A Welcome Site

Doug's flight last night got delayed by over an hour.  Therefore, it didn't get into Indy until close to midnight.  Even thought it meant for a late night, he decided to drive home as he wasn't tired and was ready to sleep in his own bed.  I stayed up as late as I could make it, but finally passed out at 1:45 a.m. when Doug got to state road 13.  I was impressed that he went to work this morning at 8:30, but not overly surprised.  When I talked to him at lunch, he was feeling pretty good, just not adjusted to the frigid cold yet.  I was definitely happy when he called at 3:45 this afternoon to say that he was on his way home from Champion.  I knew that he'd probably have to work some this weekend, but I didn't care.  I was just ready to spend the evening with him.  

Cameron was busy tonight getting a haircut and then hanging out with Richard at the boys basketball game.  Since he wasn't going to be home, Doug and I decided to play Ticket to Ride and order pizza form Sleepy Owl.  Before we could start the game, however, I needed his help clearing off the kitchen counter and table.  I had spent the time while he was in Florida cleaning out the kitchen cabinets and I needed Doug to decide what he wanted to get rid of and what he wanted to keep.  It took a little while, but soon we had the table cleared and a game of Ticket to Ride started.

We heard from the three oldest Heinisch children tonight.  Brett called after work.  It had been a tough day, but he was looking forward to hanging out with Sean and Norman.  Sean had never seen Caddy Shack and Brett couldn't wait to watch it with him.  Cal texted multiple times.  He had had a good first week of busy season and was glad that he had tomorrow off.  He was also thrilled that the Bulls had a 2.5 game lead in the East.  Meg and Nick had really enjoyed their day at Animal Kingdom and their night at Magic Kingdom.  She was sad that they were leaving tomorrow, but ready for some time to rest.  Cameron arrived home at 10:30 and had a chance to catch up with Doug before he headed to bed.  We were both glad to see him and liked his new haircut.  All in all, it was a great night and I greatly appreciated  having Doug home.   

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

We had been enjoying mild weather this winter, but all of that changed yesterday.  The temperature read 24 degrees when I was out shopping, but the windchill brought it down to 3 degrees.  I don't know if it was the wind or the fact that I wasn't quite used to winter weather yet, but either way I was absolutely freezing yesterday.  It didn't help that Doug was enjoying temperatures in the 70s this week in Ocala.  I definitely did a lot of complaining when he called last night, especially since the forecast for the next two days in Northern Indiana were highs in the low teens.

The cold weather and our eventual plans to move to Florida made me think a lot about our choice to live in the midwest thirty years ago.  All of the Heinisch children had talked recently about moving to the sunshine state in the next few years, and I wondered why Doug and I never thought about that when he was looking for a job.  My assumption was that we wanted to live closer to our families, but I don't remember ever talking about that.  Even when we moved out of Illinois, we never thought about going anywhere other than Indiana.  Once our children started kindergarten, Doug didn't want them to have to change schools.  Thus, we were here for the long haul.  

I don't second guess that decision, but I sure do wonder why winter weather was never a part of the decision on where to live.  When I was out shoveling this week, all I kept thinking about was how stupid it is to live in the north.  We aren't snow activity people, so we pretty much just stay inside during the winter and endure it the best we can.  Running to the grocery in the cold or snow, stinks.  Worrying about the car starting is annoying and having to drive on ice is awful.  I wish I could go back and tell my younger self how much I would not enjoy the winter weather when I got older, but that's obviously not going to happen now.  Therefore, I will just look forward to one day moving to where the winters are always mild and the snow is non-existent.  In all honesty if we had moved south in 1993, I would never be able to appreciate how good it will feel to say goodbye to winter forever.  

Rizzo a.k.a "The Big Fat"

Over the past year and a half there have been several times that we thought that Rizzo was on his last leg.  One time in the summer of 2020, he was outside eating grass when all of a sudden he looked up at Meg and Cameron and then seemed to pass out on his side.   He woke up fine, but since then there have been other instances where he laid in his cage without moving.  He was good at it as we actually thought that he was dead then too.  During this year's Christmas break I was 100% positive that he wouldn't make it to New Year's.  Rizzo was extremely lethargic, had fluid coming from his eyes and his body kept twitching.  He would eat, but only very little.  I wasn't the only one who noticed how sick he was, and all of us prepared for the worst.  

Just as in the past, however, Rizzo rebounded and was actually back to his old self just before New Year's Eve.  That is until today when I noticed that he didn't look quite right.  His fat lump that he had had on his side for years seemed to have doubled in size.  His fur in that area didn't look right either.  I did some researching online, but didn't find any answers on what to do.  Thus, I decided to wait for Cameron to get home and check him out more thoroughly.

Cameron called on the way home to talk about his new stock purchases.  After he updated me on his losses, I asked him what he thought about Rizzo.  He said that he wasn't sure that there was anything anyone could do, but he'd take a look.  Once he saw how big the lump was and that part of the skin had split open, he thought that maybe we should call the vet.  Fortunately, the veterinarian that Cameron had been observing these past few months was free to see Rizzo, so we drove over right away.

Cameron went back with Diane and she did some cell testing.  She said that the lump really was a fat deposit.  They were common in guinea pigs and many times appeared on their heads.  Cameron was thankful that Rizzo's was on his side.  He was also glad to hear that the cells tested negative for cancer.  Diane gave Rizzo some eye drops for conjunctivitis and vitamin e oil for the skin tearing.  She was concerned about how fast the lump grew, but said that Rizzo had been fighting hard to live, so we should just keep him comfortable in the end stages of his life.  That we can do.  

The Wire

The older three Heinisch children are always giving me televisions series or movies to watch that they have enjoyed.  I appreciate their tips as I've spent a lot of time lately cleaning out our home.  Brett had told me several years ago that having a series or movie to watch makes a mundane job a lot more fun.  I totally agree with him and have enjoyed watching their recommendations.  Cal has given me the most, by far, but Brett and Meg have also chimed in with their opinions as well.  Stranger Things, The Sopranos, WandaVision, The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and even Glee have all made my watch list.  I've enjoyed each and everyone one of them with only the current Netflix series, "You", being on the "can't continue to watch list."  The main character was just too creepy for me.

In October, Cal suggested a series that he had watched recently, but was made in the early 2000.  He thought that I might like it if I could overlook the swearing and racial slurs.  I started it right away and was instantly hooked.  It was a drama based on a Baltimore police department that had a wire tap on a drug lord.  It was hard at first to keep all of the characters straight, but overall after a few episodes I had names with faces.  There were definitely some sad parts as the series also included teenagers who worked as soldiers on the drug crew.  Not all of them made it out of the series alive including a beloved character played by a very young Michael B. Jordan.  

The most challenging part for me to watch was when a police officer decided to quit the force and become a math teacher in an inner city middle school.  The defiance, the lies, the frustration with a broken system, the insane emphasis on testing, a box cutter fight and even a student coming to school after finding a parent dead were all too familiar situations from my teaching days.  Thankfully, after the first few episodes of season four, it became a little easier to watch as the police officer/teacher started to adjust to his new role.  

As I had taken a break from watching The Wire during the holidays, I just finished all five seasons last night.  It was well written and definitely worth watching.  I was sad with how some of the characters lives ended up, but grateful that my favorite character, Bubbs, made it through all five seasons starting as a drug addict and ending as a welcomed member of his sister's family.  Overall, I was glad that Cal suggested it and can't wait for the next recommendation from the Heinisch children.  

Peanut Butter, Jelly & Mayonnaise????

 One of the highlights of this year's football bowl games was watching the Duke's Mayo Bowl.  Last year's bowl fun, but it was missing key component.  At the end of the game, Gatorade was poured on the winning coach.  Cameron and I, along with the rest of the nation, were completely disappointed.  We were sure that the cooler would be filled with mayonnaise.  

Someone associated with EPSN and the bowl game must have read all of the Twitter feeds complaining about the lack of mayo at the celebration last year and decided to rectify it this year.  All week long the media hype on the four and a half gallons of Duke's Mayo that would be dumped on the winning coach was enormous.  Cameron and I definitely tuned in to the game.  Neither of us cared if South Carolina or North Carolina won, we just wanted to see the mayonnaise dump.  It was as much fun as we expected it to be and as added bonus Duke's Mayo donated $10,000 to charity in the coach's name.

As entertaining as it was watching the end of the game, I enjoyed the announcers even more.  At different points of the game, they would break away from the game to try different foods dipped in Duke's mayo.  Oreos and donuts were two of their favorites.  I couldn't imagine mayonnaise on either of those two.  One of the food items did catch Cameron's eye - an Uncrustable peanut butter and jelly sandwich with mayo as a topping.  Once he saw that, he instantly decided that he would make the new sandwich his lunch choice on Monday when Bethany returned to school.  All weekend long, he posted on SnapChat about it.  He had a lot of friends and family members question his thought process, but he decided to go through with it anyway.  Last night we bought the sandwiches and mayonnaise and today Cameron packed them in his lunchbox.  Once he arrived home, he was proud to report that he had completed the challenge.  Unfortunately, he wasn't able to keep the sandwich down afterward.  I have to say that I wasn't surprised by that at all.  

A Wonderful Visit in the Sunshine State

Doug left yesterday for Florida.  Winco had inventory this coming week and he needed to be there for that.  Originally, Cameron and I talked about going with him as there were several bowl games that we would have liked to see close to Ocala.  We decided against it once we realized that there weren't very many teams playing in those games that we would like to see in person.  

As an added benefit to Cameron and I sitting out this trip, Doug had plenty of room in the Pilot to take down the buffet and a barrister bookcase to Brett.  Brett was looking forward to adding the furniture to his apartment and also spending the afternoon with his dad.  I was impressed that Doug got both pieces in the Pilot.  It was a tight fit in the back, but he got everything safely to Bloomington.  He and Brett carried the furniture upstairs and rearranged some existing pieces as well.  The only challenging part for them was getting the buffet back in Brett's bedroom as he wanted to use it as a dresser.  Doug and Brett had originally planned on going to Oliver Winery today, but it was closed for the holiday.  They were both thankful that Big Woods Brewery was open and enjoyed a meal together before Doug left for his flight in Indy.

Doug stayed in Winter Haven last night and was up early this morning to visit with his dad.  He was very glad to see him.  He did call during their visit, so that I could help him set up Carl's phone with FaceTime, but mostly they spent the time catching up.  Carl was thankful to have made it through the surgery and to be done with pain medication.  He was still very weak, but could get up and move around on his own.  Doug left for Ocala when Carl headed to lunch.  

I didn't get to talk to Doug until later in the evening.  I was busy today helping Meg get ready to leave for Bloomington.  Afterward Cameron and I watched IU lose a close game to Penn State and then went to Walmart for a few groceries.  I was glad that he drove as it gave him a chance to practice on the roads since some of them still had ice on them from Saturday's snow.  I did get to chat with Doug before he went to bed.  He had a relaxing afternoon working out with Team Body Project and watching the Buccaneers game and IU basketball.  He ordered Marcos pizza for a late lunch and worked for a little while.  I was very thankful when I got off of the phone.  I know that Carl's surgery had weighed heavily on Doug's mind lately and seeing him helped alleviate his worries.  It had also been a very stressful two weeks at work, so I was glad that Doug was able to relax a little bit today.  I will miss him, but have plenty to keep me busy while he's gone.  

A Wonderful Vacation & A Long Trip Home

Meg arrived this morning around 11 a.m.  She was excited to tell me all about her trip, but ready for bed as well.  They had driven through the night from Memphis to Midway, picked up Nick's car and then drove home.  She did get some sleep, but not enough to keep her up all day.  Once she showered, unpacked, showed me her souvenirs, and ate lunch, she was more than ready for bed.  I woke her up after a couple of hours to play Island Board Game with Cameron and I on the Wii, but as soon as we finished, she went back to bed again.  

The next time Meg awoke, she showed me all of the pictures from her trip.  She had a lot of fun at the train museum, butterfly conservatory, and mystery shack.  She enjoyed several hikes and was most proud of her first one making it to the top of the second tallest peak in the area.  She said that she became obsessed with cacti while in Arizona and was thankful to have gotten to know Nick's family a little better.  She also loved the fact that she got to visit Scottsdale, Arizona as it was Grandma Heinisch's home away from home.  She was a little disappointed that they didn't make it to the Grand Canyon due to the weather, but overall it was a wonderful trip.