Global Warming, Kitchen Cabinets and Daughters

It’s 53 degrees as I greet the dawn this morning!  I wish someone would do something about the global warming on this planet!  It’s saving me too much money this summer when I’ve only had to run the air conditioner on one or two days so far.

We’ll be heading to DesMoines with Charissa on Friday evening, spending the night at the home of Chaplain Rob Meyer.  Rob is the new Director of Chaplains for IFCA International.  Then on Saturday we go into DesMoines to meet and greet the folks from Ruth Harbor.  Charissa has taken a position with this home for girls with unplanned pregnancies, and she will start there at the end of August.  Linda and I will be “empty nesters” again; a bittersweet prospect.  It’s fun having Charissa here with us and we will miss her … but on the other hand … once it warms up again and I’m wearing shorts, I’ll be able to wear black socks with my sneakers (and a few other things) without scandalizing my youngest child.  I’m sure that there are a lot of nice things about DesMoines but none of them really matter to me now except for the fact that it is not really that far away.

I successfully raised the kitchen cabinet over the refrigerator by 1/4″ yesterday.  This in preparation for the laminate floor that we will be having installed soon.  Thanks, Dan Smith, for the helpful pointers and some of the tools necessary for getting the job done!

As evening fell yesterday, I sat out on the patio working and watching an interesting episode in what appears to be a developing relationship between our daughter Noelle and one of the baby rabbits that lives in our wild-flower garden.  A few weeks ago, I found Noelle carrying this baby rabbit around by the scruff of the neck.  The rabbit was squealing for all he was worth and kicking his feet.  I rescued him and he ran off, leaving Noelle with nothing but a few hairs sticking from her mouth.  I’ve watched as they have interacted since then on several occasions.  Noelle has always shown great interest by flattening her self to the ground and watching with intensely focused interest whenever the rabbit appears on the edge of the wild-flower patch.  The rabbit has been wary and seems to know where Noelle’s tether limit is … and he stays in the “safe zone”.  Last night, however, he wandered within 3 feet of her as he grazed on my lawn.  Noelle had plenty of room left on her tether and could easily have reached him but for 30 minutes they regarded one another with comfortable ease; Noelle lying in a relaxed position (not tensely coiled as is typical) and the rabbit quietly grazing in the grass.  I’m not really sure what was in the mind of either … but it sure looked weird.  I’m hoping that by the end of August I’ll be able to get a picture of the two of them snuggling together to stay warm!

Well … there’s work to do and I better get to doing it.