House weekend

This weekend was devoted to house things. No office work allowed. Friday night I went over and cut our friends’ grass. I had done it once before and made diagonal lines across their long sloping lawn. This time I tried making a Zen garden, cutting circles around the big oak tree in the corner of the lawn. It was supposed to represent the tree as a pebble dropped into the lake of the lawn…got it? I’m not sure the idea translated that well in the doing of it. If they ever ask me again, I’ll try something different.

I felt I was falling behind on the painting in the kitchen, so Saturday morning was reserved for that. Shane was a tremendous help, putting the final coat on the ceiling and then helping trim and prime the cabinets. We got a lot done and both collapsed later for naps. I couldn’t face the ceiling again, having put three coats on it earlier. The Kilz did the job and now it looks terrific.

We are still trying to get the last three pieces of the hardware we need. The store says maybe Wednesday. Today I finally took one out of the wrapper and tried it. I didn’t realize there were these little threaded nubs sticking out where the screws go. The holes in our cabinets are not big enough, so I’ll ream them out a little with a drill and everything should be fine.

Max and Shane stopped over the house on Saturday. Unremarkable, except that they did it in a steady downpour—on foot. They called it a ‘rain walk’. Since it was time for Kodiak’s after dinner constitutional, we joined them on the trek home. Max thoroughly enjoyed watching Kodiak try to shake himself dry. He learned that his glasses fog up in the rain, and that he cannot shake himself dry like a dog, try as he might. Earlier in the week, Max was in the backyard and he ran his hands over the grass, as he had seen me do once before, and he excitedly declared, “The grass is dry—we can play in the clubhouse!” The clubhouse consists of those two cardboard boxes from the appliance store. Of course we can only use them on dry days. I cut doors and windows according to Max’s specifications in every side of both boxes, so he is constantly flowing in and out of the openings, encouraging less limber me to follow.

Saturday night I went to 4:30 p.m. Mass since I was substituting for another reader and another Eucharistic minister. If I hadn’t had those responsibilities I would have stayed home. As it was, I was so tired, I was standing in my spot with the wine, and no one was approaching me—not unusual—when I heard “Psst!” It was a little old lady in the handicapped pew who wanted wine. As it turned out, a whole row of little old ladies wanted wine, so down the line I went.

After Mass, one of the women from Social Justice, Theresa, came up to me and told me that her husband had died that very morning. She was determined to come to church, and so she did. I felt really bad for her, as she stood talking to me, her eyes filling up. Her kids are in town, but the rest of the family will be coming in from out of state. Her husband was not active in the group, but Theresa is a wonderful worker. She is in her sixties, not sure how old her husband was, but we think he was a little older than her. Last week was a busy one with funerals, now we have another one.

I was talking to our pastor just before Mass on Saturday night. He told me about a funeral this past week where he was presiding. During his homily, someone’s cell phone went off. The guy answered it and paced up and down the side aisle talking. “I’m at the funeral. Father’s preaching now…” The pastor stopped and said, “Maybe we should wait until this gentleman is finished, since it must be a very important call.” One of the family members went to the guy and told him, “Sit down, now!” Did we lose our brains when cell phones were invented?

Today we are off to the Indians’ game. It’s cooled off this weekend, so it should be a nice afternoon. Next week is the conference we have been planning for the past year and a half. I probably won’t be able to write for a time.