Welcome To Minnesota – Two Seasons: Winter And Road Construction. Painting? Not So Much.

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I have been trying to get my house painted for four years. This was to be the summer it happened. For sure. Maybe. Never mind.

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The first part of the Minnesota summer was wet and cold. That threw the entire painting schedule for the metro area back on its heels. The projected start date of June came and went with rain messing up the chances of seeing paint on my house before August. August rolled around and we got down to specifics like picking out colors, final walk through, power washing, etc. Heck, we even picked out the trim color and figured out what to do with my 100 year old front door.

Minnesota slipped into a major heat wave. 100 degree temperature equivalents every day for a week. The guys weren’t able to work on the ladders all day so my schedule slipped back yet another week. The contractor assured me that I was next up on the list.

Today, start day, (or, so I thought) dawned cloudy and 52 degrees. That’s 30 degrees cooler than 4 days ago. I can’t sit outside without wearing a hat on my bald head. It’s cool enough that a hoodie will be needed if I sit on the patio after sunset. Fire pit, here I come.

Painters? No sign of them today. Could be the forecast or could be the runes didn’t land right. That means I’m back at the manuscript again today. Stormy objects to this being inside stuff – she’s gotten used to me working at the patio table in the morning. Get used to it kid: fall’s here. The end of road construction is in sight and winter looms.

I just hope we don’t make it five years trying to paint the homestead. It’s looking pretty shabby. Guess I’ll go gas up the snow blower and turn the engine over a time or two. If the current trend carries, I’ll be using it in October again.

Sponsorship Sunday – Week Eighteen – Laika

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The eighteenth year is when the children of Grace Village are readied for life in the community. Wisely, as many have siblings who remain behind, Healing Haiti is preparing for this with jobs, education, and housing for the family unit. Your support keeps these brothers and sisters together – as God intended us to be. As always, I appreciate your taking the time to read about this week’s child and giving thought to financially supporting them. The response has been wonderful, and I love you all for taking care of these children.

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This week’s child is: Laika.

Laika

Laika is an amazing young woman. One of the attributes that makes Laika so special is the joy she gets from working with the handicapped. Laika also enjoys cleaning and washing clothes, she provides a lot of help to the staff and younger children with her desire and willingness to serve. When Laika is not serving others she can be found playing cards, singing or studying French. It’s no surprise that Laika wants to be a doctor when she finishes school. Laika’s prayer request is to be able to help other people in the world.

Laika came to Healing Haiti in December, 2008. Laika and her siblings, Ronaldo and Blondine, were abandoned by their mother, their father is deceased.

Birth Info
Birthdate: October 10, 1997
Place of Birth: Port au Prince, Haiti

It is my hope that one of you will find your heart touched by this child and take up a bit of Christ’s work by sponsoring them for an extended period. My wife and I are sponsoring a pair of sisters and we took on the commitment based on having to only gave up a fast-food dinner each day to change the life of a child. God came through with a very lucrative bit of voice over work for me that covered the bill that same day, but it really is as easy as skipping a value meal. Healing Haiti will do the right things for these children and I have full confidence in their work. I am not affiliated with them, they don’t endorse this blog, nothing like that at all. I just love kids (can’t be Santa and not love children) and know that Grace Village is the difference between life and death for many of these children. Please open your heart and prayerfully reflect on the opportunity God’s giving us to sponsor these children. Some of them have come out of slavery and have some of the toughest lives you could imagine prior to Grace Village.

Just click the link and it will take you directly to the page where you can sponsor this week’s child. And if God is particularly good and that child is sponsored when you get there, please grab another smiling face and change their life instead. My goal is to put Sponsorship Sunday out of business as quickly as possible and take that day off each week. Thank you. God bless you for your generosity.

Some of the finest people you’ll ever meet. The hands and feet of Christ.

Exploding Brain Cells And Challenges.

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It has dawned on me over the past few months that my migraine headache never truly goes away. It’s constantly with me if I look for its presence. Not that it is any worse than before, but I’m more acutely aware of the stupid thing all the time. Fewer peaks of late, but always lurking in the background waiting to wreck a day of writing, take down the fun in the sun, or make being at work a misery. (Yes, I do enjoy my “day job” and like being there most of the time. I’m graced with a wonderful crew on my shift.)

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What to do about it is the question. I have tried caffeine droughts, sugar droughts (quit snickering), extra hydration, no meals before bedtime, careful regulation on my medication, and lots of prayer. The neurologist has prescribed sumatriptan for the symptoms, but it’s not an every day fix.

Botox might be the answer. It was approved for chronic migraine a few years ago and I just started looking at it recently. My headaches aren’t the full-blown killer ones on a daily basis, but it is a drag dealing with them. My big concern is that I’ll look like John Kerry if I have those injections all over my neck, face, and skull. It’s lots of little needles lots of times to get the thing rolling.

I don’t like the listed side effects. Not that loss of bladder control, breathing problems, droopy eyelids, and hoarseness are an issue for me – YES THEY ARE!! Kind of scary.

So, beloved readers, have any of you used Botox to treat migraine? Please leave a message in the comments. It will be published unless you mark it private in the subject line.

I appreciate your input on this topic.

Now, as your reward, another random music video series. Christmas Metal – never too early to rock.

Bonus Video Blog.

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Not me on the video. I just felt like posting a video. Sometimes you get the urge to do this when you blog.

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Today we compare and contrast. Yes, it’s metal cover time again. Today it’ll be the Monkees!

First, Shameless.

And now, the original Monkees version!

Djaj

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I talk with my mommy almost every day on the phone. Today she told me she was making chicken stroganoff. Sounded good. All the while I was waiting for church to start I made a mental list of ingredients. Only missed one in the final mix, mushrooms. Such is life.

Take the pepper, curry, chili, red pepper, and salt along with some super-fine flower and mix it up in a plastic bag. Cut up two chicken breasts and flour them thoroughly.

chicken in flour coating

Put the floured bits into about 1/8 inch of hot olive oil in a frying pan. (It doesn’t work holding the hot oil in your hands.) Brown them and then add the cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, sour cream, and 1 cup of half/half to the mix. Stir thoroughly and let simmer.

Noodles

In a pot of boiling water seasoned with salt and chicken stock bring the curly egg noodles to a medium firm state. Drain off the water and mix with the chicken in the frying pan.

Viola – slumgullian! My grandmother would be so proud.

finished product

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