"Don't marry for money. You can borrow it cheaper." - Scottish Proverb

I can confirm that water swirls down the drain in a clockwise direction in the southern hemisphere and in a counterclockwise direction in the northern hemisphere. The next question: what happens if you have a drain with swirling water - a setup involving a bucket, a funnel, and a small pump - and move it from one side of the equator to the other. Would the water reverse direction as you crossed? Would it swirl if directly over the equator.

Did you know that's why it's called Ecuador? The equator passes through the middle of the country.

I'm making slow progress on Sally's reassembly. Taking things apart usually goes faster, and I'm trying to improve each piece as I put it back together. For example, I cleaned and painted the metal panels that go to either side of the back seat. Do something similar with each piece and it slows things down. Oh yeah. There's the part where I can't figure out how it goes back together. That slows me down, too.

In Brazil, at least at Campos' place (though I'm told this is normal there) the only place where you can get hot water out of a faucet is in the shower. That's because they don't have hot water heaters like we do. They have an electrical doo-hickey in the wall that nearly instantly heats the water for the shower but all the other faucets only have cold - bathroom sink, kitchen sink, wash machine.... The dishwasher heats the water it uses. Other than that, if you want hot water put a kettle on the stove.

On the flight from Portland to L.A. I sat next to a Hispanic guy who is a bank manager for Wells Fargo in Huntington Beach. In the course of conversation I mentioned we raise goats for meat and he told me about birria, a goat stew that's made in the Mexican state of Jalisco. He said it's very good and often made for celebrations like weddings, Easter, Christmas, and the like. I told Pam about it in an email, she found a recipe online, and made some while I was gone. She tasted it, said it's really good, and put the rest in the freezer.
Tuesday evening we're having Molly & Josh over. She's on staff at UFC and the one who is my go-to helper when I don't know something. (Thus, Molly and I spend a lot of time together.) We'll serve birria, corn on the cob from the garden, and a salad made up of greens from the garden, including fresh tomatoes. Everything on the menu will be grown or raised right here on Baker Rd.

Several years ago - maybe 10 - Aubri gave me a backpack for Christmas. I've taken that thing all over the world and to work every day since then. It holds my laptop, cords and ear buds, a change of clothes, my toiletries, books, a notebook, and anything else I need to transport and/or don't want to trust to the airlines. It's starting to show its age. Besides being dirty the bottom of the various compartments is starting to wear out.

I saw a leather satchel for sale in a market in Olinda - a tourist town way above Recife. They wanted more money that I was willing to pay, wouldn't come down to my price, and I questioned the quality of the buckles and clasps. So I looked on Amazon and came up with this.
I like these, they seem adequate functionally, and they have a certain panache IMO.
I think I'm going to order one in a couple of weeks.
I may have to get a driving cap to go along with it.

I often get a cold-like virus after flying. Put 200+ people in an aluminum can for eight hours at a time and it's almost to be expected. I have often come down with it after the outbound trip and that makes it tough to do ministry. Didn't happen this time. But I did catch something on the way home and can feel it taking over my body today. A three-day incubation period. Phooey!

Pam's helping out at Camp Agape this week, part of the crew that sets up the dining room before meals. Camp Agape is a ministry our church started years ago that is exclusively for kids with a parent in prison. It runs from Thursday through Sunday and gives the kids, often lower income and sometimes traumatized, a no-cost break from their daily life. They go boating, tubing, hiking, do crafts...all manor of fun stuff they'd never experience otherwise. And they hear the gospel every day.

I spent about 45 minutes yesterday searching for the key ring that has my Blazer key, the Mustang keys, the house key, and the special fob that unlocks the door to the church offices. Could not find it anywhere and I was starting to get frantic and irritated. All the keys have duplicates here at home but that specialized electronic fob for the offices is a big deal.
Pants pockets, jacket pockets, backpack, the floor of the closet....
Grrrrr.
I finally gave up and assumed I'd left it on my desk at church - a desk I can't get to without the fob.

When Pam came home from Camp Agape I told her I'd lost my keys and had spent the better part of an hour searching for them.
"Oh, I took your key ring by mistake when I left for camp. Sorry."

48 years of marriage. Every day pure joy.