Day 125 ~ A Boy with a Magic Trick!

Nothing up his sleeve...

 Last night at church, this kid was really excited to show me a magic trick...He showed me a knot and with just one flick of the wrist,.....

It's Magic!

....  the knot is gone!

Gosh, magic is fun.

Here's the Video Version!

See you tomorrow.

Day 124 ~ The Prez!

The President and some other guy

So I went to the VA Clinic to get some lab work done and I thought I'd take a picture of the front wall where you check in.  Sorry it's so blurry.  I know that is President Obama on the left but I am embarrassed to say I don't know who the man on the right is. Can someone enlighten me?

See you tomorrow.

Day 123 ~ A Great Dessert!

Yum!

We had this for dessert at Karen's mom's house! I LOVE angel food cake, don't you?

see you tomorrow.

Day 122 ~ Margaret!

Margaret

Normally, Margaret won't sit still for a picture....but she did yesterday!

see you tomorrow!

Day 121 ~ Skip-bo

Karen, drawing a card

Last night we went to my in-laws house and, after dinner, Karen and Justin played Skip-bo. Of course, they asked me to play but I am not one for games. I used to be, as my wife reminds me, but she thinks that was just a ploy on my part to get her to like me.

Justin won.

See you tomorrow.

Day 120 ~ The VA Clinic Lounge

VA Lounge Bookshelf

 When I went to the VA on Tuesday for my blood pressure check, I wandered over to the lounge. In it, they have a book shelf which patrons can borrow so I borrowed a Dorothy Sayers mystery, "Cloud of Witnesses." I am not sure when I'll have time to read it, but, hopefully, I will soon.

the plaque on the bookshelf 

 This bookshelf was an Eagle project from 2002.  If the Boy Scout was 17 when he did his project, that would make him 28 years old now. I wonder if he knows his work still endures. God bless the Boy Scouts!

Snacks for Vets

 This bread was for the taking. I imagine it was donated by a thrift store or a routes salesman or even a supermarket. The last time I was here they had donuts but I guess the bread is healthier. I took a slice since there was an open loaf.

See you tomorrow.

Day 119 ~ Libby Needs Food!

Petsmart Aisle

A mini-crisis at the Vivanco household. Libby, our lovable and demanding dachshund ran out of food.We didn't discover it until dinner last night. Not to worry, she didn't starve. Libby just ate some of Margarget's food, which is designed for bigger dogs. Libby, however, is supposed to get her Eukanuba Dachshund food. So, before I picked up Matthew from work, I stopped at Petsmart to make my purchase.

the small bag of dogfood

 I almost got the wrong size. This small bag was only four pounds.

The Large bag of Dogfood

 I did find the bigger bag, finally. Obviously, the bigger bags last longer than the smaller ones.

14 pounds of doggy goodness

Yep, fourteen pounds! I am not sure how long that will last. I know Karen would remember. I don't pay attention to those things really.

The crisis has been averted and Libby, who is about to eat breakfast, will have her own food.

See you tomorrow.

Day 118 ~ The Prayer Room

The Prayer Room

Our church has a prayer room downstairs and it probably should be used more than it is! But I have always loved that our pastor thought it was important to set aside a place of prayer for the faithful . When I run my Jr NYI (that's the kid's youth group), we usually have the time of Bible reading/devotional thoughts in that room. First of all, because I have taught them that it is a place of prayer and not a place to play around so the place itself keeps them quiet.  And secondly, The atmosphere is conducive to spiritual reflection, at least as far a evangelical protestant churches go. There are no Icons or statues but the pews, the Bible and the Cross on the wall do make it a special place.

A simple Altar

Now if people from my church can help me remember? Wasn't this prayer room set aside in memory of Victor McLukas, a prayer warrior, if you will and wasn't it put together with funds that he set aside? I just don't remember. If you do, please comment below.

See you tomorrow and don't forget to find your own special place to pray.

Day 117 ~ A Valentine at the VA Clinic

A Valentine's Day Card for Vets

I went to the Veteran's Administration Clinic to get my blood pressure re-checked (It was a bit on the high side 2 weeks ago) and as I sat at the desk to schedule my next appointment, I notice this stack of Valentine's Day Cards. Evidently, a school group made these for the Vet's and, if I wanted to, I could take one.  How sweet!

inside of the card

 It turns out when you open the card it is really a word find. I imagine it is for people to pass the time while they wait to see a doctor. I am not much on word finds and don't really find them amusing so I didn't take one and thought I 'd leave it for someone who did like them.

What I did like was how the Vets are still being remembered by our school children. God bless the teacher who led the class to do this and the kids who actually put them together.  At the VA clinic I see a lot of Vietnam era vets and even some Korean war heroes. To me, those guys really deserve respect. I am not downplaying my own veterans status and it was an honor to serve but I am truly grateful for these guys who faced more hardships than I ever did. God bless our Vets!

See you tomorrow.  

Day 116~ A Kid lounging about Church

A Kid busy at Work

It was the end of the first church service and this kid was waiting on her mother who was busy talking. What better thing for a kid to do than lay down and play on their tablet.  

they look like cats to me.

 It's some kind of virtual Pet store game.  She gets to go around with her virtual self and buy animals, I suppose. I wonder if she has to feed them too?

How much is that dogie in the window

I guess she's feeding the puppies. Or going to buy them.

Hamsters on the Nest

Apparently, this is mama hamster and papa hamster because the kid was all excited to tell me that they were just about to have a litter.

"Smile? I AM smiling! "

Kids will always find ways to amuse themselves. That is good; it keeps them out of trouble.

See you tomorrow.

Day 115 ~ A Closeup of my Tablecoth

the family tablecloth

I never realized how interesting the design was in our dinning room table until I took a closer look.

Cool, eh?

See you tomorrow

Day 114~ Two Left over Pictures on my computer

Karen, Martha and Frank

 Here is a picture taken from the day Karen and her folks went to see the nutcracker suite in New York back in December. It was a great time for them!

Martha, my mom-in-law

This was when we took a trip up north to visit her sister. That's when I took a picture of some art work. See it here.

See you tomorrow.

Day 113 ~ Scared by a Manikin

Life size manikin

Back on Ash Wednesday, Karen and I had to go shopping at a Medical Supply store so she could get some scrubs for work. I turned the corner and ran into this guy and he startled me a bit. I guess it doesn't help that I have been watching Battlestar Galactica and see cylons everywhere! ... Don't worry; I didn't have a heart attack.  Who knew manikins could be so scary 

Ash Head

Here's a left over picture I took on Ash Wednesday in the Medical store that I took it against the wall. No, I'm not a Catholic; I was just visiting a very traditional Lutheran church.

See you tomorrow.

Day 112 ~ It's Valentine's Day!

The set up Karen saw when she got home

Valentine's Day is the day we give flowers and candy to the ones we love. I went to shoprite and got all of this! Tulips and little photo holder that says "You & Me" and a box of raisinets (It's right next to the photo holder). I placed all this on the table as soon as Karen  left for work Wednesday night so that when she came home on Thursday morning (Valentine's Day!), she'd see this.

You gotta have candy for Valentine's day!

I know it's not a big box of candy but what do you want from me? I am unemployed, you know!

The Tulips in a pink cup 

I could not find the vase so I did the next best thing and found a pink cup.

much nicer, eh?

Of course, Karen found the vase and set the tulips in the living room.
Happy Valentine's day, Karen; I love you!

A good reminder!

 Oh, an extra bonus for Valentine's day. One of the kids from church gave this to me as a reminder of God's love on Valentine's day!

See you tomorrow!

Day 111 ~ I Show You my Ash!

Karen and I after Ash Wednesday Service.

Karen and I decided that we would surprise her parents and show up at their church for their mid-day Ash Wednesday service.  Not all Lutheran churches distribute ashes on the forehead but this one did. We asked Karen's father to take a picture of us in the parking lot. That's his thumb in the upper left hand corner of the picture.

a close up of my ash 

Right after church, we went to a medical supply store because Karen needed more scrubs for work. I thought I'd take a picture of my ash with no hat on.  

St. Paul's Lutheran Church

 The Lutheran church parking lot.

A Cross

This is a cross they have in the parking lot. I like the circle on it, which, I imagine, represents eternity.

Blessed Lent, everyone.

See you tomorrow.

Day 110 - A kid and a Video game

playing a video game

This kid is in the church basement during coffee hour playing a game called "Skylander." I have no idea how it is played but this kid seemed to like it.

a part of Skylander

Somehow, this is a character in the video game and it somehow interacts with the game in the kid's hand. surely don't understand it! 

See you tomorrow.

Day 109 ~ One Lady and a Camera Shy Guy

Who is that hiding?

At the church basement, in between the two services, they have a coffee hour where the faithful sit and chat and drink coffee.  This couple was at my table. The women didn't mind being photographed; the man did.

Hey, you gotta respect that some people don't like to live their lives "on line" like I do!

See you tomorrow.

Day 108 ~ Manning the Video Booth at Church

view from the video/sound booth

One of the things I do sometimes at my Nazarene church parish is man the sound and video booth.  When I do that, I have to make sure that the songs are projected on the screen in the front of the church so that the congregation can sing along.  

The manuscript from the Sermon

When Pastor Del preaches, I have to follow along in his manuscript and project any relevant Scripture quotations at the correct time so that as he is saying the Scripture, the congregation can read it on the screen as well.  It is sometimes hard to pay attention to the sermon as a source of spiritual nourishment when I am manning the video because I am in "work" mode.  But I don't do it that often.

See you tomorrow.

Day 107 ~ Breakfast with my Pastor!

Breakfast at IHOP

One great thing about having a "flexible schedule" is I can do things I never could do when I was working, i.e, have breakfast with my Pastor. Yes, I still have school work but because it is an online school, I can move the work to different times of the day.  So it was breakfast in the morning and school in the afternoon!

I know, who took the picture, is what you are wondering.  Pamela and Steve from church came to the same IHOP for their own breakfast meeting. Pamela took this pic before they left.

Pastor Del is a good man and a compassionate servant of Jesus.  Our church is very fortunate to have him at the head.

See you tomorrow.

Day 106 ~ The Snowy View Outside my Window

From my window

Yes, it snowed last night so before it got light outside, I shoveled the snow and cleared off the cars. Karen came out to help me.  This is the snowy scene from the front window.  Nice, eh?

See you tomorrow.

Day 105 ~ What I did Before the VA Appointment

Front of Orthodox Church; still has Christmas Wreaths 

 When I went to the VA clinic (see yesterday to see those pics), I arrived super early so I decided to visit the Orthodox Church that I attend on Saturday nights.  I thought I'd like to get a couple of good pics.  I really can't get any good pics of the Church when I go to Vespers because it's too dark but this day was all bright sunshine!

The sign

 Here is the sign that lists the services and Website. As you can see, it was very bright outside!

A close up on the sign

A close up on the sign, depicting the Annunciation. (Luke  1:26-38) I never really noticed it before because I would only just drive by quickly on Saturday nights. Very nicely done!

See you tomorrow.

Day 104 ~ A VA Appointment

This is where my "clinic" is

Losing my job meant losing my health Insurance so one of the first things the Military Representative at the Unemployment Office suggested I do is apply to the VA for health benefits. I did that way back in November and I had my intake scheduled for this past Monday. The one thing about the VA it does take a long time to get an appointment. 

VA Entranceway

 Here is the entranceway. It was very crowded in the parking lot but, amazingly, my appointment was on time and I really like my doctor, Dr. Wong.

A Funny Sign  by the "Check in" Station

When I saw this sign while I was being checked in, I laughed. I have an appointment  in 7 months to do routine blood work to check cholesterol, ect and I actually go back in two weeks because they want to check my blood pressure. It was slightly high. They are sending me a blood pressure measuring machine in the mail so I can monitor my own BP.  Thank you, taxpayers!

See you tomorrow.

Day 103 ~ Juggling Statue of Liberty

In Mid-Juggle

The Liberty Tax Service hires a kid to wear a Stature of Liberty costume and stand on Route 9 to bring attention to their business. They start in January and go all the way to April 15th.  One of the things the kid does on Route 9 is juggle. Whether it's to just entertain himself or to bring attention, I am not sure. But I always give a "beep beep" of the horn as I pass him in form of a greeting.

Liberty Tax Service had a booth at one of the Dog events my wife and I went to at a church.  It's the same kid and he said I could take his picture. I guess I should think about doing my taxes soon.

See you tomorrow.