Snow, Snow, Snow

 It has been such a mild winter that we almost forgot what it was like to have a big snowstorm.  That all changed last night as the predicted "blizzard of 2021" hit.  Although it wasn't quite a life changing event, we did get six inches of snow in a relatively short period.  Thankfully, it all happened on a Saturday night, so no one had to get out in the morning.  Doug was able to start on the driveway by 9 a.m. and our neighbor joined in to speed up the process with his ATV which was very much appreciated.  

Cal stayed at Grandma Jane's last night and adopted Grandpa's approach for shoveling - drive over the snow and flattened it until he could get out of the driveway.  It worked well until he got stuck.  It wasn't quite as bad as the time Grandpa got stuck in our yard, but it did take Cal fifteen minutes to get out.  

The snow did change Meg's plans.  She had wanted to go to West Lafayette today and see Nick before heading back to Bloomington.  The weather postponed that, but she didn't mind as it gave her one more day at home.  Meg was ready to go back to IU, but not quite ready to say goodbye to home.  We were glad to have one last day to play Mario Kart and watch a few more Seinfeld episodes with her.  

The next two weeks are supposed to provide more winter weather with snow showers and below zero temperatures.  As much as I have grown tired of the Indiana winters, I appreciate the fact that it arrived late this year.  At the end of the next round of winter weather,  we will only have four more weeks until spring with warmer temperatures and brighter sunshine just around the corner.  

Winston

 Cal offered to watch Winston for the weekend as the Lamles planned to be out of town.  Due to a miscommunication, Mike brought the Heinisch family's favorite canine to our home instead of Grandma Jane's where Cal was working virtually.  Robyn texted me right away to see if they needed to pick him back up and take him to Cal, but we said, "Absolutely not!'  Meg and I both knew that once Winston saw Cal he would be oblivious to the rest of us.  Thus, we were excited to have him to ourselves at least for a couple of hours.  

Unfortunately, Winston was not quite as happy about the situation.  He tolerated the attention from Meg and I pretty well, but spent most of his time searching the house for Cal.  When Meg found him sitting in the bathroom waiting for Cal after Cam turned on the shower, we realized that it was time to take him to his "best buddy."  Since Winston was carrying his leash with him wherever he went, Meg and Cam decided that the best way to get him to Cal was to walk him there.  They enjoyed the mild weather and arrived just as Cal finished with his meeting.  Both he and Winston were glad to be reunited once again and the rest of us could only wave goodbye as they headed inside.

We really have enjoyed spending time with Winston this winter.  He's a great dog to have around.  Part of the reason it is so fun to have him around is that we have never really seen a dog love anyone as much as Winston does Cal.  Maybe it's just his personality, but it sure seems that he would follow Cal anywhere.  Meg has told me multiple times, "I know dogs can't smile, but Winston definitely does when he sees Cal."  Doug and I still laugh about the time Cal and Winston drove past us while we were walking.  Winston sat shot gun looking like he was having the time of his life.  We realize that Winston may be this way with everyone that he knows well, but for those of us in the Heinisch home it has been fun to watch he and Cal interact.  We will definitely miss that when Cal moves to Chicago next month.  

"The Big Fat"

 Out of all of the guinea pigs the one that required the least amount of attention from the Heinisch family was Rizzo.  He always seemed content just to hang out by himself.  He tolerated attention from Meg and Cam but never asked for it.  He did not initiate interaction with his brother, Atmo, but didn't discourage it either.  All in all Rizzo seemed content to stay in his cage and eat, so much so that Cameron nicknamed his pet, "The Big Fat."

After Atmo died this past summer, Rizzo's behavior didn't change much.  He did seem to be lonelier, but didn't beg us for more attention.  We noticed that he did become louder about requesting his favorite treat, carrots.  That made sense to us as Atmo had always been the one squeaking at the side of the cage for attention and food.  Since Rizzo ate the majority of their food back then, it was no wonder that Atmo had begged more than his brother.  

Whether he has liked it or not, Rizzo has garnished more attention these past few months than he did in the past.  Although he still doesn't enjoy taking rides on the pig bed/sled like the other three did and tries to get back in his cage as soon as he is taken out, he has tolerated the newfound attention pretty well.  He does squeak for carrots every time he hears my voice and Cameron has blamed me multiple times for contributing to his obesity, but overall he has benefitted from the single life.  

With only him in the cage, Meg and I had noticed recently that Rizzo seemed to be making a pillow for himself when he slept.  At first he would fluff up a mound of his bedding in the corner of the cage and lay his head on that, then he started using the side of the bowl.  After seeing him do so several times, we decided to try putting a towel in his cage with him and lo and behold he crawled right over to it and put his head on it.  Now it has become a staple of his nightly routine.  There is still some debate between Cam, Meg and I on whether he likes the ball in his cage, but we all agreed that the towel seems to be a hit for now.  Whether he is getting older and likes propping his head up or is using it as a substitute for Atmo, we will never know.  Tonight Meg took this picture of him getting "ready for bed" and as cute as it was, all I kept thinking about was that we have to have the most pampered guinea pig in the world.  I guess that shouldn't surprise me too much.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

 Meg had an orthodontist appointment this morning and was pleased to hear that everything was progressing as planned.  Her teeth had been straightened months ago and her overbite correct last spring.  Since she had been missing four adult teeth, the final goal to reach was to close all of the gaps left when Meg's  baby teeth were removed in 2019.  The top spaces closed long ago, but the bottom two took quite a bit of time to follow suit.  Thankfully, the springs and wire that they put in place in November had taken hold and the bottom teeth had moved enough to start the discussion about when Meg would get her braces off.  

Before we left, the orthodontist made an appointment for her in April to see if the gaps continued to close.  If that happened then she would have impressions in May for a retainer and two weeks after that she would say goodbye to braces for good.   Meg and I were both thrilled as we thought that it would be longer than that.  Before today Meg had even told herself that as long as they were off by the time she graduated from college she would be happy.  Thankfully, that should not be the case and soon Meg will be brace free and able to eat popcorn once again.

The Eye Doctor

 Several times over the past six months Cameron had had an eye doctor's appointment rescheduled due to the ongoing pandemic.  We weren't too concerned about it as he didn't feel that his vision had changed much this past year.  The only issue that he was having had to do with the screw on his frames.  It had fallen out several times and was almost impossible for us to fix.  The eye doctor's office was great at repairing it free of charge, but it had become an inconvenience as the screw always seemed to fall out when he really needed his glasses.  The last time they broke was minutes before a tennis tournament.  Thankfully we were able to use duct tape for a quick fix, but after that we decided that a new pair was in order.

Cameron's appointment today was relatively quick as his prescription hadn't really changed much.  The hardest part of the visit for Cam was choosing a new frame.  There were a lot to pick from in various styles.  In the end he found a pair that looked great on him and that were covered by our insurance.  I was glad for both as I wanted him to get a pair that he liked and was happy to use our insurance as I wasn't sure how much longer we would have it.  

Meg had ridden along with us and gave a thumbs up to the new pair as well.  We celebrated the long awaited appointment with Panda Express for lunch.  Meg had never eaten there before and really liked it.  Cam ate his on the way back to school.  He was hoping to miss all of Spanish, but had about twenty-five minutes left once he returned.  We didn't have a long time at home, but we were able to drop off Panda Express to Cal before heading back to get Cameron.   It was a lot of time in the car today, but well worth it.

First Snow Day of the Year

 Today was the first snow day of the year for Cameron.  He could have had one last week when Wawasee cancelled and Bethany only delayed, but I went ahead and took him to school.  Doug and I decided earlier in the year that it was best for him to go whenever possible since he had already spent enough time at home this school year and last.  Cameron has never really enjoyed e-learning and today wasn't much different.  Sitting in his room following along with classes on Zoom had lost its thrill long ago and seemed even more tedious today.  We completely understood his feelings.  In the past ten months he's spent almost as much time in online school as he has in person.

Today's cancellation made me think a lot about snow days of the past.  Before each student had a device to work on outside of the classroom, snow days meant school was completely cancelled for the day.  I remembered playing games with the Heinisch children and watching some of our favorite movies together including "Snow Day."  If it was warm enough everyone went outside for part of the afternoon to build snowmen or at least shovel the drive.  If the roads were relatively clear we even made a fast food run for lunch.

Computers changed snow days as they became e-learning days.  Cameron had become accustomed to those as Bethany had been using them on treacherous weather driving days since he started as a student in 5th grade.  He would still have school work, but it would be less intense and less time consuming with independent assignments for each class.  There was still time for games and some classes even assigned snow activities as a requirement for the day.  Virtual learning changed snow days once again as Bethany students were required to log in for each class period for a Zoom meeting thus taking up a full day school day.  Although we have appreciated the consistency in Cameron's education, this has meant no free time on snow days.  We miss that as does Cameron, but life lately has changed a lot of old routines.  Instead of complaining about it, we have adjusted as well as could be expected knowing that one day Cameron will be able to tell his own children "back in my day we didn't even get a break from school during a global pandemic."

Team Body Project to the Rescue

This winter we have had two separate incidents in which our elliptical needed repaired.  Thankfully, we had purchased an extended warranty for it so it didn't cost us anything to have it fixed.  It did take some time, however, for the parts for it to arrive and the repairman to get us on a schedule, leaving it useless for several weeks.

Although the non-functioning elliptical affected Doug the most, he wasn't the only one who needed to find alternative ways to exercise this winter.  Normally, I don't mind walking outside in all kinds of weather, but this past month it has been windier than usual making temperatures feel colder than they actually were.  The snow that we received at the first of the year also took quite some time to melt, so the sidewalks were at times too slippery to walk on easily.  Thus, I was also looking for a way to exercise indoors as well.  

Meg had suggested trying YouTube for a low impact, cardio workout.  She had used several different videos during the fall semester since the gyms on campus were closed and recommended a few to try.  Doug and I both quickly began to appreciate one more than any others.  Team Body Project had multiple videos for all levels.  The instructor was enthusiast and encouraging.  The videos could be adjusted from beginnings to experts.  Those working out with him demonstrated ways to alter the exercises to fit all body types and there were even videos for those who only wanted to work out standing up, i.e. no burpees, sit-ups or crunches.  Team Body Project was the perfect solution for both of us.  With the elliptical in working condition once again, Doug has eased off the virtual workouts.  I have stayed with them, however, especially since I do not have to freeze outside to exercise and I actually have found working out to be a lot more enjoyable.