Abraham., Isaac, and Jacob

Every day I see my Dad's wedding ring on my hand. He was married to one woman from the age of 21 to the age of 82. (83?)

Every day I see my son's medals (thrice decorated for bravery in combat) on the wall.

There has been a parade of women in my life. My time in the army was honorable but not distinguished.

I feel like Isaac stuck between Abraham and Jacob.

The Woman at the Well, Gardening

2,000 years ago St Photini met Jesus at Jacob's well.  She was living with a man to whom she wasn't married.  Jesus said go and sin no more.  Where did she go?  Did she become homeless?  We know from other sources that she had two children.  Did she make them homeless, too?  Did she have any responsibilities to the man who sheltered her?  All of these questions are left unanswered in the Bible.  To mix history with a parable, are all of these things the thorns Jesus talked about in the Parable of the Sower.  (June 25 Update:  Whoops!  I conflated the woman at the well with the woman caught in adultery.  I hate when I do stuff like that.)

This has been a cold and wet May.  In fact, at 3:30 p.m. today it was 58 degrees and raining.  I heard this is the coldest wettest may since 1949.  I believe it.  Last year we were gathering baskets full of tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash by mid-May.  It has been so cool and cloudy all spring that, as of yesterday, we've only picked three tomatoes and three squash.   This afternoon I planted camomile seeds around the onions.  (Whenever I think think of the word camomile I am reminded of this story.) I planted English daisies at the feet of the sunflowerrs, which are not blooming yet because there is no sun.  And I planted marigolds at the end of one of the tomato beds.  They should all germinate in 5 to ten days.  One of the cucumber vines and one of the pumpkin vines were infested with thrips.  I used an organic pesticide on them but I am worried it will harm the bees, butterflies, and lady bugs.

Welding, gardening, job update, and a list of things I'd like to do

Today is a big day for Son #3 (aka the little boy aka Anselm).  He takes his welder certification test.  He has many hours of practice behind him and his instructor says he's ready.  So, hopefully, tonight he will be an AWS certified welder.

The garden is doing okay.  Lots of squash, cucumber, and tomatoes are growing but everything seems kind of slow this year.  Too many cloudy days.  I have learned the big advantage of raised planter boxes:  No snails.  We have no snails in the boxes but the one plot of dirt that we broke up for the garden - well, it is a constant battle against snails.  Before I figured out where they were hiding (in the leaf litter) they did a lot of damage.  Now I go out every morning before work and kill them.  The population is much reduced and the plants are doing well.  The grapevines are just crazy huge.  There have been some big black bumblebees in the garden.  They make me happy.

I have an interview for a job in the city traffic department next week.  I'm pretty excited about it.  It isn't a lot of money but it is enough money.  Also, it is low stress.   Really, enough money and low stress sounds pretty good to me. 

I don't know if it's just me, or if everyone is like this.  I seem to need to be working toward something big or else I feel discontent.  Ever since I decided to not be a teacher and give up on the the teaching credential and the M.Ed. degree I have felt kind of rudderless.  I've spent more of my adult years in school than out of school so I've been feeling like I don't have a purpose.  That's an exaggeration, I mean I know "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever" so I'm not talking about any thing that big, more like "what am I going to do right now".

So, I'm making a list.

1. Help my son get a fictitious business name, insurance, and a business license.
2. Help Kathleen roll over her 403(b) into self-directed IRA.
3. Finally use my veterans benefits to buy a 4-plex in Sacramento, Fresno, Sonora, or Modesto. (A few years ago I got approved for a 6 unit building but my wife at the time kind of freaked out over it so we didn't buy it.)
4. Take the motorcycle licensing safety class.
5. Build a raised bed in a partly-shady area of the garden for blackberries.

That's probably enough.