Indications of Fall

We've had our first frost warnings of the season. As I drove off to the mission yesterday morning, our neighbor was outside scraping the ice from the windshield of her car. After living my first five years in Coshocton without a garage, I've praised the Lord nearly each morning over the past eight years that we've been blessed to have one. As a guy raised near the beach in Southern California, it's rather depressing to stand outside in freezing temps, in the dark, dressed in several layers of clothing, just to scrape ice off the windshield before going to work. Not an issue when you can park inside a garage. Praise the Lord for garages, all you His people!

Dad & Jane were out for a visit. We had a nice week together exploring local and regional culture, eating at Tom's Ice Cream Bowl, spending time in Charm, lunching at Grandma's Homestead, browsing at Lehman's Hardware, and eating more ice cream at Hartzler's Family Dairy. We even went south to try Jack's Steakhouse and to ride the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway. Tip on the railway...it depends on how one defines "scenic" as to whether or not the railway is as advertised and if you have any loose teeth...don't get on the train...they'll be knocked out by the rough track...

Locally, the Coshocton County Fair and the Apple Butter Stirring Festival are over, the Fall Foliage Tours have ended, and the natives are closing down most tourist related activities in preparation for winter.

We are getting a new pizza parlor in town...Little Cesar's lopped19 feet of the Family Video outlet to put in a storefront. Putting a pizza parlor in Coshocton is like putting another crater on the moon...this town must already have more pizza parlors per-capita than any other town in the US. We will soon have 15 pizza retailers for less than 11,ooo residents. There's some sort of odd ratio in Coshocton that demands more pizza for less people. In the nearly 14 years I've lived here I only know of two pizza places that started and closed. At least in Coshocton itself, pizza is more Midwestern than meat and potatoes...unless you're ordering a meat and potato pizza...

Karen and I are doing well, are 3 weeks into an exercise/diet program that we're actually enjoying (only gained 3 pounds during Dad & Jane's visit), and Tucker and Tanner are fine.

Thanks for making our ministry possible through your friendship, gifts, and prayers.