Housescleaning

We spent five intense hours in Baltimore, getting the wireless phone system set up and cleaning out the master bedroom for new tenants.  Up until now, we've rented the other rooms and used Paul's bedroom as a pie de terre (sp?) for our trips to Little Italy on weekends.  Since the family antics of last year, we've been staying in Montgomery County, recuperating; Since we're planning to renovate the house  in the coming years, we've wanted to get some folks in there who could be comfortable living there while the work is being done.

So, yesterday we gave up the bedroom, and hauled away four bags of trash, four bags of Goodwill stuff and divided the rest between an attic storage room and the my house.  Goodwill now has most of Paul's army gear, his hiking gear and ten year's worth of shirts and pants.  The attic has rugby treasures, sports awards and memorabilia, and Paul's old army uniforms.  We have bags of laundry and my stuff that we moved up there five years ago when it looked like I would have to move up there, jobless.

My feeling is that since we'll have to gut and store things anyhow when we start the renovations, the piles of things in the living room is just the opening volley.

Came home to much netsurfing and watched  Ram Dass's Fierce Grace , a Netflix offering.  Later, I listened to some audio from DharmaStream and made plans to begin going to church again, having picked out the Ascension Episcopal Church as a likely fit. As I've  grown older and less wiser, I have begun to hunger for a religious community to be part of.  The Episcopal church seems like a close fit, and were it not 12:30 as I write this, I would have gone to the service and been able to report back.  I'm not looking for perfection, but I would like to celebrate with others who believe that women can be priests and leaders in the church.  I would like to celebrate in a community made up of people from many walks of life--maybe it's my foreign service childhood, but I am happier in diversity than homogeneity, though as I write this I feel myself  judging others, so mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

Today is going to be spent dealing with Dad's house and readying this house for his visit.  Last week I called around to various adult daycare groups and found one in that I thought would be a good place for him to spend a few days.  We'll balance out the rest  of the week with the Home Instead worker.  And on weekends, it'll be just the three of us.

And I'll round out my field trip (no understatement--I'll bring back photos) with a chat with fellow blogger Mike at the Cafe Mayorga, which was the Canada Dry factory when I was growing up. 

Comments

[timna]

One of the things I have to do in Beer Sheva. I'm postponing calling our tenants. I know I'd like to go into our closed room just to make sure it's not been flooded or something; it's been 3 years since we've looked into it. but there's a 4 door closet up against the opening...

[Paulie at The Commons]

You're an awfully good egg.

[Laurie]

If you're speaking of Ascension in Silver Spring, my grandmother and her family were charter members (an old SS/Takoma Park family...) It's a lovely church. The two most recent priests (rectors?) have supported us through two significant deaths in our family and have been just great. I have the same feeling about it that you do...If I go back to church it will likely be Episcopal.

[joanna]

Laurie, the church I'm talking about is on 355 in Gaithersburg--near Old Town.
Timna--try to put off visiting the room for as long as you can. Remember, you went to Israel to work on your book. Unless you need to procrastinate with your book. Then, it's imperative that you get to that room, at once!
Thanks Paul, you're a good egg, too.

[scott]

Hello, joanna. I'm just stopping by to wish you a happy Fourth of July. I hope it's fun and relaxing for you.

I also wanted to tell you this: Hello.

[Home Remodeling Ideas]

good cleaning of the house joanna....