Next Stop Bloomington

I spent the morning repacking the CR-V so that we had room for both Meg and I plus a small tub of children's books that I wanted to take back to Ocala.  Everything fit perfectly and we were able to leave for Bloomington by noon.  Our first stop was Hacienda in Warsaw for lunch.  The food was delicious, and it was nice to revisit one of our favorite spots in Northern Indiana.  

We first stopped at Brett's apartment when we arrived in B-town.  He was still at work, but Cameron was available to hang out.  Meg had never seen his apartment and enjoyed the tour before we walked to Social Cantina for dinner.  It was a lot of fun catching up and hearing about Cameron's plans this summer and for his study abroad trip to Greece.  After dinner, Meg and Cameron took a long walk around campus while I picked up the van.  We dropped Cameron off at Cora's as they had a date to go bowling.  Meg and I left for Brett's apartment when he called to say that he was on his way home from School of Community in Indianapolis. 

A couple of minutes later Brett called back.  I could tell by his voice that something was wrong.  His tire had blown out as soon as he got on I-69 and he was stranded alongside the road.  Brett knew how to change a tire and had a spare, but it wasn't safe where he was to get out of his car without someone watching traffic for him.  I encouraged him to call the emergency line on for his insurance, while Meg called Kyle to see if he was close to where Brett was as we knew that the two of them together could fix the tire.  The bad news was that Kyle had already passed by the area and was close to Bloomington.  There was good news, however. The tow truck had actually called Brett and was only ten minutes away.  Neither one of us could believe it after his experience several years ago in a similar situation driving back from Illinois when he had to wait for several hours for help that never arrived.  Thankfully, this was not the case tonight and soon Brett was back at his apartment, eating dinner and talking about the pope and politics with Kyle while we all listened to the random fire alarm blaring from the garbage dumpster outside Brett's window.  It seemed fitting for the crazy night that we had had. 

Leaving Chicago

Doug dropped me off at the airport several hours before my flight to Chicago this morning.  I was thankful for the time to rest, relax and get a few things done before I left, especially since the next few days would be extremely busy.  While waiting, I even had time to book our nighttime kayak tour for our trip to the Keys in June.  The flight went very well.  I watched a few shows on the Southwest app and worked on my Blog as well.  The last half hour was a little bit bumpy, so I closed my eyes and pretended that I was riding Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom.

Meg picked me up at Midway and we headed straight to her apartment.  She was in the process of finishing packing and cleaning.  I started helping by taking the legs off of the table.  They had decided to dispose of it and take ours once they got to Orlando.  While we waited for our Chick-Fil-A to arrive, I cleaned, and Meg packed.  As soon as we finished eating, we started moving boxes downstairs.  I wasn't as much help as Doug would have been, but I did make ten trips up and down the stairs, plus packed the CR-V this afternoon.  

Meg and I were on the road well before 5 p.m.  When I first arrived, I don't think that either of us thought that we would make it out within five hours of me landing.  Needless to say, we were both thrilled to be on the road and didn't even mind the rush hour traffic.  Meg had been more than ready to leave Chicago, and I knew that I would never miss the three flights of steep stairs leading up to her apartment.  

The rest of our night was a lot easier.  We stopped by the Yoders to drop off several boxes to the truck.  We were ok riding that tightly for a two-hour trip, but not a twelve hour one.  Our next stop was Culvers in Goshen for dinner before heading to Grandma Jane's for the night.  She and Grandpa were waiting up for us and we enjoyed catching up with them and watching Switch before going to bed for a much-needed night of sleep.

Intramural Dodgeball and SAB

This week was the cumulation of two activities that Cameron had really enjoyed this semester.  The first occurred last night when he and his dodgeball team played in the championship game of the intramural league.  It had been a lot of fun listening to his stories about the games this season and of the tournament leading up to tonight.  I also appreciated that it gave us a reason these past few weeks to share quotes from one of our favorite family movies . . . "If you can dodge a ball, you can dodge a wrench" . . . "Dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge" . . . In the end, I was the happiest to see his post on Instagram announcing their championship win, and to hear the details of the game this morning.  After their upset win in the semi-finals, the 4-0 match last night was a little bit anti-climactic, but still fun to listen to just the same.

Tonight was the end year Student Athletic Board banquet.  Afterward, Cameron sent pictures of he, Cora and his roommate, Tyler, at Assembly Hall.  They all looked very nice, and I was very glad to hear that they had enjoyed their evening.  Even though Cameron has been a part of SAB for the past two years, I am still always surprised when he sends pictures from inside Assembly Hall or from the field of Memorial Stadium.  They are both such sacred places to Doug and I as IU Athletics was an extremely important part of Doug and my life in college.  I am really looking forward to seeing all that Cameron does as an IU athletic marketing intern next year.  I am sure that it will be even more amazing.

Packing the Truck

Meg sent pictures today of all of the items that they had already packed and put into the moving truck. There definitely was a lot of room left since they got a sixteen-foot truck for the price of a twelve due to a mix-up on Penske's part. I was glad to hear that Kyle had come up to help, and that they hired someone off of task rabbit to load boxes and furniture as well. I was very happy to see that Meg was able to fit her Papasan chair in the truck. She had had that chair since elementary school and just didn’t really want to part ways with it unless she absolutely had to leave it behind. I was also happy to hear that they would not only have room for Doug's Nigerian artwork but also the bookcase and rocking chair that we still had stored at Grandma Jane's.

Once all of the items got packed in the truck, the Yoder family went out to lunch and rested before Kyle and Nancy drove back to Jimtown. My parents made plans to meet them tomorrow night with our furniture and a few of Meg's tubs that would fit into the truck now as well. I was still a little anxious about how I would be able to handle the road trip, but Meg was positive that it would be a fun adventure for all. 

Heathbrook Square

When Doug asked me to come visit Ocala for the first time, one of the places that the people at his work suggested we try was Crazy Cucumber at Heath Brook Square. I remember pulling into the shopping center back then and being completely overwhelmed. It wasn’t just how big the area was, but the thought of moving to a place where I knew no one and was hundred miles away from all of my children. I think I even cried during dinner that night. 

Fast forward to this weekend when Doug and I spent an entire day at Heath Brook Square and had a fantastic time. We didn’t eat at Crazy Cucumber, but we did have lunch at The Great Greek. We also went shopping at Home Goods where we picked out some fun new items for the house. We saw the movie, The Amateur, that we both absolutely loved even though we had to sit in the front row of the theater.  Before we left, Doug found a new book from Barnes & Noble as well. It was incredibly nice to not have to drive very far for such an entertaining afternoon.

The other thing that is really nice to know now is that the distance hasn't changed my relationship with our children at all. I still hear from each one of them almost every day.  I see at least one of them every month like I planned when we moved.  I am so grateful that we have adapted to life in Ocala.  We have a wonderful church and new friends as well. Florida has made for a great place for our children to visit as well, since there are always a lot of activities for them while they’re here. Hopefully, Meg and Nick enjoy Florida as much as we do. Either way, it’s been a lot of fun and I’m glad we took the risk.

My Cherry Vodka Reward

 Well, today I finally got my reward for bringing back all of the Carl Heinisch family memories.  Phil brought over a bottle of Cherry Vodka for my hard work.  I am not sure that it was a fair trade off knowing that we had to transport fifty pounds of items back on the plane.  The two suitcases full also left no room for the Nigerian artwork that Doug wanted and actually had some value.  I was also disappointed to hear that Phil just left the box in his car instead of storing the items properly.  I decided not to get mad and just enjoy my reward tonight celebrating the last time that I ever sort through any of the extended Heinisch family's memories.

Wednesday Night Television

When Doug and I was growing up, Thursday was our favorite TV night.  The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Friends and Law & Order were just a few staples featured.  As the popularity of those shows waned, keeping Thursday night open became less of a priority.  Since that time period, there really hasn't been an evening dedicated to watching television for Doug and I.  We both have had shows that we enjoyed as did our children, but none that had to be watched in real time.  Instead, we could tape them or add them to our digital iCloud to watch later.  

All of that changed over the past two years.  The first night that we started to keep open was Tuesdays, but that was just for Dancing with the Stars.  We both enjoyed watching that together, but it was only for a few months.  Once it was over, we talked about trying to continue our Tuesday night ritual by watching past season of DWTS.  Neither one of us were extremely excited about that.  We then tried Modern family, but it was only a half hour comedy and after a couple of episodes we would be ready to watch something else.  

In the end, Doug and I finally found shows that we both liked, looked forward to and could continue our "TV night" ritual with albeit on Wednesday instead of Thursday.  Now, we have both have a lot of fun watching Survivor and Amazing Race together, and as an added bonus, it has given us something to talk about later in the week as well.  Doug hasn't quite caught on to my enthusiasm for Chicago Fire or Chicago PD which air on Wednesday night as well, but that's ok.  I can always watch them on my own later.  

A Change of Moving Plans

Nick called yesterday with a dilemma.  He had been on furlough awaiting an opening for a class that would allow him to be certified to fly another plane.  He had been told that the class would start in May just after he and Meg moved to Florida.  That worked perfectly in their timeline, and he was excited to get back to flying full time.  Unfortunately, the class that he thought he would be taking wasn't available, and the one that was offered in June only had room on the waitlist.  For a while it looked like he was going to have to wait until July.  That meant that Nick would be on half pay for two more months and there was a possibility that the company would not wait until then for him to return meaning that he would have to find another job.

Thankfully, there was a solution. Nick could sign up for a class that would start April 28th, but then he wouldn't be available to help move.  He wondered what Doug and I thought.  After some discussion, we called him back to let him know that we believed that he should sign up for the class and that we would help Meg move down.  Once that was decided, Doug and I started talking about which one of us would make the trip.  We knew that it would be easier for Doug to travel and help physically with the move.  The problem was that he didn't have a lot of vacation days left before October 1st and his appointment to remove his stitches was already scheduled for the day that he would be gone.  Taking all of that into account, we decided that it was best for me to fly up and help, even though it would be physically harder for me.  The most important thing was for Meg to make it to Florida safely.  Therefore, I booked my flight last night and cancelled all plans that I had for next week.  It will be a challenge, but me being a part of the traveling party will be better than having no one else riding with Meg.

The Grandma Statues

When Dan cleaned out his dad's basement, we found the "Three Little Boys" statue that Jeanette had had on display since I first met Doug.  Although I never liked it and none of the boys seemed to want it, I agreed to keep it because I also had three boys.  I thought that I would put the statue that Jeanette carved years ago for me of a mother and daughter with it.  I wasn't overly excited about it as I always found the boys a little creepy looking, but I knew that they had meant a lot to Jeanette and would keep them for that reason.

As I was sorting through the seven boxes that Dan gave Meg for our family and Phil, I decided that I actually did not want to keep the three boys.  We had already committed to displaying the Nigerian artwork and I had a lot of Jeanette's items already, I didn't want any more, especially something that I didn't really like.  I asked Meg and Doug what they thought and neither had a desire for our family to have the boys.

After that conversation, I started researching the boys online.  I found out that the artist who created them was from Chicago and that he had made other statues as well.  None were the same as Jeanette's and all were valued around $45.  I decided that it made the most sense to sell them but decided to ask Grandma Jane what she thought first.  She took one look at the boys and instantly fell in love with them.  She said that they didn't look like Brett, Cal and Meg, but reminded her of them.  I asked her if she would like them as they would look very nice in her home.  She was hesitant at first since there wasn't a sister.  I suggested getting her one for Mother's Day to match the boys and started looking on Ebay right away.  We found one the perfect one.  The little girl even had her arms crossed which made me laugh as I distinctly remembered a few incidents when Meg gave that look to her brothers.

I bought the little sister for Grandma Jane, and it arrived this week.  I loved the photo that my mom sent out of her four "grandchildren."  I still didn't find them overly cute, but the thought that she could now enjoy something that Jeanette cherished made it extra special.  I sent a picture to Dan, Kim and Phil right away and they were also glad to see that the boys had found a new home with a sister to join them. 

My Travel Timeline

I was extremely tired last night when we arrived home.  Thus, I was very happy to sleep in my own bed.  I had a lot to unpack and laundry to do today but decided that I would take it slow getting everything done.  As I worked around the house today, I thought a lot about my schedule in the Midwest.  After writing it all down, I could see why I had so much fun and also why I was absolutely exhausted.   

Travel Timeline

                Friday - Fly to Indy - Hang out with Brett and Cameron.  Work on wedding plans.

                Saturday - Travel with Meg to New Albany for Karen's shower.

                Sunday - Visit Paula and Gabrielle with Meg and Nick.  Travel to Chicago. Work on                                             packing.

                Monday - Help pack.  Pick up rental car.  Dinner with Cal and Meg.

                Tuesday - Drive to Syracuse. Lunch at Chubbie's.

                Wednesday - Clean out closets. Dinner with Mary and Ken.

                Thursday - Visit Parce and Aunt Gena in Greensburg.  Drive to Bloomington to pick

                                        up Brett.  Pick up Doug at Indy airport.

                Friday - Help Brett clean furniture out of his apartment.  Oliver Winery with Brett. 

                                    Meet Cora's parents with Cameron at Mother Bears.

                Saturday - Drive to Chicago.  Drop off rental car.  Tour Cal and Maggie's apartment.

                                    Lunch at RJ Grunt's.  Walk through Lincoln Park Zoo.  Dinner at Meg's.

                                    Nick's Confirmation.  Piano bar at the drake.

                Sunday - Breakfast at Cafe on Oak with Cal.  Fly to Orlando.  Drive home.

                

       

                

                

The Drake

Last night after Nick's communion, Doug and I found a piano bar at the Drake that we really enjoyed.  We were able to get a few snacks and drinks while listening to the piano man sing Frank Sinatra.  It was very nice.  This morning, we had an even more enjoyable experience at the historic hotel.  Cal met us for breakfast.  He loved the view from our room and the eggs benedict from Cafe on the Oak.  We had a wonderful time together and talked a lot about the comparisons of the Pfister hotel in Milwaukee that we all stayed at during Thanksgiving break to the one today.  While they were both over a hundred years old, the Pfister had a reputation for being the most haunted hotel in the United States and The Drake was most well-known for its famous visitors over the years including Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe.  Even the breakfast dish that Cal had this morning was named for them.  

After breakfast, Cal offered to take us back to his apartment for a little while, but we realized that it would be easier on him if he took us to the airport a little bit earlier than our flight demanded.  Maggie had been with her family to celebrate Easter, and we knew that they had plans this afternoon together.  The airport wasn't very busy except for a few volleyball and cheer teams waiting for flights to Orlando.  The time waiting went buy quickly and soon we were on our flight home.  I was sad to leave all of the Heinisch children in the Midwest, but after ten days of traveling, I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight and getting back to my quieter routine.  Soon Meg would be moving to Florida, and I wanted to be well rested for that.  

Confirmation

Doug and I had a fantastic day in Chicago.  We first went to Cal and Maggie's new apartment and absolutely loved it.  They live on the 43rd floor in a building overlooking Lincoln Park.  We could see Lake Michigan, the baseball fields and the Chicago History Museum.  It was roomy, organized and very nice. After our tour, we walked to RJ Grunts for lunch and then on to the zoo to see the lions.  They were all out which was very rare.  It was an awesome way to spend our afternoon with some great company.

Our next stop was The Drake where we had a reservation for the evening.  It was located on the Magnificent Mile and there was a lot of history with the hotel.  Queen Elizabeth had even taken tea in their cafe.  Once Doug and I enjoyed the view, rested and got ready for Nick's confirmation, we left for Meg's apartment.  She had planned a nice get together for everyone to celebrate Nick.  The food was wonderful, and I was completely impressed with how organized their place was as I knew they were still packing for their move.  Nancy and Kyle were already there, and Cal and Maggie joined us soon after our arrival.

Confirmation tonight was long, but very nice.  Nick and Meg's church was beautiful.  The ceremony was a little bit disorganized from what we were originally told, but wonderful just the same.  I had not been to a Saturday night mass on Easter weekend in almost thirty years and was thankful for the reminder of how important becoming Catholic was to my life.  I don't know if I completely understood that when I was confirmed in 1994, but I definitely did today and was proud to sponsor Nick as he became a member of the Church.  

Goodbye, Finally!!

Last Sunday, Brett and I made a detailed list to help him move.  I knew that we couldn’t be there, but hoped that the suggestions that I made would help.  We started with the large items and made four columns - trash, donate, move, store.  I felt good about it when we finished, but was worried about the large items, especially the couch and buffet.  There was no way that Brett could move those on his own and since he wasn’t planning on keeping them, it would be extremely helpful to get them out of the apartment before his friends showed up to help.

Thankfully, today Doug, Brett and I were able to make a large dent in the process.  Brett had called St. Vincent de Paul’s society in Bloomington to see which of his items that they would want.  He found out that they desperately needed lamps and dressers.  Brett had several of those, so Doug offered to help fill up the van and CR-V so that we could take them over.  They also said that they would take the buffet so the guys loaded that in the van as well.  It took a couple of trips, but by noon, we had everything to Brett’s favorite place to volunteer and were back at Brett’s apartment working on the furniture on the “trash” list.

The hardest part of the day came next.  After years of begging Brett to get rid of our old family couch that he had inherited when he was in grad school, he finally agreed.  It helped that Karen said that she absolutely did not want to have it in the new apartment. Doug was a little sad to see it go as it was his favorite place to sleep.  It was large, heavy and awkward, but after a half hour of trying he and Brett got it down the stairs, out the door and into the dumpster.  I was worried that it wouldn’t fit through the door, but Brett figured it out and in the end everyone was happy to see it go and celebrated with lunch at Upland Brewing Company with Cameron.

The rest of the day was a lot more relaxing.  Brett and Doug did some wine tasting at Oliver and beer tasting at Heart Works plus played a game of Ticket to Ride all before Brett left for Good Friday mass, and we went to dinner at Mother Bears with Cameron, Cora and her parents.  It was very nice to meet them and talk to another couple that had the same enthusiasm as we did for IU.  We ended the evening back at Brett’s relaxing while finally finishing the movie, Bullit County.  It was very good and I was glad that Brett had introduced it to me.  

Parce and Aunt Gena's New Place

On my way to Indianapolis to pick up Doug from his late-night flight, I stopped by to see Parce and Aunt Gena. They had moved to Greensburg last summer and had hoped that I would have time on this trip to stop by and see their new home. I had never been to the west side of the state and was looking forward to the adventure. I was surprised at how many country roads that I had to take as I thought that I would mainly be on I-69. I liked that, however, as it was a lot more scenic drive and was a great way to really see the area.

I made it to my destination around 5 p.m. and enjoyed my visit. Their home was built in the 1920s but had been remodeled in the 1950s. The woman who had lived in it before them was in her 90s and had been there for over 70 years.  Thus, there were a lot of changes that Parce and Gena wanted to make. I was impressed to see all of the work that they had done to bring the home into a modern-day age but still keep the integrity of its original time period. I also enjoyed catching up with them and listening to their thoughts on their new life in a small town. I even got to meet their three cats while I was there.

Doug’s flight was late, so I decided to go down to Brett’s from Greensburg before heading back up to Indy. We had just enough time to eat breadsticks and watch some more of Bullitt County before we left. Doug was very happy to see us when we arrived, and I think even more pleased to have a bag of breadsticks ready for him. It had been a long day of driving, but a fun one as well. Needless to say, I was more than ready for bed when we arrived back at Brett’s at 1 AM.

A Day of "Rest"

My day of rest in Syracuse turned into a very busy one.  As soon as I got up, I decided to clean out the closet in Cameron's bedroom at my parents.  We had stored a lot of items there before we moved in 2023 that we weren't ready to take with us or weren't willing to put in the garage sale pile yet.  As soon as I opened the doors today, I realized that my feelings had completely changed.  There were quite a few tubs that I thought that our family could part with and many of the toys that I had saved from my childhood days that needed to be donated or sold such as my Raggedy Ann collection.  

Once I downsized my things, I decided to contact all of the Heinisch children to see what they were willing to part with today.  I knew that my mom had plenty of room to keep our childhood toys, but it just didn't seem practical anymore.  I was happy that they all agreed with me.  Each one looked through the pictures that I had sent out and agreed to get rid of most of it this summer.  After putting their beloved items aside, I moved multiple tubs downstairs and reorganized the closet.  I couldn't believe the difference.  I also decided that I wouldn't need to downsize the closet again.  Everyone had picked the exact same items to keep that they originally told me to hang on to a few years ago - Cal's kept the Ninja Turtles and baseball helmets; Brett wanted the Weebles, Mr. Men and Burger King Star Wars toys; Meg asked me to hold onto the Barbie house and doll bed, while Cameron picked the army toys and toy horse he used for lassoing to be put back.  

The memory closet wasn't the only one that I cleaned out today.  I also went through the one storing all of the household items that someone might need down the road.  I found Meg's vacuum and my purple dishes which both got put into the "moving to Florida pile."  I then sorted through everything else, sent pictures out and once again moved quite a bit to the garage.  Needless to say, I was absolutely exhausted by lunchtime.  

Thankfully, today wasn't all about working.  I met Mary and Ken for an early dinner at the Channel Marker.  I enjoyed catching up with them.  I made it back in time to play Jeopardy against my dad and to watch the latest Chicago Fire and Chicago PD.  All of which made for a very relaxing evening after such a busy day.  

Dinner with Cal & Meg, Packing and Resting

I was happy to have spent the day in Chicago yesterday.  I was able to help Nick and Meg get a lot of packing done.  I focused mostly on the breakables - glass chickens, cows and artwork.  I also sorted through all of the desk items and got them boxed up as well. 

In the evening, Cal, Meg and I went to dinner at Paradise Park.  I absolutely love that restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed talking to my two “middle” children.  They had a lot to share, especially with Meg’s upcoming move and Cal and Maggie’s recent one to Lincoln Park.  It was nice to know that they were each very happy.  We stayed long enough for them to have a second drink before heading back to Meg’s apartment.  Nick had been at RCIA, so he met us there afterward where we did some more packing and listened to vinyls.  

This morning, I left for Syracuse, stopping at a few stores along the way.  I was thankful to see my parents, enjoyed lunch at Chubbie’s on tenderloin day, and rest while watching some of our favorite game shows including a new one or two.  I also appreciated the day of rest.  I was absolutely exhausted from all of the traveling and packing.  An evening in the easy chair was exactly what I needed.  

Memory Keeper No More

 Last week, Meg and Nick had dinner with Dan and his family. They enjoyed seeing them one last time before moving to Florida.  As an added bonus, they were able to pick up the items that Phil and Doug wanted to keep from the boxes that Dan had cleared out of Carl’s condo.  I was glad that they were able to get them for us, but wasn’t prepared for how much there was for me to sort through.  I started last night and was pretty frustrated when I went to bed.

I would like to say that I felt a lot better about everything today, but in the end, I didn’t.  I had spent a lot of time downsizing over the past few years.  Thus, I thought that many of the items that were being kept were ridiculous.  I was surprised by how upset I got today, but I believe I reacted that way because I realized from sorting through those boxes that Carl valued those possessions more than he did our family.  There were very few pictures or memories of us or of his children when they were younger.  His note that his great grandchildren would love all of the artwork and hearing about his life in the peace corp represented an overinflated opinion of himself.  My children would never be interested in artwork from a grandfather that did not pay any attention to them or support them while they were growing up.  I know that would have meant a lot more to them than a few pieces of artwork from a time period before their father was even born.  

Even with my negative feelings, I did carefully repack everything into two boxes for Meg to bring to her dad in a few weeks.   I understood why Doug wanted to keep some of the Nigerian art work as it had been a part of his life since he was a child.  I remembered him showing it all to me the first time I visited his home in DeKalb.  If he had been with me, I believe that we could have sorted through it all and downsized some of it before bringing it to Florida.

The amount of items that Phil wanted to keep were another story.  They were heavy, bulky and for the most part not of any importance.  Bank certificates from the 1970s and duplicate pictures of trips that none of us went on weren’t necessary, but he insisted on keeping them.  I was annoyed as I had to drag them around for the week so that Doug could bring them back to Ocala next weekend.  One Illini yearbook alone  was over 5 pounds.  Since no one in the Heinisch family was famous and there wasn’t going to be a museum in their honor, I really did not want to keep everything as I had learned from Father Mike last year that very few of us would be remembered in 100 years, so keeping all of our possessions wasn’t important.  Living a good Christian life was.  Phil did promise to store all of the items himself if we got them to him, and also agreed to buying me a bottle of cherry vodka for my troubles.  I didn’t stop complaining about it after I heard that, but it did help.  Either way, after this week, I  am officially retiring as memory keeper of unwanted items.   

Visiting Paula and Gabrielle

While Meg and I were driving home from Karen’s shower, Brett and Nick spent the evening hanging out at a new brewery in Bloomington, Heartworks.  I stopped by to pick them up after dropping Meg off downtown to meet Mallory.  Once we got back to Brett’s apartment, he and Nick decided to spend the evening playing a video game.  With Cameron busy as well, I used the time to rest, watch Chicago Med and work on the computer.  I had really enjoyed yesterday and today, but was completely exhausted by all of the activity.

This morning, Brett and I worked on a moving plan.  It included a list of items to be donated, moved or thrown away.  Doug agreed to help next Friday when he was up.  Brett and I both felt very good about what we accomplished.  Cameron stopped by this morning to see Meg and Nick before we left and by noon, the three of us were heading to Indy to visit Paula and Gabrielle.

Paula and Gabrielle had unpacked quite a bit since I last visited in September.  Everything looked great and we all enjoyed the meal that they had brought in for lunch.  The best part of the afternoon, however, was catching up with the two of them.  Paula filled us in on her work, Alex’s wedding plans and her recent plans with friends.  Gabrielle talked about her latest adventures including applying to grad school at IU’s anthropology department and her weekend back in Syracuse.  The four hours that we were there flew by quickly. I was so very happy to see both of them and couldn’t wait to visit with them again.  

Karen's Shower

Meg and I attended Karen’s shower this afternoon in New Albany and had a fantastic time.  It was hosted by her maid of honor, Evonne, at the home of the mentor couple for Brett and Karen.  We also met Karen’s mother, Jean, and several of her other bridesmaids.  Everyone was very nice and extremely supportive of Karen.  

Besides meeting everyone, Meg and I also enjoyed the theme of the shower - a Jane Austen tea.  It was beautifully decorated and the games were a lot of fun.  Meg finished second place in the “Do you know Karen game” with a little help from Brett, and our team won the Jane Austen trivia game.  

Karen received a lot of wonderful gifts that were on her register and a few that weren’t.  Grandma Jane sent a waffle maker for the couple as Brett had really wanted one, and the Barnhart family gave them a gift card to Target as well.  I was extremely proud of the “Showering Karen with Advice” book that our family put together for Karen.  It provided her with the answer to “How do you know Brett?” plus date night suggestions, Marriage Advice, and a favorite memory of Brett along with a recipe to try.  Meg made Karen a memory box that she also enjoyed very much.  Overall, it was a wonderful day and Meg and I were extremely happy to be a part of it.  

Bloomington

I was at the airport more than two hours early this morning but almost missed my flight anyway. Normally, we do not bring checked bags on our trip, but this time I had to as I had several items for Brett, Karen, Meg and Cameron.  I was absolutely floored when I saw the Southwest check-in line for flights to Indianapolis.  There were at least a hundred people in front of me with only two people working.  If I would have been flying to Chicago, I could have walked right up to the counter, but the one I was in was ridiculously long.  The woman helping at the front of the line kept calling for more workers, but from what I overheard there weren't any coming anytime soon.  I called Doug to see if I should have him come back and get my bag or if I should pay $200 more to go on a later flight as I knew that I wouldn't make my 7:30 a.m. take off time if I had to wait.  

As soon as I told Doug my story, I heard a man telling the crowd that there was no waiting outside for curbside check-in service.  All it would cost was a tip.  I couldn't believe that only four of us got out of the long line.  Within five minutes I was on the way to security, bypassing the long wait for only $5.  I was relieved when I made it to my gate and wasn't surprised to hear Southwest paging other customers that were late for their flight.

Thankfully, the rest of my day went very well.  The flight was an easy one and my luggage was the first on to the conveyor belt.  Brett picked me up and we made it to Bloomington in time to have lunch with Cora and Cameron at Crazy Horse.  I was glad that they were able to make time for us as they both had classes and SAB commitments today.  

The rest of the afternoon was spent at Brett's apartment.  I first cut his hair.  We then went over wedding plans, worked on a gift for Karen's shower and started talking about the moving process.  Cameron joined us in the evening for breadsticks and a game of Ticket to Ride before heading out to see The Minon movie with friends.  After Cameron left, Brett and I started a movie whose music was produced by his friend Sponge.  I don't know what I expected, but I really liked the film.  We didn't get to finish it but made plans to next weekend.   

Stitches

After a week of caring for Doug's open wound, we were both thrilled to hear from the doctor that the margins of the melanoma had been clear.  Thus, Doug was cancer free, and he could be stitched up.  The wound was big enough to require nine stitches, and Doug would need to take an antibiotic to stave off infection, but overall, the appointment went well, and we were on our way to the pharmacy in less than an hour.  Both of us were extremely relieved and looked forward to May 1st when the stitches would be removed and this would all be behind us.  We hoped that his bought with melanoma was over for good, but if another one was found we decided that we would use a home health nurse to care for the open wound. I don't think that I could handle cleaning out another open wound.

Once Doug picked up his prescription, we headed to Orlando for the evening.  I had an early morning flight, so we chose to stay at a Hampton Inn close to the airport. Before we checked in, we decided to have dinner at Epcot.  The food booths of the Flower and Garden show were still open, and we both enjoyed a variety of dishes.  We arrived at the hotel by 8 p.m. and went straight to bed.  Doug's head was starting to hurt, and I was exhausted from all of the walking.  Even so, it was a nice way to celebrate the end of Doug's scare with cancer.  

A Week of Yuck

I have been following a low purine diet since last Tuesday as too many purines in the system cause a buildup of uric acid in the body which leads to gout.  It has been very hard to do as most of the foods that I eat are high on the purine list.  Besides cutting out tuna, watermelon and turkey, I have also had to eliminate mangos, asparagus and okra leaving only chicken, pasta, potatoes and Greek yogurt as foods that I can eat.  I don't mind chicken, and I loved Greek yogurt and Doug's potatoes, but pasta is not one of my favorites.  The worst part is that I have not seen any improvement in my toe pain.  

Since I never really was convinced that this was gout and the pain has not subsided, I have officially decided that I will try one more week of this diet and then move on to a different plan.  I have really been wondering if this is athlete's foot anyway as I have had problems with that since I played golf in high school.  I know that my foot doesn't itch and isn't red, but the nail on my toe had some discoloration and was curved for a while before the pain started making me think that an infection is much more likely.  Either way keeping my fingers crossed that something works as the pain in my toe makes it really hard to walk long distances.  

Funeral DeJaVu

Today I went to a funeral for one of the guys at Bible study.  I had only known him for a few months, but our group was small, and I wanted to support the members as they said goodbye to one of their friends.  I had liked Bob.  He was always funny and had a lot of knowledge to share with the group.  As he was at every meeting since I started in September, I was concerned last week when our group leader said that he couldn't get a hold of him and was sad to learn of his death.

Although I had planned on going to the funeral to support others, in the end I found the funeral to be one of the best church services that I had attended this spring.  Not only had our Bible study member shared the same name as my grandpa, he was also the same age when he died.  He shared so many of my grandfathers beloved traits as well.  He served his country in the Navy, had a dry sense of humor, was a devoted husband, loved his children and was adored by his grandchildren.  His service reminded me so much of my grandfather's that it brought back many wonderful memories of him that I hadn't thought about in years.  It even ended in Taps being played outside of the church just like CrapPa's did at the cemetery.  It was absolutely beautiful, and I was thankful to have been a small part of it today. 

March Madness Comes to an End

Although the Big Ten did not fare well in the NCAA men's basketball tournament this year, Doug and I still enjoyed March Madness.  It really helped that Florida did so well in the tourney.  We had spent enough time in Gainesville the past year that we had no problem adopting them as our team to root for, especially once they made it to the Final Four.  The best part about watching their games was that almost each one of them had come down to the last possession with an exciting last second win.

After this weekend's games, Doug and I both completely expected the Gators to beat Houston as they were the weakest of the number one teams.  By halftime, Florida was down by 3 and it was looking as though all of the momentum was going Houston's way.  Since it was already after ten by the break, Doug decided to go to bed so he could get up early for work tomorrow.  For a while I thought that it was a really good idea as Florida fell behind by twelve points with less than ten minutes to go in the game.  

Even though they were down by double digits, I fully expected Florida to come back.  They had in every game that they had played in the tournament and there wasn't any real reason to think that they wouldn't tonight as well.  Thankfully, I was right and soon it was a tie game.  Two poor offensive possessions by Houston put Florida in the lead for less than thirty seconds, but that was all they needed to clinch the win and the national title.  I silently cheered in my new orange shirt hoping not to wake Doug up and looking forward to telling him all about it tomorrow.  

SAB Director Decisions

This past week Cameron received some fantastic news.  He was chosen to be one of the directors of Student Athletic Board next year.  I wasn't surprised at all when he told me.  I knew that he had worked hard all year with the hope of achieving this status.  I also knew that he would make a wonderful leader as his love for IU sports was not easily equaled.

Although I was very happy, Cameron was bittersweet about the position.  He was thrilled to hear his news, but sad that neither Cora nor Tyler was chosen as directors.  There were a lot of girls applying, so Cora not being selected wasn't quite as shocking, but Tyler had been Cameron's right-hand man all year.  The were Chairs together and everyone called them twins.  They both worked hard to improve attendance at field hockey, and they were at all the SAB events that they could attend.  

Cameron talked to me for a long time about how his opinion regarding the situation.  I felt sorry that he was so conflicted but knew that dealing with politics were a part of any group.  I encouraged him to take some time, hang out with his friends and come up with a plan for how he wanted to participate next year as a director.  I knew that it would take a few days but was positive that it would be alright in the end.  Thus, I was happy to see this post as I knew that meant he was already feeling better about it.  I can't wait to see what he has planned for next fall.

Table Shopping

Yesterday, before the trauma of cleaning Doug’s head wound occurred, I spent a wonderful day in Ocala with my friend, Robbi from CCW. She knew that I was looking for a kitchen table and suggested that she take me to a few thrift shops and furniture stores to find one. I was excited about looking for one and enjoying a day away from doing housework as well. Robbi and I first headed to Belleview as she had a few ideas of places to look that had new and used furniture. On our way, we also talked about where to eat lunch. We soon decided to go to one her favorites, a restaurant on Lake Weir, Eaton's Beach Sandbar & Grill. I absolutely loved it. The food was delicious, but the atmosphere was even better. We were seated with a wonderful view of the lake and even got to see a small airplane take off from the lake. 

The rest of our afternoon was spent shopping. The first store, Almost Perfect Furniture, had several tables to choose from that were both new and used. I took pictures of all that I thought that Doug might like too as I didn’t want to buy one unless he saw it. The next store, Censible, did not have any furniture that I was interested in, but did have a few other fun items that I enjoyed thrifting including a Sound of Music vinyl for Meg. Our last stop, Blockers, only had new tables. I liked several and took pictures of those as well. 

After the CCW spiritual retreat at Blessed Trinity this morning, Doug and I looked through all of the pictures and decided that we both liked one in particular. Meg saw the picture and agreed that it would be perfect for our Florida home. Doug called Almost Perfect to see if they delivered to our address just in case the set didn’t fit in our Pilot. We loved the table and found out that they were running a 25% off promotion and a $100 off if we took the furniture ourselves. Thus, we had an incentive to try and make the table fit in one trip. Thankfully, they had men there to help us load it and using our Jenga skills, we got all four chairs, glass table and large base in our car. Soon, we had everything set up and were happy to show our pineapple to our family.