Trunk or Treat! - 24 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 226

Micah 6:8
Luke 18:15-17
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

GPUMC is hosting a Trunk or Treat tonight in the parking lot - it's supposed to be pretty chilly, though not rainy, but please pray for decent weather so the kids can enjoy a trip from trunk to trunk getting treats (and possibly a trick or two!).

On an interesting side note, on this day in history – October 24, 1945 – Vidkun Quisling - Norwegian soldier, politician, and traitor died. Interestingly, that same day the United Nations was founded (to carry on his work? possibly). It's hard to think of it as a mere coincidence.

Also not likely to be a coincidence is the fact that today is also World Tripe Day! Why not have a plate of tripe to celebrate? If that's not to your liking, you may substitute haggis or headcheese. Any of the three would go nicely with a bleu cheese sauce.
Enjoy!

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Chemistry - 23 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 225

Micah 6:8
Romans 12:3-8
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today at 6:02 (AM or PM or both - it's up to you!) we celebrate National Mole Day. That's to approximate Avogadro's number (about 6.022 * 10^23 - get it? 6:02 on 10/23? pretty neat, eh?) the number of atoms or molecules in a mole of that substance. Sorry if you were excited about this being another cooking post. It's hard to beat a nice chicken mole, but that has more syllables than the mole for today. Despite my illustration above, it's also not another post about the Wind in the Willows (one of my all-time favourites!) despite the its having a mole as a lead protagonist.
No, today we celebrate Avogadro and his contributions to chemistry. Without his number, how would we know the concentration of solutions? and is that molar or molal? Oh dear, the mind boggles as the memories return. Mr. Morlan was a great chemistry teacher and a great teacher in general. In fact, he was the source of the closing line I used many times at the end of MYF meetings: "Any questions? comments? sarcastic remarks?" That was a really good year of science learning back at Grosse Pointe North.

Speaking of chemistry, born on October 23, 1940 was Pelé, the fabulous Brasilian footballer. I got to see him play when he was a member of the New York Cosmos back when the NASL was the top pro league in North America. Even though he was one of the greatest players of all time (he still leads in goals for the Brasilian national team after all these years), much of his greatness consisted in making the whole team work as a single unit, as though they were individually parts of a greater whole. It was magical to watch him play, and that way of not thinking of oneself more highly than one ought is a good life lesson outside of sports as well.

Sorry, Cosmos, I'm still an Express fan!

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Colors! - 22 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 224

Micah 6:8
Genesis 37:3-4
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?



TODAY IS NATIONAL COLOR DAY WHEN WE'RE SUPPOSED TO ACTIVELY NOTICE THE COLORS OF THINGS AROUND US.

THAT'S POTENTIALLY MEAN TO COLOR-BLIND FOLKS, BUT LET'S THINK ABOUT IT AS BE AWARE OF WHATEVER COLORS YOU EXPERIENCE - EVEN IF YOU'RE SEEING IN MONOCHROME. (Yes, that's a link to a full-color video about shades of gray. Live with it.)

Sorry if that seemed like shouting, but today is International Caps Lock Day. I didn't want to miss out on that.
For an actual celebration, today is my uncle John's birthday. If you can, the best way to celebrate would be to stop in at Cindy's Diner in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and have a slice of orange meringue pie. If you want a fun Google Maps challenge, try to find a street called Spy Run anywhere in these United States other than in Fort Wayne!

Bonus Material:
Born on October 22, 1844 Louis Riel, Canadian politician and member of the Anir (for that latter reference you'll have to read my novel, A Rune With A View.)

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Prayer for the Nation - 21 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 223

Micah 6:8
2 Chronicles 7:14
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders Prevention Day. That's quite a mouthful, no? I remember learning as a youngster that we apparently live in the Goiter Belt here in the Midwest. Without an easy source of iodine like seafood (from an actual sea or ocean) we end up deficient. Fortunately, we all like to salt our food, and Irving Morton (the salt guy - I'm fairly certain that really was his name) discovered he could add iodine to his salt, call it Iodized (and charge more for it), and provide that needed nutrient in a palatable form. I haven't seen a goiter in years, and let me tell you, I'm glad to be able to say that truthfully.

Beyond those festivities, though, we have to acknowledge all that is going on in our nation and in the world. For all of that, once again, here is one of the prayers in the back of the Methodist Hymnal (the 1964/66 one).

#746 - FOR CHURCH, LAND, AND WORLD
Remember, O Lord, thy Church upon Earth; deepen her influence and extend her power for good, till the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
We pray for our beloved land: for our leaders and governors, and for all who have part in public service. Make them pure in motive, wise in counsel, and strong in action, doing right in the fear of thy holy name.
Father in Heaven, look down in mercy upon our distraught and fevered world: forgive the mistaken ambitions, the selfish passions, and the presumptuous claims of men; remove all suspicion and bitterness from among the nations, and bring them to peace and concord by the redeeming love of Christ.
Have mercy, O Lord, upon those who are passing through sore trial: the poor, the sick, the anxious, the oppressed, those who are in danger from the fury of the elements or from the violence of men. Inspire in us and in our fellow men the will to help our suffering brethren. Heal, protect, and strengthen them according to their need. Comfort those in sorrow with the comfort which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We pray for our own dear ones, wheresoever they are, that, surrounded by thy love, they may be kept in health and joy, and abide in safety and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Carnage du Jour - 20 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 222

Micah 6:8
Genesis 25:29-34
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

Today is International Chefs Day! I'm not a chef - that takes training, and just thinking about the word, it should mean running a staff of other cooks in a kitchen. I don't do that, but I do like to cook. So on thie International Chefs Day I thought I'd share a recent success. (note - this is not a picture of what I made, it's just a semi-random picture of lamb and noodles I found that doesn't look as different to mine as most of the pictures I found did.)

I had some ground lamb that needed to be cooked, so I seasoned it very simply with curry powder and garlic salt, browning it in a nice cast iron skillet. (I'm really getting to like cooking in those.) Next up were a bunch of items from the garden: zucchini, yellow squash, and eggplant were sliced about 1/2" thick (maybe a bit thicker) and they were given a pretty hard sauté in that same pan along with a bit of diced red onion (without the lamb, and using canola oil - this was a second shift of cooking). Once there was some nice brown on them, a bunch of halved cherry tomatoes went in and the vegetable mixture was treated to the curry powder and onion salt treatment as well. As this was finishing up, some wide egg noodles went into a pot of rapidly boiling salted water. Then the lamb was added into the vegetables and a bit of plain skyr (the Icelandic version of Greek yogurt) was added to cream it all up a bit.


Today is also the National Day On Writing. On, not Of. Hmm, that seems odd, doesn't it? At any rate, I may as well announce my soon-to-be-released book here, as it's a book of writing exercises. In other words, a book on writing. As soon as the cover design has been finalized we'll be dropping the book for distribution. Now that I've told someone about it, I guess I'd best be about that cover approval, eh? The title? Ah,it's
WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY …
13 Weeks of Writing Exercises So You’ll Finish What You Start

I'll be sure to let you know when it's available!

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Gin & Chowder - 19 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 221

Micah 6:8
John 21:9-14
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?



Today we have a fun pair of celebrations - International Gin And Tonic Day and National Seafood Bisque Day. 

While not quite an exact match, this conjunction does remind me of Labour Day 1982. 

Heidi and I were married on the Sunday of that weekend - a beautiful, sunny September day - which occasioned the moving of some friends' annual bash to Monday, Labour Day proper. What bash would today's commemorations bring to mind? Why, the annual gin and chowder party. A proper New England kind of thing to do, and that day it was a proper New England-seeming day. After that beautiful sunny Sunday in the 70s, Monday greeted us with a high in the mid-50s and a veritable pea-souper of a fog.

Sadly, by the time we got to the party all the chowder had been consumed, so it was only gin (and tonic!) that was left to combat the chill of that foggy day. In spite of no chowder to fill our take-home thermos, we did have a great time with friends, and have that great memory of beautiful weather on the day it mattered to us (for our outdoor reception, no less!) and dreadfully appropriate, yet totally different weather on the next day.

Cheers!

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.

Worship - 18 October 2020 - Plague Journal Day 220

Micah 6:8
1 Thessalonians 1:2-5
Yes, your life matters.

We all are still sheltering in place, but I'm here to keep you sane and entertained.
One could hardly ask for much more than that, now could one?

As we did last week, we're actually meeting to worship inside the church building in the sanctuary! Masks and physical distancing will be enforced, but we'll still be worshiping together! Note that you must have registered already in order to join us, so please join us online if you didn't.

Today's stream is here.

That and all our previous videos are available on our YouTube channel here.

Keep Calm and Stay Away.
I'll be back tomorrow.
The mental health issues related to our lockdown and the pandemic are especially hard for people with depression. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, has a 24 hour helpline: 800-950-6264.