I had wanted my next post to be pictures but I have put it off due to there being so many pictures to sort and I was kinda lazy. Actually it was a combination of busy and laziness.
So, here are some things I've been up to.
Monday night Shane and I went to a dedication service at church. Our church has undergone major changes (demolition, construction, and renovation). Long story, but anyhow, now it is not only our church but also a conference center and
a center for spiritual renewal for pastors and their families. It was very interesting as many of the people in attendance were the higher ups in the Foursquare Church denomination.
Tuesday night, there was a
special speaker at VT talking to faculty, staff and students. That speaker is the world known apologist,
Ravi Zachariahs. His message was very interesting! Soon it will be available in recording - maybe podcast? I hope. I would like to listen to it again. He just had so many things to say in his message, too hard to encapsulate for summarising on a blog.
Last night, there was a second part to his message. This time it was open to the general public. Pretty cool. We went to it as well.
Two other things going on are not so cool. The first is that Chispita has some kind of skin problem. I am hoping it is not skin cancer. I took her in to see the vet on Monday and they scraped a little piece off. Unfortunately they didn't scrape enough to determine exactly what it is. So, Monday I will take her in to get knocked out and the whole thing will be removed. I am not too happy about that. Especially since I've had to keep an eye on her because she keeps licking where they scraped her. It is so gross! She'll probably need to wear a
cone after that to keep her from licking!
The other thing is that the transmission in our truck is having problems. Fortunately, it was just a cable and they will not have to overhaul the whole thing. It will still be expensive, but at least it won't be thousands! So, we are without a vehicle until Monday. Oh well, maybe we'll do a little more walking! Yesterday, the weather was in the 80s, but today it has suddenly dropped to 54 degrees with rain in the evening, in the 40s! Yikes! It was actually pretty earlier today. Breezy, a little chilly, but nice and sunny.
Okay, now for the ugly.... the week has been full of its ups and downs. In spite of the two problems aforementioned, everything else has been pretty cool. The weather, the fall foliage, walks and all around good times, in the middle of all this there was tragedy on our block. My neighbor two doors down died. Yesterday was such a beautiful day. The first time I was inspired to go outside and rake the leaves and clean a window. It was a glorious day; it was sunny, breezy, simply wonderful outside. When I noticed the ambulance in front of my neighbors house. Then the police showed up. My neighbor had an elderly bedridden mother he was caring for so I just assumed they were picking her up as usual, even though it was peculiar that the police showed up.
After a few hours had passed the police left but other emergency personnel vehicles were still lingering then I notice that there were forensics people, too. It was strange. Finally, I overheard the social workers outside my dining room window. They were talking on the phone trying to place my neighbor's mother in some hospital or some facility. I overheard that he had died. I was so sad and shocked. I went outside to inquire. Apparently he did not die of natural causes. I knew he had guns in the house so I am assuming the worst. The social worker did not specify except that it was not natural causes.
I am sad. He was a good neighbor. When the shootings at tech happened, he was quick to email Shane and ask if he was okay. He didn't know we were out of town. He just noticed that we weren't home, so he emailed. He loved to bbq. He was always out on his porch cooking some steak or shrimp. We chatted many times when I would walk past his house to got get our mail. He was very friendly. One time he brought us some smoked bbq pork he had made. It was really good. I remember last month there was some guy running from the cops in our neighborhood (very unusual occurrence). I didn't know so I was on the porch letting Chispita out. I looked outside and noticed so many police cars on our block. I looked over to his house and saw him on his porch. I asked what was the fuzz about. He informed me and told me not to worry, he showed me his gun. He said if anyone tried anything they'd be in for a surprise. I laughed and felt reassured. We had had several talks about his guns and protection and all that, so I wasn't surprised.
I am really saddened by this. I've never known anyone that took their own life. Even though he wasn't a very close friend, he was a friendly neighbor. I enjoyed talking to him. Today I walked past his house and it was weird to see his bbq grill out there. It wasn't just a grill it was also a smoker. He was particular about bbq. The grill cost a grip, around $1700. I remember telling him he should lock it up. He just laughed at me, I'm so L.A. Well, it's still out there. A sign next to it reads "BBQ cook with an attitude".
