It was a low-key Father's Day for Doug today, but he still enjoyed it very much. For the past three years we have gone to B-Town for Taste of Bloomington, but that wasn't a possibility this summer. There have also been several Father's Days that we have dropped Cam and Meg off at camp and then took a mini-vacation ourselves.
Although we weren't able to travel this year, we did still have a wonderful day celebrating Doug. While Meg was driving back from Bloomington, Cam was playing golf and Cal was working, Doug and I were able to get in a walk and play a few games of Ticket to Ride. Everyone made it home for dinner which included chicken club sandwiches, green beans, pasta salad and grilled potatoes. Doug appreciated the gifts from the Heinisch children - oven mitts from Meg, cashews from Cam and Helter Skelter from Cal. Brett wasn't able to join us, but he made sure to call Doug and wish him a Happy Father's Day. Grandma Jane and Grandpa Cutes joined us in the evening for a bonfire. After opening his presents, Grandpa became the proud owner of an IU football t-shirt. It was close to 9:30 before they left for home and we all headed in to watch some Law & Order. It definitely may have been a quiet day, but it was a nice way to celebrate the rock of the Heinisch family. We have definitely leaned on him quite a bit these past three months.
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Weekend Get Away
Meg and Nick left for Bloomington on Thursday night after he got off of work. Meg had one assignment left in her Dylan, Elvis and Post War America to finish on Friday, but that didn't stop them as she could finish it at Brett's. It was strange to think that she hadn't been to B-Town for three months. Needless to say she and Nick were really looking forward to their weekend get away.
Brett had offered his apartment to Meg anytime she wanted to come down and was glad that she took him up on that offer. He had spent the day with Rachael and made it back from Andrew's right as Meg and Nick arrived. The three of them enjoyed catching up and watching movies together during their nights in Bloomington. During the day Meg and Nick were able to do a little shopping and order out from their favorite restaurants. They took walks on campus and toured Kirkwood. They tried to go to Nashville and check out their shops, but Meg said that it was too crowded and fewer people were wearing masks there then were in Bloomington. Other than that they had a wonderful weekend together and were even able to have lunch with Nick's brother, Jeff as well. Although I was bummed that we were still stuck in Syracuse for the weekend. I was extremely glad that Meg and Nick were able to get away.
Brett had offered his apartment to Meg anytime she wanted to come down and was glad that she took him up on that offer. He had spent the day with Rachael and made it back from Andrew's right as Meg and Nick arrived. The three of them enjoyed catching up and watching movies together during their nights in Bloomington. During the day Meg and Nick were able to do a little shopping and order out from their favorite restaurants. They took walks on campus and toured Kirkwood. They tried to go to Nashville and check out their shops, but Meg said that it was too crowded and fewer people were wearing masks there then were in Bloomington. Other than that they had a wonderful weekend together and were even able to have lunch with Nick's brother, Jeff as well. Although I was bummed that we were still stuck in Syracuse for the weekend. I was extremely glad that Meg and Nick were able to get away.
Friday, June 19, 2020
Movie Night Under the Stars
Meg and her friends had been talking about having an outside movie night this summer. Although it was a great idea, neither Meg nor her friends had a projector that would work for that purpose. Meg asked me about renting one. As she and I looked into it we realized that buying a project was a lot less expensive than we thought it would be. We decided to plead our case to Doug and see if he would let us get one for our family. He thought it was a good idea and this afternoon our new purchase arrived from Amazon.
Cameron was a big help as we learned how to use it. The directions for setting it up were in small and hard to read print, but he had no problem deciphering the steps. Soon we had Jaws playing on the wall of our living room. After finding success with the DVD player and the projector, we then used the Roku with it to watch the ending of Revenge of the Sith. We were pleased to find out that we could also see Cam's second grade picture on the big screen through the USB port. The iPhone will need a lightening cable to HDMI cord to use it, but that wasn't a problem for us tonight.
Cam, Doug and I waited until close to 9:00 to start the Empire Strikes Back. It wasn't quite dark enough to view it well at first, but by 9:30 we had Darth Vader choking one of his generals on the side of our garage. We were all impressed with how well the projector worked. It was a lot of fun sitting by the bonfire watching one of our favorite Star Wars movies. Hoping to use it again soon.
Cameron was a big help as we learned how to use it. The directions for setting it up were in small and hard to read print, but he had no problem deciphering the steps. Soon we had Jaws playing on the wall of our living room. After finding success with the DVD player and the projector, we then used the Roku with it to watch the ending of Revenge of the Sith. We were pleased to find out that we could also see Cam's second grade picture on the big screen through the USB port. The iPhone will need a lightening cable to HDMI cord to use it, but that wasn't a problem for us tonight.
Cam, Doug and I waited until close to 9:00 to start the Empire Strikes Back. It wasn't quite dark enough to view it well at first, but by 9:30 we had Darth Vader choking one of his generals on the side of our garage. We were all impressed with how well the projector worked. It was a lot of fun sitting by the bonfire watching one of our favorite Star Wars movies. Hoping to use it again soon.
Thursday, June 18, 2020
Aunt Jemima
The news over the past few weeks has changed from talk of the Coronavirus to the Black Lives Matters protests. Tensions have really heated up since the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis policemen. Parts of Seattle have been taken over by an anti-police group. In other areas of the country there have been calls to defund the police and statues of Conferderate soldiers destroyed.
Although I support the right of people to protest, I have tried to avoid the news as I have found some of the stories a little too intense for me. One article, however, did catch my eye. Due to racial stereotypes Quaker Oats decided to change the name of its Aunt Jemima pancakes. I understood the thought behind it as it represented the enslaved "Mammy" character of the south. I also realized that Quaker Oats was a company and had the right to change the name as they saw fit.
Not everyone felt the way that I did and several people took to FaceBook to voice concerns over the decision. As I read through their argument, I had to laugh. I realized that they had posted information without fact checking it first. Contrary to popular opinion the first Aunt Jemima ready made pancake mix was invented by two men in 1889. The name was chosen from a popular song on vaudeville performed by a singer in black face. The two businessmen then hired several African American woment to travel the US promoting their new product. The most popular of these women was Nancy Green. After the Chicago world's fair in 1893 she became the face of Aunt Jemima pancakes thus becoming the first live spokesperson. The stories on FaceBook claiming that she sold her secret recipe to General Mills and became the first "black" millinaire were completely false. The only truth to the claims about the "real" Aunt Jemima was that she was born into slavery in 1834.
I couldn't believe that people were defending racism with a made up story. More posts followed with talk of "remembering all of the white people that were enslaved as well." I decided at that point that I would just go back to avoiding the news. I didn't want to judge others, so I thought it would be best to take a break. As Uncle Ben's Rice, Mrs. Butterworth's syrup and Eskimo pies were all mentioned as the next brands to go through name changes, I didn't want to read anymore false information or be subjected to additional negativity. Instead I decided to just enjoy learning how to play the piano.
Although I support the right of people to protest, I have tried to avoid the news as I have found some of the stories a little too intense for me. One article, however, did catch my eye. Due to racial stereotypes Quaker Oats decided to change the name of its Aunt Jemima pancakes. I understood the thought behind it as it represented the enslaved "Mammy" character of the south. I also realized that Quaker Oats was a company and had the right to change the name as they saw fit.
Not everyone felt the way that I did and several people took to FaceBook to voice concerns over the decision. As I read through their argument, I had to laugh. I realized that they had posted information without fact checking it first. Contrary to popular opinion the first Aunt Jemima ready made pancake mix was invented by two men in 1889. The name was chosen from a popular song on vaudeville performed by a singer in black face. The two businessmen then hired several African American woment to travel the US promoting their new product. The most popular of these women was Nancy Green. After the Chicago world's fair in 1893 she became the face of Aunt Jemima pancakes thus becoming the first live spokesperson. The stories on FaceBook claiming that she sold her secret recipe to General Mills and became the first "black" millinaire were completely false. The only truth to the claims about the "real" Aunt Jemima was that she was born into slavery in 1834.
I couldn't believe that people were defending racism with a made up story. More posts followed with talk of "remembering all of the white people that were enslaved as well." I decided at that point that I would just go back to avoiding the news. I didn't want to judge others, so I thought it would be best to take a break. As Uncle Ben's Rice, Mrs. Butterworth's syrup and Eskimo pies were all mentioned as the next brands to go through name changes, I didn't want to read anymore false information or be subjected to additional negativity. Instead I decided to just enjoy learning how to play the piano.
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Sosa vs. McGwire
Doug and I have been enjoying all of the sports documentaries that ESPN has aired in the past few months. It has been a great distraction from the fact that both professional and collegiate sports have been postponed since the end of March. Sunday night's 30 for 30 revolved around the homerun race between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire during the 1998 Major League Baseball season. As long time Cubs fans, my Mom, Doug and I were all glued to the television from June through September as the players chased the season homerun record of Roger Maris each trying to top his impressive 61 homers. It was a fun summer and although McGwire won in the end, we all enjoyed the thrill of the competition.
The documentary was a fun reminder of how exciting that summer of baseball really was. Baseball stadiums were packed wherever the Cubs and Cardinals played and even non-baseball fans joined in the nightly homerun total count. Shortly after that season professional baseball was surrounded by a steriod scandal that changed Americans' opinions on the record McGwire set that summer and the subsequent records that Barry Bonds set several years later. In the end none of the homerun hitters made it into the hall of fame and fans started to move away from baseball focusing on football and basketball instead. I remember how disappointing the scandal was, but in all honestly none of us were surprised. The rumors had been around for years and the build of the players had changed incredibly quickly. It only made sense that they were all using performance enhancing drugs, but in 1998 no one really cared. I wish we had something that exciting to watch this summer. The news of COVID-19 and world wide racial equality protests have been depressing to follow. A good old homerun record chase would really change everyone's mood or at least distract us for a little while.
The documentary was a fun reminder of how exciting that summer of baseball really was. Baseball stadiums were packed wherever the Cubs and Cardinals played and even non-baseball fans joined in the nightly homerun total count. Shortly after that season professional baseball was surrounded by a steriod scandal that changed Americans' opinions on the record McGwire set that summer and the subsequent records that Barry Bonds set several years later. In the end none of the homerun hitters made it into the hall of fame and fans started to move away from baseball focusing on football and basketball instead. I remember how disappointing the scandal was, but in all honestly none of us were surprised. The rumors had been around for years and the build of the players had changed incredibly quickly. It only made sense that they were all using performance enhancing drugs, but in 1998 no one really cared. I wish we had something that exciting to watch this summer. The news of COVID-19 and world wide racial equality protests have been depressing to follow. A good old homerun record chase would really change everyone's mood or at least distract us for a little while.
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Golf Season Officially Begins
Today was the first of Cam's summer golf tournaments. He won't have as many this year because of the pandemic, so getting to play at Zollner today was important to Cameron. We changed our normal routine having Doug drop him off this morning with me meeting him after the first nine. We thought it was the easiest way to reduce exposure for Doug and I but still allow Cam to play. Indiana Juniors changed several of its policies this year as well to maintain a safe environment for the players. I was extremely impressed with how well the tournament was run. Social Distancing was enforced and the facility was extremely clean. As an added bonus, shot gun starts were eliminated this summer with groups paired in threes and tee times starting at 8 a.m. This not only stopped large gatherings in the morning, but also increased speed of play. It was the first time that I could remember finishing a tournament in four hours.
Cameron drew a 9:50 a.m. tee time. I arrived shortly before noon, just in time to see him walk off of nine green. He had been pleased with his play except for the last hole. He had hit a ball in the pond. As he didn't want to lose one of his new Bridgestones he decided to try and find it in the water. The algae around the pond was dry and Cam was able to walk out pretty far. He saw an island in the middle and thought he'd jump to it. Unfortunately, it wasn't as dry as he thought it would be and he sunk into the water up to his thighs. He could laugh about it when he saw me, but was pretty frustrated about the eight that he had on the hole. The bad news was that he didn't even find his ball.
I was impressed by how much mud he was covered in and the 44 he shot on the front even with the quadruple bogey.
It was great to walk the back nine even with all of the hills and watch Cam play. He hit the ball well and only had one bad hole - a triple on number eleven. His goal this summer was to shoot 85 or better in each of his tournaments and was able to accomplish that goal with a 41 on the back. We weren't allowed to hang around and see how everyone else finished, but by the time we were halfway home Cam was happy to announce that he had finished 8th out of 15 players. We stopped at the golf course to see Grandpa and at Grandma's home to see her as well. That way Cam could not only tell them the good news about his round, but also show them his shorts. They were glad to hear all about it. I was a little stressed going today as I have been home almost exclusively since March 19th. Overall, it went pretty well and I really enjoyed seeing Cam compete.
Cameron drew a 9:50 a.m. tee time. I arrived shortly before noon, just in time to see him walk off of nine green. He had been pleased with his play except for the last hole. He had hit a ball in the pond. As he didn't want to lose one of his new Bridgestones he decided to try and find it in the water. The algae around the pond was dry and Cam was able to walk out pretty far. He saw an island in the middle and thought he'd jump to it. Unfortunately, it wasn't as dry as he thought it would be and he sunk into the water up to his thighs. He could laugh about it when he saw me, but was pretty frustrated about the eight that he had on the hole. The bad news was that he didn't even find his ball.
I was impressed by how much mud he was covered in and the 44 he shot on the front even with the quadruple bogey.
It was great to walk the back nine even with all of the hills and watch Cam play. He hit the ball well and only had one bad hole - a triple on number eleven. His goal this summer was to shoot 85 or better in each of his tournaments and was able to accomplish that goal with a 41 on the back. We weren't allowed to hang around and see how everyone else finished, but by the time we were halfway home Cam was happy to announce that he had finished 8th out of 15 players. We stopped at the golf course to see Grandpa and at Grandma's home to see her as well. That way Cam could not only tell them the good news about his round, but also show them his shorts. They were glad to hear all about it. I was a little stressed going today as I have been home almost exclusively since March 19th. Overall, it went pretty well and I really enjoyed seeing Cam compete.
Monday, June 15, 2020
Grocery Shopping on Steriods
Meg and I waited until today to do our weekly shopping at Martin's. We liked going on Monday better than Sunday as there were less people. It also gave me more time to spend with Doug yesterday afternoon. Since we hadn't been to the store in eight days we had a lot on our list, especially in the meat and drink departments. I appreciated that Meg was willing to go with me as it took quite awhile to find everything. We did a good job today buying mostly items on sale. In the end both of our carts were completely full and our bill was $341.
Last week it bothered me that our grocery bill was over $300, but not so much this time. As Meg explained it later we are feeding a family of six (as Nick eats with us several times a week) every meal every day of the week. I have also noticed that a lot of grocery prices have increased during the pandemic. Martin's has been a lot better than New Market was, but items such as meat and produce were still higher than they were in February. As we unloaded the groceries both Meg and I hoped that we wouldn't have to go back until the end of next week.
Last week it bothered me that our grocery bill was over $300, but not so much this time. As Meg explained it later we are feeding a family of six (as Nick eats with us several times a week) every meal every day of the week. I have also noticed that a lot of grocery prices have increased during the pandemic. Martin's has been a lot better than New Market was, but items such as meat and produce were still higher than they were in February. As we unloaded the groceries both Meg and I hoped that we wouldn't have to go back until the end of next week.
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