Monday, March 31, 2008

College Road Trip - Day Three


Monterey
Originally uploaded by Southworth Sailor
If you would tell me to leave Sacramento at 9 am, drive to San Francisco, drive through China Town and down Lombard St., walk the Wharf AND be out of SF by 12 noon, I would say that it couldn't be done; but we did it (SF tour on FF) We next headed for Monterey and Cannery Row, enjoying calamari on the wharf. The last two times that Esther and I have driven the Big Sur Coast, she has been miserable, so this time I insisted she take some dramamine. It worked great! We all enjoyed the spectacular scenery in the brilliant Pacific sunshine.

College Road Trip - Day Two

Sunday morning in Sacramento greeted us with warmth and sunshine. So it was off to Ellen's church in shirt sleeves. Christ Community Church of Carmichael is a large Reformed Church which just finished a new auditorium. The youth groups had just completed spring mission trips, so the worship service consisted of testimonies and a challenge from the youth pastors. After church, we toured the capital grounds and Old Sacramento. Later in the afternoon, we took a walk around Ellen's neighborhood. It was great strolling North Sac in the warm sunshine, with the scents of spring and the 'sense of danger.' The spring day was topped off with steaks on the barbee.

College Road Trip - Day One


college shopping
Originally uploaded by Southworth Sailor
We set off on a Snowy Saturday morning, stopping at Powell's Books in Portland to stock up on reading material. Calvin's friend, Josh deLacy is on the adventure with us. We had to drag him out of Powell's, but not before he grabbed seven books. We stopped at both George Fox and Corban colleges. Neither one had any activity, because of spring break; but it was good to walk the grounds. Corban has a disc golf course through the center of campus. Then it was the long haul down to Sacramento, arriving in the late evening. It was good to see my sister Ellen. She, along with Charlie and Princess made us feel right at home.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

the basement


the basement
Originally uploaded by Southworth Sailor
Today our church celebrated Easter through the presentation of a drama entitled 'the basement' The play closely followed the events in the lives of the disciples between the death and resurrection of Jesus, only changing the setting from a first century 'upper room' to a twenty-first century basement. The drama focused on the contrast of the despair of Saturday morning to the joy of Sunday. The characters of Peter and Thomas provided an emotional link to the audience. I played a minor role as the disciple, Matthew. It is good to be finished with the rehearsals, and we trust that the Lord used the presentation of 'his'tory to draw people to himself.

A Nissan for the Newlyweds

Last month Jenny's Dodge Intrepid bit the dust (surprise, surprise) They have been looking for a good used Toyota Corolla, but they have either been snatched up or unsatisfactory. I found this '98 Nissan Sentra for them in Port Townsend. It is in very good shape and has 90,000 miles. Jenny will enjoy the power windows and keyless entry. Bjorn will enjoy the 5-speed transmission and 40+ mpg. So this weekend, Bjorn and Jenny came down to buy the car. Esther and Calvin went with them as I had play practice all day. After spending a week on the phone arranging a vehicle inspection and negotiating a price, I was subjected to endless abuse as a 'Dutchman' by the car dealer. Now they just hope the Rabbit stays together.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Mom and Ellen


mom and Ellen
Originally uploaded by Southworth Sailor
My sister Ellen is on spring break this week from her teaching in Sacramento. This past weekend she spent a couple of days with us, along with my mom, who came down from Lynden. We also got to spend some time with my other sister, Susan and her husband, Jack who are from Olympia. Mom didn't join in much of the conversation, but I'm sure she enjoyed being around her children. She and Ellen went to church with us and Mom really enjoyed clapping with the worship songs. Ellen just bought a pink EEE PC, so I was able to show her a few things about them. It didn't take her long to be off and running with it. Markus was also home as his spring break is also this week. He is off now to Colorado spending a week with cousin Zac in Breckenridge. It was a busy weekend for me, trying to squeeze in play practice and then report cards.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

'All good things gotta come to an end'

Twenty years ago when we built our first home on the grassy hillside of Southworth Estates we knew that someday the beautiful view would be obstructed by a house across the street. After years of enjoying the view and keeping the trees trimmed, the fateful day has arrived. The views of the sound and ferry will only be slivers, though the territorial view and neighborhood remain. Our consolation. of course, is that we no longer live in the house, and the one we now enjoy will probably never lose its view. However, being the owners of the other house, we will bear the financial consequences of this 'view veiling' Speaking of 'view veiling', I better get busy on some 'tree trimming' before the spring budding starts!