Random rambling

Well, yesterday we were ex-communicated from our church.  It was rather a shock.  If you want to read about that, this is the order of those posts:  One, two, three.   The first two are long.  (There are more than this on the subject of our problems with the church, older posts.)


I didn't say this there, but one of the things the pastor G has frequently said from the pulpit was how that so few churches honor Jesus anymore.  At one level, i didn't believe this, but i heard it so often it began to take root.  One thing blog-reading has done for me has to help me negate this thought.  I read blog after blog after blog of wonderful folks trying to honor God, love Jesus, love their children & their neighbors, & the world.  


Duane is off on the second of the Seven Summits hikes.  I'm sure he will be more careful this week.  We've a memorial service to attend this AM.   It is for one of the Lutheran members but is being held at the Catholic church as the Lutheran is not big enough.  We will attend this to honor someone we loved & support his widow, but it is almost certainly the last time we are involved in a service with this particular Lutheran church.  (G is doing the service.)


As a kind of weird aside, i'm not sure i've got anything appropriate to wear to a memorial service.  Big Bear tends to be extremely informal.  So, i'm not going to wear the black dress i have.  I do have black pants & tee shirt, but that seems a little over the top.  It occurred to me that wearing black pants & white shirt would be entirely appropriate for this particular church.  


Dear friend Jessica recently posted on purple blooms in her area.  There are so much more.  Duane took a few pics for me the other day, but i've not loaded them yet.  There was a gorgeous purple bougainvillea blooming.  Also a tree called "Purple Robe."  And others.


Here in Big Bear we have purple/lavender, too.  The lilacs are close to blooming.  My wild onions are purple.  And we have lupine (wild) blooming, too.  


Our spring was nearly non-existent.  It looks as tho one of our peach trees died over the winter, which has me puzzled.  We certainly had lots of snow, but the cold didn't seem that extreme.  It seems to me that we have gone directly from late-winter, early-spring to mid-summer.  We had a harder winter than normal, it seems we may have a hotter summer, too.  The hottest it has been since we lived here was 91 F on 4th of July 2007.  One day.  There have been other warm days, of course, but nothing like the extremes other parts of the country have.  Now, on 5 June, it seems summer wants to make up for that.  Yesterday our high was 77 F & the low overnight was only 41 F.  While 2 weeks ago everything seemed about 3 weeks behind, we now seem to be about 3 weeks ahead.


The other possibility is that i'm noticing the heat more this year.  Just as i was having trouble regulating my temperature (getting chilled too easily & difficulty warming up) thru the winter, i seem to not be handling the warm weather very well.  Not bad in Big Bear, but when we go to OC it has been unpleasant.  And of course, it is easier t warm up (blankets) than to cool off (cold shower?).  


It is too early to know if we will have apples, peaches or pears.  I think the apples/pears are a good possibility, the peaches not so much. 

I haven't any other pics to share (yet) today, but Duane just sent me this from the top of Gray's Peak.  He called, too.  He thinks he can meet me at the memorial service.

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