A Visit North

While we were having a relaxing weekend at home, Cameron spent his two free days in Syracuse visiting Grandma and Grandpa.  My mom was worried about the snow on the roads, but thankfully all was clear and he made it with no problem.  My parents enjoyed watching the IU basketball game Saturday night and ordering dinner out with him.  Cameron was able to get his laundry done and to help do a few small projects for his grandparents as well. 

I really appreciated him visiting them. The winter can feel very long in the Midwest and having something fun to look forward to makes it go by a lot quicker. Cameron also hadn't been able to visit much last semester, so it was nice for him to get a break from Bloomington as well.  He even had time to go to brunch with Samuel and was happy to report that his friend had no lingering issues after his emergency gallbladder removal in Ecuador.  Overall, it was a great weekend for all, and I am glad that my children prioritize their grandparents as they were such an important part of their childhood years.

We Have a Working Septic

On Saturday morning, I noticed that my shower drained very slowly.  I thought that maybe there was hair clogging the drain, so I cleaned it out right after I was finished.  Yesterday, however, I realized that there was more to it than just a clogged drain.  Not only did my shower drain slowly, but the toilet started making a gurgling noise when the water was running.  After Doug said that his was doing the same thing, I decided to do some research and became instantly worried.  Everything that I read said that it was a problem with our septic.  We had never had this happen when we lived in Syracuse, so I feared the worst.

Thankfully, we were able to get a hold of a septic company relatively quickly even though it was Sunday morning.  They wouldn't be able to send someone out until this afternoon but assured us that this was normal for a full septic tank and as long as we didn't overuse it, we would be fine.  Doug and I spent the afternoon avoiding the drainage system as much as possible even dumping our dish water outside in the rocks like The Wilders did on Little House on the Prairie.

The company arrived promptly at 3 p.m. this afternoon and were able to tell me within fifteen minutes that there was nothing seriously wrong with our tank or drain field.  Their plan was to pump out the tank and change the filter and all would return to normal.  There was one minor hiccup when the water still wouldn't flow correctly after that. Once they unclogged the pipe from the house to the tank, everything began working perfectly.  I appreciated all that they did and even tipped them enough to buy lunch for all of their hard work.  

Oscar Movies

The Oscar nominations were recently announced, and I was surprised by how many of the movies that we had either seen or at least heard of this year.  That hasn't been the case in quite some time.  Since there were also a lot of actors that we knew, Doug and I decided to look at the list and try a few nominated movies that we hadn't seen or that Cal and Cameron had recommended.  

The first one on our list was Sinners.  I knew that it was scary and that there was a twist that involved vampires, but even when it happened, I wasn't ready for it.  Overall, I liked the movie and thought that it was well done, but didn't move it past One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme or F-1 for my top choice for Oscar.  The next movie that we watched was Jay Kelley.  I had never heard of it until we watched the Golden Globes.  It had gotten good reviews and starred George Clooney, so Doug and I decided to give it a try.  It was the story of an actor past his prime who was having a midlife crisis.  Doug really enjoyed it as he could relate to several of the themes in it.  

Our last film choice wasn't nominated for best picture, but it was definitely our favorite of the three.  Cameron had been talking about Weapons since he watched it at the beginning of Christmas break.  Doug's not usually one to choose a horror movie, but since Cal and Jim had also recommended it, he was ready to see what all of the hype was about.  It was extremely scary, had a unique plot and was very entertaining.  Both Doug and I loved it and couldn't stop talking about it the rest of the week.