Mom & Dad Update (With informative links!!)

Hi Y'all,

The past few months have been very busy and very stressful and I apologize for not keeping up with e-mails.  I am finally to a point where I can think about other things besides where to put boxes, furniture and clothing, what to do about radon(the crux of the issue is on the 5th page, or here -JK) and nitrate in the water, where to put the TV the aquarium and the armoire, how to enlarge closets, and what to get rid of so we can get everything in the kitchen! 

To catch you up:  It has been two years this month that we moved to Penn.  We moved into temporary housing until Don could find work and we could move to a permanent location.  Last year my dad had a heart attack and had to stop work, so he and my mom moved in with us in our "temporary" home.  Subsequently he died and my mom is still with us, which we are happy about.  Don had been substitute teaching when we first came, then he got a job working at Sandy Cove, a Christian Conference Center, where he worked until January of 2004 when he was offered a full-time chaplain job with Marketplace USA (Recent name change -JK) and is currently serving as an industrial chaplain at Herr Foods, a local snack food manufacturer, and several other local businesses. 

The day after we got back from Texas this spring, we went to an open house and the next day we wrote a contract.  This was March 8.  By the end of the week they had accepted our offer, which was $10,000.00 less than what they were asking, and with the market like it is here in the northeast, we didn't have high hopes of getting it.  I believe a big part of why we got it is because we went back after the open house and visited with them, a sweet older couple who were moving to a retirement center.  She loved this house and wanted a Christian family to have it.  We were the first people to make an offer, and the Lord was gracious in allowing them to accept it.

The house is in a great location, only 10 minutes from my sister, Nancy, 30 minutes from Don's work, 6 minutes from Wal Mart and major shopping outlets.  A cape cod on half an acre with a horse farm across the road and Amish neighbors, too.  The town is Strasburg, which is well known for the Strasburg Railroad, the oldest short-line railroad in the country.  We have a railroad museum, a nice miniature golf course and a wonderful ice cream shop just minutes from us.  Strasburg has cute little shops with bed and breakfasts and does a large tourist trade in the summer and fall.   With farm land all around it has the feel of country, but is just at the city limit of Strasburg.  It was one of the places I said I would like to live, but didn't  pursue anything here because there is hardly anything ever available.  If something comes on the market, it is snatched up before you can blink.  This house was on the market 10 days.  So that is the good news.

We put our house on Sunrise Avenue on the market and almost immediately had a prospective buyer.  An older couple moving from New York.  We were so excited!  To make a long story short, that fell through because of their health and some issues with the house that they weren't prepared to deal with.  That is the bad news. 

So back it goes on the market again.  We were sweating it out, because we had our closing set for May 30 and it was already the middle of April.  As it turned out, the Lord brought a couple from Virginia Beach to buy it.  They will be retiring in a couple of years and their daughter lives close by.  They plan to rent it until they move in. 

So we moved on June 7 with closing on the Sunrise house on July 30.  Since we don't have a church contingency like we did in Longview to help us move, we hired a moving company to move our furniture, and we moved our boxes...and we had a lot of boxes!  We hadn't unpacked much of anything since our move from Texas!  Poor Don put in some pretty long days.  He could only take off a day or two from work, so he moved them in the evenings and weekends.  It seemed like we were moving forever.  And since we are replacing some flooring, everything could not go where it should have.  We had a bad experience with the moving company, too. Several things got broken, oh well...

We were able to get my mom reasonably settled first.  The house has 4 bedrooms and two of them are on the first floor, with her bath just off the hall.  One of the bedrooms we have converted into a laundry/sewing room.  Don and I got our first experience doing tile floor.  Don and a friend cut and laid the tile.  I grouted it.   It turned out great!  We still have some remodeling to do, as I want to take out three walls to open up the living area.  We plan to add a front porch and later a garage.  The house is 20 years old and pretty much still in original condition except the former owners enclosed the original garage to make a dining room and built a single detached garage.   It has pine flooring upstairs and in the kitchen, and part of the basement is beautifully finished off with brick floors and a fireplace.  The closets are a real challenge, as was getting our furniture in.  With about 1700 sq. ft. it is not large, and the rooms chop it up.  We will be adding a kitchen island and building a closet for additional storage.  Don and I have the two bedrooms upstairs as our bedroom and office suite with a bath in between.  It has worked out nicely, but it wasn't easy.  After much discussion, we put the aquarium in the basement which will double as the guest room and sitting area.  So those of you who want to come visit, please come, we finally have a (fishy) place for you.  :)

For Virginia:  The color of my kitchen cabinets are... ta da...Burgundy!

For Tom and Patti:  Can't wait to see you in October!  The airport you should fly in to is either Baltimore or Harrisburg.  I don't know what stage of chaos we will be in when you come, but you will have a nice, quiet, sanctuary in the basement.  Can you tell me exact dates so we can plan some excursions? 

For Rose:  Guess you are wondering when you will get your jacket!  Well, I'm wondering the same thing!  Hopefully by winter!  :) 

We found a refreshing church with a good music program and a good pastor, but no choir.  I continue to favor the mega church with everything.  It's a little harder to get involved, but we haven't made much of an effort either. 

Joel will be coming up for a visit as soon as they find a replacement for him at East Texas Sports Center, where he works.  Tech said that he can start full time, but he is still raising support.  Thank you for your prayers for him.

My mom and my sister and I are joining a water aerobics class this fall.  Hope to get my mom's arthritic knee moving so it doesn't freeze up.  It was a year Aug 10 that my dad died.  In fact, with as much as we have had on our plates the past two years:  two moves, three job changes and a death, it has only been by the Lord's grace that we have stayed healthy.  My back stopped hurting after we got the house, so now my chiropractor is hurting!  Ha! 

This has gone on long enough.  Till next time!
Love,
Pat and Don

Random act of mischief

On a past Saturday morn, not but seven days and a fortnight ago I was exiting my residence, and happened to notice something odd about the main passage of entry to my humble place of abode. However drafty, or inefficient it may be is beside the point, and one must agree that to have one's own place described about in the form of written word, is likened unto that which can be almost purely distilled down to a form of something akin to chin music. I began to examine the scene, and upon closer inspection, had no other choice but to conceed that an egg (which is infused with a fair amount of Choline) had been most definitely smacked betwixt the lower four window panes in my front door.

I later found out through a rather informed young neighbour boy, that in fact, the Choline enriched projectile element was meant for the adjacent door to mine, not three feet from its designated place of rest [though violent destruction of the enCholinated item is evident, it is still accurate to refer to its final destination as a place of 'rest'; this is known as 'Poetic Understatement' to those who are fluent in the use of literary words (Link for C. 'Shroud' Wesley and Mrs.(Dr.) Olson).

Impromptu definition...

Poetic Understatement-An illustrative word picture for purposes of exaggerative emphasis; used in cases of irony, often comic or satirical in nature, a mild, or ultra-refined synoptical description of a catastophic event(s)].

I leave it up to incorrect trajectoral analysis... widely overlooked by the illwitted; also one of the most unchecked, and uncorrected mistakes of those among the practice of common mischievity. No hard feelings tho' because two good things happened as a result of this incident. I got to kill the ants that were congregating on what can only be described somewhat descreetly as 'egg-mess', with some bits of Choline ...and I get to see if this all purpose cleaner that I think I paid $40 a quart for, actually does what it claims.

An arcticle that made me laugh when I read the title.
&Um...

Notice

Well, John Goodding and Birne Wiley have given me permission (about three weeks ago) to give notice to ETSC in Marshall (which I also did about three weeks ago). I've postponed the writing of this update, because I kinda didn't know what to do with it myself. I let Sports Center know that I would stay until they could find someone else for me to train. So, now I'm just waiting for the position to be filled.

This came as a surprise to me, because John was the one that suggested that I could go ahead, after he ran it by Birne. I said that would be fine, but that I also wanted to be very sensitive to how the board felt about me starting full-time, even though I'm ~$100 below their recommendation of $1000 monthly. The reasoning I guess, is that I have enough accrued in my escrow account to amply supplement my current mo. income to reach the $1K... until it is actually met. Needless to say I was a bit taken aback when Birne approved. I gave my notice that Friday, and Paul (ETSC Boss) said that he didn't want to hold me up, but was relieved to find that I would stay until someone came along that I could train for the position.

So that's the big news.

*If you're on my mailing list you'll probably be seeing this in a formal letter type format. If you would (or wouldn't) like to receive a mailed letter, please contact me so I don't send out needless paperwork.*

-JK