On Turning 37...

I turned 36 a year and a day ago.  If you'd have told me on that day that a year later I'd be engaged to marry someone and even wearing a Rockwood Summit t-shirt on the following year's birthday, I'd have labeled you "crazy."  Now, the proper Christian viewed-through-the-eyes-of-faith response to that prediction is "well, anything's possible with God!"  But a year ago, I couldn't have seen my life being where it is now.  Last year, I woke up on my birthday sick with a sudden sinus attack.  I determined to not let that get me down and attempted to conquer a new bike trail that went straight up and left me feeling worse for trying.  Later that day, I watched, alone, the Cardinals suffer through a 20-inning loss to the Mets on TV.  Notice all the "I's" in the preceding statements.

This year, I woke up feeling great and picked up my beautiful bride-to-be Renee and we headed off to church to worship together.  Afterward, we joined a group of friends for a delicious brunch.   We later joined my parents for a relaxing and delicious dinner at Sam's Steakhouse.  Notice that the preceding statements all included the word "we."

Life is definitely better lived with a lot of "we," I think.

Ode To A Phone...

O, Samsung A707 "Sync" - you came into my life in the Fall of 2007 on a Saturday.  Chili-dog rather rudely chewed up your predecessor LG phone and I had to replace it quickly.  You were a good phone, a phone for all seasons.  You were the phone that I used to initiate text messaging with the lovely Renee Simms and the one I used to inform friends and family when we got engaged recently.  Alas, you began to show your age a few months ago when you suddenly refused to charge your battery.  If I'd not had an identical phone around to use as a charger (only its screen was broken) I'd have traded you in.

Over the weekend, I officially defected from AT&T Wireless.  I was running without a contract and with a need for a new phone.  Renee is a Verizon Wireless customer who started a new contract with a new phone last Fall.  My next move was obvious.  Making her pay an early-termination fee for her contract to move to AT&T might have resulted in an early-termination of our engagement!  So, I am now a Verizon customer on the family share plan with her and her mom.  And I am now the owner of an LG Ally Android smartphone.  Life is indeed good.

This Is Really Happening...

The ring on that finger belongs to one Renee Simms.  I presented it to her while on one knee on the beach at Juno Beach Park in Juno Beach, Florida.  Said ring was presented while I proposed marriage to one Renee Simms.  The same Renee Simms that I've been dating for nearly 9 months and whom I'm unashamedly, madly in love with.  The proposal went down during our spring break vacation last week.

Back in January, when it was reallyreallycold, Renee said one night, "wanna go to spring training?"  I thought that sounded like fun, so we found some flights on Southwest Airlines during her spring break from school and booked our trip for March 22-25!  I had been to Cardinals spring training exactly once, with my dad back in 1998.  Little did I know back in January how memorable this spring training trip would turn out to be.  

First, a little back story....

Renee and I knew by the middle of February that we wanted to get married.  (Okay, truth be told, Renee knew as far back as last October, she says.)  Our feelings for each other were obvious and we also felt that God had confirmed our future was with each other.  We also knew that if we wanted to be married before she had to return to school in August, we'd better get in gear and start planning. Church and reception venue got nailed down in short order, and we began looking at rings.  She and I made trips to several local jewelers so I could get a pretty good idea of what she wanted.  I'm SO GLAD we did that.  Guys, you DO NOT want to mess up the ring, trust me on this.  The ring was purchased by early March and I began waiting for the opportune to make my proposal.  Sadly, our schedules got busy with this, that, and the other and we didn't get much time alone until it was time to jet off to sunny Florida on Tuesday, March 22.

Now, on with the real story...

Wait, a beach!  Yeah, Florida has lots of those!   What a romantic place to pop the question of all questions for single ladies!  Sometime before we left, I nonchalantly mentioned that we should take a romantic walk on the beach at sunset.  Maybe even on our first night?

(I didn't sleep well the night before our departure, so I was feeling under the weather during our flights, sadly.  Seriously.  Mini-migraine happened as we were approaching Tampa to catch our connecting flight to Ft. Lauderdale.  Don't ask me about our hour in Tampa.  Couldn't tell you.)

I caught a cat nap en route to Ft. Lauderdale so I felt functionally better as we arrived.  After we drove up to our hotel near Jupiter, we settled in and tried to figure out where to eat.  Long story short, local seafood restaurant.  Massively long wait to eat, massively long wait for food, after dark when we were finished.  No beach that night.  Bummer.  Ring was in my pocket--my baggy-pocket Polo jeans that I packed specifically for the purpose of carrying the ring unobtrusively.  We headed back to our hotel to call it a night.

Next morning (Wednesday), I felt 100% better and after breakfast, Renee suggested we hit the beach before our Cardinals game in Jupiter in the afternoon.  "That sounds like fun," I agreed.  (I know what you may be thinking, but she totally DID NOT suspect what I was going to do.  She had a FEELING it might happen but not that morning.)  I grabbed the ring box out of my backpack and slipped it into my pocket. (I wore different shorts than the night before, but luckily it wasn't obvious what was there)  We decided to just head east until we found a beach.  U.S. Highway 1 wasn't too far away and we soon spotted beach through thick roadside hedges.  Juno Beach Park appeared before too long so we parked and headed across the road to get some sand between our toes.

Sorry folks, but I must withhold the most intimate details of the proposal.   Some things are just too personal to be shared with the world.  Suffice it to say, it did involve me descending to one knee in the sand (I have the picture to prove it!) presenting the ring and popping the question.  She accepted, of course!  We spent the remainder of our time walking the beach and asking random Floridian beachcombers to take our picture together.   Our friends and family were notified shortly thereafter, and most importantly, we broadcast the news to Facebook late that evening (sarcasm intended).

The day was already perfect, but the Cardinals extended it by beating the Mets later that afternoon.  The game was great and the weather was perfect.  Later that evening, we got dressed up in our Sunday best and drove over to Jetty's, a highly-recommended fine-dining seafood restaurant in Jupiter.  Our experience this evening was much better than the previous evening's.  We were seated right away at an outdoor table that overlooked the intracoastal waterway.  The food was delicious!  After dinner, we relaxed on the pier behind the restaurant.  Our perfect day was complete.

(One great thing about getting engaged is that people don't mind taking your picture.  We asked numerous random Floridians to snap our photo and once we mentioned the word "engaged," they were more than happy to oblige.  One such person was the evening front desk clerk at our hotel, a sweet young lady by the name of Erika Haslup.  She was naturally thrilled for us when we enlisted her for a photo and explained our engagement.  The next evening, we returned to our suite from an evening beach walk to find a sweet treat of strawberries drizzled in chocolate and vanilla  icing accompanied by a bottle of wine chilling on ice.  She left a sweet note expressing her happiness for us.  We thanked her profusely but politely returned the wine, as neither of us drink.)

We took in one more game the next day; Cardinals at Mets in Port St. Lucie, about 40 minutes north of Jupiter.   The Cardinals didn't fare well at all, losing 16-3.  The drive was easy and the weather was again perfect so we didn't think it was a wasted day at all.  Another beach walk after our evening meal completed our trip.

..................

So, a week later, "this is really happening."  That's come to be our unofficial catchphrase.  I am really helping to plan a wedding, OUR wedding.  A wedding to the woman who was set aside just for me by God.  Sure, I could be really blue and regretful about the fact that I could have been doing this 10 years ago, but no.  I will not.  God's timing is the best of all times. so says Bach in one of his famous oratorios.  (I know it came from Scripture but I can't remember where!)  I wouldn't have wanted to be married to me 10 years ago.  The John of this day and age is in a much better place, personally, spiritually, and emotionally.  The John of this day and age will absolutely be a better husband than the John of 10 years ago (or even a year ago, for that matter.)  I've had to make some pretty giant leaps of faith during the course of our relationship; God has proven himself to me during each and every one of them.  I am happier doing life with Renee than I ever would have been going it alone.  That much I know for sure.

This is really happening.  To me.  To her.  To us.

Incomplete Without You - Swing Out Sister...

I am absolutely, completely, unashamedly digging this video right now. It is just so aurally and visually thrilling to me! They recently released this very rich, jazzy version of one of their older songs.  The bridge section at the 3:12 mark gives me chills every time.

(Not So) Epic Snowstorm 2011...

...the monster snowstorm has come and gone here in the St. Louis area....the main body of it tracked well to our west and a pesky wedge of warm air at 5000 feet turned our snow into sleet before it hit the ground.  My yard has about 2 inches of pure sleet with the same amount of snow on top of it.  The warning cries of a massive ice storm followed by massive snow storm started over the weekend so the populace was sufficiently alerted to the impending doom.  Freezing rain fell intermittently on Monday which glazed over parking lots and trees.  Monday night, you'd have thought it was Christmas eve, as nearly every business near my house closed up early.  I ended up taking a snow day from work on Tuesday, the first vacation day due to snow that I remember taking in my 13 years at the P-D.  The forecasters swore up and down that a blizzard was a-comin' Tuesday afternoon so with thoughts of a stranded me and a home-alone dog in mind, I made the call to stay in.  It would have been nice to give my car's brand new tires a "spin" in the snow/sleet

As it turned out, there was not much to fear.  I waited anxiously for the predicted blizzard but she didn't come.  I did prepare for whatever might come by purchasing a big-boy MAG flashlight and fresh batteries for my Sony iPod Boombox®.  Seriously, folks...the MAG flashlight I bought has a handle that's at least a foot long.  Useful for administering beat-downs on anything that might try to attack me in the dark, I suppose.

I spent the day shredding old credit card bills and cleaning out several boxes of stuff in my basement.  There was a lot of stuff from my college days that I was keeping for no reason other than I am an incurable pack-rat.  It was strangely therapeutic, remembering the past and letting go of memories good and bad.

Back to work today, no problems on the roads.

Lately...

flog me at will, dear readers.  I've been terrible at keeping up this little space.  Once again I find myself composing a 'catch-up' piece such as the one below:

- enjoyed the just-past (passed?) Christmas season immensely.  It was everything I hoped it would be.  Our little corner of the world got snow on Christmas eve, just in time for a white Christmas just like the ones you used to know.  Renee and her mom came to Christmas dinner at my house and there's no place I'd rather they'd have been.  I think I caught a glimpse of my Christmas future on that day.  Let's just leave it at that...

- one my (our) favorite Christmas gifts came from my bro/sis-in-law in the form of a gift card to Mosaic Modern Fusion restaurant.  Mosaic serves up food tapas-style from a chic streetside space near 10th and Washington in downtown St. Louis.  Last Saturday marked 6 months of dating for Renee and I so we celebrated by heading up there to celebrate.  I particularly enjoyed the lobster bisque and petite beef tenderloin.  Afterward, we caught Erin Bode in concert over at Joe Buck's Showroom.  Erin and her trio served up a 90-minute set of songs from 3 of their 4 CDs.  It was worth it just to see her pianist play a melodica on some of the tunes.  A melodica!

- by the way, check out my new profile picture off to the right....was just taken last evening at a birthday party for our friend Courtney...

- looking forward to getting down to Florida with Renee at the end of March to take in a couple of Cardinals spring training games.  I haven't been since I went with my dad way back in 1998.  This is our our hope as we slog through these cold.and cloudy days of January

- Operation 'house exterior renovation project' finally is finished.  The house looks wonderful and I'll get some pictures up in this space once I remember to take some on a nice sunny day soon!

Just A Thought (Well, Actually A Few Thoughts)...

My church finished off our sermon series on the book of Ruth this morning.  The story culminates in good guy Boaz marrying widow Ruth, thus fulfilling his duty as kinsman redeemer and keeping Ruth's property in her family and her family name alive.  Curiously, the book of Ruth ends this way:

The Genealogy of David

 ¹⁸ This, then, is the family line of Perez:

   Perez was the father of Hezron,

 ¹⁹ Hezron the father of Ram,

   Ram the father of Amminadab,

 ²⁰ Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

   Nahshon the father of Salmon,^[d]

 ²¹ Salmon the father of Boaz,

   Boaz the father of Obed,

 ²² Obed the father of Jesse,

   and Jesse the father of David. (Ruth 4:18-22 NIV)

Matthew completes the genealogy in the opening lines of his gospel, ending up at Jesus, "who is called the Messiah" (Matthew 1:16 NIV).

Some interesting points here.  The wife of Perez was none other than Rahab, the prostitute who aided Joshua's spies, as we read in Joshua 2:1-24.  Because of this, her life was spared and she later married Perez.  She also earned a mention in the "Hebrews Hall of Fame" (Hebrews 11:30-31.)  Ruth was a Moabite woman (a 'Moabitess' as the NIV translates it).  The Moabites and Israelites, were bitter enemies and almost constantly battled.  Oh, and King David?  He had an affair with a married woman and had her husband killed to cover it up.  He repented (as he wrote in Psalm 51) and was later called "a man after God's own heart".

So there is a prostitute AND an enemy foreigner AND a murderer in our Savior's bloodlines.

And you thought YOU had nuts in your family tree?  Got news for you.

So does Jesus.

He was just as human as you or me, folks  And somehow, just as much God as God himself.  And he came to be our bulletproof vest, to shield us from all the flaming arrows and such that Satan will throw our way.*  Oh, yeah, that Satan stuff is real, too.  The Old Testament law-driven existence isn't enough, sadly.  It'll never save us the way that baby in a manger can.  God came down to meet us where we are.  That's the miracle of Christmas.

(Disclaimer:  The above is predicated on one's belief and faith that these facts are true as put forth in the Holy Bible.  I happen to believe they are, but I respect your right not to believe.  As one of my new favorite songs  says, "orphaned believers and skeptical dreamers, you're welcome.  You can stay right here, you don't have to go.")**

* credit where credit is due:   I heard Chuck Swindoll preach this idea during a radio broadcast I heard while driving to work one day, years ago. 

** from "All My Favorite People" by Over the Rhine, from their forthcoming new CD, "The Long Surrender"  It hits the street on 1-11-11.  Get it.  Take my word for it.  Please.

A St. Louis Tradition...

...is going to see the Christmas lights display at Tilles Park near the St. Louis suburb of Brentwood.   The county parks department strings miles and miles of lights in various displays.  One can drive through the park to see them or take a horse-drawn carriage ride.  Renee, being the expert bargain hunter that she is, pointed me towards a web site offering half-price carriage rides on Tuesday night.  We bought two tickets and off we went.  It was freezin' cold but we bundled up and cuddled under a blanket.  We both loved the experience and will do it again next year!  Here we are in the carriage...

Just A Thought...

During his sermon yesterday, my pastor related an experience he had recently.  He quiero'ed some Taco Bell and made a run to a local restaurant.  He happened upon a couple of guys who were eating in and asked them if and where they'd be going to church on Christmas Eve.  One of the guys was a pastor's son and said he'd be going to the traditional 11:00 service at his church.   The other man's answer was more telling.  He said every time he went to church on Christmas Eve, all he got was the story of a baby in a manger.  Nothing that told him that it would make a real difference in his life.

How many people go to church and leave thinking, "so, what?"  Are our churches really hitting people where they live?  I think Average Joe needs to know that the story of Christmas is more than a baby in a manager.  That this One who was born was born to make a difference and can and will change their lives.  It's called relevance and the modern-day church in America is rapidly losing it.  Are we truly interested in reaching the lost or just preaching to the itchy ears of the average Christian?

This year, let's focus our message on the "why" of the story, not the "when, where, and how" of it.

By the way, my church is studying the Old Testament book of Ruth during this Christmas season.  Wherein God began planning for the O Holy Night, using a poor widow and her widowed daughter-in-law, over 500 years before it happened.

It's already almost Thanksgiving Day?...

how the heck did that happen?

I blinked and there went October, sailing right on by me.

Where to begin?

wait, the Rams have already won 4 games this year?

how the heck did that happen?

oh, yeah, the Savior Of The Franchise...the Oklahoma Kid.  The QB Upon Whom The Team Is Relying Heavily.

..............

- enjoyed dinner-and-a-show-at-the-Fox with the lovely Renee Simms last evening.  Her birthday is this week and we took the opportunity to celebrate a bit early.  We dined at Joe Buck's downtown and took in the penultimate performance of "South Pacific" afterward.  Always love visiting the Fox Theatre.  A very enjoyable evening, indeed.

- My church just finished a shiny, happy romp through the shiny, happy book of Judges.  See, those crazy Israelites engaged in this tired ol' spin cycle of disobedience, bondage, repentance, and deliverance.  Sound like anyone you know, oh, yeah, us.  My casual contemporary church service had a real washer and dryer on stage as visual aids for each and every service of the series.  Props to that.

- Ol' Mizzou is up to nine wins with their scintillating, thrilling 14-0 win over Iowa State last evening.  (read the between the lines for some serious sarcasm there).  They'll need more of a pulse than that to beat KU next week.  Seriously.  10 wins is do-able but ugly losses to NU and Texas Tech will likely keep them out of a BCS bowl.  Which is fine with me, as long as we can stay out of the Texas Bowl this year.  Alamo, Holiday, or Cotton would be just fine, thanks.  I have invested in a Mizzou hat and t-shirt so as to be properly attired for future MU athletic events.

- Operation Get The House's Exterior Renovated is getting underway soon.  Work should start in a week or two, hopefully.  Going with a nice khaki color for the siding, which I think will look handsome against the white trim.

- must walk dog. now.  This whole standard time thing where it gets dark earlier is kind of a pain to get used to!

My Once A Month Blog Post...

Yeah, so my resolve to follow The Pioneer Woman's advice to blog every day about something, ANYTHING didn't resolve itself so well.  It's a good idea in one's head but the execution of it--ah, there's the rub!

- Renee and I are still very much in relationship and well, durn it, we're in love!  The crazy, silly, head-over-heels variety of it.  We're going on faith that this is the right path for us to be on together.  I myself have taken leaps of faith heretofore unseen in my life.  Of course, we're not naive in that we understand the work and prayer that goes into a successful relationship.  We just enjoy life and each other's presence in it.

- We've been on some pretty nice dates lately...took her out to the Forest Park Boathouse for dinner last Saturday night...first time for both of us.  We were fortunate to get a lakeside table and watched the sun go down as we ate.  Afterward we took in a sweet set of jazz by the Tierney Sutton Band at the Sheldon.  It was my pleasure to expose Renee to some real live jazz.  I've loved jazz ever since I was exposed to it in Brad Madsen's Jazz Appreciation class at Jefferson College back in 1993.

- Today we hiked out at Castlewood State Park after lunch.  I'd told Renee about the sumptuous views of the Meramec River valley from atop the bluffs but hadn't opportunity to show them off to her.  The temperature was just right and the sun shone over the trees beautifully.  What a joy it was to experience it with her!

- We enjoyed lunch with a couple of married friends at Bandana's BBQ after church today.  I think it had been well over a year since I'd enjoyed a meal there.  A meal of beef, baked potato, green beans and two big slices of Texas toast didn't just hit the spot, it destroyed it.  And that sweet tea!

- The battle has been joined.  I bagged the first 4 bags of leaves of the leaf-raking battle season yesterday.  Had Mizzou vs. A&M on the radio as I raked.  

- Ol' Mizzou roadtripped to College Station and left with a convincing 30-9 win.  They upped their record to 6-0 with a home tilt against big bad Oklahoma coming up next Saturday.  The same Oklahoma who is #1 in the first BCS poll of the season.  Mizzou is ranked #10 in the poll.  Should be a fun game.

- The street in front of my building is steadily disappearing and a huge debris hole is steadily appearing in its place.  A backhoe with a giant drill bit is relentlessly hammering away the asphalt and some brave souls riding skylifts are cutting away the steel girders that have deteriorated over time.  Good thing my office isn't near the street!

- Since I last blogged, babies have been born to several friends of mine, the most miraculous being little Anderson Warner Barnard.  He arrived way early and weighed in at just under 4 lbs.  Renee and I visited him in the NICU at St. John's  and we got to see what a miracle looks like firsthand.  After a few weeks of TLC at the hospital, he was able to come home to stay.  His daddy Jim blogged all about him here.

- Covered the night shift last night at work - 6:00 - 1:00 and this blogger is tired.  Must. Sleep. Now.

M to the A to the X...

Nothing quite compares to the feeling of holding an infant in one's arms...

Family...

I've swallowed a great big dose of family over the past several days.  Saturday morning, I flew up to Omaha, Neb. to join Renee and her family at her brother and sis-in-law's house.  I had not met them since we started dating, so we thought the long weekend would be a perfect opportunity to do that.  Her sister and bro-in-law also drove up with their kids so that just added to the fun!

My weekend away was spiced with anticipation due the fact that my very pregnant sis-in-law was, well, due on Saturday.  I kept my phone close by all weekend, waiting for any text or phone call with happy news.  Alas, baby spent the long holiday weekend inside mommy.  As Renee and I were driving home on Monday evening, my phone finally lit up with a text from my dad that baby was ready to come.

Maximillian (Max) Jeffrey Matlock made his appearance early Tuesday morning.  He weighed in at a healthy 8 lbs, 13 oz and was 22 inches long.  Renee and I visited along with both sets of parents and niece Lydia Tuesday evening and he is every bit as cute and adorable as Lydia was at birth.  Lydia took to little Max just fine.  I believe she'll be a great big sister.  Everyone is safe and sound back home now.

(oh, and Max, thanks ever so much for waiting to be born until after I got home.  I would have been fine if you'd come earlier but it was nice to get the news of your birth from just a few miles away rather than, say, 500 miles away.)

(oh, and Maximillian Jeffrey?  Best. Name. Ever.  With a regal moniker like that, this kid should be able to go out and conquer Denmark when he grows up!)

Had a fun, interesting weekend in Omaha.  Renee has a quiver full of nieces and nephews to play with.  I enjoyed them all.  Oh, and if you're ever in the Omaha area and need a place to stay, I can recommend the Comfort Inn and Suites on West Dodge Road.  It offers clean, comfortable rooms for a good price.

Renee and I attended an interesting church on Sunday morning.  The church was just starting a new sermon series called "I Love the '80s" based on popular songs of the 1980's.  First up was the Bon Jovi favorite,  "Livin' On  A Prayer."  Their worship band performed a spot-on cover of the song as a prelude to the sermon.  A couple of the band members even donned bad mullet wigs for dramatic effect.  The light and fluffy sermon, as you might surmise, was based on the James 5 passage about prayer.  It was glaringly obvious that the church is trying to present itself as hip and contemporary but methinks they try a bit too hard.

Chili-dog spent the long weekend at my house since mom and dad were on baby watch.  A sitter from St. Louis Critter Sitters visited twice a day and took excellent care of her.  I can confidently recommend their service.

So, over the space of 4 days, I experienced lots of family stuff on both sides.  Being in relationship with Renee is expanding my horizons and comfort zone in positive ways.  I know it meant a lot to Renee to have me with her in Omaha and it meant a lot to me to have her with me at the hospital to see Max.  To quote those famous Turtles, we're "so happy together!"

Blog Often...

so I resolve to follow The Pioneer Woman's advice (yes, I admit I'm a fan, but I only read her Confessions blog.  She writes such rich, vivid chronicles of her life on the ranch; it's addicting!)

I've not fed and watered this space as often as I should have.  I often think that I don't have enough interesting things to write about but I suspect that isn't really true.  I have always said I won't talk about politics as there are already FAR TOO MANY POLITICAL BLOGGERS polluting the Internet with their ramblings.  But Pioneer Woman says I should write about anything, so I will write about anything (except politcs!).

While Waiting For The Laundry To Finish Drying...

 - had a productive weekend.  Cut the grass, got in a good workout at the Y, and did around 17 miles biking on the Katy Trail yesterday.  Was a great day for being outdoors.  Had a great worship time at church today and enjoyed a filling, wholesome brunch cooked up by my lovely girlfriend for me and about 15 of our friends at her place.  A good time was had by all.

- Renee and I are reading the book Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti together.  The book is all about understanding the differences between men and women as they are in relationship together.  We've enjoyed discussed what we've read thus far.

- Have had a lot of time off recently.  My employer's fiscal year ends at the end of September so I'm trying to squeeze in my time off rather than lose it.  Had a full week off couple of weeks ago, took a random Wednesday off last week (useful for things like teeth cleanings and haircuts (been rockin' a buzz cut this summer!)).  Fancy a four-day weekend?? No problem! I'm off today and tomorrow too!  Another couple of days and a last full week and that should do it.  If that sounds like a lot, well, it's really not, I just got an extra week, a FURLOUGH week, thank you, thrown in for good measure.

- Am waiting anxiously for my newest niece/nephew.  The little one is due by this time next week.

-  Show of hands, who watched the Emmy awards?? Me neither.

- Cardinals seem to be imploding right before our very eyes.  They've lost 2 of 3 to the lowly Pirates and 3 of 4 to the lowlier Nationals for a 2-5 road trip so far.  If they lose the upcoming series to the Astros, weeping and gnashing of teeth will start in earnest in Cardinal Nation.

- CDs soundtracking my car trips this weekend - "Live At The Jazz Cafe" by Swing Out Sister and "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby and the Range.

New Rooms To Explore...

forgive me, Bill Mallonee, for stealing your lyric but it applies so well to the subject of this post...

Yes, I've been exploring some new rooms in my life with the lovely lady sitting next to me in this picture. About 5 weeks ago, the "my friend Renee" mentioned previously in this space became "my girlfriend Renee."  Renee goes to church with me and teaches math at a local high school.  That last little fact is ironic because I, well, did not exactly enjoy math classes during my scholastic career.  It was a classic case of "friends > good friends > why aren't we dating?"  We're enjoying the ride so far and look forward to the days ahead.

A Pause Near Summer's End...

- I am currently on another week's vacation from work....I really don't care for the word 'staycation' so please don't use that within a mile of my current location, mmmmmkay?  Thanks!

- Plans for the week include relaxing, relaxing, and more relaxing.  Beyond that, I'll do the usual bike ride(s) hike(s), long doggie walks, etc... I'd planned to get estimates for some exterior work on the house this week, but that has been put off indefinitely.  A general contractor friend of mine from church was the first to stop by and check out the house yesterday and he discovered some underlying structural defects with the garage and porch framing.  They will need to be fixed before anything else is done.  I'd planned to shop for a new car later this year, maybe not now!

- Speaking of cars, I've got over 130, 000 miles logged on my trusty 2003 Mazda 6 sedan.  Still going relatively strong, it's showing signs of age but still soldiers on.  I'm trying out a new garage for an oil change on Friday.  My friend Stephanie says they do good work.

- Chili-dog passed her annual vet check-up with flying colors at the end of July.  The attending veterinarian remarked that I "obviously take excellent care of her."  Thanks!

- Am taking in another Cardinals game on my season-ticket plan tonight, this time with my dear ol' dad.  I have two more left after tonight.  I've gone to more games than ever before this season and have enjoyed all of them!

- There's been a really positive change happening in my life lately.  Can't talk about it in detail just yet but if you really wanna know, just contact me via the e-mail or other discreet methods.

- Raise your hand if you care that Brett Favre is now coming back to the NFL.  Okay, that's none of you, thanks!

New Music Tuesday!...

Picked up a couple of new CDs recently...

Crowded House has released just their seventh CD in their 25 years of existence.  Lead singer and songwriter Neil Finn has written another body of well-crafted, intelligent pop/rock songs. While it won't top the charts, devoted fans like me will find much to like here.

Lancaster, PA's The Innocence Mission just dropped their newest CD "My Room In The Trees" on the Badman Recording Co. label. They made a brief splash on the alt-pop scene early in the '90s but these days they're content to release quietly beautiful music from their home studio.

Friday In My World...

...and of course after complaining about the weather's hot-ness of the preceding week, the following week was nice and cool.  I should cease and desist ruminating on the weather, I think.  "We all weather the weather whether we like it or not," said a wise man somewhere in my past.

...had a nice 4th of July weekend.  The holiday fell on a Sunday this year, so my company observed the holiday nicely with a day off on the following Monday, July 5.  I liked that they did that.  Saturday night found me covering the night shift for a co-worker who was attending our fellow co-worker's 4th of July party that night.  So, with the day off on Monday, I didn't feel like I was going right back to work.  My friends Kim, Gina and Jessica hosted about 40 friends and neighbors at their house in Maryland Heights on July 4th evening.  It rather resembled a junior-high school dance, with the women all congregated inside the house and the men congregating grill-side outdoors.  Much meat and some poultry was grilled, many appetizers consumed, and delicious desserts downed.  As darkness approached, most of us jumped into our cars and headed over to the roof of the Ameristar Casino's parking garage to take in the city of St. Charles' fireworks display.  It was taking place a few miles north along the Missouri River but we still got a great view.  We got a nice bonus view of the Hazelwood fireworks off to the east in the distance.  A few of us lingered to gaze out into the night while the assembled crowd left in their cars.   It was a peaceful end to a nice night.

...took in a fantastic concert by Sam Bush and his band last night at the Old Rock House.  Sam is a bluegrass legend who pioneered the "newgrass" style of bluegrass back in the '70s.  He was in fine form and his band backed him in expert fashion.  Sam is one of the few artists that you will ever see cover Bill Monroe AND Stevie Wonder in the same show.   He and the band jammed FURIOUSLY during the latter instance.  ORH is a relatively new bar and music space located a few blocks south of Busch Stadium.  I'd wanted to catch Over The Rhine there back in April but severe weather prevented it.  This concert made my top-10 list of the best concerts I've seen in my life.

(side note:   I arrived at ORH early and caught some of the opening act's show - The Hatrick was their name and they were made up of a guitarist, bassist, and a mandolinist/drummer/harmonica player.  Seriously.  They lit into their songs with a manic fury that the crowd appreciated.  I especially liked their cowpunk version of the Bruce Hornsby favorite  "The Way It Is.")

...I wish to announce that I have to come to a Decision.  I am staying in St. Louis and not signing with Miami (or Cleveland, for that matter).  ESPN has declined to televise the self-serving television special I am planning.  hrmph!

...It's been almost 3 years now that I've had Chili.  I just scheduled her annual exam at the HSMO vet clinic.  She still bounds around like a puppy at 7 1/2 yrs of age and continues to provide me with comforting companionship each day.

...Watching the recent Cardinals/Rockies series was much like watching a car accident happen in slow motion.  The way we belched up the lead in the first two games was sadistically comical.  The Birds are fliritng with disaster as the allow the Reds to get ahead one lost game at a time.  Something's got to give, folks.

...The street that passes by my building is built atop a crumbling abandoned railroad tunnel, so it is being demolished and rebuilt a section at a time.  At the moment, the section just north of my building has been turned into a giant crater of rock and gravel.  It's been fascinating to watch the wrecking company eat away at the roadway.

Summertime In Heat...

Yeah, it's been really, really hot 'round these parts lately.

There, got that out of the way.

- I don't like humidity, just don't.  It makes walking my dog an unpleasant experience no matter the time of day.  We always come back the same; me REALLY sweaty and her with a tongue that droops out of her mouth and panting like nobody's business for 20 minutes after coming in.  She always finds a random cool spot on the basement floor and crashes onto it.

- My friend Jeremiah is one of those souls who has to share their birthday with Jesus Christ so this year his lovely wife Stephanie decided to throw him a half-birthday party.  A bunch of us gathered under a pavilion at the South City YMCA in south St. Louis (in the aforementioned heat and humidity of a sultry south St. Louis Saturday night) for a cookout and friendly kickball game.  Yes, friends, I participated in a kickball game for possibly the first time since my amateur days at Beckwith Elementary School in Malden, MO under the watchful eye of the great Coach Orr.  (I say "possibly" because that's the last time I remember doing it.)  It was a fun night of food and frolic and the perfect way to spend a summer night.  (Oh, I believe the game was called on account of darkness somewhere in the vicinity of a tie score.  Oh, and one of the players may have been sat upon somewhere in the vicinity of first base by the first baseman to prevent said player from making it to first base, but I don't remember.  It was hot.  And humid.  So my memory is a little fuzzy.)  I am of the opinion, as I heard some of the others later were, that we shouldn't wait for someone's half-birthday to have these kinds of gatherings.  My pastor is fond of saying, "life is best experienced together, in community" or something like that.  Regardless, I agree with him.

- The Cardinals, eh, don't get me started.  The preceding embarrassing weekend of baseball was sponsored by the Kansas City Royals and should not be re-broadcast, re-transmitted, or re-hashed with anybody's written consent.

- Looking forward to the new Innocence Mission record in a couple of weeks.  I have heard a few of the new songs and they seem up to par with their previous output.  Orgone has recently dropped a new disc and I need to get that in my hot little hands soon.  What I would really like to see is Hem get their long-promised new album out.  It's only been 4 YEARS since the last one, folks.  I'm all for not rushing the creative process, but seriously.

- World Cup - U.S. vs. Ghana - OK, we lost. Can I go back to ignoring soccer now?

- I caught Junior Brown in concert at Beale On Broadway last Saturday night (the 19th) and he put on a great show.  The outdoor patio stage was the size of a large postage stamp, unfortunately so there was no room for any monitors (speakers the musicians use to hear themselves and each other) so I'm pretty sure he couldn't hear himself or his bandmates (a fact he not so subtly alluded to after the first song).  It didn't seem to make a difference.  Wearhing his trademark dark suit and white cowboy hat, he attacked his signature "guit-steel" with demon-like ferocity and laid down bluesy honky-tonk in generous portions.  His crack band (including his wife Tanya Rae on rhythm guitar and vocals) provided expert backup.  They didn't get on stage until 10:40 p.m. and played until almost exactly midnight so it was a late night for this blogger.  I did sleep in the next day but did also make it to church on time, thank you very much.

- Caught a little bit of a Peter Frampton concert on HDNet Saturday afternoon.  The man is a master of the vocoder.

- Have been pulling up volunteer oak tree saplings all over my back yard.  For some reason, my oak trees produced a bumper crop of acorns last year and I guess this is the fruit of their labors.  Squirrels apparently buried them all over the place and the wet spring we had must have set them into growing motion.

- I appear to have new neighbors.  The house next to me has been for sale for several months after the elderly residents moved out.  The asking price was a wee bit high, to put it politely, and I didn't think it'd sell anytime soon.  When I got home from work on Friday, the moving-in was well underway.  Haven't seen much of the new folks but I'm sure we'll meet soon.

- Have been reading through a chapter of Proverbs each morning. My pastor issued a challenge to do that, as my church is traveling through Proverbs in our summer sermon series.  Get wisdom.  Two paths - one for the wise and one for the foolish.  One leads up, the other, well, not up.  I have been enjoying it so far.

- One last bit of goodness from Charles Spurgeon, in today's devotional - "Oh! let not your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus; follow hard after him, and he will never fail you."  

Wise words.