Persecution in Canada

A missionary couple spoke at Sunday School this week. They're headed back to the Middle East, but this summer had spent time in Canada. I was not aware of the persecution Christians are receiving north of the border. The liberal prime minister has made it illegal to read the Bible outside of church, yet the minority religion of Islam can be discussed anywhere. Hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees were welcomed into the country - and immediately given the right to vote, a privilege not granted to the few Christian refugees who came in. The PM is trying to get back at the Christians who campaigned against him.

August 30: Ceil tried a new chicken dish that was good. Packaged and mailed 5 more boxes. Watched a replay of the 1990 Citrus Bowl on TV last night. Remember that one? Brent Musberger and Dick Vermeil on the call. Nebraska got beat by the number one ranked team from that year...Georgia Tech.

August 31: busy last day of the month. Left early to go down to the new Falcons stadium. Lots of things to eat: pizza, BBQ, hot dogs, burgers, Chickfila. Not sure what happens in the Harrah's Cherokee Casino. No ticket-takers, instead just a machine to scan your electronic ticket. Almost everyone was wearing Falcons gear. Jerseys and t-shirts.

Saw several number 18 jerseys with GABRIEL on the back. Didn't realize they signed the old Rams QB.

Not a huge crowd. Lots of people stayed out in the open areas at the east end of the stadium, instead of going to their seat. At halftime we abandoned our perch at the top of the upper deck and made our way downstairs. Left after the third quarter started. Had to drive back to the office. Stopped for gas on the way home, making it home at 10 pm.

With gas prices going up, Matthew and I went out to fill up his Buick and Ceil's CRV. He was worried he'd get stopped for not having taillights, so I followed closely behind. Sure enough, a police car passed me and pulled up next to him, and pulled him over into a parking lot. I pulled over as well, but stayed a ways back. I got out of my car and stood next to it, telling the officer I'd like to talk to him. He told me to get back in the car. Another police car showed up as backup to deal with me. I explained what was going on to the second officer, who then went up to talk to the first officer. They told M to put on his hazard lights. Got back from that adventure at 11 pm.

Last Friday: an above average covered dish lunch: sausage balls, donuts, cream cheese lemon bars, ham & cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, cole slaw, potato salad, brownies, cheese dip, salad, fresh fruit, Klondike bars, buffalo cheese dip, and more. I skipped several items but didn't go hungry.

We stayed at home Friday night. I wasn't too hungry after our big lunch, so I don't think I had much. I plopped down on the couch and went to sleep. Not just nodded off for a minute or two, but for a long time. To make up for it I stayed up a little later than usual.

I cleaned upstairs Saturday morning. Didn't go downstairs until about 11:30. Watched the rest of ESPN College GameDay and the Clemson/Kent State game. Did some laundry and folded some clothes. C went to the Y and grocery store. At six we went to the Halls to watch the Georgia game. Ate quesadillas, chips, salsa, cookies, and ice cream sundaes. Afterwards we turned it over to Bama/FSU, but went home to watch the end of that game.

Took a nap Sunday afternoon, and really didn't do much the rest of the day. C cooked spaghetti with sausage as the meat. Not my fave. Watched some of VT/WV, but wasn't really interested. Got caught up on all my email and other computer stuff. M had a friend over to jam on their electric guitars. They were loud but you couldn't hear them outside.

We worked in the yard on Monday. I trimmed the hedges, which really wears me out. Was going to cut the grass but the lawnmower wouldn't crank. My mom thought I'd be resting on Labor Day, but after not doing too much on Saturday and Sunday I needed to work. We were out of town last weekend. C de-weeded, cleaned the bathrooms, and cooked BBQ chicken. I also did more laundry, washed the dishes, and picked up a few thing at Kroger.

Stopped by the library and Dollar Tree on the way home Tuesday night. C cooked a sausage, rice, and bean dish, and tossed a salad. M was tired from work. C watched her Amazon show on her iPad. The Braves were washed out. Sleepless in Seattle was coming on so I watched that while playing on my computer.

Paid all the bills I had then later realized I had forgotten about a big check that hadn't cleared. Wasn't until the middle of the night that I realized a second big check also hadn't cleared. Woke up early and moved some money around, but I'm not sure I'm in the clear.

What did you think of the Brandon Phillips trade? At least the dude gets a shot at the playoffs. He's a free agent, right? At least Carmago is back, and Rio Ruiz.

September is filling up. Got our anniversary next weekend, the state fair Sept 16, Braves game Sept 22, and back downtown to Mercedes Benz Stadium Sept 30.

I have a hard time getting to all my important pastimes: updating my blog, selling on eBay, filing insurance, paying bills, contributing to 3 communities, clearing out emails, entering sweepstakes. Haven't done a good job of tracking expenses, or keeping my list of bargain buys. Plus I have a stack of unread Sports Illustrateds. The articles in SI are so good. Forgot about my scrapbook calendar. Got a bunch of stuff to paste in there. Actually taped in a few things this morning, but plenty more ready to add. And I found two old envelopes of old stuff I'd saved for my scrapbook.