Wrap Up Kinds of Things

Hiromi had surgery on his right hand today to correct a "trigger-finger" problem.  He had a similar surgery several years ago on another finger on the same hand.  These problems are leftovers from his years of toting heavy dishpan-shaped buckets of steel parts for many years in his work at TSW.  As a cashier, he uses his right hand a lot, although not usually for heavy work, so he needed relief.  He'll be off work for several weeks.

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This past week I attended a baby shower for Clare, our daughter-in-law, who is expecting a baby in January.  It was a fun evening, and a good chance to meet some of  her church friends whose paths don't frequently cross ours.

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On Wednesday evening our small group from church did a work project at Harvey N.'s place.  He works hard, but, by himself, it's impossible to keep up with everything.  The ladies worked on cleaning the house, and the men worked outside.  Harvey hopes to rent out the main part of the house to help provide some income.  With a spacious kitchen and living room and enclosed porch and two bedrooms and a large bathroom, it should make a nice space for someone to call home.

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Joel and Hilda's house needs tenants.  It's a very nice place in good condition in Partridge--two bedrooms.  If you're local and you know of someone who needs a place like this, contact Shane.

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My brother Caleb says they've had 8.65 inches of rain since yesterday morning.  Since a creek runs through the campus where he teaches and where Brady attends school, some flooding occurs about once  a year there.  Although they're on fall break, and thus were not on campus today, they've learned that flooding is indeed happening there right now.  It's still raining in Mechanicsburg, PA.  The previously dry weather has resulted in less flooding than might have been the case otherwise.

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We're hoping for rain over the weekend.  The weather pattern seems to offer good chances for rain, along with colder weather.  Harvest of milo and corn is well underway, and perhaps some soybeans.  Some wheat is up, and some hay is down (both alfalfa and sudan).  The fall crops are generally far better than what was harvested in the past two years--especially on dryland crops.

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One of the features of our place is a cave cellar that Hiromi outfitted years ago with shelves for our canned goods.  It's also provided refuge when violent weather threatened.  The wooden door he made and the steps my brother Caleb built rotted away during the time others lived here, so Hiromi has been busy replacing those.  He was happy to be able to use the old stairway as a pattern for the new one, and it's close enough to being finished that we were able to move the apples, okra pickles, and tomato juice down there.  Our kitchen is looking relieved at being rid of all those full jars that clogged the counters.

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Hiromi is going to great lengths to attract birds to our feeders.  He plays recorded bird sounds for them.  He fills the nearby bird baths with water.  He's hung a brand new Droll Yankee thistle feeder, along with a suet feeder, a platform feeder, a hummingbird feeder, a "house" feeder and a tube feeder.

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We're concerned about my brother Marcus.  He has made some bad choices recently, and his housing situation is not stable.  We'd appreciate your prayers for him.

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Matt Y. spoke to our students today about "Voice of the Martyrs," an  organization he is personally involved with.  It was an eye-opening look at the lives of far away Christian brothers and sisters.