Saturday and A Good Night's Sleep

I slept very well last night.I didn't know what to expect from my second vaccination but there were no side effects. I was up shortly before 5:00AM after staying up until 11:00PM to finish my latest book.

I have made my bed and got myself ready for the day. I have even had my breakfast and coffee and are now working on my Chai.  I will soon go in the living room and turn on the TV to see what the day will bring. I just had a text from Bob and he said it was very foggy out there. The police had put out a notice about that. It is supposed to last until 11:00AM.

More later. I want to turn on "the weather on the 8's"....and check on the cats. 

It is real foggy out there and there were at least two cats out there waiting for their breakfast. It looked like Blondie and Inky. I didn't see any more at this time.  The minute I opened the garage door, they came rushing in. I see the young pale blond cat is out there now having a drink of water just outside my front door.

More later... The cats are full and gone now. I have closed the front door so the heat won't escape. I put the garage door down and put away the cat dishes on the TV tray and covered them.

I need several things from either the Dollar General store or a Walmart store. There are several things I can't get at Dollar General but I hate to make another trip out of town.  I will wait and see. I may just go to Dollar General and get what I can there and wait for the rest until Tuesday when I take our cakes up to Independence to the First Christian Church for their Tuesday evening dinner. That sounds like the best solution. 

Right now I am waiting for 10:00AM for the Lucky Dog show. That's an hour and a half away so I may make my trip to Dollar General until then.

There were only two things on my list that I couldn't get at Dollar General. I will get those on Tuesday at Walmart. I will be glad when Caney opens their new market. It will cut my gas bill by half.

It's 15 minutes until my Lucky Dog program comes on. I am recording it so if I miss it, I can watch it anytime....and eliminate the commercials.

More even later... 

I read most of the afternoon and finished another book. I downloaded a couple more from Amazon free books. I am sure I am well over 40 books now since this pandemic began...mostly murder mysteries.

Suzanne came sometime after 3:30PM and brought me chicken and noodles and I warmed it up in the microwave and ate it for supper. I had eaten my last banana earlier instead of lunch. The chicken and noodles  were very good. I fixed some sugarless red punch to go with it.

I went back to my book until the CNS news came on and then watched that. 

It's 7:50PM now and I will read awhile longer and go to bed at 9:00PM.

Friday and Process Theology and My Theology

  My belief in Process Theology:

 I believe process theology works for me because it has good ethics. For me it is a better way to think about what the idea of "God" means. Frankly, I find the ethics of the traditional God appallingly erratic and often even demonic. God has been described in the Bible and in other culture's scriptures as directly willing and causing great evils like war, slavery, plague, famine and even the hardness of people's hearts. At best, God has been described as standing by and allowing needless suffering that the traditional idea of God could have easily prevented. To defend these ideas about God, we are forced to turn our ideas of good and evil inside out to explain why it is really all right for God to allow such great suffering.

That's why process theology has taught me that there is simply no reason to let our old ideas about divine power force us into a corner where we must persuade ourselves that gross evil is really good. It gives me a concept of a God who is genuinely loving in a straightforward and intelligible sense. The God of process theology does everything within divine power to work for the good.

Because of our freedom, each individual creates itself out of all that has gone before. Our past decisions both provide and limit future possibilities. Within these limits, the future is open.

Our universe, thank goodness, really does not center around human beings. Dominion has proven to be a tragic theological model for understanding our ethical relationship to the world. Instead we should come to understand our place is as just one of God's creatures in a complex and fragile world. And the world God envisions and Jesus taught is a peaceful world.

God's power, is necessarily persuasive, not coercive. Because God loves the world, God suffers with the world, calling to us in each moment to share a vision of the good and beautiful....God's community on earth is one where humans can live together in peace with all other of God's creatures. But God awaits our free response and does not use force.

I believe God is omniscient and knows everything there is to know. But because the future is open, and has a range of possibilities, it is not fixed or settled. I believe we always have the right to choose. And I believe God struggles to reach us but it is up to us to be receptive to God's persuasive spirit.

In process theology, God is constantly, in every moment and in every place, doing everything within God's power to bring about the good. But God's power lies in patience and love...not force.

Ethically, God is worthy of our love because God is perfectly loving. God is with us in our moments of greatest guilt and despair, yet God's love for us never waivers. God calls us to redeem ourselves from these experiences by gleaning whatever good can come from them for the future and sometimes even to help others.

And most important to me, God works with all people who will respond to God's spirit...not just us Christians, to bring about the greatest good for all.

Friday and the Second Vaccine

This morning at 9:15AM, I will get my second Moderna vaccination. 

I was up before 5:00AM and got myself ready for the day and had my breakfast. I am now working on my coffee. It's only 5:45AM now and I have yet to turn on the TV for the "weather on the 8's" or check on the cats. It's plenty early yet.

I slept well last night and was only up once to go to the bathroom.  I went to bed very early. I was very tired.

Something weird is going on with my Kindle. It was plugged in all night..charging... yet the yellow light never to changed to green. I hope it isn't dying. This is my second Kindle and I sure don't want to have to buy another. And I have no room for any more regular books.

I am going to have to buy a battery for my notebook as it is. This laptop could also use a battery. It no longer charges either. I just use it plugged in all the time.

More later... I will go check the "weather on the 8's" now and eventually check on the cats.

I see we are going to have rain on Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday this next week. 

There were three cats out there waiting for me to check on them. The new young yellow cat, Blondie and Inky.   As soon as I filled the dishes and opened the garage door, they ran in there to eat. 

I left here about 8:30AM to go to Coffeyville for my appointment at the Montgomery County Health Department and got my second shot of Moderna  there. I had no side effects from it. From there I went by the Happy Nails salon and got my pedicure. It had been awhile and I badly needed it.

I stopped at Sonic in Coffeyville and bought a cherry limeade slush. I drank that on the way home.Then I watched an episode of Dateline I had recorded while I ate my dinner. I had the sweet and sour chicken from Schwan's that I got yesterday. Then I had an ice cream bar for dessert.

More later... It's a little after 1:00PM now.

I had Cox Complete Care go through the laptop and clean it up. Every once in awhile I need to do that. It keeps a lot of undesirable stuff out of that computer. It takes them about 30 minutes to do that but it always runs better after I have that done.

More Later. It is 3:20PM now and I want to read awhile in one of my new free books.

Thursday and Apartment Cleaning Day

I slept pretty well again last night and was up shortly before 5:00AM. I have had my breakfast and fed three cats. I need to check if they are still eating out there. If they are finished, I will bring the dishes over to the TV tray. I will go check that out. 

They were all gone but Blondie and he was still in the garage. I could not get him to come out until I raised the garage door again and then he ran out. He and Inky are out front here drinking water from their water dish. The pale yellow young cat was already gone.

I am watching the "weather on the 8's" now.  

I will be cleaning the apartment a little later. I mop and vacuum when the commercials are on.

It's supposed to be in the 50's this week.  I am ready for that although we have all of March before Spring. Sometimes we have even worse weather in March.

Blondie and Inky are both lying on the rubber mat outside my front door. They are the only ones that do that. I don't know why.  They aren't going to get to come in...that's for sure.  

More later... 

I got the apartment  mopped and vacuumed while the commercials were on. Now I am very tired. I will dust tomorrow. I have the laundry in the dryer now. Lugging that vacuum around is one thing but moving the dining room chairs out to vacuum under the table and the rug under them is another. It is almost more then I can do. For one thing, I am not supposed to lift more then 15 pounds and I am sure those chairs are heavier then 15 pounds. Oh well, the fun of getting old! When the CBS news goes off in 15 minutes, I think I will get back to one of my books while the laundry is drying.

It is another beautiful day...I shouldn't complain. It's 37 degrees right now. Today...this afternoon, my Schwan's order will come. I only have one frozen meal right now and that's what I ordinarily eat for lunch. It's not even 10:00AM yet so why am I thinking about lunch?

At lunch time I looked in the freezer and saw a meal Suzanne had brought me several weeks ago and I had eaten some of it and frozen the rest. I thawed it in the microwave and ate it with some crackers. 

Then I read awhile in my latest book on my Kindle. I took a letter to the post office. I sent Scott a receipt for my latest monthly donation to NPR and if they want they can take that small donation off their income tax. While I was out, I drove by Nancy's. Both Gina and Dale were there in both their vehicles. I don't know what that was about unless one of them is taking her to her hair appointment. I believe it is at 1:30PM and it's 1:08PM right now.

More later... 

I read all afternoon and finished the latest book. Then at 3:30PM, I went over t Nancy's and visited for a couple of hours. I came home and ate a banana. That was my supper. 

I called and left my name and telephone number with a man who fixes  clocks. Marilyn needs him to fix her grandfather clock and Nancy needs her grandfather clock fixed too. Bob is going to give me my grandmother's antique clock and I will see if that man can fix it too. I left my name and telephone number and Nancy's too with the woman who answered the call. It may be 6 months before he can get to them. 

I am watching the last of CBS news and will take my  bath at 7:00PM and plan to go to bed at 9:00PM or so.

Wednesday and Game Day

 I slept pretty well last night although I was up a couple of times. I finally got out of bed and got myself ready for the day at 5:00AM as usual and didn't have breakfast since I will have it with Bob at 7:00AM.

I came in and watched "the weather on the 8's"  and then fed the cats.  After they finished  I brought the bowls onto the tray in the garage. I texted Bob and left for Coffeyville/ I got there a little  early so I took the papers by Karan's and left them. Then I went by to pick up Bob.

We had a good breakfast at Eggberts. After I took him home I went to get my hair done.  Then I went by Sonic and bought a cherry limeade slush.

Then I sat in the car at the senior center and read my Kindle until 1:00PM..time for the game day.

We had a good time. I had a little of my candy left and  when I got home and went by Nancy;s to give it to her, she never answered the door so I brought it on home. That happens quite often.

I had several packages in the mail and I wrote checks for them and will run them by the drop box soon as I watch the weather and the CBS news.

Bob is going to give me my grandmother's antique clock and I am going to contact a man to work on it. Marilyn gave me his telephone number. She has a grandfather clock she wants him to work on too.

Now it's time for the CBS news so I will get back to this later. 

I want to read my latest book when the news is over. Then I will eat my banana and take my bath and put my pjs on and a robe. I plan to go to bed at 9:00PM or so. It's been a big day.

Tuesday and Even More Reading

 I slept very well last night and was up at my usual 5:00AM. I have not had breakfast yet. I wanted to balance my checkbook before I fixed my breakfast. I will get back to this after I am ready to eat.

I'm back. I am eating my breakfast bar and drinking my coffee. My oatmeal is cooling a bit. It's 6:04AM right now and in about 30 minutes,I will text Bob and see if he is up. After I finish my oatmeal and coffee, I will go watch "the weather on the 8's" on TV and check on the cats. 

I had three cats waiting for their breakfast. It was Inky, Blondie and the neighbor's big yellow cat. I fed them and then after they finished, I closed the garage door. 

I heard from Bob this morning. He is back at his own apartment now. I asked him if he wanted to have breakfast in the morning  and he is interested. I will pick him up at 7:00AM tomorrow. It has been a couple of weeks since we have done that since last week I had my hair done on Friday.

Inky has finished eating and is outside my storm door next to the window. I wonder if that is warmer since I have my door open. Blondie is out there too. They like to be able to look through the window at me. I put fresh water out there for them yesterday while Nancy was here. 

Laura, the nurse that checks on Nancy in the late afternoon, texted me last evening and would like to go with Nancy and me the next time we eat at Sam's. She loves fish and shrimp.  She works at the Coffeyville County Health Department where I got my first shot. I am sure Nancy would be fine with that. She likes Laura very much.

More later.... 

I decided to go back to Independence and go to Walmart to get some groceries and to Orchelon's to get cat food and also get gas at Miller Brothers. Then I washed my car. I then stopped at Big Cheese and had a personal pan pizza and a root beer. Then I came back through Tyro and stopped at Jay's and bought a treat for tomorrow's game day at the senior center.  

I stopped at Josh's garage because on the way home from Independence, the light on the dash about the sensor came on again.  Josh's brother tried to fix it and he got rid of the letters about the sensor but the "low tire" light is still on the dash. He said after I drove awhile, It would go away.  So far, it hasn't.

When I got home I watched the episode of "Bull" I had recorded last night. 

I don't know whether Michael has come with the mail yet or not. I probably should go check. I seldom get anything but junk anyhow. 

I got some more junk mail today, I was going to read but my Kindle needed charging.

Nancy called and talked to me about thirty minutes. 

Then I open opened the front door to three cats. Blondie and Inky were here and another young cat came for the first time. I wonder if it is that new little kitty that Scruffie had with her a couple of months ago. I hadn't seen it since she brought it that day that I took a photo of it. Anyhow, I filled all four dishes and fed the cats in the garage again. When they are finished, I will bring the door down again. I don't want to be feeding any possums.

I am watching the channel 6 news.

At  7:00PM I will take my bath and try to read again until time to go to bed at 9:00PM. 

I had better check those cat dishes now. They were finished so I put the dishes away.

Monday and More Reading

 I slept well again last night and am ready to fix my breakfast now. I am dressed and ready for the day...whatever it may bring. 

I have fixed my breakfast now and will eat it while I blog. It's only 6:08AM and I haven't texted Bob yet. I will wait awhile since he sleeps a little longer when it's cold. I haven't checked on the cats yet either. I will get to that after breakfast and "the weather on the 8's". It's only 28 degrees out there this morning. I imagine they will be pretty cold if they are out there.

I finally looked out front and there were two cats out there. Scruffie and Blondie were out there waiting for their breakfast. I  fixed all four bowls...figuring others may come when they see the garage door up. 

In about a week...or maybe earlier...I will need to buy more cat food. I get that at Orchelons either in Coffeyville or Independence. I think those bags are 30 pounds. But it's much cheaper to buy it in bulk then in 3 1/2 pound bags at Dollar General or Walmart.

It's getting light out now and it's 6:45AM. It's 29 degrees now. It's supposed to be 59 degrees today.  It looks like Friday and Sunday rain next week.

It's 8:11AM  now. I ended up feeding three cats. Scruffie,  Blondie and the neighbor's yellow cat. They are all gone now and I put the garage door down again. 

I am watching the CBS news now.  I see in this morning's news that a Boeing 777 had an engine explode and parts of it rained down on neighborhoods. The pilot managed to get the plane landed safely with one less engine and they have pulled all 777s until they check out their engines.

My kids from Phoenix intend to fly here when they come for the family to celebrate their anniversary in April with them. I texted them both to not use a 777 for their flight. United is the only American company using the 777s so maybe they can avoid using one of them.

Problems....

Today a half million American patients will have died of the Coronavirus. Luckily the new cases are slowly going down but until most people are vaccinated,  it will continue to take lives. I get my second shot on Friday at 9:30AM.

More later..

I have watched the CBS news this morning. Next I will read in my Kindle book. There is nothing else on TV that I am interested in. 

One of my readers bemoaned that some people don't want to take the immunization for the virus. After the Tuskegee Institute experience with our government I certainly understand their reluctance to trust it.

The Study Begins

In 1932, the Public Health Service, working with the Tuskegee Institute, began a study to record the natural history of syphilis in hopes of justifying treatment programs for blacks. It was called the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male.”

The study initially involved 600 black men – 399 with syphilis, 201 who did not have the disease. The study was conducted without the benefit of patients’ informed consent. Researchers told the men they were being treated for “bad blood,” a local term used to describe several ailments, including syphilis, anemia, and fatigue. 

In truth, they did not receive the proper treatment needed to cure their illness. In exchange for taking part in the study, the men received free medical exams, free meals, and burial insurance. Although originally projected to last 6 months, the study actually went on for 40 years.

A tragedy that's for sure. I saw a special on TV last year that also told about experiences blacks had with the society at large. After blacks were freed, many terrible things happened to them. One story found in the new black museum  in Washington DC was of a mob looking for a black minister they wanted to lynch. They searched everywhere for him and when they couldn't find him, they hung his wife and children instead.

From our own experience with racism:

Bob and I made friends with a black couple in Bartlesville in the 60's about the time of the civil rights beginning there. The Episcopal church there sponsored  interracial discussion groups and we attended.The black couple invited us to visit their church and we went. Then when their minister went on vacation, they invited Bob to preach in his place. The young man was among the first black persons hired by Phillips Petroleum Company. His wife was a nurse. We then invited them to visit our church and they came. Everyone was very cordial except one couple from Florida. They left by the back door of the church rather then to have to shake hands with the black couple.

Later that month, I always had a big Christmas open house at our home   and the Florida couple lived right down the block from us and I invited them as usual. She called me to ask if I had invited the black couple and I told her I had. She told me they would not be attending. It was their loss. Everyone else attended and we all had a great time.

Just an example of the times. Obviously nothing much has changed. 

More later... 

Inky and Blondie came back about 10:00AM for more food so I reopened  the garage door and let them eat again. I had a feeling Scruffie ran them off earlier. They ate again and then left so I put the door back down again.

About 10:30AM I called Nancy and she answered on the second ring.  I was amazed! I asked her if she wanted to go to Independence and eat at Sam's and she was ready to go as soon as she got her bath and dressed. I told her I would came back at 11:30AM and pick her up.  That's what I did. We stopped at the bank on the corner and Dale saw us there and went in and got Nancy some money from her account. Then we went up to Sam's and got lunch. She insisted she pay for our lunch.  She said we used my gas and I drove. I let her get by with that this time. We then drove around Independence awhile and then stopped at a gift shop and she bought some greeting cards.  We came back to Caney and drove around here too. She has been cooped up for so long at her house she was delighted to go somewhere away from her home.

I brought her over to my place and we visited for over an hour. Josh sent his younger brother over to pick up my car and put that sensor in the tire on the passenger side front tire. I gave him a check to pay for it.

At 5:20PM I took her home. Now I am watching the CBS news and it is 5:34 PM. 

I will take my bath at 7:00PM and plan to go to bed at 9:00PM. 

It's shortly after 7:00PM  now and I have had my bath. I will read for awhile before going to bed.

 

Sunday and Online Church Services

I slept fairly well last night. It seems I always wake up several times but I usually manage to get back to sleep. I was up at my usual 5:00AM, dressed and got myself ready for the day. I am in the process of eating my oatmeal and drinking my coffee now. I have already had my breakfast bar.

I notice the church took my tithing out last night. That's good. I will watch the usual Toronto Canada services at 11:00AM and Springfield Missouri at 6:00PM this evening.

It's almost 6:00AM now. I will go watch the weather channel now and get back to the blog later..maybe after I feed the cats..if they are out there now.

More later... 

Sure enough, Inky and Blondie were out there. I filled all the bowls and set them behind my car and raised the garage door. I notice they are no longer at the front door so when I raise the garage door and they hear that, they run to the garage anymore.

The two cats finished eating and came to the front door area. They like to watch me sit here and blog. They act like they would like to come in but that isn't going to happen. They are feral cats.I finally closed the door so they would go and find shelter.

I have been watching CBS Sunday morning. Its 9:00AM and it's off now. In a couple of hours I will watch the worship service from Toronto Canada. Right now I will go back to my latest book.

I watched the 11:00AM church service and it was another good one.

I read until noon and then had my last chicken pot pie for lunch.

The I read all afternoon and finished the latest book. It's called "Traded"  It's 4:29PM now. The snow is melting... especially in the back yard but the front yard is melting too. Maybe it will be all gone by Wednesday. I get my hair done then. 

 

This out the screen in my backyard. The snow is melting!!

   

This is out my front yard on the north. It is melting slower!

I still have the Sunday evening 6:00PM church service to watch too. I will record 60 Minutes so I won't miss it.

I just had my banana for supper. It's 4:34PM now. After the church service at 6:00PM I will take my bath and put my robe on. I may start another book then. I don't plan on going to bed before 9:00PM.