Funkyjimmer's Blog

Monday, December 31, 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It is New Year's Eve. I'm glad to be home. It is supposed to snow tonight and by morning here we're supposed to have about 2 to 4 inches. I'm so happy that I don't have to get out to go anywhere tonight or tomorrow. I brought my laptop home so if I can't get out by Wednesday morning I can work at home.

I wonder if the fellow who is supposed to clear my driveway if we get 2 inches or more will actually do so. He didn't after the last snow. But I think my good neighbor did because it got cleared.

Saturday I gave up on my new glasses. (See Post dated December 26th.) Although I went back to Lens Crafters every day (one day I was there twice) they just couldn't get them to fit correctly. So Saturday I took advantage of Lens Crafter's 30 day unconditional guarantee. They say if you are not completely satisfied for any reason, you can exchange or return your glasses or contacts for a full refund within 30 days. I wasn't satisfied at all so I exchanged them for a pair that will fit much more comfortably. Of course I'll have to wait two more weeks for the new ones. But at least I know relief is coming! It's funny that since making the exchange I have done better with this current pair. I think it is because I know I won't have to put up with them forever!

I've always been particular about how my frames fit, so this is nothing new for me. But I am thankful that things will be better in the glasses department in a couple of weeks.

None of us know (thankfully!) what the new year (or any new day, for that matter) will hold. But as long as we're walking with God and are in Christ, no matter what, it will be okay.

My next Post will be "next year"!

Jim

posted by jim 8:28 PM 0 comments

Friday, December 28, 2007

CONCLUSION TO THE SAGA OF THE BOOKS

A few Posts back I talked about all the books I had collected over the years. As planned, I took them to a Half Priced Books store in our area. There was a Van packed full of boxes of books. I was anticipating receiving a somewhat significant sum of money for the books.

The good news is I got rid of the books--all of them. (I kept the more valuable recent books which I use regularly. I still have a lot of books!) Half Price Books store went through all the boxes. I wish I had kept track of how many boxes we took. They kept the books and will dispose of them for me.

The bad news is that for all those books I got a sum total of $8.00! I bought some stuff at the Half Priced Book Store while I was waiting for them to evaluate the books. So I spent more than the $8.00 I received for the books! They said most of them were too old to sell. I have to admit that they were right. Also, some of the books had markings on the bindings from when I had them catalogued in my library.

Oh well, at least they are not taking up space in my garage any longer.

Jim

posted by jim 12:09 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

SOME CATCHING UP

Last Saturday the girls and I went through Karon’s clothing, jewelry and a few other of her personal things. None of us were looking forward to this task. But we knew it had to be done and we all felt that the time had come to do it. God showed up big time and it all went very well in every respect. I know some who said they were praying. If any of you who prayed are reading this, please know that your prayers were answered in the way we all had hoped.

My original plan to have quilts made from Karon’s clothing for the girls and grandkids was aborted. We went on line and discovered the extremely high cost of just one quilt the size I wanted. When I multiplied the cost of one quit by 5, I realized this was not good stewardship of the money God allows me to manage for Him. So we took everything to Goodwill and got a receipt.

We were all a bit apprehensive about our first Christmas without Karon. But again, God blessed us with a wonderful Christmas. And while we missed Karon we were able to thank God for the time she was with us and we all enjoyed being together.

We were together for Christmas Eve dinner and then went to Christmas Eve service at our church. The next day everyone came to my house for Christmas dinner and our gift exchange. It was fun to watch the grandchildren open their gifts and have fun. We relaxed and had a good time because they were having a good time.

It was back to work today. After 4 days off I was ready to go back. It was a busy day, getting some things in place for the first of the year, and solving some problems that had arisen over the long weekend. Things should slow down the rest of the week and next week.

Today my new glasses arrived and I picked them up at Lens Crafters after work. For the first time in my life I got not only new lens and frames for my regular glasses but I also got prescription Sunglasses. I ended up the year with what I call some “dumb dollars” in my Flexible Spending Account. That is a “use-it-or-lose-it” type of account. So rather than lose the money I decided to get new glasses and sunglasses.

My sunglasses came in a week or 10 days ago and I think they are all right. But right now I hate my new regular glasses. They are not adjusted to fit comfortably. I tried to get the person at Lens Crafters to make the necessary adjustments while I was there. After several tries I could see we weren’t getting anywhere so I said I’d try them and come back in a day or two. They are driving me “nuts” so I’ll be back tomorrow! I can see well. And they are lightweight. So once they get properly adjusted they should be okay.

That's all for now. More later. God is good!

Jim

posted by jim 11:34 PM 0 comments

Friday, December 21, 2007

SURFACING AGAIN

After an absence of more than a month (five and a half weeks, to be exact), I again re-appear on this Blog. Where have I been? Mostly traveling, with several overnight trips. And when I travel the work at the office continues to pile up. So more than one weekend I have spent part of or all day Saturdays working and a few Sunday afternoons as well.

This past weekend, as an example, we had snow, rain, ice and more snow. And I worked 8 hours Saturday. Because of the snowstorm I didn't make it to church Sunday. The good news about working Saturday was that I was able to work from home. I am now set up with a company laptop with which I can do most everything from home that I do at the office. With the bad weather this past weekend that was a very good thing. I can also work from hotel rooms--most of the time!

Sunday afternoon I left to go out of town. Fortunately the roads were good and I had no trouble. The main trouble was my driveway. One of my neighbors and I spent some time Saturday finding someone who would keep our driveways scooped of snow for the winter. But the next day this person didn't show up so I couldn't get out to church. Although I don't know for sure, I think another of my good neighbors cleaned off my driveway so I could get out in the afternoon.

Monday ended my travels for work at least for the present. This week I have been busy "catching up" at the office so I'm not completely ready for Christmas! But at least I'm almost there. Today's the last day at work until next Wednesday. I'm hoping to finish up this weekend.

Tomorrow afternoon the girls and I are meeting at my house to begin the process of sorting through and disposing of Karon's clothes. That's not something we are looking forward to but it must be done. I guess now is as good a time as any, but I'd have preferred to do it after Christmas and after the first of the year. Oh well! I'm just praying for God's strength for all of us and for His direction in what we should do.

Now that I'm through traveling for a while and somewhat caught up at work, maybe this Blog will receive a bit more attention. My big project now is assisting many other wonderful people in planning and arranging for the next year's Indiana Student Leadership Forum of Faith and Values. It will be held January 4, 5 and 6. I've posted about this wonderful activity in the past. I have been involved with the Forum in some way the past 8 yearsexcept for last year. We had to miss completely last year because of Karon's deteriorating health. But this year I am involved again. Besides the planning, my daughter and I will serve as facilitators. More about the Forum later.

Jim

posted by jim 10:36 AM 1 comments