The birthday boy cuts his cake. The month ended with a bang, as Dave celebrated his 70th birthday with cake, and some fun surprises, especially some special visitors. And we spent much of the last half of the month straightening out the internet hub in the office, with the installation of surge protectors that should help prevent the lightning damage when the storms roll through next summer. However, it would turn out to be the calm before the storm.
Dave couldn't have predicted the visit from this "chicken" to celebrate his birthday. Birthday Surprises
While the day started with some Happy Birthday wishes from family, Dave’s 70th birthday celebration was not going to stop there. The singing continued at lunch, and while he began to cut his birthday cake, a larger than life chicken arrived to help him celebrate as well (otherwise known as Frances, the Nomad project leader). But the afternoon was going to bring the biggest surprise when Adam and Droz walked into bring their birthday wishes in person. When more birthday calls came in from Bonnie and Wendy, the surprise on the other end of the line could be heard as Adam and Droz joined the call.
While the day started with some Happy Birthday wishes from family, Dave’s 70th birthday celebration was not going to stop there. The singing continued at lunch, and while he began to cut his birthday cake, a larger than life chicken arrived to help him celebrate as well (otherwise known as Frances, the Nomad project leader). But the afternoon was going to bring the biggest surprise when Adam and Droz walked into bring their birthday wishes in person. When more birthday calls came in from Bonnie and Wendy, the surprise on the other end of the line could be heard as Adam and Droz joined the call.
Dave's biggest birthday surprise was the arrival and Droz and Adam. Having driven south from Missouri, Adam and Droz had come with 15 others on a 16-hour trip that had instead taken 3 days. Glad to be in the warmer south, they had come to spend a couple of days visiting us at Faith. During their visit, they also helped tremendously with some on-going efforts to pack and move Pastor Barry’s goods still at the church.
Droz took advantage of Grandpa’s smoker to try his hand at smoking a chuck roast, which was a great treat at the end of a long day of hard work. We bid them goodbye on Friday, having thoroughly enjoyed the time together.
Droz took advantage of Grandpa’s smoker to try his hand at smoking a chuck roast, which was a great treat at the end of a long day of hard work. We bid them goodbye on Friday, having thoroughly enjoyed the time together.
Maybe not a complete surprise, Cathy created a video looking back at his 70 years as her gift for this milestone birthday. If you want to go down memory lane with him, grab some popcorn and sit back to enjoy a look back at Dave’s life.
Faith's new Internet Hub Colorful Solution
After spending several summers helping the church recover the internet from lightning-strike damage, Dave decided it was time to put some more surge-protection in place. At the same time, it made sense to simplify the network, removing extra lines that were not being used, and straighten up the mass of wires leaving the office hub by installing a patch panel. In the process, we moved the hub of wires into an office next to the Telecom closet so they could be reached more easily. Finally, to make it easy to communicate which wire did what, we color-coded the wires by function. This should make our phone calls a lot easier if, despite our best efforts, the lightning takes out the internet again.
The process took several days to plan the move, purchase the components, put each piece in place, and then move the wires and devices at times that would minimize disruption. The end result is colorful, and hopefully more robust than what it replaced.
After spending several summers helping the church recover the internet from lightning-strike damage, Dave decided it was time to put some more surge-protection in place. At the same time, it made sense to simplify the network, removing extra lines that were not being used, and straighten up the mass of wires leaving the office hub by installing a patch panel. In the process, we moved the hub of wires into an office next to the Telecom closet so they could be reached more easily. Finally, to make it easy to communicate which wire did what, we color-coded the wires by function. This should make our phone calls a lot easier if, despite our best efforts, the lightning takes out the internet again.
The process took several days to plan the move, purchase the components, put each piece in place, and then move the wires and devices at times that would minimize disruption. The end result is colorful, and hopefully more robust than what it replaced.
Maybe the last visit to the 7th floor at MD Anderson with its amazing view Transitions
After another clear mammogram, Cathy would soon transition to the survivorship clinic, meaning her visits to MD Anderson’s 7th floor and her oncologist would come to an end.
A week later, Pastor Barry would preach his last sermon before retiring, with his last day at Faith coinciding with Dave’s birthday. The end of a long career in ministry and beginning of a much-deserved retirement. The next day our activities ramped up dramatically, as Dave was tasked with coordinating Barry's move with the Nomads team on site.
After another clear mammogram, Cathy would soon transition to the survivorship clinic, meaning her visits to MD Anderson’s 7th floor and her oncologist would come to an end.
A week later, Pastor Barry would preach his last sermon before retiring, with his last day at Faith coinciding with Dave’s birthday. The end of a long career in ministry and beginning of a much-deserved retirement. The next day our activities ramped up dramatically, as Dave was tasked with coordinating Barry's move with the Nomads team on site.
Barry's last Sunday
Parting Shot
We kept trying new recipes on the smoker, but by far the best was our first attempt at a brisket. It may have taken hours longer than we had expected, but the results were amazing. Dave is a bit of a brisket snob, and he thought this was the best he had tasted.
Love those “burnt ends”.
We kept trying new recipes on the smoker, but by far the best was our first attempt at a brisket. It may have taken hours longer than we had expected, but the results were amazing. Dave is a bit of a brisket snob, and he thought this was the best he had tasted.
Love those “burnt ends”.
