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Puzzle 1989-2009

Today, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. But my tears were for Puzzle, our twenty-year-old cat.

Puzzle died peacefully in his bed this afternoon. I am sad, but glad that he was not in any apparent distress. He just gradually slowed down. I would like to go like that when it's my turn.

We got Puzzle when we were missionaries in Japan, twenty years ago. He was from our favorite place in the whole world, Lake Nojiri, where Kay & I met. He joins his adopted brother Tigger beyond the veil. Hey guys, further up and further in. Oh wait, you're cats, you don't take instructions. Never mind, you'll figure it out.

Twenty years. Peace, old friend. You deserve it.

"Christian artist" vs. "Artist who happens to be Christian"

Our daughter Shelly is an avid reader. You have no idea. We have had to discipline her for reading too much. "If you don't put the book down, we will take it away!"

Satisfying this appetite is hard work; my wife Kay searches out new authors all the time, and we probably put a strain on our local public library system. The results are hit or miss:

Kay: "So these didn't work. I guess we can scratch Christian fantasy."
Shelly: "Is that what was wrong with it!"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Shelly: "They didn't blow stuff up or anything."
Kay: "The problem is these authors let their religion interfere with their storytelling."

Wedding ceremony message

Last week, I had the privilege of performing the wedding ceremony for two very dear friends. Though short and simple, I relied heavily on this wedding service planner. The ceremony itself took all of 15 minutes.

I am not ordained, but was deputized by the county for one day. (At the courthouse, the bride-to-be made the clerk laugh by asking if I could be given a deputy star.) My official title was "deputy commissioner." By popular request, here is the text of the message I gave at the beginning of the service:

Merry Christmas!

Facebook status for 1 month

One of the things I enjoy about Facebook is the status updates. Twitter started it, I suppose, but you can think of it as micro-blogging: one-line updates about your activities or mood. So for you non-Facebook people, here's a snapshot of my past month. Well, more like a sequence of snapshots. Like a flip-book.

Gas prices are changing our lifestyle

The kids are back in school, and that means Kay is back in driving mode. As I learned from first-hand experience, she does a lot more driving than I.

So as much as she loves her Odyssey and I my Prius, we have swapped cars in order to save money. Yes, the rising cost of gas is leading to lifestyle changes.

I still have trouble parking the minivan in the garage at work. But Kay seems to have adjusted quite easily, mocking the large trucks and SUVs in the pick-up lines at each school with the gusto of a seasoned Pious driver!

The Hobbit

One of our family rituals is my reading to the kids at night. I have waited for years to read (until the youngest was old enough to follow and appreciate it) The Hobbit. We finished it tonight. I got through the death of Thorin without crying.

LOTR will have to wait some years yet. (I have some experience, having read it all aloud to Kay when we were newlyweds with no television.)

At-home dad

Kay will be flying to Ohio later this week to bury her father's ashes, leaving me with the kids. I was planning to work from home, until Kay reminded me that I could use my remaining bereavement leave. So I'll be working Monday and Tuesday, then Kay leaves early Wednesday morning, returning Sunday morning.

This is a pretty unique opportunity: Dad time, with no work, for days. What am I going to do?? This is where I need your help: What would kids between the ages of 10 and 15 enjoy doing with their dad, in and around the South Bay? Your suggestions, please.

(The suggestions don't have to be grand, because I know that the activity itself is less important than the fact that we get to do it together.)

22 years…

The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord. -- Proverbs 18:22

Sweet heretic

Me to Kay as we were falling asleep last night:
"Good night, my sweet heretic."