why I live in Texas.








Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday I got up a little early and went for a walk/jog to get some exercise and time alone (although two of my girls came with me Tuesday morning). I finished up with some crunches and pushups, usually on the basketball courts. This was the view. Sure beats looking at the wall at the gym when I'm doing crunches and pushups.

Rocky Mountain High

I got home from RYM (Reformed Youth Movement) conference on Colorado just over an hour ago. It's always weird coming home from these trips. I've just spent the entire week surrounded by people...friends...family. Now it's just me and my cats. They're cute and fuzzy, but not exactly the same type of company. Sometimes it's a lonely feeling, coming home to my house. Tonight, it's not so much. Part of that's probably because I just spent the last hour getting mostly unpacked (I really dislike going to bed without unpacking from a trip. The big secret is to unpack onto your bed. That way you can't go to sleep without putting things away.). Part of it is also probably because I'm pretty tired (15 hours in a van will do that). Tomorrow is church and youth stuff and I've got a pretty busy week. So, maybe I won't feel the loneliness. We'll see.

But, on to more about RYM. As was the case last year, it was a great trip. Even if it would have been a lousy conference, it still would be a great trip. The scenery alone is worth the trip. It is so amazing to see the beauty of God's creation in the mountains. Driving through Texas this afternoon and evening I noticed that I had already started to miss the mountains. Sorry Mary, even the most beautiful parts of Texas can not compare to the majesty of the Rocky Mountains.

The conference itself was great. I was challenged by the material presented, had some great conversations with the kids, met some neat people, conquered a ropes course (hopefully a good warm-up for Area 51 at Space Camp), played some putt-putt, didn't sleep near enough, learned much about God's providence through a mechanical incident with our van and the resulting events, hiked in the national park, adapted amazingly well to the altitude and overall had a great week.

I hope to write more about significant parts of the week in the coming days...and maybe even figure out how to embed pictures.