Quick update

I've been a bit delinquent in updating my blog, so here's the skinny on what's been going on:

• Jeff came to visit last weekend. He and I had a rather low-key time, and enjoyed going over to visit the puppies at Duane and Cindy's.
  
• We had yet another funeral on Wednesday at First Lutheran. That makes three in the last month, five since I was installed, and six since this time last year. And no baptisms or marriages yet. Among my nearest colleagues, I'm far away the funeral king... sounds like Lee, my predecessor, also had stats to back up that reputation. I hope that it's a short-term title! Bring on the baptisms!
  
• I'll be driving up to Devils Lake today to visit two old camp friends. The three of us haven't gotten together since my senior year in college, so it's a momentous occasion. Let's hope the town can survive us. ;)
  
• First Lutheran's annual meeting is tomorrow after church. Spring Creek's is next Sunday.
  
• I'll be bringing my puppy home after the meeting tomorrow. =) I've been sifting through the rubble in my "toy room," the little corner room that Lee had used as a nursery for his daughter and that I've been using for geek toys/storage, so that it can be a "puppy room" instead. There are no electric cords, there's enough room to play, there's a light with a dimmer (good for night trips), there's a low window to look out of, and the carpet's such a small patch that replacing it, if need be, won't be a big deal. This way when I have to go someplace, I won't need to confine the puppy to her crate. (I want her to be used to being in the crate so that it's no big deal, but I don't want to have to use it for long stretches.) I can place a puppy pad in the room, along with a few toys and her bowls, and it'll be about the best-case scenario for being home alone. Or so I hope.

That's all the news. Time to get a sermon going, and then hit the road!