Generosity Eludes Some

Recently, Doug's dad told him that one of the Nigerian statues that he gave him was worth a lot of money because it was from a specific tribe and was made of ebony.  When Doug relayed the story to me, I knew exactly what bust he was referencing.  It was my least favorite as the woman in the statue was naked and I found it extremely inappropriate.  Because of that, I had stored it with several other memory items that Jeanette had given us before she died instead of displaying it in Doug's room.  

I knew from the research that Nick and I had done when we were sorting the African collection that the statue wasn't worth very much.  I showed Doug the research that I found, and he said that he figured that it wasn't valuable.  The memories of the entire collection, however, did mean a lot to Doug.  It was the only memorabilia that Doug had asked his dad for when he moved into Oak Crest.  He didn't want to financially gain from the collection but wanted the pieces because they reminded him of his childhood and life on Rich Road.

Because of this, I was floored when Doug mentioned that his dad said that he wished he hadn't given it to him because of its value.  Doug wasn't offended which said a lot about his character.  I know that I would have been upset if my parents had done the same thing.  I am glad that Doug and I do not revolve our life around money, but instead our family.  God calls all of us in Deuteronomy 15:10 to "Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless your work and in everything you put your hand to."

A Lightening Scare

I got an early morning text from my Aunt Vicky with a photo of a firetruck outside of my parents' home.  Lightening had stuck their house.  I couldn't believe it.  With everything else going on in their lives right now, it didn't even seem real.

After an afternoon of no electricity and a few days without internet, everything was restored at my parents today.  Hoosier Tree had assured me that the tree that it hit was not permanently damaged.  It would only need some soil replaced around the roots.  Nipsco checked the line into the house and all was fine with that.  Mediacom replaced the modem that was taken out from the storm, and the electrician checked the entire house for faulty wiring and thankfully found none.  Even the 75-inch television that was first thought to be blown came back on with the restored internet. 

In the end, my parents were very fortunate that nothing more serious had happened.  I told my mom that I believe that this was a sign from God that they need to move into an assisted living home.  She laughed at first, but I truly believe that as do several of my children.  Life should be easier as you age. Staying in a fifty-year-old home is hard to manage for any of us, but for those with serious health issues it is almost impossible without a lot of help.  I am very glad that the house survived the strike, but hopefully, they will see that now.

Moving Furniture

Last month, I was finally able to talk my parents into moving their bedroom downstairs into the "business room."  My mom cannot go upstairs, and I knew that soon my dad would not be able to either.  Thankfully, Aunt Vicky's family was willing to help and even offered to clean as well.  My parents didn't want to move the dresser down which helped in the process.  They also didn't want to use their king size bed.  They thought that it would be too hard to get down their winding stairs and that it wouldn't fit in the room.  Since we still had a queen size bed stored at their home, my mom offered to buy it off of me and then I could order one for Cameron's room.  I appreciated that as I was going to get the bed this summer on one of my trips to Syracuse.  This solution worked out well for both of us and I was impressed in how great their new bedroom looked when my cousins were done.

One thing that I rarely ask Doug to do is move furniture in our home.  He is great at helping, but he had done that a lot at his parents' home and I knew that it wasn't much fun.  This time I had no choice.  I couldn't get the new queen bed set up in Cameron's room without his help.  The worst part wasn't the bed, however.  I had decided that I would save the two twin beds in Cameron's room for guest use when we had a house full.  At first, I thought we'd store them under the queen bed, but they didn't remotely fit.  Next, I tried them in my walk-in closet, but they took up too much room there as well.

In the end, I was able to use them as a daybed in the music room.  I had always wanted one in there and this worked out perfectly.  It also allowed me to completely clean out my closet downsizing a lot of the tubs that were stored there.  Everything looked wonderful when we finished.  The only new piece of furniture that I had to buy was the nightstand by the daybed.  It was not only a perfect fit, but it held all of Cameron's vinyls as well.  The one downside to all of this was that Doug had to move the piano to make all of it fit.  Thankfully, I don't plan to ask him to move furniture anytime soon.  

A Shopping Spree

It had been a long week, and I was definitely feeling overwhelmed today.  Doug had the perfect answer - an afternoon of shopping in Ocala.  Our first stop was DSW.  I needed new Birkenstocks as mine were starting to wear out on the bottoms.  This has been a yearly issue for me as I wear them almost daily.  I wasn't sure what I wanted, but after looking I found the perfect pair.  The last few years, I had bought the same style and these were a lot different from any that I previously owned.  Doug agreed that they looked great and I was very happy with the purchase.

We walked to Home Goods next.  Neither one of us needed anything but wanted to do some window shopping.   Doug found a glass food storage container that would be great for him to use to take lunches to work.  He didn't do it often, but we didn't have anything in the house that worked since I had gotten rid of all of our plastic ones.  I also found a pair of adorable citrus drinking glasses that I decided I couldn't live without and added them to my cart. Our last stop of the afternoon was Kohls.  I had a 40% off coupon and Doug wanted to look at dress shoes.  He hadn't bought a brown pair since we had moved to Ocala and needed new ones.  While we were there, I picked up lightweight socks for walking and a cute set of St. Patrick's Day kitchen towels.  

I was so glad that Doug suggested getting out of the house today.  The shopping and the sunshine were exactly what I needed.  I love living in Ocala and today reminded me exactly why.

The Epcot Flower & Garden Festival

One of the best parts of March is Epcot's Flower & Garden festival.  It opened two days ago and last night Nick, Meg, Doug and I met at the theme park to enjoy all that the festival had to offer.  There were some wonderful foods to try.  Doug and I especially liked the chicken gumbo in United States, and I loved the chocolate cake in Canada.  The topiaries are always my favorite part of the festival and there were some new ones this year.  They also moved some of the longtime ones such as Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan to new spots in the park making it feel like a treasure hunt as we walked the countries.  While we were there, we were also able to listen to the musical entertainment offered, enjoying several different bands.  It was the lightest crowd that we had seen in Epcot for quite some time and overall, we all had a great time.  I really appreciated everyone taking time out of their busy schedule to meet.  It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to go several more times before the festival ends in June. 

Lego Time

When Doug and I were downsizing our home in Syracuse, we weren't quite sure what to do with a lot of our children's possessions.  There were some really nice toys, bedding and other items that they no longer used, but meant a lot to us.  I didn't quite finish the project as it took me awhile to sort through everything and decide what to keep and what to donate or sell, but I made a lot of headway during those two years.

Out of all of the items that we sold, the ones that made the most money were the Lego sets bringing in well over a thousand dollars for our children on eBay before we moved.  We still had a lot left when we arrived in Ocala almost three years ago, but neither one of us wanted to donate them.  We had enjoyed building them together and our children appreciated the extra spending money.  I found a great place to store the tubs of pieces above the cabinets in our laundry room and didn't even think about them again until this winter when Doug was working on puzzles and I suggested instead working on the Legos after he finished it.

As soon as Doug agreed, I pulled out every half-built set in our home and picked out one of the largest ones to complete.  Doug spent quite a bit of time rebuilding it and I spent an equal amount of time finding all of the missing pieces, but as of yesterday, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull set was on eBay ready for a buyer.  There were a lot of memories in that set as Jeanette bought it for Cal when he was recovering from hip surgery.  Even so, Cal was the first to say that it was time to find a new home for it and I was glad that I would be emptying a large tub from my closest.  I don't know how quickly it will sell as it is a more expensive piece, but either way it was a lot of fun to build and led us to other sets that also need to find a new home.

Well, That's Strange

Since my dad was going to be in the hospital longer than we originally thought, he asked me if I could do his taxes.  I had no problem with that as I had been doing Doug and my taxes for years and until recently all of the Heinisch children's as well.  While Cal was in Syracuse last weekend, I asked him to take a picture of all of the tax documents that my dad had in his 2024 and 2025 tax folder plus all of the passwords that were relevant in his black notebook.  It took some digging and some detective work by my mom but 36 pictures later I had everything I needed . . . almost.

The one item that was missing was the same one that my dad had trouble finding last year, my mom's SSA-1099.  At first, I thought, "No problem, I will just set up a social security online account like I had for Doug and I and get it from there."  I guess I was naive when I assumed that it would be a ten-minute process.  Social Security had changed their online registration steps.  A photo of the driver's license wasn't enough, now they needed a selfie from the person's phone as well.  I was frustrated but not discouraged when I read that.  I knew it would be hard for my mom to do, but with Aunt Vicky's help I thought it would work.  

After talking them through the process and several attempts, social security finally accepted the photo of my mom's id and a selfie.  I was happy to finally have solved the issue and continued the steps helping her set up the online account.  We got to the last question which asked for a phone number to text or call.  No problem, we gave them hers and soon got the response, "Sorry, this number is not linked to the registrant."  I was floored.  The only phone number that they would recognize was the landline that my parents had cancelled at least a decade ago.  That was no help.

That was when I decided to call the social security office and explain the issue.  The first time was absolutely no help.  The second person I talked to was a lot more helpful.  She let me merge my mom on to the call and after she verified that I could talk to the social security office on her behalf, they at least let us know the issue.  My mom's address was wrong.  We gave them every address that we could think of, even mine on Sunset Dr. but know of them worked.  That was when we found out that Medicare might be able to give us the information that we needed as the two accounts were linked.  After several failed attempts, we finally got into the website on our last try by remembering that my mom's favorite ice cream was butter pecan.  We saw the problem right away; her address was listed in Cocoa Florida.  I wrote it down and we called the social security office back hoping we could now find a resolution to the issue.

In the end, we were let down once again.  My mom was able to give them the fake address, but they started asking her a lot more questions that we weren't prepared for and only confused her with "What's the account number on your savings account? What is your father's name?"  My mom didn't have her account number memorized and she didn't know if they meant CrapPa or her biological dad.  We gave up.  They did give us the numbers for her SSA-1099, but that was it.  I realized at that time that the only way to solve the issue was to make an appointment with the Social Security office an hour from her home and take her there myself at the end of March.  What a pain.  At least I gained knowledge for what to do so this never happens to Doug or I and I can now work on my parents' taxes.

How Can It Already March?

Nick told Meg that he was glad that summer had arrived.  She reminded him that it was only March and that spring hadn't technically even arrived yet.  I had to laugh when Meg told me that story.  The weather had changed here, and it did feel a lot like summer.   

Even so, I still can't believe that it is already March.  February absolutely flew by.  It seemed like we had just been in Indiana celebrating Cameron's 21st birthday not too long ago and now he was talking about his spring break trip to visit us.  I am definitely not complaining.  I love March and am ready for all that it brings - beautiful weather, green grass, St. Patrick's Day, March Madness, spring break and so much more.  Hopefully, this March is just as much fun.

Maggie's Golden Birthday

This weekend Maggie celebrated her golden birthday on the 27th of February.  Our family showered her with gifts and messages of good will.  I love how quickly Maggie became a part of our family.  She fits in on every level and has been a joy to have around.  She completements Meg's interests very well which I enjoy tremendously as she comes up with great recommendations for Doug and I, just like Meg.  Her laid-back attitude and organizational skills have benefitted Cal very much, I appreciate how much she includes us in their lives as well. I would never push anyone to get engaged, but if Maggie and Cal decided to get married, I definitely would not object.  

Another Weekend, Another Visitor

Cal finally had a break from work, so he used it to go out and visit and Grandma and Grandpa.  He hadn't been to Syracuse since December and was very thankful to see both of them.  While he was there, he was also able to help get a few things done for Grandma as well.  The biggest item on the list was cleaning out Grandpa's 2006 Dodge Caravan and finding the title to it. Since I was coming out in March to help get ready for a garage sale in May, I was very happy to hear that there would be room to store the items.  I was also glad to know that they had decided to give the car to Jess.  She and Adam only had one vehicle and it wasn't running the last I heard.  Once Jess had her own car, Aunt Vicky wouldn't have to run as many errands for her as well.  It may not look the best, but it should work well for her needs.

While Cal was there, he also took Grandma over to see Grandpa.  Since the hospital is talking about sending him to rehab in Fort Wayne or Muncie, I was very glad that she got to visit with him before then.  Cal said that Grandpa looked a lot better than he thought that he would.  They put him on a steroid which had seemed to help.  Cal was very positive about his visit to the hospital and was glad that Grandpa liked his chocolate shake.  I was very happy to hear about his day.  My mom looked great in the pictures that they took and he was even able to find the tax documents that I had been looking for so that I can help my parents file their taxes this spring.  It has been very overwhelming trying to manage all of this while living a thousand miles away.  Thus, I really appreciate Brett and Cal taking time out of their weekends to help.  It takes a village, no matter the age of your family.

A New Look

This year's cold weather was extremely hard on my outdoor plants.  Thankfully, most of them survived, even though they looked pretty ragged at first.  Unfortunately, the two bromeliads on our front porch did not.  I was actually surprised by that as I had planted them when we first bought the house replacing the ugly ferns that the previous owner had in them, and they had lived through several hard freezes since then.  There must have been something different about this year's weather that ended up taking them out.

Doug and I decided to wait until we were sure that winter was over in Florida before we tried anything else.  The planters were made out of cement, and we knew that we wouldn't be able to move them once we purchased new plants.  We had looked at Lowe's two weeks ago and loved several that we saw but today settled on two Petra Crotons.  It was a colorful tropical plant that loved direct sunlight.  We had plenty of that in our front landscaping and knew that they would be perfect for the planters.  While we were there, we also saw a beautiful daisy and picked that up as well.  Everything looked wonderful when we were done and matched our St. Patrick's Day decorations as well.  I was more than thrilled with it all and in the end was glad that old man winter decided that we needed a new look.

One Heck of a Rain Storm

Normally, I complain loudly when it rains while I am outside, but today, I put on my raincoat and Teva sandals and smiled.  We have been under a severe drought and no burn order for at least the past month. I have never lived in a state that had to worry about wildfires before, but the one a few weeks ago in Ocala National Forest did make me very nervous even if it was twenty miles away from our home. I knew that the rain showers this afternoon would probably not be enough, but I was still very thankful to have them.  I was sure that my plants and yard were appreciating them as well.  In the end, our rain gauge read 6 inches for today's storm.  That was the most that we had ever received in a twelve-hour period.  I am sure that I was only imagining it, but it seemed to me that everything was a lot greener when the rain ended.  

Traitors

Since I was such a big fan of Survivor, Maggie suggested that I watch Traitors.  I was hesitant at first as Survivor and Amazing Race have been the only two reality television shows that I have really liked unless Dancing with the Stars counts.  I tried watching Deal or No Deal Island during its first season as I knew some of the contestants from other shows, but it just wasn't for me.  I actually felt that it was staged and didn't even make it to the finale.  

After Cal told me that he had started season four of Traitors with Maggie and really liked it, I decided to give it a try.  From the moment I turned it on, I was hooked.  There was more drama than I usually enjoyed, but I still had a lot of fun watching it.  There were several contestants that I knew from other avenues.  Lisa Rinna was one of the traitors. I had been watching her on television since I was in middle school and she was on my favorite soap opera, "Days of Our Lives."  There were also a few contestants from Survivor, a pro from Dancing with the Stars, and two figure skaters, Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir that I just loved.  I wasn't rooting for the guy who was the ultimate "traitor", but Cal and Maggie had picked him from the beginning, so I was happy with the outcome.  Overall, it was a great show, and I was really glad that Cal and Maggie encouraged me to watch it.  Next week, I plan to binge watch season three where I can once again cheer on my favorite reality television star ever, Boston Rob. 

Survivor 50

Tonight, Survivor 50 began and to prepare I watched all of the highlight episodes that CBS aired to get ready for it.  I also binge watched Heroes vs. Villains which was probably my favorite season of all time even though Boston Rob was voted out early in the show.  Although he wasn't going to be on this anniversary season, I was still excited that some of my new favorites like Charlie and Kamilla were among the contestants as well.

Meg and Doug were looking forward to Survivor 50 as well, so we decided to watch it at Meg's tonight. The show started off with an introduction to all of the players.  Meg claimed that Coach was one of her all-time favorites.  Once the competitions began, however, she soon realized that she remembered incorrectly and found him just as unlikeable as I did.  This episode was three hours long, but it flew by with several challenges, a lot of annoying players and a few long-time fan favorites making it through the first night.  Unfortunately, it ended on a down note as a recent winner had to be medically evacuated due to a torn Achilles in the reward challenge.  Even with that, we all really enjoyed the show and already can't wait for next week's episode.  

The Jokes Never Stop

Although getting up and out the door early in the morning is not one of my favorite things to do, I never use it as an excuse to skip Bible study.  I absolutely love going to the Tuesday morning meeting and enjoy everything that is discussed even if it is not on topic.  There is also always someone with a funny story or a joke to tell that revolve around faith, religion or the church.  

This week's story was not a joke, but instead a true-life story about the Catholic Church that I had never heard.  It involved the castrati and made everyone feel a little uncomfortable. A castrato is a male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano or contralto.  The practice was started during St. Augustine's time as he had forbidden females from participating in the mass including the choir.  The practice was banned in the late 1700s to 1800s, but secretly still continued until the early 1900s. These men became very famous as opera singers since they could sing the female lead roles in a time when only males were allowed to be on stage.  The person who shared this information at class even had a recording on his phone from the last know castrato who died in 1923.  Even though the singer had a beautiful voice, I was glad that it finally ended in the early 20th century.

Although no one in our group made any jokes about such a serious topic, one of them did send a meme to the group later that I found funny.  I didn't have an answer to it but felt that it was thought provoking.  I decided that I would share it with my family instead of our class discussion.  I think they appreicated that.

The Grand Floridian

Doug and I completed our Disney resort bucket list this weekend by staying at the Grand Floridian.  At first, we weren't sure that it would happen due to a mishap this morning, but we were able to work through that and had a wonderful day.  We checked in at 11 a.m. and then met Meg and Nick at Epcot for lunch at the Festival of the Arts.  It was nice to try the food booths that we missed several weeks ago, and the cold weather kept the crowds lower than normal.

After Epcot, the four of us went back to the Grand Floridian to enjoy the resort's amenities.  Meg and I loved the decor and the Mary Poppins theme in our room.  Doug suggested that we try the bar at the hotel.  The Enchanted Rose at the Grand Floridian was nice, but the theming lacked the Beauty and the Beast feel that it advertised.  The drinks and appetizers were good, but a little pricey for us, so we decided to walk to the Polynesian for dinner.  They had an outside bar on the water that we loved when we tried it in November with the Doyles.  It was once again a hit with the four of us.  We each ordered a small meal and enjoyed the atmosphere very much.  The rest of the night was spent at the Grand Floridian where we could see the fireworks from our balcony.  

Overall, Doug and I really enjoyed our stay at the famed deluxe resort and were very happy to check "Staying at all of the Disney World resorts" off of our bucket list.  In saying that, however, The Boardwalk Inn will always be our favorite.  The proximity to Epcot, the theme, and the activity on the Boardwalk make it a true resort vacation.  Thankfully, today, we got a bounce back offer from Disney that allowed us to book a room there for Mother's Day weekend at the club level.  That will be a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday.

A Quick Visit

When I talked to my dad on Thursday, I realized that he was sicker than I originally thought.  He was diagnosed with pneumonia, but it wasn't responding to treatment like they hoped it would.  His oxygen levels were extremely low and his need for oxygen was very high.  After finding that out and knowing that my mom would be alone all weekend, I called Brett to see if he and Karen would be able to visit Syracuse on Saturday and Sunday.  Thankfully, they were able to rearrange their plans and travel north for a few days.  

While in Syracuse, Brett and Karen were not only able to keep my mom company by playing cards and watching Super Market Sweep, but also run to the store for her, take her to see my dad, bring him a change of clothes, take out the garbage and clean the upstairs bathroom.  I appreciated it more than they will ever know.  Hopefully, the visit raised my parents' spirits too.  

Our Poor Trees

This was one of the coldest winters on record in Northern Florida and our trees show it.  We brought in the lemon, lime and banana tree into the garage for multiple days during the heavy frost, but not all of them made it.  The banana tree was completely brown from the stress by the time we could take them out this weekend and the citrus trees had a lot of damage.  We are hoping that those two are salvageable now that it is starting to warm up.  The leaves are coming back at the base and the branches in some spots are turning green again which we take as a good sign.

Unfortunately, our pygmy date palm took a really hard hit when the temperatures were below thirty degrees for several nights recently.  We had never seen it look that severely damaged in the four years that we have owned the home.  We did some research on what to do to try and save it, and there was some good news.  The inside of the palm is still green which means that it could survive the cold stress.  Doug trimmed it as suggested and we will now just have to wait and see.  It is by far my favorite part of our landscaping, and I am hoping to see it return to main focus of our front yard soon.

Mrs. March

The last time that I talked to Jim, he recommended a book to me called, "Mrs. March."  At first, I thought it was a historical fiction piece about the matriarch of Little Women.  I was surprised when I found out that it was a thriller about a woman who believes that her husband murdered someone.  As I love reading mystery and suspense, I decided to give it a try.

The good news was that it was an easy read and definitely had mystery and suspense.  The bad news was that the main character was absolutely paranoid and most of the book was reading about her theories on her husband killing a young woman or how everyone was out to get her.  Neither of which were true.  There was a big twist at the end which made reading it worthwhile, but overall, I found Agatha March so unsettling that the book actually gave me nightmares.  I ended up giving it to a friend of mine to read to see what she thought and then started on the biography "Hemingway's Boat."  Cal had given it to me a while ago and I knew that it would be the perfect way to get the disturbing Mrs. March out of my head.  

Paula and Gabrielle

Another day, another trip to Orlando, but this time it was to visit Gabrielle and Paula.  They were in Florida for Alex's wedding and honeymoon and had a few hours to meet with Meg and I this afternoon before flying back to Indiana.  It was incredibly nice to see them.  We met at Meg's so that she could show them her apartment and then went for a late lunch at Gastro Pub.

The weather was wonderful, so we sat outside and talked the entire time.  Paula had a lot of photos and videos to share from their trip.  The wedding was beautiful and looked like so much fun.  I was very happy for Alex.  The honeymoon was a family trip with everyone going to Disney World for a few days.  From looking at all of pictures, I could see why Paula and Gabrielle were exhausted.  While we were together, the girls caught up on everything going on in their own lives while Paula and I talked about my dad's sudden illness and everything she knew about some interesting news from Syracuse.  

The afternoon was so much fun, and the two hours flew by.  After they left, I was sad for a little while.  Hanging out with Paula was the one thing that I missed most from living in Indiana.  Every time I see her, I get a little pang of homesickness for her back patio.  Thankfully, we have still been able to see each other frequently since I moved and talk often.  It has made the transition a lot easier.  

The Barnhart Family

The Barnhart family was spending this week in Orlando and Meg, Doug and I went to visit them yesterday.  Of all of the weeks for them to be in Florida, this one was perfect for us.  We had time to spend with them.  There was also a lot going on with my parents and it was nice to have family support.  Plus, it almost felt like we were on vacation while we hung out at the resort pool and went to dinner as a large group.

It's hard sometimes not having any adult siblings of my own.  Jackie and Jeannette are the closest that I have to that relationship on my side of the family.  We have shared memories, support one another and cheer on each other's children even from a thousand miles away.  I am glad that we have been able to maintain a relationship with them and my Aunt Jan after we moved.  It takes more effort now, but it so worth it.