Flying blind

I'm sort of amused this morning - we can't get into our own blog from our computer because it has been blocked by our filter for "recreational nudity." I guess the baby butts were a bad idea. I just discovered I can still post though, so at least until I get it sorted out I'm not completely out of comission!

It's been an interesting couple of days! Thursday Christa and I went to help DeeDee, a little friend of mine who has been staying in the shelter at the Mission since February. She has two apartments that she pays rent on, but they are crammed full of stuff - literally - you can't even open the door all the way and the "stuff" is floor to ceiling, wall to wall. She hasn't been able to make much progress on her own, so we went to give it a day and see if we could make any headway. We did! By the time we were done we had completely filled the apartment's dumpster with trash, and begun to sort and organize the things she needed to keep. Some interesting side notes though:

- Rats. The bottom 18" or so (once we got that far) was all shredded paper, etc., from the feasting the rats have done for - years? Christa was digging through the debris, loading it into the trash, and found a nest of dead rats - thank you God she was wearing gloves. She screamed like a banshee and ran for the front door - then got herself under control and went back in to keep going. The girl is a STUD. I was fighting back the dry heaves the rest of the time we were there, and I was working out in the hall!

- Location, Location, Location. 8th and Prospect. Need I say more?

- The Smell. Coming from the apartment, it is indescribable. In the hallway (where we were sitting on the floor sorting stuff) - beer and pee. DeeDee told us partway through the morning that the alcoholic that lives downstairs pees on the hall floor.

OK enough. Y'all get the picture. We're going back next Wednesday for Round 2, provided she doesn't pack up the space we just cleared out with any more junk.

Total change of subject. Yesterday I woke up to a very exciting e-mail from my best friend from high school, Julie. She was the maid of honor in my wedding and then I don't think I ever talked to her or saw her again after that. No reason, we just went separate directions and never kept in touch. Anyway, this month is our 25-year class reunion, and she got my e-mail from another friend who is organizing the event. Long story short, we are both delighted to be catching up - I spent a couple of hours with her on the phone and barely scratched the surface of the years. I wasn't planning to go to the reunion, but after talking with her and finding out she's going (along with a few other people I would love to see) I've changed my mind.

We talked alot about how strange it is that all the "rules" of high school life don't exist anywhere else in the real world (what makes someone popular, for example, or the way labels get attached to people and just stick). The sad thing is, though, that those labels, etc., really affect our view of ourselves while we're still becoming who we will be, and we carry them with us far beyond high school. Thank you God for husbands, family and friends in the "real world" that can help us correct all those wrong impressions of ourselves!

Last night we went to Bob and Pat's (Greg's parents) along with some friends to watch a video of one of the Gaither Vocal Band's homecoming concerts. (We all went to their live concert here last year.) It was good food, fun and fellowship, especially after we got past the "blip" of trying to figure out why we had sound but no picture ... because we put the CD in instead of the DVD!!! Lots of old people trying to run electronics can be a bad thing.

Well that's it for this morning. Oh, here's an oldie but a goodie, since I don't have any new pictures to post:


This was the spectacular result of Christa and I going through a BUNCH of clothes given to her for the kids ... gotta love the tap shoes!