Saturday, June 7, 2025

Where Are the Lemons?

When we first moved down here, Doug and I bought a lemon tree at the plant sale at Kanapaha Botanical Garden.  We were both excited, but I was probably more so since I would now be able to grow my own lemons to make lemonade just like Granny did years ago.  I even found her recipe and couldn't wait to try it.  We watered the tree, fertilized it and found the best spot in the yard for it to get both shade and sun.  After that, we waited . . . and waited . . . and waited.  Fast forward almost two years later and we are still waiting for our first lemon.  The tree has blossomed, but so far it has produced no fruit.  

On the flip side, the lime tree that we bought this past October already had several limes growing and one that will be ready to pick next week.  With that being the case, I decided to search Google to see what the problem could be.  One thought was that the lemon tree wasn't pollinating itself.  That usually only occurred when the tree was indoors, but it was flowering without any issue, so maybe the internet was right.  Since it was very easy to pollinate a tree, all I had to do was rub pollen from one flower to the other with a Q-tip, I decided to try that first.

While I was pollinating the tree, I realized that there were snails crawling all over the area close to where the lemon tree was.  I didn't know how the snails had gotten into our backyard and was sure that they were harmless but thought that I would check Google about those as well.  As soon as I clicked on a website about snails in the garden, a lightbulb went off.  Snails loved lemon trees and tomatoes and caused damage to both.  It made sense to me since the two plants that were suffering the most were the lemon tree and tomato plant.  I looked through all of the remedies and finally decided to buy slug and snail bait from Lowe's.  I spent an hour this morning putting it down all around the border of our fence and back porch.  I don't know if it will work or help our lemon tree grow lemons, but my fingers are crossed.  Either way, it was a lot easier than picking all of the snails out of the yard like I tried in the first place.  

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Get Ready, Promotion

Cal texted the family group chat today to let us know that he had been promoted to manager at Plante Moran.  We were not surprised to get the text as we knew that he had been working hard the past few years to reach this goal.  Even though, Doug and I were extremely proud as this was a big milestone in the public accounting world.  Cal said that his responsibilities wouldn't change much as he was already fulfilling the role of manager on most of his jobs now, but his pay would increase greatly, which was wonderful for him.  

As proud as I was of Cal, I was even more proud of my children's texts in the group chat.  Every one of them congratulated him and recognized the accomplishment that he had just made in his career.  Although, I am sure that there are times that they drive each other crazy as most siblings do, I love that they are not jealous of one other and celebrate each other's wins in life.  My favorite text of the day came from Meg as she sent the meme of Patrick Star parachuting in to celebrate Spongebob's big promotion to manager. Although it didn't really work out for Spongebob, we were glad that Cal's promotion was real and there were a lot of reasons to celebrate at the "Goofy Gooby" tonight.


   

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Wasting My Time

I left the meeting on Monday night so frustrated that I actually started to cry.  Nothing bad happened at the meeting and no one was mean, but out of the two hours I was there, I participated in seven minutes of it.  It was an important part of the meeting, but the rest of it was completely irrelevant to me.  It was a lot of talk about next year and ideas that were read from the suggestions given at the last meeting of the year.  

As I sat at the meeting, I thought back to all of the times that I had to go to Smart Start as a teacher.  Most of the meetings were a complete waste of time.  I listened to someone else talk and tried to be supportive but realized that the person speaking could care less about my opinion. Because of those early mornings, I had become extremely apathetic about non-collaborative meetings.  I have been reading on my own for over fifty years, if someone was just going to dictate to me, then I would strongly prefer for them to send their thoughts in an email.  I would read it and respond if needed.  Otherwise, don't waste my time.

Because of all of this, I decided that it might be time for me to move on to something different.  When I said that I would run for office, I never dreamed how much time this would take up of mine.  I would be ok with it if I felt that I was helping someone or making a difference.  I am not, however, and hate missing time with my family for no reason.  I have decided that I will take some time to think about what I want to do and how much time I have to help in the future. Thus, I am extremely thankful for a break this summer to do just that.  



Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Athens

Cameron's study abroad trip officially ended on Friday, but he and his roommates had made plans to stay in Athens this weekend to take in several of the tourist destinations in the Greek capital.  They found an Airbnb that was small, but close to everything that they wanted to do.  It was also inexpensive which they appreciated very much.  They ate their meal at local restaurants and found a rooftop bar to hang out at night.

Of all of the wonderful things that Cameron did in Greece, his time in Athens was my favorite.  It wasn't because of his visit to the Acropolis or all of the ruins and ancient artwork that he shared with us via pictures.  It wasn't even because I was a history nerd and enjoyed listening to all of the artifacts that he saw and the relics of Greek mythology.  What I actually loved was that by accident he stumbled upon Mars Hill (or Aeropagus in Greek).  I had been talking about the famed landmark since he first arrived in Greece seventeen days ago and couldn't believe that he had actually visited the spot where St. Paul gave one of the most famous speeches in Christian history.

The importance of Aeropagus wasn't lost on Cameron, Tyler and Zach.  They spent quite a bit of time there reflecting, watching the sunset and just hanging out long past nightfall.  Cameron told me that once he landed today, he couldn't stop thinking about how he had casually visited a spot where people pilgrimage to every year.  It was on the best experiences of his life.  I was happy to hear that and how much he enjoyed his trip.  I was also extremely glad to have him back in the states.











Monday, June 2, 2025

Tennis

Doug stayed in Orlando tonight since I had a board meeting for CCW.  Meg and Nick were happy to host him and the three of them went to the park near their apartment to play tennis.  Doug was really looking forward to it since he hadn't played tennis in several years.  I wasn't surprised to hear later that Meg dominated on the court.  Meg had a lot more tennis skills than either Nick or Doug, so even though she hadn't played much this past year, I knew that her game would come back quickly.  Doug said that he struggled with his serve tonight.  I wasn't surprised as it had always been his biggest weakness.  Pickleball in the driveway helps to keep the net game alive but doesn't do much for serving practice or ground strokes.  Meg did say that Nick was a lot better than she thought that he would be.  I wasn't surprised to hear that either as sports were always an important part of his life when he was younger.

In the end, the score did not matter.  I was just incredibly pleased that the three of them had had an enjoyable evening together.  Meg had spent a lot of time with her dad when she was younger, especially playing sports.  It was nice to hear them rekindling that bond tonight.  



Sunday, June 1, 2025

Moving In

Last weekend, Brett packed up his apartment and moved to Columbus.  When we were in Bloomington in April, I was very worried about how he was going to get everything there.  Thankfully, all of our help and planning then paid off now.  I had given Brett a list of what needed donated, what needed thrown away and what would need to be moved with him.  Doug and Brett started on the donation list giving a lot of the items to St. Vincent de Paul a month ago.  They also threw out several big pieces of furniture that would not be making the move and weren't worth donating.  While I was visiting Brett over Easter, we also looked up moving truck rates and talked about friends that Brett thought could help him on moving day.

I talked to Brett almost daily this past week.  He felt very good about all that he had accomplished.  The truck worked out perfectly, his friends were a big help as they got everything over in one trip, and he had started on the unpacking process. I know there will still be a lot to do, but he has given himself until the end of July to be completely moved in.  I tried not to give too much advice, but I did have to comment on the post he made on Facebook.  It seemed funny to have all of the empty boxes stored in the second bathroom shower, but I was afraid that they would find a permanent home there.  Thankfully, Brett listened to my concerns about mold and bugs and promised to have them out soon.  I reminded him that I will never know what he does, but at least mentioning it, relieved my anxiety quite a bit.  No matter what, I am very happy for him and the new life that he will be starting in Columbus.



Saturday, May 31, 2025

Last Weekend of the Flower & Garden Show

This was the last weekend of the Flower & Garden Show at Epcot.  Doug, Meg, Nick and I decided to spend one more afternoon enjoying the festival before it closed later in the week.  It was hot and sprinkled for a time being, but it didn't hamper the fun or the good food.  

Doug and I arrived before Meg and Nick, so we headed to Soarin' first.  I was amazed at how short the line was for a weekend.  After my favorite ride, we went straight to the beverage port for some cucumber Sprite for me and a Beverly for Doug.  I will never get used to the bitter taste of his drink but love that Doug tries it every single time we go.  

We met Nick and Meg at the festival pavilion and then took a tour around the countries starting with Mexico. We all had a lot of fun trying the food booths and drinks for the last time this season and looking at the topiaries.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were still on number one on our list, but Winnie the Pooh and Tigger were high up there as well.  Meg and I did more shopping than the guys, and they did a lot more taste testing.  Meg had a great time making fun of me for getting out my umbrella when it was only sprinkling, but I was glad to have it with me.  We all enjoyed the music especially the band in Germany.










Once we got through all of the countries, Doug and I decided to head home.  We had had a wonderful time, but I was exhausted, and my feet were ready for a break.  As soon as we got on the turnpike Doug turned to me and said, "This is why we moved here, for fun days like today."  I couldn't have agreed more.  

Friday, May 30, 2025

R.E.M.

For the past three months, Doug and I had been listening to a lot of R.E.M. on Spotify.  Once Cameron gave me their vinyl, Life's Rich Pageant, we switched over to only listening to that whenever we were in the mood for music from my favorite band in college.  Although I think that it is their best album, Doug and I have been looking through their collection to see which other ones that we would like to order.  We have also spent a lot of time debating which of their songs was the best.  I find it amazing that neither one of us has changed our opinion in over thirty years.  I still believe that "I am Superman" is their best song and Doug's number one continues to be "Orange Crush."  Just like most of their songs, the lyrics do not make sense in either song, but we still love listening to them on repeat.

Although I really enjoy listening to the album that Cameron gave me, the best part about it is the reason that Cameron gave me an R.E.M. vinyl.  In March, he was visiting us, and we were talking about bands that we had loved that had fallen out of favor with music listeners.  Guns N' Roses was number on that list, but R.E.M. was on it as well.  I told Cameron the story of how their lead singer was caught with young boys in his limo and after that everyone really stopped listening to the band.  Cameron looked at me strange and said, "Are you sure?  I had never heard that, and it would be a big story in the music world if it was true."  I was positive that I was right, but decided to fact check it anyway, especially after my long-standing belief of the urban legend surrounding Phil Collins' song "In the Air Tonight."  Of course, I could find absolutely no information on the story that I had long believed about my favorite college band once again confirming Cameron's suspicions that I was completely gullible.  Thankfully, Doug did confirm to Cameron that everyone in our age group including him believed the myths that I had shared.  The best part of the discussion, however, was that Cameron would never forget my love for R.E.M. and showed it this past Mother's Day.

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Pope Leo

 In April, the Catholic community received some sad news as Pope Francis died suddenly on Easter Sunday after giving the holiday mass.  It wasn't a complete surprise as he had spent quite a bit of time in the hospital this winter with pneumonia.  Even so, I was sorry to hear it and was thankful that my Bible study class chose to spend a morning talking about his legacy and his influence on the Catholic faith.  

The news that was shocking, however, was the announcement of the new Pope.  First, it was a lot quicker than anyone expected as he was elected on the second day of the Conclave on the fourth ballot.  Second, he was not anyone that had been on any betting board in Vegas.  Third, no one expected him to choose the name Leo as John, Paul and Francis were the most common names used in the last seventy years.  The biggest shocker of all, however, was when the announcement came through that our new Pope was from the United States.  There was no one that I knew in the Catholic community that ever even dreamed that there would be a Pope from the US in our lifetime.  Even better, he was born in Chicago and still had family living in the city.

The Heinisch group chat lit up as soon as the Papal choice was announced.  Cal sent a picture of Pope Leo from a visit to Maggie's high school last year.  Meg suggested immediately that Brett choose Leo as the name of his second born son.  Brett was beyond ecstatic about the choice, and Cameron mentioned that it was hard to believe that we now had a pope that had been to Portillo's.  There was a pizza place in the south side of Chicago that had already renamed one of its booths to Pope Leo in honor of the pope's visit to one of his favorite restaurants in the past year.  Doug and I were more than happy with the choice and enjoyed all of the interviews with his oldest brother who now lived about two hours south of us in Florida.  Overall, it was great news not only for our family, but for the Catholic faith in general.  We look forward to the direction that he will provide our church.  

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Thankful for the Digital Memories

When Meg got married, I hinted that maybe it was time for her to get her own iCloud.  It was nice to be able to share photos with her, but lately my apps were starting to become filled with her data.  When I would check my Fitbit, it would count me with 28,000 steps because it added her steps to mine.  It also started to change the information that was used on my phone, showing me in places that I wasn't and routing me to stores in Orlando instead of Ocala.  It became too confusing to navigate, so once Meg moved to Florida, I asked her to please find a way to change her iCloud to stop the confusion.  Meg was reluctant because of all of the shared photos, but in the end switched over this week when I promised her that she could still sign in to mine on her iPad to download any photos that she wanted to keep.  

Meg spent the past few days sending herself photos that she wanted to keep in her new iCloud.  I sympathized with the immensity of the project.  We had a lot of digital memories on our iCloud, many of which were hers. I did enjoy seeing a few of those memories show up on my photo stream today.  The pictures were adorable and reminded me of all of the fun times that our family had spent together on vacation and in everyday life.  It was also a wonderful reminder that the closeness our children felt then had not changed.  I would never want to relive those days, but I sure enjoyed reminiscing about them today.









Tuesday, May 27, 2025

On the Move

Cameron and his study abroad group traveled to a small town in the northeast part of Greece today.  His professor had grown up in the area and she was excited to show them that particular region of her home country.  They traveled close enough to the border of Turkey that they could see the fence between the two countries.  Cameron had told us earlier that the people of Greece did not get along well with those from Turkey.  I guess the fence proved that point.  

While they were traveling, the IU students also toured several different food factories along the way.  Cameron's favorite part of the trip was visiting a goat farmer that was living "off the grid."  He enjoyed his way of life and the lunch that they shared while they were there.  The last stop of the day was a peanut butter factory where they got to sample several different fruit flavored peanut butters.  His favorite was the banana one.  The group ended their evening staying in host family homes near the border of Bulgaria.  The house was small, but Cameron really liked his host and the conversation that he had with him. 









 


Monday, May 26, 2025

A New Sound System

Doug and I decided not to get each other gifts this year for our anniversary and instead purchase something that we both wanted.  Our current record player needed a new band and was turning slower and slower because of it.  We also wanted to upgrade the speaker system that we had with one that was wireless.  That way we would be able to listen to our record collection while sitting on the back patio or on the lanai during game nights.  

Both Doug and I liked Meg's record player a lot.  It was very easy to use and sounded a lot better than ours.  I started looking for one like it and found the perfect player on Best Buys website.  I ordered it and a Bluetooth speaker that had great reviews as well.  The shipping date was delayed, so it would miss our anniversary, but it would still be delivered by Memorial Day weekend which was our goal.  We had planned on spending a lot of time in Ocala over the holiday weekend and knew that we would get a lot of great use out of it over the three-day break.  

On Thursday, I was very disappointed to see that the delivery date moved to the Tuesday after Memorial Day.  The speaker had already arrived, but it didn't work with our old record player.  I decided Saturday morning to look online for another system that we could pick up locally.  There weren't a lot of options, but after searching, I finally found the exact same system that I ordered at a Walmart about ten minutes from our home.  They only had one left, so we hurried over to the store after visiting the Ocala Downtown Market.  Not only did they have the record player, but it was quite a bit cheaper than the one from Best Buy.  They had the same speaker at a discount as well.  In the end we were able to listen to our favorite vinyls all weekend long for a $160 less than we would have with the Best Buy purchase.  
That alone made our music sound even better.  


Sunday, May 25, 2025

Crazy Cucumber, Heathbrook Square & Gainesville

Since Nick was flying this weekend, Meg decided to spend Memorial Day weekend with us.  She arrived last night and we enjoyed dinner with her at Crazy Cucumber after mass as that is Meg’s favorite restaurant in Ocala.  While we were at Heathbrook Square, we also did some shopping at Old Navy, Home Goods, Marshalls and Barnes & Noble.  Doug offered to pick up cookies from Crumbl while we were there, but Meg really wanted to make her own recipe tonight.  Meg invited Phil over once we got back home and we had a nice evening on the back patio listening to music.

Today, the three of us headed to Gainesville for the day.  Doug and I renewed our membership at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens and despite the heat, we had a nice walk through the bamboo garden.  Meg purchased several fun postcards for her friends and family back home before we left.  Next, we had lunch at Relish.  Out of all of the burger places that we have tried since moving to Florida, it is still our family’s favorite.  The last stop in Gainesville was Swamp Head Brewery.  Meg had never been and liked it a lot more than I thought that she would.  I believe it was because of all of the different types of beers to try and the fun atmosphere.  Either way, I was glad that she enjoyed it as much as we do.  It was a wonderful way to spend our day.













Saturday, May 24, 2025

Downtown Ocala

Neither Doug nor I had been to the Ocala Downtown Market since my parents had been here in February.  Thus, we decided to head there this morning and check out all of the vendors.  I don't know if I remembered it differently, but to me it was a lot bigger today with more food trucks, tents and booths.  We first stopped at the vegetable stand so that Doug could pick up some okra and peppers.  While he was waiting to pay, I found a man who made homemade pickles of various flavors.  Doug bought one labeled horseradish with the hope that he would really like the interesting pickle flavor.  Needless to say, he did.  After checking out all of the food vendors, Doug and I then browsed through the arts and crafts booths.  There was a lot of really cut items, but the gnomes dressed in red, white and blue were the ones that caught my eye.  We not only took one home, but also the women's card that made them as I thought that they would make the perfect Christmas gift.  

Once we were done with the downtown market, Doug and I walked to The Big Hammock for lunch. He hadn't been there in quite some time, and I loved their "Admiral Turkey" sandwich.  The food was delicious as always and the Silver Springs decor was nice as well.  Our last stop downtown was Grandpa Joe's.  It has definitely become one of my favorite stores in Ocala.  We purchased a few items before heading back home to wait for Meg to arrive.  I was very glad that we ventured out this morning as it was the perfect way to start a fun, relaxing holiday weekend.  

Friday, May 23, 2025

The Music Man

A couple of weeks ago Meg started watching the music man. She hadn’t seen it in years and only remembered a couple of scenes, so she really wanted to see it again. Meg was absolutely amazed at how much she loved the movie. Professor Harold Hill and Winthrop played by Ronnie Howard were her favorites. She went around singing or listening to the songs for the next week or so. While Meg was listening to the soundtrack, she also noticed that many of those songs were favorites of Grandma Heinisch as well as she used to sing them quite often, especially Pick -a-Little, Talk- a-Little. I didn’t remember that, but Doug could remember her singing "Goodnight Ladies" quite often. Meg talked about the movie so much that Doug and I started watching it as well. It was just as cute as I remembered, and I agreed with her 100% about the two best characters in the show.

While I was at Meg‘s house last week, she said that she would love to get the soundtrack of The Music Man on vinyl. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to find it but knew that it was one that she would listen to all of the time. I started looking on eBay right away and discovered that there actually was a vinyl from the movie. I also saw that there was one from the Broadway musical of the same name that starred Robert Preston as well. That made sense to us as he had originated the role of on Broadway and carried it over to the big screen. I suggested to Meg that we order a copy of the one from the movie and she agreed immediately. I found one for less than $10 and soon it was on our way to our house. 

Once the vinyl arrived, I was so excited to give it to Meg that I didn’t even open the package. Meg took one look at the cover and said "Thanks Mom, I'm super excited, but this is actually from the Broadway musical." I was so disappointed in myself. I I was sure that I had ordered the correct copy but thought that I must have made a mistake. I went back to my orders to see what had happened and realized that the seller had actually sent me the wrong album. I messaged her with the hope that she would still have the other one and quickly got a reply. She said that it was her fault and that she felt terrible. She offered to give me a complete refund and send me the correct album right away. We told her that we didn't need a refund and to just send us the one we wanted.  We would then return the one we received in error as we knew it was a lot more expensive, and we didn’t want her to be out the money. 





Today, the movie version of the Music Man arrived, and I was extremely happy to give it to Meg. There was also a paid postage sticker in the package with a big thank you for returning the one that she sent in error.  I headed to the post office and Meg played the new vinyl right away. I was glad that she was happy, and Doug and I enjoyed listening to Seventy-Six Trombones blaring on her speaker all night long.


Thursday, May 22, 2025

The Survivor Podcast

This spring, Doug and I did not miss an evening of Survivor and really enjoyed it.  Doug had only recently started watching the reality survival show again, but I have been catching the Wednesday favorite since it first started twenty-five years ago.  I haven't loved every season, and I have found a lot of the players extremely unlikeable, but Survivor 48 was fun from the beginning. Both Doug and I were wrong about who would win last night, but overall, we were happy with who the jury chose.  Predictability in any reality show makes it boring, and this season was definitely not that.  

For me the best part about Survivor lately, has been the podcast immediately following tribal council.  I accidentally found it last year and have loved listening to Jeff Probst along with his cohosts including at least one ex-Survivor player give their thoughts on each episode.  The insight about the show has been absolutely fascinating, especially how it has evolved over the years.  I have been impressed with how involved Probst is in producing the show and the number of friends and family members of the crew that have become a part of the Survivor working family as well, including the host's own niece.  Since the podcast has only been in existence for the past four season, a listener suggested that they make podcasts for previous season as well.  I have to be honest; I think that I would listen to those shows as well.  Either way, I am glad that Survivor has been a staple in the Heinisch family for years and am already looking forward to Season 49 this fall.  

 

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Celebrating Our 32nd Anniversary

I told Doug several weeks ago that there was only one thing that I would have changed about our wedding. I loved everything about it, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have picked a different month. I did not realize until my children started school that May would become our family's busiest month of the year next to December.  End of year picnics, spring sports finals, music programs, graduations, First Communion, and Confirmation took up a lot of our days in May. Adding in Mother's Day and Cal's birthday as well as multiple awards programs when the Heinisch children got older, left Doug and I with no time to celebrate our wedding anniversary. 

At first, we would find a day in May to go out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary.  Over time, however, a card and maybe small gift was plenty for the two of us.  Some years, we even forgo that tradition as it seemed forced as we tried to squeeze in a little bit of time for just the two of us with our family's crazy May schedule. I thought that I would be upset about the lack of anniversary celebrations, but in the end neither Doug nor I cared. We had worked hard every day to build a nice life with our family.  A celebration in honor of that wasn't needed for us to be happy.

With no one at home this year, Doug and I decided to celebrate differently. We booked a night at Port Orleans Riverside and spent the evening celebrating at Disney World.  It was so much fun.  We went to Hollywood Studios for several hours before traveling back to Riverside to hang out in the piano bar.  From there we walked over to the French Quarter for beignets for dessert before heading back to our room.  Nick and Meg stopped by to say hello before they left for Magic Kingdom and then again before leaving for home.  It was a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate our 32nd anniversary.