Nuestra casa nueva!

(That's "Our New House", for those of you who don't speak Spanish quite as fluently as Mira or I do).

Our move to the near southwest side was smooth and easy, thanks to the fine people at Smith Movers. We have had a mixed bag of moving experiences, so it was great to move out, move in and start cleaning all in the same day...and with nothing missing or broken. Does anybody know tipping expectations for movers? In the service industry it is important to let folks know that they are doing a great job--and nothing says that better than icy Gatorade and cold hard cash--but I have no idea what is considered reasonable. Anyway, let me walk you through what you've all been waiting for--pictures of the place, courtesy of Mira.

Here we have a great shot of the front of the parsonage (the word should be updated to pastorage, or in Mira's case, Lay-Person-Assigned-to-Ministry-age), with the church and its steeple peeking out behind.


You may notice that the cars in the church parking lot are lower than the sidewalk level. Every house on our block, and in our neighborhood, has a foundation that begins lower than street level, thanks to some creative structural engineering. So, the basement of the parsonage, which is a great secondhand store the benefits the church, is above ground! Anyway, this is the front of the parsonage.

Here is our kitchen, located in the rear of the house, which is light, spacious, and mostly unpacked! There is a dishwasher (not named Eric or Mira) and microwave built in (so we can donate our microwave to the thrift store!), and a bathroom off to the left rear.


This picture's point-0f-view is almost 180 degrees from the kitchen picture (kitchen is back, to the left), is looking toward the front of the house and shows what will be Eric's office/guest bedroom to the left, the dining room to the right, and a living area to the right rear. There is some nice wood work and a built in bench, which will sparkle up nicely with a good re-finish and cleaning.


This is the parking lot of the church and the east side of the house, with the church's garden area to the left. The sleek and stylish Volvo on the right is the car the camp is lending me to do its promotional video for the summer. This picture highlights the interesting difference in levels that exists in many houses in our neighborhood: the "basement" is on the ground level, but not underground, and the front entrance is at street/sidewalk level (though lots of places have steps that go up to the main entrance from the sidewalk) and stairs from the front take you down to the ground level.


Here is the interfaith garden I was talking about. That little structure houses an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe with benches for prayer and meditation. That area also served as home plate for the home run derby I participated in on Sunday.


A view of the Lincoln United Methodist Church from the North.


We will post more pictures of the house when we have more unpacked and organized! We are excited to know some more of our neighbors and parishioners and to live within easy walking distance of so many resources (grocery, hardware, restaurants, cleaners, hairdressers, ice cream shops, bus and el, and a Target).

Anyway, before we moved we had some good times with some friends, mostly revolving around food. Our friends Andy and Lewis live in a building run by a benevolent and well-connected man named Dennis. He had a barbecue and told all the people in his building to invite their friends. Having qualified, we went. It was an awesome respite from the stresses of moving and was an opportunity to re-connect with friends who shared some things in common: Kristin, who is a national organizer for Interfaith Worker Justice, Will, who is a lawyer working for a labor union of federal workers, and Anne, who is an Albion grad and an organizer for UNITE-HERE. Lewis' mom was in town, as well, and made some yummy food for everybody. They live in a great location and have a wonderful landlord!

Mira and I enjoying the moment.


Will, Kristin, and Eric sharing a laugh.


General party fun.


We also had a chance to have breakfast with fellow Garrett grads and friends Maiko and Joey at our favorite restaurant/bar/progressive bookstore gift shop, the Heartland Cafe. It was a celebration of our move, Mira's new job, Joey's new job, Maiko's renewal of her visa and acceptance into another educational opportunity. There were omelets, burritos, pancakes, eggs, and about six gallons of coffee.

Maiko and Joey in the Heartland's sun porch.


Eric and Mira sporting the grays.


Mira's shirt reads in Spanish: "Ningun ser humano es illegal" or "No human is illegal," referring to American society's errant tendency to label people as "illegals" who are merely doing what each of us would do in order to feed our families. Eric's shirt reads "Intramural Sports Champions 2003-2004," invoking a memory of the triumphant and unexpected Garrett-Evangelical (team name, "Amish Jihad") intramural football season. While both messages are not equally profound, they are indeed equally powerful.

The following is an image of an event that we initially thought was going to result in a gang-type turf war. Disappointingly, it was a harmless paper drop-off at our old corner liquor store.