Snow

Snowing today. Pretty much snowed all day.

Five to seven inches.

School canceled all over the place.

Crummy roads.

I love it.

So far I have utterly destroyed the neighbors in the annual "Keeping the Driveway and Sidewalk Clean" contest. Problem is that I don't think that the neighbors know there is a contest.

Anyway, so far I have shoveled four times and have at least one more time to go tonight (another inch or so on the way).

I believe in the shovel early, shovel often method of snow shoveling rather than the more common (in Kansas at least) of shovel once no matter how much snow we get method.

Must be a hold over from my Dad getting me up early (and at least once late at night) to shovel during the Minnesota blizzards we had during the evening.

Kind of a scary thought.

Better go shovel again.

I need to keep a firm lead in the this contest...

Paranoid Prudent Prepared

I walked to and from work today.
Actually, I did it twice since I walked home for lunch also.

I saw a couple of interesting things: a dead skunk that crawled up on the sidewalk after getting hit by a car. A game trail running from a culvert back into the woodline behind the local grocery store.

But the reason I walked to work was that the district was hosting a swine flu (H1N1) vaccination site with about 2,700 doses. I didn't want to fight the parking situation. Of course I couldn't jaywalk in my usual spot since the police were parked there to control traffic. Had to use the crosswalk and wait for the light.

The School District did a good job of handling a lot of traffic and was ready for the parents bringing in their kids to get vaccinated.

But as I saw the lines of people forming at 6 AM for a 9 AM start, I was struck by what would bring people out with their kids that early in the morning for a nasal shot.

Disclaimer: I do not plan to get a flu shot. Every time I got one in the past I would get sick about a week later. So I don't get them anymore. And I don't get the flu much anymore either. But if you want to get one that is up to you.

Anyway this isn't about flu shots, its about paranoia and being prudent and being prepared. You see we can go too far in any of these.

As I thought of the hundreds of people lining up, I wondered about paranoia and how it affects us. We can go to great lengths to try and protect ourselves and loved ones. But the Bible tells us that we are not to "worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:24)

But we are also called to be good stewards of all that is entrusted to us. And that means to me that we must be prudent in how we use the resources that we hold. And we should also be prepared for what may happen. Such as a tornado here in Kansas. Or a blizzard in Minnesota. Or a hurricane in Florida.

Not paranoid over what may never happen. Such as a hurricane in Kansas or a blizzard in Florida. And I want to be clear that I am not saying that people who get flu shots are paranoid.

Paranoia is fear. And fear and worry sucks the joy from our lives so that we miss the beauty of what is going on around us.

Such as a walk to and from work on a gorgeous Fall day.

Disappointment?

So the stove hasn't been working right lately. Actually it is the oven.

It's about 20 years old and came with the house. We couldn't get the temperature up at all. Loralie's cookies and muffins just weren't getting done. Loralie thought that the burner was out.

But everyone told us from the symptoms that it had to be the thermostat. The parts place told us that it would be a special order and be over $250 plus to replace. the appliance company guy said that it would cost $475. And they were pretty sure that it was the thermostat.

And the books I have said that it was not real easy to replace on my own.

On Sunday we stopped by Sears and found a really nice gas oven for $799. Convection, warming tray, five burners everything we wanted. And I could do the gas hook up since the gas line runs right beneath the stove location.

I really like gas stoves and was warming up to the idea as was Loralie. We have the emergency fund for things like this.

But Loralie still wasn't sure it was the thermostat. So she got out the book and I dug out the multimeter and we checked and it looked like the lower burner wasn't working. So she took it down to the parts store and they checked it and it was bad.

Total cost to replace: $30.

So now we still don't have a gas stove. Which I want but I sure don't need since the electric stove works just fine now. But I do have an extra $769. Which is really nice.

And the money will be ready for when the stove does go for good...

Sandbagging

My Dad just celebrated his 79th birthday.

I found out today that he is a sand bagger.

A little background.

I grew up in Moorhead Minnesota which is right across the Red River of the North from Fargo North Dakota. The towns sit in the middle of the Red River Valley which is basically flat for 20 miles in each direction from the river.

Every few years there seems to be a major flood with a lot of overland flooding. This is where the water runs over the land spreading out across the valley.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a major snow storm with a bunch of snow dumped on the area. Then it got up to 50 degrees this past weekend with some rain. And the ground is still frozen. So there is a lot of flooding in the area.

Sheriffs have closed roads and requested that schools cancel classes. One county closed 30 roads and said absolutely no travel after dark since they can't tell what roads are washed out. Portable flood barriers are being brought in to help control the damage.

The National Guard is being called up to help out.

Water systems are being shut down to prevent contamination and people are being asked to conserve water (seems a little strange in a flood). Stores are staying open late to allow people to buy flood supplies.

The colleges and tech schools have let out students to help sandbag. High school students are skipping class to sand bag. Prisoners are serving their sentences by filling sand bags.

Neighbors are helping neighbors and a community comes together.

I have to remind myself that the stuff is only stuff. Tough as it would be to be flooded out it is only stuff. But there are lives at stake. People are working too hard and stressed out watching the water rise.

And my 79 year old, retired teacher, cancer surviving father is down at the river helping two of his friends sand bag their homes.

Emergency Fund

Clutch went out on the car this week.

Just got it back today.

It was really nice having a fully funded emergency fund to draw from to pay for the repair.

No panic or concern over putting it on a credit card or how we were going to pay for it.

Now we just have to rebuild the fund a bit over the next couple of months. Shouldn't be too difficult.

Part of this is that we have to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us no matter how large or how small. It is also being prudently prepared for what comes our way without being anxious about anything.

Means that we don't get all worried about what may happen, but we prepare realistically for what probably might happen. The emergency fund covers whatever may come up even though we don't know what it will be. So I don't have to worry about the car breaking down or the insurance deductible on the roof or anything like that.

God will provide, but in some cases he has already provided and we have to be good managers of that provision without being overly worried or proud.l