the *real* final week

the view from my window

Monday. I ran downtown to do the food order for Tazza Mia, and I enjoyed coffee at The Anchor before heading up to Park Avenue to continue gutting the apartment. We've gotten it mostly cleared out. I ran by The Anchor for a second time on my way back,a nd then went by Bakewell to see Corey, Mandy, and Andy. We went to Dubb's Irish Pub and I had the Great Lake Christmas Ale and we shot pool.

Tuesday. After opening with Eric I passed out back home until the evening. I recuperated with coffee and dinner at The Anchor and did some much-needed grocery shopping. Corey & Mandy came over for a little bit, and so did Sarah.

Wednesday. Miranda and I opened, and since my shift with Walk of Joy was cancelled, I spent my evening at Winton Ridge hanging out with Amos. I did some reading back home and went to bed.

Thursday. I woke at 7 AM, unable to fall back asleep, so I went to The Anchor before my shift in Blue Ash. I picked up Sarah downtown after work, and we went by Park Avenue so she could snatch-mo some dishes no one wants. Back in Covington we scoped out her new place, and her pal Ames came by. My evening was spent reading, and I cooked an awesome dinner after an hour-long workout. I was in bed by 9:00 with the winter winds rattling my stained glass windows.

Friday. I went to The Anchor to devour 2 Corinthians paired with coffee before opening Tazza Mia with Eric. We were slow because of the impending snowstorm, and on break I went to Rock Bottom and Keith hooked me up with a beer and two growlers of Winter Tartan on the house. The snow and ice started falling around noon, and after work I hurried home to beat the weather. Within hours the roads were gone, nothing but white; sirens everywhere, wrecks all over the place. Ams, Mandy and I were supposed to hang out, but what with the roads the way they were, that didn't happen. So I spent the evening locked up in my hobbit hole reading, burning incense, and I made tortellini for dinner. On a sad note, Great Aunt Charlotte passed away, probably a heart attack. "I had lunch with her today," Mom said, "and she was laughing and having a good time."

Saturday. Half a foot of snow fell overnight. I woke at 6 AM and went to The Anchor to read and write, and then I headed down the street to visit Corey and Mandy at Bakewell. I fixed bacon, eggs and toast for brunch, and then Blake and I met up at Park Avenue to toss all the stuff we're not keeping. I went back to Covington to read and cook dinner (baked chicken and roasted vegetables) before my 5-Midnight shift in Blue Ash. On my way home I swung by Park Avenue to pick up the last of my things, and I bid farewell, for the final time. End of an Era. But it wasn't that great of one. I've got higher hopes for Scott Boulevard.

Sunday. I woke and went to The Anchor for coffee before church at U.C.C. Attendance was sparse, a couple inches of fresh snow falling all morning and the roads turning to an icy mush. Mandy preached on the Syro-Ephraimitic War and Isaiah's prophecies of the coming Davidic King. You know, Christmas stuff. The "take-home" (if you can call it that; sure, I will) was that we should use our imagination to "look beyond" the transient, temporal world around us to perceive God at work in the world. The "keys" to such an imagination are keeping God before our eyes, giving Scripture room to work in our lives, and engaging God in prayer. I spent the afternoon polishing off my growler of Winter Tartan and reading Dallas Willard, and I went over to Bakewell House to see Corey & Mandy, John & Matt, and Ams before heading to Blue Ash for a 4-Midnight shift with Walk of Joy. Ams came by Blue Ash to visit me and one of my guys, and he put on a Keith Urban concert and showered her in affection. Once the guys were in bed, I spent the evening reading historical fiction and then headed back to Covington at the strike of midnight.