Reverend Ref +

HAVIN' A BALL

Wow, it's been awhile I guess. For starters, let's talk about the move. The diocese approved the move with Atlas Van Lines, so that was a good thing. It was also kind of nice because I was able to give the move to the company that I used to work for, as well as still having a bunch of my stuff in storage from when we moved to SWTS. Then I also found out that the diocese will cover the full cost of the move. That's really good news. So that was Tuesday.

The rest of the week I spent packing up the office. It really is amazing how much garbage and useless stuff you (or I) can cram into one small room. But I got all of my books and other sundry things packed up and ready for the move. I even managed to separate what needs to go with me and what needs to go with the moving company.

And that's another story. Because I was out of town getting diaconated, and the business manager was out of town on vacation, nothing got organized with the moving companies (see previous post). So the soonest anyone could get our stuff was July 6. We have a pickup window of July 6-8, and a delivery window of July 8-16. So we are renting a car and packing it with everything we need for two weeks, then caravaning to MT. Woo hoo.

Then Tripp calls me up and says, "Hey, you want to make some money moving my fiance's voice instructor from Michigan to Chicago?" I'm all for making money, especially right before I might actually need the cash. So we went to Muskegon, MI on Thursday. Loaded up a U-Haul Thursday and Friday, then I drove it back to Chicago, dutifully following Tripp through city streets I never knew existed until we got to our final destination.

The best part of the move: We managed to get a 29-7/8" desk out of her basement and up a 30" stairwell with minimal damage. And nobody got injured.

This upcoming weekend, Mrs. Ref, The Kid, and I are going down to Jane's for dinner. We are also picking up packing peanuts for our own packing. Sunday Jane is coming up to our place to help pack. Should be interesting. Especially since she's a pretty good player of "Toss or Keep" (that moving game where you decide if you want keep something or toss it away).

Then there's the house. As you are all aware of, I have two parishes: one in Virginia City (VC), and one in Sheridan. The senior warden of VC has told me that the house is coming along and should be ready for us by the time we get there. The senior warden for Sheridan has said it may not be done, we might need to get you a motel room for a week. Hmmm. I guess we'll find out when we get there.

And finally, we've got a bunch of people that have decided that this might be the last time they will ever see us again, so they are all trying to fit time into our already packed schedule. Saturday it's Jane, Sunday it's a baby shower, Monday . . . can't remember but there's gotta be something, Tuesday it's either Tripp or some friends from St. A's (or both??), Wednesday's another Monday, and Thursday . . . well, Thursday we leave. What a hectic last week to our time at SWTS.

All right troops, I need to close out for the night. Hope all is well in your world.