here's life

Last weekend was pretty cool. I left a party at my boss's a little early, and drove to Hutch to see Fjord and his parents, as well as Schmorgan, Trolley and Spence.  The sun was softened by the clouds, there was a slight breeze, and it was a cool afternoon as I drove north out of town to where ParentsFjord live.  When I turned into the green tunnel that is their driveway, some turkeys hurried across the sandy path and a deer bounded over to join another in watching as I drove in. The Locust trees were blooming, and although past their prime, still smelled wonderful when ever we stood among them, the white pedals drifting down around us as the wind bumped them loose. 

I had already eaten, but there were delicious enchiladas as well as an Israeli pita-and-chickpeas dish, courtesy of Fjord's recent class trip to the Holy Land---of which we saw pictures.  I really had to pass on desert---my stomach can't handle two parties in one day.  That evening we sat around and read and talked and Fjord prepared for his speech in church the next day, as well as his summer of coding for Jesus, which was what his talk was about.  We  played ping pong and Schmorgan and I discussed my situation in a new job and city, and it was good to get feedback about my thoughts and feelings on it---nothing like other people to help me figure out what sanity is.

In the morning the family went to first service at church, and we slept and went to second service.  Fjord gave a rundown in each service of what he was doing this summer. He did a good job of talking about his technical position at Wycliffe in layman's terms so we all could understand. He will be helping to code a computer-based super-dictionary that will help translators with their daunting task of getting the bible to the twenty-five hundred languages where work has not even started. There are about that many translations currently in progress, and this program will benefit those efforts as well.

After eating lunch, Trolley, Spence and I wandered into the woods, through a carpet of chickweed punctuated by poison ivy. We found  the neighboring elk farm and looked at the paddocked animals and wondered at how they would look in their natural habit. Locust trees aren't bad climbing--except for the spikes.  The dead, rotten branches are still really strong--no wonder people make locust fence posts. I got a little poison ivy on my wrist, but I rubbed in some bleach that evening, and it was gone by morning.  The woods was a lovely green, but we had to head out, me back to town and the other guys down to sun-washed Texas.  But it was a very nice place to spends some time, and I hope to return, maybe sooner this time.