Monday, July 16, 2012

Hello from West Chester. It has been a few ddays since I last posted anything so since it is to hot to be outside I will share a few items. It has been another hot and humid day with more scheduled before any relief. Did a lot of lawn work this morning mowing,weed eating and general cleanup. I would work an hour then rest and cool off a bit then back at it again.  I am starting to finalize my plans for a garage sale Jul 27 and 28. Just hope it doesn't rain although we do need a lot of rain.  Even though we have had such high heat my watering system has kept everything in pretty good shape, Still have a couple more sprinkler problems to take care of but the end is in sight now. I  wanted to show you some of the flowers now  and what watering them makes.

Large Hibiscus

Giant Elephant Ear ( Over 8 Feet Tall )

Small Elephant Ear ( 6 Inch Tall )





Small Caladium

      Large Blossom ( You May Recall Seeing This One

A Few Days Ago When It Was Snow White )

Other Large Blossoms That Were White and Turn

Light Green With Age

                                                                         



Wax Leaf Begonia



Local Corn Field Ruined Because Of The Heat

And Lack Of Rain

I think this is about all for now: however, I am working on some family photographs which I took at Parisa's wedding. I don't think I have shared them before. If I have forgive me for being a proud Dad and Grandpa. Also glad to report that Janice has left Swan Lake ( home in New Jersey ) and has arrived safely in California with Daisy ( the dog ) and waiting for the delivery of the household goods.

Love you all. Grandpa Bill.



Thanks, Blessings & Celebration July 4, 2012

Today is the day we celebrate the freedom we enjoy in this nation as a result of the blessings of God and the brave action of the founding fathers of our nation and the brave military men and women who have served our nation and have given the ultimate sacrifice. I say brave because the founders of our nation the framers of the Declaration of Independence were committing an act of treason by saying they and we would not be ruled by the British Crown. Their action was a sentence of death for them had their actions not succeeded. This action was the result of a dream. A dream of all mankind from the earliest days of civilization. That dream is and always has been to be free. Free to worship God as we choose and to pursue happiness and prosperity as we are able. Free to dream and live without oppressive government dictates and interference. The last sentence sums it up well as it reads, " And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. "  Divine Providence here means God regardless of what the liberals want to make it mean.

Today my local newspaper " The Enquirer " ran a full page of " The Declaration of Independence " and another page with large print insert proclaiming " In God We Trust "  with many comments of the founding fathers. This second page was an advertisement by Hobby Lobby, Hemispheres and Mardel Stores, 7707 S. W. 44th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73179 www.hobbylobby.com/ministryprojects-In association with www.wallbuilders.com.  You may recall one of my recent blogs talked about wallbuilders and the presentation they made at my church.

As I read the Declaration of Independence I got chilly bumps just as I always do. Our nation is the only one in the world which has produced such a document and where the founders so clearly indicated their actions were based on the blessing and rights granted to man by God and asking for the protection of God and his judgement of their intentions. I become very distressed when I see, read and hear our news outlets down playing the character of the founding fathers and that they were not at all motivated by or belief in God. I am further depressed that the majority of our schools do not teach anything about our Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and amendments. The vast majority are frankly ignorant of just what the Declaration of Independence says. There is a glimmer of hope on this horizon as several states have now enacted laws that require some teaching on these subjects and require reading of the documents.

The Declaration of Independence did not create the United States of America, but its proclamation of " unalienable rights endowed by our creator " was a founding principle of our nation.

The 4th of July always brings back very fond memories for me. During our career in the U. S. Air Force we had the privilege of serving and living in the Washington, DC area for many years. Some of the highlights of those years were when Jan, I and our four little girls would go down to the Washington Monument and watch the fire works. Oh, they were glorious and loud. At different ages of the girls there seem to always be one who was afraid of the noise. Other memories were listening to the various military bands and coral groups perform on the US Capital steps on the 4th. Those were great times and great music. Needless to say another memory was the heat on those 4th of July nights and coming home hot and sweaty with no air conditioner in the car or the apartment. My we are spoiled today. I searched through my many boxes of 35 MM slides hoping I might run across one that would show those fire works but no such luck.

Today I will celebrate by thanking God for his blessings and asking Him to forgive us as a nation for casting Him aside in many of the celebrations we have on this day. I pray He will forgive us and heal our nation. I pray for our service men and women for their sacrifice, service and for protection. I pray for our elected officials that they will recognize that the only authority they have to rule comes from our Creator and that they will look to Him for guidance. I have a few ribs in the slow cooker, some baked beans ready to heat up later this afternoon. I have a big bowl of fresh fruit cut up and ready to munch on today.  I plan to watch the fire works on TV tonight and one of the concerts that PBS will air.

Again Happy 4th of July and I love each of you. Grandpa Bill

Friday, June 29, 2012

I started out early with a pretty heavy workout at Fit Work at about 7 AM. I wanted to finish my outside things and get into the air conditioning. Today has sure been a mix of  very different  weather systems. Yes, it started out as another 100 degree day with high humidity with vitrually no hope for cooling off or any rain in sight. The weather people did say there was a system developing toward Chicago with virtually no hope of it helping us here in southwest Ohio. By mid afternoon weather alerts started airing and warnings of very severe weather with extremely high straight line winds. The system was moving in our direction at a speed of 65 miles per hour.  Boy did the weather change. The system came through and behind it the temperatures dropped to below 70 degree. Lots of rain. Several of my potted ferns and tomatoes were blown off their tables/stands. Lost a lot of green tomatoes about 2 inch in diameter. Right now the sun is starting to come out again so I suspect the temp will start to rise along with the humidity. TV is reporting power outage for over 100,000 people. They are showing a lot of downed trees and power lines. Trees down on cars, houses and power lines. Nothing serious around my neighborhood that I have seen.

The air conditioning people came to do their regular tune up of the system. Earlier in the week they had been here to replace a valve on the unit inside the house. You know that crew could not do the tune up they only install parts.  This new crew was doing a tune up. Basically the system was working pretty well but there were a few things that needed fixing. Of course with any fixes there is a cost but fortunately since I have the maintenance contract I get the parts at half price. That helps a little I think.

I guess I forgot to update you on my visit to the cardiologist earlier in the week. Every thing is fine except my HDL ( good choleosterol ) is not high enough so he doubled my dosage of Niaspan. This is the medicine with one side effect that it often makes your face flush and your skin crawl or itch if you don't take it with a good snack or meal. I have pretty well learned how to take it without a lot of trouble. He also told me to discontinue Plavix. Good one less pill to take.

Well no posting would be complete without reporting on my favorite deer. Sure enough she was in the yard again at 5:30 this morning. As usual I went out to check her out and she was not concerned with what I was doing. I did not bother her until she walked over and started munching on a flowering shrub. I started walking a little faster toward her and she would look to see where I was and grab another mouth full of shrub. It looked like she was grabing as much as she could before she had to jump the fence. I know it is not logical to assign human behavior to animal actions but after watching her for several weeks these are the preceptions I get. She finally decided I was getting to close so over the fence she jumped. I came back inside and immediately looked out and she was back munching on the shrub I had just stoped her from eating. This time I stayed out there a while longer and she did not return. My next door neighbor said he has noticed places down in the gully behind his house that look like the deer has been sleeping there. Why not. Near by to good food and water source and occasioal fruit for dessert. Well I can look at the bright side of this saga and that is that some handsome buck will come by and sweep her off her feet and she will come back next year with twin fawns. That has happened in the past. That will make for a lot of new photographs.

Well I guess that is all for today. Remember I love you all and pray for you every day. Grandpa Bill.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Good morning on a new hot West Chester day. Foercast to be 101 degrees but low humidity. Will have to wait and see. I am waiting for the air conditioning guys to come and do their regular check on the AC system The new part that was installed the other day seems to be working fine and the house is cool. Thermostat is set at 76 degree. With a few fans running that is comfortable. Have to go buy a few more fitings to complete the work on the sprinkler system but that can wait until a little cooler weather. My deer friend is becoming a regular in the yard it seems. She is here at least every other day between 5 and 6 AM. I don't bother her until she starets munching on the fruit trees and that is a no no. I sat here in my easy chair this morning and watched her make her way up the street taking her good old easy time. She would cross the street from one yard to the opposite one. I guess she would hear a dog bark or an door open so she would cross the street. In each yard she appeared to be munching on shrubs and flowers. By the time she got to my yard she was pretty skidish. I went out to see where she was and she ran away. That is the first time she has run from me. I came back in the house and looked out a few minutes later and she had circled around and entered the yard from a different direction. I watched her for several minutes while I was out in the yard. She helped herself to bird seed on the ground and then went and ate a few  pears that were on the ground. That was not enough so she reached up and took one from the tree. Remember that is a no no so I walked toward he and she jumped over the fence. Have not seen her again. The day before yesterday I turned on one of the sprinkler heads where she was standing. When she heard the water start coming into the sprinkler head she jumped away but walked back until the head poped up and got her wet and she did not seem to appreciate that so she jumped the fence. I have sprinkler heads near all the fruit trees so I

can us that weapon against her.  Of course if she comes at night I have no defense unless she come when the sprinkler system is running.

Morning Visitor

I keep trying to get a photo of her so the sun will make her eye lashes show up. They appear to be several inches long. Will just keep trying. Anyway deer you can have the pears and apples that are on the ground but not on the trees.

Mike and I both got hair cuts yesterday afternoon and then went to a newer resturant here in West Chester I have been wanting to try out. It is the Sultans, Mediterranen Cuisine. Food was pretty good, expensive but good. Will have to try it again. Love all of you very much. Grandpa Bill.





Jan, June 21, 2012

I wanted to write this on Jan's birthday but I could not hold back the tears to put words on paper. So I'll try again. Actually I have been writing a little for several days. On June 16, 1933, God gave Tolbert and Anna Counts a great blessing, a baby girl who they named Janive. At the same time God gave me a most precious blessing my wife to be. In reality Jan and I knew and liked each other in grade school and dated throughout high school and college until we got married. This past week I celebrated her birthday in both joy and sorrow. Joy for the 58 years of married life to an angel here on earth and sorrow in my loss of her love and companionship here on earth. Joy in knowing that she is in heaven with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Joy in knowing that she is in her heavenly body without pain of any kind and beauty beyond description that my mind can't begin to comprehend. Joy in knowing that someday I will join her in heaven and what a joyous reunion that will be. While I still grieve over living without her the promise and assurance of that future joy makes it bearable.

My life now is filled with memories and the simple everyday things that remind me of her and these strike cords of joy and sorrow. Everything in our house, yard, music I hear, songs I hear on the radio bring these memories. On my recent trip of nearly 7,000 miles driving also brought back such thoughts. Jan and I and our four girls made the coast to coast round trip twice as we  went and came from assignment in Japan. On these trips we hurried through many of the National Parks I recently visited. As I was driving I would remember that we ate at a particular restaurant or stayed at a particular motel. We hurried through the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forrest, The Grand Canyon  and I would think how she would appreciated a certain thing especially colors. At the National Parks that we never got to see together my thoughts turned to her and thoughts such as " Jan you would have loved to see this." She truly would have because she loved and appreciated the beauty and majesty of God's creation flawed as it is by sin. To this day, over a year since her passing I still have people tell me  what a blessing Jan was to them through her words or notes. This happened this weekend at church. Our daughter Joyce from New York came to visit me as a surprise Father's Day present.  Joyce sat next to a lady who told Joyce " your mother was such a blessing and encouragement to me ". Jan did these things without notice by others, often times without my knowledge. That was Jan, a most loving and caring person who quietly and without fanfare did what Jesus would do. Often times when I was scheduled to have a meeting at church which promised to be rough she would write a note and place it in my bible or notes where I would find it and tell me she loved me and was praying for me during the meeting. She did this regularly.

She never let a day go by without telling me how much she loved me.She totally dedicated her every waking moment to taking care of me and the girls. I told her I loved her and appreciated her care of me and the girls but in looking back no matter how much I told her it now seems to have never been enough. Today every time I pass by one of her photographs on one pops up on the computer screen saver I tell her how much I love her and miss her.

Besides her love and care , I never realized how much I relied upon her for advice and council. I made the decisions but never without running my hair brained ideas by her. When she hesitated about doing a particular thing it usually meant to be safe, don't do it. When I ignored these warning signs it turned out to be a disaster. I soon learned to to listen to her. Jan had the spiritual gift of giving and discernment. She was most helpful on matters at church. I am completely lost without her to bounce ideas off of on matters around the house and I can't seem to pull the trigger and get things done. Yes, I know and I can do call on the Lord to help direct me and He does. God gave men wives to be help mates and I miss her help.

So, belatedly these are a few of my feeble attempt to pay tribute to the love of my life, Jan, in memory of her and her birthday.

June 25, 2012, More Yard Work

It is beautiful weather here in West Chester today and promises to be so for the next several days.  Dry and getting warmer with the foercast for the low 90s toward the end of the week. That means Grandpa Bill will be out in the yard early in the morming and inside the house the rest of the day. I spent most of last week repairing broken sprinkler heads and broken water line in the sprinkler system. It is tortureous process of repainring a place, turn the system on and see if it works. If not try to find the leak. What fun but you know how I like to dig in the dirt. I think I have it down to two more places that need repair and I am anxiously awaiting that time. Got the lawn mowed and it looks reasonably good. Most of the flowers seem to be bouncing back and looking like they might live. They are getting some good color back into their leaves. Today the air condiotioning folks are here to make the finish fix to  some work they did last year.  Should make the system work like it is suppose to. It has been resonable cool but just not working as effiecently as it should. We will see how it works out. Our neighbor Mike and Kathy are in Desten, Florida for a week and it looks like they are having a rainy and stormy vacation with the big weather system that is moving in down there.

We had a very inspirational Sunday at church yesterday. Our speaker for two services in the morning and the evening service was Rick Green with the Wallbuilders organization. Their website relates how they derive their name from Nehemiah of the Old Testament as follows:

" WallBuilders is an organization dedicated to presenting America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built –  a foundation which, in recent years, has been seriously attacked and undermined. In accord with what was so accurately stated by George Washington, we believe that "the propitious [favorable]  smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation which disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself has ordained." " Why the name "WallBuilders"? " In the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, the nation of Israel rallied together in a grassroots movement to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and thus restore stability, safety, and a promising future to that  great city. We have chosen this historical concept of "rebuilding the walls" to represent allegorically the call for citizen involvement in rebuilding our nation's foundations. As Psalm 11:3 reminds us,  "If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous do?" " Our Goal WallBuilders' goal is to exert a direct and positive influence in government, education, and the family  by (1) educating the nation concerning the Godly foundation of our country; (2) providing information  to federal, state, and local officials as they develop public policies which reflect Biblical values; and  (3) encouraging Christians to be involved in the civic arena. ". " This site belongs to WallBuilders, LLC, a Texas Limited Liability Corporation | PO Box 397 | Aledo, Texas | 76008 |". For the last few generations we have not taught or studied the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution and we have allowed a very small minority to foster all sort of lies about the founders  and writers of these precious documents and worse than  that we have allowed this minority to tell us  what these brave men meant or intended to mean when they wrote these documents. As a result we  have and continue to loose more and more of our precious and God given rights, priviledges and freedoms. The encouraging fact is that their is a grassroots movement that is begining to turn this situation around. It did not get this bad overnight and it will not be corrected overnight. I encourage each of  you to take a look at Wallbuilders.com and start educating yourself on these  important issues. Have to get back outside before it gets to hot. I love each of you. Grandpa Bill.  |

Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to all you fathers. As some of you know daughter Joyce from Long Island New York dropped in unsuspectingly by me as a surprise Fathers Day present. I appreciated this more than words can express. We all appreciate our dad even though many of us no longer have them with us.

Joyce and I spent much of the day pulling weeds and fixing broken or leaking lawn sprinkler fixtures. Later daughter  Patricia from here in town and granddaughter Lisa came over. We went shopping for flowers to make new decorations to place on Jan's grave. The girls did a marvelous job and made 3 beautiful arrangements which Joyce & I later in the day placed on the headstone..

I was pleased to have Joyce accompany me to Bible Study and church this morning. I got up at my normal early hours, made coffee, read the paper and happen to look out the window and there was momma deer having breakfast at one of my bird feeders. I quickly grabbed the camer and took a few photos after a while she walked over to one of my apple trees and started helping herself so I stepped out side to stop her. Bird seed OK fruit trees NO. She stood and looked at me for a while and decided I was not going to leave so she jumped over the fence in to a neighbors yard. I watched for awhile because I have seen her ( them ) wait until I come back inside and back over the fence they come to finish their meal on a fruit tree.



I Think I Hear Something

Deer Having Breakfast on Bird Seed

All I Wanted Was a Bite of Apple Leaves

Floral Arrangements Made By Joyce, Lisa and Pat

 

Floral Arrangements on Jan's Gravestone

Joyce has been busy cooking since we got home from church. Don't want to make you hungry but

Lasagna, garlic bread, salad, watermelon, cantaloupe and chocolate pie. It pays to have a daughter that married into an old fashioned Italian family. One meal won't ruin my healthy heart eating plan will it? Oh well, I always say it is easier to ask forgiveness that permission.