A Busy Day Ends With A Quiet New Year's Eve

With everyone else out of the house today, Cameron decided to invite Bailee over.  They had talked about getting together during break and fortunately it worked in her schedule as well.  Bailee's father dropped her off at 10 a.m. and she and Cam spent the next four hours exchanging Christmas presents, watching It's a Wonderful Life and playing games.  I talked to Cam about ordering Subway for lunch, but they settled on eggs and bacon instead.  It was nice having one of Cam's friends visit over break.  

I decided to use my time this morning to bring in all of the outside Christmas decorations.  It wasn't quite as hard as I thought it would be with the exception of getting the lights unhooked from the pine tree.  I had to use a step stool and was sure that I was going to fall into the tree.  Thankfully, there was a long stick close by that helped me in my efforts to unhook everything and I was able to finish with the decorations by noon.  I was glad to be done as tomorrow's forecast called for freezing rain and I really wanted them in the house before that mess began.

After Bailee left Cam drove me to Menards in Warsaw.  It was a quick shopping trip there as we only needed a few items.  Martins took a little bit longer, but it wasn't quite as bad as I envisioned.  I told Cameron that someone commented on social media that Kosciusko County didn't need a mask ordinance as no one actually followed it.  His proof was that at any time of the day he could walk into Martins and at least ten people would be maskless.  I decided to test his theory today and lo and behold there were ten individuals without face coverings.  I got a kick out of that but decided that I would probably need to start shopping elsewhere going forward.  Cam did a nice job driving home.  He appreciated the practice in the parking lots as well.  That's something we haven't worked on a lot yet.

Doug was home when we got there.  We hurried and unloaded the van so that I could take a walk before it got dark.  Once we both finished exercising the rest of the evening was spent playing games and watching the Twilight Zone marathon.  It was only the three of us this year as Brett had to work and then had plans to go Sean's afterward.  Cal went to Michigan with the Lamles and Meg was in West Lafayette with Nick.  Thus, we let Cameron pick the dinner menu which consisted of meatballs, lil' smokies, cheese, crackers and Hawaiian bread with spinach dip - definitely some of my favorites.  All of us made it up until midnight which was impressive for Doug especially since he had had a long couple of days with inventory.  Cal didn't quite believe me even when I sent him a picture of Doug with eyes wide open.  It may have been a quiet New Years Eve in the Heinisch home, but one that the three of us enjoyed.  

Two Down - Four to Go

 Several weeks ago Meg and Brett found out that they would be some of the first Hoosiers offered to receive the COVID-19 vaccination because of their employment at Bell Trace Assistant Living Home.  We knew that it was a possibility, but didn't realize that it would happen this quickly.  After attending a meeting at work and doing some research, both of them decided that they would sign up for their first dose.  While waiting for their shots they found out that they would still have to wear masks and social distance until ten days after the second dose.  They also learned that an extremely rare allergic reaction had occurred in some recipients.  Therefore they would have to remain in medical observation for fifteen minutes after their vaccination.  These additional facts did not to detour their desire to be immunized.  

Neither Meg nor Brett were concerned about the potential side effects either.  Those reported had been relatively mild compared to the virus - headaches, fever, and body aches for twenty-four hours or less.  What mattered most to both of them was to keep the vulnerable safe, especially those they worked with at Bell Trace.  Although the morality rate was incredibly low in Brett and Meg's age group, in the population that they worked with it was considerably higher.  The latest news report stated that 80% of the COVID-19 deaths had occurred in people aged 65 and above with a 15% mortality rate in those over eighty years old.  

Meg's vaccination was yesterday at IU Health.  She was nervous, but overall it went well.  The shot did not hurt, but her arm was a little sore.  She did have a sore throat later, but nothing unusual for her.  After her fifteen minute waiting period, she signed up for her second one to be given in three weeks.  We know from that timeframe that she received the Pfizer vaccine which was great news at it had a 95% efficacy rate.  Brett received his vaccination this morning and followed the same routine as Meg's.  The only difference was that he had mild body aches instead of a sore throat.  Overall, they both said that it went as well as they could have hoped.  I was happy to hear that and so incredibly proud of them for taking the step to keep those that they care about safe and help put an end to the pandemic.  

Getting on the Road Before the Storm Hits

 It was definitely the quiet before the storm today in the Heinisch home with everyone trying to get on the road before the predicted ice hit.  Cal was the first to leave.  He had the auditing portion of the CPA in Ohio this afternoon.  He didn't want to take any chances on missing it and left last night.  I had Hilton points for him to use for a free night stay.  That worked out well for him as he was able to stop about five miles from his testing site.  

Meg and Nick were the next out the door as they left for Bloomington this morning.  They not only wanted to miss the storm, but also have time to stop at Popeye's in Indy before her vaccination appointment.  Meg called when they got to Brett's apartment to report that they made it safely and that Nick really liked his chicken sandwich.  The weather forecast also altered my parents' travel plans as they left on their trip a day early and made good progress on the way to their destination.  

Brett waited until 5:30 to leave.  The snow arrived earlier than was originally thought, so he did have to travel through it from Pierceton to Wabash, but otherwise had no issues and was home by 9 p.m.  Cal drove through the same area an hour later and experienced the worst of the early snow shower.  He was almost sideswiped at a four way intersection, but thankfully was able to stop before an accident occurred.  Needless to say, he was more than glad to be home before it got worse.  Doug spent the evening watching the snowfall.  He had to get up at 3:30 a.m. for inventory tomorrow morning and was concerned about the icy roads.  I was worried as well, but knew that Doug was a safe driver and there would be very little traffic on the roads at that time.  I said a prayer for him before I headed to bed and thanked God for the safe travels of the Heinisch family today.

Game Time

Doug took today off so that he could have a five day weekend.  It was nice to have him home.  He spent the morning with Cameron in Warsaw for his tennis lesson.  Brett was gone most of the morning as well as he had a dentist appointment and then ate lunch with Grandma and Grandpa.  Meg spent quite a bit of her time today cleaning her room and packing for her trip to Bloomington/West LaFayette.   Cal had last minute review to work on for his auditing CPA test tomorrow.  I did a lot of laundry as both Meg and Brett needed theirs done before they left tomorrow.  Brett and I did have time to squeeze in time to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol which has definitely become one of my favorite Christmas movies.

In between all of the other activities we also had time to play several games today.  Doug, Cam, Brett and I broke out the new Ticket to Ride Nederlands game.  It was crazy playing with four people as the routes became extremely crowded.  Meg, Brett, Nick and Cam then played a round of Mario Kart.  Cam had switched to manual for our last few races and ended up losing big to Meg.  Tonight he changed back to automatic and ended up champion once again.  We finished the evening with Disney trivia Geek Out.  Cam and I teamed up against Nick and Meg.  Brett played as a single and even without any help beat us all.  We all have really enjoyed Brett's new gift and decided that it would be a great activity for a Zoom get together.

Merry Christmas Part 2

 Brett arrived just before 2 a.m. this morning.  He had decided to leave after work instead of waiting until today.  Meg and I stayed up until he made it home and he spent quite a bit of the drive talking to Grandma and Grandpa.  He said that he was tired and glad to be home.  We all went to bed as soon as he unloaded his car.

Our second round of Christmas started at 1 p.m.  It was fun to watch Brett open his gifts from everyone.  He wasn't able to guess all of them as in years past.  Part of the reason for that was that we gave him several items that weren't on his list.  The other reason was that he sent me his list so long ago that he forgot a couple of the items.  We each opened our gifts from Brett as well.  I really appreciated my daily devotional and Meg loved her new puzzle.  The Heinisch children also opened their grandparent gifts this afternoon.  Candy and money were the shared themes and everyone appreciated the extra cash.

Doug made ham, scalloped potatoes, green been casserole, corn and biscuits for lunch.  Everything was delicious, especially the English trifle for dessert.  The rest of the day was spent playing Ticket to Ride, Wii and Brett's new Disney Geek Out Trivia game.  It was a wonderful Christmas celebration with our entire family.  The only disappointing part of the day was saying goodbye to Winston as the Lamles returned from their Christmas trip.

A Break From the Cold

 The past two days have been absolutely freezing.  Every time I asked the Google home mini what the temperature was it always ended with "and the wind chill makes it feel (below single digits) temperature.  Thus, we mostly stayed indoors on Christmas and Christmas Eve except when we went to see Grandma Jane and Grandpa Cutes.  Fortunately, I had walked Sunday through Wednesday so I only need one more day to meet my minimum weekly goal of five days/150 minutes of exercise time.  Today was perfect for it and  I appreciated that Doug offered to go with me.  Once we got back I actually would have started taking down the outside Christmas if Brett hadn't of been coming home tomorrow.

After our walk the majority of our day was spent watching football and relaxing.  We did start the new Walt Disney World puzzle.  At first we were concerned that it would be extremely challenging, but after figuring out that we should start with the center design instead of the all blue edge pieces we began to make progress.  Cameron started his new Madden game as well and worked in his sketchbook.  Meg played games with Nick's family via Zoom.  Cal went with Jayce to Fort Wayne to hang out with a few friends from high school.  Since they did not plan to return until tomorrow, Grandma and Grandpa offered to take Winston for the night.  All went well there until Winston decided to try some butter.  That didn't end well for his stomach, but thankfully he seemed to pull through it alright.  

Merry Christmas

 In a year of change, Christmas at the Heinisch home was no different.  For the first time in sixteen years all of six of us were not at home this morning.  Brett had to work at Storage Express last night and decided that he would rather take Sunday off so that he could have a three day weekend to come home.  We liked that plan as neither Doug nor I wanted him to drive home late Christmas Eve night only to head back early on the 26th.  It also allowed Brett to work at Bell Trace which he thoroughly enjoyed.  In addition to the bonus of overtime pay and visiting with his favorite residents on the holiday, he was a big help as well since he and his boss were the only two available in the afternoon to bag up meals for delivery.  He was tired by the end of the day, but said that it was well worth it.

Doug and I had always realized that there would be a time in our lives when not everyone would be available to open gifts with us on Christmas morning.  Thus, we just appreciated the fact that Cam, Cal and Meg were available.  We got a later start than usual, but by 10:30 a.m. everyone was opening their stockings.  Cam wasn't quite sure what to do with his snow brush, but once I explained that it wasn't a giant toothbrush or a toilet brush he caught on to what it was.  We spent the next hour or so unwrapping gifts and enjoying each other's reactions.  Cal loved the vintage Simpson shirt that he received as well as one with Patrick asking "Is Mayonnaise an Instrument."  Meg appreciated her new Converse shoes along with the Winnie the Pooh fanny pack that I found online through Box Lunch.  Cam had asked for a Lions jersey as his big gift of the season and made sure to post a picture on Instagram tagging David in it.  That led to several texts floating back and forth between the Bears and the Lions fans today.  Meg did a lot of the Christmas shopping this year and Doug put her in charge of picking out several of my gifts.  I loved everything that I received, but was especially appreciative of the new butterfly backpack and matching key chain wallet.  Doug didn't ask for very much this year, but did like the new Rutgers and Michigan State shirts.  Of course I picked out a new Ticket to Ride Nederlands to give him which we made sure to try out before the end of the evening.

We had Mostaccioli for Christmas dinner saving the ham for Sunday.  Doug also made Caesar salad, homemade bread and a new squash casserole recipe.  It was all delicious.  Nick joined us for our main meal and then he and Meg headed to Grandma's to visit with them for an hour or so.  Once they left for Goshen, Cam, Doug and I stopped by as well.  Cal had already visited them earlier in the day.  Our family gave Grandma a new FitBit like the one Meg, Cal and I have.  She love it.  Grandpa got golf balls for his trip to Florida, a new golf shirt, circus peanuts, an IU mask and the most important gift of all - a Bill Walton Back from the Dead biography.  Cameron picked that out as soon as the Maui classic was over knowing how much Grandpa loved him as an announcer.  The rest of the evening was a quiet one filled with games and the start of my new Walt Disney World puzzle.  It was a very nice Christmas celebration and we are all looking forward to a repeat of today on Sunday.