Swept Away With Cleaning and OMPH

Hello:

I've really missed posting to this BLOG. Since I closed on the new house last Wednesday - life has been a blur. I haven't even though about moving over yet - I've just been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. I only showed up for work at Liguori Publications one day this past week. I had plenty of vacation time left to cover it, but I had planned to use that time to catch up on things at the office. Oh well. Sometimes it is good to be swept away.

It's a fun experience in a lot of ways. It's one of those occasions when I can let my OCD run wild and it's a good thing. Any time you buy a house that the local hoarder lived in for 55 years - YOU NEED TO CLEAN THE BATHROOM WITH A TOOTHBRUSH! Trust me, do not cut corners on this.

Once I get moved in, I'll only be about 2 blocks down the street from Dave, the Saintly Sinner. That will make our car pooling even better. Dave has been a great neighbor (so far). He's dropped off cookies and brought a devotive candle of Our Mother of Perpetual Help (which we often abbreviate to OMPH) to place in niche of my fireplace. We've been joking that the niche was for a "bathtub Mary" (a strange little St. Louis tradition I'll talk about another time) which is why he brought the candle.

Speaking of neighbors, I've met several of my new ones and they all seem great. One couple has loaned me a small refrigerator (I won't be moving anything until I get the place cleaned up). It was a little emotional telling my current neighbors that I'm leaving. We've always gotten along so well. Pete and Pat are an elderly couple that watch the place better than any security system and refer to me as their son. Fortunately, the new place comes with a similar security system named Shirley.

I still have plenty to say (I hadn't realized how dependent I had become on BLOGging) but I need to wrap up and get to work. In an effort to fill the new house with life and positive energy, I'm having a very informal New Year's get together tonight. The nice thing is that no one will expect the place to be immaculate which really gets me off the hook.

I'll leave you with a recommendation for The Story of an Icon written by Fabriciano Ferrero, C.Ss.R. and is an in-depth exploration of the history and meaning of the Our Mother of Perpetual Help icon and it's significance to the Redemptorist order.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass