summer

Summertime Update

by michaeltefft

Things have been going well since my last post. My back pains have gone away, I have been going to the gym regularly, and now that the pool is open I have been swimming for exercise. And of course I can’t forget that other summer exercise, yard work.

Teresa bought a new car to replace her rather raggedy Nissan. The Nissan was starting to nickle and dime her to death with repairs. She bought a beautiful forest green Toyoto Corolla. It is a 2015 model with only 9 miles on it. I’m a bit jealous as it has all the cool, new tech. in it. The center console screen has displays for phone, music, and car. It is also equipped with a backup camera which is one thing I hope all new models will have as standard fare soon. The music display works for her radio, cd player, and to connect bluetooth devices. You can make and receive phone calls hands free using buttons on the steering wheel when you connect your smartphone via bluetooth. It’s really awesome to hear your phone calls via the cars sound system.

Teresa also got a new smartphone. She has never had one before so I helped her with her selection at Cricket wireless. She bought a nice Motorola E 2nd Generation. It is a nice starter phone for a smartphone novice. I am buying her a case and screen protector as she is the type of person who likes to just throw the phone into her purse.

And the last thing  is I had to satisfy my lust for a new camera. I have to work on that lust for tech. thing.  I bought a Sony Alpha a6000 mirrorless camera. It was purchased from Ebay in near mint condition for $160 off retail price. It is an awesome camera and a big step up from my current camera. Looking forward to receiving it soon.

That’s it. All is well. Our Church is growing, our new Pastor is great, and I am truly blessed. Hope you are too.

Summertime and the livings easy (sometimes)

by michaeltefft

Yes, it is almost officially Summer, although as far as the weather is concerned it is already here. First a quick update on my dog Max. He has started his chemotherapy and is doing very well. No side effects from the chemo and after blood work and a physical yesterday the vet says his liver is normal sized now and his albumen levels are going back to normal. Max himself seems just like his old self, active, and eating and drinking well. God is truly amazing!

I have been having severe back spasms for a week now, some of the worst I have ever had. But thankfully it seems to be calming down some now. I hate it when I don’t feel my normal self. Our new Pastor is doing a great job and we have had several new families become members. It is great to be able to minister to new people and help and watch as they grow in faith.  As I have been going to the gym pretty regularly, my energy level is up and I am sleeping much better. I hope to be much more active this summer. I hope to take a few short trips and get to the beach, etc.

My new Meizu MX4 phone is a joy, especially when it come to taking photos. I also received my Zidoo X9 Android TV box and am likewise enjoying it. One nice feature it has is an HDMI input so that I can connect by Blu Ray player to it. Been reading several books as that is one of my main forms of entertainment in the summer. I have also realized that the library has a great collection of Blu Ray and DVD movies to rent. That is really cutting down on the movies I am renting from Amazon.

I have engaged a Realtor and have been looking at several house to buy. I have found two that I love although one is out in the middle of nowhere and too far from church. I am not ready to move yet but it is nice to know what you can get for what you can afford.

That’s it for now. Everyone enjoy your summer. God Bless you and keep you./

Zidoo X9
Zidoo X9

Summer ending

by michaeltefft

Not much exciting to write about lately. It is mid September and the temperatures are still high but there are other signs that summer is ending. The leaves are starting to fall and I think the grass is starting to grow slower. I have been busy with meetings in Church, mostly about finding a way to keep our church from failing. I watched the news for a couple of days of Hurricane Ike as it headed towards Texas. I remember Hurricane Carla in 1961 when I lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, so I have an idea what the people on the Gulf coast can expect from Ike.

This weekend the annual air show and Blue Angels demonstration will be held at Oceana Air Station.  I have not gone to the air show in a number of years as I dislike the large crowds. Instead, I will probably go to the Heritage Arts Festival & Civil War living history festival in Chesapeake. I have never been to it and it sounds like a lot of fun. I received my package from the KSC with everything I need to be able to see the space shuttle launch in early October. The date is not yest set due to weather delays but it should be around October 8. I will be flying down on October 6 and am not sure exactly when I will fly back. I only have a one-way ticket due to the fact that the launch day may change.

Can’t think of much more to talk about. Things have been kind of boring here. I have had lots of time to read and swim so I guess I can’t complain. I am looking forward to fall and cooler weather so I can get outdoors more often. It has been too hot and humid lately to even take Max for a walk. Got to go get ready for church now.

Art show and swamp visit.

by michaeltefft

With summer coming to an end I need to take advantage of the great weather while it lasts. Saturday I went to the 38th annual Seawall Art Show in Portsmouth. It has been several years since the last time I went so while Teresa was at work I headed downtown. The show is compactly laid out with 4 rows of booths exhibiting a wide variety of arts and crafts. I spent most of my time videotaping the booths and the people. There was a great big band group playing when I first arrived and I listened to a couple of songs. Then I walked by the booths shooting video and checking out the art. I didn’t stay very long as I had planned to come back Sunday with Teresa.

As it turned out, Teresa and I never made it back due to both the weather being very warm and Teresa not being that interested in going. But I did get some nice video which I posted to Vimeo on the Internet. That same Sunday was the last day for our interim minister, Stan Peerless. He has a new church in Luray where he will be the full time minister. I will miss him a lot as he was a good friend and a great pastor. I am actually a little envious as I have been to Luray and it is a beautiful place to live.

Today I drove down to Williamston, North Carolina to take Kirk to his grandparents for a week. On the way back up Route 17 I stopped at a rest area and noticed that it was also the entrance to the Dismal Swamp State Park. In all the years I have lived here I didn’t know this park existed. I did a quick tour but I will have to come back later and hike some of the trails. I shot some video here also and again I have posted it to Vimeo. That’s it for now. I’m looking forward to going back to the Dismal Swamp State Park and getting in some more pool time before summer is over.

Getting into my summer mode.

by michaeltefft

Our PoolNow that the heat wave has broken I am looking forward to summer. The pool is ready and we all went swimming yesterday. It is not an in ground pool so I cannot swim laps in it but it is still a lot of fun. I hope to go soaring one weekend soon and I am trying to get Teresa or Dana to go with me. I am also looking forward to traveling to Florida to see the launch of STS-125 from Cape Canaveral. Before that our church plans to send volunteers to Gulfport Mississippi to do disaster relief work. I went the year before last and I hope to go this year too. I have no other specific plans for the summer, just taking it easy and enjoying being retired. This will be my first summer since I retired and I plan to make it a memorable one.