Subject: Weekend Update: November 8-10, 2002
Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 14:16:50 -0500

Andrew headed to Uxbridge for a quiz meet on Friday.
Joy had to have him at the church by 5:30.  I called Jan
and Meredith, with whom we hadn't connected since they
visited Meredith's sister Sam in Arizona, and asked if
they'd like to go out to dinner.  I met Joy at the church.
We went over to Jan and Meredith's place, and sat a while
with Nathan Long, who was in their care for the day until
Akiko could come and pick him up.  I told Akiko that Jan
and Meredith doted over her young lad.  We went out for a
good time at Applebees and caught up on a lot of things.

Indian Summer visited New England over the weekend.  Joy
took the opportunity of the warm weather to paint as much
of the shed as she could, matching the colors to the house.
Emily and I busied ourselves with the rest of the leaves
that remained or were newly scattered about the yard.  Much
of the work done now is work that we won't have to do in
the Spring.  Mandy helped out on the inside and baked
cookies for the ministry fair at our church.  We rested
from our labors just a few minutes before my parents arrived
for their penultimate visit for Dad's pulpit supply assignment
in Nashua.

  A side story: last week Dad got a call from Paula Cook.
  Barry and Paula Cook were members of Dad's church in
  Edison, NJ, perhaps 30 years ago.  Barry is a chaplain
  and supply Pastor.  He was filling in for a church that
  had just lost their Pastor and told the congregation of
  a time when his favorite Pastor (my Dad) was called to
  another church.

  Paula had called to tell my Dad that Barry spoke of him.
  The strange thing about it was that Barry is supplying
  in Watertown, NY, where the Pastor has left to accept
  the call to Nashua, NH, where Dad is presently supplying,
  and neither of them were aware of this connection prior
  to the phone call.  Pretty neat!

Dad was also scheduled to perform a wedding on Sunday for
a couple that met in the Nashua church about the same time
that Dad started his assignment in April.  The couple took
Mom and Dad out to the Stagecoach Inn in Groton on Saturday
night and later stopped in to say hello and see the house
after dinner.

Meanwhile, the Rand family had arrived for a summer cookout
of hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and a movie (The Lord
of the Rings).  The grill is a year-round cooking surface.
We had been meaning and trying for a long time to slow the
Rands down long enough to enjoy their company. Persistence
finally rewarded us with a fun evening and the company of
good people.

On Sunday in the Nashua church, we enjoyed the opportunity to
see and hear what Dad does best and meet some friends past and
present (Patches, Drews, Magnusons, Bickoms, Rogers). We brought
Emily along, but Andrew stayed at home nursing a cold.  Miranda
went to Lowell for the ministry fair.  Several football games
later and after church Sunday evening, Emily invited a bunch
of her friends over - some to stay the night and all to watch
"Spiderman."  The overnighter was made possible by Veteran's
Day, which caused the schools to be closed today.  Miranda also
took advantage of the next day off by inviting a bunch of her
friends over, too.  So we had high school teens in the barn
and young adults in the kitchen, seeing what leftovers and
grill items we had to part with and having a good time.  I
excused myself past my bed time while the two parties were
still going strong.

A couple of other interesting things happened over the weekend,
but I'll just tell you of an interesting call my wife got last
week.  A woman called to say that the Town of Pepperell was
selling tickets to benefit our senior citizens.  The tickets
would entitle the bearer to view some homes in the Historical
District.  Our home is not in the Historical District, but
the woman nonetheless asked Joy if she would consider placing
our home on the tour this December, because "it is always
decorated so nicely and it is an historical house."  I think
Joy agreed to show it but the event isn't set yet because
they have to get a certain number of historical houses to
participate.  I think it was a neat thing to happen!

Mark

P.S. Joy's birthday is tomorrow (11/12 Joy_Metcalfe@juno.com).