A little of this, a little of that

 

Our Church

 

Source

Woke up yesterday at 0600.  Why, you may ask? Because Early Service at Church is at 0730.  Why do I go to that service since I have to get up so early?  Because that service gets over at 0830 and the next one starts at 0900.  One of our Priests tends to be extraordinarily long winded and has even been known to give a Pre-Mass Sermon, the regular Sermon and then a Post-Mass Sermon.  Which would be fine if 1) there was some structure in how he presents the Sermon's Lesson; 2) if there was some brevity in his sentence structure so one could make sense of it and 3) if he didn't tend to use the same Sermon all three times with only some small variations, of course.  So, it's the 0730 that we usually attend.  Even that isn't necessarily foolproof however.  3 or 4 weeks ago, he was in the midst of round 3 when the doors opened and the 0900 congregants started walking in and sitting down.  Which prompted several of the 0730'ers to get up and walk out.  Which seemed to confuse him somewhat as his ending was a bit abrupt.

BTW, He's the Pastor.  

But, yesterday was Special.  The temperature outside was 50^o. Who knew it was October already?  It seems like just last week it was in the 90's.  So much of a change,  I actually wore a sweater to Church.  Not because it was needed, but because I could!  Quite a few of the congregation took similar advantage, although nobody went as far as wearing a parka.  

That would be a bit much!

So, a nice cool day which in and of itself (after this Summer) is something to be thankful for. 

In a similar vein, LJD* is doing quite well.

 

For perspective, this was taken on our first visit with her.

  She's now tripled her birth weight and is now almost 4 LBs.  

Looking MUCH better here

 

Of even better note, she's off the ventilator which she's been on since birth.  She's now on a different machine that provides less O2 which encourages her to breathe on her own more.  Initial reports from Little J and LJW say she's doing that quite well.  

New equipment in use.  Not apparent to me what the difference is, just that it is progress.

For folks that are in the know, she's down to 30% fiO2.  Which when I asked "What the heck does that mean?" LittleJ replied "Fraction of Inspired Oxygen. Normal is 21%.  The number represents how much oxygen she needs to keep her Pulse Oxygen Saturation Numbers in the range they are supposed to be in."

Oh, right...I knew that...No really, I did...I'm not kidding...I mean doesn't everybody know that?

Actually, I make my assessment of how she's doing by looking around and seeing if the NICU nurses are still smiling and walking and talking normally when around her.  

No Master Caution Lights flashing has always meant things are going well...for now.  Worked when I was flying, should work now.

I'm just extremely grateful that things are progressing in a positive fashion.  I know how tough this is for Mrs J and I.  Can't imagine what it's like for Little J and LJW.  

On a lighter note, Top Secret Planning is now going into effect for a Gathering of the Clans in College Station in a couple of weeks.

"What's the occasion, juvat? An Aggie Football game? "

"No, Sarge, even bigger and better than that.  It's MG's first Birthday! "

Hard to believe it's been a year already. 

Should be fun.

Finally, another milestone has been reached in my trips around the world.

My Truck turned 100 this past week.  No Beans, I wasn't moving when I took this picture.  I happened to be in the Parking Lot of my official Play Ground, AKA Lowes.  No Sarge, Mrs. J has not offered replacement vehicle yet.

Rats!

Peace Out Y'All! (and Yes, it was a slow news week.  Bigger, Better, Faster next week...Maybe!)

*For any new readers...LJD is our acronym for Little Juvat's (My Son's Daughter).  Our youngest (of two) Granddaughters.  Born on July 20th this year at 27 weeks and is still, as of posting, in the NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in San Antonio.  Prayers are definitely appreciated.