I just noticed that is has been some time since I posted anything on my blog, and by now some of you may be wondering if I plan on maintaining this blog or or not.  Rest assured that I plan to, but this last week has been consumed with the ordinary church work common to any pastor, as well as much moving of furniture, cleaning, and painting.

I will post some more later about the specifics of all this, but for now let me say that I am once again on my own in this great big world and in the church parsonage (except for when my lovely daughter Desiree is with me).  This is the case because last Wednesday Jim and Joy Jannotti and their two girls moved to their new home:  the parsonage at Temple UMC, about 10 minutes away.  For the past five years we shared the parsonage which is my home, and we ate almost every supper together during that time. It was nice to be a part of an extended “family” of sorts, and I know my daughter loved the relationship she developed with Kristin and Amy (the Jannotti girls).  So it was sad to see them leave in many and most ways.

I can only think of two things I won’t miss about sharing the parsonage with Jim.  These are:

• Jim droppings . . . As many of you know, Jim is a part-time rural postal carrier, and one piece of evidence that Jim is around is the plethora of rubber bands that one finds laying around the house and on the driveway outside.  The day will come, though it is not yet here, when this sure sign of Jim’s presence will finally disappear.
• Jim also has what I would call an aversion to shutting kitchen cabinet doors and turning off lights when he left a room . . . particularly at night.  I have no idea why this is the case; I only know that many were the times when I would go into the kitchen and find the majority of cabinet doors open after Jim had just visited the same.  The was also true when I would venture forth from my room at night after Jim had retired for the evening . . . most times the lights in the rooms he frequented would still be on.  Why?  I have no idea.  It was just one of those things.

Of course, I say this in fun.  I really do miss the Jannotti family.  I miss picking on the girls.  I miss Joy and Jim’s cooking.  And the list of what I miss could go on and on.  I thank the Lord that the Jannottis are only a few miles down the road, and I can visit them whenever I like (providing they let me in, of course).  Also, I am sure that Jim and Joy both have their own lists of things they won’t miss about me . . . lists much longer than the two little points I make above.

But one of the consequences of their move is that I now have the whole parsonage to myself, and this means moving things around.  Every room in the house has changed, and in some cases I have had to move stuff up and down two floors as well.  I have ripped out old carpet (discovering termite damage, which will have to be repaired), cleaned, and started the process of repainting most the rooms.  I have organized all (and I do mean all) of my books into fiction and nonfiction categories, and further, I have shelved them alphabetically.  I will be doing the same with my music and movies over the coming days.  This, along with my regular church work, has all been a time consuming and very tiring process, leaving me little time to post to this blog.

In addition to all this moving stuff, I have also welcomed a new kitten into my home that Desiree wanted.  Her name is Emily and she is about 8 weeks old and very adorable (pictures will be forthcoming).  She is also incredibly irritating . . . wanting to play constantly.  In addition, she does not yet know how to handle her claws, and I bear the marks on my hands and arms to prove this.  Luckily, she does use the litter box, and after a few days of mutual wariness, she and our older cat Melody seem to be getting along.

So, there you have it . . . a few of the reasons this blog has been unusually quiet.  Hopefully the noise level will return to normal soon.