With the weather warming up a bit here in the Valley of the Sun, Pastor figured it was time to do something about the courtyard at the church property. There are two out buildings that run north-south on the property, the Sanctuary runs east-west at the north end of the courtyard, and in between there is a grassy area where we have built a play structure and placed some picnic tables. When it first started getting warm, we rigged up a couple of shade tarps over the tables. Shade by itself, if you’ve spent any time in Phoenix in the summer you will know, just doesn’t cut it.

Saturday morning we placed a misting system along the east walk. Sunday morning, everyone could tell it was working, because the walk up the courtyard was MUCH better than it had been. Maybe not all that much cooler, but the light mist evaporating off your skin sure makes you feel cooler.

It worked so well, that Sunday evening we extended the first run with a T fitting to run across the courtyard and placed a couple more legs on the other side. With the shade tarps, the misting system made sitting outside down right comfortable. We also added a misting system to the play structure, so the kids would not pass out from heat exhaustion while swinging and climbing.

As for me, my weekend was pretty full – pick up the dog poop, sing and play with the men’s group, work on the misting system, spend time at the house with Wife and Child; Sunday morning up and to service, hit Chase Field and watch the Diamondbacks lose to the Giants, back to the church to put up the rest of the misting system while Wife took Child to a classmate’s birthday party, play School with the Child (who, by the way, ignores the fact that she is on Summer Vacation and wants to do school all the time – we must have done something right) and then collapse into bed.

How was your weekend?

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

Tweet

Saturday we had a yard sale. Since we were going to have the yard sale, and TMBWitW didn’t want to do it by herself, I skipped driving a cab Friday night so I would actually be awake on Saturday. I’m glad I did – I got to spend all day with my wife and our MEG. I even got some pedal time with MEG:

Due to the vagaries of Software and readers, the photo may appear fuzzy – simply click on it to get a close-up view – and no, I didn’t crop it incorrectly – I was pedaling so fast my poor wife couldn’t keep me in frame as the picture snapped…

Saturday night, I did get a cab. My third fare was a threesome (four, counting the little boy) that I picked up from a bowling alley near my house. The mom and dad were having a slight disagreement about something, the uncle was concentrating on the boy, and I was helping the uncle get the stroller in the trunk. The mom got in the back seat, thought of something, jumped back out, and then the dad jumped in. For whatever reason, this seemed to stoke the discussion to a higher level. After I dropped them off, I headed over to Westgate (where the UoP Stadium and the Coyotes Arena are) to see about snagging a fare from there. When I parked, I checked the back seat, which I had the habit of doing before picking up a fare – and then decided that I needed to check the seat after dropping fares off from now on. The escalation of the discussion happened right after the dad had jumped in and sat on the mom’s drink – which was now soaking into the back seat on the passenger side, which is the most popular side for fares to sit on – and I didn’t have enough paper towels to soak it up. So – off to the house (which is nearby – I think I mentioned that) and my wet and dry vacuum.

TMBWitW was cooking a big batch of manicotti for Afterglow Sunday after service, and was sore from standing at the stove. Turns out she was up until 0030 fixing the five pans worth. It was worth it, though – talk about some good food!

After a pretty solid night (I only had one bad stretch where I didn’t have a fare for about an hour), I was ready to prep the cab for turn in – it was about 0300, and I needed to turn in about 0430, I had made rent and then some, and I was working on no sleep since 0600 Saturday morning – and I was sitting at Bethany Home Road and the I-17 when I got a call for a fare at Glendale Avenue and I-17 – it was only a mile north of me, so I grabbed it and headed up there. I picked the guy up, and he needed to go to Tempe! Well, I figured I had just enough time to get him there, turn around and deadhead back to the cage, so I went ahead and ran it. It was mostly freeway, anyway, so travel time wasn’t bad. Once I dropped him off, out of habit I hit the “book” button and almost right away I had another pickup in the area. I could have kicked myself. If I turned the cab in late, I would be charged $5 for every 15 minutes late. Since I had committed to the fare, I picked him up – he was at Mill and University – and hoped that he was going west, so I was at least headed back the right way! Thankfully, he needed to go to 32nd Street – which is west, so no problem. I got him dropped off and jumped on the freeway and booked it hard for the cage. I stopped to bring the gas gauge up above 1/4, and headed for the yard. Just as I pulled in, I remembered that I hadn’t vacuumed the entire car yet – so I had to turn around and book it for the car wash. I did get turned in within allowances – exactly twelve hours and fifteen minutes after I picked it up. Those last two fares turned my solid night into a good night.

How was your weekend?

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!