A Blur of Activity

Not only do we get to unpack, but we're also undertaking various projects: mounting medicine cabinets, toilet paper holders, towel racks, adding shelves -- and when all else fails, calling in the professionals. The plumber found the reason the drain was glacially slow was that someone had dumped grout into it, which hardened.

Meanwhile, Abby was coughing so we took her to the vet, who diagnosed it as asthma and noticed evidence that she had fleas. That meant washing all the bedding, throws, etc., as well as treating Abby.

We also moved items from the temporary apartment that my better half had, and culled the duplicate furniture.

In my spare time, I got my Pennsylvania drivers license, vehicle registration, and voter registration.

Abby, Our New Addition

My better half wanted to visit one of the animal shelters yesterday, so we went to the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) where we looked at cats and adopted this one. Like Samantha, Abby is a female calico. She's only six months old, is excited about her new home and people, and purrs almost constantly.

Certainly, she's already making our new house seem more like home. :-)

Philly

This past weekend, my better half and I walked to the Manayunk main street, a collection of shops that include restaurants, coffee houses, ice cream shops, and home stores. We found an excellent pizza place where we ate dinner. Philly has lots of these small main streets, which used to be separate communities before being annexed in the 1850s.

The spare bedroom, office, (the entire third floor) and workshop (basement) are still disasters, but the other rooms are mostly ready. Here's a picture of the office, where this entry is being typed:


Obviously, we still have some unpacking to do. LOL!

A "Sweet" Gift

Our real estate agent in Atlanta was a delightful person and became our friend. Sherry gave us a present before we left Atlanta, a jelly bean dispenser from Jelly Belly along with a big supply of Jelly Belly candies. We placed the dispenser in the living room, where we've been sampling the fifty different flavors of jelly beans.


One of my favorites is the bubble-gum flavored jelly beans. Delicious!

Another Kentucky Creation

In driving to Philadelphia from Atlanta (with a carload of stuff to ensure that our house had the essentials before the movers arrived), I stopped at Berea, Kentucky. They have a collection of Kentucky crafts which include ceramics, pottery, hand-blown glass, and metal figures. Our cute mouse was bought there on an earlier trip. This trip I acquired a kitty:



Isn't it cute, despite its temporary spot atop moving boxes? :-)

Boxes, boxes, more boxes

The movers deposited all the Atlanta possessions at the new Philly house on Saturday. They spent all day unloading. The moving van (a fifty-three foot long trailer) would not fit into city streets, so they had to rent a U-Haul, then shuttle loads using the U-Haul.

The new place is a "twin," which is what they call a row house with only one neighbor (I would call it a duplex). It has a basement and three levels, so the movers were constantly having to lug boxes and furniture up and down stairs.

To my amazement, they managed to get everything into the correct room except for the queen-size box spring of the third floor guest room. (They had to "fold" the mattress to get it there). They even managed to move the refrigerator - which was almost as wide as the door - into the kitchen.

Our decor is boxes, hundreds of boxes. David has been working on unpacking the kitchen, while I unpack the bathrooms, master bedroom, and closets. We have been unpacking since Sunday and still have boxes and more boxes to unpack. We haven't found anything broken yet.

Going Crazy

The movers come on Monday to pack the house, then load the furniture and boxes on Tuesday. I'm going crazy preparing for the move. I'm trying to go through all the closets culling the unwanted items. I have visited Goodwill every day for the past ten days with a trunk (sometimes the whole car) full of donations.

Both the recycling and the trash bins have been filled to overflowing; where does all this stuff come from?

Animal Shelters

My better half has really felt the loss of our pet. He's already been researching animal shelters.

The last time I visited a shelter was in my hometown when I tried to get my dad to adopt a pet to keep him company. I always feel so sorry for the caged animals and want to adopt all them all, both cats and dogs. Of course, that's not possible.

In looking for Philadelphia area animal shelters, my partner found one with pictures and descriptions of the animals available for adoption. One was an eleven-year old cat. Can you imagine what that cat must have felt when it was uprooted from her people and her home and placed in a cage, especially at an age that for cats is old?

The other thing that struck me were the names of the animals. Bo-Bo, CoCo, Dee-Dee, Fifi. Who names them? Must the names be a baby sound that is duplicated to two syllables? Abby was the only non-gibberish name I found.

Adopted 2-15-1997, Deceased 1-7-2008

Our cat was quite the character. Every night, she would put us to bed, usually trying to coax us in the bedroom at around 9 PM. In the morning, she would awake us, should we try to sleep beyond 5 AM. She would check on us periodically during the day, and would know when we should be returning, often waiting by the door.

She had a variety of sounds, from one that could only be described as a question mark, to another that asked where you were. I've never had a cat that could make so many different sounds, each with a special, unique meaning.

She also never hesitated to tell you what she felt, including hisses when she was unhappy. Honest and expressive and loving. That was our cat. We will miss her.

"Do you have a couple dollars?"

Occasionally, I'm approached by panhandlers. I used to always give them a couple dollars, but was unsure whether the money helped them. At times I'm sure my donation went to purchasing alcohol or drugs which only prolonged their problems.

Then, I tried buying food for them, usually purchasing a meal at a grocery store. I stopped that approach when one of the recipients refused the meal, saying he preferred to chose his food. I kept the meal and ate it for lunch, but that remark (and its implication that I was being condescending by providing the food) stopped me from donating food to panhandlers.

Next, I tried suggesting that they go to churches, thinking they would have the resources to help them, including counseling. One person reacted by telling me what one minister said when trying that approach, "Bless you. We'll be praying for you. God will help you get through this. Through God all things are possible. Bless you" before suggesting that the person go to a government agency located miles away. The person's description was funny, although obviously the church did not provide any assistance. Perhaps the churches also do not know what to do, or lack the resources to provide help. Anyway, I decided that suggesting churches wasn't being helpful.

So, what does one do?

Cold Temperatures, Cold Hearts

Atlanta is in the grips of an arctic cold front, like most of the country. It was in the high teens on Wednesday morning, with wind gusts of 35 mph. The bird bath never thawed (and hasn't for two days). In attempting to describe how cold it was, I hit upon a great description: colder than the hospitality at a Southern Baptist church. Anyone gay instantly understands how frigid their welcome is.

Philly Place Under Contract

On Christmas Eve, our Philadelphia real estate agent notified us that our revised offer had been accepted. Yay! Now, for the inspection, appraisal, and loan approval. Our agent noted that the seller had belly ached about declining sales prices, well we can certainly relate to that complaint!

The House is Under Contract

Our house in Atlanta is now under contract. When we listed it over seven months ago, our real estate agent estimated that it would sell within ninety days. Unfortunately, that estimate was given before the sub prime mortgage debacle and the subsequent housing crash.

We are happy that the house may finally be sold; now, we just need a place in Philadelphia.

The Attic Varmint

Every couple of years, we get a critter who decides the attic is the perfect place to store acorns. This situation is rather annoying, since they are active in the nightime when we are trying to sleep.

Here is the latest varmint to attempt housekeeping in our attic:


After dining on sunflower seeds, our guest was transported to a local park where he was last spotted quickly climbing a tree.

Unusual Holiday Season

When the local chain of pawnshops mails sales fliers ("Giant Holiday Sale!"), you know it is an unusual Christmas:



The economy must not be doing well when the pawnshops are having sales -- and mailing brochures to market their merchandise!