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.

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.  

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.

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.  

 

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.

Happy Birthday Cal

Cal turned 27 today and although we couldn't be there to celebrate in person, our family did send him multiple texts throughout the day along with social media posts and phone calls.  I was a little bummed that the gift Cameron and I sent him last week got delayed in the mail, but I knew that he would enjoy extending his celebration one more day.  Brett's present was delayed as well, but thankfully the Rubber Soul album that Meg and Nick got him arrived today and he enjoyed listening to that as he worked from home. Maggie sent us pictures later in the evening of Cal at his birthday dinner.  She had made reservations at a restaurant where they turned Winston Churchill's elevator into a private booth.  Cal loved it and enjoyed the seafood menu immensely.  

I was very happy for Cal today.  His twenty-seven years have been a blessing to our family.  There have been some challenging times that he has had to persevere through, but along the way there has also been so much fun and love.  I am extremely proud of the hard work that he has put into his relationship with Maggie and at Plante Moran.  Although I miss having him work from home, I am so glad that he has built such a wonderful life for himself in Chicago.  I can't wait to see him next month in the Keys.  It should be a fantastic time and a great way to celebrate his 27th birthday in person.  

Greece Bound

After a dozen hours and several countries, Cameron finally landed in Alexandroupolis.  I was nervous about his study abroad trip, but once I found out that he was situated in Greece, I decided that I would no longer worry about it.  Cameron makes good decision and would be sharing this experience with two of his roommates along with a dozen other honor students at IU and his college professor who grew up in the area.

Cameron sent pictures of the view from his hotel room as soon as he unpacked. I thought the scenery was absolutely beautiful. Turkey was just beyond the river, but I had stopped worrying about him "accidentally hiking into that country" long ago.  On his first day, Cameron was able to spend some time exploring the town, trying different Greek delicacies, buying his first legal beer and shopping.  He had purchased the perfect gift for Brett by the time he headed back to the hotel and had plans for more souvenir buying later.  I will miss talking to him while he is traveling but am really looking forward to hearing all about his adventures when he returns in June.