Downsizing

While we were at Brett's this weekend, we talked to him and Karen a lot about downsizing.  Moving is the perfect time to do so, but since they had brought a lot of their possessions with them when the joined households in Columbus, they would have to search through their items now as they unpacked.  I suggested donating or selling some things on Marketplace to make their living space more useable.  I found an article online this week that worded exactly how I felt about decluttering the house and hoped that it would help them on their downsizing journey.  In summary:

1.     Your stuff is not your story.  Do not tie your identity to physical objects.  You are the memory, not         the souvenir that you keep.  Letting go of an object does not erase the history that you made with            it.

2.     Emotional Guilt Keeps You Buried in the Clutter.  This is especially true of inherited items that you         didn't ask for but feel guilty getting rid of.

3.    Decluttering is Not Just About Physical Space; It's About Mental Weight.  Clutter costs you time,            energy and peace of mind.

4.    Sentimentality is Not a Storage Strategy.  Holding on to something solely because it reminds you of        another time is not sentimental, it's impractical especially if those items are in boxes that you never        look through.  

5.    Your Kids Don't Want Your Collections.  Take responsibility of your things now and don't push     t         them off on someone else.                

6.    Decluttering is a Gift to Your Future Self.

7.    Organization Without Elimination is Just Rearranging Clutter.

8.    You Don't Need Permission to Let Go.

I thought these suggestions were perfect for anyone downsizing.  If I could add one thing to the list it would be:

9.    Don't Save Anything Just Because It Might Be Worth Something Someday.  It never is!                                                                                                  

Lollapalooza

While we were enjoying Bloomington, Meg spent her weekend in Chicago attending Lollapalooza with her friend Maddie.  Meg had bought tickets before she even moved to Orlando as two of her favorite artists, Olivia Rodriguez and Sabrina Carpenter were singing.  Meg sent pictures and thoroughly loved hearing them in concert.  Meg also took Maddie to see her family at the Crown Point County Fair.  Meg said that it wasn't quite as good as Elkhart County's, but she was glad to meet Maddie's sisters.  Meg also stayed in Lincoln Park while she was in Chicago and had fun walking through the zoo once again.  

Concert-going wasn't the only thing on Meg's agenda the past few days.  She visited with Grandma Jane multiple times, saw Alistair and Philip and went to dinner with Stella.  She was impressed with how well Grandma Jane was doing from her last visit.  She was also thankful for a few naps on her couch catching up on some rest from a busy weekend.  Overall, I was really happy that Meg had enjoyed her stay.  It was also nice to hear that she was ready to come back to Florida.  She and Nick have made a home in Orlando these past few months and it was nice to know that she liked it enough to miss it.    

Deep Cleaning

Not too long ago, Cameron told me that he was tired of how dirty his apartment was and was going to do some deep cleaning before his roommates returned.  We had just played cards at his place over the weekend, so I realized that it wasn't that bad.  I also knew he was a twenty-year-old male college student, and his standards of cleaning were far higher than most.  I always thought Cameron would probably take after me in the cleaning department when he got older, especially since he spent the most time with me in his teenage years. From his text, it sure seemed to me that I was correct.  I decided not to point out Cameron's deep cleaning obsession to Cal and Meg or that I thought he might be the one turning into me.  They already thought he was "nerdy" enough.

Heading Home

 Yesterday, Doug and I left Brett's apartment when they went to mass.  We had enjoyed staying in Columbus last night as it gave us a chance to catch up with both of them.  They had some projects to work on after we left, and I was thankful that we were able to give them some advice on where to start and what to prioritize.  We also had time to play Ticket to Ride with them and listen to Brett's new vinyl record player as well.  We would have loved to go to mass but needed to get to Indy for our flight.  Karen now sings in the choir, and we would enjoy seeing her sing at some point.

Our trip home was an easy one.  The plane was on time, and we were able to make it back to Ocala for dinner.  I picked Las Margaritas for our meal as we hadn't been there in quite some time.  It was wonderful to sit outside on their veranda, relax and get Doug's thoughts on the weekend.  I was happy to hear that he had had as much fun as I did.  I was also thankful for the warmth.  It had been cooler than normal in Indiana and Brett likes to keep his air conditioner set in the mid-60s.  Even with the abundance of ninety-degree days here in Florida in the summer, I'm not quite ready for 60s.

Taste of Bloomington Revived

Several months ago, I saw a post on Facebook stating that Taste of Bloomington was returning.  I was thrilled to see that as we had enjoyed the festival yearly until it was cancelled due to Covid. As excited as I was, I was a little bit skeptical as well. Organizers had tried several years ago to bring the Taste back and it was a huge failure. 

Thankfully, that was not the case this year, and yesterday was a lot of fun albeit, very crowded.  Cameron, Cora, Doug and I were the first to arrive.  We were really impressed.  There were a least a dozen food trucks set up between Walnut and the library with a lot of different dishes to try.  There were also multiple tents with craft beers from local breweries.  Just as in years past, there were two different stages for bands to play throughout the day on different parts of Kirkwood.  We found plenty of seating and since the day was cooler than normal for August in Indiana we didn't mind sitting in the sunshine.  

Brett and Karen joined us at Taste shortly after we arrived.  They really enjoyed trying all of the new foods and Brett was extremely grateful for a day off from work.  Aunt Gena and Parce were the last to arrive, but that didn't surprise us as they had the furthest to drive.  It was nice visiting with the both of them and I was glad that there were able to make the trip as Parce had been with us at every other Taste of Bloomington that we had gone to in the past.  The best part of trying new foods for me was that Aunt Gena introduced me to Acai.  It was a fruit bowl that reminded me of ice cream without the dairy.  I bought one for Karen and I and we both loved "Everbowl."  Overall, it was a great day, and I was so happy to have made the trip.

Touring Assembly Hall

Doug, Meg and I arrived in Bloomington yesterday morning in time for Cameron to take Meg to Indy.  She had plans with Maddy to go to Lollapalooza this weekend in Chicago and they were meeting at her apartment at Butler.  While they were driving, Doug and I went to Oliver Winery for a free wine tasting.  It is a perk of being wine club members, and although I do not drink very much it is fun to try their new selections.

When Cameron got back, he took us to Assembly Hall.  He had just gotten his key for being a director of SAB and we were thoroughly impressed with the behind-the-scenes tour.  The history on the walls was incredible, and we loved seeing all of the memorabilia from the 1987 team and several of pictures of our favorite teams from the 1990s.  We also got to see the hallway to the locker rooms, the wrestling area and the marketing rooms where Cammeron will be interning this fall.  I especially appreciated the area dedicated to the Student Athletic Board where Cameron spends quite a bit of time.  

After our tour, the three of us headed to the IMU where Doug and I planned to stay this evening.  We played several rounds of cards before going bowling.  I was surprised at how well I would be able to play because of the pain in my lower back and neck.  I even threw two strikes in a row in the second game.  I was also very impressed with how much Cameron had improved since he took his bowling class last spring.  He easily beat us, but we didn't care as it was so much fun to play.

After bowling, we walked through campus and then picked up Pizza Express breadsticks for dinner.  We had thoroughly enjoyed trying Bru Brothers for the first time with Cameron for lunch and knew that we weren't up for another big meal.  I thought their turkey burgers were fantastic while Doug appreciated how good their smash burgers were.  Once we got our bags of sticks, we spent the rest of the evening back at the hotel, trying wines from Oliver Winery before Cameron headed home for the night.  It was a wonderful day in Bloomington.

Traveling to Italy

Cal left today with Maggie's family for a ten-day trip to Italy.  He was very excited for the time in Europe, and I couldn't wait to hear all about it.  They would be staying in the Tuscany region in a villa with not only the Doyle's, but Nancy's sister and her children as well.  They had plans for each day except one where they were just going to relax by the pool at their villa.  

When Cal told me about his trip, I was very interested in all of the places that they would visit.  I knew that he would enjoy all of them but couldn't wait to hear about his time at the Vatican.  With a Chicago pope now leading the Catholic Church, it would mean even more to spend time in the Holy city.  Cal texted me this afternoon when they arrived in Italy.  He hadn't slept more than an hour in the last twenty-eight, but he was very happy with his first stop.  It was completely packed with almost a million teenagers on a pilgrimage to the Vatican City, but they did tour the sacred grounds. He found them absolutely beautiful.

After Cal texted me, I looked on Find My Phone to see if it would pick up his spot in Italy.  Sure enough, there he was.  It was incredible to think of him staying in such an important part of our Church's history.  I know he will see and do a lot while he is in Italy, but I would already call his trip a huge success.