A Great Weekend in Ohio

Doug and I were up early this morning so that he could catch his flight in Cleveland. The drive was extremely easy as the airport was right off of the tollway.  Since it was smaller than Indianapolis, Doug had no problem getting through security and to his gate in plenty of time for take off.  While he read several chapters of The Count of Monte Cristo, I headed back to Toledo.  

Cameron was ready for lunch when I arrived. He picked a place in Perrysburg that we saw on our last trip to Toledo. It was a cute little diner and both of us chose a delicious albeit greasy meal to try.  Although downtown Perrysburg was still under construction, we could see the charm in the Toledo suburb complete with restaurants, coffee houses and antique stores. We both felt that it would be a lot nicer place to live than in the heart of the Glass City.

After lunch, we looked for a miniature golf place and were pleased to see one within 10 minutes of the restaurant. On our way, Cameron had me drive-through several parks near the Maumee river. They were absolutely beautiful.

We played mini-golf in a rural area of Perrysburg with corn fields surrounding us. It reminded me a lot of Northern Indiana. The course was perfect for the two of us and had Ohio trivia question on each hole. Cameron ended up beating me by two in mini-golf, but I took him in trivia. It was so much fun.

Once we finished, Cameron and I drove to several other local spots so he could show me what he had been doing these last few months. We talked a lot about Toledo, Owens Corning, and starting his senior year. It was so nice to spend a laid-back afternoon hanging out with him. I was sad to drop him back off at his apartment tonight, but incredibly thankful for the wonderful weekend in Ohio.

Toledo Again

Doug and I made very good time yesterday on our roadtrip to the Midwest and were scheduled to arrive in Ohio an hour earlier than we had expected.  Cameron was still on his way back from Cora's, so we took advantage of the extra time to stop by a distillery on the bourbon trail.  It was small, but very nice.  They taught Doug how to drink a high alcohol bourbon properly and gave him a few tastings as well.  Doug really enjoyed it and we bought a bottle of cream ale to take with us.

The two of us met Cameron at the dorm shortly after he arrived home.  He was happy to see us and suggested that we try the pizza bar in his back parking lot.  Stubborn Brothers didn't look like much from the outside, but it was fantastic.  I loved the atmosphere and its proximity to campus.  Cameron and his roommates could literally walk there in less than five minutes.  Doug thought it was fantastic and enjoyed his beer and snack with Cameron.

On our way back to the car, Cameron realized that he had locked himself out of his dorm room.  Since all of his roommates were out of town, he had to call the help desk to let him into his apartment.  They had just changed the locks, and he hadn't gotten used to the automatic locking system.  We took advantage of the extra time at the dorm to play pool and watch the World Cup in the lounge adjacent to his room.  It was a lot of fun and none of us minded waiting.

Once Cameron got his keys, we headed to our hotel in downtown Toledo.  We were pleased to see that we had a view of the Mudhens stadium just like last month.  The only bad part was that they were playing in Indy this weekend.  We still walked by the stadium several times this evening as Cameron wanted to show us a few of the bars that he had discovered since he first arrived in Ohio.  We loved all of them and even got to see a "service" horse at one.  The best part about the evening was listening to Cameron talk.  I was impressed by how much he had grown as a person since we had saw him in May.  He was excited about the future whether he got an offer from Owens Corning or not.  He was also proud of how hard he had worked this summer, not only at his job, but in making friends and networking.  He had also stayed out of the drama which made his life a lot easier.  It was a great night celebrating the midway point of Cameron's internship and I was very glad that we go to share it with him. 

Saying Goodbye to Molly

It was a sad day for Phil today, because he had to put his beloved Molly down. She had been his constant companion for the last 14 years, and I know that it had to be very difficult for him. Molly had started having health problems a little over a year ago, but just recently had stopped eating. Phil spent as much time as possible with her the last two weeks and had even taken her on a walk this morning before she collapsed.

I called and checked on Phil a couple of times throughout this past week and had even offered to go with him to the vet when it was her time. He chose to do that alone but let us know as soon as it was over. It will be strange to talk to Phil and not ask about Molly.  I am so glad that he decided to walk dogs at the rescue center this spring. That will make this time a little bit easier.

Snail Away

Last spring I noticed that there were snails in our backyard.  I thought that was strange because we lived miles from the nearest natural water source.  I picked a few of them up in a jar and pitched them across the street in the "retention" pond that never held water.  That worked for a few days, but soon, there became so many snails that I would never be able to pick them all up. I figured that they would go away on their own and decided to just leave them alone.

That ended up being a bad idea as the snail population continued to grow and I could no longer ignore the little pests as they were doing a lot of damage to our lemon tree, tomato plant and other vegetation in our backyard.  They had also migrated to our front yard as well.  That's when I decided to research the best way to get rid of the pesky mollusk.  Thankfully, I wasn't the only one with a snail problem.  I founded out that they tended to show up in sandy soiled yards with a lot of moisture.  That made sense to me as our entire yard was sandy and the neighbor behind us had started watering nightly.  Since two of his sprinklers were positioned behind our fence, we ended each evening with a soaked property line right where the snails were the worst.

After doing a lot of research, I decided to use an organic snail bait that would end my snail problem without harming any other living beings.  Unfortunately, it didn't help.  The snails were just as abundant as ever and I was growing tired of them. There was a reprieve in May as it was one of the driest months in Florida history leading to a severe drought which in turn led to a restriction on how much water could be used for watering lawns.  Soon, our snail problem was eliminated naturally, and I was glad to be rid of the pest.  

Even though I was happy for the reprieve, I knew it wouldn't last.  June and July brought the rainy season and the return of my least favorite shelled animal.  Last weekend, I read that the best way to get rid of them was to bury a plastic container filled with beer in the high traffic area.  Supposedly, snails were attracted to yeast and would crawl into the ground level container and drown.  I had high hopes which were soon dashed when three days later there were no snails to be found in the beer, but dozens of them on the fence and on the east side of the house.

At that point, I decided to stop playing nicely and finally bought real "snail bait" from Lowe's.  I knew that it wasn't the most humane way to stop the snails, but it guaranteed that it would work.  It's been a week and I have already noticed a difference.  There are very few snails on the side of the house or fence and almost none on our plants.  Next time, I won't even try any home remedies or organic products. Sometimes you just have to play hardcore, and I guess getting rid of snails is definitely one of those times.  

CCW Board Meeting

Today was the first board meeting that I was able to attend with the new CCW officers. I was asked to be parliamentarian, which meant that I would be in charge of keeping the meeting moving along and to make sure that we were following all the Roberts Rules of Order. Even though that was my official title on the board, I believe that the most important thing that I did today was help the new treasurer understand all of the reports that she will have to have ready for the monthly meetings along with the other duties that she will have to fulfill. I didn’t mind helping as I knew that I would have really appreciated the help when I first started as treasure. After the board meeting, I stayed to be a part of the budget meeting, which went also well.

The best part about going today was catching up with some of the women that I hadn’t seen since the beginning of summer. It also got me out of the house and made me feel as if I was giving back to our church. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t found CCW when we first moved to Ocala three years ago. It has definitely had a very positive influence on my life, especially the woman that I have met through the group.

At Home Nursing

When Doug was first diagnosed with low vitamin B12, it was serious enough for the doctor to prescribe a weekly treatment of Vitamin B12 injections. Because Doug worked in Ocala, he could swing by the doctor's office, get his shot and then head into work. The injections worked and Doug’s Vitamin B12 rose to a normal level.

With his levels increasing, the doctor lessened the dose.  Unfortunately, changing to once-a-month injections did not help Doug maintain the Vitamin B12 levels that he needed to stay in a normal range. The side effects of low Vitamin B12 were serious enough that our doctor told us that he would have to have injections every other week, probably for life. The good part was that it would help him with the fatigue and brain fog that he was feeling when his levels were low. The bad part was Doug couldn’t go into the doctor's office as easily once he switched jobs. Thus, I had to learn how to give injections.

Thankfully, the biweekly dosage worked. Doug’s levels have stayed in the normal range for the past two years and he feels very good. I am very happy with that the injections are working, but I still hate giving Doug the shots.  I am sure that some women would love sticking their husband with a sharp needle every other week, but I really do not like it. I have gotten a lot better at it and appreciate the advice the pharmacist gave me as it has made the process a lot easier. Hopefully, it continues to go well and eventually I might even be able to give the shots to Doug pain free every time.

A Little Bit Sad

I definitely had the Monday blues today. Doug left last night to spend three nights in Orlando. It made a lot of sense because he had a lot to do at work this week and I was glad because Meg was ready for some company with Nick still at training.  Unfortunately for me, it did make the house really quiet last night and today and it also gave me a ton of time to think which sometimes is not the best thing.

My thoughts turned toward the holiday weekend and how much I have always loved the Fourth of July.  For our family, it was one of the best celebrations of the year. Everyone always had a three-day weekend, and we took multiple trips together because of it. We also had so much fun celebrating Doug‘s birthday in places like St. Louis, Washington DC, and even Bloomington. Today, I realized that this year's celebration, although very nice, wasn’t quite what it was years ago. It made me sad. I was very happy for the boys that they had someone to share the holiday with in the Midwest and had started some new traditions of their own, but I did miss them a lot.  I would never want to take that away from them, but it would have been nice to be together as a family.

Maybe next year, I’ll come up with a plan where we all can meet. If not, I’ll just look forward to our time together on non-holiday weekends.  This summer we are fortunate to visit the Midwest twice, once last month and then this next week. I have learned over the past few years that it’s OK to be sad and to mourn things from long ago, but it’s never OK to dwell in it. Thus, after today, I will put that feeling aside and focus on the positives.