The back shed is calling me. There are approximately 10 boxes of doom waiting in there for me to fight spiders and pull out ‘treasures’. I did find some very old fanzines that I will keep, and EVEN MORE books. Seriously, how many books does a person really, really need? I figure if I haven’t needed those books which DH put in the shed, then they can go.

I have boxes of books to donate to the Lifeline Book Fair. There are 4 garbage bags of clothes and knick-knacks and kitchen goods to go to a local charity shop. Anything that is not of saleable quality has gone into the rubbish.

I am very grateful for my mother-in-law’s help. She is helping letting people in for cleaning etc as part of the house preparation. This is wearing me out more than I thought it would. I was rather worried this morning, feeling a pain where my gastric band is, and wondering if I had lifted a box that was too heavy. Here’s hoping it’s not serious.

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Choosing an agent is hard. I recommend seeing 3 agents from different agencies.

I also went to open houses run by different agencies to see how agents ran their open house hours. I have to say that there were a couple of agents that I wouldn’t trust to sell a dog kennel. I could see heaps of good points that they should have pointed out, they needed to be polite and friendly without being overly friendly, and to take the opportunity to assist potential buyers. One agent looked like he wanted to get back to playing a game on his iPhone, while another would have rather read a newspaper.

I had no idea how much newspaper ads had gone up in price – it’s horrifying! To be frank, I rarely look at the newspaper real estate section nowadays. I go to online domains such as allhomes.com.au, which is the website of choice for Canberrans seeking property. Plus there’s the national websites. Needless to say, I am spending money on a good photographer and and the agency will be putting photos on these websites.

I am still in the major decluttering phase. Items that have to go out of the house to make it seem tidy but are considered utterly valuable by DD have now gone into Grandma’s garage. I am very grateful for her help with this.

Then there’s the garage sale. I am excited and nervous about it. It’s going to be this coming weekend. I really, really hope we can move lots of items. Lots and lots. Especially books.

I have some helpers coming this weekend for painting and curtain help. Yay! I have to get out the sugar soap and wash some walls before then and knowing my physical limitations, I will be cautious and take my time doing that. I notice that I need to do some sanding on a couple of walls, too.

Then there’s the hardest bit. Might not be the hardest bit for you, but it is for me. I have to find MATCHING paint for the walls and doors. Oh boy.

I’ve contacted my solicitor re conveyancing. Left a message with a house cleaner and a carpet cleaner. Family coming next weekend to assist with painting which means I have to sugar soap the walls and do some sanding back before then. Just as well I have no social life.

A hard thing. The promises you make at a baptism, whether it be for yourself or the child you are presenting, are solemn promises. They’re not some glib fibs to be tossed away at the slightest inconvenience. The good thing is that the church, whichever denomination you join, is there to support you and uphold you, to give you help in trying times when your baptism promises seem too heavy or hard to keep. That’s one of the reasons we think of the members of our congregation as brothers and sisters in Christ. Your brother and sister should never betray you or leave you in difficult times – and your brother and sister in Christ should be the same, giving you a shoulder to lean on, or directing you to the best place for assistance.

I would rather see this as an opportunity for the church, and I think that many churches now try to do so. Education of the parents, some of whom may not have attended church since they were married. Encouragement, inviting them to come for a one-year anniversary service afterwards, inviting the whole family to family occasions at the church, just for starters.

St Peter’s Lutheran Church Elizabeth pastor Chris Mann said he urged parents to think seriously about the spiritual promises they made in baptism – and to first enrol in a course that explores Christianity.

“I now actively discourage parents from making those promises if they don’t intend to keep them, to the point where I’ve had a family not get their child baptised because I’ve told them about the promises they’re making to God and themselves,” Mr Mann said. [...]

Mr Mann said many parents saw a christening as “a social celebration rather than a religious event”.

“We’ll still baptise but we tell the parents that for us, it’s like having someone become part of your family and then say to you they don’t ever want to see you again,” he said.

This is something that many churches won’t dare to say for fear of frightening off potential baptism candidates, I suspect.

The air conditioning is on, and so is the TV. Three cheers for C Beebies!

The writer, Emma Kennedy, says

The only thing I’ve been spoiled with is my parents’ love. I adore them. I speak to them every day and see them at least once a week. Often, when I tell people this, they look at me as if there is something wrong with me for loving my parents. I find this extraordinary.

Only children can choose their own siblings – cherished friends, close relationships with cousins and second cousins, make friends and seek out social occasions.

I have pretty low energy and a few problems from painkillers’ side effects. I would love to say that I have caught up on missed TV episodes or read lots of books, but I don’t have the energy for that, either. Once I’ve taken DD to school, I drive home and then go back to bed for a few hours.