Morning with the Hygienist

Isn't it interesting that we're always told by our dentist to never use sharp objects in our mouth and the first thing the hygienist does when one arrives (as I did this morning)is that she opens a new packet of extremely wicked looking instruments to poke, prod and scrape. Visions of the Marathon Man quickly pass through my conscience, but her hands are steady and after thirty minutes of "activity" I'm able to leave with teeth that require one to run your tongue over them for at least two or three days.

Thankfully, no problems were discovered as I'm very attached to the teeth that I still have - I can't believe you could really have 32 that fit in your mouth well.

American Teens and Religion

On MSNBC, a recent survey is quoted which details the current state of religious belief by American teens. Unfortunately, their understanding of core beliefs seems to be a bit shallow (perhaps like their parents). The view portrayed in the last two paragraphs is particularly concerning. I've copied a bit of the article below:

While America is becoming a more diverse nation, at least 80 percent of teens still identify as Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Mormon or Jewish, with most teens adhering to their parents’ faith tradition, the report said.

Substantial majorities said they:

Were affiliated with a local congregation (82 percent).
Had few or no doubts about their beliefs in the past year (80 percent).
Felt “extremely,” “very” or “somewhat” close to God (71 percent).
Prayed alone a few times a week or more often (65 percent).
“Definitely” believed in divine miracles from God (61 percent).
Fifty-two percent said they attended worship two to three times a month or more often.

Many were so detached from the traditions of their faith, says the report, that they’re virtually following a different creed in which an undemanding God exists mostly to solve problems and make people feel good. Truth in any absolute, theological sense, takes a back seat.

“God is something like a combination Divine Butler and Cosmic Therapist” who’s on call as needed, Smith writes. He says the trend reflects tendencies among teens’ Baby Boomer parents. The report speculates that poor educational and youth programs, and competition for teens’ time from school, sports, friends and entertainment also are part of the picture."

It's Worse than We Thought

After spending the weekend removing most of the remaining items from our back room and moving everything in the dining and garden rooms away from the outside walls, our kitchen contractor sent over a couple of guys to check out how bad our water intrusion problem was. Pretty bad!!

Carolyn was up early to welcome them and has been updating me throughout the morning before tiring of the stress and running away to Marcia's for a knitting get-together. But this is what I know: the carpet was extremely heavy with water in the back room and they could barely get it out; the were sweeping water out of the back room through the rear entrance; they were ripping out drywall a few feet high to allow it to dry out; termites have taken up residence in our back wall; water is coming through the slab and back entry door; the stained glass windows are apparently in really bad shape with wood rot; and the construction in the back room is probably not up to current code (big surprise).

The couches that Ashley and Bryce used in Pasadena may go the way of all donations to Goodwill or the Salvation Army as they may some damage themselves (we'll have to help acquire a newer sofa when they finally move back) and we're trying to go through our stuff to see what we can rid ourselves of.

That is our joy for the beginning of the week, but we are extremely glad that we still have a home (we love the upstairs)and that it hasn't slid down a mountainside as a few have during our current heavy rains nor have either of us been hurt.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

My weekend began with the best of intentions including a self-imposed "honey-do" list, but first it was down to church for a financial seminar to learn a little about wills, living trusts, probate, etc. Basically, how the feds and state want to tax what little I might leave on my demise and how to beat them at their own game rendering unto Caesar only that which he is due.

Driving back, the freeway was heavily showered and my wipers were on high as to my left, the sun shined in infrequent spots. It was squall-like with burst of intense rain and/or wind followed by light mist. There were even several trees that had fallen onto Lake Forest Drive. I got back to have a sit down with our kitchen contractor about his last billing and as I waited I walked into the back room and as I took the last step from dining room to the back "storage" room, my foot went 'sploosh'. The carpet was wet and inside the back room, we have a soaked carpet. Much worse than what created havoc on Ashley and Bryce's stuff, but luckily there wasn't too much on the floor. So Carolyn and I spent the better part of the afternoon moving the rest of the stuff from the back room and moving everything over to the back wall in the dining room and garden room so our contractor can pull the carpets back, rip off sections of drywall in the back room and facilitate the drying, mold-stopping process. For now, you'll find us upstairs ignoring the problem.

After our project, we headed to the movies for a late afternoon movie planning to see The Aviator in prep for the annual Oscar party the Priors hold, but it was sold out, so we saw Sideways, another Best Picture nominee. Rather quirky, a fair amount of the 'f' word, a lot on wines, and sex scenes that were far from romantic! Not my choice for Best Pic! The only thing it did inspire us to do was to open one of our better wines when we returned home, light some candles and the fireplace, and listen to some classical music.

Hope you're all staying drier than our house is.

A picture from the end of our flooded street when the storm drain couldn't handle all the water.

Rainy Friday

Like a few of my blogger associates, I haven't really felt the excitement of posting recently. Perhaps it is caused by the routine of my day-to-day working life or the fact that it is raining again in So. Cal which makes the commute a bit more exciting/entertaining/dangerous/lengthy.

We finally got back to church this last Sunday and heard the first sermon in a series on speaking the true gospel along with the admonition to not rely on anyone (including our pastor) to provide God's truth without knowing it in fact yourself. Then on Wednesday we met with our application group and last night with our Bible study - prayer warriors all. Carolyn can use them as she is experiencing pain related to possible kidney stones and we are waiting for permission from Blue Shield to get a CAT scan.

After being totally lazy the last few weeks, we have great plans to create order out of chaos at home this weekend by completing the attack on the back "sauna" room and organizing books/clothes/bills etc. wherever they may be stashed. Sounds like fun, huh! But then, of course, on Monday, it's VALENTINE's DAY and you know what that means - DINNER OUT and maybe a little somethin' else.

May all you lovers out there have a great weekend and Monday. Do they do Valentine's Day in the UK?

Kitchen Kudos

Carolyn just got word that our kitchen won a regional award for design by Dacor, the maker of several of our appliances! Kathleen, our kitchen designer, called to let us know that the duo of Kathleen/Carolyn had finally been recognized. We're not sure what this all means, however, Dacor may have a professional photographer in to take shots. And, perhaps, there is another level of competition.

In any event, we are really pleased with how it turned out and my kudos to Carolyn who spent so much time in picking all the right components and was instrumental in the new design!!