I have two different kinds of ground cover blooming now.  Here they are:

From the Tribune-Chronicle:

The public got a glimpse Monday at work being done to develop Warren’s first comprehensive plan in almost 50 years.

About 75 people went from station to station in the Lincoln School auditorium reviewing lists of th city’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, along with the key issues facing Warren.

Full article here.

Today, while out on my walk, I heard, “there he is, my friend!  You wanna play?”

A couple of weeks ago, I was greeted by a little boy who lives along my walking route.  Unfortunately, I don’t remember his name.  He and his 10 or so neighborhood buddies asked me to join their football game, being refereed by a couple of neighborhood young adults.  So I joined in for about an hour.  It was good fun.  They made me perpetual quarterback since I was bigger than all of them by about 2 feet.  Little did they know my depth perception stinks.

Even funnier, they thought I was good at football.

I’m really going to enjoy getting to know this neighborhood!

Yesterday, I totally forgot to post here.  I went to see the Drama Club’s Revue “Cabaret” at the local High School.  They’re in the process of completing a new building, which looks like this:

I also managed to get some pix of my garden again:

And does anyone know what kind of tree this is?

Today, I cleaned out several closets and sorted through a bunch of stuff I hadn’t looked at since I moved to Warren.  I boxed up three boxes of clothing for the Mission, threw out one large garbage can’s worth of all sorts of strange, unrecyclable things that have managed to hang around, and consolidated some mementos in the attic.  Among other things, I re-discovered this old friend:

This, my friends, is Peter Rabbit.  He came to live with me on my first Easter in 1979 via my grandmother.  Long, long ago, his wind-up music box used to play “Here Comes Peter Cottontail”, but I honestly can never remember ever hearing it.  I must have been quite small when someone overwound him. 

Peter Rabbit hung around my bedroom long after all of the other children’s toys had been boxed or passed on to others.  He still has both of his shoes, his blue coat with its (tarnished) brass buttons, both glass eyes, and most of his hair.  Despite his rather shabby appearance, I had to rescue him from the cat about five minutes after I found him today.  The cat has left him alone since.  I wonder if the cat realizes he’s supposed to be chasing real rabbits…

It’s amazing how finding a loved toy from one’s childhood takes one back to that childhood.  As I look back at my childhood, I see it in continuity with where I am now - not as extremely different (good or bad) as many do.  My childhood is, overall, a place of happy memories and the crazy adventures of living in a house with, at one point, up to six children.  Unlike some, I feel no need to block out parts of my childhood that were “terrible.”  But that is only by the grace of God.  Amen?

So today’s housecleaning brought some joy - and a reminder that life is still good, no matter what else happens!

A few days ago, I posted about a tree I saw blooming.  Now, it’s a little more obvious… some kind of maple.  Any further ideas?

Here’s what was blooming today!

And what are these?  They were blooming, too!

I found this really cool art installation online tonight while surfing around.  Check out the story here.

I’ve become a part of the neighborhood, it seems.  People were out and about this evening as I took my walk.  I received several invitations to sit and stay a while.  I had a couple of dinner proposals, and a couple of people interested in church.  I wasn’t able to take people up on the dinner offers for a number of reasons, but it was a good evening to talk to people.  I even spoke with a man who was struggling with whether he would stay outside again tonight or go stay at the Mission only two blocks away.  I offered to refer him, but he declined.  He preferred homelessness tonight to starting recovery. 

I am starting to get to know many of the families on my walking route.  The kids, once shy, now want me to play football with them in the street.  So I do.  People grilling out offer me samples of their culinary arts.  (Do I really look THAT thin?)  But mostly they recognize me and we exchange friendly greetings. 

This is part of the basis for relationships that will change our community.  I’m excited to see how things progress!

I saw lots of these trees starting to bloom around Warren today… can anyone identify it?  I really don’t know. 

These two things were growing in my garden today. I know what they are.

 and

Yesterday’s photography got upstaged by the midwest earthquake, so here’s some stuff I’ve been up to:

Yesterday, the first tulip bloomed in my garden.

Today, the second did.

The forsythia bushes bloomed in Warren yesterday, all at once.

And yesterday I removed my lawn ornament, presented by last January’s winds:

Note that the air conditioner won.

I also put together a new desk that doesn’t take up as much space as my old one.

I didn’t say it was interesting, just that it happened.

By now, you have probably heard that there was an earthquake in Illinois this morning.  Here’s how my mom experienced it:

We were shaken awake early this morning by what turned out to be a 5.4 magnitude earthquake. At first I thought Mike had gotten up and was walking around very heavily, because things were rattling on the dresser-top, but then I realized he was still in bed. Was it the wind? It is tornado season. But there wasn’t any sound of wind. Then I realized it was a quake, similar to the one we had when I was a kid.

…

It was interesting, but not scary at all. We never felt like we should get up and run outside. The funniest thing to me was that, in my groggy state, I kept asking myself if we should go to the basement! Wrong natural disaster….

Read the whole post here.

Illinois and the midwest aren’t really known for quakes.  Nevertheless, there have been a number of quakes on the New Madrid (pronounced MADrid) that have really made history.  There were several in 1811 and 1812, including one that reversed the flow of the Mississippi River for a while.  Today’s quake was a New Madrid quake.

Of course, the evening news covered it minimally, since it didn’t happen in New York, California, under sniper fire on an airstrip in Bosnia, or in Trinity UCC in Chicago.  The one exception was PBS, who gave it a whole block of the News Hour.  But I won’t get into the news-bias rant again.  We all assume it, roll with it, and move on.

Anyhow, apart from some minor damage, it seems that this merely shook some stuff up, and didn’t really hurt anything seriously.

Praise God!

Today was one of the nicest days we’ve had in 2008.  Lower 70s and sunny this afternoon.  I took my regular walk today, and people were out and about all over.  I had the opportunity to connect with a couple of the neighbors.  First, I was invited by one of the guys I’ve met over the past year to play guitar with him next time I go by.  That sounds great!  Second, I was stopped by an 8-year-old boy who asked why he saw me walking all over the place.  I gave him a 2nd grade answer - I go on a long walk every day.  Then I made conversation with him a bit, and walked on.

I began these walks over a year ago with the intention of exercise, prayer walking and getting to know the neighborhood.  So far, so good.  I’m glad to know I’m recognizable now on my walk.  That’s the first step to relationship, isn’t it?

The Pope turned 81 today.  I pray that he may continue to lead God’s people faithfully, to the best of his ability, by the Grace of God.