I notice that my blog is getting more hits than it used to. Also that a good number of these are from the Holland area. That’s cool. I hope it means I’m getting a few more local readers. As Eileen pointed out, my web site address is on the back of my car, so who knows? Whoever you are, Welcome!

I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Doctor Zhivago. It was a very popular movie in the 60s based on a novel by the Russian writer, Boris Pasternak.

I was reading in Thomas Merton’s essay, “The Pasternak Affair,” written probably before the movie came out. He points out that Zhivago is Russian for “life.” So that the main character of the novel (and the movie) is “Doctor Life” in Russian.

Merton inspired me to return to Pasternak’s poetry. The website Poemhunter has over a hundred of them sitting online here. I love the interwebs.

My daughter Sarah has decided that our extended family should monitor their use of screens. She recommended that we all sign up for New Tech City’s monitoring program called Bored and Brilliant.

Many of us in the fam did so. I’m not sure we are a group that needs to work on spacing out, but there you have it. I have the software on my phone and tablet. But of course there isn’t one for Windows so my third screen is unmonitored.

This morning I realized that I was turning to my tablet to access information online because it boots up quicker. Hmmm. I have the Oxford English Dictionary on my home screen there. It’s just easier to get to that way. I wonder what this portends for my future use of my laptop.

I also have been using the Google Talk function on my tablet and phone which transcribes (albeit not always accurately) speech. Easier than typing on a screen for me.

Yesterday went well. I did manage to get over to Hope church an hour before my scheduled time to meet with a bride and her fam. This gave me some time on the Reuter organ there. Although it’s not a great organ, it’s a zillion times better than the one we have at Grace church right now. I found it satisfying how quickly manipulating a bit larger instrument came back to me. It was fun to have more stops and three manuals for an hour or so.

Unfortunately, I screwed up the returning of the church key to Rhonda Edgington, the organist there and my sole local organ colleague (Hi Rhonda!). I was to leave the key on my porch so that Rhonda could stop by any time last night and grab it. Unfortunately, due to the lovely weather we had all the windows open which meant we also had the back screen door latched so the air could come through the house. When we went to bed, I simply locked the back door as usual.

Eileen woke me up later around 8 PM and said Rhonda was calling her phone. She handed her phone to me and I could NOT get the fucking thing to answer the call. I’m still pretty incompetent about phones and  tablets.

I threw on a robe and ran downstairs. Rhonda was waiting patiently outside my locked screen door looking at the envelope in which I had left her key as per instructions. Sheesh.

I don’t think we are going out of town today. Eileen was still pretty ill yesterday. It seems foolish to me to try to vacation at all when she is just recovering from illness. She did sit up and have pizza with me last night, so she is feeling better. I’m not expecting her to go to church this morning, however. She insisted last night that we should pick up the vacation this week as soon as she feels better. I would rather wait and get a few more days away in, but of course will do what my better half wants.

I am feeling less burned out as the spring goes on. Today is the last choir Sunday. The weather is beautiful here in Western Michigan this morning. Life is good.