Category: interesting stuff

The weather here in the sunny South is jumping between fall and spring. We have lows in the 30s, and highs ranging anywhere from the 50s to the 70s. Most of the leaves are off the trees or have turned brown. The colors were beautiful while they lasted. The sports world was rocked with the scandal at Penn State and the firing of Joe Paterno. While I agree that Paterno should have done more and that the university had no choice, I think it is a shame for an illustrious career to end this way.

It’s been a good week. Basketball practice began on Monday, and we have had five good sessions. This years team is a little less experienced than the squad from last year, so the learning curve is going to be a bit steeper. The trees are in full blaze here in the sunny South, and it is beautiful. Of course that means that something will have to be done with those leaves after they fall. I could just let them blow into the neighbors’ yards, but they might not appreciate it.

Autumn is here in the sunny South and the trees are beautiful. I enjoy this time of year with the colors of the changing leaves, the smell of wood fires, and the crisp temperatures. Things are about to get much busier here in the Shope household. Basketball practice begins Monday, so my schedule is going to be packed from then until February. At least it will be fun.

You know those days when you just wonder why? I had one of those yesterday. The rest of the week went well, as fall has settled in for awhile. We had to bring our plants in for the night because there was a chance of frost here in the sunny South. The world lost another brutal dictator this week. I hope the Libyans end up with a better government.

It’s been an interesting week. On Monday, Jan went to the doctor about some anxiety and skipping heart issues. He gave her some medicine to help things. Tuesday found us in the emergency room getting Jan’s heart checked out because she was feeling worse. Thankfully her heart is okay, she’s adjusted the medicine and is doing much better. Fall is fully here in the sunny South, and the weather is beautiful.

Another week has come and gone. It seems like this past week was only a couple days long, it went by so fast. We celebrated Jan’s birthday on Tuesday, had dinner with a dear friend on Thursday, and grilled for about 200 folks on Saturday. Add that to the usual goings on, and the week speeds along.

Fall is here in the sunny South. This morning the thermometer on our back porch read 41 degrees. That’s just a bit chilly for October. We’re ready for some cooler weather, but I know there will still be some hot days to come. Last night we had our first neighborhood dessert night. Jan and I delivered flyers to about 100 families, inviting them to our house. Eight showed up , and we had a nice time meeting neighbors that we didn’t know and getting to know some others better. Everyone enjoyed it, and we’re going to have a second one in December at one of the other homes.

It’s been a wet week here in the sunny South. The temperatures have gone up a little bit here at the start of autumn, but that’s pretty normal. Jan and I spent Friday night and all day Saturday representing World Vision at the Women of Faith conference in Charlotte. It was a good experience, and no, I wasn’t the only male there. In our community, we’ve been working through Micah 6:8 and what that means for us, beginning with our relationships. We’ve had some good discussion on a topic that I believe is important to our mission as followers of Jesus.

It’s been some time since the last Weekend Wanderings. The last two weekend were very busy, and I just wasn’t able to carve out the time to write. The weather has turned suddenly cooler here in the sunny South. Temperatures have dropped from near ninety on Thursday to around sixty yesterday and today. I’m enjoying the cooler weather and the fact that the grass is now not growing as fast and won’t need to be mowed as often.

Two weeks of school have passed, and my schedule has already changed twice. Oh well, I guess it comes with the territory. It’s a bit windy in our little corner of the sunny South as Irene churns up the east coast, but we don’t expect to get any rain out of it. As we head into September it’s looking like things may dry up a little. I’m in a somewhat reflective mood today, because five years ago on this date, I said goodbye to my mom and let her go to be with the Father. I still miss her.