A BRIEF HISTORY OF A PUMPKIN PATCH TRADITION

The tradition started in October 2003, when Silas was only 16 months old and still not so steady on his feet. Silas and I spent an afternoon together at a pumpkin patch between Medford and Ashland.

The following year, 2004, the two of us hit another pumpkin patch together, this time near Jacksonville. Devon was only four months old at the time, neither interested in nor capable of finding pumpkins, so he did not join us.

Silas, et al, moved from Ashland to Beaverton shortly before pumpkin patch season in 2005, so the tradition got put on hold that year.

But in 2006, we resumed the annual event on Sauvie Island in Portland. Devon was old enough to join in the festivities by then and Naomi was still a future thought, about one month along in the oven on this particular pumpkin patch trip.

Naomi was able to join the fun in 2007, this time at another pumpkin patch near Portland.

And this year, in only two weeks from today, the tradition will continue.

Silas reaching for the prize (Oct. 8, 2003)

Checking out the harvest

Pumpkin sitting

Hay bale bull riding

A bigger Silas in a corn maze (Oct. 9, 2004)

Taking a break on a stack of hay

Hay ride to the pumpkin patch

Waist-high pumpkin

Picking a pumpkin

Picking something other than a pumpkin

Corn maze on Suavie Island (Oct. 6, 2006)

Same corn maze as seen from a helicopter

Haystack portrait

Devon tunneling through the haystack

Airborne Silas departing from the top of the haystack

The perfect pumpkins

Devon & Silas create a jack-o-lantern while Mom and Dad go on a date

Some people don’t like the smell of the inside of a pumpkin

The finished product

Another year, another pumpkin patch, another family member wrapped in a bright pink blanket (Oct. 13, 2007)

Silas finds his pumpkin

Devon finds his pumpkin

Devon takes a slide break

Hey! Wasn’t this airborne kid airborne last year, too?

Silas bowling squash at the pumpkin bowling alley

Devon’s turn

Three barnyard grandchildren with a barnyard Papa

Pumpkin-carving party

Artists with their artwork

JOSH’S TWO FAVORITE RESTAURANTS

I learned during the summer of 2001 that Josh had two favorite restaurants in the whole wide world. That particular summer, the two of us drove a U-Haul together from Oregon to Michigan where the young, mission-preparing Moffits (only three of them back in those days) were headed for the next phase of their training at New Tribes Bible Institute.

That drive took several days, mostly non-stop, with each of us taking turns grabbing the steering wheel from the driver seat and then sleeping in the passenger seat. Along the way, we were fortunate enough to eat, not at one, but at both of Josh’s two favorite restaurants in the whole wide world.

This week, Josh arrived in the United States to visit an uncle who is ill. After he spent fourteen hours with the Weathersbys in Beaverton, I had the good fortune of being able to pick him up at the Medford airport. This was my second trip to the airport in less than ten hours.

Before Josh left the Philippines, he made me promise him something. He made me promise that I would take him to one of his two favorite restaurants in the whole wide world after I picked him up at the airport. His two favorite restaurants in the whole wide world do not exist in the mountains of Mindanao. But they do exist in Medford.

So, out of compassion for a son-in-law who has been too long deprived of his two favorite restaurants in the whole wide world, I made the promise. I promised Josh that I would take him to lunch at one of his two favorite restaurants in the whole wide world.

And I kept that promise.

Today we had lunch at Subway.

BACHIN' IT

bachin’ (pronounced: batch'-un) verb \ abbreviated form of the word bacheloring 1. to play the role of a bachelor 2. to behave in a way consistent with one whose wife has abandoned him for the weekend.

This weekend I am bachin’ it.

Debra and I awoke at 3:30 a.m. this morning, left the house at 5:00 a.m. to pick up her mother, then arrived at the airport at about 5:30 a.m. where the two ladies exited the car with luggage in hand and boarded a plane for Ontario, California, with the ultimate destination of Rancho Cucamonga. They will be attending a memorial service and gathering with family members who have not been seen for many years.

Furthermore, Ashley has started orientation at college and will be on campus at Southern Oregon University all day today and tomorrow.

So, this weekend I am bachin’ it.

But that’s okay.

A couple of mornings ago, as I was burning some calories on our elliptical exerciser in front of a TV, I watched a documentary on Southern Oregon Public Television about filmmaking in the 1970’s, during the post Vietnam era. The program showed several movie clips, one being a scene from Dirty Harry. Everyone I know in my age group has seen Dirty Harry. I have not.

So, I thought to myself, “Hey, I think I’ll rent Dirty Harry and watch it while I’m bachin’ it this weekend!”

“Better yet”, I thought to myself, “I’ll see if perhaps there is some small chance it might be on TV this weekend”, thus saving myself a dollar at the video store.

Miracle of all miracles! Dirty Harry is being shown this weekend on TV!

Not only that, but one of the cable channels is showing a Dirty Harry MARATHON, including Dirty Harry and all its dirty sequels: Dirty Harry (1971), Magnum Force (1973), The Enforcer (1976), Sudden Impact (1983) and The Dead Pool (1988). The marathon begins shortly after noon on Saturday and ends at about 11:00 p.m.

That’s nearly eleven blissful hours of continuous television viewing during my weekend of bachin’ it!

Do you want to criticize me and judge me for wasting too much time in front of the TV this weekend? Go ahead. Make my day.

EATING PROGRESSIVELY

I’ve attended many churches that have had progressive dinners. But I’ve never actually been to a progressive dinner myself. Until Saturday.

This past weekend Debra and I joined twenty-seven other friends, who are also in the second half of their first century of life, for a progressive dinner.

Leigh and Irene opened their home and their yard for the salad and bread phase of the meal.

Then into our cars and over to Dick and Sharon’s home for the main course-- salmon which Dick caught himself, battered and deep-fried, plus grilled teriyaki chicken.

Then back into our cars again and over to Dave and Nancy’s home for dessert and singing. Vi pounded the piano, I plunked the guitar, and Dan led the vocals with his booming voice.

Then back into our cars one last time and I took my wife and my stuffed, aching, protruding stomach back home.

ONLY 96 SHOPPING DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHRISTMAS

And I'm all done with my shopping!

Well, sorta all done.

All the gifts which will be given to people we love who happen to live on islands where English is not the primary language have been purchased, wrapped and are ready to go. The last gift was wrapped less than an hour ago.

.

Shown above are 19 gifts. Most are for Christmas, some are for birthdays. The largest gift, shown in the upper left corner, is for an adult male. The smaller, tall, thin gift shown front and center is for an adult female. All the remaining gifts are for people under the age of 10 years old.

One gift is not shown. That particular gift is too big to fit in an LBC box. Special arrangements have been made and that gift will appear under a Christmas tree at the proper time.

This pile of gifts is too big to fit in the largest bag available at ToysRUs.

A DECAVERSARY

“What doth it profit
To marry a Moffit?”
A girl named Belinda once thought.

With two girls...

... and a son,

And a house full of fun,

She answers, “It profits a lot!”

Happy 10th Anniversary

Josh and Belinda

TOO EASY

My "WHAT IS THIS?" posting less than three hours ago was much too easy. Tim and Bethany guessed it immediately.



About a month ago, I crushed my thumb at work and, at the time, felt like I was going to pass out. The entire part of the thumb under the thumbnail eventually turned black. Lately, the new nail has been growing under the old nail and the old nail has been breaking away from the thumb. I clipped it today to keep it from snagging on something and tearing.

WHAT IS THIS?

Identify the mystery photo below.

FEET THAT DRY OUT, CRACK & BLEED

I have bad skin. I have always had bad skin. Many years ago, in a high school of 2,000 students, I had acne worse than the other 1,999 students.

Even now, I need to see a dermatologist periodically to have actinic keratoses frozen off my hands, arms and face with liquid nitrogen treatments. That liquid nitrogen hits your skin at a temperature of minus 196 degrees Fahrenheit and it hurts. I just have bad skin.





As a side note, the divergence of the image created by the camera lens in the above photo gives the illusion that I have had surgical nose augmentation with silicone nose implants to give myself a fuller, firmer nose. Such is not the case. It's a false illusion.

Anyway, we were discussing bad skin.

Last spring, I developed a new condition. My feet cracked, leaving deep crevices in the heels and balls of my feet--deep, dry crevices that would bleed and make walking very painful. I saw my podiatrist. He prescribed an ointment. Things got worse with the ointment, however, so he suggested that I discontinue the ointment, slather my feet with Eucerin lotion each night at bedtime, wrap my slathered feet in Saran Wrap and allow the lotion to soften my feet through the night.

That sounded like a good idea, but have you ever tried to wrap your feet in Saran Wrap? First, you rip off a sheet of Saran Wrap and, before you ever get it to your feet, it has already clung to itself. Then you try to uncling it and you quickly discover that you can’t uncling Saran Wrap once it has already clung to itself. So, you throw that piece of Saran Wrap away and try again. This is all done, of course, while your feet are saturated with gobs of Eucerin lotion.





Finally, after approximately 30 minutes, both feet are eventually covered with lotion and wrapped in Saran Wrap. Then you slip on a pair of socks to hold the Saran Wrap in place which, in turn, is holding the lotion in place. Whoops! The pulling on of the sock rips the Saran Wrap right at the big toe on each foot. Oh, well! You’ve already invested about 45 minutes into the project, you are mildly perspiring from all the effort and all the emotion involved, and it’s getting way past your bedtime. So, you go to bed with your big toes sticking through holes in your Saran Wrap.

I actually did this for about a week and asked the podiatrist if there was such a thing as a rubber glove made for feet. It would make things so much easier. He said he wasn’t aware of any such product, but that a regular glove might work. So, I tried it. It was much easier to place on my feet than the Saran Wrap had been, but it was strangely bulky and very uncomfortable under a sock.




Then I had an idea. A brilliant idea!

What about those thin plastic bags they use in the produce department of the grocery store? They don’t cling to themselves. They don’t fit as strangely on your feet as gloves do. They easily stay in place with socks worn over them. And they don't break at the big toe when you slip on a sock.





So, I went down to the Cash and Carry store and bought a roll of produce bags. And at bedtime I began slathering my feet with Eucerin lotion, slipping a produce bag over each slathered foot and slipping a sock over each produce bag.





And it worked! After months of suffering with feet that were dry and cracked and painful, I now have feet that are soft and supple--the kind of feet that any man would be proud to have.