Happy Thanksgiving

It was Thanksgiving day in the Heinisch home albeit four days early.  We moved the date because of Brett's work schedule and no one seemed to mind.  This also freed everyone up to do what they wanted to on Thursday.  Today's menu was the traditional feast with turkey, mashed potatoes, noodles, homemade bread, corn casserole and pumpkin dessert.  Doug made his world famous oyster dressing which only he and Cal indulged in this year, and Bell Trace provided the turkey which we all appreciated very much.  

Besides being early, dinner was a little different this year on several other fronts.  First, we only had the six of us together for the holiday.  Second, instead of eating at the table together we spread out between the family room, kitchen and dining room.  Lastly, we also wore masks when traveling back and forth between areas and when dishing out the food.  In the end it really worked out well.  Doug, Cal and Cam watched football while Meg, Brett and I talked Disney.  Everyone interacted  between the rooms and it was a nice celebration of the holiday.  After cleanup, we played Ticket to Ride and Wii just as in years past.  I even got a picture of the four Heinisch children together.  I hadn't taken one since our trip to Disney World in January.  Overall, I was extremely proud of how well our family had adopted our new pandemic "rules" with the idea of keeping everyone safe and healthy for next year's celebration.  

Moving Out - At Least Until February

 Today Meg moved out of her apartment with plans to return in February.  IU had decided before the semester started to shut down campus at Thanksgiving break and move all classes online in hopes of slowing down the spread of the coronavirus.  In retrospect it was a very well thought out plan as the incidents of positive COVID cases had increased on campus and in Bloomington in general.  Meg already knew several people who had either contracted the virus or had to quaratine due to exposure.  We had expected to have to help Meg move all of her belongings out of the apartment, but she really didn't need our help.  She spent Friday night and Saturday packing and cleaning and was ready to leave by 3 p.m. today.

While Meg was busy we spent our day at Brett's apartment.  We played Ticket to Ride and ordered lunch from Big Woods.  Doug and Cam watched the IU vs. Ohio State game from start to finish while I packed up Brett's apartment and he left for work.  It was an exciting game and I was glad that I got Meg's television set up in the extra room so that I could watch it as well.  IU had not been ranked in the top ten while playing against a top ten opponent since 1967, so there was a lot of hype surrounding the game.  At first it looked as though the Hoosiers were on their way to a devistating loss as the Buckeyes scored quickly and easily.  IU held on, however, and kept the game tight until Ohio State went on a run topping the score at 35-7 in the third quarter.  Someone tweeted out "Well, IU, at least you tried."  We felt the same way, but the Hoosiers weren't done yet and soon went on a scoring run of their own closing in on OSU 28-35.  Unfortunately, they ran out of time and the game ended with the Buckeyes a 7 point victor.  None of us were too disappointed as IU's offense looked fantastic and Michael Penix, Jr. had definitely shown up Ohio State's Heisman candidate quarterback, Justin Fields.

Once the game ended we all headed out the door for home.  Doug rode with Meg.  She had never driven home from Bloomington before and he wanted to help her navigate I-465.  Cam rode with me and we listened to the Northwestern vs. Wisconsin game on the radio while he read "1984."  Meg did a nice job driving and we were all safely in our driveway by 7:30 p.m.  Meg was happy to be home and we ordered Bourbon Street Pizza to celebrate.  I know that it had been three months since she had been here, but after a few hours it felt as though she had never left.  Glad that she made it through the majority of the first semester without any issues and happy to have her home.  

Back in BTown

Doug worked from home this morning so that we could pick Cameron up at 11 a.m. and head to Bloomington from Bethany.  We had talked about just letting Cameron miss school altogether today, but he had two tests to complete before lunchtime.  Thankfully, Renae let him take the Algebra 2 one during study hall so we didn't have to wait until the end of the day to leave.  

We decided to just take snacks for the car ride so that we could order out as soon as we made it to B-Town.  Cam picked Upland Brewing Company for lunch which we enjoyed at Brett's apartment.  Cam chose the spicy chicken sandwich once again which definitely lived up to its name.  Meg had to take a test this afternoon and Brett had to work, so Doug, Cam and I hung out at the winery and enjoyed the beautiful day.  We learned quickly that Doug's frisbee skills weren't quite as good as his ability to fish a frisbee out of the pond was.  

We walked through campus next and meet Meg at the auditorium.  She had scored very well on her government test and was thrilled to be done with her Kelley classes for the semester.  They had been challenging, but she was positive that she had earned at least a B+ in two of the classes and an A in the third.  We were impressed.  From the auditorium we walked back to Kirkwood to check out the shops.  We ended our walk at The Game Preserve picking out gifts for both Cal and Hannah-Marie.

Our next stops were at Yankee Candle and Kroger before ordering dinner from Mother Bears.  Meg had to go back early so that she could clean her apartment while the rest of us watched Purdue lose to Minnesota on a controversial offensive foul call.  Once Brett got home we all played Germany Ticket to Ride.  I forgot how much I liked that game.  It was a wonderful day in Bloomington.  Doug and I were both thankful that we were able to make the trip.

Getting Ready

 We spent the day getting the house ready for Meg and Brett to come home this weekend.  Doug had been sleeping in Meg's room since she left.  Thus, I needed to get the bedding changed and the bathroom cleaned before she arrived.  Brett would be using the extra bedroom while he was here so that needed dusted and rearranged as well.  Brett's goal besides visiting with all of us was to play some of his old PS2 and XBOX games.  Therefore I spent quite a bit of time setting up those systems for him in the room as well.  Lastly, I dusted and thoroughly cleaned Cameron's room.  Due to the revised learning platform plan at Bethany  he had been home for a week, using his room as a classroom, so it definitely needed some help.  The good news was that I found $10 behind his television stand.  He claimed to have placed it there for safe keeping, but as it was under a dozen candy wrappers I wasn't buying that one.  Meg said that I should have just pocketed it.  I never thought of that but maybe if he was my younger brother I would have.  I was able to finish cleaning by the time Doug got home so all we had to do was to pack for our trip tomorrow.  We were both looking  forward to seeing Meg and Brett even if we have to mask up and social distance whenever possible.

Getting a Little Scary Around Here

 Let's be honest, the number of positive COVID cases in our area have been outright alarming.  I stopped checking the daily counts for our county and those around us because the numbers were absolutely unbelievable to see.   Nationally there has been talk of a vaccine arriving in December.  That's good news, but with the limited supply it will be months before the general population will be able to receive a vaccination.  With hospitals near us already filled to capacity the current health crisis has really gotten scary locally.

Doug and I talked for quite awhile last night about how to handle next week.  Every article that we have read has said that "College students should not come home for Thanksgiving break" and "Do not mix households for the holidays."  Both are great advice if it was possible for us to do so, but since IU is sending students home we have had no choice but to try and come up with a plan that everyone could handle.  Even though Brett, Meg and Cal all tested negative this week, we decided that it would be best if starting Friday that all four of the Heinisch children wear a mask when we are with them.  We obviously would be wearing one too.  We believe that it would be the best way to have everyone home and keep us safe.  It would be up to them if they wear them around each other or not.  Everyone was receptive to the idea.  Meg even pointed out that now with the new rule in place she could see Sarah over the holidays (socially distanced with a mask) and not worry about getting us sick.  This year has definitely brought a strange new reality to the Heinisch family.  We appreciate how diligent everyone in our household has been in keeping our home a safe haven for all of us.  

Finals Week - Sort Of

 When IU decided to open campus only until Thanksgiving break, professors were given a choice of ending classes early or to continue until Christmas break online.  The Kelley Business School chose the first option.  Thus three of Meg's classes were scheduled to end this week.  Several of the instructors planned very well for the early end covering the material in a timely manner and providing students with ample opportunity to study for the newfound week of finals.  Others did not, however, and tried to cram as much material in as they could giving students very little time to get ready for their tests.

Meg had both types of professors this semester and found herself trying to learn quite a bit of new material this past weekend in some classes while reviewing past lessons in others.  It was a good weekend for her to stay in and study since most of her friends were unavailable to do anything either due to COVID restrictions or because of their own upcoming finals.  She was able to get out of the apartment multiple times, however,  She also started packing for home, watched several Disney movies and even took a long walk with Brett on Friday.  

Yesterday, Meg had an Econ test to start off her pseudo finals week.  She felt really good about it and planned on working on accounting next.  Her tests in accounting, business law and business regulations would make for a long rest of the week.  She wasn't excited about it, but felt ready.  She had done well this semester and knew that learning the material early had made a big difference in preparing for finals.  Overall, Meg was just happy to know that after this week she would only have three classes to worry about for the rest of the semester - Econ, Fairy Tales, and Yoga.  She was looking forward to having down time at home while she finished those three.  

Peaky Blinders

 Last March while we were all home, Cal suggested that I watch the show "Peaky Blinders" on Netflix.  I sat down with him while he was on an episode in the middle of Season 3 and agreed that it seemed to be right up my alley.  It was a period piece set in England right after World War I centered around an English working class mob type family.  It had a lot of historical references and it was produced by the BBC.  Thus, I knew that I had to at least give it a try.

As I had several other series that I wanted to finish first I didn't get back to Peaky Blinders until the fall.  I watched a couple of episodes a week and soon found myself finished with the first two seasons.  Several weeks ago we decided as a family to get rid of Netflix.  The increase in price just wasn't worth it for as little as we watched it lately.  Knowing that we still had the streaming channel until Thanksgiving I pushed forward with a goal of finishing Peaky Blinders before the 26th. 

I would need to watch an episode a day to do so and at first wasn't sure if I would be able to do that.  I really don't watch a lot of television, especially during the day.  The further I got into the show, however, the more interesting it became.  Twists, turns, murders, and new characters all kept me engaged.  Tying it to the rise of Communism and Fascism was intriguing as was the depiction of Churchill during that time period.  I finished season five last night which ended on a cliff hanger.  I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to find out what happened to the Shelby family for awhile, but was definitely glad that Cal suggested it.