Last night, I went to see the movie American Martyr The Stanley Rother Story with my friends Barbara and Robbi. I didn't know anything about Father Stanley before I saw the movie and was very excited to see it. There were only the three of us in the theaternfor quite a while and we thought that we might have a private screening of the film. Before it began, however, three more people arrived.
The movie was narrated by Martin Sheen who gave an overview of Father Stanely's life in Oklahoma, his time at the seminary and most importantly his work in Guatemala with the indigenous people of the Central American country. His call to serve was very moving and his mission was inspiring. He not only brought Catholicism to the people of the country but also taught them to farm which fed the impoverished area and helped the local economy. Their love for Father Stanley was apparent on their faces as they talked about him and by their continued work in his name.
The ending was very tough. Father Stanley returned to Oklahoma during the Guatemalan Civil War as he knew many priests that had been murdered by the Guerrilla Army. Even though he was glad to be with his family, he felt God calling him back to the country that he had been serving in for thirteen years. He arrived in time for the Easter celebration knowing he was a marked man. He continued to serve his people until July of that same year when he was killed by masked gunman. The film was incredibly tragic, but awe inspiring at the same time. It was all that I thought about today and I felt incredibly blessed to have seen it.
Yesterday, we received some shocking celebrity news - Dolly Parton had passed away. I was completely surprised as I didn't even realize that she had been sick. I spent most of the day thinking about what an icon she really was and how much she had been a part of my childhood. My earliest memories of her were on the show Hee-Haw. I loved her wit and her ability to poke fun at herself. Her songs were always beautifully written, and the movie 9 to 5 wouldn't have been half as funny had she not been in it. Above all of these things, I admired Dolly the most for her philanthropy work and her positive attitude. She was everything that I thought a famous person should be. I read a post later in the day that summed up my thoughts exactly - "I didn't even know it was possible for Dolly Parton to die." Somehow, I thought she was beyond the frailties of this life as well.
Meg was by far the saddest in our family upon hearing the news. She thought Dolly was wonderful. She had her book, listened to her music, loved that she sang with Sabrina Carpenter recently and even bought her greatest hits on vinyl not too long ago. Thus, when Karen sent something out in the group chat about Dolly's death, Meg reminded her to make sure that she was respectful in her text.
Somehow Cal decided that it would be the perfect time to send an extremely long text to the group chat to let Meg know how bad he felt for her starting off with "Meg, my dearest sister, I am writing to you today with an extraordinarily heavy heart, as I know there are simply no words adequate enough to capture the unimaginable grief . . ." which led to quite a few replies in the group chat some defending Meg and others laughing at Cal's message. It did end when I sent these screenshots reminding everyone that I was glad that the rest of world understands how devasting this loss was unlike the women haters in our family group chat. That quieted everyone for a little while and I spent the rest of the evening listening to Meg talk about what haters her brothers were. I told her that I was a little nervous for Cal now. Since he had made light of one of her favorite celebrities dying, maybe he should worry about Shaq or Tiger next as karma can be tough.
We didn't have to wait to find out who the next celebrity death would be as Brett sent a message at noon today to let everyone know that Tim Curry had passed away. I was surprised at this news as well, but he had been sick for quite some time and was older than I would have thought. Either way, it was hard to believe that two icons had died so close to each other. It was also amazing to me that one was Meg's favorite and the other was Brett's. Fortunately, Shaq and Tiger made it through the day, and we all got a little bit of a laugh when Meg retexted Cal's "sympathy" message to her and just changed her name to Brett's. I think after all of this, everyone should watch 9 to 5 or Clue in their honor.
We have had more rain in the past week, then I think we have had all summer. I am not sure if it is from the tropical storms moving in or just normal August in Florida. Whatever it is, it’s definitely been unbelievable. Today, we had to have the rainstorm to beat all rainstorms. Doug was driving home and I was going to run out and get something for dinner when the rain started. I called him and said that I would wait until a little bit later, but the rain never let up for the next two hours. Fortunately, Doug did not have to drive in it. Once he got home, he could understand why I said that it was one of the worst storms that I had ever seen.
At first, I really just thought it was the lightning and thunder that was the problem. It was so loud it felt like it shook the house. Our internet and electricity went down for a while but fortunately came back on relatively soon. Just before Doug arrived, I walked outside to see if it had let up at all. I was glad to see that it was just sprinkling but was absolutely shocked when I looked into the ravine at the side of my house. It was completely full of water and flowing like a creek. In the four years that we have owned this house, we have never had water in our yard, let alone a river of it. I was nervous at first that it would cause damage, but thankfully, within an hour it had subsided. It left behind some of the most interesting marks I had ever seen after a storm. It almost looked like aliens had landed and made a path through our yard.
Thankfully, that was not the case, and by the time we finished dinner, I felt a lot better about the situation. I checked the rain gauge before we went to bed. It held 7 inches of rain. That was by far the most rain that we have ever gotten in a two-hour period of time. Hopefully, tomorrow everything will dry out, but if we not, at least my plants and grass are enjoying this very soggy August.
I cannot tell you how many people in the Midwest have said to me, "I could never live in Florida." There's always a different reason such as "because it's too hot," "because I like having four seasons", "because everyone is a MAGA" just to name a few. It is not only family and friends who have made these comments to me. Complete strangers have said many negative remarks once they find out where we live.
Personally, I will never understand how people do not realize that it is extremely rude to criticize where someone lives or their choice to move to south. I don't like to give unsolicited advice ever, but these comments go beyond even that. There is no way that I would say something that might hurt someone's feelings or placed judgement on them. Since it happens to me a lot, I have started to wonder what would happen if I responded honestly to the naysayers with these rebuttals - "Great, we don't want you in Florida." or "Wow, thanks for letting me know. I'll list my house right now." or "You are right, I would much rather live somewhere that gets 10 inches of snow with ice covered roads and zero-degree temperatures." Of course, I never say those things. I just smile and listen knowing the response that always pops in my head during these conversations is "Let's be honest, I really don't care."
The nice part about all of this is that Doug and I have been very happy in Ocala, especially this past year. We enjoy being close to Meg and taking monthly trips to Disney World. Yes, the summers are hot, but once Doug retires, we will start think about spending July in cooler weather. We like that traveling is never an issue due to snow, ice or severely cold temperatures. We do have four seasons; they are just different than in the Midwest and it is nice to be able to go outside every day not having to ever worry about a winter coat. We love the abundance of sunshine and ever more so the fact that we never have to rake leaves. Most of all, Doug and I enjoy our life in Florida because we are living it together. That is the best part.
My favorite volunteer activity at the church is working in the gift shop. I started doing it shortly after we moved to Ocala and have worked at least once a month ever since then. It’s not a very challenging job, but it really makes me feel good to help people find religious items that they have been looking for and can’t find anywhere else. We have even had customers come from parishes thirty minutes away to purchase things from our gift shop, because they know we will custom order them if we do not immediately have what they want.
Another added benefit to working in the shop is that I have gotten to meet other parishioners. When I first started volunteering at the gift shop, I knew very few people and now I see a friendly face whenever I come to mass. In the beginning, I was always scheduled to work after the 8:45 a.m. mass. Over the past year, I have switched to exclusively working after the 11 AM mass, because it works better for the scheduler and we like going to the later mass. It gives Doug and I time to take a morning walk or get a few things done around the house before we leave for church. Since I have enjoyed my time in the gift shop so much, I have now started volunteering twice a month. I thought that doubling my shifts would lead to burn out, but instead, it just makes it so much more enjoyable. Plus, it keeps me on top of the new inventory. I know that it’s not much in the grand scheme of volunteering, but I really do like helping in the gift shop and I don’t think that will be changing anytime soon.
Today I was helping Doug look for pieces for the current Lego that he was building. It was a big set that belonged to Cal and there were a lot of tiny pieces for us to find. After a while, I told Doug I would start looking for the mini-figures. Lego sets sell for the most when all of the mini-figures and accessories are included. Random building pieces do not seem to matter as much as the buyers can find those online inexpensively on the Lego store website.
Today, while I was looking through the hundreds of Star Wars mini figures that we had, I ran across C-3PO‘s body. I couldn’t believe it. I had looked everywhere for this piece a few weeks ago. It went to a small Lego set that Brett had but we could never list it because we only had the droid’s head. I quickly checked the instructions and I was right. It was the missing body part that we had been looking for. Shortly after I listed it, we had an offer for $20. Not too bad for a set that had been stored away in the closet ten minutes earlier. What a great find and a nice reward for all of our searching.
Meg and Nick spent last night and tonight at the Boardwalk Inn. They wanted to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party again this year, and this was the perfect time for them to do so. Although it led to a disagreement between Cameron and Meg on when it's ok to celebrate fall, I was glad that they were able to start the Halloween season early with this annual event. I had a lot of fond memories of taking our children to the party. They always dressed up for it even when they were in high school and college, and they always came home with a lot more candy than they had ever received trick or treating.
Meg and Nick sounded like they had just as much fun at Mickey's as we did years ago. They dressed up as Troy and Gabriella from High School Musical, picked up a lot of candy, rode Space Mountain in the dark, watched the Hocus Pocus show, videotaped the Headless Horseman riding down the street before the parade and met a few of their favorite characters dressed in their Halloween best. I hope that Doug and I will be able to join them one day in the near future for this night of Halloween festivities, but until then I will enjoy the adorable pictures that they sent.
Doug and I both were excited to hear that IU soccer was back in action tonight with a home game against Notre Dame. Doug had always loved watching IU soccer and once we found out during Cameron’s freshman year that we could watch the majority of the games on BTN+ we have both become loyal viewers. As an added bonus, we have even gotten to see Cameron on television a few times at the home games over the past few years.
Tonight‘s game was a great one against Notre Dame with the Hoosiers winning 3 to 1. There were a lot of new players on IU's roster, so it was hard to keep track of who was who at first. We didn't mind as the new players were awesome additions to the team. One of the guys that used to work at Champion with Doug has a son who is playing his last season with the team this year. He didn’t play as much as he did in the past, but he did still get in some minutes. We didn’t see Cameron this time on television, but that was OK. We enjoyed the game anyway. It was nice to know that fall sports were back and soon we would be enjoying many more games like tonight’s.
While we were enjoying our weekend at Disney World, Cal, Maggie, Brett, and Karen were having a lot of fun at the Indiana State fair. One of Cal’s friends had gotten married this past Saturday in Indianapolis and he thought it would be the perfect place for the four of them to meet the next day. We got multiple texts from them throughout the day giving us updates on the foods that they had tried. Of course, there were some interesting flavors like corn dog beer and fried Twinkies, but there were also some traditional fair foods on their list, including one of my favorites - Elephant Ears.
I loved the picture that Karen sent of the four of them. I also enjoyed all of their messages. Cal told us afterward that Maggie had never been to a fair before, so I was glad that they were able to show her what it is all about. She liked it so much that she wants to take her family to one next summer. Cal and I thought that the Elkhart County Fair would be perfect for them. Either way, I was incredibly glad to hear that Brett, Karen, Cal and Maggie's get together on Sunday was a success. There is nothing better than being a mom to adult children and hearing about all of their adventures together.
Cameron and I decided to sleep in this morning and spend a short day at Hollywood Studios before he had to leave to catch his flight back to Indiana. I was sad that his week in Florida was over, but incredibly grateful for the time that we got to spend together. It is the one nice thing about living hundred of miles apart. When the boys visit, it is a lot of quality time together.
I let Cameron lead the way today as I wanted him to get the most out of his day. He picked Twilight Tower of Terror for our first ride and we both enjoyed it very much. I hadn’t ridden it in years and the yo-yo effect was even more fun than I remembered. Our next few rides included Toy Story Mania, Alien Encounter Swirl and Rock N Roll Roller Coaster. I actually didn’t ride the last one but I did have fun standing in the queue with Cameron checking out all of the changes from the new Muppets themed ride.
Before we left the park, Cameron and I had lunch at Baseline Tap. It has become one our favorite places to eat in Hollywood Studios and I was glad that they introduced new flat bread pizza on their menu as well. We had enough time to do a little bit of shopping on our way out and even stop for Starbucks before Cameron had to catch his flight. It was a wonderful end to a fantastic week.
Meg left at 9 last night so that she could get to work early this morning. She had kickball tonight, so we didn’t get to see her today. Thus, I was really glad for the last three days with her. It reminded me of all of the time that the four of us spent together years ago.
While Doug was at work, Cameron and I spent the day Magic Kingdom. Since everyone had gone to bed early last night, we decided to take advantage of the extra magic hour this morning and arrived at Magic Kingdom by 8:15 today. Not only did we get to ride many of our favorite rides including Peter Pan, Big Thunder Railway, Tiana’s Bayou, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise and Winnie the Pooh, we had banana maple beignets for breakfast and Casey’s Corner for lunch. We even had time to do a little bit of shopping before we left to rest back at the hotel and get out of the hot Florida afternoon sun.
Doug, Cameron and I headed back toward Magic Kingdom once Doug returned from work, but instead of going straight to the park, we took a ride on the monorail to the Polynesian Resort for dinner. Our first stop was Trader Sam’s, where we each had a drink and split a couple of appetizers. The bar was a lot of fun. Every 10 minutes or so, the lights would dim and there would be a “tropical storm” followed by a talking Tikki god. Once we were finished there, we walked to the resort’s outside restaurant on the water for dinner. Everything was absolutely delicious and our view was beautiful. The rest of our evening was spent at Magic Kingdom, where we rode Pirates of the Caribbean and then went to Beak and Barrel for a nightcap. We got to sit at the bar this time and absolutely loved being in the middle of all the action in the pirate bar. It was a great day at Magic Kingdom and we were glad to have shared it with Cameron.
My sadness from last night was completely gone this morning when we left for our three-day mini vacation at Disney World. Cameron had asked to go while he was down here, and we thought it would be the perfect time to take him as Doug could enjoy today at Epcot and then have a shorter drive to work on Monday and Tuesday. We arrived at Port Orleans Riverside at 10:30 and were pleased to see that our room was ready. It had recently been remodeled and we absolutely loved it. Once we unpacked, the four of us headed to French Quarter to pick up beignets. Cameron had never had the haunted mansion inspired ones and thought they were just as delicious as we did.
Our next stop was Epcot. Without a festival, the park was relatively quiet. We were able to easily get on Soarin' and also enjoy Moana's Journey of Water, perfect for this extremely hot day before lunch. Since there weren't any food booths in the countries, I made reservations at the new Geo Bar. It was attached to the ball that housed Spaceship Earth and featured a galactic theme. We loved it as we had a window right beside our table with a fantastic view of the park. We split several appetizers and each one of us tried a drink. We were very impressed with the bar and enjoyed our time there. We didn't make it around all of the countries before we left, but we did walk through Canada and England. We loved the shops on that side and enjoyed a few beverages from Rose N Crown as well.
Thanks to a really long bus ride back to our hotel, we didn't get a lot of time to rest before we had to leave for our dinner reservation. None of us really minded, we were just glad to be out of the sun for a while. Today's heat index was near the record high at 111 degrees. Wine Bar George was wonderful. We each tried a glass of wine with our meals -Meg had the roasted chicken while Doug, Cameron and I shared several small plates. The Greek Saganaki (flaming cheese) appetizer was delicious as was the rest of our dinner. While we were in Disney Springs, we did a little bit of shopping and then took the boat back to Port Orleans. I told Cameron and Meg about the time that I saw otters in the river near our hotel. They didn't know if I was serious or not even after I showed them the video, but the captain overheard us talking and confirmed that I was correct. The rest of the evening was spent at the piano bar. Piano Bob wasn't playing this evening, but we had a lot of fun anyway caping off an awesome day at Disney World.
Meg arrived last night and the four of us had a lot of fun hanging out at home. We picked up dinner at Publix and then enjoyed an evening of music, time on the back patio and the Wii. Today, we spent the afternoon in downtown Ocala first stopping at the restaurant that Doug and I found a few weeks ago, Blind Eye. Our lunch was delicious and the drinks were fantastic. Cameron and Meg both liked it a lot, and I was glad that we had new places for them to try.
We headed to Silver Springs next to check out both Broke N Records. There were so many vinyls that we really liked, it was hard to choose which ones to bring home. Meg found several that she had been looking for including Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits. I picked up one from Sonny & Cher and Doug got a Gershwin vinyl. I even found Jim Croce and Bob Dylan in the discount bin. I already had the vinyls but knew that the boys would love listening to them. The best score of the day was by Meg, but Cameron was the buyer. It was the soundtrack to the Pink Panther movie. It was the perfect celebration of his job offer from Owens Corning. Before we left the area, I stopped in at Peacock Cottage to pick up a new air plant.
It was really hot today, but we still made time to play several rounds of ping pong. Phil came by afterward, and we played multiple rounds of Chameleon, listened to our new vinyls, and sat out on the back patio enjoying the evening air. Cameron told Phil about his new job, and Meg talked about her and Nick's future plans. It was a fun night, and I was glad to have Cameron and Meg here with us, so much so that I was weepy when the evening was over as I knew that I would really miss this once Cameron headed back to Bloomington.
