Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Rain, rain and more rain...

The sump pump has been running continually in our old farm basement. The good news is that the cottage is dry as a bone! We have springs springing up everywhere. The only folks that seem to enjoy all this rain and water and new found springs is our geese. They are having a heyday

I enclosed this picture of our driveway wash-out -- the second time this year! Even though we have 2 foot deep ruts, it is still passable. Not so for our friends, the Bradley's in Portage who live in the Baraboo bluffs -- their driveway is not passable and has nearly 4 foot gullies in it due to the 12 inches of rain they received one night.

Sabine and I were at St Peter's this past Sunday and it was great to see old friends. They presented us with a beautiful watercolor of their beloved church. It is a picture we will treasure. They also did something with their "rumage" (Fr.) sale and raised over $1,000 for Sabine to give toward cancer research. What a generous and needed gift! We thank you all so very much! Your love is palatable!

We are enjoying the "no-chemo" period. Sabine is out running and despite the rain, there have been wonderfully warm, sunny days (aha, a metaphor for this life!).
We are anxiously waiting to start our training for home dialysis next month and Sabine has her first preparatory consultation which will "map" and check her veins for the surgery (hopefully some time this month) that will implant a button "fistula" in her arm and make the dialysis more aseptic and give her the freedom to swim again (the "button," as I understand it, is actually skin that will grow over the fistula and permit dialysis through it by a needle. The button hole will be just like the opening one has in a pierced ear.

So, that's our life to date. We have a number of "dates" this summer to supply our liturgical services to area churches and look forward to these visits and worshipping in different congregations. My friend, Jerry, who is a U.C.C. pastor has invited me this summer to preach at the First Congregational Church in Madison (we are looking forward to this bit of ecumenism!).

Celebrate life every day. Enjoy one another. Be thankful!