Nothin’ Lasts Forever – even Cold November Rain�

Brrr�man it turned cold this week. The kids already have cabin fever and it�s not even December yet! It was a short week that brought about one of our favorite holidays of the year � as Jamie so adeptly put it, �You gotta love a holiday that is dedicated to food, football and naps!??? I couldn�t agree more, my friend. As promised last week, I have pictures and some video clips of the kids helping us to get the Christmas tree up. It�s such a shame that none of the pre-lit bulbs work on it � it�s such a pretty tree. The pre-lit tree was supposed to take the cussing out of Xmas�so much for that� One of our many traditions is that of the ugly orange bulb. It is a �privilege??? to put this baby on the tree each year. It has actually been a running joke that has lasted since we put up our first tree in Columbus in �94. This year, it was Luke�s turn�

Monday was the nicest day of the week by far. It was pretty windy that got worse as the day progressed. I have to say that I think the kids are finally getting used to each other (Grace and our kids, that is). Due to Dee�s new schedule, she comes over each school morning with us around 6:30. The kids have adjusted nicely to each other, besides the normal kid stuff, and judging by what I saw this morning�I think she has made it in to the inner circle. While Grace was in the half bath brushing her teeth, Lukey ran in and started pooping (he had some nervous poops again!). Grace didn�t run away or even scream at him; she calmly finished her business, carried on a �normal??? conversation and then walked out as if nothing out of the ordinary was occurring � even closing the door for Lucas upon exit. 😛 While I was on the treadmill that evening, I heard the news that the Reds� Joey Votto was named MVP of the NL! Matt helped Ann make chicken tacos that hit the spot. I fell asleep early on the couch, shortly after dinner. We sent the kids to bed early as well, as they had been rather grouchy this past week. By Tuesday, Ann�s heel was feeling better after receiving a shot of cortisone. Her limp was not as pronounced as it had been lately, which was good news for her. She is willing to try anything at this point to receive some relief. Ann made very good blackened tilapia that the kids were told was chicken (to get them to eat it). We didn�t actually tell them what they had eaten until we were doing dishes. 😉 Matt was still on the mend this week from his meet last weekend. He had the inevitable bumps and bruises. What he didn�t plan on was the abdominal cramps and sick feeling in his gut. Ann started him a Z-pack. I was again out early, but woke up later and ended up on the internet and started checking out Google Earth (via Google Maps) and the new Bing Bird�s Eye to go and check out a few of our old haunts in years� past. It was pretty cool to see how things had changed. Starting off, here�s a couple of Mom�s Elmwood St. home and Granny�s 9th St. and Highland Ave homes. It is so cool to see the old triangle, bridge and ravine that I remember from my childhood. Looks like Granny�s last home has a new coat of paint and they�ve added a fence as well. I also went by the Shortridge home, which looks weird without the blue spruces in the front or back. It also appears that the back porch is gone and of course it looks weird with flower boxes in the way of the sledding hill!! Doc & Bev�s house looks about the same bu the Crum home looks pretty run down�that old house next to it used to look bad, but now it is sadly the nicer looking of the two. Arth�s Drug Store is now a Dollar General store. I also had to go get a couple shots of John & June�s mansion as well the Parkside Deli:

Next we have our Temple City home in southern Cali�it looks about the same as it did when we were there � except everything around it has now been developed�and I mean everything. It appears that even Neil�s cool, old home is now gone in favor of a large apartment building. They built up the fence a little different in the back yard, but otherwise, it is still the same old neighborhood:

Here we have our two LaPorte homes. I knew the Kenwood home was big, but seeing it from the air gives you a new perspective. The side lot has now been sold and a new home has cropped up on it. The Rockwood home is a little different. They�ve done the porch nicely. It was cool to see the aerial view that included the back lot where we used to play ball, the back alley and the old race track where we used to run the go kart:

Next we move on to Franklin and the ??? house, Pat & Ann�s house and our crummy 1st apartment. Then, on to Columbus for our townhouse and my work (I couldn�t get a good one of Ann�s)�and wind up in Rossville to have a look at those homes:

We wind up our virtual tour by going to Greensburg for our two homes and then down in Florida for the Largo home and then to the beach in Treasure Island for the condo:

It started raining on Wednesday and didn�t stop until early Friday morning. Abby was selected to do the morning announcements on the closed circuit TV network in her school. She was a little nervous but did fine this week. However, this morning she was playing with Molly and the dog went to grab her wubba and instead clawed Bu right in the eye pretty bad. Somehow she missed the eye ball, but her eye swelled up almost instantly. Thankfully, it doesn�t look like it will leave a scar. Ann went to the doctor for her foot again today. Although the shot is working pretty good, it is still painful to walk upon. She is already doing the physical therapy exercises, so surgery seems to be the only option at this point. Last time, she was down for a couple weeks and wasn�t up to snuff for several months. With that experience, she is naturally a little apprehensive about taking that step. The timing is also crucial, as we are so busy all the time around here. It looks like she might be able to get it done while we are on vacation at the end of next month. Matt made the newspaper that evening, as he was recognized for his achievements at last weekend�s wrestling tourney (The Daily News is on it again�). Luke brought home a cute Thanksgiving book that he designed, wrote and illustrated!

We were up very early (shortly after five) on Thanksgiving Day due to the tornado warning sirens!! Yes, Matt was the responsible one that actually responded to the alarms. The tornado warning lasted for roughly 30 minutes. I called in to work. They had to get the kids up early as well over there, but luckily had no major behavioral issues. We went ahead and stayed up after that, watching the parade as Ann & Sandy went out for their annual morning shopping trip around town. Ann came home and made the green bean casserole and dinner rolls for lunch. By the time we got over to Mom & Gigi�s, we were all starving. As always, MaryAnn went all out again this year: turkey (she bought a �fresh??? turkey this year from the butcher), baked ham, noodles and �smashed??? potatoes (according to Luke), green bean casserole, dinner rolls, dressing, oyster dressing (from Aunt Linda), pumpkin pie, 2 pecan pies, dirt pudding and vanilla cake w/ chocolate icing!! Yum! Luke was so funny � out of nowhere, he volunteers the information that he knows why the ham has a hole in it when it gets cut and set on his plate. Nope, you�d think it was the bone wouldn�t you�but no, our darling son blurts out in front of everyone, �It�s from the ham penis � you don�t want to eat that!??? 😛 �and you know, he�s right� LOL! Besides Mom, Sandy, Ann, me and the kids; Deanna, Jamie & Gracie, Dave & Linda and Joe, his two sons and grandson also joined us. The boys enjoyed watching the Lions and Patriots game � at least the first half. It wasn�t much of a game after halftime. Jamie, Ann & Matt played Scrabble and I set up Mom & Sandy�s new router. Afterwards, Jamie & I played euchre against Ann & Sandy. It was a good old fashioned butt-whooping as we spanked them in two straight games. I don�t think they scored more than three points in either game! We left between the NFL football games to come home and take naps. Obviously, I stayed awake as it was the Cowboys battling the Saints. Matt & I are big Drew Brees fans (Purdue alum), so it was hard to root against him. It was a great game that we ended catching the end of back at Gma & Gigi�s house. Dallas came up a little short in the end but at least it was entertaining. I had eaten so much during our first go round that I couldn�t even eat dinner when we came back. The gals have the NFL network (I�m jealous!) over there, so we got to watch the first half of the Jets / Bengals game before we came home to all it a night. It was still raining and we ended up with about four inches all told. We were dreaming of what it would be like if that had been snow instead of that cold November rain�

Ann was up early again on Friday to do some Black Friday shopping with her best friend, Amy � as they have done for nearly a decade now. They again had their �hideous headwear??? this year. Ann said the crowds weren�t as bad as in years past. She had already gotten most of her shopping done prior to today, so she didn�t end up getting a whole lot. She did get us a new microwave � although it is exactly the same make and model of our last one�which is still one of the best ones on the market, so IDK� The kids and I bummed around the house all day for the most part. We did a little bit of cleaning up in the playroom but otherwise took a couple of naps and just enjoyed being couch potatoes and watching our annual Star Wars marathon, as we�ve done several years in a row now. It was a nice, relaxing day. Gracie ended up coming over for supper and spent the night. We got Domino�s, per the kids� request. I was thrilled to receive my official LaPorte Football Hall of Fame paperwork in the mail. What an honor. I still can�t put in to words just how cool this is to me. Along with the official letter, there is a small book of information I need to complete before the end of the year and return it. I’ll try and knock that out while watching football this weekend… It got very cold that night � down in to the lower twenties. Ann & Amy didn�t get back until about midnight � putting their excursion right at the 18 hour mark�not as long as their 24 hour one that one year, but still makes for an awfully long day. As expected, her heel was killing her. The #8 ranked Boilers beat Southern Illinois on the hard court and Matt & I were thrilled to watch the crazy ending to the Boise St / Nevada football game that didn�t get over until the wee hours of the morning. On Saturday, we finally slept in. We were expecting Keith, Rosie & Megan to roll in to town for dinner today. However, we found out that Rosie had a barfing bug for the past couple days and that Megan had woke up today barfing. So, the hard decision was made to not have them in this year due to the risk of spreading the virus to Mom, Sandy and anyone else. Although it really sucks, it is probably the best decision that could be made. We are hoping that they will come down later in the year at some point�maybe New Years? So, there�ll be no Thanxmas this year. 🙁 I took the kids to Dairy Point for ice cream cones during halftime of the 86th Old Oaken Bucket Game. The Boilers were in firm control of the game in the first half. After we came back and watched the 2nd half, the Hoosiers made a game of it and ended up forcing overtime � where IU eventually won the game to make the Boilers 4-8 on the year. It was an intense game that saw a couple fights. I finally got a chance to enjoy a cold turkey sandwich�something I had been looking forward to for several months now� Jamie & Dee came over for a while in the early evening to pick up Gracie and visit. Ann put out the rest of our Christmas decorations; which seems to get less and less each year. On Sunday, we did our weekly chores and did some more relaxing. All told, it was a very nice break that allowed us to slow down for a while and catch our breaths before gearing up for an intense December that will surely fly by as well�

Here are this week�s videos:

And now let�s flip on the Waybac machine. Leading off, we have two more from Dean�s slide collection in the fifties � a boy throwing a rock off a bridge (neat picture, but MaryAnn, do you know where this was taken?); two kiddos thrilled to take a picture in their hats (MaryAnn, I’m sure you have a good guess as to who these boys are?); Kenny popping a wheelie on his motorcycle in the 60�s; Kenny & Becky with Ally & Chris in the 80�s (probably late eighties actually); and then four that I think are repeats of recent posts�Kenwood St photos from 1981: Grandmaw & Grandpaw in those damn toe-eating chairs(!); Dad B and I burning leaves at the end of the drive; Rob & Grandpaw in the half bath off the kitchen and me assembling a table Dad brought home one day�he actually bought the legs at the hardware store after he brought home the free table top and it became our coffee table for several years to come.

Next we have several from a wild vacation up in Wisconsin, circa �89: Aunt Marilou with a toilet seat (Mom, I KNOW there is a story behind this picture!); Grandpaw Brown and his sister Marilou; Marilou and Kenny�s sister; Rob and Homer eating lunch; Rob and Trudi with Uncle Timmie taking a picture; and Uncle Kenny and his sister with Aunt Dorothy.

Here are some pictures from 1993: Mom and Vicki Albrights with the other best friends; me helping Mom & Dad mow the back yard of the dream house in Rossville and then a nice front view of the dream house. Also, we have several of Rob�s high school graduation, down in Three Springs in AL: Rob with the huge graduation class; Rob coming to stage; two of Rob with his best buddy; Rob up on stage; Rob receiving his diploma and then Rob with his loving family afterwards.

Here are a boatload of pictures from 1999; first in May with Mom and Matt flying on the plane (high-yah!); Matt giving Pooh some lovin� and having fun with Tigger at �Dinner with Pooh??? at Disney World�s Wilderness Lodge. Then, Mom and friends during a trip she and Dad took with Aquaholic to Navy Pier in Chicago.

We have several of Abby�s birth and a week later: Newborn Bu with her mommy and daddy; Grandpa with Bu a couple times; Grandma with Abby and then in a rocking chair and finally with Matt & Bu. Then a week later, at home in her crib x 3 and then Matt downstairs with Mom in the living room.

Wrapping up this edition are a few from �99: Abby�s crib, me grabbing a beer in my cut-offs at a fish fry / Brown reunion at Uncle Kenny & Aunt Marilou�s in Rossville; Matt on his bed (didn�t we just see this one??) on Main St.; Tammy and her kids at Mom & Dad�s house in Rossville and me standing in the doorway between Abby & Matt�s rooms. Finally, two from Abby�s fourth birthday party in September of 2003: Dee w/ a very young Lukey Duke and then Natalie with her daughter Makenzy with Dee & Duke in the back.

Well that wraps up another episode of the Scheu Family Blog. Thanks as always for keeping up with us this time out and we�ll catch you up next time. Until then, have a good one.
Later, Scheu