Got One!

Last night I got my first deer of the season with my bow (a spike buck). I put up a ground blind near some apple trees. I worked on my e-mail for an hour as I was well hidden. I put my laptop away at sunset and waited. About 5 minutes before hunting hours were over, I started putting everything away. I was half packed up when I saw a deer appear. It slowly made it's way to the apple trees.

I took about a 30 yard shot - the longest of my career. I had another shot at about 27-28 yards in Minnesota years ago. Most deer I've shot with my bow have been at about half that distance. This buck too off like a rocket, ran 60 yards on an adrenaline rush, and died instantly. Nana came out with flashlights as mine had died. We tracked the deer as a family. Gabriela was so cute saying, "Look Dad, more blood." Hunting is in the family line.

We butchered the deer in the garage and enjoyed fresh tenderloin steaks on the deck at about 11 p.m. Yummm...

Marshmallow Shooter

Okay, you've got to try this. Credit goes to Matt Brozowski for introducing me to the marshmallow shooter. You'll be amazed at what a little 1/2" PVC tube and small marshmallows can do. They shoot amazingly fast and accurately. We've been having major wars at the Vinar household since Sunday night. The school room has been turned into a war zone. Even Aliesha and Gabriela are into the fun.

The boys setup a major hideout for themselves. It looks like the caves Bin Laden hides out in - intricate and impenetrable. They also setup three chairs for me - with little slats and major holes. Ha ha ha. I grabbed a few cushions from the couch to give myself a fighting chance. Last night Nathan got into the fun until we were all sweating and worn out.

The PDF file below will explain how to make your own marshmallow shooter. It's simple and a blast.

Enjoy. To download marshmallow directions (2.08 M in PDF file): Click Here

A Few Updates

I've been slow (again) getting a blog up as I've wanted to do some photos. Here's the big news. Aliesha learned how to ride a bike without her training wheels. We had taken a few tries this summer with no success. She was obviously ready for another try. My dad took her out and sure enough - she took off in no time. By day 2, she was riding the cul de sac with the greatest of ease.

In other Aliesha news, she lost her top left tooth. Kendrick Jr. knocked it out while the two of them were wrestling on the floor. She ran up stairs holding her tooth proclaiming, "Look Dad, Jr. knocked out my tooth!!" Nana was at a women's ministry conference for the night. The tooth fairy bumped the usual $1 dropoff to $5. The voice of reason was out of town.

I bow hunted last night and had a nice doe right underneath my stand. Bowhunting is a very different sport from gun hunting. You cannot shoot over your right shoulder. Try it once. Pretend to pull a bow and shoot to three o'clock. Feel a little clumsy? This deer came and left from 5 o'clock. I tried standing up as it walked off but it was too late. Stand up earlier and the deer probably hears you. Tough call, but I try to error on the side of patience. Inexperienced bow hunters tend to move too quickly and aren't patient enough. How do I know that? Well, I could tell you many many stories from my first two years of bowhunting (skunked over and over). I'm on about a nine year roll of getting at least one deer every year. Hopefully I'll be reporting back with good news.

Quick Sports Commentary
I always root for Tiger Woods. Everyone else is a distant second. Confession time: I felt absolutely sick for John Daly today when he three-putted from 20 feet to lose to Tiger in the second playoff hole. It was brutal. Daly just got too aggressive on his birdie putt and missed a three footer coming back - major ouch!

End of Wasp Story

I went back to my deer stand with a can of hornet/wasp spray. I found a nest with at least a dozen wasps buzzing around it. I blasted those wasps into wasp eternity (not the nice place). I doubt a deer will come within a mile of my deer stand for several months. I probably overdid the spray, but not one wasp escaped that's forsure.

Back in Blogville

After a considerable respite, I think it's time to take up blogging again. Here are two "firsts" of my life that I've escaped until this week.

#1: Computer crash that loses significant data. Back in early May my harddrive died. Fortunately, it died slowly. I backed everything up and it was no problem. At this time I upgraded to the new Mac OS called Tiger. After the upgrade, I was having problems backing up my data but didn't think much of it.

Tuesday night I entered my office to that terrible noise - the grinding of a harddrive. This time it went down hard and fast. No recovery. No ability to boot up. Nothing. I lost everything from the past 4 months. Probably the biggest bummer was losing photos: summer vacation and Nana's grandfather's 90th party (I was the photographer - argh).

#2: Two hornet or wasp stings that sent me. I was in my deer stand tonight clearing some shooting lanes as bow season for deer starts next weekend. A large black wasp or hornet stung me. Ouch!! It really really hurt. I've been stung by bees or horse flies many times, but this was in a different category. It was still flying around so I was trying swatting at it to get it fly away. Well then I saw several more. Another one stung me fast and hard. I flew down the deer and ran back to my truck.

I have about a 4 inch swelling around each on bite - one on each arm. Okay, so now what? My prime hunting spot has a wasp nest by it. I guess I wear long sleeves next time.

2005 U.S. Open - Pinehurst, NC

Paul Devine and I spent the day at the practice round for the U.S. Open. Wow!!! These guys are stunning in their ability. I stood in awe of their ball striking ability. You'll be able to tell from the photos who my favorite golfer is. We spent most of the day following Tiger Woods around.

Looking forward to the watching the week of golf. Go Tiger. Let's make it 2 for 2 on the majors this year.

Tiger Woods Photos at the U.S. Open in Pinehurst, NC

I may not be a vegetarian, but ...

On my way home from church today, I was picking up some hamburger meat to grill. I could have stopped by Harris Teeter or Food Lion, but I chose to go the healthy route. I shopped at Whole Foods. I feel much better about myself as a person knowing that although I am not a vegetarian, the cow I am eating tonight was a vegetarian.

You got that right. I will consume the meat of a cow who lived his life being "fed strictly a vegetarian diet"! Now the butcher at Whole Foods didn't find the irony of this fact nearly as funny as I did. I will sleep well tonight knowing that I am a healthier person and the world is a better place. I didn't fall prey to eating one of those carnivorous cows.

Tiger Unleashed!!

Apple Computer released its new operating system today. I was there to witness the fanfare.

I took my PowerBook into the store in the morning to get the hard drive replaced. It started making some awful noises yesterday. It stayed alive long enough to get everything backed up. I wouldn't have lost too much anyway. I was actually hoping the whole computer would die. They'd have to replace it with a new one. My three year warrany is up in a couple months.

I arrived at the store at about 10:20 a.m. The new OS dubbed "Tiger" went on sale at 6 p.m. tonight. There were three young guys sitting outside the Apple Store in lawn chairs - yes that's right with 7 hours & 40 minutes and counting. The local TV channel was there to interview them. They had been sitting there since 5 a.m.!!! As I waited for my laptop to get checked out, I had fun talking with these guys.

We came back with the family tonight at around 7:30 p.m. We had to wait outside the store to get in. So yes, I purchased a family pack of the new operating system. A few cool upgrades. I've installed it on Nana's iMac and the kids' eMac. I'll have to give a more detailed review later, but for off to bed. :-)

England Trip Photos

We're back from the trip to England. It was a special time for Nana and me. I've posted two galleries. One is pictures from the whole trip. The other is photos from just Guy & Sheri's wedding blessing at Highworth Church.

The Lion King was a fabulous show. It is still our favorite. If you ever get a chance to see it - DO IT! Get the best tickets possible and sit back and enjoy. For all you Minnesota people, The Lion King is coming Minneapolis later this month. My parents will be going to see it.

UNC Tar Heels are the national champions in men's basketball!! It's a long story, but I actually found the game at 3:30 a.m. at a club in London. I caught the end of the first half and the second half. There were probably 100 UNC fans going wild at this sports bar. I watched the game with two UNC grads who live in London working for Bank of America. I got back to the hotel at 5:30 a.m. Nana and I got up at 10 a.m. and hit the city. We packed a lot into this trip. It's an expensive place with the dollar being weak, but we thoroughly enjoyed England.

England Trip Photos

Guy & Sheri's English Wedding

London, England

We're having ghastly weather here in London - true to the stereotype. Nonetheless, it's been brilliant. Today we saw the changing of the Royal Guard at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, and several other sites.

Last night we saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. A full review would take too long, but here's the short version. Perspective is everything. It was the best cruise entertainment I've ever experienced. Coming from the Royal Shakespeare Company the night before, it paled in comparison. Great show for the family - clean, fun, and upbeat. If you're looking for plot development, Biblical understanding of the heart and life of Joseph, or great songwriting then look elsewhere.

Tonight we're going to our favorite show on earth - The Lion King. We've actually seen it twice already in Minneapolis as they were preparing for the Broadway opening. It's an incredible show. It'll be fun to see the musical here in London with different actors.

Stratford upon Avon

Greetings to you from England. Nana and I are having a wonderful time here. We attended the wedding blessing of Guy & Sheri with the vicar this past Saturday. We got a real dose of English culture as the reception was at Guy's brother's pub.

Tonight we'll attend the Royal Shakespeare Company's performance of Midsummer Night's Dream. After the performance, we'll drive into London where we'll spend the next two days touring the sights. We've almost finished reading the play this afternoon as we sat and sipped a latte at a cafe.

Greetings to everyone at home. We'll see you soon.

Kendrick & Nana

Kendrick Jr.'s Friends Birthday Party

Kendrick Jr. had a birthday party this past weekend. It was a belated party. The boys played in the woods, had dart gun wars, and a BB gun competition. It's fun to see Kendrick Jr. and Joseph enjoying their friends so much. It's a gift to have friends from such good families.

Gallery of K Jr.'s 10th Birthday Party

All is Well in the World of Sports

Wow, what a happy day on the course and the court. Tiger Woods beats Phil Michelson in the Doral Ford Championship. He returns to his #1 ranking in the world. Tiger's back.

Better yet though... UNC beats Duke at home. They win the ACC regular season. They'll be ranked #1 in the nation tomorrow morning. Ahhh... all is well in the world of sports.

Happy Valentine's Day

Last Thursday Grace Church sponsored a Father-Daughter Dinner and Dance. I took Aliesha as my date. Next Gabriela can go when she's 5 years old. Aliesha and I stopped by the sushi bar for an appetizer. We danced and danced and danced.

Father-Daughter Photos

Sips Coffee and Tea

Rocky and Shery Armstrong had an open house for their new coffee shop tonight. The grand opening of Sips Coffee and Tea is tomorrow! Hurray and congratulations for the Armstrongs. This has been a vision and desire of their hearts for a long time. God really blessed them with a great spot and minimal startup cost. They're taking over a coffee shop in Durham.

The location is just across from the Q Shack near Nana's Restaurant. They've upfitted the interior. They'll have wireless access, a meeting room, and some of the best coffee in town. Jan Pulley's art is hanging on the walls. Drop in and check it out.
2501 University Dr.
Durham, NC 27707
Phone: 919.401.8032

Their website is at: Sips Coffee and Tea

Big News from Gabriela!

Gabriela asked Jesus into her heart this past week. Joseph is our family evangelist. He explained the meaning of being a Christian - asking God to forgive your no-no's. Gabriela really got it. She was so excited. She took her first communion at home - as the other three kids did when they received Christ. Gabriela also took communion at church this past Sunday. Gabriela's faith has really come alive recently. It's amazing how God drops a "child-like" faith into hearts.

Gary Wiens is arriving today for a confernece on authority with God through intimacy. We're believing for a great time.

Photo Galleries

I just posted a gallery of some pictures from this past Christmas. My parents were here from Minnesota. We had a great time up in Blowing Rock. We spent a day at Grandfather Mountain (a bunch of pictures). My parents took Kendrick Jr., Joseph, and Aliesha skiing. It was Aliesha first time skiing. She did very well.
Christmas 2004

I also updated my photo gallery page with links to a bunch of galleries.
Photo Galleries

Satellite Pantry

Yesterday I went out with Michelle Dingfelder and others from Grace Church to pass out food in Chapel Hill. We visited a housing project and a senior center (see picture). Michelle has really won the hearts of these people as she has been faithful to deliver the love of God and food.

We've been doing a week of prayer and fasting at church. Isaiah 58:7 says that part of the fast that God hears is when we share our bread with the hungry. It was a privilege to be a part of literal passing out of bread. We also had the privilege of sharing financially with 4 families in the community through the generosity of members at Grace Church.

May justice break out in the land as we humble ourselves before God, break the bonds of wickedness, and share with those in need.

Nana and I are at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO for the weekend with a group from church. Mike Bickle started a 24/7 prayer meeting in September, 1999. It's inspiring hanging out with a group committed to fasting, prayer, and growing in the knowledge of God's heart.

Tomorrow we'll attend a seminar on the worship and prayer model that they use here. They've really tapped into something life-giving. You can check out their website at www.fotb.com.

Bible Reading in 2005

I came across some really great Bible reading plans online. It's amazing the resources out there. It's helpful to have some plan for meditating upon God's Word each day. If you've never read through the whole Bible, maybe this is your year. Here are some great resources for you.

Back To The Bible - You can read the Bible through in chronological order of how the events occurred. Other Bible reading plans include: Historical, OT & NT together, Beginning to End, Blended

BiblePlan.org - (12 Bible reading plans)

StudyLight.org - Bible plans and lots of study resources

Discipleship Journal - The original Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan which Nana and I are going to do. They also have a blended OT and NT plan with 28 days per month.

You can download the plan Nana and I are using by clicking here. May your feasting at the banqueting table of God be rich in 2005.