Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 143

Running the gamut of thanks

The weather forecast for this past Monday morning through Tuesday night called for up to 20 inches of snow. By four p.m. Monday, when there was maybe four to six inches of new snow on the ground, and nothing seemed to be coming out of the sky, I thought that once again those weathermen were just pulling our leg.
February 29, 2012, 8:00 am, on the main drag of townThen I woke up Tuesday morning and thought, “oh, nuts.” I haven’t been able to take many pictures of this new snow, but here is the blizzard of Leap Day 2012. This week’s snow wasn’t that bad but this is the kind of snowfall potential we can look forward to in the Northwoods.
For the month of November I am writing about the 30 things I am thankful for. Right now, I am thankful for snowblowers, snowplows, graders, tractors and anything else which moves the snow out of my way making it easier for me and all the people around me to get where they are going in a safe manner. Found a picture of hubby snowblowing that day.
But that is only the ninth item on my list. I seem to be running behind as it is the 13th of November already.
I am also thankful that I have a warm house to live in on these snowy days. I shouldn’t even mention this for fear of jinxing myself, but when we first moved into this house, it had an old oil burning furnace. Our first major investment was getting a new furnace, but that one never seemed to run right. For a couple of years, it felt as if I was calling the furnace repair guy a couple times each winter. I don’t remember what happened, but the furnace finally started working reliably and the house has stayed warm. Or it would stay warm if I wasn’t too cheap to turn the thermostat up past 66 degrees (that’s warm enough outside in the summer and besides, I am also thankful for sweatshirts and blankies. But I will stick with just the warm house as item number 10). My house all snug in winter. And thankful for snow-rakes too.
I’m going to throw out to you two more things and call it a day. Number 11 would be the best well water anywhere. One of the reasons that hubby never wants to move is because he is afraid he will never find water this good. He’s probably right, but I would still like to at least try the water at other houses that have newer kitchens or – never mind, my kitchen is the only thing I would change about my house.

I digress. Last of all I am thankful today for where all that delicious water goes after we are done with it. We had to replace our septic in 2008. The yard looked like a mine-field a week before our daughter’s graduation party, but hey, once the new septic was in all was well. And I don’t have to worry about the waste backing up into my bathtub. (Have you been THERE? Yuck!) The view outside my office window, with the septic cover visible on Sunday. Oops, septic cover no longer visible Tuesday morning. 

Thankful for Freedom

Today is Veteran’s Day. As I write my 30 days of thanks this month, it is a no-brainer what I am thankful for today.
Since the Revolutionary War, tens of thousands of men and women have fought for our freedom, have fought so that we can retain our God-given rights, have fought so that we can sleep easy at night, can earn a decent living doing work that we enjoy, can spend leisure time with family and friends, can practice the religion we choose. I think of all the things we have in the United States the one thing we take most for granted is our freedoms.
Then I look at all the things going on in this world, the things happening right here at home, and I feel there are those who are deliberately trying to take our freedoms away from us. They are devious and cunning, they aren’t bold and in our faces. Instead they are insidious, silent, predatory. I don’t think they plan on waging the kind of war we are prepared for. Our Service men and women prepare for physical battle, with physical weapons, weapons that kill and maim bodies, not weapons that kill and maim souls.
And so, I’m thankful for what I have right now. I won’t take it for granted. I’ll try to be strong, try to defend my personal freedoms and the freedoms of those I love. I’ll support our troops in the battles that they wage, but the rest I will just have to turn over to God.

In the meantime, semper fi. Last I must also share Ben's story one more time. Click here. I also want to tell you about a book two of our friends wrote, "Dear Laura" by Dave Baltes and Gordon Lovsletten. It is going on sale today here in Tomahawk, or you can send for a copy. Read the article in today's Tomahawk Leader. (which wasn't on line when I posted this, but keep checking.)  

Psalm 9

1 I will give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart.    I will tell about all the miracles you have done.2 I will find joy and be glad about you.    I will make music to praise your name, O Most High.3 When my enemies retreat, they will stumble and die in your presence.4 You have defended my just cause:    You sat down on your throne as a fair judge.5         You condemned nations.        You destroyed wicked people.        You wiped out their names forever and ever.6 The enemy is finished—in ruins forever.    You have uprooted their cities.        Even the memory of them has faded.7 Yet, the Lord is enthroned forever.    He has set up his throne for judgment.8 He alone judges the world with righteousness.    He judges its people fairly.9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,    a stronghold in times of trouble.10 Those who know your name trust you, O Lord,    because you have never deserted those who seek your help.
Psalm 9:1-10 (GOD’S WORD Translation)
Looking at the world around us today, listening to the news, one wonders if God is still thumping our enemies like He used to. Maybe that is because we aren’t living out verse 10. I will continue to be thankful that God is in my personal life and will continue to pray that He keeps me and my loved ones safe from the wicked.  Lest we forget the Holocaust 

Thankful for Trees

For the month of November I am blogging about all of the things I am thankful for. I hope that no one minds that today I am also blogging for A Personal Photo Challenge. Yes, I am multitasking.
The Photo Challenge for November was “Trees”. How can I not be thankful for the beautiful trees in my yard.



(I played with the colors on this one.)I took all of these pictures one October morning with my Nikon Coolpix S8100. I must admit that I am thankful for this great little camera. Easy to use, small, and I have beat it up pretty bad over the years, even forgot it in my pocket when I went in wadding up to my waist in Lake Superior. I am pretty sure the instructions said not to submerse it. Then there was the day I blogged about here, yet it keeps working for me. 

A Childhood and a Small Town

I thought that for the month of November I would blog about everything that I am thankful for. 30 things in 30 days, but not in 30 blog posts. I will be lumping a few things together so I only have to write here two or three times a week. As the month goes on, I am not going to be able to recap all those things, so you are going to have to take my word for it that today I am thankful for thing number 4 and thing number 5. (Sounds like Dr. Suess.)
Looking back on my childhood I would have to say that I had no complaints (at the time I think I complained a lot, but looking back it was pretty idyllic). I had the perfect childhood – parents who were there when I needed them but not there all the time, a sister who was my best friend and partner in crime (click here for one such memory), a house in the country with acres of woods as a blank canvass for our adventures. I can’t imagine having been raised any differently. I’m thankful that I had such a good childhood.
In a similar vein, I am also thankful that I was born, raised and still live in a small Midwestern town. Sure, they say that when you live in a small town, if you don’t know what you’re doing, someone else will. Maybe that means we are all nosy, but it also means that most of us care. We left our doors unlocked, we talked to strangers on the party line (do any of you young kids know what that was? our version of social media), we trick-or-treated after dark!
And that is why I am thankful that I still live in a small town. 
Especially a small town that is ready for snow. 

The other day at work we started talking about the Beatles (a long story), and I came home and looked up some of their songs on YouTube. What can I say? This is dedicated to those we have lost. Those we are thankful to have had the pleasure of knowing. 

My First Blog of Thanks

A while back someone challenged me to post a picture of a flower. I think it was a lily. I was willing to do that, but then went – what? What am I doing? And then I totally forgot about it.
All the challenges out on Facebook and other social media get away from me. I know that most of them are in good fun and are ways of getting people interacting. But like I said, I just get confused and lose track of what I’m supposed to be doing.
I was most recently challenged to post things I was thankful for. But I think there was more to it than that; like I said, I lose track. So in yet another way to keep life simple, I will write my November blog posts about all the things I am thankful for. 30 things to be exact for the 30 days in November. I won’t post one each and every day, but am shooting for posting on my usual three days a week schedule and add enough thankful-items each time so that I end up at 30. Got it? I sure hope that now I am not making things complicated.
Of course, I must begin my list by telling you how thankful I am for my hubby. He is my rock and my anchor (are those the same things?). I can count on him to always wash my dishes, do the yardwork, shop for groceries, clean the litter box, you name it. He always knows how to make me laugh, and I can see how much he cares about other people, that he is willing to always put others before himself. About the only thing he is sketchy on is making the bed, but I have learned to adapt to that.
The second and third items on my list would have to be my kids Nick and Val. Those couple years that I was raising them by myself, I never would have survived if they hadn’t both been such easy keepers. I also wouldn’t have survived raising them by myself when they became teen-agers, but I already thanked the hubby so I’m not going back there.
Nick is my computer-guy. He has talked me through most of my internet and technology snafus. (Such as this, I cannot believe that snafu was in this program’s dictionary; I think Nick snuck it in there.) As wound up as he gets about his own stuff, he is always there to calm me down and bring me back to earth when I am about to blow a gasket.
And what can I say about my daughter Val, except the one thing that my hubby always says about her. If I am Lucy, she is Ethel. My partner in crime. I’ve seen things on Facebook about what a true friend is, that if you are sitting in jail, a friend will bail you out, but a true friend will be sitting there next to you. That’s my Val. I am thankful that she is who she is.
That’s three things I’m thankful for tonight. Look for more in a few days.  

Psalm 7

Psalm 7
A Prayer for Justice1 O Lord, my God, I come to you for protection;    rescue me and save me from all who pursue me,2 or else like a lion they will carry me off    where no one can save me,    and there they will tear me to pieces.3-4 O Lord, my God, if I have wronged anyone,    if I have betrayed a friend    or without cause done violence to my enemy—    if I have done any of these things—5 then let my enemies pursue me and catch me,    let them cut me down and kill me    and leave me lifeless on the ground!6 Rise in your anger, O Lord!    Stand up against the fury of my enemies;    rouse yourself and help me!Justice is what you demand,7     so bring together all the peoples around you,    and rule over them from above.8 You are the judge of all people.    Judge in my favor, O Lord;    you know that I am innocent.9  You are a righteous God    and judge our thoughts and desires.Stop the wickedness of evildoers    and reward those who are good.10 God is my protector;    he saves those who obey him.11 God is a righteous judge    and always condemns the wicked.12 If they do not change their ways,    God will sharpen his sword.He bends his bow and makes it ready;13     he takes up his deadly weapons    and aims his burning arrows.14 See how wicked people think up evil;    they plan trouble and practice deception.15 But in the traps they set for others,    they themselves get caught.16 So they are punished by their own evil    and are hurt by their own violence.17 I thank the Lord for his justice;    I sing praises to the Lord, the Most High.
Good News Translation

Just three weeks ago I started going through the Book of Psalms, thinking that I would make my life easy for the next three years, and share a Psalm with you every Sunday. If you are observant and follow my blog faithfully, you may have noticed that I skipped a couple chapters. That is because I am concentrating on being thankful this month, so have jumped to chapters which include the word “thanks” or “thankfulness”. It is amazing how many times those words are in the Bible. And for good reason, don’t you think? 
(And doesn't that male lion look like a big baby, as if he would never harm a fly? His paws are the size of dinner plates. I think I will stay in the safari van, thank you very much.)

Nice Try, Fred

You haven’t heard from me in a very long time. That’s because Mom won’t let me in the house anymore. She has threatened to not even let me in the house on the coldest of winter nights, when she and Dad have always let Betty, Ches and me in. I have supposedly committed acts of indiscretion against the entertainment center which are unforgiveable.
But tonight, when Mom was coaxing Dino outside (he commits acts of indiscretion against the garbage all the time, and he gets to sleep on Mom’s bed all day long!), I snuck through the open door. I couldn’t believe I was in!
I was on my way to an ingenious hiding place, when that stupid kitten Alice stopped me. She expected the usual sniff-and-greet. I had to oblige, even though that stupid runt thinks she is hot stuff because she gets to sleep on the bed all day long next to Dino. Mom was still setting her purse and bag down next to the door, but when she didn’t take her jacket off right away, I knew she meant business. I hustled out of the living room and slunk down the basement stairs. Mom was in tight pursuit.
Now, you have to remember that it has been at least six months since I have had the run of the house. Give me a couple months of nightly forays and I will be able to disappear in a heartbeat. Instead I sought refuge under the steps, which is the first place Mom looked, probably because she was in such hot pursuit she saw me duck in there.
She chased me out with the broom and I bound back up the stairs. Then there was that moment’s indecision – living room or the rest of the house? I choked. I trotted into the living room. There are only so many places to hide in the living room, even though I noticed that Mom and Dad have added some furniture. Supposedly my girl Val needed a sofa so Mom and Dad are storing an extra one in the living room. If I had ever been in a used furniture store, I would say this room is starting to look like one.
More indecision, just long enough for Mom’s big hand to reach down and snatch me up. Ohhh, nooo, it is so cold and wet outside.
But, he,he,he, this was just a test. Next time, next time I am in like flint. My devious mind will seek out the ultimate hiding place and Mom will not throw me out then.

Psalm 3

Psalm 3
1 O Lord, I have so many enemies;    so many are against me.2 So many are saying,    “God will never rescue him!”3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me;    you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.4 I cried out to the Lord,    and he answered me from his holy mountain. 5 I lay down and slept,    yet I woke up in safety,    for the Lord was watching over me.6 I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies    who surround me on every side.7 Arise, O Lord!    Rescue me, my God!Slap all my enemies in the face!    Shatter the teeth of the wicked!8 Victory comes from you, O Lord.    May you bless your people.

(New Living Translation)
Looking east into the Rift Valley, from the road outside of Nairobi, Kenya.

Streets of Hatchet Creek - Day 19 continued

Summer is long past, or so it seems as I look out the window at the fallen leaves blowing around my yard. If the sun comes out and the weather is just right, we might have a few warm days left, but the nights will be just plain cold. There will be frost on the pumpkin each morning.
Yet last week, when I took one of my few last walks around my hometown, even though the temperature was comfortable but certainly not warm, I was reminded of the hot summer days of my youth.
Because we lived in the country, summers were three long months of doing house-work as quickly as we could in the morning and then spending the afternoons and evenings outside, climbing trees, building forts, digging up make-believe treasure chests in the woods. And for me and my sister Pat, it meant very little time spent with other kids our ages.
Except for the Fourth of July. Somehow we always managed to get into town in time for the parade. After the parade, we went to the small carnival at the west end of main street and rode on as many rides as our limited money would buy.  One year I rode the tilt-a-whirl too many times in a row and threw up all over the street. Not my finest hour.
As the afternoon began to wane, Pat, I and whatever friends we were able to connect with would wind our way to Memorial Park for the ski show. Only one time as a kid did I get to sit on the bleachers on the north side of the river, instead we always plopped down on a patch of grass (on a blanket if someone was prepared enough to bring one).

Because I can’t swim, much less waterski, those performers on the water seemed almost magical to me. Then, usually right after intermission, when it was getting dark enough that they turned the lights on over the water, the boat would come barreling down the river towing a skier who was airborne. Strapped into a kite, he flew like a bird above the water, dipping and banking. Then just as he passed in front of the bleachers, he would veer towards the pine tree which leaned out across the river. If he was lucky and knew what he was doing, his skis would shoot between the branches of the tree and he would come out unscathed.
And that, dear friends, is what this stump means to me.